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Swiss Politics

EU puts pressure on Swiss over tax policy

This content was published on Feb 27, 2009 EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Brussels expected Switzerland to ensure that banking secrecy did not protect any form of tax scam. She was speaking after talks in the Belgian capital with Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. Last week Switzerland gave Washington details of up to 300 clients of the country’s largest bank, UBS,…

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ICRC says Gaza peace doomed without diplomacy

This content was published on Feb 26, 2009 “Humanitarian action can be no substitute for an honest and courageous peace process involving all states, political authorities and organized armed groups that can influence the situation,” Jakob Kellenberger said ahead of a conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. “[Reconstruction] is unlikely to succeed unless there is a prospect of a lasting peace.” Kellenberger called for…

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Swiss call for efficient peacekeeping

This content was published on Feb 26, 2009 Speaking before a UN committee in New York, Peter Maurer said the international community saw such peacekeepers as a way for healing to begin, but the gap between those high expectations and the means to achieve them was too wide if all parties weren’t part of the peace process as well. Wednesday’s discussions were part…

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Swiss Politics

Population increases at record rate

This content was published on Feb 26, 2009 The number stood at 7,700,200 at the end of 2008 – a rise of 106,700 inhabitants compared with 2007. “This increase of 1.4% in the population is considerably higher than that of previous years,” the Statistics Office said in a statement. This number includes Swiss citizens, as well as all foreign citizens with the exception…

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Swiss Politics

Cabinet agrees to troops for anti-pirate force

This content was published on Feb 25, 2009 The decision, which is subject to approval by parliament, has prompted opposition by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and the Greens, but the three other main parties indicated their approval. The mandate of the Swiss soldiers and experts is limited to the protection of vessels of the United Nations World Food Programme. It also includes…

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Swiss Politics

Private donations to Swiss Red Cross increase

This content was published on Feb 25, 2009 But total private support for the organisation actually dropped on 2007, which was an exceptionally good year for donations, the agency said on Wednesday. Total private contributions in 2008 amounted to SFr20.8 million, SFr3.3 million less than in 2007. Fewer donations from inheritances were responsible for the decline. Early figures for 2009 seem positive so…

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Swiss Politics

Girl develops lesions from PlayStation

This content was published on Feb 25, 2009 “The tight and continuous grasping of the hand-grips together with repeated pushing of the buttons produce minor but continuous trauma to the (palm) surfaces,” Vincent Piguet, a professor at Geneva University Hospital, reported in the British Journal of Dermatology. The victim recovered after a ten-day break, it was reported. Technology blogs and tabloids on Wednesday…

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Swiss Politics

Armed forces get new chiefs

This content was published on Feb 25, 2009 The government also appointed Markus Gygax to lead the country’s air force. Blattmann took over as the defacto chief last summer after his predecessor, Roland Nef, was forced to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment and questions over his integrity. The 52-year-old from canton Lucerne, is a Zurich University graduate and has served as an…

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Swiss Politics

Rightwing extremism on the rise

This content was published on Feb 25, 2009 But the far right remains fractured and weak, with just 1,200 active members, according to the national research programme findings. Overall, that’s about on par with Germany and the rest of Europe. “Although extremism is on the rise, it is not at a level where it would be an immediate threat to democratic society,” said…

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Swiss tourism sees peaks and valleys

This content was published on Feb 24, 2009 Switzerland Tourism, the industry’s marketing arm, says that a focus on domestic and neighbouring markets, as well on quality and value will help the sector ride out the downturn. Journalists arrived at Switzerland Tourism’s annual media conference in Zurich on Tuesday to the uplifting notes of Puccini’s Nessun dorma, accompanied by picturesque views of the…

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