World Cup: Switzerland beats European champion Spain 1-0

The World Cup needed a jolt. Switzerland provided it.

Gelson Fernandes scored on a rare Swiss attack, giving his team a stunning 1-0 upset Wednesday over European champion and tournament favourite Spain.

The loss ended Spain’s run of 12 straight wins and handed the Spanish just their second loss in 50 games — the other was to the United States at the Confederations Cup in South Africa last year. (more…)

Credit Suisse agreed to pay $536m fine over Iran sanctions

Swiss banking group Credit Suisse has agreed to pay a $536m (£329m) fine for violating US sanctions against Iran.
Settlement papers say Credit Suisse systematically hid the identity of its Iranian clients when moving millions of dollars on their behalf.
The bank is also accused of helping Libya, Sudan and Burma evade sanctions.
The bank said it took the matter seriously and was committed to the highest standards of integrity and regulatory compliance.
Credit Suisse is the second bank to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for helping its clients bypass US laws. Source: BBC

Swiss vote delivers blow to architectural freedom

Imagine outlawing in America the construction of a particular architectural element because some citizens perceive it to be culturally undesirable or symbolically threatening

Analysis: The utterly idiotic Swiss minaret building ban

Switzerland’s decision to adopt a referendum banning the construction of minarets is hard to see as anything other than an act of bigotry against Muslims.

Europe’s press says Swiss ban sends wrong signal

European papers are dismayed by Switzerland’s popular vote to ban the building of minarets. Some fear it will backfire, sending the wrong signal to the Muslim world and setting a precedent for other parts of Europe. Source: BBC

Swiss voters over minarets anger Muslims around the world

Anger was swift from more militant wings of the Muslim world in reaction to yesterday’s decision by Swiss voters to outlaw the construction of minarets. “This is the hatred of Swiss people against Muslim communities. They do not want to see a Muslim presence in their country and this intense dislike has made them intolerant,” said Maskuri Abdillah, the head of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s biggest Muslim group. He urged Muslims not to take “revenge” for the decision. Source: Times on Line

Egyptian mufti says Swiss insulting Muslims

Egypt’s Mufti Ali Gomaa denounced a vote to ban new minarets in Switzerland on Sunday as an “insult” to Muslims across the world, while calling on Muslims not to be provoked by the move. ” This proposal…is not considered just an attack on freedom of beliefs, but also an attempt to insult the feelings of the Muslim community in and outside Switzerland,” Gomaa, the Egyptian government’s official interpreter of Islamic law, told the state-run news agency MENA. Source: AFP