Swiss Abroad

Christian Democrats win 13th Senate seat

This content was published on Dec 4, 2011 Bischof’s win gives the Christian Democrats their 13th seat in the Senate, more than any other party in the Senate. Bischof won the seat with 51.24 per cent of the vote, ahead of the Radical Party’s Kurt Fluri with 37.74 per cent and independent Peter Brudermann with 11 per cent of the vote. The result…

Swiss Politics

Unesco faces cost of Palestine vote

This content was published on Dec 3, 2011 On October 31 the United States suspended its financial contribution to Unesco after Palestine was admitted as a full member. “The situation is difficult, no one can deny it,” Eric Falt vice-director general for external relations and public information at Unesco told swissinfo.ch. The impact is brutal and immediate: the agency is $35 million (SFr32.2…

Swiss Politics

Nuclear safety watchdog gets glowing report

This content was published on Dec 3, 2011 A mission of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS), made up of 24 safety experts from 14 countries from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), wound up an intensive two-week visit to Switzerland on Friday with a presentation of some of its preliminary findings. They held discussions with experts from the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety…

Swiss Politics

Secret election funding taken to task again

This content was published on Dec 2, 2011 The Council of Europe’s monitoring platform, the Group of States Against Corruption (Greco), has also criticised Switzerland’s low rate of bribery convictions, with none being handed out in the private sector. Despite its image of fair democracy and good governance, Switzerland is one of the few western countries where politicians and political parties do not…

Swiss Politics

Court rules Kosovar can be extradited

This content was published on Dec 2, 2011 The man, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was detained last April at the request of Serbia which sent Switzerland a formal extradition request in March. He is accused of committing war crimes against Serb civilians and Albanians in 1999, in Gnjilane, about 50 kilometres from the Kosovan capital, Pristina. In a ruling…

Swiss Politics

Nuclear safety watchdog gets glowing report

This content was published on Dec 2, 2011 Following a two-week inspection of Swiss nuclear sites, the IAEA said it was satisfied with the system of security implemented by the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate. “Our team considers the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate to be credible in its actions to improve the security of nuclear plants in Switzerland,” Jean-Christophe Niel, head of the IAEA…

Swiss Politics

Durban climate talks yield “little progress”

This content was published on Dec 2, 2011 A week into the two-week conference, little progress has been made on reaching an agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol, which limits greenhouse gas emissions for 36 industrialised countries, and the development of legally binding obligations for the rest of the world to cut emissions. Franz Perrez, head of the Swiss delegation to the conference,…

Swiss Politics

Fukuyama predicts eurozone breakup

This content was published on Dec 2, 2011 “The current path, it seems to me, is just not sustainable,” the influential academic and writer told a media conference at the Geneva Press Club on Wednesday. “Either the EU will deepen into a fiscal union or it will start breaking up, or at least the monetary part of it will break up.” His comments…

Swiss Politics

Sommaruga urges closer migration cooperation

This content was published on Dec 1, 2011 Switzerland currently chairs the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which is holding its fifth annual meeting in Geneva from December 1-2, attended by representatives of 160 states and civil society members. “One of the conclusions I have drawn from my first year in office is that whoever tries to develop national migration policy without…

Swiss Politics

Switzerland remains one of least corrupt countries

This content was published on Dec 1, 2011 The anti-corruption organisation Transparency International awarded Switzerland 8.8 points, a slightly better score than the 8.7 it received last year. Transparency International creates an annual corruption perceptions index based on a scale of zero (very corrupt) to ten (practically no corruption). Published on Thursday, the 2011 index found New Zealand to be the least corrupt…

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Christian Democrats win 13th Senate seat

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Unesco faces cost of Palestine vote

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Nuclear safety watchdog gets glowing report

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Secret election funding taken to task again

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Court rules Kosovar can be extradited

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Nuclear safety watchdog gets glowing report

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Durban climate talks yield “little progress”

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Fukuyama predicts eurozone breakup

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Sommaruga urges closer migration cooperation

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Switzerland remains one of least corrupt countries

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