Swiss Identity

Tourist board prepares for another tough season

This content was published on Nov 5, 2002 Revealing their new season’s programme on Tuesday, tourist officials said they anticipated a further decline in hotel bookings, following this year’s projected five per cent fall. “Things should be slightly better this season, though,” reckoned Switzerland Tourism director Jurg Schmid. “We think there’ll be a fall of about one per cent in overnight hotel stays,…

Demographics

UNHCR attacks Swiss asylum vote

This content was published on Nov 5, 2002 Switzerland is later this month to vote on the party’s initiative, which would impose tough new restrictions on asylum seekers. The People’s Party proposal would prohibit asylum seekers from filing an application in Switzerland if they had passed through a so-called “safe” country first. Since Switzerland is surrounded by “safe” countries, the effect would be…

Demographics

Switzerland loses sparkle as diamond trading centre

This content was published on Nov 4, 2002 Last year, SFr2 billion ($1.4 billion) worth of uncut diamonds was traded in Switzerland – in the first seven months of this year, that figure had fallen to SFr7 million. Roland Vock of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said until last year, Switzerland was the third most important diamond trading centre after London and…

Culture

English comes first in eastern Switzerland

This content was published on Nov 3, 2002 Eight cantons have announced plans to teach English from the third grade, two years earlier than French which is one of the country’s official languages. Educational directors in eastern Switzerland decided English tuition should be moved forward by four years – currently English lessons start in the seventh grade. The move is likely to re-ignite…

Culture

Shoe show shines and doesn’t put a foot wrong

This content was published on Nov 1, 2002 Nearly 200 pairs of shoes are on display in the city’s museum of design and applied arts, and they range from haute couture creations to the downright weird. Even shoes which were not made to be worn adorn the exhibition, most notably Christine Crozat’s footwear made of chocolate. The aim of the exhibition is not…

Culture

Switzerland comes 15th in press freedom ranking

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 The survey said Swiss journalists were often under pressure to reveal their sources, and that editors faced demands by advertisers not to disclose information. The index of 139 countries ranked Switzerland well below Scandinavian countries but ahead of other democracies such as the United States. Finland scooped first place in the index, which was compiled…

Demographics

Swiss urged to set up human rights commission

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 He has called for a nationwide debate on whether a federal commission should be established to protect human rights within Switzerland. “We need to consider a national human rights institution,” Deiss told a human rights conference in Bern on Thursday. “Switzerland should not be allowed to become a blank spot on the map of Europe…

Culture

Bulova to cash in on “Swiss Made” label

This content was published on Oct 31, 2002 The 127-year-old firm says it will tap into Swiss watchmaking expertise and use the prestigious “Swiss Made” label to add impetus to its drive to go global. Fribourg will serve as a logistical centre while production will be contracted out to a handful of Swiss experts in the region. “Bulova is planning to go global…

Demographics

New calls to legalise thousands of illegal workers

This content was published on Oct 30, 2002 A leading organisation that supports illegal workers says that a blanket amnesty is the only way to resolve the controversial issue. The sans-papiers collective has also dismissed a pledge by the justice ministry to examine requests on a case-to-case basis as a ploy. The organisation claims that under the current system, only about 550 illegal…

Demographics

More Swiss bank money for Nazi victims

This content was published on Oct 30, 2002 The windfall comes thanks to interest earned on the $1.25 billion (SFr1.86 billion) that Swiss banks set aside in 1998 for victims of the Nazi era. Originally a settlement between Swiss banks and Jewish plaintiff groups, most of the cash – some $800 million – has been set aside for dormant accounts dating back to…

Swiss Identity

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