In the presence of the President of the Council of States, Filippo Lombardi, the new Swiss embassy was inaugurated in an official ceremony on 3 April in the Qatari capital Doha. Switzerland is recognising Qatar's growing political and economic role and is thus honouring 40 years of bilateral relations.

From 2013 to 2016, the management of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) plans to increase its activity in fragile contexts, to tackle global risks, to strengthen its cooperation with private industry and to step up monitoring of the effectiveness of development cooperation. These four priorities are set out in the dispatch on international cooperation approved by the Swiss Parliament in September 2012. The four priorities were illustrated at the SDC's annual press conference which was held on Thursday 4 April in Bern. Haiti was quoted as a case in point.

Das revidierte Bundesgesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG) ist seit dem 1. April 2012 in Kraft. Dem SECO sind seit diesem Zeitpunkt fast 5000 Beschwerden von Unternehmen sowie Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten zugetragen worden. 50 Unternehmen hat das SECO abgemahnt, gegen 17 Gesellschaften Strafklagen eingereicht.

Worldwide in 2011/2012, some 325,000 anti-personnel mines and more than 150,000 cluster bombs were destroyed. Nevertheless, millions of people continue to be threatened by these weapons both during conflicts and after hostilities have ceased. Switzerland is an important actor in the struggle against anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions and the explosive remnants of war, and last year spent CHF 17.25 million for this purpose. Today, on “International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action”, it offers information about its commitment in 2012.

Switzerland spent CHF 2,833 million of official development assistance (ODA) in 2012, an increase of 4,7% compared with 2011. In international terms, with an ODA of 0.45% of gross national income (GNI), Switzerland is 10th out of the 24 member countries of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, which published its rankings on 3 April.

PSI scientists reveal how lubricant oil disperses in a functioning clutch Lubricating oil is essential for engines. Multi-disc clutches, like those found in motorcycles, are also lubricated and cooled with oil. The oil pump has to be driven by the engine at the same time, thus increasing the vehicle’s fuel consumption. The goal of developers is therefore to optimally lubricate the drive components – with the smallest possible volume of flowing oil. In order to observe how oil is distributed inside a clutch, Developmental Engineers from the Schaeffler-Brand LuK (D) together with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen (CH) are working together, illuminating metals with neutrons.

As of today, the state financial statements for 2012 have been posted in electronic format on the website of the Federal Finance Administration (FFA). The hard copy will be released on 23 April 2013. In order to enhance transparency, the Federal Treasury activity report will be published in addition to the state financial statements.

Am 28. März 2013 ist die zweiwöchige Verhandlungskonferenz zum internationalen Waffenhandelsvertrag zu Ende gegangen. Der Vertragstext, welcher erstmalig den internationalen Waffenhandel rechtlich verbindlich regelt, wurde nun am 2. April 2013 von der Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen verabschiedet.

Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter will be visiting South America from 2 to 8 April. He is scheduled to visit Chile, Peru and Colombia during this trip under the triple theme of “water, the economy and human security”. In addition to meetings with political representatives of the three countries, the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will launch and visit projects in these three fields of action supported by Switzerland, as part of the Federal Council’s foreign affairs policy.

(FSO) - At the end of 2010, the proportion of dwellings occupied by their owners rose to 36.8% in Switzerland overall. At the same time, the average rent paid for a three-room dwelling was CHF 1216 in Switzerland as a whole. With the publication of these results from the 2010 Structural Survey, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is making available up-to-date data on housing conditions in Switzerland for the first time since the 2000 Population Census.