Turning off African migrants

Switzerland is funding a bleak anti-migration television campaign in Africa to discourage would-be migrants from trying to seek their fortunes in Europe. The hard-hitting advert, which has been aired on prime-time television in Cameroon and Nigeria, depicts the life of freshly arrived migrants in Europe as one fraught with problems and dangers. In the film [...]

Swiss witch could be rehabilitated

The last witch to be executed in Europe, Anna Göldi (or Göldin) could be rehabilitated. Members of canton Glarus‘ parliament have voted the measure despite the local government’s opposition to the move after lobbying by Swiss journalist Walter Hauser. Göldi was decapitated in 1782 after being sentenced for poisoning her employer’s child, although the heart [...]

Bloschacher debate goes nowhere

Switzerland’s politicians once again showed their feebleness – or lack of power – in parliament. After many of them called for an urgent debate about Justice Minister Christoph Blocher’s turbulent relationship with the federal prosecutor’s office, the whole business fell flat on its face. Members of Blocher’s rightwing People’s Party lined up to [...]