Swiss Abroad

Leuthard pushes for trade accord with China

This content was published on Aug 11, 2010 First stop on the five-day trip was Chongqing, a city with more than 30 million inhabitants considered the gate to western China. Hundreds of police cleared the 20 kilometres from the airport to the city centre. Every crossroads, car park and petrol station had been secured for the Swiss visitors – an indication of the…

Swiss Politics

Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

This content was published on Aug 10, 2010 André Guichaoua, a professor at the Paris 1 University and a key source of information about Rwanda for Switzerland’s development cooperation, told swissinfo.ch that should Paul Kagame win re-election, it will also be a testing time for his hard-line government. Kagame is expected to win the election by a landslide. Preliminary results from the National…

Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey invited to top UN panel

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Calmy-Rey will join more than 20 high ranking personalities in the new initiative, which has been set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the foreign ministry on Monday. The Global Sustainability Panel’s task is to find ways to lift people out of poverty, while tackling climate change and ensuring that economic development is environmentally…

Swiss Politics

Leuenberger paves way for elections next month

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Leuenberger, who initially announced his resignation for the end of the year, has decided to bring forward the date for political reasons, according to a statement by his ministry on Monday. The exact date will be announced after a cabinet meeting next week. There have been calls by political parties and the media for Leuenberger…

Swiss Politics

Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 André Guichaoua, a professor at the Paris 1 University and a key source of information about Rwanda for Switzerland’s development cooperation, told swissinfo.ch that it will also be a testing time for Kagame’s hard-line government. Early results showed that Kagame would win re-election by a landslide. At one voting centre, Kagame won 98.8 per cent…

Swiss Politics

Security firm revealed to have Swiss holding

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Aegis Defence Services employs an estimated 20,000 soldiers, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them are on contract to the United States’ defence department. The London-based company, led by a former British army officer, is now wholly owned by the holding company in Basel, the newspaper reported on Monday. This effectively moves the firm’s…

Swiss Politics

Swisscoy changes its focus

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 It said in a statement that the numbers of staff involved in liaison and monitoring would be increased instead to reflect a change in duties. The Swisscoy unit, which comprises up to 220 people, is part of the multinational Kosovo peacekeeping force (Kfor) and has been in the region since 1999. Its infantry company has…

Customs officers nab high-value goods

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 In a report published on Monday, agents said about 130 officers check more than 1,000 tons of cargo and 20,000 people coming into Switzerland every day. The six-month report shows travellers trying to sneak in goods with a combined worth well over SFr1 million ($962,600). One traveller from Rangoon, Myanmar, approached the “red zone” of…

Swiss Politics

Estonia’s emergency service dials Swiss number

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 The Baltic republic’s emergency response system is hampered by outdated technology and a fragmented structure. To make matters worse, vast tracts of the country are only sparsely populated. “If someone drives from Tallinn to Tartu and has an accident in the forest, he won’t know where he or she is,” says Rivo Salong, the project…

Swiss Politics

“The UN is more important than ever”

This content was published on Aug 8, 2010 Former Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss will take up his office at the opening of the 65th session of the General Assembly in New York on September 14. Formally, the presidency of the General Assembly is the highest office in the UN. But unlike the UN secretary-general – currently Ban Ki-moon – the president has no…

Swiss Abroad

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Swiss Abroad

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Leuthard pushes for trade accord with China

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Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

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Calmy-Rey invited to top UN panel

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Leuenberger paves way for elections next month

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Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

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Security firm revealed to have Swiss holding

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Swisscoy changes its focus

More

Customs officers nab high-value goods

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Estonia’s emergency service dials Swiss number

More

“The UN is more important than ever”

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