Cluster: Archive

Banking authorities to publish names of Holocaust-era accounts

This content was published on Mar 30, 2000 The Swiss banking authorities have decided to release the names of the owners of 26,000 dormant accounts dating back to the Holocaust era. The decision should now pave the way for compensation payments to Holocaust victims from a settlement reached between Swiss banks and international Jewish organisations in 1998. The Federal Banking Commission was asked…

Natural well-being comes under the spotlight in Lausanne

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 Natural medicine, organic agriculture and wellness – these are the three main ingredients of the 12th annual Mednat International health fair, which has opened its doors at Lausanne’s Beaulieu exhibition and conference centre. The last decade has seen a tremendous increase in Switzerland in the popularity of traditional approaches to maintaining health, and in organically-grown…

Alternative Bank breaks the mould

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 Many Swiss banks have been reporting record profits over the past few weeks but one financial institution with a difference made just SFr90,000 last year. It’s the Alternative Bank which believes that making money is not its main priority. Founded ten years ago this year and based in Olten, the Alternative Bank has been growing…

New measures aim to improve building site safety

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 The government has announced measures aimed at increasing safety on building sites. The announcement comes one month after the Swiss Construction Workers Union released figures suggesting that one-in-four workers fall victim to an accident on a building site. The new legislation, which is due to come into effect in July, replaces regulations in force since…

Feldschlösschen calls time on drinks division

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 Switzerland’s biggest brewery, Feldschlösschen, is to stop making beer. The company said it planned to sell its beer and soft drinks division by the end of the year. Feldschlösschen said in a statement it was looking for a buyer with knowledge of the beer business and international experience. It said it planned to auction off…

Switzerland’s biggest brewer calls time

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 The Swiss brewing giant, Feldschlösschen, is to sell off its entire drinks division, which produces almost half the country’s beverages. The company says it intends to concentrate fully on its property business. Feldschlösschen’s chairman, Robert Jeker, announced that the firm planned to sell both its beer and soft drinks divisions by the end of the…

Swiss cattle to graze in Kosovo

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 More cattle have been flown to Kosovo as part of Switzerland’s development aid to the Serbian province ravaged by last year’s conflict. Another 63 cows were flown from Zurich airport to Pristina. The Swiss foreign ministry said that it planned to send a total of 1,000 cows to Kosovo by the end of the year.…

Cabinet unveils new military spending

This content was published on Mar 29, 2000 The Swiss cabinet has approved an arms procurement programme worth SFr1.18 billion for the year 2000, one of the lowest in 15 years. The main item is 186 Swedish-built CV-9030 tanks (pictured) for SFr990 million. The procurement package, which will need parliamentary approval, also includes 120 battlefield command cars, and some mine-clearing ploughs that can…

Organic products in demand

This content was published on Mar 28, 2000 Switzerland has a shortage of organically produced milk and meat. Even though sales of organic products shot up by 14 per cent last year, it was not enough to satisfy consumer demand. Switzerland has the second biggest number of organic producers in the world behind Austria. The producers association, Bio Suisse, says organic produce is…

Computer to forecast avalanches

This content was published on Mar 28, 2000 Swiss scientists have developed a new computer model to help them predict the risk of avalanches. They have created a database of snow and weather information, and avalanche forecasts for the past ten years. Using the data, they can calculate the ten closest models to any new situation and predict what is likely to happen.…

Cluster: Archive

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