Swissness, illegal immigrants and the terminally ill

Here are the stories we’re following the week of July 11.

Monday

We take an in-depth look at why Switzerland is behind in the field of palliative care, looking after the terminally ill and their families. The Swiss appear to have greater awareness of curative treatment, acute care and assisted suicide as end of life options.

Swiss President Joha Schneider-Amma is starting a tour of three Asian countries. He begins in Singapore on Monday, before travelling to South Korea, and then to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. Switzerland has been working hard to develop stronger ties with Asia in recent years.

Tuesday

A Swiss dentist has made it a labour of love to document life-size terracotta statues from rural Indian traditions that could soon disappear. We talk to Stephan Gottet about his passion for India’s vanishing village folk traditions.

Wednesday

Thousands of people dream of one day living and working in Switzerland, whatever the cost. We meet a couple of the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to find out how they get by in one of the most expensive countries in the world. Around 60,000 people are thought to work illegally, half in private homes.

Thursday

Lots of people in Switzerland, especially businesses, talk about ‘Swissness’. But what does it mean and how much added value does it bring? Experts from St Gallen University have been delving into the issue and are presenting their latest report on the value of Swiss brands.

Friday

We’ll introduce you to Andy Yen, a particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, who has created ProtonMail, a secure email encryption application. He claims it’s a foolproof way of keeping your emails safe from the prying eyes of govements and hackers.

What you may have missed last week:

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