20 Minuten. The Mayor of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Stephan Rawyler, wants to merge all 26 communes in the canton of Schaffhausen into a single municipality. If the proposal is implemented Scahaffhausen would become the first Swiss canton to have only one municipality. The idea however, has not gone down well with some local residents and […]
FIFA’s Blatter resigns
On 2 June 2015 Sepp Blatter resigned as president of FIFA only four days after re-election. Mr. Blatter said “I have been reflecting deeply about my presidency and about the forty years in which my life has been inextricably bound to FIFA and the great sport of football. I cherish FIFA more than anything and […]
FIFA arrests in Zurich hotel raid change tone of presidency vote
According to the New York Times plain-clothed Swiss police officers arrived unannounced at the five star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich where FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) officials were staying. The officers went to the officials’ rooms to arrest them. The operation was carried out peacefully. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) […]
Swiss Bishop says homosexuals can be cured
Homosexuality can be cured according to the Bishop of Sion, who was interviewed this week by the Swiss newspaper La Nouvelliste in Sion, a town in Valais, one of the main Swiss winter resort regions of Switzerland. The Catholic Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey said that being gay was a weakness of nature. And because someone is […]
Swiss based Nepalese stand together during the Lausanne Carnaval
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on 25th of April at 11.56 a.m. local time had its epicenter in Gorkha. The one that struck on 12th of May at 12.50 local time had a magnitude of 7.3 and was centred southeast of Kodari (Sindhupalchowk District), 76 km northeast of Kathmandu. These two earthquakes created […]
Switzerland could now lead the world on whistleblowing rules
The Swiss government was on track to pass whistleblowing legislation that could have harmed whistleblowers, however on 5 May 2015 something extraordinary occurred. Dr. Yasmine Motarjemi and Alison Glick explain how Switzerland now has a chance to lead the world on the rules surrounding whistleblowing. On 5 May 2015 the Swiss National Council referred the […]
Switzerland: heavy drinking linked to education among women
On 12 May 2015 the OECD released its report on OECD alcohol consumption. Over the last 20 years alcohol consumption has declined slightly in the OECD, however this total masks growth trends among women and young people. It appears that men are on average consuming less. Wealthier, better educated people also drink more than average […]
Swiss People’s Party (UDC) leaders found guilty of racism
According to RTS, the secretary general of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC), Martin Baltisser and his substitute Silvia Bar, were found guilty of racism at Bern’s regional tribunal on 30 April 2015. The affair started when posters carrying the slogan: “Kosovars stab Swiss!” in German were posted as part of a campaign to stop mass […]
Swiss bishop (kind of) backs down over gay marriage
In 2014 a Swiss bishop caused a stir when he demanded the resignation of a priest who had married two gay women. Wendelin Buchli, the Catholic priest in the village of Burglen in the canton of Uri, Switzerland was ordered to quit in February 2015 by Vitus Huonder, the highly conservative bishop of Chur, a […]
Nepal earthquake: don’t forget those in the countryside
The Nepal earthquake was devastating. Up to 80 percent of buildings are believed to have collapsed. Many dead and injured will be in remote areas of the countryside. Julien Bettler of the Lausanne based Himalayan NGO Norlha reminds the world not to forget the people in the countryside and talks of the crucial importance of […]
