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People power, a Swiss tradition but new to Europe

This content was published on Sep 11, 2013 The study, carried out by two legal experts from the Centre for Democracy at the University of Zurich and the University of Innsbruck in neighbouring Austria, found a great deal of differences, but also some similarities. The two types of initiatives are “distant relatives rather than siblings”, as researcher Lorenz Langer says. The European Citizens’…

Vote outcomes remain uncertain, except for army

This content was published on Sep 11, 2013 Political scientist Claude Longchamp says one of the main findings of the survey by his GfS Bern research and polling institute is a comparatively low-key campaign ahead of the September 22 ballots. Commissioned by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, the poll was published on Wednesday. “There is hardly any public debate or it has had no…

Aircraft purchase clears hurdle in parliament

This content was published on Sep 11, 2013 On Wednesday, parliamentarians cleared the necessary proposals: an armaments programme to buy the 22 Gripen planes, a bill providing the financial base for the CHF3.1 billion ($3.3 billion) purchase and the release of the so-called brake on spending – required for any amount above CHF20 million. The proposal will now return to the Senate, which…

‘Space janitor’ gets a boost from local launcher

This content was published on Sep 10, 2013 S3 and Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) announced the deal on Tuesday at the launch company’s headquarters in Payerne. “What was an idea has become concrete with S3’s participation,” said Volker Gass, director of the Swiss Space Center at EPFL. “The company’s concept should ensure the success of the mission.” The CleanSpace One satellite…

Execution drugs face export restrictions

This content was published on Sep 10, 2013 On Monday, the Senate approved the proposal without much of a discussion, following the recommendation of its health commission. The cabinet will now work out a bill and most likely add a clause to the law on therapeutic products. Interior Minister Alain Berset said there was currently no legal basis to ban the export of…

Threat management system premieres in Solothurn

This content was published on Sep 9, 2013 Serious acts of violence are usually preceded by warning signals communicated by the potential perpetrators. “It never happens out of the blue,” said Hans Rudolf von Rohr, head of security for the Solothurner cantonal police, speaking at the symposium in Olten. The mass shooting in the Zug cantonal parliament in 2001 and the state of…

In the blacksmith’s lair

This content was published on Sep 7, 2013 The centre was established in 1997, when the army decided it no longer wanted to operate the site. Around 200 horses are now stabled there. The blacksmith shoes the centre’s own horses, plus animals belonging to the army and to private individuals using both industrially-made and handmade horseshoes. (Pictures: Christoph Balsiger, swissinfo.ch, Text: NPZ Bern)

Intelligence service taken to task over breach

This content was published on Sep 5, 2013 In its abridged report, the commission blisteringly criticised the role of FIS chief Markus Seiler in the breach involving data theft. The commission found that Seiler had seriously downplayed the FIS’s role in the breach. It also criticised him for signing off on measures to prevent a similar incident from happening again when, in fact,…

Legal assistance given to Argentina

This content was published on Sep 4, 2013 Switzerland had previously been asked for legal assistance by the Argentinian authorities in 2010 concerning a 1997 bribery case involving Menem and officials in the Argentinian communications ministry, according to an article in the Tages-Anzeiger and Der Bund newspapers on Wednesday. Argentinian prosecutors thought $25 million (CHF23.4 million) paid in connection with the award of…

New Swiss negotiator to defend with ‘firmness’

This content was published on Sep 4, 2013 De Watteville was appointed State Secretary for International Financial and Tax Matters in the finance ministry on Wednesday. The 62-year-old succeeds Ambühl, who led lengthy banking and tax evasion talks with the United States and negotiations with the European Union, and who left his post to become a professor at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology.…

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Internal: Archive

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People power, a Swiss tradition but new to Europe

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Vote outcomes remain uncertain, except for army

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Aircraft purchase clears hurdle in parliament

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‘Space janitor’ gets a boost from local launcher

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Execution drugs face export restrictions

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Threat management system premieres in Solothurn

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In the blacksmith’s lair

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Intelligence service taken to task over breach

More

Legal assistance given to Argentina

More

New Swiss negotiator to defend with ‘firmness’

Popular Stories

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