Новости за 13.11.2018

Switzerland has been slammed for its conservative approach when it comes to protecting the rights of stateless individuals.   In Europe, Switzerland remains particularly restrictive with regards to applying the rights granted internationally to stateless persons – those who do not belong to any nationality.  This attitude is documented in an unprecedented study conducted by the Swiss office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).  UNHCR found that in Switzerland sovereignty takes precedence... Читать дальше...

Switzerland has been slammed for its conservative approach when it comes to protecting the rights of stateless individuals.   In Europe, Switzerland remains particularly restrictive with regards to applying the rights granted internationally to stateless persons – those who do not belong to any nationality.  This attitude is documented in an unprecedented study conducted by the Swiss office of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).  UNHCR found that in Switzerland sovereignty takes precedence... Читать дальше...

After the Second World War, Josef Mengele – a war criminal and the man behind experiments on human beings at the Auschwitz concentration camp - fled to South America. There he managed to hide and escape justice until his death. However, he returned to Europe once as a tourist - and came to Switzerland. Josef Mengele decided who was 'fit' to be put to work in the concentration camp and who would be put to death in the gas chambers. As the camp doctor from May 1943, he performed cruel experiments... Читать дальше...

Moscow will not send a delegation to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in the Swiss resort of Davos if prominent Russian businessmen are barred from the elite gathering, as press reports have suggested “If decisions taken concerning Russian businessmen are not changed, we will have to decide to refuse the participation of Russian companies and officials to the Davos forum,” Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said in Sicily.  Medvedev, who was quoted by Russian news agencies, was... Читать дальше...

Known for its brash posters the political right has surprised the public with unusually plain and sober designs ahead of the vote about the ‘Swiss law first’ initiative. At the same time, it’s their opponents who have resorted to more populist and spectacular imagery and events. It is a calculated and thought-out strategy on both sides. The visual appearance of the campaign ahead of the November 25 vote about giving the Swiss constitution priority over international law is not what the general public expected to get. Читать дальше...

Television is the most influential medium when it comes to shaping opinion in Switzerland, according to a new media monitoring website.  While the Swiss have plenty of media channels to keep informed, they tend to forge their opinions from television more than print, radio and online media. The findings on Swiss media are available on www.monitoring-medias-suisse.ch, a website launched on Tuesday. They are based on a study carried out by Publicom on behalf of the Federal Office of Communication. Читать дальше...

The president of the Swiss insurance firm Visana, Urs Roth, took his own life on Monday, the firm has announced. In recent years, several top Swiss executives have killed themselves.  “It is with great sadness that we inform you about the death of our Chairman of the Executive Board, Mr. Urs Roth, who took his own life yesterday," Visana said in a brief statement. Without any further explanations, the Bern group said it extended its condolences to Roth’s family and friends and said his deputy... Читать дальше...

The president of the Swiss insurance firm Visana, Urs Roth, committed suicide on Monday, the firm has announced. In recent years, several top Swiss executives have taken their lives.  “It is with great sadness that we inform you about the death of our Chairman of the Executive Board, Mr. Urs Roth, who took his own life yesterday," Visana said in a brief statement. Without any further explanations, the Bern group said it extended its condolences to Roth’s family and friends and said his deputy... Читать дальше...

Climate change is driving Switzerland towards drier and warmer weather with more rainfall but less snow. These are the scenarios unveiled on Tuesday by experts from MeteoSwiss, ETH Zurich and the University of Bern. "We must prepare for and adapt to climate change," said Andreas Fischer, project manager for climate scenarios CH2018 at MeteoSwiss in Zurich. The climate forecasts form the basis of the federal climate change adaptation strategy. These new scenarios confirm and clarify the image... Читать дальше...

How much snooping is allowed by insurance investigators? On November 25 the Swiss people will decide in a vote!

A mobile phone app introduced earlier this year has enabled the Zurich City Police to produce figures for the first time on the number of people they stop, along with the reasons.  Zurich is the first city in Switzerland to introduce the app, which was developed partly in response to some allegations of racial profiling.  All city police officers have been equipped with the app since February. If they check a person, they have to input the reason and state whether the action was successful or not... Читать дальше...

A defence ministry audit report has found extravagant use of public funds by Swiss army officers, including helicopter rides and free golf lessons for officers’ wives. Defence Minister Guy Parmelin said measures have already been introduced to stop such “excesses” in the future.  On Monday, the Tamedia news group and La Liberté newspaper revealed details of the audit report and army investigations into officers’ expenses. They said it found that in June 2017, the wives and partners of 18 top officers... Читать дальше...

Armin Capaul, the farmer behind the nationwide vote on November 25 to save Swiss cow horns, has often claimed that cows need horns to communicate. Is he right?  A study between May 2013 and April 2016 by the Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, a branch of the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), looked into the relevance of horn status in dairy cows.  The project, which was also carried out by Agroscope, the Swiss federal centre for agricultural research, had no connection to the cow horn initiative. Читать дальше...

Swiss start-up investor Daniel Gutenberg, who has earned a reputation for picking the right technology companies, believes the emerging blockchain industry is several years away from attracting traditional venture capital. In an interview with swissinfo.ch, Gutenberg said blockchain needs time to realise its undoubted potential to produce the next generation of technology giants – known as “unicorns”. At present, many start-ups are funded via crowd investing schemes known as initial coin offerings (ICOs). Читать дальше...

Next year, Swiss authorities will put one of the country’s two e-voting systems up for attack by hackers – with a prize on offer for those who break it. The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), a strong backer of online voting, has welcomed the confidence test. The test, organised jointly by federal and regional authorities, will take place over four weeks sometime in spring 2019, the NZZ am Sonntag reports.  According to the newspaper, the Federal Chancellery has a budget of some CHF250,000... Читать дальше...