Swiss Politics

Swiss hope to land seat on new UN rights body

This content was published on May 9, 2006 Swiss diplomats have spent the past month vigorously campaigning for a seat among UN members, who will choose from 64 countries. “Nothing is guaranteed, but I am relatively optimistic,” senior Swiss diplomat Ulrich Lehner told swissinfo. “Switzerland has a strong case to put to the 191 members of the General Assembly.” “We represent diversity compared…

Swiss Politics

War victims in Ivory Coast neglected

This content was published on May 8, 2006 But the UN representative for the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who is due to meet international donors in Geneva on Tuesday, is optimistic that a solution to the crisis can be found. Kälin recently spent seven days in the West African state, which has been divided between the rebel-held north and government-controlled…

Swiss Politics

“Disagreements should not hamper cooperation”

This content was published on May 6, 2006 Willeford is returning to her native Texas on Saturday to head the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. A close family friend of the Bush family, the non-career diplomat was posted to the Swiss capital in 2003. Her career until then had been in education and community work. She is returning to Texas, where she…

Swiss Politics

Army exercise

This content was published on May 6, 2006 Operation Zeus is underway in French-speaking Switzerland. Its mission is to stabilise, pacify, and protect a region under threat. (Julie Hunt, swssinfo.ch)

Swiss stick to their guns in tax dispute with EU

This content was published on May 5, 2006 Ambassador Bernhard Marfurt, head of the Swiss mission in Brussels, told swissinfo that the EU’s demands were a direct challenge to non-member Switzerland’s “tax sovereignty”. Marfurt was speaking after the latest round of talks in the Belgian capital on Friday in which the EU continued to insist that low taxes in some Swiss cantons violated…

Swiss Politics

Pope welcomes former Swiss Vatican Guards

This content was published on May 4, 2006 The guards, the oldest a 76-year-old, were re-enacting a march completed by the first members of the papal protectors 500 years ago. Pope Benedict praised the troops of the “world’s smallest army” for offering their lives to defend the Vatican City, the world’s smallest state. Today there are 110 Guards. The marchers had received warm…

Swiss Politics

Aid tops agenda in Calmy-Rey Pakistan visit

This content was published on May 4, 2006 Relations between Switzerland and the South Asian nation may have been clouded by the recent visa fraud cases at Bern’s embassy in Islamabad, but Calmy-Rey could clear the air. The minister’s agenda includes visiting areas stricken by the October 2005 earthquake to view SDC-sponsored projects and meeting central and provincial government officials. According to the…

Swiss Politics

May Day marked by violent clashes

This content was published on May 1, 2006 Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at rock-throwing demonstrators, and another group of militants disrupted a speech by President Moritz Leuenberger, who was forced to flee for his safety. The extremists caused damage to buildings, including at least one branch of a Swiss bank and a clothing store. Police arrested about 50 people, and…

Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey attacks tough foreigner and asylum laws

This content was published on Apr 30, 2006 Speaking in Geneva on Saturday, Micheline Calmy-Rey also defended the country’s “active neutrality” which came under fire last week after the Swiss president criticised a boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian government. During a wide-ranging speech at the Museum of the Swiss Abroad, Calmy-Rey cautioned that the country’s standing abroad was in danger of being damaged…

Swiss Politics

Swisscom sell-off faces increasing opposition

This content was published on Apr 29, 2006 Ahead of a special session of parliament next month, the Christian Democratic Party has reaffirmed its opposition to a government proposal to sell its majority stake in the company. Delegates of Switzerland’s fourth-biggest party on Saturday called on the government to withdraw its plan to sell its 62.5 per cent stake in Swisscom. They also…

Swiss Politics

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Swiss hope to land seat on new UN rights body

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War victims in Ivory Coast neglected

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“Disagreements should not hamper cooperation”

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Army exercise

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Swiss stick to their guns in tax dispute with EU

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Pope welcomes former Swiss Vatican Guards

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Aid tops agenda in Calmy-Rey Pakistan visit

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May Day marked by violent clashes

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Calmy-Rey attacks tough foreigner and asylum laws

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Swisscom sell-off faces increasing opposition

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