Swiss voters reject new tough rules on corporate human rights liabilities
13 December 2020 |
12:22 pm
A contentious proposal to hold businesses liable for human rights and environmental abuses around the world has been voted down in Switzerland. The plan won popular support in Sunday’s referendum, with 50.7 percent voting “yes”, but it failed to win support in a majority of cantons. Plus, Brexit talks resumed on Saturday but no breakthrough has been made. The risk of the UK crashing out of the Single Market without a trade deal is rising as the current transition period is set to expire at the end of this year.
Latest
7 hours ago
Our reporters take us to Khartoum's breadbasket, to hear how Sudanese farmers feel about the coup and the protest movement rocking the country.
Entrepreneurs in the Central African Republic seek out ways to ramp up Cassava production. The root vegetable is a staple in the country but supplies are dwindling since the pandemic.
8 hours ago
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the incursion off its east coast lasted roughly 10 minutes. Beijing later said the warplanes entering South Korea's air defense identification zone was part of an exercise.
8 hours ago
Germany follows many other countries in marking a sad threshold. According to figures from the country's Robert Koch Institute, 100,000 people have now died of COVID-19. Behind every number is a name, and a person.
9 hours ago
After 16 years, the post-Merkel era is finally upon us. Social Democratic leader Olaf Scholz is taking the mantle to form Germany's first three-party coalition since the 1950s. How will it work? How compatible are the Greens to his left and the liberal FDP to his right? Berlin's loosening or tightening of the purse strings in these uncertain times is sure to dictate the tone at home and in Brussels.
9 hours ago
African voices are at the heart of conversations at the COP26 climate summit. Despite contributing the least to greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is on the frontline of changes that threaten the environment and livelihoods. In Mauritius, there are fears all the country's beaches could be gone in just 50 years. Meanwhile, the Rwandan capital Kigali is being transformed into a green city with a pedestrian-only centre and self-service bikes.
10 hours ago
The NGO says authorities desperately need to do more to address the crisis of gender-based violence, particularly amid the pandemic. But hard data on the number of victims is still worryingly difficult to come by.