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“Heidi-land” image dominates American view of Switzerland

This content was published on Jan 17, 2001 “Switzerland’s image is astonishingly good in the United States, compared to other European countries”, Defago said in an interview with swissinfo. Defago said that even at the height of the controversy over the Holocaust era assets between 1996-98, Switzerland’s image was not as bad as some people in Europe believed. Defago has been Swiss ambassador…

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Defence ministry admits to testing uranium weapons

This content was published on Jan 16, 2001 A spokesman for the defence ministry said on Tuesday the army had fired 16 shells containing uranium, before abandoning the experiment. He said the indoor tests lasted two days, and the waste treated by a specialised laboratory in Spiez. The admission comes just two days after the revelation that the armaments company, Contraves, independently carried…

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Asylum requests drop sharply

This content was published on Jan 16, 2001 The Federal Office for Refugees said on Tuesday it had received 17,611 requests in 2000, a 62 per cent drop on the previous year. One in five asylum seekers came from Yugoslavia, one in eight from Turkey. The office said it had dealt with more than 38,000 requests, clearing nearly 20,000 from the backlog of…

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Weapons containing depleted uranium tested in Switzerland

This content was published on Jan 14, 2001 The defence ministry spokesman, Oswald Sigg, said details of the tests, carried out by the Oerlikon-Bührle subsidiary, Contraves, emerged last week. Sigg said the ministry is seeking information on the conditions in which the tests were held, who gave permission for them, and where the spent ammunition was stored or destroyed. The tests were carried…

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Swiss Politics

Defence ministry was aware Nato weapons contained depleted uranium

This content was published on Jan 13, 2001 The head of the Swiss contingent, Christoph Brun, issued a report on Friday revealing that the ministry was aware that Nato was using uranium-tipped weapons in its campaign to oust Serb forces from Kosovo. Fears surfaced recently that radioactive particles from depleted uranium shells used by Nato may be responsible for cases of leukaemia among…

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Swiss Politics

Campaign launched for EU membership negotiations

This content was published on Jan 9, 2001 Members of the initiative committee said in Bern on Tuesday that Switzerland was at a crossroads. “We have to decide whether we want to take part in building the future of Europe, or whether we remain isolated,” said the committee’s president, Marc Suter. Another speaker said: “It is no use delaying the question any more,…

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Geneva man embarks on a different Dakar rally

This content was published on Jan 6, 2001 Like the rally-drivers, Daniel Richard, founder of the Future through Schooling Association (AAE), will take his four-wheel drive land cruiser vehicle through France and Spain and into Morocco and the disputed Western Sahara. He will then travel through Senegal, Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo and Ghana. His eventual destination is Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso,…

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Swiss Politics

Kurds protest in Bern at Turkish military campaign

This content was published on Jan 6, 2001 The Turkish media reported on Saturday that Ankara has sent 10,000 of its troops into Northern Iraq in a major operation against rebel guerrillas of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Newpapers have reported since December that the military was building up its strength for an offensive in the remote mountainous area. The Protesters also…

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Swiss Politics

Doctors dismiss risks to Swiss exposed to radiation in Balkans

This content was published on Jan 5, 2001 Speaking in Bern on Friday, Swiss army physicians said they were confident that Swiss personnel serving in the Balkans were not at risk from radioactive debris caused by depleted uranium shells, which were used by United States warplanes during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts. Field physician, Peter Eichenberger, told swissinfo that the risk to Swiss…

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Kosovo uranium risks assessed in Switzerland

This content was published on Jan 4, 2001 Swiss military experts insist that the risks posed to members of the 150-strong Swiss contingent in the province are minimal. An army spokesman said tests carried out at its laboratory in Spiez last July showed an almost total absence of danger, unless people were in close proximity to depleted uranium debris for a long period…

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