Voltaire Network

BND anticipates Syria's victory end 2013

2013-05-23T19:12:00Z

The German foreign intelligence agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND) has drastically revised its assessment of the situation in Syria, reveals Spiegel Online [1] While, on the strength of reports by high-ranking military deserters, they had heretofore predicted the rapid enfeeblement of Bashar al-Assad, today they announced his victory before the end of the year. The BND believes that the Syrian Arab Army has succeeded in securing its supply lines and in cutting those of the "insurgents" (...) - News in Brief / Syria

Will there soon be a referendum on freedom of expression in Switzerland?, by Matthias Erne

Matthias Erne — 2013-05-23T18:16:48Z

Zurich lawyer Matthias Erne responds to the controversy that swirled around the views expressed by a celebrated military journalist, Peter Forster. The latter openly took issue with the Federal Council's questioning of Swiss neutrality. Can a journalist working for the state express a personal opinion against the government that employs him? And on whose initiative can Switzerland's neutrality be called into question: the Federal Council's or that of the Swiss people? Voltaire (1694–1778) (...) - Controversies / Military-industrial complex, Communication, Switzerland

"The promotion of the Mittelstand corresponds to social market economy and is an alternative to socialism and capitalism”

2013-05-23T18:02:39Z

« "The promotion of the Mittelstand corresponds to social market economy and is an alternative to socialism and capitalism” », by Professor Dr Eberhard Hamer / « “Proposals for the regeneration of the market economy and of the SMEs (small and medium-sized businesses)” », by Professor Dr Eberhard Hamer/ «“FATCA brings serious disadvantages for Switzerland as a sovereign state ” », by Hans Geiger / «“US Bank dispute: kneeling before the United States?”», by Florence Vuichard / «“Gigantic US spy centre”» / (...) - Current concerns

Georges Sabra urges FSA to rescue al-Qusayr

2013-05-22T17:43:00Z

While the city of al-Qusayr was liberated by the Syrian Arab Army bolstered by Hezbollah combatants, the president of the National Coalition (opposition), Georges Sabra, called on all units affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to send in their men to "rescue" the city. The Syrian army is currently grappling with pockets of jihadists which still linger in certain neighborhoods and suburbs. The goal of the Trotskyist Coalition leader is to restore the North-South line dividing Syria (...) - News in Brief / Syria

List of Iranian presidential candidates

2013-05-22T12:28:00Z

The Council of the Revolutionary Guards (akin to a Constitutional Council) on Tuesday released a list of eight candidates declared eligible for the presidential election on June 14. The Council had to select among 686 candidates who had put their names forward, including former President Rafsanjani (the richest man in the country), and the former chief of staff Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mashaie, both of whom were barred from the ballot. The final candidates are: Mohammad-Reza Aref, university (...) - News in Brief / Iran

Menendez-Corker bill on Syria passes Senate Foreign Relations Committee

2013-05-22T11:34:00Z

The Syria Transition Support Act introduced by U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-TN) was approved by the Committee, on 21 May 2013, by a vote of 15 to 3. [1] The legislation will be submitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives. It aims to provide arms to opposition factions "respectful of human rights and not linked to terrorism" with a view to strengthening the U.S. position at the "Geneva-2 conference." (...) - News in Brief / Syria, United States

Statement from 11 Nations at Meeting in Jordan on Syria

2013-05-22T09:18:00Z

Joint statement of the participating countries in the Ammam ministerial meeting on Syria The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Jordan came together in Amman on May 22nd 2013 to deliberate on the developments in Syria and to reemphasize their support to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria. The representatives from the leadership of the Syrian National (...) - Diplomatic Wire / Syria

The Eurovision scandal

2013-05-21T17:25:30Z

The annual Eurovision Song Contest was held in Malmö (Sweden), 18 May 2013. It ended with the victory of Denmark's Emmelie de Forest. The final tally for each country is a 50/50 combination of the telephone votes and the votes of a national jury. However, the 10 points that Azerbaijan gave to Russia disappeared, causing total mayhem in Baku and anger in Moscow (which gave 12 points to Azerbaijan). Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, asked Baku to shed light on the matter. (...) - News in Brief / Azerbaijan, Russia

Syria: al-Qusayr liberated

2013-05-21T17:00:16Z

The Syrian army, backed by members of Hezbollah, liberated the city of al-Qusayr. 80,000 Christians had fled their homes for more than six months, under the threat of mainly foreign jihadists, supported by NATO and the GCC. The liberation of al-Qusayr puts an end to the intense fighting in the district of Homs. The city of Homs itself should be purged of terrorists in the coming (...) - News in Brief / Syria

National security by “management by knocking one's head”

2013-05-20T18:31:00Z

« “National security by “management by knocking one's head” ” », by Peter Regli / « “Phoney outrage from Brussels” », A commentary by Wolfgang Koydl / «“Solutions to the euro crisis without turbulences and violence Wilhelm Hankel and Oskar Lafontaine raised their voices” », by Karl Müller / «“We need a European currency system again Under the given circumstances the single currency must be given up”», by Oskar Lafontaine / «“Courage to change course – Swiss security policy at a turning point”» / «“Europe (...) - Current concerns