Swiss Abroad

Bern BE

This content was published on Feb 19, 2008 Cantonal government: Cantonal parliament: Political representation in the national parliament House of Representatives: Swiss People’s Party (8 seats):Adrian Amstutz, Ursula Haller, Rudolf Joder, Fritz Abraham Oehrli, Simon Schenk, Walter Schmied, Hansruedi Wandfluh, Hermann Weyeneth Social Democratic Party (8 seats):Evi Allemann, André Daguet, Paul Günter, Margret Kiener Nellen, Hans Stöckli, Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, Peter Vollmer, Ursula Wyss…

“It’s like discovering another planet”

This content was published on Feb 18, 2008 Besim Haziri, who has lived in Geneva for 14 years, tells swissinfo why he feels like a different person after the birth of the world’s newest nation. Dressed in his white chef’s outfit, Haziri sits down at a table next to me in between preparing lunch at the Université Populaire Albanaise, an educational centre founded…

Swiss Politics

Sports specialists say shape up for Euro 2008

This content was published on Feb 18, 2008 A sports week in May is to put the focus on exercise for people to be ready for the following month’s Euro 2008 football championship being co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria. At a news conference in Bern on Monday, the defence ministry – which is also responsible for sport – said 64 per cent of…

Swiss Politics

Kosovo’s independence meets mixed response

This content was published on Feb 18, 2008 European Union member countries are considering a response to Sunday’s move, while the United Nations Security Council failed to agree on a common stance. The Zurich-based Tages-Anzeiger newspaper describes Kosovo’s decision as a baptism of fire and the birth of a new European nation as somewhat flawed. “The enthusiasm of the Kosovars might be huge,…

Swiss Politics

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia

This content was published on Feb 17, 2008 Across Switzerland, which in 2005 became the first state worldwide to call for formal independence, thousands of Kosovars celebrated the birth of the world’s newest country on Sunday afternoon by driving through towns and waving flags. Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Sunday repeated Switzerland’s “total support” for Kosovo and said the issue of recognising…

Swiss Politics

Swiss welcome key step in trafficking fight

This content was published on Feb 15, 2008 Guillaume Scheurer, a top official in the foreign ministry, said that the process for more action had been launched and that it was now up to both private and public actors to get involved. The three-day Vienna Forum, which finished on Friday, attracted at least 1,000 participants from around 100 countries. Government representatives, civil society,…

Swiss Politics

Government backs ban on cat skins export

This content was published on Feb 15, 2008 The Swiss government announced on Thursday that it is prepared to adapt the animal protection law to ban the trade, including the export of skins. Their import is already forbidden. The move will put Swiss law in line with recent EU legislation. The government was responding to a parliamentary motion submitted by House of Representatives…

Swiss Politics

Government to target foreign criminals

This content was published on Feb 14, 2008 But with anti-foreigner sentiments currently running high in Switzerland, the Federal Migration Office said it also wanted to help foreigners integrate into Swiss society. Top of the migration office’s list on Thursday was the “stringent implementation” of tougher laws on asylum seekers and foreigners which have come into effect in stages since January 1, 2007.…

Swiss Politics

TEST – DIGEST STORY -WEBMASTER

This content was published on Feb 14, 2008 The two countries have opposing views on the independence of Kosovo. While Calmy-Rey is on record as supporting Kosovo independence, Russia has consistently opposed it. Kosovo independence would undermine security in Europe and the foundations of the United Nations charter, Lavrov told journalists. The province is expected to announce its independence from Serbia later this…

Swiss Politics

More Swiss live abroad

This content was published on Feb 14, 2008 At the end of December 2007 there were 668,017 Swiss citizens living outside Switzerland, the Federal Statistics Office reported on Thursday. This was an increase of 3.6 per cent on 2006. Not only is the total figure rising, the rate of increase is rising too. The report by the Statistics Office does not break down…

Swiss Abroad

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