Switzerland – News Stories About Switzerland - Page 13

Reporters Try to Live on Twitter, Facebook Alone

Jan 22, 2010 11:10 AM CST

Reporters Try to Live on Twitter, Facebook Alone

Journalists will hole up in French farmhouse, use only social media

(Newser) - Five journalists plan to lock themselves in a French farmhouse and try gathering news using only Facebook and Twitter. During their 5-day sojourn, the journalists will be cut off from all other links to the outside world—there will be no TVs, and other web surfing is strictly prohibited. Then...

Swiss Millionaire Hit With $290K Speeding Fine

Jan 8, 2010 3:25 AM CST

Swiss Millionaire Hit With $290K Speeding Fine

Repeat offender handed history's priciest traffic ticket

(Newser) - A Swiss millionaire caught driving his Ferrari Testarossa through a residential area at 85 mph has been hit with the highest speeding ticket in history. The court handed the 53-year-old showoff a $290,000 fine based on his $23 million personal fortune, the fact that he was a repeat offender,...

France No. 1
in Quality of Life

US IS No. 7

Jan 7, 2010 2:00 PM CST

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

It's No. 1 on list, with the US at No. 7

(Newser) - International Living crunches the numbers on everything from cost of living to health care to climate to find the nations with the best quality of life. France tops the list, with the US at No. 7. A sampling:

France (No. 1): "Tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes" can't trump

...

'Overwhelmed' Polanski Thanks Supporters

Dec 28, 2009 2:45 PM CST

'Overwhelmed' Polanski Thanks Supporters

Also thanks 'unknown friends' around the world

(Newser) - In his first public comments since he was locked up in September, Roman Polanski has written a letter of thanks to French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy and his many “unknown friends” around the world. “I would like every one of them to know how heartening it is when...

Calif. Court Won't Dismiss Polanski Case

Dec 21, 2009 4:05 PM CST

Calif. Court Won't Dismiss Polanski Case

Misconduct by original judge not sufficient to throw out charges

(Newser) - A California appeals court won't drop the statutory rape case against Roman Polanski on the basis of alleged judicial misconduct. A 70-page opinion issued today acknowledged the " extremely serious allegations " the fugitive director's raised about alleged misconduct by the judge who first handled the case in 1977. Polanksi...

To Protest Swiss Ban, Exec Puts Minaret Atop Office

Dec 11, 2009 11:57 PM CST

To Protest Swiss Ban, Exec Puts Minaret Atop Office

Non-Muslim businessman calls country's support 'scandalous'

(Newser) - The recent passage of a ban on minarets so irked a Swiss businessman that he’s added one to his company headquarters. Shoe-store-chain owner (and non-Muslim) Guillaume Morand calls “shameful” the 57% of voters who approved the right-wing effort to keep the Muslim towers from the country’s skyline....

Sarkozy
to Muslims:
Be Discreet

Dec 8, 2009 12:38 PM CST

Sarkozy to Muslims: Be Discreet

French president sympathizes with Swiss in minaret ban

(Newser) - People of all faiths, but especially Muslims, must “refrain from ostentation and practice their religion in humble discretion,” Nicolas Sarkozy opined today, sympathizing with the Swiss voters who approved a minaret ban last week. In a column in Le Monde, the French president warned Muslims that doing anything...

Polanski Moved
to Secret Location

Dec 4, 2009 5:37 AM CST

Polanski Moved to Secret Location

Swiss seek to shield director from the media

(Newser) - Roman Polanski has been shifted from a Zurich jail to an undisclosed location for "security reasons and personal protection," say Swiss authorities. Polanski will be released to his Alpine chalet today and authorities plan to restrict access to the neighborhood if the media become disruptive. The filmmaker will...

Minaret Ban
Shoves Swiss
Hard to the Right

Dec 1, 2009 12:38 PM CST

Minaret Ban Shoves Swiss Hard to the Right

Surprise vote shows anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim sentiment on the rise

(Newser) - The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) got a surprising shot in the arm with Sunday’s vote to ban minarets in the country. Though it’s been growing rapidly since its 1980s inception, the SVP has had little success in referenda until now, with critics accusing it of racism...

Check Out Polanski's
Chalet—Er, Prison

CHATEAU LEAVENWORTH

Nov 30, 2009 8:57 AM CST

Check Out Polanski's Chalet—Er, Prison

Director awaiting extradition can throw parties, but can't leave

(Newser) - Security technicians put the final touches on the electronic monitoring system at Roman Polanski’s Swiss chalet ahead of the director’s arrival there under house arrest. Swiss officials say they await only the arrival of $4.5 million in bail, after which Polanski will be free to leave prison...

