US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.

She said an assistant refused
to serve her in an upmarket
handbag shop in Zurich.
Winfrey, one of the world's
richest women, was apparently
told one of the bags was "too
expensive" for her.
Her claims, made to a US
television programme, come
amid a political row over plans
by some Swiss towns to ban
asylum seekers from some
public places.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in
Berne says human rights
groups have likened the plans -
which include banning asylum
seekers from swimming pools,
playing fields and libraries - to
apartheid.
The star made an estimated
$77m last year
Winfrey, who stars in Lee
Daniels' new film The Butler,
visited Zurich last month to
attend singer Tina Turner's
wedding. The Oprah Winfrey
Show is not shown in
Switzerland.
Winfrey said she left the shop
calmly without arguing, but
that the experience was proof
that racism continues to be a
problem.
"There's two different ways to
handle it," she said.
"I could've had the whole blow-
up thing... but it still exists, of
course it does."
Shop owner Trudie Gotz told
the BBC that an assistant had
shown Winfrey several other
items before the
"misunderstanding" over a
$35,000 (£22,500) bag, which
was kept behind a screen.
Winfrey's claims are a public
relations disaster for
Switzerland, our correspondent
says.
About 48,000 people are
currently seeking asylum in
Switzerland. It has twice as
many asylum seekers as the
European average.
Officials say the curbs, which
will also see asylum seekers
housed in special centres, are
aimed at preventing tensions
with residents.
The country's asylum laws
were tightened in June.
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