Swiss Identity

Divorce rate rises sharply

This content was published on Dec 25, 2005 Furthermore, there were 6.8 per cent more divorces in 2004 than in the previous year, more than twice the average rate for the 1990s (3.2 per cent). The risk of a marriage ending in divorce has risen from 15 per cent in 1970 to 44 per cent in 2004, said the office in its 2005…

Christmas presents a moveable feast

This content was published on Dec 25, 2005 With its trees, lights and presents, it is a tradition that combines Jewish religion (Christ’s birth), Nordic culture (trees and Santa Claus) and Roman influence (December 25 and light). swissinfo: The Christian Christmas falls around the same time as more ancient feast days – those of the Roman Saturnalia and the “Sol Invictus” of the…

Demographics

Ski season gets off to a good start

This content was published on Dec 24, 2005 Many have reported that they are fully booked over the holiday period – and are hoping that the trend will continue. In the canton of Vaud, in western Switzerland, the tourism authorities have announced that 98 per cent of the hotels and apartments have been reserved over Christmas and New Year. The snow conditions are…

History

Schools seek to broaden religious education

This content was published on Dec 24, 2005 Canton Obwalden is a case in point. In 2005 it introduced “Religion and Ethics” into its school curriculum, to be taught not by religious instructors but by regular teachers. The federal constitution guarantees freedom of religion and conscience, and no one can be forced to attend lessons on religion. But the country’s federal system does…

Demographics

ICRC stretched to the limit in 2005

This content was published on Dec 23, 2005 Pierre Krähenbühl said natural disasters, armed conflicts and visits to around 2,400 prisons in nearly 80 countries had prompted a record response from the Swiss-run organisation. swissinfo: It has been a terrible year in terms of humanitarian disasters – the aftermath of the tsunami, famine in Africa, the continuing crisis in Darfur, Hurricane Katrina, the…

Demographics

Swiss aid to Sri Lanka focuses on the future

This content was published on Dec 23, 2005 Bernardino Regazzoni says the Swiss government and charities are working closely together in often challenging conditions to give thousands of families a new start. Switzerland has so far donated SFr10.5 million ($8.1 million) for emergency and reconstruction programmes in Sri Lanka. Its aid efforts are coordinated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)…

Demographics

“Look, the sea is coming towards us”

This content was published on Dec 23, 2005 The 68-year-old Tamil widow lost her daughter Arulranjini Pasiltha in the wave, as well as her house and most of her belongings. She currently lives in the Thallaiyadi transit camp in a temporary shelter. “I was in the front of the house, washing up the kitchen utensils. Then my daughter ran in and said, ‘Mum,…

Culture

Exhibition takes a peek under Santa’s beard

This content was published on Dec 23, 2005 Chosen from the Museum of Ethnology’s collection of over 100,000 objects, “Santa Claus & Co.” offers a mine of information on Santa’s often forgotten origins. A Christmas season today is unimaginable without seeing Santa dressed in a red robe with white fur edgings. Impossible to avoid, he grins out from almost every second shop window,…

Demographics

Coalition criticises “inhumane” asylum law

This content was published on Dec 21, 2005 The coalition says the revisions breach the 1951 Geneva refugee convention and violate international law. Under the new laws, rejected asylum seekers would no longer receive social welfare payments and could be detained for up to 18 months before deportation. “The revised asylum law is a law against asylum,” said Daniel Bolomey, head of the…

Demographics

Ackermann must face Mannesmann retrial

This content was published on Dec 21, 2005 The German Federal Court of Justice accepted a request on Wednesday by prosecutors in Düsseldorf who had called for Josef Ackermann and his co-defendants to stand trial again. A retrial will subject Deutsche Bank to the disruption of having its chief executive attending court sessions while also running the country’s largest bank. It could also…

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Swiss Identity

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Divorce rate rises sharply

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Christmas presents a moveable feast

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Ski season gets off to a good start

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Schools seek to broaden religious education

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ICRC stretched to the limit in 2005

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Swiss aid to Sri Lanka focuses on the future

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“Look, the sea is coming towards us”

More

Exhibition takes a peek under Santa’s beard

More

Coalition criticises “inhumane” asylum law

More

Ackermann must face Mannesmann retrial

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