New publication: Transboundary movement of waste

FOEN - New publication: Transboundary movement of waste
Bern, 05.05.2017 - This information brochure of the FOEN is directed at exporters and importers of waste and it describes the international and domestic regulations relating to transboundary shipments. Vague legal concepts are clarified and, in particular, the necessary conditions and procedures for obtaining an export authorisation and import consent are explained.

Switzerland has the second best higher education system in the world

Switzerland has the second best higher education system in the world, according to the 2017 Universitas 21 report, just below the United States. Is it just resources or is there another factor in play? The small alpine nation was ahead of the United Kingdom (ranked third) and its near neighbours in the classification of 50 countries, compiled by the Universitas 21 group of research universities and released on May 5. This global survey differs from other rankings like the Times Higher Education (THE) and Shanghai in that it assess national higher education systems as a whole rather than individual universities, in which Swiss universities sometimes make it into the top ten. In the THE rating for 2016, for example, the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) gained 9th place. Switzerland’s high ranking for U21 came after it was given 5 for resources, 1 for connectivity, 6 for output and 12 for environment. “The strength of Swiss higher education ...

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Swiss alleged to have spied inside German tax office

German investigators believe a mole spied for the Swiss intelligence service inside a German tax office, which was trying to catch German tax dodgers.  On Thursday, Swiss and German media published new details surrounding the case of an alleged Swiss spy arrested last week for industrial espionage in Frankfurt.  Swiss public television, SRF, which had access to extracts of the German arrest warrant, claimed the Swiss suspect, a former policeman and employee of the UBS bank, had listened to German financial authorities for the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS).  The man is suspected of searching for data on tax evaders and, together with an intelligence firm, placing a mole who allegedly spied inside North Rhine-Westphalia’s finance ministry.  Investigators suspect that the mole – not yet identified – gave the Swiss spy the names of tax investigators, and that the FIS ran the operation. The service is said to have paid EUR90,000 (CHF97,600) for planting the mole.  ...

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Innovative measures to help people in need: Switzerland and the ICRC to expand cooperation

Bern, 01.05.2017 - On 1 May 2017, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, renewed and expanded the 2013 agreement on cooperation between Switzerland and the ICRC. The new agreement will make it possible to explore the potential for innovative measures in fulfilling the ICRC’s humanitarian mandate. It could involve new technical solutions such as the reproduction of medical instruments in the field using 3D printing and the use of innovative financing models. International Geneva will also play a key role in the cooperation between the ICRC and Switzerland.
More and ever-longer conflicts, growing humanitarian needs, and the increasing number of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) are developments which pose major challenges for the ICRC. Switzerland supports the ICRC in developing innovative and appropriate measures to respond to challenges and help people in need. The cooperation between the FDFA and the ICRC is based on an agreement dating from 2013. At their annual strategy meeting in Bern today, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter and ICRC President Peter Maurer renewed the agreement and expanded it to cover new areas of cooperation.
In future, the FDFA will support the ICRC in developing innovative instruments in addition to the existing channels for knowledge and information sharing in the ICRC’s operations, their strategic dialogue and their common mission to strengthen IHL. This includes for example a new financing model known as the humanitarian impact bond, by which investors are compensated more closely in line with the degree to which the humanitarian objective of assisting people in need is met. With these innovations Switzerland also supports the initiative of the ICRC and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to bring together humanitarian actors, representatives from the private sector and research within the framework of the Global Humanitarian Lab (GHL). The GHL aims to develop new technical solutions, such as the reproduction of medical instruments by means of 3D printing, which as a result could be made available more rapidly to people in need.
In future, the FDFA will make more use of the instruments of development cooperation in working together with the ICRC in the field of humanitarian aid. These ‘humanitarian+’ measures complement short-term emergency aid and thus make it possible to take the complexity of many crises better into account.
International Geneva plays a key role in the cooperation between the ICRC and Switzerland. For the ICRC, Geneva acts as a hub for fostering relations with the UN agencies, the permanent missions and the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The presence of the representations, organisations and institutions makes Geneva one of the global centres for the development of humanitarian solutions, including the commitment to strengthening IHL. Switzerland and the ICRC work together very closely on this issue, which in light of the increasing number of violations of IHL has lost none of its urgency.
The ICRC is the SDC’s most important partner in humanitarian affairs. This year, the ICRC will receive some CHF 145 million in Swiss support. Thanks to its neutral and confidential working methods, the ICRC is one of the few humanitarian organisations – if not the only one – to be respected by parties on all sides of a conflict. As a result it is able to provide help to many people in need.

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-66539.html

Institut Libéral / BILAN : Concours d'essai 2017 pour étudiants

Concours d'essai 2017 pour étudiants

Des prix de 3000 francs récompenseront les meilleurs textes sur le thème du centralisme.

En 2017, l'Institut Libéral, en partenariat avec le magazine Bilan, lance à nouveau un concours d'essai en français pour les étudiants jusqu'à l'âge de 30 ans immatriculés dans les universités et les hautes écoles de toute la Suisse. Le concours d'essai de l'Institut Libéral se tient chaque année en alternance des trois langues du pays.
Le thème du concours 2017 est «Le centralisme menace-t-il la liberté?». Toutes les soumissions doivent être reçues jusqu'au 30 juin 2017. Les essais seront évalués par un jury selon des critères standardisés. Les gagnants recevront des prix de CHF 1500.- (1re place), de CHF 1000.- (2e place) et de CHF 500.- (3e place), ainsi qu'un abonnement annuel au magazine Bilan. La cérémonie de remise des prix se tiendra dans le cadre d'une conférence de l'Institut Libéral à l'automne 2017 à Genève.
Tout savoir sur le concours

http://www.libinst.ch/?i=concours-d-essai-2017-pour-etudiants--fr