News stories by Ray Smith, page 2

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland, Aug 05 (IPS) - An accident in a flagship project threatens the future of geothermal energy in Switzerland. The mishap that was followed by earthquakes has come as a warning that geothermal deep drilling still has a long way to go.

ZURICH, Switzerland, Jun 20 (IPS) - Once more, Swiss voters have lashed out against asylum seekers, further tightening the country's already strict asylum law. The government has meanwhile announced a radical restructuring of the asylum procedure.

LUCERNE, Switzerland, May 02 (IPS) - Struggling to accommodate all its asylum seekers, Swiss authorities have turned to unused army quarters. Some of these lie on mountain passes, far away from inhabited areas.

ZUG, Switzerland, Apr 14 (IPS) - The powerful Swiss commodity sector is under fire here, as citizens fed up with government inaction on charges of corporate corruption, tax evasion and lack of transparency gear up for major protests.

BASEL, Feb 18 (IPS) - The Swiss government has presented a draft law regulating the private military industry but critics argue the law is toothless.

DAVOS, Feb 05 (IPS) - Barbed wire and safety fences are dismantled, the police and army are withdrawn and freedom of movement is restored. The 43^rd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) ended last month with negligible protests against the 'global leaders'.

DAVOS, Jan 26 (IPS) - Only a stone's throw from the Davos World Economic Forum meeting, a group of non-governmental organisations presented the annual Public Eye Awards this week to Goldman Sachs and Royal Dutch Shell.

BERN, Jan 07 (IPS) - The Swiss parliament has decided to tackle wage dumping in the construction sector. With the introduction of chain liability, general contractors can soon be held accountable for labour agreement violations by their subcontractors.

MEIRINGEN, Dic 08 (IPS) - Swiss energy companies are determined to turn the country into a 'battery for Europe'. Vast investments are made in big-scale water power projects. But it is not certain they will eventually pay off.

In the wake of Fukushima, the Swiss government decided last year to slowly, but definitely phase out nuclear energy. But the new energy strategy for the next decade has drawn criticism, especially from environmental organisations.