Cluster: Swiss Abroad

OECD demands more Swiss development aid

This content was published on Feb 22, 2007 The recommendation is included in the OECD’s “Development Cooperation Report”, which was published on Thursday in Berlin. The report looks at overall aid volume and examines whether donors are on track to reach their goal of increasing aid to $130 billion (SFr161 billion) globally and doubling aid to Africa by 2010. It said Switzerland’s contribution…

Swiss Politics

Legal debate rages in EC-Swiss tax row

This content was published on Feb 21, 2007 But they say the argument connecting tax breaks offered by cantons to attract foreign firms and “illegal” trade subsidies is more likely to be settled in political corridors than in the courts. The EC last week moved the long running tax saga to a new level by issuing a 17-page document claiming that Switzerland’s tax…

Swiss Politics

Trendy uniforms fail to appeal to students

This content was published on Feb 19, 2007 Students will now revert to their usual gear, but another attempt at uniforms will be made during the next school year with younger pupils, using a simpler set of clothing. The experiment, which was keenly watched across Switzerland, where students do not usually wear uniforms, was aimed at measuring how the clothing affected pupils’ performances,…

Swiss Politics

Leuthard targets developing markets

This content was published on Feb 16, 2007 Leuthard, a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party, tells swissinfo about the need for greater liberalisation, not only for industrial goods and services but also in agriculture. swissinfo: Your first trade visit as economics minister took you to Brazil – what were the most important results? Doris Leuthard: We signed a memorandum of understanding…

Swiss Politics

Landsgemeinde

This content was published on Feb 15, 2007 The Landsgemeinde is one of the oldest and simplest forms of direct democracy in Switzerland. All registered electors are invited once a year to assemble in the open air to elect with a show of hands the government (Appenzell Inner Rhodes), and to vote on the constitution and laws or set tax levels (Appenzell Inner…

Swiss slap sanctions on Iran

This content was published on Feb 14, 2007 The move comes two days after Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey held informal discussions with Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani on the nuclear stand-off. On Wednesday the cabinet announced an embargo on all goods that could serve Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes. The Swiss authorities have also frozen a number of Iranian assets.…

EU declares tax war on Swiss cantons

This content was published on Feb 13, 2007 The commission said low corporate taxes offered by cantons such as Obwalden and Zug violated a 1972 trade agreement, calling it a disguised state subsidy. “Switzerland enjoys the benefits of privileged access to the [European Union] internal market and must accept the responsibilities that go along with this,” said EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner…

Swiss Politics

Women strengthen their position in local politics

This content was published on Feb 11, 2007 At the end of last year, they occupied almost 30 per cent of parliamentary seats in Swiss towns and cities. In the parliaments of Switzerland’s five largest cities, the proportion of women reached 37 per cent, with the city of Bern holding the record with 42.5 per cent, according to statistics of Swiss towns 2007.…

Swiss Politics

More than 645,000 Swiss live abroad

This content was published on Feb 8, 2007 At the end of 2006, 645,010 Swiss citizens were living outside Switzerland. This is an increase of 10,794 individuals or 1.7 per cent over the figure for December 2005. Since 2000, the number of Swiss abroad has grown by 11.1 per cent. Dual citizenship is possessed by 460,065 people – almost three-quarters of the total.…

Swiss Politics

President takes pride in Cambodia projects

This content was published on Feb 6, 2007 The children’s hospitals set up by Beat Richner, as well as Piergiorgio and Simonetta Tami’s refuges are lifelines for many people and help build a positive image of Switzerland, she said. Calmy-Rey, who is also the foreign minister, met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his deputy in the capital Phnom Penh, using the occasion…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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