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Old December 16th, 2022 #222
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Banning Nazi salutes in Switzerland deemed legally complicated

Displaying a Nazi symbol or making a Nazi salute in public is not always a crime in Switzerland. The authorities now say it’s possible to ban such symbols or gestures but such a change would encounter “major legal and editorial obstacles”.

December 15, 2022

Switzerland has a certain tolerance when it comes to Nazi symbols and gestures. Nazi salutes and swastikas are banned only when used for propaganda purposes. Political efforts to scrap this distinction have been ongoing since 2003.

Majorities in government and parliament have so far judged freedom of expression to be more important, but the perception seems to be shiftingExternal link with a number of parliamentary motions and the Council of the Swiss Abroad calling for zero tolerance.

Initially hesitant, the government promised to look into the matter. On Thursday, the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) issuedExternal link a report on the legal options for a ban.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society...cated/48136812
 
Old December 17th, 2022 #223
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16 Dec, 2022 16:19 Home Business News

Switzerland joins latest EU sanctions against Russia


The ninth round of Ukraine-related penalties had earlier been adopted by the bloc

Switzerland has adopted the expanded anti-Russia sanctions, in line with the latest measures passed by the European Union, the Swiss Federal Council announced on Friday.

The announcement comes shortly after the European Council passed its ninth package of penalties over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. The new measures include export controls and restrictions on dual-use goods and technology, and on goods and technology that could be used in the defense and security sector.

The expanded penalties also include the blacklisting of 168 Russian enterprises, export bans on goods and technology related to the aviation and space sectors, imposition of an asset freeze on two more banks and the recalling of broadcasting licenses from several Russian media outlets.
https://www.rt.com/business/568393-s...-sanctions-eu/
 
Old January 20th, 2023 #224
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Swiss illegal immigration tripled last year but smuggling arrests fell


A total of 52,077 illegal immigrants are believed to have crossed Switzerland’s porous border

January 20, 2023
editor: REMIX NEWS author: THOMAS BROOKE



Illegal immigration into Switzerland almost tripled last year, according to statistics published on Thursday by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (OFDF).

The number of unlawful border crossings into the country has been on the rise in the last three years, jumping from 11,043 in 2020 to 18,859 in 2021, before skyrocketing last year to 52,077.

The substantial increase last year “is mainly due to the irregular entry of migrants into Switzerland via the eastern border as well as via the southern border,” the federal office stated, referring to its borders with Austria and Italy.

“The migrants who entered Switzerland illegally are mainly of Afghan and Moroccan nationality,” the OFDF added.

Many of those entering the country were in possession of an Austrian asylum procedure card, had been in Europe for some time, and were looking to travel on to France or the United Kingdom, according to information from border guards as cited by Swiss news outlet SWI.
https://rmx.news/switzerland/swiss-i...-arrests-fell/
 
Old January 26th, 2023 #225
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24 Jan, 2023 22:00 Home World News

Switzerland makes decision on weapons for Ukraine


Formerly neutral nation carves out a legal exemption for sending supplies to Kiev

The security policy committee of the parliament in Bern voted on Tuesday in favor of allowing third party countries to deliver Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine. Switzerland’s current laws prohibit such exports to countries involved in international conflict.

With 14 votes in favor and 11 against, the committee approved a motion to amend the War Materiel Act, so it would no longer require the declaration of non-reexport of EU countries that wish to supply Kiev with weapons. The motion proposes to suspend the requirement “in cases where there is a violation of the international ban on resorting to force, and specifically in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the committee said in a statement.

“A majority of the commission deemed that Switzerland should contribute to European security, which goes through more significant assistance to Ukraine,” the statement added.
https://www.rt.com/news/570438-swiss...xport-ukraine/
 
Old February 25th, 2023 #226
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25 Feb, 2023 15:00 Home World News

Moscow responds to claims of ‘secret’ talks on Ukraine


Switzerland is no longer fit to play a mediation role between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry says

Moscow has rejected claims by Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis that unannounced talks on resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have been taking place in Geneva.

He told Le Temps on Wednesday that “secret” negotiations between the two sides were underway on Swiss territory. The diplomat described those contacts as “non-high-level,” but stressed that Switzerland was also ready to provide a venue for contacts between top officials from Moscow and Kiev.

