Switzerland News in English - Expat Guide to Switzerland

June 14, 2021

Chinese minorities targeted in organ harvesting: UN rights experts

UN rights experts said Monday they had “credible information” that detainees from minority communities in China may be being subjected to forced organ harvesting, a claim fiercely rejected by Beijing. The 12 independent experts, who are mandated by the United…

June 14, 2021

WHO warns virus quicker than vaccines after G7 doses pledge

The WHO warned Monday that Covid-19 was moving faster than the vaccines, and said the G7’s vow to share a billion doses with poorer nations was simply not enough. Global health leaders also warned the pledge was too little, too…

June 14, 2021

Five die in plane, glider crashes in Swiss Alps

Five people died when a glider and a small plane crashed in the Swiss Alps at the weekend, police said Monday, adding that they were investigating whether the two accidents were linked. A small plane with the pilot and three…

June 14, 2021

Swiss women take to the streets to demand equal rights

Thousands of women took part in protests across Switzerland on Monday demanding greater equality between the sexes. Over 40 different protests took place in Swiss towns and cities, including Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Lucerne, Lausanne, Fribourg and Neuchâtel. Purple was again…

June 14, 2021

US-Russia summits then and now: High tensions, mixed results

Like the two previous encounters between American and Soviet leaders in Geneva in 1955 and 1985, the upcoming summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin may simply serve to keep one important option open: diplomacy. This week’s summit is, in the…

June 14, 2021

G7 pandemic pledges not nearly enough: global health leaders

The G7’s vow to share a billion Covid vaccine doses with poorer nations is too little too late, according to the WHO and global health leaders, as experts warned Monday more than 11 billion shots are needed. Faced with outrage…

June 14, 2021

UN torture rapporteur wades into ‘Carlos’ case

Nils Melzer, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, has written to the Swiss government to complain about the treatment of the violent repeat offender known as “Carlos”. Humanitarian law specialist Melzer, who is Swiss, wrote to the foreign ministry to ask that Carlos’ conditions be eased. The prisoner is…

June 14, 2021

World basketball head steps aside amid sexual abuse investigation

The president of the Swiss-based International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Hamane Niang, has stepped aside from his job during an investigation into allegations of systemic sexual abuse of women players at his home federation. Hamane Niang “strongly denies” claims that he…

June 14, 2021

‘Green, but not too green’: press reacts to CO2 law failure

For the Swiss press, Sunday’s ballot box defeat of a proposed climate law is largely down to thrifty voters, as well as a growing urban-rural divide. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) writes that citizens voted “with their wallets” on Sunday,…