Swiss Identity

Geneva to blow out 300 candles to Rousseau

This content was published on Jan 20, 2012 swissinfo.ch talks to François Jacob, the organiser of the busy Rousseau programme, about the influence of the Enlightenment thinker and why celebrations in 2012 extend well beyond Geneva. swissinfo.ch: What impact has Rousseau had on modern-day Europe? François Jacob: Europe is perhaps not the best term to use when talking about Rousseau’s impact, as it’s…

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Probe is stopped into Nigerian’s death

This content was published on Jan 20, 2012 The causes of death were natural and internal and were based on two convincing autopsies, a statement said on Friday. According to medical experts, the 29-year-old was suffering from a serious heart problem, which was aggravated by the stress of the deportation. It is also possible that the man’s pre-deportation hunger strike had played a…

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Site inspections track labour law abuses

This content was published on Jan 20, 2012 To safeguard against wage and social dumping, accompanying measures were agreed. In Switzerland, inspectors are charged with checking that these are adhered to. swissinfo.ch accompanied an inspector on a construction site visit. “Hello, we met once before, in 2009”. Stefan Hirt greets the two German tile layers in a friendly but not too familiar way.…

Culture

Solothurn film festival opens

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 She said it deserved the quality label “Swissness”. For her part, the new director of the festival, Seraina Rohrer, compared filmmaking with winemaking. “Filmmakers also depend on a good climate, financially and politically,” she said. She said she hoped the new regulations on the allocation of public money would create a good basis for future…

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Swiss football is “healthy” despite Xamax woes

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 Xamax was stripped of its licence on Wednesday and effectively kicked out of the league over allegations of financial misdeeds less than a year after being taken over by Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev. Chagaev says he will appeal against the “repugnant” decision. At a press conference in Zurich Swiss Football League (SFL) chairman Heinrich Schifferle…

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Asylum applications sharply up

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 At 22,551, the number was the highest since 2002. The office attributed the sharp increase to the crisis in North Africa, and the opening of migration routes to Europe in March. The top three countries from which the asylum seekers came were Eritrea (3,356), Tunisia (2,574) and Nigeria (1,895). The office said Tunisian asylum seekers…

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Tamiflu drug divides opinion

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 Around 90 million people have taken Tamiflu over the past decade and sales of the drug have generated billions of francs for Roche. But a leading medical journal and an international healthcare network now say its effectiveness in treating flu complications can’t be entirely proven. In a scathing article published on Wednesday, the British Medical…

Tax amnesty pays off

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 A survey carried out by the Swiss News Agency among cantonal tax offices revealed that 4,557 people in 24 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons had taken advantage of the chance to admit what they owed and to pay it back without being punished. Not all the cantons told the agency how much extra money they had…

Dance ban eased on religious holidays

This content was published on Jan 19, 2012 In future people will have to hang up their dance shoes only on Good Friday and Christmas. The cantonal parliament said on Thursday it considered visiting dance halls on religious holidays nowadays nothing more than “lacking respect” and as a result it made no sense to keep the ban for every Christian holiday. Until now…

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Xamax lose Swiss League licence

This content was published on Jan 18, 2012 The league said in a statement on Wednesday that Xamax had committed “serious violations” of its obligations. The league’s disciplinary commission ruled that Xamax’s owners failed to provide documents relating to a change of ownership, when Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev took over last May. The league also suspects Xamax of providing fraudulent bank statements intended…

Swiss Identity

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Swiss Identity

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Geneva to blow out 300 candles to Rousseau

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Probe is stopped into Nigerian’s death

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Site inspections track labour law abuses

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Solothurn film festival opens

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Swiss football is “healthy” despite Xamax woes

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Asylum applications sharply up

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Tamiflu drug divides opinion

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Tax amnesty pays off

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Dance ban eased on religious holidays

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Xamax lose Swiss League licence

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