Foreign Affairs
Corporate taxes
Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform
Under pressure from the European Union the Swiss government has outlined plans to scrap controversial tax privileges for international firms. But the reform risks undermining the complex federal fiscal system and leading to a major drop in revenue. [...]
Chinese readers react
Profit at the expense of moral values
Ever since adulterated milk killed six babies in 2008, Chinese people have rushed to buy foreign powdered milk. But how has it come to this? swissinfo.ch asked its readers in China for their take on the issue. [...]
Safe and sound
Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen
Three kidnapped employees of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – reportedly a Swiss, a Kenyan and a Yemeni – have been freed in Yemen, according to ICRC and Yemeni sources. [...]
Free trade
Swiss minister hails trade deal with China
Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann has praised an accord reached in principle with China. He is confident of winning approval of the free trade deal in parliament. [...]
Trade vs human rights
Business is anything but usual with Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, a key player in the conflict in Syria, is an important Swiss trade partner but it regularly makes headlines due to human rights violations. Is conducting business with the desert state complicity, or another way of bringing about change? [...]
ICRC hostages
Three Red Cross workers kidnapped in Yemen
Armed Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped three people – one said to be Swiss – working for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the southern province of Abyan, according to a Yemeni security source. [...]
Slow movement
New chemical controls agreed in Geneva
Five additional chemicals will be subject to international regulation following a summit on chemicals and hazardous waste held in Geneva, but bans and restrictions on asbestos and pesticides containing paraquat failed to garner enough support. [...]
Conflict resolution
Negotiating the “crowded field” of mediation
Most armed conflicts are resolved not by force but at the negotiating table. However, the growing number of mediation actors seen in recent years can be counterproductive, according to a recent study by Swiss authors. [...]
No peace
Forgotten wars
There are more than 400 ongoing conflicts around the world, some of which have lasted decades and still seem unlikely to end. And even if they aren't on the front pages of your newspaper, they keep on causing death, pain and suffering. [...]
Tax exempt
Spanish court refuses to extradite ex-HSBC man
Spain has ruled against extraditing a former HSBC employee to Switzerland, where he faces charges of stealing client banking data subsequently used by a number of European countries to pursue suspected tax evaders. [...]
Vatican visit
Pope Francis receives Swiss president
The pope has granted a private audience to Ueli Maurer, who this year holds the rotating Swiss presidency, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The 16-minute meeting took place before the swearing in of new Swiss Papal Guards. [...]