Zurich - The embattled Swiss banking giant UBS completed Friday the transfer of its toxic assets to the Swiss National Bank. The bank would take a
300-million-dollar charge in the first quarter for the transfer.
The new transfer of 22.2 billion dollars of securities, loans and derivatives would give the stabilization fund, set up by the central bank as part of a bailout for UBS, a total volume of assets of 38.7 billion dollars.
Geneva - The former chief prosecutor of the international courts for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Richard Goldstone, is to head a fact finding mission to investigate human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations announced Friday .
Other members of the mission, to look into violations during the recent Israeli offensive in the coastal enclave, will include Hina Jilani, a Pakistani jurist and former envoy of the UN's secretary general for human rights defenders and Christine Chinkin, a professor of international law at the University of London.
Lausanne, Switzerland - A German equestrian team rider whose horse was tested positive for a banned substance at the Beijing Olympics has had his ban increased from four to eight months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The Lausanne-based CAS upheld an appeal by the German equestrian federation to increase the suspension on Christian Ahlmann after the international equestrian federation FEI had banned the rider for four months.
Ahlmann had appealed for the ban to be reduced to three months.
Bern, Switzerland - The global postal sector has been hit by the economic crisis but the downturn also has financial benefits, the Universal Postal Union said Thursday.
The crisis was most advantageous for post offices that were able to offer financial services.
"Some European operators, such as Swiss Post and Deutsche Post, are experiencing annual growth rates above 50 per cent in the number of postal deposits and savings accounts opened in 2008," the UPU said, noting that a similar phenomenon occurred during the Great Depression.
Geneva - 2009 is taking on signs of being more dangerous for journalists than 2008, the Press Emblem Campaign said Thursday.
In the first three months of 2009, 35 journalists have been killed, including eight in March. Two died in Afghanistan, two in Iraq, and one each in India, Pakistan, Russia and Honduras.
During the first quarter of last year, 20 journalists were killed. In total in 2008, 91 died on duty.
The Geneva-based campaign said kidnapping also remained a looming threat to reporters.
Geneva - All countries should attend the upcoming United Nations-sponsored conference against racism, the international body's top rights expert said Thursday.
Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said victims of racism would reap the greatest benefits from the conference which should not get bogged down by "diversions," a reference to parochial issues that some states had been pursuing.
Zurich - The embattled Swiss banking giant UBS completed Friday the transfer of its toxic assets to the Swiss National Bank. The bank would take a 
Geneva - The former chief prosecutor of the international courts for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Richard Goldstone, is to head a fact finding mission to investigate human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations announced Friday .
Lausanne, Switzerland - A German equestrian team rider whose horse was tested positive for a banned substance at the Beijing Olympics has had his ban increased from four to eight months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Bern, Switzerland - The global postal sector has been hit by the economic crisis but the downturn also has financial benefits, the Universal Postal Union said Thursday.
Geneva - 2009 is taking on signs of being more dangerous for journalists than 2008, the Press Emblem Campaign said Thursday.
Geneva - All countries should attend the upcoming United Nations-sponsored conference against racism, the international body's top rights expert said Thursday.
