- Home
- Latest news
-
Topics
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. [...]
Corporate taxes
Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform
Murder questions
Papers rue failings of house arrest system
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. [...]
Chinese readers react
Profit at the expense of moral values
Safe and sound
Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen
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
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. [...]
Nadja Räss
Breaking the mould as a Swiss yodeller
Rocks on a roll
Huge colourless diamond goes for record
Stem cell research
Cord blood – sound investment or pricey frill?
Umbilical cord blood holds precious stem cells. At some Swiss hospitals, mothers can donate their baby's supply to research. But some labs have privatised the practice, and not everyone is sure it’s worth the cost. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) [...]
Cancer discovery
New imaging gives insight into tumours’ travels
-
In depth
Swine flu pandemic said to be on its last breath
comments
The Federal Health Office says the swine flu pandemic that swept around the world is drawing to a close.
Patrick Mathys, head of the Health Office’s pandemic preparation unit, said on Friday that the H1N1 virus is still active but that the wave of illness is ebbing.
About 1.1 million people in Switzerland have come in contact with the virus. Some 1.3 million in the country were vaccinated against it. That's about the same as during a typical flu season. Eighteen people died from symptoms or complications related to the virus in Switzerland.
Doctors have consulted about 270,000 people for flu symptoms this season. The Health Office said it knew of 561 people who had to be hospitalised with confirmed cases of swine flu, but actual numbers of people who contracted the virus could be much higher.
The virus is believed to have killed at least 12,200 people worldwide as of the end of 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. The agency said it typically takes one to two years after a pandemic has ended to get the most accurate figures.
An external evaluation of how Swiss authorities handled the pandemic is underway.
swissinfo.ch and agencies
Swiss ready to roll out flu vaccine programme
Vaccinations against the H1N1 flu virus in Switzerland will be carried out in two phases beginning in mid-November, health authorities said on Friday. [...]
Swiss left unimpressed by swine flu policy
Government calls for at-risk individuals to get vaccinated against H1N1 have fallen largely on deaf Swiss ears, with many believing the threat is exaggerated. [...]
Low vaccination rate "could spark big flu wave"
Switzerland could face a major wave of new swine flu cases owing to reluctance to get a preventative jab and delays over vaccine supplies, warns a flu expert. [...]