When addressed about the issue on Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova referred journalists to a comment made by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky the previous day.
https://www.rt.com/news/572062-switz...ukraine-talks/
 
Old March 6th, 2023 #227
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Cantons seek federal support to cope with wave of refugees


The rising number of refugees has strained resources in some cantons. Some are now calling on the federal government to provide more accommodation.

This content was published on March 5, 2023 - 18:25 March 5, 2023 - 18:25
Keystone-SDA/SonntagsZeitung/jdp

On Friday, cantonal authorities met with the head of the State Secretariat of Migration (SEM), Christine Schraner Burgener, to exchange views on how to meet the demand for accommodation for refugees.

“The SEM recognises the current situation in individual cantons is tense,” an SEM spokesperson told SonntagsZeitung. According to the paper, Schraner Burgener suggested that the federal government is prepared to stop allocating refugees to certain cantons upon request.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/cantons...ugees/48334028
 
Old March 10th, 2023 #228
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8 Mar, 2023 19:04 Home World News

Switzerland clarifies stance on military aid for Ukraine

Sanctions against Moscow remain "compatible with neutrality" but exporting arms to Kiev does not, Bern said

Swiss President Alain Berset has stressed that the Alpine country’s constitutional stance of neutrality forbids it from exporting arms to Ukraine during its conflict with Russia. However, he added that supporting Western sanctions against Moscow doesn’t contradict Switzerland’s neutrality.

"The discussion about the export of arms, weapons… while we have [our] legal framework in Switzerland, it is not possible to do it," Berset said to reporters on Tuesday following meetings at the United Nations.

Despite Switzerland not being an EU member state, Bern has adopted several of the European bloc’s sanctions targeting Russia. Berset met with Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky last week and emphasized his country’s "strong humanitarian commitment to Ukraine." Swiss lawmakers last month proposed a near-$140-million package designed to provide support in demining and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
https://www.rt.com/news/572654-switz...ns-neutrality/
 
Old March 27th, 2023 #229
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Regulator looks at possible steps against Credit Suisse top brass


Swiss financial market supervisory authority FINMA is investigating whether Credit Suisse top management can be held to account for the bank’s debacle, its president has told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

This content was published on March 26, 2023

"We are not a criminal authority, but we are exploring the possibilities," Marlene Amstad said in an interview published on Sunday, adding that it had not yet been decided whether to open new proceedings.

After the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, the focus will be on a transition phase to integrate Switzerland’s second bank into its leading one, and on financial stability, she told the paper. Capital and liquidity requirements for the new giant UBS bank are expected to grow gradually. "We can't require it by Monday. Some transitional periods are necessary. But the requirements will increase,” says Amstad.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/regulat...brass/48393422
 
Old April 3rd, 2023 #230
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Swiss regional elections favour conservative groups




Ahead of national elections this October, results from regional ballots in three of the 26 Swiss cantons on Sunday showed largely right-wing gains.

April 3, 2023

The ballots in Geneva, Lucerne, and Ticino marked the last political barometer before October’s national elections, which take place every four years.

In southwestern canton Geneva, a right-wing majority in parliament was strengthened, with the People’s Party – Switzerland’s biggest – notably making ground.

In the canton’s seven-member government, currently dominated by the left, unclear results mean a run-off election will be held on April 30.

The People’s Party were also the biggest winners in the central canton of Lucerne, at the expense of the Green Party and the Centre Party.

In southern canton Ticino, meanwhile, the division of government seats remained the same (a right-wing majority), with the counting of votes for the regional parliament to take place on Monday.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-r...roups/48413522
 
Old April 21st, 2023 #231
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Credit Suisse is impeding probe into Nazi bank accounts, US lawmakers say


BY GABE FRIEDMAN APRIL 19, 2023 5:32 PM



(JTA) — The U.S. Senate Budget Committee has accused Credit Suisse of impeding an investigation into former accounts at the bank that were held by Nazis, including many who fled to South American countries after World War II.

On Tuesday, the committee released two reports, one by an independent ombudsman the bank had hired to oversee the investigation and one by a forensic research team. The bank fired the ombudsman, American lawyer Neil Barofsky, in November, months into his investigation.

“Credit Suisse’s decision to stop its review midstream has left many questions unanswered, including questions about the thoroughness of its prior investigative efforts, the extent to which it served Nazi interests and the bank’s role in servicing Nazis fleeing justice after the war,” Barofsky wrote in his findings, according to reports.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senate committee’s ranking Republican, added in a statement on Tuesday: “When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard.”

