Community News

Shop owners told they face 40 lashes if they continue selling 'evil' alcohol

DOZENS of Muslim protesters walked with one of Britain's most controversial hate preachers to demand restaurants and shops in one of London's most popular areas stop selling alcohol.
By: Asraful Alam

Anjem Choudary led a group of Muslim protesters through London's Brick Lane area on Friday [ALAMY]


Business owners in Brick Lane in Whitechapel, on the edge of the city, were told on Friday they face 40 lashes if they continue to sell their "evil" products.


Brick Lane is one of London's trendiest areas and a popular location for Christmas parties.


Anjem Choudary, who used to lead the Al-Muhajiroun group which has been banned under terrorism laws, told the crowd: "The shops are run by Muslims and they know they are selling alcohol and they know the sale and consumption of alcohol is completely prohibited.


The group held up slogans demanding shops stop selling alcohol [REUTERS]


Business owners were warned the products they were selling were "evil" [REUTERS]


A local man enjoys a drink while the protest continues behind him [ALAMY]


"We cannot live among the non-Muslims and see this evil take place."


Around 60 men and women in burkhas distributed warning letters to Muslim-owned businesses.


They also held up banners with slogans including: "Save lives, don't drink or sell alcohol! Stand for Shariah!"


Some gathered on the edge of the City for a counter-protest agains the march [ALAMY]


We cannot live among the non-Muslims and see this evil take place


Anjem Choudary


Another simply read: "Islam is the perfect system for all mankind."


The protest, which was timed to coincide with the Christmas party rush this weekend, was delayed as a small group of English Defence League members organised a counter-protest.


Choudary told those assembled that Brick Lane was a "den of iniquity" and that he wanted Britain to live under Sharia law.


A recent report by Hope Not Hate suggested organisations linked to Choudary have encouraged dozens of young British Muslims to join the fighting in Syria.


The report recommend that Choudary be considered a "serious player" in the promotion and recruitment of young Muslims to terrorist cells.


Source:Express

Valentine's Day

A Movie to Cheer up the Valentine's Day

Kazi Shahidul Ahmed,A Student at Glyndwr University, London

Wow .....!!!

Thanks Dharma Production for "HASEE TOH PHASEE" . I couldn't stop myself to congratulate Karan Johar on this experiment . As a viewer, on watching the film I want to say this is amazingly sweet, just perfect for the Valentines Day. Was it enjoying-It does not await sayings... (after an era I've seen this kind of simple but sweet story and enjoyed really a lot !)

Lets do some details chat about it.....

Story: A straight-forward boy and eccentric girl are drawn to each other. Wait, they're not the ones in a relationship. Will their love fructify??

Review: Hasee Toh Phasee is for the romantics who like their shot stirred not shaken. Debutant director Vinil Mathew's straight-forward approach is smart and really fresh have to say; his characters are lovable<3. Nikhil(Sidharth Malhotra) is an optimist, who believes once committed, there's no straying. Meeta( Parineeti Chopra) is a non-conformist; she's a go-getter in her personal and professional space & she is little abnormal human being you can say she doesn't live for usual things as she has some own unusual habits . Naturally Nikhil and Meeta's ideologies don't match. But there's an under-current in their equation that keeps the audience hoping them that they will seek each other out.

Ok, so why aren't these two together in the first place? Is it only because they are poles apart as people? No, it's because Nikhil is engaged to be married to Meeta's elder sister Karishma. And, Meeta herself has been missing from the family scene for seven long years chasing her professional dream.

It is only when the prodigal returns, does she realise that there's an emotional void in her life. Besides her father who dotes on her, she also feels the need for a companion like Nikhil who can put her topsy-turvy life into perspective.

This romantic comedy mirrors the quirks in human nature subtly and provides humour in everyday situations; in the family and amongst friends. Parineeti's relationship with her father(Manoj Joshi, in fine form) strikes the right emotional chord.

The songs--Shake It like Shammi and the Punjabi Wedding Song add zing to an otherwise simple narrative. Parineeti who has come to represent the power-house performer passes with flying colours. And, Sidharth, whose good-looks distract, shows a definitive growth in his second outing as an actor after Student of the Year.

