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... Print comment Reuse article See in other languages: 3 See in other languages: 3 Languages: 3 Keeping animals in small cages for fur production is baed in Switzerland.(Sylvain Cordier/Biosphoto/AFP...

... Print comment Reuse article See in another language: 1 See in another language: 1 Languages: 1 laura g 1 Laura Gibilras swissinfo.ch: You were bo in Italy as a Swiss abroad. Does someone ...

The constitution calls for every effort to be made to care for and integrate people with disabilities into society, like this group of girls.(Keystone) People with disabilities and placed under f...

There is always plenty of debate in Switzerland, with sometimes surprising results. (Keystone) In Switzerland, voters determine how much should be paid in taxes, and how those taxes should be used. Isn’t this asking for trouble? Switzerland is a strange nation. The people are handed the chance to increase their aual leave to six weeks on a silver platter, and what do they do? They decline!...

Inteational Alertworks with young people in neighbourhoods near Tunis to promote local govement participation and workforce development (swissinfo.ch) Urban working-class areas around the Tunisian capital, Tunis, have a reputation as breeding grounds for crime and religious extremism. Swi...

Swiss Parliament has just increased the retirement age for women to 65 years, up from 64. This may be just a first step, since parliament has for several years mentioned the possibility of raising retirement age to 67 years for both sexes. For some, the increase in life expectancy justifies these in...

Workers lay reinforcement steel in a tuel between Bellinzona and Lugano.(Keystone)From baker to banker, Swiss workers ea salaries that must be put into perspective.Like anywhere in the world, salaries in Switzerland vary depending on factors like education, experience and location. Each year, ca...

The proportion of under-25s getting their licence in Geneva has fallen from 75% 15 years ago to 65%, according to mobility specialist Vincent Kaufma(Keystone)Geneva attracts global attention for its motor show currently underway, but fewer and fewer young adults in Geneva itself are showing an int...

Campaigners celebrate the rejection in 2016 of a controversial initiative to deport foreigners who commit certain crimes(Keystone)The more options people are given to participate politically, the happier they are, according to scientific research. So shouldn’t every country introduce Swiss-style dir...

Assad has said that taking the city of Aleppo from rebel forces would act as a springboard to 'push terrorists back to Turkey’ (AFP) Syria's President Bashar al-Assad told Swiss public television, SRF, that fighting ‘terrorists’ in Aleppo was the only way of ‘protecting civilians’. He denied govement forces bombed hospitals indiscriminately and dismissed allegations of the army’s use of chemical weapons. “According to the constitution, according to the law, we have to protect people, we have to get rid of those terrorists from Aleppo. This is where we can protect the civilians,” Assad told SRF in the interview broadcast on Wednesday. "How can you protect them while they are under the con...

We often get asked who our audience is at swissinfo.ch. Well, we’re aimed at an inteational community who are interested in Switzerland, and Swiss citizens living abroad. To know our readers better, we asked our fans on Facebook to tell us who they are and what their coection to Switzerland is. Here’s three people who shared their stories of their interest in Switzerland and why swissinfo.ch matters to them. David, Mexico: "Leaing to ski changed my life!" (Courtesy of David Martinez ) “I was bo in Mexico City in 1958. Actually I live in Monterrey, the third largest city of Mexico, located 200 km away from the US Border. I am married and I have three sons: David Alejandro, 24; Daniel And...

Battle of the generations? Actually political ideology seems to be more important when deciding whether to increase pension payments (Keystone) Why would you vote against something from which you would benefit – or vote in favour of something that you would have to pay for but not benefit from? An upcoming people’s initiative on raising pension payments by 10% has raised questions about the role of personal and national interests in direct democracy. There have been several initiatives and referendums over the years in which the Swiss appear to vote against their own interests, rejecting for example a lower retirement age, an unconditional basic income and extra holiday. Incredulous fore...

These are the top stories we're following in the week starting September 12. (Keystone) Monday With Swiss voters poised to decide on a people’s initiative promoting a greener economy, swissinfo.ch tests the oft-quoted maxim that Switzerland is world champion of recycling. We check the facts and put the claim to the test. (Keystone) Tuesday Researchers from the University of Neuchatel will present the findings of a co-produced survey into the social media performances of US Presidential election candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. Which candidate attracted the most online users and whose was the most effective? (Keystone) Tuesday To non-climbers, it can seem counter-intu...

Surrein is the last Swiss village without streetlights (Keystone) Direct democracy kept the people of one Swiss alpine village in the dark for over 40 years. What made them finally see the light? There could be someone standing just in front of me, but if there is I can't see them. The night in the village of Surrein is pitch black. There are only a couple of tiny orange-tinged lights blinking in the distance - waing lantes from a construction site. Otherwise, it's dark. Silent too, except for the gentle gurgling of the river ruing through the valley. Surrein, population 250, is the last Swiss village without streetlights. But this will soon change, bringing the place and its people into...

The 150 members of the Swiss Youth Parliament voted in the spring in favour of a national youth parliament. (Colin Bieri) Moves are afoot to create a new national youth parliament in Switzerland. The time has come to empower young people in politics, arguesJonas Hirschi, head of a new group for the Swiss Federation of Youth Parliaments. By Jonas Hirschi In Switzerland there are 66 youth parliaments at the local and cantonal level. Although in many cases they are organised differently, they have a common denominator: engagement by young people for young people on political themes and for causes that are of conce to the young. At the national level, a comparable institutionalised f...

A painting depicting "The Gotthard Post" (1873) by Rudolf Koller (Keystone) Politics is full of contradictions. An initiative aimed at strengthening and even expanding public services was worded in such a way that the opposite was to be feared: a further thiing of services, a reduction in mountainous regions and privatization. The Swiss have done an about-face on voting day by clearly rejecting the ‘Pro Public Services” initiative. As the initiative’s delighted opponents noted, following the high approval rating in the first opinion poll, the Swiss people then fortunately “noticed” that it would have led to a backwards step into the 1990s; to a weakening of public services and ultimatel...

Long experience as a politician and parliamentarian: For 20 years Gross represented Switzerland in the Council of Europe, promoting democracy and human rights. He also sat in the Swiss parliament until the end of last year (Keystone) Andreas Gross is a renowned expert on direct democracy and one of a kind: He may be the only Swiss citizen who has practical experience as a grassroots activist who launched people’s initiatives and organised campaigns, as a member of local, national and European parliaments and as a researcher and author on the subject of people’s power. Having dedicated most of his professional life to issues of participatory democracy, the 63-year old trained political s...

Apr 30, 2016 - 11:00An imposing castle, an ordinary multi-purpose building, a compact skyscraper, a mode cube – Swiss city halls are highly varied in their appearance and history. But all fulfill their purpose as an interface between citizens and the authorities. Switzerland couldn’t function without them.Be City Hall, dating from the 15th century, was once the seat of the Be elite. Here, behind the thick sandstone walls, the councillors - all rich and from the nobility - sat together and made decisions about their subjects. Then Napoleon came and ended the regime. Nowadays this former symbol of lack of freedom and oppression is the building where a democratically-elected local parliament de...