Swiss Identity

Swiss orders arrest of Iranian ex-minister

This content was published on Apr 9, 2006 Ali Fallahian is charged with masterminding the assassination of Kazem Rajavi, a renowned human rights advocate, near Geneva in April 1990. According to a report in Lausanne-based newspaper Le Matin Dimanche, the international arrest warrant was issued by Swiss investigating magistrate Jacques Antenen on March 20. It called on law enforcement agencies to arrest Fallahian…

History

Should the Swiss Papal Guard be abolished?

This content was published on Apr 9, 2006 As the Swiss Guard marks its 500th anniversary, Neirynck calls for its modernisation. He says that the pope’s security could be guaranteed in other ways. The Swiss Papal Guard is small army of Swiss men tasked with protecting the pope – a duty they have performed for five centuries. Soldiers carry ancient halberds – a…

History

Swiss translation shows Judas in a positive light

This content was published on Apr 7, 2006 The 1,700-year-old copy of the “Gospel of Judas” contends that the most vilified man in Christendom understood Jesus better than any of the other disciples. An English translation by Rodolphe Kasser, one of the world’s leading Coptic scholars, was unveiled by the National Geographic Society, and the papyrus manuscript went on display at the society’s…

Culture

Nostalgic adventures in the Bernese Oberland

This content was published on Apr 7, 2006 Alpine villages like Grindelwald became popular with early British mountaineers seeking to conquer the region’s 4,000 metre summits, and it was a British gentleman who developed alpine skiing into a competitive sport at the nearby resort of Mürren. The writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, put Meiringen on the map when he tried to kill off…

Demographics

Switzerland helps Ukraine update its prisons

This content was published on Apr 7, 2006 It’s a tribute to the alpine country, which helped to turn this old-fashioned penitentiary into a model prison. Before 1997 there was little to distinguish Bila Tserkva from other Ukrainian correctional centres. There were 120 prisoners to a cell. Most of the rooms were dark and dingy, and inmates were confined to their cells for…

Education

Swiss projects give hope to Roma children

This content was published on Apr 7, 2006 The primary school in the Transcarpathian town of Mukachevo is popular among Roma children in the area, and in 2004 sent a record number of its pupils to technical colleges. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has helped to turn the crumbling building into a warm and cheerful retreat for children from the…

Demographics

New foreigner and asylum laws challenged

This content was published on Apr 6, 2006 A coalition of leftwing parties, churches and charities handed in more than 160,000 signatures against the laws to the Federal Chancellery on Thursday. The number of signatures collected in both cases was far above the required 50,000 to force a referendum: 121,794 were gathered against the asylum law and 74,246 against the foreigners legislation. This…

Culture

Roman Schwaller Sextet: The Thurgovian Suite

This content was published on Apr 6, 2006

Education

Universities need to improve teaching

This content was published on Apr 6, 2006 The fifth annual swissUp ranking shows that biology, medicine and dentistry courses are particularly appreciated. The snapshot of Swiss tertiary institutions includes the country’s technical universities, the eight public universities and the two federal institutes of technology, covering 11 subject areas. The results show some contradictions. While students complain about a lack of interaction with…

Culture

Switzerland in pictures

This content was published on Apr 5, 2006

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Swiss Identity

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Swiss orders arrest of Iranian ex-minister

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Should the Swiss Papal Guard be abolished?

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Swiss translation shows Judas in a positive light

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Nostalgic adventures in the Bernese Oberland

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Switzerland helps Ukraine update its prisons

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Swiss projects give hope to Roma children

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New foreigner and asylum laws challenged

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Roman Schwaller Sextet: The Thurgovian Suite

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Universities need to improve teaching

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Switzerland in pictures

Popular Stories

Most Discussed