REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIA POST - PUBLICATION No. VBH 6369
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Mystery Trip
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Samichlaus Breakfast
Looking back to 2009 – what made headlines in Switzerland For a country that otherwise relishes in flying under the global media radar, Switzerland made headlines worldwide on a number of issues in 2009.
Hostage situation in Libya continues The Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has described the situation of two Swiss businessmen prevented from leaving Libya for 18 months as a ‘humanitarian drama’. She has accused Libya of ‘kidnapping’ the two men and committing a ‘flagrant violation of international conventions’. They were taken into custody in July 2008 shortly after Geneva police arrested Hannibal Gaddafi, a son of Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi, and his wife on charges that they abused their domestic staff at a city hotel. The servants later received compensation and the charges were withdrawn. Federal councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz, who met with the Libyan prime minister (but not Gaddafi), apologised in Tripoli for the arrest in return for the release of the hostages - a move that was widely condemned in Switzerland. Libya has broken the promise made to Merz that they would be free to return to Switzerland before September 2009.
The Tax Headache Senior Christmas
MARCH 2010
Switzerland has been under continuous attack since the start of 2009 for helping foreign tax evaders hide their assets. In February 2009, the Swiss Financial and Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) ordered UBS to hand over the details of 285 clients to the US authorities after the bank was fined $780 million for helping US citizens to dodge taxes. A Swiss court ruled this data transfer to be illegal 11 months later, although
FINMA may appeal the decision. Some political parties have called for a full blown parliamentary investigation into the affair. The OECD placed Switzerland on a grey list of uncooperative tax havens in April last year. The Swiss were removed in September after renegotiating several double taxation treaties, but they have refused to automatically transfer information to tax investigators without proof of crimes. In September, the Swiss government was forced to hand over the details of 4,450 UBS clients to the US – in effect violating Swiss banking secrecy to prevent a ruinous court case for UBS.
The ‘Minaret Referendum’ At the referendum on 29 November 57% of Swiss voters voted in favour of a rightwing party’s initiative to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland. This outcome made headlines around the world and opinions and comments of support and condemnation were a plenty.
Polanski arrested Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski (76) has been granted $4.5 million bail to wait it out in his chalet in Gstaad while the Swiss authorities decide whether or not to extradite him back to the US on a charge of drugging and raping a 13-year-old child back in the 1970s.
Riots at the World Trade Organisation Conference in Geneva The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva took place from 30 November to 2 December. A group of hooligans made a rather bad name for themselves by hijacking an otherwise peaceful anti-globalisation demonstration, setting cars on fire and smashing rows of store windows. Pictures of cars ablaze and of police firing off tear gas made their rounds through international media outlets and more or less took attention away from the issue around why protests were happening in the first place.
Walking tall A sculptured saunter worth more than its weight in bronze. ‘L’Homme qui marche I.’ or ‘Walking Man I.’ by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti sold at Sotheby’s on 3 February for A$118.5 million, setting a world record for the most expensive work ever sold at auction. The previous record was held by a Picasso painting, ‘Garçon à la Pipe’.
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