Jewish organizations have long claimed that in addition to playing a key role in financially supporting Nazi Germany, Credit Suisse has held onto money looted from Jews long after the war. In 1999, the Swiss bank paid Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors a settlement of $1.25 billion in restitution for withholding money from Jews who had tried to withdraw their funds.
https://www.jta.org/2023/04/19/globa...-lawmakers-say





 
Old April 27th, 2023 #232
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Swiss NGO denounces imports of Russian gold




In February, Switzerland bought 18.9 tonnes of gold from Russia via the London precious metals market. Among them could be gold related to human rights violations. Keystone / Martin Ruetschi

Switzerland imported unprecedented amounts of gold from Russia in February this year, according to a Swiss NGO that is campaigning for greater transparency in the gold sector. That’s despite sanctions imposed because of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

This content was published on April 27, 2023
April 27, 2023

“Despite sanctions, Russian gold is entering Switzerland that may be linked to human rights violations in Sudan as well as co-financing the war of aggression against Ukraine, which is against international law,” said Christoph Wiedmer, co-director of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP).

In February, Switzerland bought 18.9 tonnes of gold from Russia via the London Precious Metals Market. Among them could be gold linked to human rights violations.

The NGO is concerned that the Russian gold ending up in Switzerland could include gold acquired by Yevgency Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s notorious Wagner Group. The paramilitary group has been crucial to Moscow’s foreign military campaigns, including in Ukraine and in Sudan, where violent clashes between two factions competing for power have triggered dramatic evacuations in recent days.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-n...-gold/48467632
 
Old May 2nd, 2023 #233
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Switzerland to erect first national memorial honoring Nazi victims


BY JACKIE HAJDENBERG APRIL 28, 2023 3:25 PM



A view of the Federal Palace in Bern. (Wikimedia Commons)

(JTA) — The Swiss government agreed Wednesday to help pay for the country’s first national memorial to honor the 6 million Jews and other victims of the Holocaust.

Long known for its reputation of neutrality during World War II, Switzerland has seen its image undercut in recent decades by revelations that major Swiss banks played a key role in financially supporting Nazi Germany. The decision to establish a Swiss national memorial is also notable because while there are about 60 private memorials spread throughout the country, there are no official federal sites to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime.

“The Federal Council considers it of great importance to keep alive the memory of the consequences of National Socialism, namely the Holocaust and the fate of the six million Jews and all other victims of the National Socialist regime,” a government statement said.

By establishing the memorial, Switzerland is “creating a strong symbol against genocide, antisemitism and racism, and for democracy, the rule of law, freedom and basic individual rights,” added the council, which acts as the government’s executive cabinet.
https://www.jta.org/2023/04/28/globa...g-nazi-victims
 
Old May 9th, 2023 #234
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Criminal proceedings filed against violations of Russia sanctions


Almost a quarter of Swiss cases investigated for violations of sanctions against Russia have been referred for criminal proceedings.

This content was published on May 8, 2023

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has investigated 130 alleged attempts to circumvent sanctions against Russia following its attack on Ukraine. According to the head of SECO, 29 cases have resulted in administrative criminal proceedings.
(...)
According to the SonntagsZeitung paper, the Russian central bank's assets in Switzerland amount to CHF10 billion. Official figures have not yet been released.

"We are trying to give a figure as soon as possible," said the head of SECO. The deadline for reporting expired in April.

In March, Switzerland followed the lead of the European Union and adopted the tenth sanctions package against Russia.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/crimina...tions/48494256
 
Old May 14th, 2023 #235
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Zurich school cancels ‘Gender Day’ after threats and attacks




A secondary school in Stäfa, canton Zurich, has cancelled its annual ‘Gender day’ after threats were aimed at school employees.

This content was published on May 12, 2023

The event has been held for ten years, but this year has fallen victim to increasingly heated discussions around gender issues.

On Thursday, the school released a statement announcing the cancellation of the event after staff members had received threats, reported various media including the Tages-Anzeiger

Criticism was also present on social media, including from prominent politicians. One of them, Andreas Glarner from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, tweeted to demand the dismissal of the entire school management.

Another parliamentarian from the People’s Party, Roger Köppel, said on his Weltwoche Daily video broadcast that the event was a “sexualisation of school lessons”.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/zurich-...tacks/48507754
 
Old June 14th, 2023 #236
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Two-thirds of immigrants want to stay in Switzerland


Almost two-thirds of people who move to Switzerland want to stay, according to an analysis by the Federal Statistical Office on international migration.

