Swiss Politics Archives - Page 959 of 1339

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Swiss Politics

Second World War refugee helpers pardoned

This content was published on Mar 3, 2009 The sentences against the six women and nine men had been lifted, announced the parliamentary rehabilitation committee on Tuesday. Pierre Amiel and Claude Schropff, two Frenchmen who worked for the Cimade refugee organisation, received the harshest punishments. They were arrested in June 1944 and spent two months in prison for helping a woman, who had…

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No guaranteed seat for expats in parliament

This content was published on Mar 3, 2009 The Senate on Monday rejected a proposal calling for a draft law setting the legal basis for seats for expatriates in both parliamentary chambers. Opponents argued that there was no justification for setting up a special constituency for citizens spread across the globe. The proposal won a majority in the House of Representatives last September.…

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Common ground elusive ahead of racism summit

This content was published on Mar 3, 2009 The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday rejected fears that the summit would be hijacked by critics of Israel and urged countries to make the meeting a success by focusing on global issues. Planning sessions for the Durban Review Conference, or Durban II, will take place in Geneva from April 20…

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WHO calls for more measles vaccinations

This content was published on Mar 2, 2009 WHO said greater vaccinations were needed as epidemics were rising and crossing national borders. The number of cases had fallen in Europe in 2007 but rose again in the following year. There have been more than 8,000 cases reported in Europe in the last 12 months. The call comes as the Federal Health Office announced…

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Jewish activists criticise Israeli occupation

This content was published on Mar 2, 2009 Jochi Weil-Goldstein, a Zurich doctor, told the media on Monday that he had a list of signatures of Jews in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Israel calling for better living conditions and security for both Jews and Palestinians. The group, Worldwide Appeal by Concerned Jewish Men and Women, said it was motivated “out of a sense…

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Campaign demands equal pay

This content was published on Mar 2, 2009 As part of a five-year project the government, employers’ organisations and trade unions on Monday urged companies to review their salary system on a voluntary basis. Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin described the launch as a historic step in efforts to implement the principle of equal pay. Trade union representatives said the campaign was a new…

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Politicians use US trip to defend tax laws

This content was published on Mar 1, 2009 The group, led by the centre-right Radical senator Peter Briner, spoke extensively with American congressional leaders urging them not to confuse UBS woes with the entire Swiss financial system. The trip to Washington was organised over a month ago, before the US authorities pressured the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) and UBS to hand…

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Industry warn aid package may be needed

This content was published on Mar 1, 2009 Gerold Bührer, head of the Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that there was a 50 per cent chance that the government would have to launch another rescue package. Such measures would need to be timely and for a limited duration, he noted. The challenges ahead were greater than had been…

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Political party merger becomes official

This content was published on Feb 28, 2009 Delegates from the two parties approved the creation of the Radicals-Liberals on Saturday in Bern. The merger was given the green light by the parties during their general assemblies in October in a bid to become a stronger political force in Switzerland and attract new voters. Fulvio Pelli, head of the Radicals, the third largest…

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Clinton set to meet Lavrov in Switzerland

This content was published on Feb 27, 2009 The Bush administration had difficult relations with Moscow, clashing over a planned United States missile shield in Europe, the independence of Kosovo, last year’s Russian intervention in Georgia and how to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear programme. Clinton is scheduled to meet Lavrov after talks with Nato foreign ministers in Brussels. “This is a…

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