Immigration How a Portuguese immigrant made it in Geneva By Alexander Thoele, Geneva Helena Rigotti, a Portuguese councillor for the city of Geneva, says that her success is down to a lot of hard work.
Offshore funds Panama Papers put Putin funds in Zurich A leak from a law office in Panama has revealed a staggering amount of questionable banking activity around the world – including Switzerland.
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Water diplomacy Swiss focus on basic water and local groups By Priti Patnaik, Geneva The Swiss government has been quietly encouraging peace in Syria through post-war preparation focused on a basic need – water.
Economics and initiatives ‘Experts shouldn’t have too much say in running society’ By Thomas Stephens Are some popular votes too complicated for those of us without economics degrees? Why and how should people become ‘active economic citizens’?
Model making How to fit Geneva in a room To help urban planners and architects in their choices, Geneva’s city planning department has been mapping the architectural landscape of the city ...
Photo exhibition The 2015 elections in pictures Candidates and assistants, winners and losers, joy and despair – national elections have it all. Ten photographers followed last year’s elections ...
Data analysis Swiss want more guns despite lower crime By Jessica Dacey Across Switzerland, there was a surge in people applying for gun permits in 2015. Was crime a driver? Switzerland is becoming safer.
Selective electorate ‘The Swiss are not model democrats’ By Felix Schindler, Tages-Anzeiger and Der Bund In a recent study, political scientist Simon Lanz found that more Swiss people vote than was previously assumed. Indeed, some 90% of ...
Democratic spaces Political forums hold the key to democracy By Bruno Kaufmann, People2Power A recently rejected hardline deportation initiative has once again highlighted the importance of public debates, a key element of a ...
Podcast The Eiger: a deadly climb By Jo Fahy and Dale Bechtel 50 years ago, the Eiger mountain saw an accident that shocked the climbing world. Hear about that moment from a journalist, a climber who ...
Conrad Gessner Switzerland’s forgotten ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ By Isobel Leybold-Johnson, Zurich For 16th century zoologists, it was like Google's arrival. Rather than punch a keyboard, they could thumb over Conrad Gessner’s sensational work.
Complementary therapies Swiss to recognise homeopathy as legitimate medicine The interior ministry has announced plans to give five complementary therapies including homeopathy the same status as conventional ...
Swiss banking secrecy Rebuilding the brand By Ralph Atkins After the unravelling of its banking secrecy laws, scandal at FIFA and economic pressures dealt a further blow to the Swiss reputation for stability.
Refugee crisis Impressions from the Greek island of Samos By Gaby Ochsenbein, Samos Swiss volunteers at a refugee camp in Greece’s Aegean islands say they believe there are human rights violations.
School, a living hell Bullying at school: breaking the silence to prevent suffering By Katy Romy School has become a nightmare for 5-10% of schoolchildren in Switzerland, who suffer in silence and experience long-term consequences.
chocolate money Where is Swiss chocolate most popular? By Jo Fahy, Filipa Cordeiro and Thomas Stephens Switzerland has a longstanding reputation for making exquisite chocolate, but which countries buy the most from the Swiss?
Swiss banks The gnomes of Zurich are silent no longer By Gideon Rachman, Financial Times What connects the Petrobras case in Brazil, the 1MDB affair in Malaysia, FIFA, and a party funding row in Spain? Swiss bank accounts.
Beyond minarets Overshadowed by Islam: minority religions in Switzerland By Luigi Jorio Political and media debates on religion in Switzerland focus mainly on Muslims and Islam. What do they think of this imbalance?
Falling emissions The Swiss houses making energy go a long way By Celia Luterbacher Despite its growing population and the amount of space needed per person, Swiss household CO2 emissions dropped between 2000 and 2013. How?
All creatures great and small Rhinos, blackbirds and sea monks Conrad Gessner’s 16th century masterpiece, Historia animalium, catalogued all the animals that were known at the time.
Eiger Direct anniversary When the Alps’ ‘last great problem’ was solved By Dale Bechtel, Grindelwald It was 50 years ago on March 25 when five exhausted climbers achieved what no one had before – summited the Eiger North Face following the most ...