Switzerland

Switzerland: FIFA suspends Spain soccer federation president Luis Rubiales for 90 days after World Cup final kiss

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales from office on Saturday while its disciplinary committee investigates his conduct at the Women’s World Cup final, which included kissing a player on the lips without her consent.

The ruling comes six days after Rubiales was accused of becoming a national embarrassment in front of a global audience at the final in Sydney, Australia — overshadowing the enormous accomplishment of Spain women’s first World Cup title.

Eastern DRCongo: UN food aid hangs in the balance amid severe funding crunch

GENEVA, Aug 24 (NNN-KBC) — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is grappling with a dire humanitarian crisis fuelled by ongoing political instability and armed conflicts, severely impacting the entire food supply, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said.

The situation is particularly alarming in the east, where malnutrition has taken hold among 4.4 million people, exacerbated by compromised health services, lack of clean water, and an uptick in gender-based violence, highlighted Peter Musoko, WFP Country Director, during a press briefing in Geneva.

UN official confirms all Israeli Jewish settlements are illegal and obstacles to peace

22 August 2023; MEMO: According to international law, all of Israel’s Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal and pose a major obstacle to peace, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, told the Security Council on Monday.

Switzerland: WHO, US health authorities tracking new Covid-19 variant

GENEVA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The World Health Organization and US health authorities said Friday they are closely monitoring a new variant of Covid-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown.

The WHO classified the new variant as one under surveillance “due to the large number (more than 30) of spike gene mutations it carries”, it wrote in a bulletin about the pandemic late Thursday.

So far, the variant has only been detected in Israel, Denmark and the United States.

Switzerland supports eleventh package of EU sanctions — government

GENEVA, August 16. /TASS/: Switzerland sided with the eleventh package of anti-Russian sanctions adopted by the European Union, the Federal Council - the Swiss government said.

"On 16 August, the Federal Council decided to enact further sanctions against Russia. This aligns Switzerland with the EU, which adopted these latest measures as part of its eleventh package of sanctions," the government said. New measures will become effective since August 16 of this year, it added.

Switzerland: Only four nations doing enough to stub out smoking: WHO

GENEVA, July 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Only four countries — Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands and Turkey — have adopted all the anti-tobacco measures recommended in the fight against the “deadly scourge” of smoking, the World Health Organization said Monday. 

In a fresh report, the UN health agency urged countries to scale up their use of recognised measures to reduce tobacco use, including enforcing advertising bans, plastering health warnings on cigarette packages, raising tobacco taxes and providing assistance to those who want to quit.

Treaty that created modern Turkey still evokes pain for some, 100 years after signing

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 23 (Reuters) - The Treaty of Lausanne that formed modern Turkey is still cherished by some but remains a disappointment for others including Kurds and Armenians who hoped for autonomous regions and justice for Ottoman-era crimes.

Some of those voices are included in an exhibit called "Borders" - put on by the Swiss city's history museum to look at the significance of the post-World War One deal 100 years after it was signed between Turkey and allied powers like Britain and France on July 24, 1923.

UN rights council calls for AI transparency

GENEVA, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Human Rights Council called for transparency on the risks of artificial intelligence and for the data harvested by AI to be used responsibly.

An explosion in generative AI content since ChatGPT launched late last year has left authorities scrambling to figure out how to regulate such chatbots and ensure the technology does not endanger humanity.

UN says 289 children died in Med crossings this year

GENEVA, July  15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 289 children are known to have died in the first half of 2023 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the United Nations said.

 The figure is double that recorded in the first six months of 2022, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said, as it called for expanded safe, legal and accessible pathways for children to seek protection in Europe.

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