Saturday 18.05.2013  
 
 
 

Just the ticket

Keeping a printing tradition alive

More and more train tickets are printed by computers; the traditional card ticket is today rarely used. The Aeschbacher company in Worb near Bern still cuts these and prints them with lead type.  [...]

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Appenzell electro dulcimer

Instrument unites traditional and techno

Appenzell electro dulcimer

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.  [...]

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.  [...]

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 firms. But the reform risks undermining the complex federal fiscal system and leading to a major 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

Basel12 °C
Bern10 °C
Geneva9 °C
Interlaken10 °C
Locarno11 °C
Lucerne12 °C
Zurich11 °C
Last updated: Sat May 18 10:38:00 CEST 2013