Montag, Januar 31, 2011

In praise of biodiversity



Professor Martine Rahier recently became the rector of Neuchâtel University, the first woman in western Switzerland to hold such a position. The Belgian born professor's research into the behaviour of the leaf beetle has won her international recognition.

Sonntag, Januar 30, 2011

WEF: where leaders try saving the world during coffee breaks



Davos, the famous Swiss mountain resort, was known in the past for its clinics, where rich patients went to cure tuberculosis. In times of crisis the World Economic Forum (WEF) is a bit like a sanatorium for the sick economy. (SF-swissinfo.ch)

Samstag, Januar 29, 2011

How Swiss francs are made and how to stop forgeries



Even though credit and cash cards are widely used, coins and notes have not lost their popularity. swissinfo investigates how and where Swiss francs are made and how to stop forgeries. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch/SF/SNB)

Seeing the sound of Switzerland's audio heritage



The Swiss National Sound Archives is the official depository of audio records in Switzerland. Its mission is the preservation of the country's audio heritage.
(Michele Andina, swissinfo.ch 2005)

Freitag, Januar 28, 2011

The mountain village of Kandersteg revives its Belle Epoque



Tourists discovered Kandersteg in the early 1900s. It was the era of the Belle Epoque, hotels for the high society were built and winter sports established. Now, a hundred years later, Kandersteg is traveling back in time. (Michele Andina, swissinfo.ch)

Donnerstag, Januar 27, 2011

Scientific Aids-Video - From Death to Life



Bernard Hirschel is head of the HIV/Aids Unit of the University Hospitals of Geneva. His reorganization of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a follow-up of more than 14,000 patients, created a database that is acclaimed worldwide for the information it can supply for assessing HIV/Aids treatments.

Hirschel is controversial for claiming that Aids patients who have been receiving effective anti-retroviral treatment for at least six months need no longer use condoms, as they cannot transmit the virus through sex.

Mittwoch, Januar 26, 2011

Some think that army-issue firearms should continue to be kept at home, some want them locked away in arsenals

Swiss people are voting whether army guns should be stored at home or not. Among them are a woman whose sister was shot dead by a man on drugs and hobby shooters. Their view on Swiss gun laws couldn’t be further apart. (Raffaella Rossello, swissinfo.ch)

Samstag, Januar 22, 2011

Swiss inventor creates sky high moon bar



Swiss inventor and engineer Andreas Reinhard plans to build a moon-like helium filled viewing platform and bar at 1,500 metres above sea level, reachable by cable car. Oil sheiks on the Persian Gulf have expressed a serious interest. The Skylift could be one of the attractions offered by Qatar in 2022, when it hosts the football World Cup. (SF 10 vor 10/swissinfo.ch)

Freitag, Januar 21, 2011

Nude hiker now feels it in the pocket



A court in Appenzell Outer-Rhodes has deemed that a man caught hiking in the nude more than a year ago was indeed indecent.
On Thursday he was found guilty of gross violation of morality and decency. He now faces a SFr100 ($103) fine plus procedural costs amounting to SFr3,300.

The story began in October 2009, when a woman reported the sight of a naked man wandering near a picnic area and a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. The authorities fined him SFr100, but the 46-year-old naturist refused to pay.

The matter first came to court in May 2010; the man admitted that he had been hiking in the nude for two years, but insisted that he had not been behaving indecently. He was acquitted, so the prosecution decided to take the case to a higher court – which concluded that it was the duty of the local authorities to uphold public morality.

Following a wave of naturist hikers in recent years, canton Appenzell Inner-Rhodes was the first canton to ban naked rambling. The official fine for the practice is SFr200. Two cases are currently pending there.

Donnerstag, Januar 20, 2011

What makes Switzerland a good place for art



Switzerland is a popular place for trading expensive art. Apart from offering discretion and security, there is also a lot of money. Swiss television took a glimpse at the country’s private collections. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Dienstag, Januar 18, 2011

A portrait of Swiss artist Mona Caron



Mona Caron, a native of Ticino, now works as a muralist in California, creating large-scale paintings on walls. She's the daughter of Swiss theatre and opera set designer Peter Bissegger, and attended the San Francisco Academy of Art in Illustration. Filmmaker Kate Stilley Steiner caught up with the artist in San Francisco. (Kate Stilley Steiner, swissinfo.ch)

Sonntag, Januar 16, 2011

Phone technology to reduce ski accidents on Swiss slopes



The Swiss accident insurer, Suva, has launched a free iPhone application, as part of a ski accident prevention campaign. Slope Track allows users to measure their speed, the steepness of the slope, and the distance covered. (TSR/swissinfo.ch)

Donnerstag, Januar 13, 2011

The River Thur is freed from its straightjacket



Canton Zurich has been carrying out pioneering work, restoring the canalised River Thur to its natural state and reducing the risk of flooding in the area, as well as creating new habitats for wildlife. The project inspired the federal government to change the law. Developers carrying out work affecting Swiss rivers now have to follow canton Zurich's example and try to renaturalise water courses, thus promoting biodiversity. (Julie Hunt,swissinfo.ch)

Mittwoch, Januar 12, 2011

Stories of deportation: two cases of people who grew up in Switzerland



The Swiss have voted to automatically expel foreigners who commit certain crimes - including welfare fraud and theft – with no right of appeal. Deporting foreign criminals is possible under current laws, but is decided on a case by case basis. Two stories of men who grew up in Switzerland but were forced to leave. One is now in Germany. (TSR Mise au Point – swissinfo.ch)

Montag, Januar 10, 2011

How to protect your smartphone from beeing hacked



Millions of smart phones have been sold in the world. They can make life easier, but they can also be easy prey for hackers. Private emails and calls can be pirated but even worse: bank accounts are vulnerable. Banks are doing what they can to protect their clients. (TSR-swissinfo.ch)

Toy collector brings old masterpiece back to life



Hanspeter Kyburz is passionate about mechanical toys and musical boxes. At this year’s collector’s fair in Zurich the dealer presented a very special piece: a wooden village that had travelled a long way. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Samstag, Januar 08, 2011

What the Swiss think about moves to limit access to army weapons



The Swiss are about to vote on a proposal aimed at limiting access to guns. Members of the militia army keep their personal army-issue rifles at home - in many cases even after the completion of mandatory service. But after a series of attacks and family killings involving military weapons, an anti-gun initiative was launched. Swiss TV carried out its own survey to find out how ordinary people will vote. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Mittwoch, Januar 05, 2011

Recycling in Indien mit Schweizer Hilfe



Alte Computer, Telefone und Fernsehgeräte erhalten in den Vororten der indischen Hauptstadt Neu Delhi ein zweites Leben. Ein grosser Teil des elektrischen und elektronischen Schrotts (E-Waste) muss aber mit Hilfe von gefährlichen Verfahren rezykliert werden. Mit Hilfe der Schweiz sind lokale Nichtregierungs-Organisationen, wie zum Beispiel Toxicx Link, daran, Lösungen zu finden, die für Mensch und Umwelt weniger gefährlich sind. (Luigi Jorio, swissinfo.ch)

Dienstag, Januar 04, 2011

Masked rituals in northwestern Switzerland

Hallwil in northwestern Switzerland celebrates the New Year with a ritual involving masked wild looking characters. The brown group symbolises winter and death, the green one spring and life. The wild men run around the village hugging as many people as they can, especially women. (SF–swissinfo.ch)