Swiss Identity

Sensitive Swiss bank data handed to US

This content was published on Jan 31, 2012 However, the ministry denied reports that millions of client emails were involved, putting the scale of the transfer at some 20,000 pages “on the US business of the banks”. Full access to the information, with names of client advisors, will only be provided on a case-by-case basis or when a tax agreement is in place…

Demographics

Disability assistance provides lifeline at home

This content was published on Jan 31, 2012 The policy provides disabled people with funds to employ personal assistants to carry out tasks specific to their needs and has been the norm for more than two decades in places such as Scandinavia, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, for example. For Peter Wehrli, the seven hours of paid assistance per week that…

Demographics

Swiss to vote on first home buyers scheme

This content was published on Jan 31, 2012 The initiative has been launched by the Swiss Association for the Promotion of Home Savings. It calls for the cantons to give tax breaks on savings accounts specifically destined for the purchase of a first home, or for renovations on houses to make them more energy efficient or environmentally friendly. For proponents of the initiative…

Culture

Buying Swiss books comes at a price

This content was published on Jan 31, 2012 It is arguably the most controversial issue among the five decisions to come to a nationwide vote on March 11. Supporters say the agreement would boost Swiss publishers, bookshops and authors while opponents argue it would distort the book market. “The promotion of Swiss books as a cultural good cannot be achieved with this law,”…

Demographics

Four Georgians charged in organised crime case

This content was published on Jan 30, 2012 Its members are believed to be behind a wave of burglaries and shoplifting in Switzerland. Swiss authorities said on Monday that the Georgian nationals were indicted by the nation’s highest criminal court, accused of membership of the so-called “Thieves in Law” criminal organisation. Authorities said in a statement that they were investigating 30 others in the international…

Demographics

Secrecy hampers money laundering fight

This content was published on Jan 30, 2012 It means that the Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) is obliged by law to hold back information from its foreign counterparts. The government has now come under international pressure to change this situation. On the one hand, the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has declared that countries whose anti-money laundering bodies refuse to…

Demographics

Pranksters answered bottled message

This content was published on Jan 30, 2012 Earlier this month, Werner Kühnis reported that he had received a reply to his message – 30 years after tossing it into the Rhine. A woman in South Africa sent him a letter claiming that she had found the bottle on a beach near Cape Town. However, the truth has since come out: rather than…

Demographics

Ammann aims for 2014 Sochi Olympics

This content was published on Jan 30, 2012 The 30-year-old from canton St Gallen was thought to be ready to end his career after struggling with new regulations and pulling out of the Four Hills tournament because of illness. His best finish is eighth in World Cup events this season. But Ammann said in a statement on Monday that he was excited about…

Demographics

Rich Greeks balk at financial aid for homeland

This content was published on Jan 30, 2012 Switzerland is home to several ultra-rich Greeks, like the granddaughter of the legendary shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, billionaire Spiros Latsis, who made his money through oil, housing and banking, and the heirs to shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation funds a number of social programmes in Greece, including food aid schemes, to help…

Demographics

Cantons struggle to house asylum seekers

This content was published on Jan 28, 2012 This week some 400 concerned residents from Pully, an affluent small town on the edge of Lausanne, attended a heated information session regarding the imminent opening of an underground civil protection shelter to hold 50 asylum seekers. Despite agreement in principle between the federal and cantonal authorities, plans to create additional capacities for 2,000 asylum…

Swiss Identity

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Swiss Identity

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Sensitive Swiss bank data handed to US

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Disability assistance provides lifeline at home

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Swiss to vote on first home buyers scheme

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Buying Swiss books comes at a price

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Four Georgians charged in organised crime case

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Secrecy hampers money laundering fight

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Pranksters answered bottled message

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Ammann aims for 2014 Sochi Olympics

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Rich Greeks balk at financial aid for homeland

More

Cantons struggle to house asylum seekers

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