Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Efta continues to extend its influence

This content was published on May 9, 2007 New negotiations are extremely far advanced with Canada and India, the organisation announced on Wednesday at the presentation of its 2006 annual report in Geneva. “We have agreements with 50 different countries, including 25 from the European Union, which makes Efta the most extensive free trade zone in the world,” declared Efta Secretary-General Kåre Bryn.…

Swiss Politics

The people decide

This content was published on May 9, 2007 The Swiss call this element of their political system “direct democracy”. It allows the people to shape legislation and constitutional changes directly through initiatives and referendums. It differs from representative democracy, in which the people delegate this power to elected representatives. Because the Swiss political system has recourse to both direct democracy and parliaments, it…

Fighter jet noise gets Swiss up in arms

This content was published on May 8, 2007 Defence Minister Samuel Schmid refuses to back down, but opponents warn they will use every legal avenue at their disposal, even if it means hurting civilian projects and operations. Schmid has said in the past that by concentrating flights at Payerne, Sion and Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, the air force will be able to…

Swiss Politics

France votes decisively for political change

This content was published on May 7, 2007 A majority of commentators expects the ambitious new conservative president, who has promised an urgently needed economic revolution, to quickly get down to work but also to face considerable resistance. Sarkozy swept aside his socialist rival Ségolène Royal with a solid majority, taking 53.1 per cent of the ballot against Royal’s 46.9 per cent, with…

Swiss Politics

Sarkozy stakes his claim to the Elysée palace

This content was published on May 6, 2007 Within minutes of the polls closing at 8pm (1800 UTC) on Sunday, Royal conceded victory in a speech to party supporters in the heart of Paris. Shotly afterwards, Sarkozy pledged to represent the entire nation and heal the divisions of a bitter election campaign, praising his defeated opponent. “To all those French who did not…

Swiss Politics

Glarus decides to grant vote from 16

This content was published on May 6, 2007 Voters at the canton’s annual Landsgemeinde or open-air assembly on Sunday backed a proposal by young Socialists on the issue, which is also being discussed elsewhere in the country. It took three rounds of voting by the traditional show of hands before the head of the local government, Röbi Marti, was able to announce the…

Swiss Politics

Middle East envoy weighs up chances for peace

This content was published on May 6, 2007 In an interview with swissinfo, the senior diplomat looks back at his two years as a mediator in one of the cauldrons of global politics and assesses the prospects for peace in the region. Lang was first posted to the Middle East in 1999 and has since played a leading role in extending and strengthening…

Swiss Politics

Amnesty Switzerland makes demands on China

This content was published on May 5, 2007 At a congress on Saturday in Locarno in southern Switzerland, Amnesty started collecting signatures for a petition to be handed in to the Chinese embassy in Bern six months before the event. The campaign, which runs under the slogan: “Human Rights on the Podium”, has four demands – the abolition of the death penalty, the…

Swiss Politics

Swiss expert says Darfur solution needs time

This content was published on May 5, 2007 Julian Hottinger, a member of the Swiss foreign ministry’s pool of experts who helped hammer out the DPA and its power sharing protocol, has just returned from the area. A peace deal for the western Darfur region was signed last May by the Sudanese government and one Darfur rebel group, but has failed to end…

Swiss Politics

Annan calls for global responsibility

This content was published on May 4, 2007 Delivering the keynote address at the Swiss Economic Forum, Annan said globalisation, in addition to creating opportunities, had created threats that could only be overcome if inequalities were eradicated. Annan, who stepped down as head of the UN last year and now lives in Geneva, believes richer nations need to realise fully the consequences of…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Efta continues to extend its influence

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The people decide

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Fighter jet noise gets Swiss up in arms

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France votes decisively for political change

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Sarkozy stakes his claim to the Elysée palace

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Glarus decides to grant vote from 16

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Middle East envoy weighs up chances for peace

More

Amnesty Switzerland makes demands on China

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Swiss expert says Darfur solution needs time

More

Annan calls for global responsibility

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