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Illegal money
Cabinet drafts unique law on dictators’ assets
Cabinet has presented a draft bill setting the rules for the freezing and restoring of assets obtained illegally by foreign dictators and deposited in Switzerland. If approved by parliament, it will be the first law of its kind in the world. [...]
Construction halted
Court ruling on holiday homes sparks controversy
Crash report
Driver error likely cause of fatal bus crash
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
Syrian refugee crisis
Refugees struggle to survive in new Lebanese homes
Swiss banking woes
Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says a resolution may be not far off to end a long-running dispute with the United States over Swiss banks accused of helping wealthy Americans evade billions of dollars of taxes. [...]
Changes at the top
Surprise shake-up marks Glencore Xstrata meeting
Formula for success
Chinese parents drive baby milk powder boom
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. [...]
Medical advances
Gender testing to help avoid genetic diseases
A new test called Microsort will allow couples with certain serious hereditary disorders to choose the sex of their baby in order to reduce the chance of passing on an active form of their disease. [...]
Aerial mapping
Successful takeoff for Swiss commercial drones
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In depth
Inclement conditions
Nuclear plants must resist extreme weather
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Switzerland's nuclear power plants must prove they can withstand extreme weather conditions (Keystone)
Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have until the end of 2013 to demonstrate to the country’s safety watchdog that they are equipped to withstand weather conditions such as tornados, high winds, heavy snowfall and extreme temperatures.
The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) said on Friday it had written to the operators of the country’s five nuclear power facilities to outline the conditions for meeting the requirements.
The onus on operators to demonstrate that their plants can resist extreme weather was one of the outstanding issues highlighted by the European Union stress tests carried out in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year.
Swiss nuclear power plants were able to demonstrate “high safety margins and strong robustness”. The Swiss facilities were also praised for having seven levels of security of energy supply.
However, events such as drought, freezing rain, ice, forest fires and heavy rainfall at nuclear sites must still be considered, ENSI said in a statement on its website.
Operators have until the end of this year to present a timetable for the weather safety demonstrations.
Nuclear power
Energy Agency worried by withdrawal “challenges”
The International Energy Agency (IEA) fears that steps proposed by the Swiss government to end the country’s dependence on nuclear power will not be sufficient to stabilise electricity consumption. [...]
Mühleberg decision heartens foreign activists
A ruling by the Swiss Administrative Court ordering the closure of the Mühleberg nuclear power station has galvanised anti-nuclear campaigners elsewhere in Europe too. [...]
Nuclear safety watchdog gets glowing report
Switzerland’s nuclear safety watchdog reacted well to the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in March, a group of international experts has found. [...]
Plugging the energy gap
Cleantech expo shows how Switzerland could cope without nuclear power. [...]
