Swiss Abroad

Chinese PM arrives in Switzerland for talks

This content was published on May 24, 2013 Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter greeted Li at Zurich airport on Thursday evening, and the Chinese minister will meet with Burkhalter, Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann and Swiss President Ueli Maurer later on Friday. Li and Schneider-Ammann are expected to sign a document of intent as part of the free trade agreement. The location of the meetings has been kept secret…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets

This content was published on May 22, 2013 The draft provides for the preventive freezing of the assets of politically exposed persons (PEPs), according to cabinet statement published on Wednesday. It also establishes procedures for the administrative confiscation and the restitution of potentates’ assets. It would allow the Swiss foreign ministry to provide banking information to other states trying to file a request…

Swiss Politics

Court ruling on holiday homes sparks controversy

This content was published on May 22, 2013 On March 11, 2012, Swiss voters accepted an initiative stipulating that the percentage of holiday homes in a particular commune may not exceed 20 per cent. However, questions remained over when the ruling would go into effect. The Graubünden Administrative Court had previously ruled that only building permits issued after January 1, 2013 would be…

Swiss Politics

Resettling the vulnerable who cannot go home

This content was published on May 22, 2013 “We fled Iraq due to the war and now we’ve fled Syria due to another war. We just don’t know what’s happening with our future or what we’re doing.” Sitting in UNHCR’s office in Beirut, *Leyla stops talking, struggling to hold back the tears. Her piercing eyes tell of untold horrors. The 48-year-old mother of…

Swiss Politics

Relocation tempts international organisations

This content was published on May 20, 2013 Denmark is said to be trying to lure about a third of the employees of the United Nations’ Children Fund, UNICEF, from Geneva to Copenhagen.The Danish authorities are reportedly offering moving costs, rent and a lump sum to attract staff to a new complex in a suburb of Copenhagen where the city’s UN agencies are…

Swiss Politics

Swiss diplomat defends European Court solution

This content was published on May 19, 2013 “It’s logical, as it’s European Union law that Switzerland says it wants to voluntarily accept in order to gain access to European markets,” Swiss State Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Yves Rossier told NZZ am Sonntag. But he added that ultimately the government, parliament and the Swiss people would be the ones to decide. The…

Swiss Politics

Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight

This content was published on May 18, 2013 “We are on the point of presenting a solution,” Widmer-Schlumpf told Swiss national radio on Saturday. Several points still need to be discussed and negotiated with the US authorities, but “we hope to soon reach the end”, she declared. The Swiss government has been in protracted talks to end US investigations into numerous Swiss banks,…

Swiss Politics

Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform

This content was published on May 17, 2013 Presenting an interim report to the media on Friday, Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf stressed the urgency to find a solution. “We cannot afford to play for time. We want to re-establish the international acceptance of the Swiss tax system and keep the country an attractive location for corporations,” she said. Widmer-Schlumpf added the threats by…

Swiss Politics

Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen

This content was published on May 16, 2013 The hostages, kidnapped on Monday in the southern province of Abyan, were believed to have been taken by armed men from the Marakicha tribe, which had kidnapped two Egyptian workers a week before. The ICRC’s head of operations for the Middle East confirmed his colleagues’ release via Twitter. Cédric Schweizer, head of the Yemeni delegation…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet stops short of regulating housing market

This content was published on May 15, 2013 Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said no major state intervention was necessary to regulate market forces. He said the vast majority of the population lived in good and affordable accommodation and spent about 20 per cent of their gross income on housing. He said the growing demand for more spacious apartments and houses was a result…

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Swiss Abroad

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Chinese PM arrives in Switzerland for talks

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Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets

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Court ruling on holiday homes sparks controversy

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Resettling the vulnerable who cannot go home

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Relocation tempts international organisations

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Swiss diplomat defends European Court solution

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Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight

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Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform

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Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen

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Cabinet stops short of regulating housing market

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