Swiss Projected to
Approve Minaret Ban

Nov 29, 2009 8:38 AM CST

Swiss Projected to Approve Minaret Ban

Nationalist measure reflects rising anti-Muslim sentiment

(Newser) - Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a vote today on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, early projections showed. The Swiss looked to have swung from only 37% supporting the proposal a week ago to 59% in...

Polanski to Be Moved to
House Arrest

Nov 26, 2009 6:32 AM CST

Polanski to Be Moved to House Arrest

Director will trade jail cell for Swiss chalet

(Newser) - Swiss authorities have decided not to appeal a decision to grant bail to Roman Polanski and the director will definitely be moved from his prison cell to his chalet in an Alpine resort within days. Polanski will have to wear an electronic bracelet and remain under house arrest during extradition...

Polanski Could Go
Free on $4.5M Bail

Nov 25, 2009 12:25 PM CST

Polanski Could Go Free on $4.5M Bail

Director remains in jail pending appeal of Swiss court ruling

(Newser) - Roman Polanksi may soon be free to take a pricey vacation from jail to his Swiss chalet, with ankle bracelet. A Swiss court has agreed to free him on $4.5 million bail, the BBC reports, provided he surrender his passport and submit to electronic monitoring. He's still behind bars...

Hadron Collider
Restarts Briefly

Nov 20, 2009 6:06 PM CST

Hadron Collider Restarts Briefly

After 14 months of repairs, proton beams circulate

(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider roared to life today for the first time since September 2008. "The first tests of injecting subatomic particles" took just a fraction of a second, a CERN rep said, but the circulation of the proton beams confirmed that the repairs instituted 9 days after the...

15K Yanks Turn Selves in
for Offshore Tax Cheating

Nov 18, 2009 9:57 AM CST

15K Yanks Turn Selves in for Offshore Tax Cheating

Asia joins Switzerland as hotspot for hidden assets

(Newser) - Prodded by the stick of a looming crackdown on offshore tax cheats and the carrot of an IRS amnesty program, some 14,700 rich Americans have turned themselves in, disclosing billions in hidden foreign assets. The "unprecedented" participation in the amnesty program surprised the IRS and advisers to the...

Breadcrumb Latest
Speed Bump
for Collider

GONE TO THE BIRDS

Nov 6, 2009 6:29 AM CST

Breadcrumb Latest Speed Bump for Collider

$8B science project sidetracked by 'bit of baguette'

(Newser) - The enormous science project buried beneath the France-Switzerland border has seen all kinds of detours in its search for the so-called “God particle”—busted vacuum tubes, al-Qaeda moles—so the latest might not be a huge surprise: A piece of bread dropped by a bird onto an outdoor...

Swiss to Vote
on Minaret Ban

Nov 5, 2009 6:47 AM CST

Swiss to Vote on Minaret Ban

Referendum this month sparks fear of Muslim backlash

(Newser) - Swiss government and business leaders are having a panic attack over a referendum that would ban minarets on mosques—and, they fear, make the country a target for Islamic terrorism. The handiwork of the anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party, infamous for an earlier campaign poster showing a white sheep kicking a...

Swiss Crack Down
on 'Suicide Tourism'

Oct 29, 2009 3:55 AM CDT

Swiss Crack Down on 'Suicide Tourism'

Assisted suicides to be restricted to the terminally ill

(Newser) - Swiss authorities are trying to cut back on the numbers of people swarming its borders with the intention of dying. The government plans to cut back or even ban assisted suicide amid concerns that too many people—some of them not suffering terminal illnesses—are traveling to Switzerland for assisted...

Polanski Victim
Wants Case
Dropped

Oct 26, 2009 5:35 PM CDT

Polanski Victim Wants Case Dropped

Samantha Geimer asks court, media to leave her alone

(Newser) - The woman who was raped by Roman Polanski when she was 13 wants the charge against the fugitive director dropped. Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but fled before sentencing. He's in custody in Switzerland and Samantha Geimer, who lives in Hawaii, is under...

US Moves
to Extradite
Polanski

Oct 23, 2009 5:18 AM CDT

US Moves to Extradite Polanski

Embassy in Switzerland formally requests director's return

(Newser) - The American embassy in Switzerland formally requested the extradition of Roman Polanski last night, paving the way for the convicted director to face an American court for the first time since 1977. A tribunal in Zurich will now hold a hearing, although Polanski may appeal to the country's high court...