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Transport ministry moves to stop level crossing deaths

This content was published on Feb 25, 2001 According to a report in the “SonntagsZeitung” newspaper, the transport ministry has said it aims to ask the government to invest SFr100 million in upgrading Swiss level crossings that do not have the equipment to warn and prevent people from crossing the rail tracks when a train is approaching. Last week, a 38-year-old woman and…

Minor earthquake hits canton Valais

This content was published on Feb 24, 2001 The quake struck late on Friday night and lasted for 20 seconds. The epicentre was reported to be five kilometres beneath the earth in Sembrencher. Regional police received a number of calls from anxious members of the public, who thought the quake was the result of an explosion or avalanche. Earthquakes occasionally strike Switzerland, but…

EFTA concludes free trade pact with Croatia

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 EFTA has announced the conclusion of a pact with Croatia aimed at opening markets for goods between Zagreb and its member nations. The pact was negotiated in just four months, and will be formally ratified at a ministerial meeting in Liechtenstein in June. The agreement will come into force from the beginning of next year.…

National exhibition thrown lifeline by Swiss banks

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 According to the Expo 02 management committee head, Franz Steinegger, the banks will also fund the project to the tune of SFr150-160 million ($89-95 million). The offer came during a meeting of Steinegger, the finance minister Kaspar Villiger, and Switzerland’s three largest banks – UBS, Credit Suisse and the Zürcher Kantonalbank. The banks’ bailout package…

Price regulator calls for cheaper medicines

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 Presenting his annual report for 2000 on Friday, Marti said that a study comparing 1,700 identical medical products in Switzerland and Germany had found that Swiss prices were on average 19 per cent higher than those in Germany, while drugs not covered by mandatory health insurance were up to 33 per cent more expensive. Marti…

The business week in Switzerland

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 Sabena won a last minute reprieve after the SAirGroup and the airline’s other shareholder, the Belgian government, finally agreed on a cash injection of SFr380 million ($225 million). The plan goes hand in hand with cost cutting measures agreed with the unions that will lead to 700 job losses. But many analysts see the deal…

Music on the brain

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 Working with patients suffering from epilepsy at the University Hospital in Zurich, Heinz-Gregor Wieser, professor of neurology, has been looking at how the brain responds to and processes audio information. “We found out that the organisation of music in the brain is in the temporal lobe,” he said. “Several structures here and in other brain…

Computing makes a quantum leap

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 In quantum theory, objects on the subatomic level can be in two places at the same time, travel in two directions and have other seemingly contradictory properties. A team of physicists at Geneva University is trying to exploit these physical phenomena. In a groundbreaking experiment in 1997, the group showed that distant quantum particles seemed…

Geneva motor show set to capture headlines

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 The Basel-based pharmaceuticals group, Roche, is releasing its annual results on Wednesday, with analysts forecasting earnings to be around the SFr5.2 billion ($3.08 billion) level. Analysts will be particularly interested in sales figures for the company’s anti-obesity drug, Xenical, which has established itself as one of the company’s main products since its launch two years…

Sabena shareholders rubber stamp rescue plan

This content was published on Feb 23, 2001 The two shareholders rubber stamped the rescue package, agreed on Thursday, at a meeting in Brussels. Under the deal, SAirGroup, which owns 49.5 per cent of Sabena, will contribute €150 million, and the Belgian government, which has a 50.5 per cent stake, will make up the rest. SAirGroup’s decision followed weeks of tough bargaining with…

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Transport ministry moves to stop level crossing deaths

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Minor earthquake hits canton Valais

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EFTA concludes free trade pact with Croatia

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National exhibition thrown lifeline by Swiss banks

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Price regulator calls for cheaper medicines

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The business week in Switzerland

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Music on the brain

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Computing makes a quantum leap

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Geneva motor show set to capture headlines

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Sabena shareholders rubber stamp rescue plan

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