If you're looking to rediscover the magic of goofy love around Valentines ... Then must have a look this movie . My rate for this 4 out of 5 (****/5) . Thanks All, Have nice a Nice Weekend .

"St. Valentine, The Real Story" By David Kith Cart

Collected by Helal Khan


Flowers, candy, red hearts
and romance. That's what
Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe
not.

The origin of this holiday

for the expression of love
really isn't romantic at all
-- at least not in the
traditional sense. Father
Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars
Street Church in Dublin,
Ireland, tells the real story
of the man behind the
holiday -- St. Valentine.

"He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called
Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time," Father
O'Gara explains. " He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage
of young people.

This was based on the
hypothesis that unmarried
soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers


might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or
families if they died."

"I think we must bear in
mind that it was a very
permissive society in
which Valentine lived,"
says Father O'Gara.

"Polygamy would have
been much more popular
than just one woman and
one man living together.
And yet some of them
seemed to be attracted to
Christian faith. But
obviously the church
thought that marriage
was very sacred between
one man and one woman
for their life and that it
was to be encouraged.
And so it immediately
presented the problem to
the Christian church of
what to do about this."

"The idea of encouraging
them to marry within the
Christian church was what
Valentine was about. And
he secretly married them
because of the edict."




Valentine was eventually
caught, imprisoned and
tortured for performing
marriage ceremonies
against command of
Emperor Claudius the
second. There are legends
surrounding Valentine's
actions while in prison.
"One of the men who was
to judge him in line with
the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter
was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young
girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became
Christian as a result."

In the year 269 AD,
Valentine was sentenced
to a three part execution
of a beating, stoning, and
finally decapitation all
because of his stand for
Christian marriage. The
story goes that the last
words he wrote were in a
note to Asterius' daughter.

He inspired today's
romantic missives by
signing it, "from your
Valentine."

"What Valentine means to
me as a priest," explains
Father O'Gara, "is that
there comes a time where
you have to lay your life
upon the line for what you believe. And with the
power of the Holy Spirit
we can do that -- even to
the point of death."

Valentine's martyrdom has not gone unnoticed by the general public. In
fact, Whitefriars Street Church is one of three churches that claim to
house the remains of Valentine.

Today, many people make the pilgrimage to the church to honor the
courage and memory of
this Christian saint.

"Valentine has come to be
known as the patron saint of lovers. Before you enter into a Christian
marriage you want some sense of God in your life -- some great need of
God in your life. And we know,
particularly in the modern
world, many people are
meeting God through his
Son, Jesus Christ."

"If Valentine were here
today, he would say to
married couples that there comes a time where
you're going to have to
suffer. It's not going to be
easy to maintain your
commitment and your
vows in marriage. Don't be surprised if the 'gushing' love that you
have for someone changes to something less "gushing" but maybe much
more mature. And the question is, is that young person ready for
that?"

"So on the day of the
marriage they have to
take that into context,"
Father O'Gara says. "Love
-- human love and
sexuality is wonderful, and blessed by God -- but also the shadow of
the cross. That's what Valentine means to me."

World

“China and Taiwan hold historic talks”

By Osman Monshi, An MSc Student at BPP University, UK

The two governments have not met since they split 65 years ago, following a brutal civil war that left millions dead.

China and Taiwan held their first government-to-government talks since they split 65 years ago after a brutal civil war - a symbolic yet historic move between the former bitter rivals, AFP news agency reported. Wang Yu-chi, who oversees Taiwan's China policy, arrived in Nanjing on Tuesday for a meeting with his Beijing counterpart Zhang Zhijun on the first day of a four-day trip, a Taiwanese official said.


"That we can sit here today, formally getting together, formally holding meetings, together exploring issues that people on both sides of the strait care about - this represents a new chapter for cross-strait relations, and is a day worth recording," Wang said in initial remarks, AFP reported based on a statement.

Wang said he hoped Zhang could visit Taiwan "in the foreseeable future".

Taiwan is likely to focus on reaping practical outcomes from the discussions, such as securing economic benefits or security assurances, while China has one eye on long-term integration of the island, analysts say.

