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 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 Marathon talks aimed at ending Cyprus's drawn-out conflict sputtered out early Friday without a deal, despite valiant efforts from the UN chief to jumpstart the process. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170707/swiss-talks-fail-to-reach-deal-on-cyprus-conflict Fri, 07 Jul 2017 10:36:45 +0200 swiss-talks-fail-to-reach-deal-on-cyprus-conflict 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 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 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 latest round of talks between rival leaders on ending Cyprus's 42-year-old division broke up without agreement on Tuesday, the United Nations said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161122/un-cyprus-talks-end-without-agreement Tue, 22 Nov 2016 09:19:06 +0100 un-cyprus-talks-end-without-agreement Negotiations between Switzerland and the EU over immigration resumed on Monday when the Swiss president, Johann Schneider-Ammann, met with EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Zurich. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160920/swiss-eu-negotiations-resume-but-no-deal-yet Tue, 20 Sep 2016 13:57:09 +0200 swiss-eu-negotiations-resume-but-no-deal-yet Most Swiss now think Brexit will have a positive effect on Switzerland, according to a new survey. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160822/survey-swiss-optimistic-about-brexit-effect Mon, 22 Aug 2016 13:05:33 +0200 survey-swiss-optimistic-about-brexit-effect The Swiss president, Johann Schneider-Ammann, thinks Switzerland will find “an amicable solution” to its immigration issue with the EU in the end, though that will not now come, as previously hoped, before the summer break. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160718/window-narrows-for-swiss-eu-immigration-deal Mon, 18 Jul 2016 12:27:16 +0200 window-narrows-for-swiss-eu-immigration-deal Switzerland and the EU should come to a temporary agreement over immigration, the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, told the Swiss press on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160704/schulz-switzerland-is-important-to-the-eu Mon, 04 Jul 2016 12:15:48 +0200 schulz-switzerland-is-important-to-the-eu Leave campaigners calling for Britain to be like Switzerland were bogged down with misinformation and did not truly understand Switzerland’s relationship with the EU, the president of a Swiss society in the UK has told The Local. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160628/brexit-voters-misinformed-over-swiss-relations-with-eu Tue, 28 Jun 2016 10:35:10 +0200 brexit-voters-misinformed-over-swiss-relations-with-eu Switzerland will insist it is heard in Brussels and not cast aside by last week’s Brexit vote, the Swiss president has said, confirming he will push to resume immigration negotiations with the EU before the summer break. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160627/swiss-eu-talks-must-resume-this-summer Mon, 27 Jun 2016 10:25:07 +0200 swiss-eu-talks-must-resume-this-summer Syria's fragile ceasefire is in grave peril, US President Barack Obama and the UN's special envoy warned, as violence surged in the war-ravaged country's second city Aleppo. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160424/obama-un-envoy-voice-alarm-at-fraying-syria-truce Sun, 24 Apr 2016 10:57:17 +0200 obama-un-envoy-voice-alarm-at-fraying-syria-truce Syria's opposition High Negotiations Committee threatened Sunday to suspend its participation in UN-backed peace talks if there is no progress on a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160417/syria-opposition-threatens-to-quit-geneva-talks Sun, 17 Apr 2016 20:22:40 +0200 syria-opposition-threatens-to-quit-geneva-talks The EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has met Syria's regime and opposition to underscore the urgency of a political solution in the country, especially in the wake of the Brussels attacks. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160324/eus-mogherini-demands-progress-at-syria-talks Thu, 24 Mar 2016 11:45:45 +0100 eus-mogherini-demands-progress-at-syria-talks Peace talks in Geneva to end the war in Syria entered their second week on Monday, with Damascus under UN pressure to meet a looming target date for making concrete proposals on political transition. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160322/syria-regime-under-pressure-as-geneva-talks-continue Tue, 22 Mar 2016 09:33:13 +0100 syria-regime-under-pressure-as-geneva-talks-continue