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Trains collide in popular tourist resort

This content was published on Aug 7, 2003 Twenty-seven victims have been taken to hospital, including a passenger with serious head injuries. The two trains were carrying 250 passengers when the accident happened at 9.50am on Thursday morning. Police said a local train was making a scheduled journey between Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen on a single-track stretch of rail, when it was hit by…

Swiss are stuck on their rubbish bag tax

This content was published on Aug 7, 2003 But the system is far more widely applied in the German-speaking part of the country than in the French- and Italian-speaking areas. The tax means householders have to attach a coloured sticker bought from the local shop to their rubbish bags – instead of paying for waste disposal through their local authority taxes. Two new…

More Swiss fall into debt trap

This content was published on Aug 7, 2003 The number of requests for advice from debt advisory bureaux has risen sharply over the past three years. “Today people don’t mind getting into debt. This has something to do with individuality and defining yourself in society,” said Jürg Gschwend, president of the umbrella organisation of debt advisory bureaux in Switzerland. His organisation has already…

Alstom rescue is good news for Switzerland

This content was published on Aug 6, 2003 The announcement of a new financing package, including a capital increase, gives hope to Alstom’s 110,000 employees, of which more than 5,000 are in Switzerland. Alstom is one of France’s flagship industrial concerns. The TGV high-speed train – a national symbol – is among its best-known products. The €2.8 billion (SFr4.3 billion) rescue package contains…

Zimmer set to take over Centerpulse

This content was published on Aug 6, 2003 Smith & Nephew on Wednesday said it would not up its £1.5 billion (SFr3.26 billion) offer for Europe’s largest medical devices concern. The board of directors of Centerpulse, which has told shareholders that a link-up with either Zimmer or Smith & Nephew is in their long-term interests, was due to meet later to discuss the…

Travel agents weather economic downturn

This content was published on Aug 6, 2003 Agents, who have managed to weather the downturn caused by the gloomy economy, are now hoping to reach last year’s sales figures. Roland Schmid, spokesman for TUI Switzerland, the country’s third-biggest travel agency, says summer business hasn’t been as bad as initially feared. Bookings for Mediterranean holidays have remained fairly stable. “People’s desire to go…

Zurich to forge San Francisco partnership

This content was published on Aug 5, 2003 The most visible symbol of the project is San Francisco’s Swiss House which is set to open its doors in November. The scheme follows on from recent Swiss collaborations in Boston, New York and Chicago. The “San Francisco-Zurich Initiative” will focus initially on the exchange of ideas and information between the two cities’ academic institutions.…

Switzerland wins reprieve over flight limits

This content was published on Aug 5, 2003 Germany agreed on Thursday to delay imposing additional limits on flights over its territory until the end of October. The breakthrough in negotiations between the two neighbours came after two days of talks in Bonn between Leuenberger and his German counterpart, Manfred Stolpe. The delay gives Switzerland time to meet technical requirements that will allow…

Clariant announces sell-off to slash debt

This content was published on Aug 5, 2003 Tuesday’s restructuring announcement came as the company posted a first-half net loss of SFr49 million – compared with a profit of SFr145 million a year ago. Clariant blamed tough market conditions for a seven per cent drop in sales to SFr4.27 billion and a 38 per cent fall in operating income to SFr213 million. Chief…

Giant feat by tiny pests

This content was published on Aug 5, 2003 Back in the late 1980s a queen, her king and a few dozen workers came to Bern to build up a community. Today, the city has over one million residents. The termites arrived in 1988 from Kenya in order to create a vivarium – a place where insects and animals are kept under natural conditions.…

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