Tuesday's meeting is the fruit of years of efforts to improve relations.

But Beijing's communist authorities still aim to reunite all of China under their rule, and view Taiwan as a rebel region awaiting reunification with the mainland.

"For us to simply sit at the same table, sit down to discuss issues, is already not an easy thing," Wang said.

Shared history

Nanjing was China's capital when it was ruled by Wang's Kuomintang, or Nationalist, party in the first half of the 20th century.

When they lost China's civil war to Mao Zedong's communists in 1949, two million supporters of the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan.

The island and the mainland have been governed separately ever since, both claiming to be the true government of China and only re-establishing contact in the 1990s.

Over the decades Taiwan has become increasingly isolated diplomatically, losing the Chinese seat at the UN in 1971 and seeing the number of countries recognising it steadily decrease.

However, its military is supplied by the United States and has enjoyed a long economic boom.

(Source: Al Jazeera and agencies)

Bangladesh

'Keep Liberation War spirit alive'

By Helal Khan

Mediapersons have urged the people to unite in preserving the spirit of Bangladesh's War of Independence.
They made this appeal while recalling their role in the Ganajagaran Mancha's year-long movement demanding the maximum punishment for all warcriminals.
They were addressing a gathering at Shahbagh crossway, marking the movement's first anniversary.
Journalists from media houses said many had debated the question of their neutrality at the time of joining the movement.
"But the Shahbagh movement is a movement of the Liberation War spirit... and that spirit is part of our existence. Neutrality is out of the question when it comes to the matter of existence."
The stir had begun in February last year after a large number of peoplefound the life imprisonment given to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla's 'too light' a punishment in view of the nature of war crimes he hadcommitted in 1971.
ATN News Assistant News Editor Provash Amin said, "When I joined the movement, I ceased to be a journalist. I became one of the activists."
He said that, as journalists, they were neutral but it was impossible to remain so when truth and independence were at stake
ATN Bangla Chief News Editor ZE Mamun said journalists had long beendemanding the trial of suspected war criminals out of their sense of responsibility.
Remembering the times, Desh TV Special Correspondent NazrulKabir said, "It would have been a crime to not join this movement fromour own sense of responsibility towards the country."
He said, during the Liberation War, there were journalists whohad shed their blood for the country. Among them were the likes ofShahidullah Kaiser, Abu Taleb and Siraj Uddin Hossain.
There were also those, Kabir added, who had gone about in the guise of journalists like Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, helping the enemy to kill the intellectuals. Likewise, he said, there were journalists today who were for the Liberation War, independence, and thecountry, while there were others who were against independence and were ready to dub the young generation's non-violent movementas 'fascist'.
Special Correspondent of Dhaka Tribune Zulfikar Ali Manik said it was not a party movement but one that represented Bangladesh. "So, mediapersons took part in it just as they had done in the 1971 Liberation War."
Media participation in this was part of that continuing tradition andwas only natural, he emphasised.
Manik stressed the need to remove all confusion among the youth byremoving distortions to the history of the war.
NTV journalist Promothesh Shil said the media may have a guiding principle, but when it came to the Ganajagaran Mancha movement, it stood together for the ideals of the Liberation War.
Reporters and journalists from many other media houses including bdnews24.com Assistant Editor Raju Alauddin also addressed the gathering moderated by Ganajagaran Mancha organiser Maruf Rosul. Earlier, cultural programmes were held from 3pm onwards. Cultural organisations from various parts of the country sang patriotic songs, songs that had been once broadcast by war-time Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, and lyrics dedicated to the Shahbagh movement.
Around 7pm, mediapersons began reminiscing about their roles during theShahbagh movement.

Health and Education

Flu or Cold?

By Dr Aurora Polaris, A Medicine Student at SSMC, Dhaka

When you wake up sneezing, coughing, and have that achy, feverish, can't move muscle feeling, how do you know whether you have Cold Symptoms or the flu?It's important to know the difference between flu and cold Symptoms. A cold is a milder respiratory illness than the flu. While cold symptoms can make you feel bad for a few days, Symptoms can make you feel quite ill for a few days to weeks.The flu can also result in serious health problems such as pneumonia and-hospitalizations.

