Swiss Abroad

Cabinet tries to soften quotas blow

This content was published on Jun 20, 2014 The law will set immigration quotas, as voters accepted in February, but softer rules for EU citizens may reduce retaliatory measures from Brussels and big neighbours such as Germany and France. Switzerland is not part of the EU but has signed agreements with the 28-nation bloc, including on free movement of labour, partly to ensure…

Swiss Politics

Swiss lift restrictions on South Africa archives

This content was published on Jun 20, 2014 Cabinet announced on Friday that it had removed access restrictions to archive files associated with capital and other export transactions with South Africa during the apartheid era. These were introduced in 2003 to prevent Swiss firms involved in apartheid class actions in the US from “being in a worse position procedurally than foreign companies”, it…

Swiss Politics

Parliament passes new Swiss citizenship law

This content was published on Jun 20, 2014 After a debate on the law that went back and forth between the two houses for three years, a special conference came up with a palatable compromise on Thursday, which has now gained final approval. The House of Representatives passed it with 135 votes for and 60 votes against, while the Senate approved it 29 to…

Swiss Politics

Swiss-Russian chess game prompts criticism

This content was published on Jun 18, 2014 Senator Filippo Lombardi of the centre-right Christian Democrats, who co-chairs the Russia-Switzerland parliamentary group, made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that the tournament was to take place as part of the celebrations to mark 200 years of diplomatic relations with Russia. The chess grandmaster, Anatoly Karpov, took part, using notably less of the seven minutes…

Swiss Politics

More foreigners move to Switzerland

This content was published on Jun 18, 2014 Between May 2013 and April 2014, 151,852 foreigners came into Switzerland, and 68.950 left – 2.1% more than departed in the previous year. While 33,000 people got a Swiss passport – about the same as the year before – some 2 million residents out of a population of eight million are not Swiss citizens. Of…

Opinion

Swiss Politics

The ethical cost of high-price art

This content was published on Jun 18, 2014 In New York last month, Christie’s sold $745 million worth of postwar and contemporary art, the highest total that it has ever reached in a single auction. Among the higher-priced works sold were paintings by Barnett Newman, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol, each of which sold for more than $60 million. According to…

Swiss Politics

Red Cross worker killed in Libya

This content was published on Jun 16, 2014 Forty-two-year-old Michael Greub was attacked by unidentified gunmen as he left a meeting with two colleagues, according to the ICRC. He died in Sirte’s hospital. “His colleagues are unhurt but in shock,” said ICRC spokesman Wolde Saugeron. “They were ambushed around midday. They were heading towards their car that did not carry any ICRC signs, following our…

Swiss Politics

Swiss say no passports given to Tuareg rebels

This content was published on Jun 15, 2014 A Malian umbrella organisation, the Collectif pour la Défense de la République (CDR), whose members include a number of associations linked to the government in Bamako, said on Saturday that France and Switzerland were providing passports to Tuareg leaders. CDR spokesman Mohamed Youssouph Bathily claimed that “two thirds of the NMLA leaders” had been given…

Swiss Politics

Waiting for a conflict in a neutral land

This content was published on Jun 14, 2014 Troop numbers varied depending on the potential threats over the border. In August 1914, there were around 220,000 soldiers called up, but only 12,500 by the end of the war. Most men spent on average 500 days serving. The Swiss army didn’t take part in any fighting, but approximately 3,000 men died because of accidents…

Opinion

Swiss Politics

Brazil’s own goals

This content was published on Jun 12, 2014 Ready or not, Brazil is rolling out the welcome mat for sports fans from around the world. As soon as the clock winds down on the final FIFA World Cup soccer match in July, the country will resume preparations to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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