Swiss Identity

Swiss reject extradition request for Polanski

This content was published on Jul 12, 2010 The 76-year old Oscar-winning director, who was detained last September in Zurich and had been under house arrest, is a free man, according to Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. She said the decision had been taken following Washington’s refusal to give access to confidential documents. “In these circumstances it was not possible to exclude with the…

Demographics

More STDs recorded in Switzerland

This content was published on Jul 12, 2010 The Federal Health Office said on Monday in its health bulletin that there had been 611 incidences of syphilis and 647 of gonorrhoea so far in 2010 – around a third more than in the same period last year. Around 3,330 chlamydia infections were also reported, a number which remained stable on last year. Switzerland…

Culture

Beethoven Sonatas: Pathétique, Moonlight, Waldstein. See Siang Wong, piano

This content was published on Jul 12, 2010 Waldstein Sonata (3rd movement) See Siang Wong, piano

Culture

Swiss press celebrates World Cup final

This content was published on Jul 12, 2010 Switzerland’s newspapers also offered a colourful look back at the past month in host country South Africa, the so-called Rainbow Nation. The match was front page news for most papers, with splashes of multi-page coverage tucked into the sport sections. Viva Espana! The Swiss media smiled benevolently on Spain’s success, with enthusiastic headlines like Blick’s…

Culture

Zep

This content was published on Jul 12, 2010 The largest ever retrospective of the work of Swiss comic artist Philippe Chappuis, aka Zep, is being held at the Mudac Design Museum in Lausanne. Zep is currently the most successful graphic artist in the French-speaking world (Simon Bradley, swissinfo.ch)

Spain crowned football world champions

This content was published on Jul 11, 2010 A goal from Andres Iniesta in the 116th minute ended a match of missed chances at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. The result – predicted by Paul the psychic octopus (see link), who finished the tournament with a 100 per cent record – means Spain are the third team, after Germany and France, to…

Culture

Bern’s bear cubs under threat

This content was published on Jul 11, 2010 Sunday’s German-language tabloid Blick am Sonntag carried an alarming headline, quoting the zoo director, Bernd Schildger: “We shall have to put them down”. He explained to the paper that in about 18 months time, when they are around two years old, their mother will not want them any more. He said he would be writing…

Demographics

World Cup South Africa win their bet

This content was published on Jul 10, 2010 Well organised, a hospitable welcome and only minor hiccups: the impressions of the month long tournament suggest South Africa has had an overall success. It’s an ongoing ritual. After any international sport competition, the numbers are quoted. The South African interior ministry said there were over a million visitors in June, 25 per cent up…

Demographics

New move to fight football hooliganism

This content was published on Jul 9, 2010 The police say hooligans banned from football stadiums will now also be prevented from going to hockey matches. Despite a raft of anti-hooligan measures, violence in and around Swiss football and hockey stadiums remains a persistent problem. The reciprocal new measure will affect the 974 hooligans—645 football-related and 329 hockey-related—who are currently on the so-called…

Demographics

Refugees’ asylum rights reviewed

This content was published on Jul 9, 2010 The measure would concern all refugees from the region except those from Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina persecuted by the regime of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. According to Federal Migration Office spokeswoman Marie Avet, the Balkan wars in the 1990s put an end to Milosevic’s regime. The political situation has since changed drastically. Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia,…

Swiss Identity

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