Switzerland on Sunday rejected a proposal to cap its population at 10 million, a projection showed, as voters prioritised economic stability and ties with the European Union over worries immigration was straining public services and pushing up rents. The projection by national broadcaster SRF, which traditionally calls referendum votes, showed about 45% of voters came out in favour of the proposal and 55% against. The vote, which was likened to Britain's 2016 Brexit referendum, had put businesses on edge due to concerns it could end the free movement of labour between Switzerland and the EU, the country's main trading partner. The proposal, championed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, stipulated that the population must not exceed 10 million before 2050, and that if it did so for two years, Switzerland should end freedom of movement with the EU. Urs Bieri from polling firm GFS Bern said the initiative failed to pass because although concern about pop...
Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday for the second time in a week in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel, while its military also carried out broader strikes on southern Lebanon. The latest escalation came despite expectations that a deal between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war could be imminent, as Tehran insists a ceasefire in Lebanon must be part of any deal. Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike hit an apartment in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh. An AFP correspondent saw smoke and dust rising near a heavily damaged apartment as debris covered the street and people searched for survivors, with panic in the area after the strike along a busy road filled with shops. Read More: Israeli ministers call for bombing Beirut despite ceasefire Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have warned that...