ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – A squatter’s demonstration spun out of control in Zurich late Saturday and police were able to stop the 1,000 marchers around Uetlibergstrasse in district 3, Binz-Areal, only by using rubber bullets and sprays. The damage included looting, broken windows, and cars set on fire, say Zurich police.
Animal protests: deaths of seals and Swiss brown bear
February 20, 2013 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Protesters took to the streets of Geneva this week, in front of the World Trade Organization, to protest efforts by Canada and Norway to allow more open hunting of seals. A partial ban allows only a limited number of seals to be culled annually; Peta, an activist group, says that the allowed [...]
World headlines: US judge beats daughter, 45 Chinese miners pulled out alive, time shifts
November 5, 2011 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – World headlines include the following, over the weekend: Clocks go back in the US, a week after Europe moves from summer to winter time – NPR Chinese mine workers, some 200-strong, pulled out 45 miners Saturday who had been trapped for more than 48 hours after an explosion – CBS, Xinhua Pakistan [...]
Yemeni forces reportedly storm protest camp
May 30, 2011 by
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Six people reportedly died and 100 were injured over the weekend as Yemen’s government forces “stormed” a protest camp that is several weeks old, in the southern city of Taiz, reports Aljazeera, which lists areas of unrest throughout the country. “Forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the long-serving Yemeni president, have battled members [...]
Syrian forces fire on crowd of protesters
April 19, 2011 by
Protests that the Syrian government has vowed to put down turned violent late Monday when government forces reportedly opened fire on a crowd in a square in Homs, the country’s third largest city. Thousands of protesters have occupied the square, saying they will not leave until President Assad’s regime is brought down. Links to other [...]
Swiss Piranha tanks were used in Bahrain, Seco confirms
March 28, 2011 by
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Piranha tanks were used by Saudi Arabia in putting down protests in neighbouring Bahrain in mid-March, the Swiss Office for the Economy (Seco) confirmed Sunday 27 March to news agency ATS. The tanks, on wheels, were made by Mowag in Kreuzlingen, canton Thurgau. Some 30 were sold to the Saudi [...]
Libya: no-fly zone pushed
March 8, 2011 by
Britain and France are pushing harder for a no-fly zone over Libya as unconfirmed reports surface from Africa that Muammar Qaddafi is trying to negotiate a way to step down. Al Jazeera reports that attempts by the Libyan leader to negotiate with protesters have been rebuffed, while noting that Qaddafi’s state media say there have [...]
Libyan ex-official kidnapping highlights confusion
February 23, 2011 by
Muammar Qadaffi’s regime in Libya says that the interior minister who resigned Monday, Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi, was kidnapped by protesters that same day, but CNN says it has been told that he was seen siding with protesters, yet another sign of the growing confusion surrounding information from Libya. Figures for the number of dead [...]
