Swiss Politics

Merz said to have met Gaddafi

This content was published on Sep 24, 2009 Merz’s finance ministry has not confirmed the report by the Libyan Jana news agency. But in an interview Merz gave to Swiss French television, he said he planned to meet Gaddafi. That interview was published on the television website on Thursday. According to Jana, the meeting took place on Wednesday, the day Gaddafi addressed the…

Swiss Politics

G20 finds Pittsburgh booming in times of bust

This content was published on Sep 23, 2009 Charles Dickens may have once called it “hell with the lid off” but some Swiss-Americans living in the Pennsylvania city say they’ve been spared the economic meltdown. Last week the US president called Pittsburgh, population 316,000, “a marvellous city”, a stark contrast to its old image as a dirty place of smog, steel and smelters.…

Swiss Politics

Foreign policy faces new challenges

This content was published on Sep 23, 2009 Switzerland needs not only to strengthen its relations with the European Union but also to develop new connections in the rest of the world, according to the 2009 foreign policy report approved by the government at the beginning of the month. “Switzerland can only maintain its influence and reputation in the international community if it…

Swiss Politics

Swiss integration laws could be tightened

This content was published on Sep 23, 2009 The Senate on Wednesday followed the House of Representatives in approving a proposal by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, despite opposition by the centre-left. A second motion imposing stricter pre-conditions for naturalisation applicants was also passed. Successful candidates must demonstrate a good level of integration and have a good knowledge of one of the four…

Swiss Politics

Parliament wants tougher child pornography laws

This content was published on Sep 23, 2009 The Senate followed the House of Representatives in approving a motion demanding that so-called “child grooming” be made a punishable offence. Child grooming is considered an action undertaken by an adult to form a relationship with a child with the eventual intent of having sexual contact. The Senate also voted in favour of a proposal…

Swiss Politics

Obama climate address disappoints Leuenberger

This content was published on Sep 22, 2009 “More commitment was shown in the talks today but I’m disappointed with Barack Obama’s address. He made no specific promises,” Leuenberger told Swiss television on Tuesday evening. Leuenberger said the “cascading effect” would be that China and Japan would not feel compelled either to toughen their own environmental standards. Leuenberger, of Switzerland’s centre-left Social Democrats,…

Swiss Politics

Medvedev pays tribute to past and present

This content was published on Sep 22, 2009 After talks with the Swiss government on Monday, during which they discussed the global economy as well as security, Medvedev praised Switzerland’s role as an international mediator and major financial centre. The two countries signed accords on visa regulations for diplomats, the repatriation of failed asylum seekers, technical cooperation and sport in a bid to…

Swiss Politics

Minister makes online call for climate effort

This content was published on Sep 22, 2009 In a video message launched during a United Nations climate meeting in New York, Leuenberger said not only industrialised countries must contribute to protecting the environment. He said Switzerland supported the introduction of a CO2 tax to fund projects in the developing world. These projects are aimed at helping the countries adapt to climate change.…

Swiss Politics

Young bears and past heroes mark Medvedev visit

This content was published on Sep 22, 2009 On Tuesday, the second day of her husband’s official visit to Switzerland, Svetlana Medvedev entrusted the new residents of Bern’s expanding bear park to the care of her Swiss hosts. The bears arrived in Switzerland last week. The mayor of Bern, Alexander Tschäppät, also presented Medvedev with two bears – one of chocolate and one…

Swiss Politics

Copper thieves target railway cables

This content was published on Sep 21, 2009 In two separate incidents at the weekend they dismantled and removed about three kilometres of earth cable. On their first attempt in the early hours of Thursday they dismantled about 300 metres of cable but were unable to take it away, probably because they were interrupted. However, on that occasion they caused a short circuit,…

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