Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Minister calls for glass ceiling to be broken

This content was published on Sep 17, 2007 Leuthard said on Monday that women accounted for only four per cent of upper management in Switzerland and only one third of companies had a female boss. The minister made the comments in front of around 200 businesswomen at the “potentiELLE” conference in Horgen, near Zurich. Leuthard called for women to take a more active…

Swiss Politics

Storm brews before final parliamentary debate

This content was published on Sep 17, 2007 Tax breaks, army guns, citizenship and funding for research and education will most likely provide the ground for verbal exchanges between representatives of the five main parties. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Christine Egerszegi, is expected to open the three-week session with a warning, having made it clear that she would not tolerate…

Swiss Politics

Swiss embassy in Macedonia in line of fire

This content was published on Sep 16, 2007 The SonntagsZeitung newspaper revealed that embassy staff had come under fire for negligence in the issuing of visas. A spokesman for the foreign ministry, Johann Aeschlimann, said an internal report dated one year ago “touched on an open wound” regarding visa practices in Macedonia. According to the newspaper report, the embassy staff in Skopje were…

Swiss Politics

Swiss politicians given report card

This content was published on Sep 16, 2007 Published in the Sunday newspaper, NZZ am Sonntag, the results show which parliamentarians submitted the most or fewest motions and which members were the most verbose. The publication of the findings by Zurich University’s Sotomo research group came on the eve of the last legislative session before parliamentary elections in October. It is the first…

Swiss Politics

Sheep poster gets black marks from UN

This content was published on Sep 14, 2007 He warned that the poster, depicting three white sheep booting a black sheep out of the country, would only provoke racial and religious hatred. The Swiss authorities say it is up to the courts to decide. Speaking at a meeting of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Diène said freedom of expression should…

Swiss Politics

Afghans suffering more as conflict widens

This content was published on Sep 13, 2007 The Swiss-run organisation said on Thursday that the worsening security situation meant large parts of the country were close to becoming “no-go areas” for aid workers. Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Reto Stocker, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Kabul, said the conflict was “clearly spreading and in certain areas is intensifying”. He…

Swiss Politics

Government rejects racism accusations

This content was published on Sep 13, 2007 Responding to United Nations criticism, it said that while racism was unacceptable, it was up to the courts to determine whether particular statements violated anti-racism laws. “In a democratic society freedom of opinion must be defended, in particular in the context of political debate,” the government said in a letter responding to charges laid by…

Swiss Politics

Swiss keep faith with the UN

This content was published on Sep 11, 2007 But it is also aware of the UN’s lack of clout when faced with its more powerful members and the increasing ideological gap between richer and poorer countries. “The UN, like other international organisations, is currently going through a difficult patch,” says Victor-Yves Ghebali, emeritus professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.…

People’s Party becomes political black sheep

This content was published on Sep 10, 2007 The new, aggressive tone from the party ahead of October’s elections has come under fire both at home and abroad. But this may well have boosted the party’s prospects. The message from Switzerland’s largest party – one of the four main political parties – is simple and repeated mantra-like: there is too much welfare abuse…

Swiss Politics

UN membership: what was all the fuss about?

This content was published on Sep 10, 2007 Yet while public support for membership has strengthened over the past five years, more and more people are turning against the idea of sending Swiss troops on UN peace missions. In March 2002 a nationwide vote saw 55 per cent of the electorate come out in support of Switzerland joining the world body, and approval…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Minister calls for glass ceiling to be broken

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Storm brews before final parliamentary debate

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Swiss embassy in Macedonia in line of fire

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Swiss politicians given report card

More

Sheep poster gets black marks from UN

More

Afghans suffering more as conflict widens

More

Government rejects racism accusations

More

Swiss keep faith with the UN

More

People’s Party becomes political black sheep

More

UN membership: what was all the fuss about?

Popular Stories

Most Discussed