Cluster: Swiss Abroad

“Crimes committed on both sides” in Gaza conflict

This content was published on Oct 16, 2009 In a special session in Geneva, 25 members voted in favour of the resolution that criticised Israel for failing to cooperate with the UN mission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Another six voted against. Eleven abstained. Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the charges in the 575-page Goldstone report, which is critical of…

Swiss Politics

UN top official backs Goldstone report on Gaza

This content was published on Oct 15, 2009 Navi Pillay’s endorsement of the report by an expert group led by South African judge Richard Goldstone came as Israel warned the UN Human Rights Council that approving the document risked undermining Middle East peace. Pillay told the 47-member council in Geneva that she supported the report’s recommendations, “including its call for urgent action to…

Swiss Politics

Order for new fighter jets reportedly dropped

This content was published on Oct 15, 2009 Switzerland had originally planned to spend SFr2.2 billion ($2.17 billion) to buy 33 new jets to replace the ageing fleet of 54 Tiger fighter aircraft. The order was then reduced to 22 jets. But sources told Swiss radio and television on Wednesday night that the money would only suffice for the purchase of about a…

Swiss Politics

Libya nominates Indian for Gaddafi tribunal

This content was published on Oct 14, 2009 The Swiss foreign ministry said at the end of August that Elizabeth Wilmshurst, a British lawyer, would be Switzerland’s arbitrator on the panel, which will be located in London. Neither Rao, a 67-year-old expert on public prosecution who currently works in Qatar, nor Wilmshurst would comment on the appointment. The tribunal is a condition of…

Swiss Politics

Merz and Calmy-Rey questioned on Libya

This content was published on Oct 13, 2009 Martine Brunschwig Graf, a member of the commission, described the information given by Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and head of the Geneva police, Laurent Moutinot, on Tuesday as “convincing”. She said Moutinot had confirmed that the arrest in Geneva in July 2008 of Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, and…

Swiss Politics

Towns divided over controversial poster

This content was published on Oct 13, 2009 The French-speaking towns of Neuchâtel, Nyon and Morges joined Basel, Fribourg, Lausanne and Yverdon in forbidding the poster, which shows a woman wrapped in a burka standing next to a Swiss flag that is dotted around with minarets. Neuchâtel described the posters as “full of hate and disrespect”. However, three other towns, Olten, Chur and…

Swiss Politics

Press mulls aftermath of Turkey-Armenia deal

This content was published on Oct 12, 2009 The Swiss-brokered deal, which follows a century of hostility between the two countries, was signed late on Saturday evening, after last-minute problems delayed the ceremony. Attending was Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The delay came after the Armenians objected to statements the Turks planned to read after…

Swiss Politics

Citizens’ Movement Party advances in Geneva

This content was published on Oct 12, 2009 The party, the Geneva Citizens’ Movement (MCG), with its slogan “Geneva and Genevans first”, increased its representation in the western Swiss city’s parliament from nine to 17 seats with almost 15 per cent of votes. The MCG has argued there is a direct link between French workers crossing the border and the unemployment rate in…

Swiss Politics

Minarets raise questions for Austrians too

This content was published on Oct 11, 2009 Yet Austria is unique in western Europe in that Islam has been a recognised religion in the country for more than 100 years, since the time when the Habsburg empire was also home to Bosnians. But there were few Muslims living in what is now Austria. The first mosque, in Vienna, dates back only to…

Swiss Politics

Professors confront minister over arms exports

This content was published on Oct 11, 2009 In an open letter published on Sunday to Doris Leuthard, the Swiss economics minister, 70 law professors argue that Swiss-made weapons are helping to fuel wars and to bolster regimes with poor human-rights records. The group says a substantial portion of arms sales made in the first half of 2009 went toward fighting in Iraq,…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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“Crimes committed on both sides” in Gaza conflict

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UN top official backs Goldstone report on Gaza

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Order for new fighter jets reportedly dropped

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Libya nominates Indian for Gaddafi tribunal

More

Merz and Calmy-Rey questioned on Libya

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Towns divided over controversial poster

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Press mulls aftermath of Turkey-Armenia deal

More

Citizens’ Movement Party advances in Geneva

More

Minarets raise questions for Austrians too

More

Professors confront minister over arms exports

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