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Leuenberger wants global tax on “information”

This content was published on May 21, 2007 Leuenberger said the levy would serve to finance new information and communication technologies in regions where people have little or no access to the internet. Non-governmental organisations have welcomed the move, which they say caught them by surprise, describing it as a “necessary step in the right direction”. The Swiss communications minister unveiled his proposal…

2,000 ships mark post-war aid for children

This content was published on May 21, 2007 More than 2,000 vessels formed an 11-kilometre-long “floating bridge” across the lake from the Swiss town of Romanshorn to the German resort of Friedrichshafen on Sunday. During the aftermath of the war thousands of malnourished and traumatised children from Germany were invited to Switzerland – which as a non-participant in the Second World War had…

Swiss hold out hope despite climate deadlock

This content was published on May 19, 2007 Deadlock over how to bring the US and big developing nations such as China and India to the climate negotiating table has frustrated the United Nations-hosted meeting, intended to lay the groundwork for UN climate talks in Indonesia in December. “We have to be positive on these matters,” José Romero from the Federal Environment Office…

Government welcomes Wolfowitz resignation

This content was published on May 18, 2007 While recognising Wolfowitz’s personal engagement in implementing an action plan for Africa and in the area of global warming, the ministry said his resignation would help resolve the conflict within the World Bank. Spokeswoman Evelyn Kobelt said the work of the global lending body had been increasingly hampered in recent weeks by disagreement among Bank…

Scientists plan new GM crop trials

This content was published on May 16, 2007 Two teams of university researchers have applied to carry out tests near Zurich and Lausanne, including observations of potential crossbreeding between wheat and wild grass. The proposed field trials by Zurich University’s Institute of Plant Biology and the Institute of Plant Sciences at the city’s Federal Institute of Technology would form part of a planned…

Small Swiss observatory finds ice planet

This content was published on May 16, 2007 The find was made by a team of four astronomers from the St Luc observatory in canton Valais and Geneva University, with Lady Luck on their side. “It’s really the first time that we’ve found the transit of such a small planet and the first time we know precisely the mass and the size of…

Swisscom’s Italian bid is a success

This content was published on May 15, 2007 The former state monopoly will own 82.1 per cent of the Italian company at a cost of €3.1 billion (SFr5.12 billion), and take on another €1.1 billion in debt. The Milan stock exchange announced the result on Tuesday, the last day of Swisscom’s bid. On Monday, the Swiss operator still controlled less than half of…

SWX aims to merge to stay competitive

This content was published on May 15, 2007 The move can be seen as a reaction to the increased competition among international financial markets and rapidly changing customer needs. A statement from the SWX in Zurich said other considerations behind the decision to merge were increasing demands placed on technical infrastructure and the growing complexity of regulatory requirements. It said no major job…

Skyguide failures blamed for plane crash

This content was published on May 15, 2007 A district court near Zurich will spend the next two weeks trying to determine their degree of responsibility in the crash of two jets in Swiss-controlled airspace over southern Germany that left 71 people dead. Prosecutor Bernhard Hecht has called for suspended sentences of between six and 15 months for the eight accused, including a…

Zurich team offers new visions of old bones

This content was published on May 14, 2007 Combining their knowledge of computer technology and paleoanthropology, Christoph Zollikofer and Marcia Ponce de Léon have become recognized world experts in the computer-assisted reconstruction of ancient fossils. Their groundbreaking research, involving a series of high-profile virtual reconstruction projects, has also helped answer important questions about human evolution. Since 1992 the Zurich pair has been in…

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