Swiss Abroad

Vasella drops massive and controversial payout

This content was published on Feb 19, 2013 The Novartis board and Vasella agreed to cancel the so-called non-compete agreement and all related compensation, the company said on Tuesday in a statement. The deal was to take effect after Vasella steps down as chairman at the company’s annual general meeting on Friday. “I have understood that many people in Switzerland find the amount…

Swiss Politics

Opinions divided on Olympic benefits

This content was published on Feb 18, 2013 Supporters are pushing the idea that the Games will bring sustainable development; opponents say Olympics and sustainability are mutually exclusive. The Swiss Olympic Association hopes the project will give a new impulse to winter sports disciplines in Switzerland. The Games, centred on Davos and St Moritz, will respect the countryside and the climate, expand public…

Swiss Politics

Prospect of US-EU trade accord makes Swiss fret

This content was published on Feb 17, 2013 Economics Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann warned that Switzerland as a centre of manufacturing and research risks suffering great damage if the industry can no longer compete under the same conditions as its rivals in the EU. “After all the US is Switzerland’s second most important trading partner behind the EU. It is therefore of paramount importance…

Swiss Politics

Swiss back Russian move to stimulate growth

This content was published on Feb 17, 2013 “Only more competition and not the portioning of markets will return the global economy to growth,” she told a news conference in Moscow on Saturday. She added that efficient financial market regulation, such as the Basel III rules – a global regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy, stress testing and market liquidity risk – would…

Swiss Politics

Vasella’s extra pay stirs up emotions

This content was published on Feb 16, 2013 Vasella told public television that he will be entitled to annual payment of SFr12 million if he respects the clauses of this contract banning him from working for a competitor. “It would add up to 72 million francs within six years,” he told a news magazine on Friday, adding it was “a hypothetical figure” and…

Swiss Politics

Swiss to vote on nation-wide inheritance tax

This content was published on Feb 15, 2013 More than 111,000 people – well over the 100,000 necessary – had signed the initiative, which is backed by a coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Greens, the Evangelical Party and trade unions. Supporters say the tax, to be levied at a rate of 20 per cent, will help to combat the…

Swiss Politics

Swiss tests clear products of horsemeat

This content was published on Feb 15, 2013 The Swiss supermarket chain Coop pulled its brand of “Lasagne verdi alla bolognese” off the shelves Monday because they were produced by the French supplier Comigel. Tests showed that in some Comigel products exported around Europe, notably to Britain, up to 100 per cent of the meat was horse. Britain’s food regulator said it had found 29 positive tests for…

Swiss Politics

Tax compliance deal signed with US

This content was published on Feb 14, 2013 The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) obliges foreign firms to report offshore accounts by US tax payers that amount to more than $50,000 (SFr45,943). The signing on Thursday came the day after Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told a news conference that Switzerland had decided to agree to a bilateral deal with the Internal Revenue…

Swiss Politics

“I paint their faces so as not to forget them”

This content was published on Feb 14, 2013 “I paint to show what the war has done to Singhalese society,” said the petite artist. A figure stretches its arms across the blue, grey and white canvas, entitled ‘Réveille’ [Awakening]. “It is only possible to experience an awakening through our guilty conscience. If we don’t have courage to accept the atrocities committed by us as a majority…

Swiss Politics

Tamil life in Switzerland

This content was published on Feb 14, 2013 Gone are the negative headlines about Sri Lankans of the 1980s.After repeatedly hearing phrases such as “Tamils are the most loved foreigners” and “Tamils are well integrated”, Swiss photographer Vera Markus decided to spend two and a half years documenting their lives in Switzerland. “In der Heimat ihrer Kinder – Tamilen in der Schweiz (In…

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