What are common cold symptoms?

Cold symptoms usually begin with a  sore throat , which usually goes away after a day or two. Nasal symptoms, runny nose, and congestion follow, along with a cough by the fourth and fifth days. Fever is uncommon in adults, but a slight fever impossible. Children are more likely to have a fever with a cold.

With cold symptoms, the nose teems with watery nasal secretions for the first few days. Later, these become thicker and darker. Dark mucus is natural and does not usually mean you have developed a bacterial infection, such as a sinus infection.

Several hundred different viruses may cause your cold symptoms.

How long do cold symptoms last?

Cold symptoms usually last for about a week. During the first three days that you have cold symptoms, you are contagious. This means you can pass the cold to others, so stay home and get some much-needed rest.

If cold symptoms do not seem to be improving after a week, you may have a bacterial infection, which means you may need antibiotics.

Sometimes you may mistake cold symptoms for allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or a sinus infection. If cold symptoms begin quickly and are improving after a week, then it is usually a cold, not allergy. If your cold symptoms do not seem to be getting better after a week, check with your doctor to see if you have developed an allergy or sinusitis.

What are common flu symptoms?

Flu symptoms are usually more severe than cold symptoms and come on quickly.Symptoms of flu include sore throat, fever, headaches, muscle aches and soreness,congestion, and cough. Swine flu in particular is also associated with vomiting and diarrhea.

Most flu symptoms gradually improve over two to five days, but it's not uncommon to feel run down for a week or more. A common complication of the flu is pneumonia, particularly in the young, elderly, or people with lung or heart problems.If you notice shortness of breath, let your doctor know. Another common sign of pneumonia is fever that comes back after having been gone for a day or two.

Just like cold viruses, flu viruses enter your body through the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, or mouth. Every time you touch your hand to one of these areas,you could be infecting yourself with a virus, which makes it very important to keep hands germ-free with frequent washing to prevent both flu and cold symptoms.

Is it flu or cold symptoms?

How do you know if you have flu or cold symptoms? Take your temperature, say many experts. Flu symptoms often mimic cold symptoms with nasal congestion, cough, aches, and malaise. But a common cold rarely has symptoms of fever above 101 degrees. With flu symptoms, you will probably have a fever initially with the flu virus and you will feel miserable. Body and muscle aches are also more common with the flu. 

This table can help determine if you have cold or flu symptoms.

Symptoms	Cold	Flu
Fever	Sometimes, usually mild	Usual; higher (100-102 F; occasionally higher, especially in young children); lasts 3 to 4 days
Headache	Occasionally	Common
General Aches, Pains	Slight	Usual; often severe
Fatigue, Weakness	Sometimes	Usual; can last 2 to 3 weeks
Extreme Exhaustion	Never	Usual; at the beginning of the illness
Stuffy Nose	Common	Sometimes
Sneezing	Usual	Sometimes
Sore Throat	Common	Sometimes
Chest Discomfort, Cough	Mild to moderate; hacking cough	Common; can become severe
Complications	Sinus congestion; middle ear infection	Sinusitis, bronchitis, ear infection, pneumonia; can be life-threatening
Prevention	Wash hands often; avoid close contact with anyone with a cold	Wash hands often; avoid close contact with anyone who has flu symptoms; get the annual flu vaccine
Treatment	Decongestants; pain reliever/fever reducer medicines	Decongestants, pain relievers, or fever reducers are available over the counter; over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should not be given to young children; prescription antiviral drugs for flu may be given in some cases; call your doctor for more information about treatment.

Entertainment

ICC Apartheid Proposal: Pakistan’s dilemma to vote or not

By Osman Monshi, An MSc Student at BPP University, UK

ICC (International Cricket Council) meet in Singapore, Eight ICC full cricket playing members except Pakistan and SriLanka voted in favour for the proposal which will see England, India & Australia dominate proceeding in International Cricket





The new proposal in cricket history has been passed at an ICC board meeting in Singapore after eight of the ten full member countries agreed to vote for “Big Three” powers while SriLanka and Pakistan taking more time to come in a decision.


