Swiss Politics

In the eyes of the al-Shorouk newspaper

This content was published on Jul 23, 2013 From the smaller of the two rooms, Randa attempts to organise the work and lives of 16 professional photographers. She is supervisor, friend, teacher, intermediary between publishers and photographers, and, in some cases, a substitute mother. Around ten male and female members of the photography team have gathered. The others are on assignment or at…

Swiss Politics

Interim head of US embassy named

This content was published on Jul 23, 2013 Cellars, who speaks German, Hungarian, and Serbo-Croatian, has spent much of his career in Europe and the Middle East. He served most recently as management counsellor in Belgrade, Serbia where he oversaw the move to a new embassy. He has also worked previously in the German foreign ministry as an exchange diplomat, followed by a…

Swiss Politics

German tax dodgers turn over new leaf

This content was published on Jul 22, 2013 The German authorities have been able to wave a big stick since purchasing a number of CDs purportedly containing sensitive Swiss bank client data. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is a case in point. Since 2010, it has purchased four such CDs for around €9 million (CHF11.12 million) – enough to convince nearly 9,000 people…

Swiss Politics

In Syria, balls are ‘in the air, but no juggler’

This content was published on Jul 21, 2013 Syria’s 28-month-old conflict began with peaceful protests that met a violent response from the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, gradually igniting an insurrection that has cost up to 100,000 lives. Now, one of the scenarios established at the end of June by the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based think tank which focuses on the…

Swiss Politics

Maurer slammed for Tiananmen Square comments

This content was published on Jul 19, 2013 Maurer, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency for 2013, was in Beijing two months after a Chinese state visit to Bern and two weeks after Switzerland and China signed a free trade agreement. He met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, saying he hoped to solidify the “strong level of development” between the two countries.…

Swiss Politics

Naturalisations continue to fall

This content was published on Jul 18, 2013 Also as in past years, the largest number of those naturalised in 2012 came from Italy, followed by Kosovo and Portugal. The number of Serbians who became Swiss declined 21 per cent over the previous year. Fewer people also put in applications for naturalisation, a number that’s been on the decline since 2009. In 2008,…

Swiss Politics

Alpine club hesitates between protection and promotion

This content was published on Jul 18, 2013 One hotly debated example is whether to allow heli-skiing – flying people in to remote mountain sites to enjoy pristine powder slopes. The SAC’s dilemma is neatly set out in its statutes: on the one hand, the club, “promotes mountain sports as an experience for a wider public”; on the other, it “lobbies for the…

Swiss Politics

‘The Alpine Club helped mould Swiss identity’

This content was published on Jul 18, 2013 “More than a Mountain Sport” — the motto chosen by the club to celebrate 150 years in existence is certainly appropriate. The club, founded 15 years after the birth of the modern federal Swiss state, has played an important role in forging a national identity, according to mountaineering specialist Anker. Anker has notably edited the…

Swiss Politics

Inheritance tax deal signed with France

This content was published on Jul 11, 2013 Under the accord signed in the French capital on Thursday, inheritances would be taxed based on where the recipient resides not where the deceased lived, as used to be the case. France, which taxes inheritance progressively up to 45 per cent, compared with Switzerland’s maximum of seven per cent, hopes the new agreement will make…

Swiss Politics

Silence and anger in the Alps

This content was published on Jul 11, 2013 Situated at nearly 2,000 metres’ altitude in the Lötschental valley in south-western Switzerland the site is accessible only via cable car or on foot in winter. The small mountain road is also closed for private traffic in summer, and guests need a special permit from the local authorities to drive up to their holiday homes.…

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