Saturday 18.05.2013  
 
 
 

New trends

Folk musicians seek inspiration beyond the norm

It’s crowded in the dressing room. And no wonder. A folk trio, a jazz singer and a classically-trained violinist are all relaxing before a joint show. Such genre-bending is common in Swiss folk music today - as is a back-to-roots shift.  [...]

Appenzell electro dulcimer

Instrument unites traditional and techno

The hammered dulcimer, the Hackbrett, is the heart and soul of Appenzell folk music. Traditionally it's played in a string ensemble. But it's not limited to folk.  [...]

Nadja Räss

Breaking the mould as a Swiss yodeller

Yodeller Nadja Räss exemplifies today’s crossover Swiss folk music scene, and is equally happy experimenting in jazz, listening to 100-year-old yodel recordings or teaching CEOs how to communicate.  [...]

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Formula for success

Chinese parents drive baby milk powder boom

The volume of imported milk formulas in China quadrupled between 2008 and 2012

Mistrust in China after the death of several babies, along with an expanding population and growing middle class, has led to surging demand for Western baby milk formula, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge to Swiss manufacturers.  [...]

In his own words

Blaise Cendrars - a restless travel writer

Blaise Cendrars’ Prose of the Trans-Siberian and the Little Jeanne de France was published a century ago. It was a journey around the world and in the mind.  [...]

Trade vs human rights

Business is anything but usual with Saudi Arabia

Demonstrators in Qatif demand the release of political prisoners

Saudi Arabia, a key player in the conflict in Syria, is an important Swiss trade partner but it regularly makes headlines due to human rights violations. Is conducting business with the desert state complicity, or another way of bringing about change?  [...]

Too posh to push?

C-section rates create a stir

Caesareans are not without risk for mother and child

Every third child in Switzerland is born by Caesarean section, one of the highest rates in the world. Particularly women in wealthy urban areas with a high density of private clinics request the surgery, a fact which riles critics.  [...]

Conflict resolution

Negotiating the “crowded field” of mediation

South Sudanese soldiers withdraw from Sudan to allow for the creation of a demilitarised buffer zone

Most armed conflicts are resolved not by force but at the negotiating table. However, the growing number of mediation actors seen in recent years can be counterproductive, according to a recent study by Swiss authors.  [...]

Multihued

A colourful journey through Switzerland

If you close your eyes and think of Switzerland, what colours do you see? Maybe the white of snow, the yellow of the Post buses, or the red of geraniums? A new book created by Karen Ichters and Hadi Barkat offers a range of shades and hues.  [...]

Marrying across borders

For bi-national couples, it’s ‘I Do’ or ‘Adieu’

Mya Hejia, who is from China, married her Swiss husband Robert before moving abroad for the first time to live in Bern

A Swiss man meets the woman of his dreams while vacationing in Asia. What’s next for the happy pair? The choices are clear-cut but increasingly inflexible if they want to live in Switzerland, as many couples and advisors are finding out.  [...]

The letter carrier

ʻMy life is much freer than if I worked in an officeʼ

Dominique Jaccot

Dominique Jaccot, like the heads of around five per cent of Swiss households, is a single parent. She has built a new family around her son. In spite of the difficulties, she loves life and her calling as a mail deliverer in Neuchâtel.  [...]

Finance Minister Widmer-Schlumpf says it will take at least five years to implement the corporate tax reform

Corporate taxes

Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform

Under pressure from the European Union the Swiss government has outlined plans to scrap controversial tax privileges for international companies. But the reform risks undermining the complex federal fiscal system and lead to an important drop in revenue.  [...]

Changes at the top

Surprise shake-up marks Glencore Xstrata meeting

There have been surprise personnel changes at the top of the newly merged Glencore Xstrata commodities giant during its first annual general meeting in Zug on Thursday.  [...]

Murder questions

Papers rue failings of house arrest system

Following the killing of a 19-year-old girl by a convicted murderer who was under home surveillance, Swiss newspapers on Thursday said the use of electronic tags for criminals needed to be re-examined.  [...]

Safe and sound

Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen

Home sweet home

Cabinet stops short of regulating housing market

Free trade

Swiss minister hails trade deal with China

Brussels talks

EU moves to close tax loopholes

Book worm

A day at the fair

Basel11 °C
Bern8 °C
Geneva7 °C
Interlaken8 °C
Locarno10 °C
Lucerne10 °C
Zurich9 °C
Last updated: 09:23