https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Swiss voters will go to the ballot box on March 7th to weigh in on three issues. One of the most controversial ones is the so-called ‘anti-burqa’ initiative. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210301/explained-what-is-switzerlands-anti-burqa-initiative-all-about Mon, 01 Mar 2021 17:13:25 +0100 explained-what-is-switzerlands-anti-burqa-initiative-all-about Swiss voters will weigh in on controversial issues such as the 'burka ban', an electronic identification law, and a free trade agreement with Indonesia. https://www.thelocal.ch/20210217/explained-what-is-at-stake-in-switzerlands-march-7th-referendums Wed, 17 Feb 2021 11:30:45 +0100 explained-what-is-at-stake-in-switzerlands-march-7th-referendums The Swiss government has rejected a nationwide burqa ban but hopes to introduce a new law that would make it illegal for people to refuse to uncover their face when asked to do so by government officials, transport staff or privately-contracted ticket inspectors. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190315/swiss-train-staff-should-have-power-to-demand-people-uncover-their-face Fri, 15 Mar 2019 23:41:10 +0100 swiss-train-staff-should-have-power-to-demand-people-uncover-their-face A second Swiss canton will introduce a regional "burqa ban", after voters in St. Gallen overwhelmingly voted Sunday to prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180923/swiss-region-of-st-gallen-overwhelmingly-votes-for-burqa-ban Sun, 23 Sep 2018 16:06:31 +0200 swiss-region-of-st-gallen-overwhelmingly-votes-for-burqa-ban A second Swiss canton will vote Sunday on whether to introduce a regional "burqa ban", a controversial law that would prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180921/direct-democracy-regional-burqa-ban-up-for-vote-in-switzerland-gmo-crops-agriculture Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:56:15 +0200 direct-democracy-regional-burqa-ban-up-for-vote-in-switzerland-gmo-crops-agriculture The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that a planned referendum in the canton of Valais which would have seen the wearing of headscarves and veils is invalid and cannot go ahead. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180907/top-swiss-court-vetoes-cantonal-vote-on-school-headgear-ban Fri, 07 Sep 2018 21:57:38 +0200 top-swiss-court-vetoes-cantonal-vote-on-school-headgear-ban The Swiss government on Wednesday provided more details of a proposal that would see forcing women to wear a burqa or niqab punishable by law. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180628/swiss-government-outlines-counterproposal-to-burqa-ban Thu, 28 Jun 2018 12:35:04 +0200 swiss-government-outlines-counterproposal-to-burqa-ban Voters in the canton of St Gallen will have their say on whether to impose a conditional ban on covering the face in public after a group of young socialists launched a referendum campaign to contest parliament’s proposal. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180130/st-gallen-residents-will-vote-on-face-coverings-ban Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:26:27 +0100 st-gallen-residents-will-vote-on-face-coverings-ban The cantonal parliament of St Gallen on Monday voted to adopt a bill that would ban people from covering their face in public, including women wearing the burqa. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170919/st-gallen-backs-law-banning-face-coverings-burqa Tue, 19 Sep 2017 12:00:12 +0200 st-gallen-backs-law-banning-face-coverings-burqa The Swiss may get the chance to vote on the introduction of a nationwide ban on the burqa after campaigners from the so-called Egerkingen committee succeeded in gathering the required number of signatures to push the issue to a referendum. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170913/switzerland-moves-step-closer-to-voting-on-nationwide-burqa-ban Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:50:07 +0200 switzerland-moves-step-closer-to-voting-on-nationwide-burqa-ban Voters in the canton of Glarus have said no to imposing a ban on the burqa. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170508/swiss-canton-rejects-call-to-ban-the-burqa Mon, 08 May 2017 12:27:49 +0200 swiss-canton-rejects-call-to-ban-the-burqa The upper house of parliament has rejected the idea of a nationwide ban on the Islamic face veil and other face coverings. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170309/swiss-senate-refuses-nationwide-burqa-ban Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:41:18 +0100 swiss-senate-refuses-nationwide-burqa-ban Members of the public are calling on Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to remove controversial posters from its railway stations just days after right-wing campaigners launched their provocative publicity campaign. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170112/rail-passengers-complain-to-sbb-over-burqa-posters Thu, 12 Jan 2017 11:45:08 +0100 rail-passengers-complain-to-sbb-over-burqa-posters Turkish kebab chefs are up in arms after they misunderstood a spoof campaign to ban the kebab in Switzerland. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160929/turkey-angry-after-swiss-tout-kebab-ban Thu, 29 Sep 2016 13:18:07 +0200 turkey-angry-after-swiss-tout-kebab-ban Switzerland's lower house of parliament on Tuesday narrowly approved a draft bill on a nationwide burqa ban, the ATS news agency reported, but the measure remains far from coming into force. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160928/switzerland-edges-towards-nationwide-burqa-ban Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:05:57 +0200 switzerland-edges-towards-nationwide-burqa-ban The Geneva-based UN on Tuesday welcomed a decision by France's highest administrative court to suspend a controversial ban on burqini swimwear, warning that the ban had fuelled religious intolerance and stigmatization. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160830/un-weighs-in-on-burqini-debate Tue, 30 Aug 2016 14:19:34 +0200 un-weighs-in-on-burqini-debate More than 70 percent of Swiss want to see a ban on the burqa across Switzerland, according to a new survey. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160829/survey-majority-of-swiss-in-favour-of-burqa-ban Mon, 29 Aug 2016 12:07:35 +0200 survey-majority-of-swiss-in-favour-of-burqa-ban The new ban against the Islamic face veil (niqab) and full-length burqa in the canton of Ticino is not being effectively enforced, according to reports. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160804/women-shoppers-flout-burqa-ban-in-ticino Thu, 04 Aug 2016 11:31:15 +0200 women-shoppers-flout-burqa-ban-in-ticino Hoteliers in the canton of Ticino are holding their breath to see if the recent ban on the burqa will have an effect on tourism from Arab countries. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160711/ticino-tourism-has-real-fears-over-effect-of-burqa-ban Mon, 11 Jul 2016 15:00:00 +0200 ticino-tourism-has-real-fears-over-effect-of-burqa-ban The Saudi Arabian embassy in Bern has warned its citizens visiting Switzerland this summer to be careful not to break the law. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160613/saudis-warn-tourists-to-respect-swiss-burqa-ban Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:22:01 +0200 saudis-warn-tourists-to-respect-swiss-burqa-ban