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Crash victim families to receive compensation

This content was published on Jun 27, 2003 No official figures were released on how much each party would contribute to the fund. The mid-air crash on July 1, 2002, of a Russian passenger plane and a DHL cargo jet in Swiss-controlled airspace claimed 71 lives. The Bashkirian Airlines jet was carrying over 40 Russian schoolchildren en route to Spain when it collided…

Swiss industry wracked by insecurity

This content was published on Jun 27, 2003 But it has rejected Fritz Blaser’s recipe for returning the country to a healthy state. swissinfo contacted Pietro Cavadini, spokesman for the federation, and asked him for his reaction to Blaser’s proposals. swissinfo: How accurate is Blaser’s assessment? Pietro Cavadini: Fritz Blaser is very critical and with good reason. Conditions for both employees and businesses…

Deiss calls for action on ageing population

This content was published on Jun 27, 2003 Deiss told Swiss business leaders this week that difficult decisions needed to be taken now because the political process in Switzerland was often long-winded. “If we do not change current regulations, the social insurance contributions of working people will increase considerably,” he warned the annual meeting of the Swiss Employers’ Association in Zurich (see related…

Business leader sounds alarm for Switzerland

This content was published on Jun 27, 2003 He has called for strong action and a “change of course” to stop the country sliding into mediocrity. “Switzerland is today faced with challenges of a dimension not seen since the Second World War,” he told the association’s general meeting in Zurich. “If we do not change some of our policies in the years to…

The Alps and demography

This content was published on Jun 26, 2003 Analysis of the Alpine population from 1871 to 2000 highlights stark differences in regional development. From depopulation to demographic boom In 1870, the four Ticino communes in Val Rovana, a side valley off the Valle Maggia, had a total of 1,411 inhabitants. In 2000, just 219 individuals were still living at Bosco Gurin, Campo, Cerentino…

Alpine cultural identity under attack

This content was published on Jun 26, 2003 While some areas are being badly affected by depopulation, others are being swallowed up by ever-expanding urban centres. Werner Bätzing, professor of cultural geography at Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, claims the survival of the Alps as a populated landscape with an identity of its own is at stake. According to Bätzing, recent decades have seen…

Old bikes create new hope

This content was published on Jun 26, 2003 The “Drahtesel”, or “Trusty Bike”, scheme near Bern employs out-of-work Swiss people to collect discarded bicycles and make them fit for sale in Africa. The “Trusty Bike” project provides short-term employment for jobless Swiss people, who collect and recycle discarded bicycles for sale in developing countries. Participants are able to gain work experience, while engaged…

Nestlé cleared to take over US ice cream giant

This content was published on Jun 26, 2003 Under terms set by the US Federal Trade Commission, Swiss-based Nestlé will need to dispose of several smaller brands. The takeover will leave Nestlé equal first in the $30 billion global ice-cream market, alongside Anglo-Dutch group Unilever. Analysts are now bracing for a worldwide marketing battle between the two ice-cream giants, similar to the long-standing…

Mixed reactions to Swiss’s latest restructuring

This content was published on Jun 25, 2003 The main union for ground staff at Swiss said it was “outraged” by the cost-cutting measures and had organised a day of protest outside the airline’s headquarters in Basel. The union described the 3,000 job cuts as “unacceptable”. Swiss said it would be entering into negotiations with trade unions and underlined that “compromises will be…

Gene chip heralds new era of “tailored medicine”

This content was published on Jun 25, 2003 Experts hope the Roche chip – known as the Amplichip CYP450 – will revolutionise the way drugs are developed, tested and prescribed. Doctors rely on a trial-and-error approach when using advanced drugs. Roche says the gene chip will help avoid exposing patients to potentially dangerous side effects by identifying small variations in two genes affecting…

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Internal: Archive

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Crash victim families to receive compensation

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Swiss industry wracked by insecurity

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Deiss calls for action on ageing population

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Business leader sounds alarm for Switzerland

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The Alps and demography

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Alpine cultural identity under attack

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Old bikes create new hope

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Nestlé cleared to take over US ice cream giant

More

Mixed reactions to Swiss’s latest restructuring

More

Gene chip heralds new era of “tailored medicine”

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