The new measures agreed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) will refurbish the world’s Cricket governance, competitions and Finances.


The new measures will also create opportunities for associate members, such as Ireland, Scotland, and Afghanistan, to play test cricket with lower-ranked test playing nations.


Under the new changes, the World Cricket will see:


§ New Executive Committee: Five-man executive panel will direct The ICC board committee where India, Australia and England will occupy three permanent seats. The five-man executive committee will always be key body in decision-making process.


§ India to chair ICC board: N Srinivasan, currently the President of BCCI, will become the ICC board chairmen from July 2014. He will preside ICC board meeting over the next two years. He will also become the most powerful man in world’s cricket.


§ New model for Finance Distribution: Full members will receive financial recognition based on their performance and contribution to the World Cricket in terms of Finances, ICC history and on-filed performances.


§ Champions Trophy revived: The most wanted Champions Trophy One-Day tournament will continue from 2017 and 2021 by replacing plans for a World Test Championship.


§ Test Cricket Fund: A test-cricket fund will be created to help 10 full members to host home series until 2023.


§ Future Tour Programme(FTP): The current form of cricket tour will end with replacing Future Tour Programme. It will come into action from 2023. And the ICC's 10 full members - Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe - will no longer be obliged to play each other regularly after the Future Tours Programme was scrapped in favour of bilateral agreements between nations to cover Test series between 2015 and 2023.


§ Opportunities for Associates Test-playing countries:The associates countries participate in ICC Intercontinental cup every year. The winner of that intercontinental cup will be able to play off against the lower-ranked test playing nations for wining the prize and gaining the test status. The six leading associate members - Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates - currently have one-day international status, but are not able to play Test matches. The existing full member will retain their test status and there is no chance of demotion system.


§ Three dominates: The world cricket will be dominated by the cricket board, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Cricket Australia (CA) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)


The current ranking of test playing full ten members:


1. South Africa


2. India


3. Australia


4. England


5. Pakistan


6. Sri Lanka


7. West Indies


8. New Zealand


9. Zimbabwe


10. Bangladesh.


Reactions from Cricket Board:






England Cricket Board boss Giles Clarke is adamant changes are necessary and says all countries will profit financially if England, India and Australia are given more power to negotiate broadcasting and marketing deals on behalf of the ICC.


"All countries earn more through this proposal," said Clarke. "No member would earn less and, if our predictions are correct, most will earn an awful lot more. How can that be bad for cricket?"


Eight of the 10 full members voted in favour at the ICC meeting in Singapore, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka choosing to abstain.


The former chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Arif Abassi, has warned that the measures could create deep divisions in the world game, and targeted India for criticism.


Abassi told Lee James on BBC Sports World: "I can't reconcile myself with what India are doing, we can't have this bulldozing from India.


"The ICC is like a company and a company needs level playing fields. This is being done at the expense of equality. This will lead to division and polarisation in the game.


"The money that comes into the game is not because of India, it's because of the overall picture of Test cricket. I cannot endorse this behaviour from India."


Cricket South Africa (CSA), who had earlier voiced concerns about the changes, stressed that the agreement reached by the ICC is a work in progress.


"Nothing in life is perfect," commented CSA President and chairman, Chris Nenzani in a statement on the CSA official website. "All countries, including the so-called 'Big Three', have had to rethink and make concessions.


(Source:BBC Sports and the times of India)

Sci-Tech and Business

INDIAN STOCK MARKET HIGH OFFERS FOREIGN INVESTMENT CLUES

By Sabuj Mia, an Accounting Student, London

The Indian stock market reached a record high recently and remains buoyant. We take a look at the rising amount of foreign investment coming into the country and look at some of the reasons why Many analysts have attributed the current buoyancy of the Indian stock market – called the Sensex – to the fact that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have invested a whopping £3bn into Indian stocks over a period of just several months.

The trigger for this substantial investment into India came after the US Federal Reserve delayed the tapering of its monetary stimulus last September.

A heavy foreign fund inflow into Indian blue chips such as Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Tech Mahindra quickly followed.

But following this investment, a number of observers suggested the new highs had been driven by only a handful of expensive stocks and that the danger was that this surge could be short lived.

