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River Rhine transports Swiss to New World

This content was published on Jul 28, 2003 Thousands of Swiss poured into the port of Dordrecht in the Netherlands at the start of the 19th century, on their way to the New World and a new life. Their arduous journey began at Basel, where they climbed on board barges and followed the Rhine – Europe’s busiest waterway – to the sea. “The…

Science of the small poses big dilemma

This content was published on Jul 28, 2003 Nanotechnology is the manipulation of particles at the nanoscale – one-millionth of a millimetre. Supporters in Switzerland say the discipline has the potential to create huge benefits in areas such as medicine, electronics, chemistry and computing. Critics say we need to understand whether it raises new ethical, health and safety or social issues before we…

Swiss miss out on EU trade in CO2 emissions

This content was published on Jul 28, 2003 However, widespread trading in emissions in Switzerland is not expected until 2008 at the earliest. From January 2005 more than 10,000 steel and power plants, oil refineries, paper mills, glass and cement installations across the EU will face caps on their emissions of CO2. Companies that manage to reduce emissions to below the set limit…

Basel cleans up its act

This content was published on Jul 27, 2003 In 1986 Basel was rocked by an environmental disaster after toxic chemicals leaked from a factory into the Rhine, polluting the water and killing thousands of fish. Although the river has been cleaned up since then, the environmental organisation, Greenpeace, says there are still harmful pollutants in the water. On 1 November, 1986, a fire…

Swiss healthcare giants surge on drug sales

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 The Basel-based rivals this week posted solid first half profits, as well as up-beat assessments of the next 12 to 18 months. The bullish outlook contrasts with the uncertainty that continues to plague the Swiss economy in general. As prominent pillars of Switzerland’s corporate world, the two firms are among the country’s most closely watched,…

Farm holidays on the rise

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 Ambience and cost are two of the reasons most commonly cited for the boom in alternative holiday accommodation in Switzerland. In 2002, Reka – an organisation which organises a voucher scheme for discount holidays – sold 100,000 overnight stays at its participating farms. The family holiday scheme was only set up 11 years ago. “More…

Roche pays a high price for Igen

This content was published on Jul 25, 2003 Under the terms of the $1.4 billion (SFr1.89 billion) deal, Roche will gain access to Igen technology which has been at the centre of a legal battle since 1997. Although Roche has cleared an obstacle to its expanding diagnostics business, it has had to pay a high price. The deal represents a 26 per cent…

Hospitals on the verge of a breakdown

This content was published on Jul 24, 2003 The situation is exacerbated by an ageing population, severe budget cuts in health care and a shortage of doctors. Hospitals are reporting that they are full and that waiting times for operations have lengthened. Casualty departments say they are admitting more and more patients. The situation is even more evident in summer, when families go…

Federal Court says democracy has its limits

This content was published on Jul 24, 2003 The Federal Court’s comments came in a written explanation of a ruling made on July 9, banning secret ballots on applications for Swiss citizenship. The judges said that Swiss voters, while traditionally having the last word on all political decisions, were still obliged to respect federal legislation. Several Swiss communities, most notably Emmen in canton…

Serono puts in solid second-quarter performance

This content was published on Jul 24, 2003 The Geneva-based company said total revenues, including income from licensing, had soared by 33.8 per cent to $508.4 million. However, net income for the first six months totalled $167.9 million, just two per cent higher than for the comparable period last year. Sales were up by 31.7 per cent at $950.8 million. The second quarter…

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