Nearly a decade after the Vienna nuclear deal, Switzerland has reintroduced UN sanctions against Iran. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The measures include an arms embargo, a ban on further uranium enrichment and various sanctions against individuals and organisations. + Without the US, nuclear talks between Iran and Europe make fragile progress UN sanctions were reinstated on September 28, after the deadline for reaching an agreement between Tehran and its negotiating partners – Germany, the United Kingdom and France – had passed. The three countries accuse Iran of breaching the 2015 Vienna nuclear deal, including enriching uranium far beyond levels required for civilian use. A day later, the European Union adopted the sanctions. The 2015 Iran nuclear deal The deal set a cap on Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67% and imposed strict monitoring to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. In return, sanctions were meant to be lifted. However, the ...

If you’re introduced to Seppu, Küsu, Vanä and Simä, you might think you’ve woken up in Finland. But you’re actually in the Swiss capital, Bern, and have just met Joseph, Markus, Vanessa and Simone. Welcome to the colourful world of Bernese nicknames. Nicknames, sobriquets, monikers – call them what you like, almost all cultures have them. They can be used for convenience (Alex for Alexander, Liz for Elizabeth), to express affection, or to signal that you’ve been accepted by a group – that you belong. Nicknames A nickname, in its broadest sense, is an informal substitute for a person’s real name. It can be a shortened form (Tom, Sue), a term of endearment (Pumpkin), or a funny description based on physical characteristics (“Big Mac” if tall and Scottish – these are often ironic, hence “Curly” for someone who is bald). It is not the same as a pseudonym (Le Corbusier), a pen name (Mark Twain, Elena Ferrante) or stage name (many, many actors and musicians – Marilyn Monroe, John Denver ...

The Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp serves as an informal hub for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Amongst those tackling its many problems is a feminist organisation. “Over the past few years, we have seen a conservative backlash, both among Palestinians and Lebanese,” says Leila El-Ali. There has been “a kind of escalation”, adds El-Ali, who’s the director of Najdeh, an aid organisation run by and for Palestine refugees in Lebanon. Multiple factors have come together, each exacerbating the other. Lebanon has been battered by economic hardship, political instability and war since 2019. The most vulnerable groups are hit the hardest, including the Palestinian refugees who have lived in the country for decades but still remain on the margins. Women and children, in particular, bear the brunt, says El-Ali. Najdeh describes itself as a secular, feminist and democratic organisation active in 11 of Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps. We meet El-Ali in the city of Sidon, which hosts the ...

This is the story of an artist who painted for years without almost anyone knowing. The story begins in Geneva, where Philippe Jaccard was born and raised. After two years in the offices of the Swiss Bank Corporation, the 24-year-old realised that this was not the world for him. He joined the Geneva police force. But then an obsession began to gnaw at him: painting. He leaves his job as soon as he can, keeps his uniform on, and rushes off to his apartment to paint. A few hours stolen from duty, a few canvases painted in a hurry. This double life could not last. At the age of 35, he suffered a serious breakdown. The Swiss authorities classified him as permanently unable to work. He never returned to work. Later, he would confide that art had saved him from the psychiatric asylum. Painting became his only escape, his absolute necessity. The disaster of the 444 canvases In 1992, Philippe Jaccard acquired his first studio. In this 80-square-meter space, he worked frantically on his ...

Werner Ferrari, convicted of multiple child murders, died on Friday morning in the Lenzburg correctional centre. The Swiss was 78 years old and had been ill for some time. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Ferrari had been in the Lenzburg correctional centre since 1995 and was serving a life sentence, according to interior ministry. The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Aarau Cantonal Hospital confirmed the death. Ferrari committed several child murders. He committed the first murder in August 1971 in the Basel region. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. After six years in prison, he was released in August 1979. He was arrested in Olten in 1989. After his arrest, a series of child murders that had terrified Switzerland between 1980 and 1989 came to an end. Ferrari was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1995 in a purely circumstantial trial for five counts of child murder. He was also charged with the murder of schoolgirl Ruth Steinmann. + What does ...