Cluster: Swiss Abroad

Refugee office director gets new job

This content was published on Jan 14, 2004 Jean-Daniel Gerber stressed that he had applied for the job before the election of Christoph Blocher as Swiss justice minister. Gerber has been in charge of the office for over six years and his move to Seco is no surprise, given that he has a strong background in economics. He had been widely tipped for…

Swiss Politics

Asylum requests fall by a fifth

This content was published on Jan 7, 2004 According to Federal Refugee Office figures, 20,806 people applied for asylum last year – down 20 per cent on 2002. But officials said there had been a significant increase in the number of people arriving from eastern Europe, especially Georgia and Russia, many of whom were unable to give credible reasons for seeking asylum. The…

Swiss Politics

Status quo wobbles under rightwing assault

This content was published on Jan 3, 2004 Most attention will be focused on the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, which now has two cabinet ministers and is the largest party in parliament. With its charismatic driving force, Christoph Blocher, joining party colleague Samuel Schmid in the seven-strong cabinet, the People’s Party has “lost” its most outspoken critic of government policy. That is because…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland helps Bhutan on the path to modernity

This content was published on Dec 30, 2003 Switzerland’s federal system is proving a useful reference tool for the country’s steps toward a modern democracy. Bhutan, a small, remote country of just over 2.1 million people, has remained virtually cut off from the outside world for centuries. But in recent years it has tentatively begun to modernise and open its borders. Bhutan is…

Swiss Politics

Swiss chalet keeps an eye on the arms race

This content was published on Dec 30, 2003 Known as Davox, the station was opened in October to assist the international community in detecting secret atomic tests, as well as natural disasters. Davox is one of 321 monitoring stations around the world, whose job it is to detect vibrations, changes in pressure and radioactive particles – all potential signs of illicit nuclear experiments.…

Swiss Politics

Baghdad correspondent tells of life after Saddam

This content was published on Dec 29, 2003 The veteran Middle East correspondent witnessed the fall of Saddam and narrowly escaped death when his hotel was fired on by coalition forces. Tilgner heads up the German television channel ZDF’s bureau in the Iranian capital, Tehran, but has spent most of the past 12 months reporting for German and Swiss viewers from neighbouring Iraq.…

Swiss Politics

Enhancing Switzerland’s image in the US

This content was published on Dec 27, 2003 The Presence Switzerland project, sponsored by the government to promote Switzerland in the United States, is now drawing to a close. A vast network of contacts has been set up, and the alumni party in Washington has evolved into a major late-summer event attended by hundreds of people. Although the project is ending, the US…

Swiss Politics

Political upheaval marks Switzerland’s year

This content was published on Dec 25, 2003 The year was topped off with a cliffhanger cabinet election. The rightwing Swiss People’s Party stamped its authority on the political landscape in 2003 by becoming the biggest party in parliament after October’s elections, and winning a second seat in the seven-strong government in December’s cabinet vote. And it was the party’s populist driving force,…

Swiss Politics

Split by arbitrary borders

This content was published on Dec 23, 2003 Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), a local aid organisation is working to promote dialogue between the town’s citizens and the guards who watch over them. Our arrival at the horizontal barrier which serves as the Uzbek customs post seems to cause a good deal of agitation. “No photographs”, are the…

A valley divided

This content was published on Dec 23, 2003 The potential for conflict is ever present among the eight million inhabitants who belong to dozens of ethnic and religious groups. Our first glimpse of the place is from the Kamchik Pass. Rather than a valley, the Fergana looks like an immense plain. Mainly Uzbek territory, it is surrounded by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Fergana…

Cluster: Swiss Abroad

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Cluster: Swiss Abroad

More

Refugee office director gets new job

More

Asylum requests fall by a fifth

More

Status quo wobbles under rightwing assault

More

Switzerland helps Bhutan on the path to modernity

More

Swiss chalet keeps an eye on the arms race

More

Baghdad correspondent tells of life after Saddam

More

Enhancing Switzerland’s image in the US

More

Political upheaval marks Switzerland’s year

More

Split by arbitrary borders

More

A valley divided

Popular Stories

Most Discussed