The World Bank estimates CHF 440 billion (US$ 486 billion) will be needed to rebuild Ukraine. Switzerland has so far spent around CHF 3 billion helping Ukraine and its residents since the Russian attack began. This week, the Federal Council announced a plan to provide a further CHF 5 billion to rebuild the country between […]
Swiss court makes asylum harder for Afghan refugee women
Since western forces withdrew from Afghanistan life has become increasingly difficult many living there, especially women, who are subjected to a strict dress code and restrictive rules that prevent them from studying, working and travelling alone. These restrictions make it very difficult for women to travel. Asylum in Switzerland can only be sought on arrival, […]
Number of Swiss abroad continues to rise
At the end of 2023, there were 813,400 Swiss citizens living outside Switzerland, more than 11% of the total – 6.5 million citizens lived in Switzerland in 2022. The number of Swiss abroad rose by 13,400 or 1.7% during 2023. Most of the 813,400 lived in Europe (64%), with 26% of total citizens abroad living […]
EU nations approve new negotiations with Switzerland
This week, the European Commission was given a green light to negotiate a new deal with Switzerland, reported RTS. The start of negotiations requires the approval of all EU members. On 12 March 2024, they all agreed. The European Commission, the EU’s governing body, said on Tuesday that it had formal permission to open discussions […]
Swiss government wants 5-year Hamas ban
This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council said it wants to ban the Islamist Palestinian organisation Hamas for a period of five years, reported RTS. The Federal Council sent a draft bill for a ban for consultation. The ban also includes affiliated and successor organisations to Hamas, as well as organisations and groups that act on behalf of […]
European court rules Swiss police engaged in racial profiling
In 2015, a Swiss man with Kenyan roots was stopped by the police at Zurich train station and asked for identification. He refused to provide it and was fined CHF 150 for not complying. What exactly happened or went on in the minds of those involved is unclear. The man who was stopped, a librarian […]
Swiss supercomputer aims to make AI open to all
Much of the progress being made in AI is captured within private companies aiming to keep it to themselves in order to profit from it. Open AI, a project started as an open-source non-profit has morphed into a largely closed-source profit-maximising project increasingly integrated into the software company Microsoft. Many see open-source as critical to […]
Serious acts of anti-semitism rise 7-fold in French-speaking Switzerland
Anti-Semitic incidents increased by 68% in French-speaking Switzerland last year, according to CICAD, an organisation dedicated to fighting anti-semitism. The number of serious attacks in 2023 was seven times the number in 2022. Almost half of these acts occurred after the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel. During 2023, the Intercommunal Coordination Office against Anti-Semitism […]
Man shot dead during hostage incident in Switzerland
On 8 February 2023, a man armed with an axe, a hammer and a knife held 13 people hostage on a train near the Swiss town of Yverdon-les-Bains, reported RTS. The man, an asylum seeker from Iran, was initially tasered by police as he ran towards them armed. After failing to stop he was fatally […]
Work, housing, crime, culture – Switzerland’s best and worst cities
Recently published data from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) rank Switzerland’s cities on various aspects related to quality of life, reported RTS. Quality of life depends on what someone finds important. So the survey does not attempt to come up with a single rating. Instead it ranks Switzerland’s cities across a number of categories. The […]
