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Flood-alarm system needs investment

This content was published on Aug 30, 2005 Professor Paolo Burlando, of Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology, said the country’s flood-alert system must be better coordinated in future, after thousands were caught unawares by last week’s flooding. Other countries, including Japan, already have hi-tech systems in place to predict floods and warn people in time to evacuate. The Swiss model can be improved,…

Airport strives to become “the” meeting place

This content was published on Aug 30, 2005 Renamed the “Eventdock” after a SFr10 million ($7.86 million) refit, the building opened its doors again this month as airport operator Unique posted disappointing half-year results. Net profit at Zurich airport fell 7.3 per cent to SFr3.8 million ($3 million) in the first six months of 2005 compared with SFr4.1 million ($3.27 million) in the…

Swiss aid continues one year after Beslan siege

This content was published on Aug 30, 2005 Switzerland was one of many countries which offered assistance in the wake of the hostage drama in the southern Russian town that claimed the lives of more than 300 people, most of them children. In the months that followed the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) launched a number of projects to help the…

Tourist industry reopens for business

This content was published on Aug 29, 2005 Hardest hit were mountain resorts and rail and road connections in the Bernese Alps and central Switzerland. “Swiss resorts need tourists [to salvage] their late summer and autumn seasons,” Oliver Kerstholt of the national tourist board, Switzerland Tourism, told swissinfo. “[They should] come to Switzerland because many areas have not been affected at all and…

Senate committee discloses insurance failures

This content was published on Aug 29, 2005 The committee called on the government to take a more active role in the operation of the scheme, which has run up a SFr6 billion ($4.77 billion) debt mountain. In a report published on Monday, the watchdog body criticised the cabinet and the Federal Social Insurance Office for not showing initiative, adding that one in…

Loss of habitat leaves smokers out in the cold

This content was published on Aug 29, 2005 The decision by the city authorities comes amid a growing nationwide crackdown on passive smoking that is rapidly driving smokers out of their favourites haunts. From the end of the month smokers among the city’s 3,600 staff will be forced to brave the elements to pursue their habit. “We are simply thinking about people’s health…

Normality starts to return after floods

This content was published on Aug 28, 2005 Meanwhile, the government has said that reinforced flood protection is likely to cost billions of francs over the next few years. Officials said that despite overnight rainfall, water levels had either receded or remained stable in flood regions such as Thun in the Bernese Oberland and Lucerne in central Switzerland. Meteorologists said a return to…

Floods start to recede but problems remain

This content was published on Aug 27, 2005 But some alpine areas remain cut off and massive clean-up operations continue as the country deals with the devastating impact of the flooding. In the capital, Bern, residents of the low-lying Matte district were being allowed back into their homes. They were forcibly evacuated earlier in the week over fears that some of the district’s…

Floods and fears start to recede

This content was published on Aug 27, 2005 Hundreds of people were able to spend the night in their own homes on Friday night in canton Bern, one of the worst affected areas. In the Brienz and Reichenbach in canton Bern the planned evacuation of around 1,000 people was cancelled as flooding stated to recede. Police said the water levels in the central…

Leica Geosystems sizes up the world

This content was published on Aug 27, 2005 Based at Heerbrugg in canton St Gallen, the firm produces sophisticated equipment that surveyors, engineers, mapmakers, architects and others use to make precision measurements. “We produce instruments that can measure distances, surfaces and volumes in the broadest sense,” Leica’s chief executive Hans Hess told swissinfo. The instruments use technologies including laser distance tracking, the global…

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Flood-alarm system needs investment

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Airport strives to become “the” meeting place

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Swiss aid continues one year after Beslan siege

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Tourist industry reopens for business

More

Senate committee discloses insurance failures

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Loss of habitat leaves smokers out in the cold

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Normality starts to return after floods

More

Floods start to recede but problems remain

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Floods and fears start to recede

More

Leica Geosystems sizes up the world

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