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Space-X takes pictures on Mars

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 The cameras, put together by the Space-X company after more than ten years of research, will be seeking traces of life and water on the planet. After travelling for about six months, the Beagle 2 lander, which houses the cameras, will leave the Mars Express orbiter for the final five-day descent. If all goes according…

Switzerland joins Europe’s first mission to Mars

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 Switzerland is part of the Mars Express team and has contributed funding and key equipment to the mission. The unmanned spacecraft blasted off on schedule from the space launch centre in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Monday. Once on Mars, the craft will begin orbiting the planet. It is carrying a lander, which is due to touch…

Parliament approves Kyoto protocol

This content was published on Jun 2, 2003 On Monday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly endorsed the United Nations treaty on climate change. Although parliamentary approval was never in doubt, Philippe Roch, the director of the Swiss Environment Agency, maintains a major sea change in people’s thinking and behaviour will be needed if the Kyoto goals are to be met. “We are working…

Old mills keep turning for the tourists

This content was published on May 31, 2003 Many of the mills, like the sawmill Schwarzwaldalp between Grindelwald and Meiringen, have been resurrected as tourist attractions. The Schwarzwaldalp sawmill was erected in 1896 in order to provide the planks, boards and beams for the construction of a grand hotel. It was the Belle Époque and tourists were flocking to the region to get…

Thumbs up for EU bilateral ties

This content was published on May 30, 2003 The first set of bilateral accords – seen as an alternative to EU membership – came into force on June 1, 2002. The economics minister, Joseph Deiss, says bilateral deals are currently the only politically acceptable way in Switzerland of forging closer ties with the EU. The Swiss made clear in a vote in 2001…

Swiss lift trade embargo on Iraq

This content was published on May 30, 2003 But the finance ministry said it would tighten restrictions on financial dealings with allies of the deposed Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. The government is to end the embargo on trade and money transfers as well as flight restrictions. “It’s due to the fact that the UN under resolution 1483 lifted the trade embargo on Iraq,”…

Playing for children’s lives in Cambodia

This content was published on May 30, 2003 Paediatrician Beat Richner uses his passion for music to raise funds for the three children’s hospitals that he has set up in Cambodia. Twice a year, he travels from the capital, Phnom Penh, to Switzerland to perform, inform and raise money. At his free concerts, the man – affectionately known by his stage name Beatocello…

Zurich raises $500 million from Life sale

This content was published on May 30, 2003 Zurich – Europe’s fifth largest insurer by premiums – said the sale was consistent with its plan to move capital to non-life businesses. The Zurich-based insurer noted that it would keep some life insurance assets of Zurich Life, including Kemper Investors Life Insurance Co. It valued the assets it would retain at SFr645 million. “We…

Switzerland faces hefty bill for G-8

This content was published on May 30, 2003 Although the summit is not taking place on Swiss soil, the country is being forced to carry a significant share of the financial burden for security costs and lost business. The bill for providing military and police security in Switzerland during the three-day event on the southern shore of Lake Geneva is expected to top…

Social unrest in France upsets G-8 protests

This content was published on May 29, 2003 But organisers warn that widespread protests in France over proposed pension reforms are likely to keep many demonstrators away. “The protests are going to be much smaller than we hoped because the French unions are thick in the battle against the destruction of their country’s retirement plans,” said anti-summit organiser, Olivier de Marcellus. “We’re certainly…

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Space-X takes pictures on Mars

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Switzerland joins Europe’s first mission to Mars

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Parliament approves Kyoto protocol

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Old mills keep turning for the tourists

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Thumbs up for EU bilateral ties

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Swiss lift trade embargo on Iraq

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Playing for children’s lives in Cambodia

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Zurich raises $500 million from Life sale

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Switzerland faces hefty bill for G-8

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Social unrest in France upsets G-8 protests

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