Geneva - Nearly 60 per cent of all full-time employees in Iraq work for the government, a UN report said, warning that this level of public sector employment was "unsustainable."

Growing unemployment in Iraq officially stood at about 18 percent, but was 10 per cent higher among men under the age of 30. Additionally, less than 1 in 5 women participated in the labour force.

"Iraq's growing jobless population is a socio-economic challenge for a country in transition," the UN report said. "This unemployed or disenchanted pool of young men and women is critical to Iraq's future socio-economic health."

Zurich - The mystery of a Brazilian woman who claimed she was attacked by three skinheads in Zurich earlier this week deepened Friday as new details emerged that cast some doubts on her story.

Police responded to a train station in the major Swiss city on Monday after reports that a pregnant woman was attacked with a knife during a racially motivated crime. The
26-year-old Brazilian, who said she was three months pregnant at the time of the attack, said she went into a bathroom afterward and miscarried.

However, the Institute of Forensic Medicine determined Friday that she was not pregnant at the time of the attack. Police also said the wounds on her body could have been self-inflicted.

Geneva  - A man of Tamil origin c

Geneva - Charles Aznavour, the ageing French singer, will take up a new role as the Armenian ambassador to Switzerland, media reports said Friday.

Aznavour made the announcement on Armenian TV, saying he was honoured to have been given the position.

The Armenian diplomatic mission in Geneva could not confirm the appointment.

Geneva - The United Nations' Human Rights Council announced Friday will hold a special session next week to address the financial crisis.

Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, the Nigerian ambassador to the UN in Geneva and the president of the HRC, said the special session would focus on the protection of human rights in difficult economic times, particularly defending the most vulnerable.

Zurich - Jacques Aigrain, the head of Swiss Re, the world's second largest re-insurer which suffered huge losses in 2008, has resigned his post, the company announced Thursday. He will be succeeded by current deputy CEO, Stefan Lippe.

Lippe, a German national, has been with Swiss Re for 25 years.

Earlier this month, the re-insurer said it had managed to raise capital, including a 3 billion-Swiss-franc (2.58 billion dollars)- investment from US financier Warren Buffet.

The group was considering taking another 2 billion from other investors.

The capital was needed in light of losses over 2008 reaching a whopping 1 billion francs, with the company now struggling to maintain its AA credit rating.