Internal: Archive

Switzerland calls for tougher action on global poverty

This content was published on May 14, 2001 The week-long conference, which ends on Sunday, is focusing on ways to relieve the burden of debt in the 45 poorest nations in the world. Topics slated for discussion include ways of reducing and managing debts and the possibility of opening up the markets of industrialised nations to more developing countries. Switzerland, represented at the…

Roche board meets to discuss job cuts

This content was published on May 14, 2001 The board is also expected to weigh up its options after its larger Swiss rival, Novartis, bought a 20 per cent stake in Roche in a surprise move last week. Roche’s chairman and chief executive, Franz Humer, denied the board was holding an emergency meeting. He said the decision to bring the meeting forward from…

Women’s rights in the spotlight on Mother’s Day

This content was published on May 14, 2001 A recent report by the charity, Save the Children foundation, ranked the Swiss sixth in the world on the basis of mothers’ access to health care, use of contraception and family planning, literacy rate and participation in government. However the survey appears to be at odds with the picture painted by those battling for better…

Kuoni set to dominate headlines

This content was published on May 11, 2001 The Kuoni AGM on Tuesday at Zurich’s Kongresshaus is expected to be heated, with reports saying supporters of the suspended chairman, Daniel Affolter, are likely to be vociferous in their protest at moves to oust him. A power struggle within Kuoni started just over a week ago after five of the seven members of the…

Traditional families lose grip on enterprises they created

This content was published on May 11, 2001 Salina Amorini, the great-grand daughter of the company’s founder, accepted her defeat at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, after shareholders voted a massive majority to oust her in a secret ballot. “I accept the decision, but there will be no farewell party,” she said at the meeting in Geneva. However, on Friday her…

Star swallowed planet

This content was published on May 11, 2001 The scientists have detected an isotope, lithium-6, in the atmosphere of a star, which is destroyed in the early stages of stellar evolution but is preserved in planets. “The most credible explanation is that some planet or at least some planetary material fell into the star at some time in its history,” said Nuno Santos…

Former chairman Salina Amorini kicked off SGS board

This content was published on May 11, 2001 Shareholders of the world’s leading inspection and testing company voted by a massive majority in a secret ballot to oust Salina Amorini, following two years of bitter boardroom in-fighting. Salina Amorini, who had served on the multinational’s board for 19 years, was forced to step down as chief executive after SGS posted poor financial results…

Kuoni boss faces uphill struggle to keep job

This content was published on May 11, 2001 On Friday, a supervisory body in canton Zurich warned that their voting rights at next Tuesday’s crucial annual shareholders’ meeting would be limited. In a separate development, Affolter said that he was stepping down as chairman of the foundation and that his wife was also quitting. The foundation, which has 25 per cent of voting…

Experts draw conclusions as science festival ends

This content was published on May 11, 2001 Attendance figures at the hundreds of events which took place in and around Switzerland’s 10 university cities were much higher than expected. More than 100,000 people visited the displays at Zurich’s main station alone. “We had more than 1,000 events – that’s probably too many,” said festival organiser, Daniel de Roulet. “In the future, some…

UN seeks probe into Swiss firm over Iraqi oil deal

This content was published on May 11, 2001 Glencore was owned by the controversial financier Marc Rich, who fled to Switzerland in 1984 to escape a US prison term for tax evasion. He was pardoned by the former US president, Bill Clinton, at the beginning of the year. Rich sold Glencore along with other parts of his holdings to a Russian consortium, Crown…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed