Swiss Politics

Women strengthen their position in local politics

This content was published on Feb 11, 2007 At the end of last year, they occupied almost 30 per cent of parliamentary seats in Swiss towns and cities. In the parliaments of Switzerland’s five largest cities, the proportion of women reached 37 per cent, with the city of Bern holding the record with 42.5 per cent, according to statistics of Swiss towns 2007.…

Swiss Politics

More than 645,000 Swiss live abroad

This content was published on Feb 8, 2007 At the end of 2006, 645,010 Swiss citizens were living outside Switzerland. This is an increase of 10,794 individuals or 1.7 per cent over the figure for December 2005. Since 2000, the number of Swiss abroad has grown by 11.1 per cent. Dual citizenship is possessed by 460,065 people – almost three-quarters of the total.…

Swiss Politics

President takes pride in Cambodia projects

This content was published on Feb 6, 2007 The children’s hospitals set up by Beat Richner, as well as Piergiorgio and Simonetta Tami’s refuges are lifelines for many people and help build a positive image of Switzerland, she said. Calmy-Rey, who is also the foreign minister, met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his deputy in the capital Phnom Penh, using the occasion…

Swiss Politics

EU bill for Bulgaria and Romania arrives

This content was published on Feb 6, 2007 A spokesman for the Integration Office in Bern confirmed on Tuesday that the letter had arrived, but said no sums had been mentioned. Switzerland has been supporting Bulgaria and Romania annually to the tune of SFr25 million ($20 million) over the past few years. This transitional aid was meant to stop when the two eastern…

Swiss Politics

Women set different priorities at the polls

This content was published on Feb 5, 2007 But the report said the disparities between people with different levels of education are more pronounced than those between the two sexes. The results are based on the analysis carried out by the gfs.bern research institute of ten nationwide votes between 2004 and 2006. The survey, published by the Federal Chancellery on Monday, said that…

Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey visit to Asia aims at new horizons

This content was published on Feb 5, 2007 While former French protectorate Cambodia is still trying to shake off its difficult past, Indonesia is undergoing a boom and is becoming an economic and political power in southeast Asia. The initial part of Calmy-Rey’s first trip abroad as Swiss president – she is also the foreign minister – will be devoted to marking a…

Swiss Politics

Swiss expert criticises Kosovo proposal

This content was published on Feb 3, 2007 Fleiner told a newspaper the plan presented by the United Nations special envoy to Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, might result in a pressure-based solution and therefore more ethnic conflict. The Swiss foreign ministry has, however, welcomed Ahtisaari’s recommendations. The 90 per cent ethnic Albanian majority want Kosovo to break away from Serbia, but this is rejected…

Swiss Politics

WEF ends on an optimistic note

This content was published on Jan 28, 2007 He says the most important developments were that climate change was widely discussed and that the Israelis and Palestinians said they wanted to talk. The five-day WEF, which was being held in the Swiss resort of Davos, ended on Sunday. It gathered many leading figures from the business and political world. In all, around 17…

Swiss Politics

Swiss back new round of Syria-Israel talks

This content was published on Jan 25, 2007 Earlier this week Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey confirmed media reports that Switzerland had acted as a mediator between the two countries. Israel says the talks were unofficial. According to the Swiss foreign ministry, State Secretary Michael Ambühl held talks in Damascus on Tuesday with Syria’s foreign minister, Walid Al-Muallem, and Deputy-Prime Minister Abdallah Dardari. Bern…

Swiss Politics

Key speakers at WEF summit strike unusual note

This content was published on Jan 24, 2007 For her part, Swiss President and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey called for dialogue and cooperation to ensure lasting peace in the world. The wintry weather conditions affected the first day of the meeting. Helicopters could not land in the Swiss mountain resort because of heavy snowfall. But most guests arrived by car and made it…

Swiss Politics

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