The Swiss government’s plan to institute a nuclear power tax is receiving criticism. The tax would be to fund renewable energy. swissinfo.com writes, “A similar “climate cent” tax already exists in Switzerland, with a SFr0.015 per litre charge on petrol and diesel imports in place since 2005, generating around SFr100 million ($98.9 million) for projects [...]
[swissinfo.ch]– A tragic accident in which a child died after unbuckling a car seat and falling into the road has highlighted the limitations of such safety devices. Days after the incident the Swiss government tightened rules governing car seats, approving plans to make them compulsory for children up to to 12 years old. They are [...]
[swissinfo.ch]– With the current wind of change blowing through the United States, the death penalty will be abolished there in the next 20 years, says a former US death row inmate. Joaquín José Martinez was in Switzerland on Friday as part of a series of initiatives for the World Day Against the Death Penalty, which [...]
[Mail & Guardian]– Swiss authorities denied a request to release film director Roman Polanski on bail after he was arrested in September after fleeing sentencing for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. “In our view, there is still a very high risk that he will flee [...]
[swissinfo.ch]– Roman Polanski’s arrest has shocked and disappointed many in Switzerland, particularly in Gstaad, where the Oscar-winning director has holidayed for years. Well after he became a fugitive, the French-Polish filmmaker would come to the upmarket resort town to ski and live what locals say was largely a normal life. He hit the slopes with [...]
[Detroit News]– Was Roman Polanski “thrown to the lions because of ancient history?” That’s what the French culture minister says – though not everyone in France agrees. The French government has rushed to the filmmaker’s defense since he was arrested this weekend in Switzerland on a U.S. warrant in connection with his guilty plea to [...]
[Guardian]– The Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody in Switzerland in relation to a US arrest warrant, issued more than 30 years ago, for having sex with an underage girl. The 76-year-old was detained by police at Zurich airport as he flew in from France to collect a lifetime achievement award [...]
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz has apologised in Tripoli for the arrest in 2008 of one of the sons of the Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. Two Swiss businessmen currently detained in Libya would be released “soon”, according to a finance ministry statement. “We are apologising for what happened to Hannibal Gaddafi and the two sides agreed [...]
