- Moldova president blames interference for potential EU referendum loss
- King Charles to spotlight conflict, climate in Australian capital
- UN chief seeks 'significant' funding at summit to save nature
- Hurricane Oscar makes landfall in Cuba amid huge power outage
- McLaren blast 'inappropriate' penalty as Norris F1 title hopes hit
- La Rochelle bounce back against Bordeaux-Begles
- Lethal Lewandowski helps Barca rout Sevilla, Atletico triumph
- Leclerc wins US Grand Prix as Norris, Verstappen clash
- Lewandowski powers five-star Barca to Sevilla rout
- Lions hand Vikings first loss, Packers down Texans
- In escalation, Israel bombs Hezbollah-linked finance group
- Martinez keeps Inter on Napoli's tail with Roma winner
- Marseille return to form with Montpellier thrashing
- Lula cancels trip to summit in Russia after injuring head
- One dead as flooding hits Italy's northeast flatlands
- Browns quarterback Watson exits with Achilles tendon injury
- Liverpool 'showed up' to beat Chelsea challenge: Slot
- 'Once in a lifetime' Kerr leads New Zealand to Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Pope names 14 new saints, including martyrs of Damascus
- Malinin captures third straight Skate America crown
- Sri Lanka triumph in rain-affected first ODI against West Indies
- Liverpool pass Chelsea test to reclaim Premier League top spot
- Kerr leads New Zealand to maiden Women's T20 World Cup triumph
- Tens of thousands rally in Georgia for EU ahead of pivotal vote
- UN biodiversity summit opens under guerrilla threat in Colombia
- 'Smile 2' scares up the biggest audiences in N.American theaters
- 'I deserved this,' says Bautista Agut after 12th career title
- Thousands protest in Spain's Canary Islands against mass tourism
- Lavreysen reaps 16th gold at track cycling worlds
- Sorloth double helps Atletico beat Leganes
- Libyan held in Germany over suspected Israel embassy plot
- New Zealand post 158-5 against South Africa in Women's T20 World Cup final
- Teen defender Rothe lifts Union past struggling Holstein Kiel
- Fans gather to mourn Liam Payne's death at UK and other vigils
- Stones bags controversial winner as Man City survive Wolves scare
- Eight-storey building collapses in Kenyan capital
- Tributes pour in for Olympic champion Chris Hoy after terminal cancer revelation
- Oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan votes, shadowed by economic struggles
- Moldova votes on EU future amid fears of Russian meddling
- Napoli keep Serie A lead with win at Empoli
- Tanak triumphs to set up world rally title decider in Japan
- Nepal protesters clash with police over politician's fraud charges
- Leverkusen's Boniface only 'slightly injured' after car accident
- Green holds off Boutier surge to win LPGA title in South Korea
- Israel escalates Beirut bombing, accused of killing 73 in Gaza strike
- New Zealand record first Test win in India for 36 years
- Harris turns 60, but prefers to talk about Trump's age
- Putin seeks to rival Western power with high-profile summit
- Hurricane set to hit Cuba amid national blackout
- Bomb hoax threats to Indian airlines spark chaos
Swiss look at using Russian assets for Ukraine reparations
Swiss lawmakers on Thursday narrowly backed moves towards allowing the use of frozen Russian state assets to fund war reparations in Ukraine.
The issue has been hotly debated in Switzerland, where discretion in the key banking industry and the country's tradition of neutrality are highly valued.
The upper house of parliament voted by 21-19 in favour of a series of government-backed motions, with three abstentions. The lower house passed them last year.
They pave the way for the government to work on an international legal basis for using frozen aggressor-state assets to pay for reparations in attacked countries.
More than $8 billion in Russian central bank reserves and assets are held in Switzerland.
"The facts are very clear indeed," Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told parliament's upper house.
"Russia has seriously violated international law. It must therefore repair the damage caused.
"International discussions are under way regarding compensation mechanisms and Switzerland is participating with its knowledge, its skills and all its history in this area."
Bern will now seek to establish the international legal basis needed for a reparations mechanism to be developed at the global level.
It would be aimed at allowing frozen funds from an aggressor's central bank, or assets of its state-owned companies, to be legally transferred to an attacked state.
- Lively debate -
Thursday's vote followed a lively debate in the upper chamber.
There was concern about whether Switzerland's image on neutrality might be harmed, and whether Switzerland was doing enough when there was war in Europe.
Cassis argued that since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Switzerland had supported the affected populations with around three billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion).
The government also aims to spend around 1.5 billion Swiss francs on Ukraine and the region between 2025 and 2028. Switzerland also plans to host a peace conference later this year.
"We don't have to blush when we talk about Ukraine on the international stage," Cassis said, whether it was on the financial, diplomatic or humanitarian front.
Switzerland's long-standing position is one of well-armed military neutrality.
It has refused to send arms to Kyiv or allow countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry to re-export it to Ukraine.
But it has matched the European Union's economic sanctions on Russia.
The economic affairs ministry said in May last year that 7.4 billion Swiss francs of Russian central bank reserves and assets were being held in Switzerland.
Switzerland has also frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs in Russian funds and assets owned or controlled by sanctioned persons, companies or entities, the ministry said at the time.
The country is a long-favoured destination for wealthy Russians and their assets.
The Swiss Bankers Association estimated that in March 2022, Russian clients held approximately 150 billion Swiss francs in banks in Switzerland.
P.Cavaco--PC