Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Cheap strawberry imports targeted by campaign

This content was published on Apr 17, 2010 Campaigners say it is not the strawberry season and have been drawing attention to the social and environmental impact of such imports. The Senate will examine five cantonal motions calling for bans on unacceptable imports next week. Although they are cheap, fruit and vegetables imported from southern Europe hide other costs, argue the Platform for…

Swiss Politics

Countries agree to clamp down on fake drugs

This content was published on Apr 16, 2010 The move paves the way for a new Council of Europe convention outlining tougher measures against those manufacturing and selling fake Viagra, slimming pills and other medications. The Medicrime convention would be the first international instrument to criminalise the faking of medical products and similar activities. On Friday more than 140 participants from around 40…

Swiss Politics

Swiss army marches forward but not sure where

This content was published on Apr 16, 2010 The 78-page report attempts to tackle a controversial question: Should the Swiss army cooperate more closely with international peacekeeping efforts abroad or should it retreat to being a purely defensive force with a focus on infantry? The answer in the report – which strives to find common ground between opposing forces – has met with…

Swiss Politics

Security programme takes middle path

This content was published on Apr 15, 2010 The report, presented to the media on Thursday, takes a middle road between those who want to maintain Switzerland’s traditional strict neutrality, and those who believe it should be more open and cooperate militarily with other countries. The threat to Switzerland has not fundamentally changed since the last report issued in 1999, ministers agreed. “Switzerland’s…

Swiss Politics

Leuthard satisfied with nuclear summit outcome

This content was published on Apr 14, 2010 Before flying home she said her initial scepticism based on early and vague draft statements had disappeared after precise and analytical talks. World leaders endorsed President Barack Obama’s call for more security in the storage of nuclear material, tougher punishment for nuclear smugglers and less use of highly enriched uranium in the campaign against nuclear…

Swiss Politics

Nigerian asylum seekers come under pressure

This content was published on Apr 14, 2010 But refugee organisations, which are insisting on due legal process, point out the complexity of the problem and warn against shortened interviews. “They’re not coming here to seek asylum but to do illegal business,” Alard du Bois-Reymond, new director of the Federal Migration Office, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, referring to applicants from Nigeria.…

Swiss Politics

Setbacks loom for Haiti as hurricanes approach

This content was published on Apr 13, 2010 One of the most urgent priorities is better shelter for the 1.5 million homeless people at risk from the imminent rains and hurricane season, say Swiss aid officials. Life is slowly returning to the capital Port-au-Prince after the 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12 that killed 230,000 people, injured 300,000 others and wrecked large swaths of…

Swiss Politics

Red Cross calls for Congo hostages’ release

This content was published on Apr 13, 2010 The Swiss-run organisation confirmed on Tuesday that seven Congolese and one Swiss national had been seized by armed members of the Mai Mai Yakutumba group in the South Kivu town of Fizi on Friday afternoon. The aid workers were returning from a trip assessing needs of displaced people in the area. A humanitarian aid source…

Swiss Politics

Swiss say nuclear powers need more control

This content was published on Apr 13, 2010 Leuthard, who is attending an international summit in Washington, said the current regulations gave the major nuclear powers an unfair advantage over smaller states which use nuclear technology for civilian purposes. “They are subject to regular controls about the use of tiny amounts of nuclear materials in hospitals for instance,“ she told public radio. Leuthard…

Swiss Politics

Philippines kidnap reveals risk for foreigners

This content was published on Apr 13, 2010 The police suspect Abu Sayyaf, the most prominent Islamist group, of being behind the kidnapping of a 72-year-old Swiss-Philippine dual national, who was taken by people posing as policemen and army officials. Last year the group kidnapped three workers with the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross, including the Swiss Andreas Notter, from the…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

More

Cheap strawberry imports targeted by campaign

More

Countries agree to clamp down on fake drugs

More

Swiss army marches forward but not sure where

More

Security programme takes middle path

More

Leuthard satisfied with nuclear summit outcome

More

Nigerian asylum seekers come under pressure

More

Setbacks loom for Haiti as hurricanes approach

More

Red Cross calls for Congo hostages’ release

More

Swiss say nuclear powers need more control

More

Philippines kidnap reveals risk for foreigners

Popular Stories

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