This content was published on June 12, 2023

This desire is particularly strong among people from European countries that do not belong to the EU, the Demos studyExternal link revealed on Monday. The data on migration has been gathered since 1998.

In 2022, 41% of the permanent resident population aged 15 or over and born abroad said they had migrated to Switzerland for family reasons and 37% said they had come for professional reasons, the statistical office said. The next two most frequently cited reasons were asylum (6%) and studies (4%).

Men more often gave their job as the reason and women their family. For people from EU and EFTA states, their job was also frequently the reason, while for other groups of countries the main reason was family reunification.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/two-thi...rland/48583020
 
Old June 28th, 2023 #237
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Swiss climate activist left red-faced after being caught flying from Zurich to Mexico weeks after blocking motorways to save the planet


Max Voegtli was heavily criticized for taking a short-haul flight to the French capital before embarking on a two-month vacation in Central America

June 26, 2023
editor: REMIX NEWS author: THOMAS BROOKE

A prominent Swiss climate activist who has participated in numerous blockades of major transit routes across the country to save the planet has been vilified after flying from Zurich to Paris and then to Mexico to travel for two months.

Max Voegtli, a member of Renovate Switzerland, was spotted on the short-haul flight to the French capital, which typically takes around one hour and 20 minutes. Renovate is an environmental activist group that has blocked highways across the country and the Gotthard Tunnel, a railway connecting the southern Italian-speaking Ticino region to the south of the Alps with the German-speaking north.

“I flew from Zurich to Paris today. And guess who was on board? Max Voegtli from Renovate,” a passenger on the flight told the Swiss German-language newspaper, Blick.

The 30-year-old activist received widespread criticism for his perceived hypocrisy for what was claimed to be an unnecessary use of a mode of travel that produces significantly more carbon emissions than other more environmentally friendly alternatives such as rail.
https://rmx.news/environment/swiss-c...ve-the-planet/
 
Old July 28th, 2023 #238
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Why Zurich cemetery devotes section to LGBTQ community


Many people want to remain close to their loved ones after death. This is also true for members of the LGBTQ community. Soon they will have their own burial ground in Zurich.

July 26, 2023 - 09:00
Kaoru Uda

When you enter the Sihlfeld Cemetery, you are greeted by a tree-lined boulevard. All that can be heard is the rustling of branches swaying in the wind and the chirping of birds. It is easy to forget one is within the noisy city centre of Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city.

In a small corner of the largest public cemetery in the city, which covers an area of 280,000 square metres, a section for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning and/or queer) people is being carved out. Backers of the project see this as an act of affirmation rather than segretation.

The Rainbow Rest project was launched in February last year by several queer organisations keen to provide a final resting place for people from the LGBTQ community.

The first in Switzerland

Sihlfeld’s graveyard for LGBTQ people is the first of its kind in Switzerland.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/why-zur...unity/48684588
 
Old September 9th, 2023 #239
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Climate strikes: Greta Thunberg influenced third of Swiss population




Some 30% of Swiss people have changed their everyday habits because of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s “Fridays for Future” movement, according to a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).

This content was published on September 8, 2023 - 08:27

It examined the effects of the first climate strikes in Switzerland. The results showed “that people have become more aware of how their behaviour affects the environment”, wrote the lead author of the study, Livia Fritz, in the latest issue of the journal Sustainability Science.

According to the study, most of the perceived changes concerned transport, buying habits and recycling. For example, about a third of the respondents said they were now more likely to look for alternatives to driving to work. They would also look for local organic products, eat more vegetarian meals and choose holiday destinations closer to home so they do not have to fly.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/climate...ation/48795604
 
Old September 12th, 2023 #240
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Senate puts brake on Foreigners Law


The relaxation of Switzerland’s Foreigners and Integration Law, which has been approved in principle by parliament, is once again in limbo. The Senate has changed its opinion on the bill and wants to send it back to the government for revision.

This content was published on September 12, 2023 - 10:14

As recently as June the Senate had supported the bill, which is intended to contribute to the fight against the shortage of skilled workers. The House of Representatives had already approved it in March.

With this bill, the government wants to make it easier for people from non-EU and non-EFTA countries to obtain a work permit if they have a Swiss qualification at a higher level of education. These people must work in an industry with a shortage of skilled workers.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/senate-...s-law/48804624
 
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