Zurich  - Football's ruling body FIFA asked Tuesday that all member associations scheduled to hold midweek 2010 World Cup qualifiers observe a minute's silence prior to kick-off in memory of the 22 victims of last weekend's Abidjan stadium disaster.

Geneva  - One of Switzerland's largest private wealth managers will have a new chief executive officer come May, aged only 34 years old, the Julius Baer bank announced Tuesday.

The private bank said Boris Collardi would take over from current CEO Johannes de Gier.

Collardi, a Swiss national born in 1974, worked for Credit Suisse before joining the private wealth manager in 2006.

The previous CEO of Julius Baer, Alex Widmer, died suddenly in December 2008 at the age of 52, amid rumours that it was a suicide.

Geneva - Ahead of a large international conference on Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Monday that the humanitarian needs in the region were not being met and there was growing need to protect civilians from raging violence.

"The civilian population is bearing the brunt of the armed conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan," Jacques de Maio, the head of the ICRC's South Asia operation, told reporters in Geneva.

Geneva - A court in Switzerland ruled Thursday that value added tax must be paid for all things sold, even prostitution, dismissing a claim by a brothel owner.

The owner, who was told by the tax authorities to pay 95,000 Swiss francs (84,640 dollars) in VAT on the services she proffered, claimed the government could not tax "immoral" acts.

Nyon, Switzerland - The president of Macedonian club Pobeda as well as a player have been charged for match-fixing, UEFA announced Thursday.

"UEFA has announced today that the Macedonian club FK Pobeda, its president and one player have been charged for being in breach of the principles of integrity and sportsmanship by manipulating the outcome of a UEFA match to gain an undue advantage for themselves and a third party," said European football's ruling body in a statement.