Despite the record highs, the Sensex was Asia's fourth-worst performer in 2013 in dollar terms, with an overall fall of 2.6%. The returns have been hurt by a weak rupee, which hit record lows in August that sparked concerns about a currency crisis in the country.

As a direct result of the currency situation, foreign investors have actually earned a negative return from the Sensex, while domestic investment in the equity market has remained low.

What is required is an improvement to the fundamentals to encourage the new liquidity to remain and increase.

STALLED REFORMS

Much-needed economic reforms have pretty much stalled due to bickering among political parties and it is true that corporate earnings have been average or even lower than in 2012.

Unclear rules governing foreign participation and political opposition have also proved to be a barrier to entry for many.

However, since taking office in September 2013, Raghuram Rajan, the governor of India’s central bank, has called for financial-sector liberalisation as a way to boost growth and help the poor.

He has argued that the current national financial system, a mixture of nationalised banks, financial socialism and the product of reforms from the early 1990s, needs to open up.

Conversely however, a weak rupee has proved tempting for foreign investors bringing money to India, while large stable Western companies have plenty of cash on their balance sheets but little option to invest in the economies of Europe and the US. The opportunity to invest in a country with 1.2 billion consumers is also a massive incentive.

The biggest destinations of foreign money have been the services industry, telecommunications, computer software and hardware, as well as construction and real estate.

In real terms, this means that foreign firms would have no problem buying out the ownership of an airport, a cash-and-carry or wholesale trading operation, a scientific or technical publishing house, a mining or oil exploration operation or industrial park.

India has, however, been very careful to limit access to areas of the economy where there are concerns in relation to either national security or where there might be a serious social impact.

As a result, there is a currently a ban on foreign firms buying into businesses such as lottery firms, atomic energy producers or manufacturers of cigars, cheroots, cigarillos or cigarettes.

Recent foreign investment has included British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline, which has spent £600m to raise its stake in its Indian arm, GSK Pharmaceticals, from 50% to 75%.

Unilever invested £2bn on stocks of Indian arm Hindustan Unilever in July 2013. The followin month, McGraw Hill, the owner of global rating agency Standard & Poor's, increased its stake in Crisil, the leading Indian rating agency.

Meanwhile, Britain's Tesco is also set to become the first foreign supermarket to venture into India's £300bn retail sector after announcing in December 2013 it had applied to buy a 50% stake in Tata Group's Trent Hypermarket.

The world's third-largest retailer has made an application to India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board and plans to invest £70m.

Companies with cash and businesses to grow are putting their money where they see growth – that place includes India. That growth is likely to get stronger over the next few quarters.

There are firm grounds to believe that observers who had foreseen the end of India's growth story may now be rethinking their predictions, amid the rising tide of investment inflows that these deals represent.

If the government increases investments in infrastructure and simplifies its framework, growth could return in dramatic fashion.

(Source: ACCA Student Accountant News)

Politics

You can’t take advantage of a big European internal market and stay outside in other questions at the same time: President of the European Parliament to Switzerland.

By M A Amin, a Student at Glyndwr University, London

 President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz made the warning on Monday after Swiss voters approved a curb on immigration in a February 9 referendum.

Schulz said Switzerland could not expect to pick and choose from the binding package of negotiated deals with the European Union.

“We should stay level-headed” he said, adding that Switzerland “cannot take advantage of a big European internal market and stay outside in other questions at the same time.”

The EU official went on to say that the renegotiation of the EU freedom of movement policy could affect the country’s population and their free movement in the European Union as well.

Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian member of the European Parliament, also voiced regret over Switzerland’s decision.

“For us, EU-Swiss relations come as a package… We will not allow cherry-picking.”

The immigration referendum came at the request of the nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which wanted the government to abandon its treaty on the policy of freedom of movement within the EU.

Brussels is now concerned about the possibility of a surge in support for anti-immigration parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Switzerland is not a member of the European Union. However, it has adopted large sections of EU policy, including free movement and the Schengen open-borders treaty with the 28-nation bloc.

About one million EU citizens currently live in Switzerland and about 400 Swiss citizens are living in the EU.

(Source: Euronews)