Swiss Politics

icrc takes root in the land of the dragon

This content was published on Jul 18, 2006 The Chinese economic boom is driving the development of the region as a whole. But despite the absence of conflict, tensions are palpable. A large grey brick house stands in the middle of a diplomatic complex. It is flanked on one side by the commercial section of the United States embassy and on the other,…

Swiss Politics

Evacuation fails for Swiss in Lebanon

This content was published on Jul 18, 2006 Israeli forces ordered the ship to leave the harbour early, fearing that they could not guarantee security after nightfall. The Greek ferry chartered by France arrived in the Cypriot port of Larnaca early on Tuesday morning. About 900 passengers, including around 750 French, were evacuated according to French officials. Three hundred other people were due…

Swiss Politics

Swiss join exodus from Lebanon

This content was published on Jul 17, 2006 The ministry said on Monday that it was seeking other ways of extricating remaining Swiss citizens, either by sea or by road to Syria, as Israeli aeroplanes continued their bombardment of Lebanon’s infrastructure. Thousands of foreigners are still waiting to leave amid ongoing efforts by overseas governments to evacuate their citizens. With many roads impassable…

Swiss Politics

Europe tops Finnish talks

This content was published on Jul 14, 2006 Talks on Friday in Turku with Tarja Halonen, the president of Finland, focused on the state of Swiss-EU relations and the future of the European constitution. Switzerland has concluded two sets of bilateral agreements with the EU and would like to negotiate similar agreements in a number of areas, as confirmed in the recent “Europe…

Referendum on child benefit gets go-ahead

This content was published on Jul 13, 2006 Business lobbies have collected enough signatures to force a referendum to overturn the new law which foresees minimum monthly payments of SFr200 ($163) per child. The Association of Small and Medium-sized Businesses, acting on behalf of the lobbies, said on Thursday it had collected 55,000 signatures – 50,000 are needed to force a referendum. The…

Swiss Politics

NGOs demand tougher laws on weapons

This content was published on Jul 13, 2006 The NGOs, representing branches of psychiatry, violence prevention and human rights, said on Thursday that the introduction of a central arms database would avoid much pain and grief. They pointed out that Switzerland’s suicide rate at just under 1,500 a year was high compared with other countries. The president of the Swiss Society of Psychiatry…

Swiss Politics

Cooperation with Bosnia is Swiss priority

This content was published on Jul 13, 2006 To mark ten years’ cooperation work, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been organising a series of events, including forums with experts from Bosnia and Switzerland. “We are providing a platform for discussion to share experiences, rather than ready-made solutions,” Ruedi Schoch, head of the SDC’s coordination office in Sarajevo, told swissinfo.…

Swiss Politics

Swiss payout to new EU members faces vote

This content was published on Jul 12, 2006 The rightwing Swiss People’s Party announced on Wednesday that it had succeeded in gathering enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue. The People’s Party said it had collected more than 70,000 signatures from the population – 50,000 are needed for a referendum to go ahead. The vote is expected to take place on…

Swiss Politics

swiss lessons for sudan

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 Omer Awadalla Ali, who carried out his doctoral studies at the Institute of Federalism at Fribourg University, reflects upon his nation’s future. It only took three weeks for Ali to catch the federalism bug when he took part in one of the institute’s summer courses back in August 2000. The lawyer, who works for the…

how federalism works without democracy

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 The United Arab Emirates is ruled by enlightened autocrats, without parties or elections. Nevertheless, the UAE works well as a federal state, just like Switzerland with its cantons. The domestic politics and geopolitical role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have more in common with Switzerland than might be expected from such an apparently different…

Swiss Politics

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icrc takes root in the land of the dragon

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Evacuation fails for Swiss in Lebanon

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Swiss join exodus from Lebanon

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Europe tops Finnish talks

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Referendum on child benefit gets go-ahead

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NGOs demand tougher laws on weapons

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Cooperation with Bosnia is Swiss priority

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Swiss payout to new EU members faces vote

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swiss lessons for sudan

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how federalism works without democracy

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