The fourth European ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) space transporter is currently in the final integration stage in the hall of Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite is to be launched on 18 April 2013 on board an Ariane 5 launcher and dock at the International Space Station a few days later. The European Space Agency ESA has named ATV4 Albert Einstein at the proposal of the Swiss Delegation.

As the crisis in Syria continues to worsen, the humanitarian situation has reached disastrous proportions with some four million people in need of aid according to estimates of the United Nations. They also face a harsh winter, as do about 700,000 refugees in the neighbouring states. Switzerland, attending the international donor conference in Kuwait, has pledged CHF 10 million of aid in 2013 to assist those affected by the Syrian crisis. Since March 2011 when the fighting began, Switzerland has disbursed a total of CHF 20 million to aid the victims of this ongoing civil war.

Last week, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) transferred CHF 500 million to the United Kingdom. Switzerland thereby fulfilled an obligation which is set out in the bilateral withholding tax agreement. The upfront payment guarantees the United Kingdom a minimum amount from as yet untaxed assets of UK taxpayers in Switzerland.

Responding to an invitation from Switzerland, some 80 international legal experts met in Lausanne on 28 and 29 January 2013 to discuss practical questions concerning the repatriation of illegal assets held by politically exposed persons in connection with the events of the so-called Arab Spring.

During its plenary meeting yesterday, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a central body for issues associated with international financial market regulation and supervision, established itself as an association headquartered in Basel, thereby reaffirming its ties with Switzerland.