Thursday 23.05.2013  
 
 
 

Basel’s Schola Cantorum

Old music becomes new art

On a sunny day in Basel, delicate tunes waft through the windows of the Schola Cantorum, the world’s oldest institution for the study of “old music”. Eighty years on, that term - and the school’s role - is constantly being re-defined.  [...]

Old instruments made new

The bassoon's revenge

With help from Swiss experts, world-renowned musician Lyndon Watts sought to feature his instrument and resurrect one of the greatest models ever made: the legendary Savary bassoon, once considered the “Stradivarius of bassoons”.  [...]

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New lives

Resettling the vulnerable who cannot go home

An Iraqi refugee family at an UNHCR reception area in Beirut

Resettlement in the West for the most vulnerable of the more than 1.5 million people who have fled Syria is as good as winning the lottery. For its part, Switzerland has only taken a handful and there are obstacles to opening the door wider.  [...]

Keeping company

Labour agreement faces social test

The Trade Union Federation wants collective bargaining agreements for all sales staff in shoe shops

As support for the free movement of workers accord with the European Union is waning, Swiss employers and unions are agreed on combating labour market abuses and tightening controls. But they are at loggerheads over the issue of minimum wages.  [...]

Neither war nor peace

Battle begins against drones and killer robots

The Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder, is a British military drone prototype

The intensive use of drones by the Obama administration is feeding a wave of protest and criticism which reaches Geneva next week when a coalition of NGOs will call for a halt to the race to build technology for autonomous killing robots.  [...]

Gymnastics coach

'It’s a great feeling to fly, to twist, to rotate'

Reto Marthaler

Although his profession is teaching business, Reto Marthaler’s passion is gymnastics. He spends hundreds of hours per year organising local and regional boys’ programmes. The sport is on his mind “every day, every hour, every second”.  [...]

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?  [...]

Switzerland is the third destination for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who first paid visits to India and Pakistan.

New deal

Switzerland is first European stop for Chinese PM

The new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has chosen to make Switzerland his first European destination, emphasising the historically good relationship between the two countries, which earlier this month agreed on a free trade pact.  [...]

Human rights report

Amnesty flags Swiss asylum law

In its annual report, the human rights organisation Amnesty International cited Switzerland’s stricter asylum laws and ongoing discrimination against minorities as concerns while noting progress in the treatment of deported asylum seekers.  [...]

Construction halted

Court ruling on holiday homes sparks controversy

Switzerland’s highest court has decided that the limits on new holiday homes adopted by Swiss voters last year would apply to building permits issued as of March 2012. Builders will be forced to immediately halt construction on affected homes.  [...]

Illegal money

Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets

Crash report

Driver error likely cause of fatal bus crash

Harmful correlation

Alcohol abuse linked to domestic violence

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Last updated: 14:38