Swiss Abroad

Guidelines for new passports set

This content was published on Oct 21, 2009 Requests for the new passports, which will have two digital fingerprints and a photo of the holder embedded in a microchip, can be filed after February 24. The procedure has changed somewhat for obtaining the new version. A citizen must go in person to the authorities, typically at the municipal level, to submit his or…

Swiss Politics

Libya deadline runs out

This content was published on Oct 20, 2009 Experts say Switzerland needs to carefully analyse its next steps in the Libya dispute, which arose after Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s son was arrested in Geneva last year. A Swiss delegation, led by a high-ranking foreign ministry official, arrived back from Tripoli on Monday evening. It was not accompanied by the two Swiss businessmen, who…

Couchepin takes parting shot at hospitals

This content was published on Oct 20, 2009 In an interview published ten days before his retirement at the end of October, Couchepin said there were too many hospitals in the country. “But to close them calls for courage. All the politicians who have attempted to cut hospitals have not been re-elected,” he told Bilan magazine, adding that the issue was complicated by…

Swiss Politics

Kander river rafting trial begins

This content was published on Oct 20, 2009 Five soldiers lost their lives when two rubber boats capsized on the river in the Bernese Oberland on June 12, 2008. The commanding officer and four others survived. One victim’s body has never been found. The military investigation into the fatal rafting accident found that the trip was poorly planned and that the troops involved,…

Swiss Politics

Delegation returns empty-handed from Tripoli

This content was published on Oct 20, 2009 The delegation was not accompanied by the two Swiss businessmen, who have been held in Libya for more than one year. Authorities said the trip was part of an agreement to normalise relations between Bern and Tripoli. It was led by the state secretary at the Swiss foreign ministry, Michael Ambühl, and included officials from…

Swiss Politics

Merz welcomes Azeri president

This content was published on Oct 19, 2009 Merz was accompanied by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and by Moritz Leuenberger, who holds the environment, transport and energy portfolios. The delegation, which included Azerbaijan’s foreign affairs, energy and culture ministers, then met for a working lunch also attended by Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Switzerland’s foreign ministry called the Caucasian country a “stable partner”. It…

Swiss Politics

“Shoe-ing”

This content was published on Oct 19, 2009 On December 14, 2008 Zaidi threw both of his size ten shoes at former president George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad to protest the US presence in Iraq. According to Arab tradition, throwing shoes and calling the intended target a dog is a double insult.

Legal action planned against poster ban

This content was published on Oct 18, 2009 The committee which launched the popular initiative to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland has now said it plans to take legal action against towns which have banned its display. Committee chairman Walter Wobmann told the Swiss News Agency on Sunday that the committee had not yet decided the precise legal route they would…

Swiss Politics

Mediation fruitless in crisis with Libya

This content was published on Oct 17, 2009 In an interview carried in Saturday’s edition of the French-language Le Matin newspaper, Micheline Calmy-Rey said that other parties had tried to mediate but that this had brought “no results”. “From the beginning the Libyans made very clear that they wanted to see this case managed bilaterally, given its family component,” she said. The crisis…

Swiss Politics

Swiss farmers positioned to help the hungry

This content was published on Oct 16, 2009 Doris Leuthard, speaking during World Food Day at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) on Friday said more needs to be done to protect valuable farmland and water sources at home to better help those abroad. The number of people who suffer from hunger grew from 850 million in 2005 to more than one…

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Guidelines for new passports set

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Libya deadline runs out

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Couchepin takes parting shot at hospitals

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Kander river rafting trial begins

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Delegation returns empty-handed from Tripoli

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Merz welcomes Azeri president

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“Shoe-ing”

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Legal action planned against poster ban

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Mediation fruitless in crisis with Libya

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Swiss farmers positioned to help the hungry

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