Swiss Politics

Calmy-Rey invited to top UN panel

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Calmy-Rey will join more than 20 high ranking personalities in the new initiative, which has been set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the foreign ministry on Monday. The Global Sustainability Panel’s task is to find ways to lift people out of poverty, while tackling climate change and ensuring that economic development is environmentally…

Swiss Politics

Leuenberger paves way for elections next month

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Leuenberger, who initially announced his resignation for the end of the year, has decided to bring forward the date for political reasons, according to a statement by his ministry on Monday. The exact date will be announced after a cabinet meeting next week. There have been calls by political parties and the media for Leuenberger…

Swiss Politics

Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 André Guichaoua, a professor at the Paris 1 University and a key source of information about Rwanda for Switzerland’s development cooperation, told swissinfo.ch that it will also be a testing time for Kagame’s hard-line government. Early results showed that Kagame would win re-election by a landslide. At one voting centre, Kagame won 98.8 per cent…

Swiss Politics

Security firm revealed to have Swiss holding

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 Aegis Defence Services employs an estimated 20,000 soldiers, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them are on contract to the United States’ defence department. The London-based company, led by a former British army officer, is now wholly owned by the holding company in Basel, the newspaper reported on Monday. This effectively moves the firm’s…

Swiss Politics

Swisscoy changes its focus

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 It said in a statement that the numbers of staff involved in liaison and monitoring would be increased instead to reflect a change in duties. The Swisscoy unit, which comprises up to 220 people, is part of the multinational Kosovo peacekeeping force (Kfor) and has been in the region since 1999. Its infantry company has…

Customs officers nab high-value goods

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 In a report published on Monday, agents said about 130 officers check more than 1,000 tons of cargo and 20,000 people coming into Switzerland every day. The six-month report shows travellers trying to sneak in goods with a combined worth well over SFr1 million ($962,600). One traveller from Rangoon, Myanmar, approached the “red zone” of…

Swiss Politics

Estonia’s emergency service dials Swiss number

This content was published on Aug 9, 2010 The Baltic republic’s emergency response system is hampered by outdated technology and a fragmented structure. To make matters worse, vast tracts of the country are only sparsely populated. “If someone drives from Tallinn to Tartu and has an accident in the forest, he won’t know where he or she is,” says Rivo Salong, the project…

Swiss Politics

“The UN is more important than ever”

This content was published on Aug 8, 2010 Former Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss will take up his office at the opening of the 65th session of the General Assembly in New York on September 14. Formally, the presidency of the General Assembly is the highest office in the UN. But unlike the UN secretary-general – currently Ban Ki-moon – the president has no…

Swiss Politics

Cabinet chaos follows minister resignations

This content was published on Aug 8, 2010 Leuenberger, who holds the transport, communications, energy and environment portfolios, has come in for the harshest criticism for waiting until the end of the year to leave his post. Party leaders are demanding that he already step down in October – the same time as outgoing Finance Minister Merz, who announced his resignation on Friday.…

Swiss Politics

Justice minister rethinks assisted-suicide bill

This content was published on Aug 8, 2010 Widmer-Schlumpf, in a SonntagsZeitung newspaper interview, said assisted suicide should not only be limited to the terminally ill who are close to death. In October last year, the justice minister presented two draft bills, one of which foresees an outright ban on right-to-die organisations such as Exit or Dignitas. The other bill would introduce severe…

Page 888 of 1365

First … 886 887 888 889 890 … Last

Swiss Politics

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo

Swiss Politics

More

Calmy-Rey invited to top UN panel

More

Leuenberger paves way for elections next month

More

Rwandan presidential vote cannot hide problems

More

Security firm revealed to have Swiss holding

More

Swisscoy changes its focus

More

Customs officers nab high-value goods

More

Estonia’s emergency service dials Swiss number

More

“The UN is more important than ever”

More

Cabinet chaos follows minister resignations

More

Justice minister rethinks assisted-suicide bill

Popular Stories

Most Discussed