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 An appeals court has upheld the guilty verdict of a Swiss border guard who was found guilty in 2017 of causing bodily harm through negligence, attempting to terminate a pregnancy and repeatedly failing in his duties. https://www.thelocal.ch/20181106/court-upholds-guilty-verdict-for-swiss-border-guard-who-failed-to-help-pregnant-refugee Tue, 06 Nov 2018 20:54:07 +0100 court-upholds-guilty-verdict-for-swiss-border-guard-who-failed-to-help-pregnant-refugee The UN peace envoy for Syria will host Iran, Russia and Turkey for talks on drafting a new Syrian constitution on September 11-12, a United Nations spokeswoman said on Friday August 24th. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180824/geneva-set-to-host-talks-on-syrian-constitution-next-month Fri, 24 Aug 2018 19:12:35 +0200 geneva-set-to-host-talks-on-syrian-constitution-next-month At least four Swiss citizens said to be IS followers are imprisoned by Kurdish troops in Syria, including a mother and her young child. But how can Switzerland demand the extradition of its citizens from a government it doesn't recognize? https://www.thelocal.ch/20180724/switzerland-struggling-to-bring-swiss-is-fighters-in-syria-before-its-courts Tue, 24 Jul 2018 14:50:44 +0200 switzerland-struggling-to-bring-swiss-is-fighters-in-syria-before-its-courts Residents of the village have collected signatures against a decision that would see a woman and her two children reunited with her abusive ex-husband. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180502/swiss-village-fights-deportation-of-syrian-family-asylum-seekers Wed, 02 May 2018 16:57:02 +0200 swiss-village-fights-deportation-of-syrian-family-asylum-seekers The Swiss government said on Thursday it had opened a "humanitarian office" in Damascus aimed at improving aid distribution and at monitoring and coordinating assistance programmes on the ground. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171222/switzerland-opens-humanitarian-office-in-syria Fri, 22 Dec 2017 09:44:12 +0100 switzerland-opens-humanitarian-office-in-syria A 31-year-old woman from Winterthur who tried to travel to Syria to join Islamic State (IS) is standing trial under Swiss anti-terror laws. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171215/swiss-woman-stands-trial-for-attempting-to-join-islamic-state Fri, 15 Dec 2017 11:35:14 +0100 swiss-woman-stands-trial-for-attempting-to-join-islamic-state Two senior executives at French-Swiss cement maker LafargeHolcim, including its former CEO, were charged on Friday over claims that top management turned a blind eye to payments to jihadists in Syria, a judicial source said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171209/switzerland-france-lafarge-bosses-in-french-court-over-jihadist-funding Sat, 09 Dec 2017 10:31:28 +0100 switzerland-france-lafarge-bosses-in-french-court-over-jihadist-funding A border guard in Switzerland has been convicted of charges relating to the stillbirth of a baby born to a refugee who was sent back to Italy. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171207/border-guard-convicted-of-failing-to-help-pregnant-refugee Thu, 07 Dec 2017 13:27:14 +0100 border-guard-convicted-of-failing-to-help-pregnant-refugee Negotiations in Geneva aimed at ending Syria's devastating civil war have started in a "professional and serious" atmosphere and will be extended another two weeks, the UN mediator said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171201/serious-syria-talks-in-geneva-extended-for-two-weeks Fri, 01 Dec 2017 09:36:41 +0100 serious-syria-talks-in-geneva-extended-for-two-weeks The United Nations will try to revitalize its flagging efforts to end the war in Syria this week, after Russia's emergence as the key dealmaker in the bid to resolve the six-year conflict. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171127/more-syria-talks-begin-in-geneva-this-week Mon, 27 Nov 2017 09:42:11 +0100 more-syria-talks-begin-in-geneva-this-week French investigators searched the offices of French-Swiss cement maker Lafarge on Tuesday, the company said, as part of an enquiry into financial links to jihadist groups in Syria, including Islamic State. https://www.thelocal.ch/20171115/french-swiss-cement-maker-investigated-over-alleged-payments-to-islamic-state Wed, 15 Nov 2017 09:45:36 +0100 french-swiss-cement-maker-investigated-over-alleged-payments-to-islamic-state Switzerland is investigating the uncle of Syria President Bashar al-Assad for war crimes allegedly committed in the 1980s, prosecutors said on Monday, as a rights group demanded progress in the sputtering four-year old case. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170926/switzerland-investigates-syrian-presidents-uncle-for-war-crimes Tue, 26 Sep 2017 14:44:52 +0200 switzerland-investigates-syrian-presidents-uncle-for-war-crimes Swiss federal prosecutors have brought charges against leading members of the country’s largest Islamic organization in a criminal probe into jihadist propaganda. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170921/leaders-of-swiss-islamic-organization-face-criminal-charges Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:01:15 +0200 leaders-of-swiss-islamic-organization-face-criminal-charges A fresh round of UN-sponsored Syria peace talks will begin on July 10th in Geneva, the UN envoy said Saturday, amid slim hopes for progress towards ending over six years of bloodshed. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170617/fresh-syria-talks-in-geneva-slated-for-july-10 Sat, 17 Jun 2017 18:12:10 +0200 fresh-syria-talks-in-geneva-slated-for-july-10 A new round of Syrian peace talks opens in Geneva on Tuesday, overshadowed by a competing process in Astana and with rebels reeling from a major setback in Damascus. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170516/syria-peace-talks-begin-again-in-geneva Tue, 16 May 2017 10:21:29 +0200 syria-peace-talks-begin-again-in-geneva The Syrian regime and opposition have agreed a "clear agenda" to seek to end the country's six-year-old war, the UN mediator said on Friday at the end of sometimes fractious and slow-moving talks in Geneva. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170306/genevas-syria-talks-end-on-more-positive-note Mon, 06 Mar 2017 09:41:27 +0100 genevas-syria-talks-end-on-more-positive-note UN-brokered Syrian peace talks resume in Geneva on Thursday, but hopes of a breakthrough are dim, clouded by persistent violence and deadlock over the country's political future. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170223/un-pessimistic-as-syria-peace-talks-resume-in-geneva Thu, 23 Feb 2017 09:25:22 +0100 un-pessimistic-as-syria-peace-talks-resume-in-geneva The UN's Syria envoy said on Monday he has planned peace talks for February in Geneva, as the UN Security Council voted to deploy observers to war-ravaged Aleppo. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161220/un-plans-more-syria-talks-in-geneva Tue, 20 Dec 2016 10:28:09 +0100 un-plans-more-syria-talks-in-geneva The Swiss public prosecutor has dropped the case against two Syrians arrested last December after traces of explosives were found in their car. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161019/geneva-terror-suspects-to-receive-compensation Wed, 19 Oct 2016 12:13:19 +0200 geneva-terror-suspects-to-receive-compensation US Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to build momentum behind a new drive to end the Syrian civil war on Sunday after high-level talks with Russia and the country's neighbours. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161016/lausanne-syria-meeting-exactly-what-we-wanted-kerry Sun, 16 Oct 2016 12:05:49 +0200 lausanne-syria-meeting-exactly-what-we-wanted-kerry