Internal: Archive

Vote to be held on animal rights

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 Organisers of the initiative on Thursday handed in to the authorities 125,000 signatures in support of the proposal. If at least 100,000 are validated, the federal authorities must organise a vote on the issue. The organisers made clear that it had taken them only five months to collect the signatures, even though they had until…

Federal Railways strikes partnership deal with Berne operator

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 Under the agreement, the BLS will cede control of all long-distance rail routes originating in Berne. In exchange, it wins the right to operate all local trains in the Berne area. Explaining the details of the deal to swissinfo, Christian Kräuchi, spokesman for the Federal Railways, said the “Federal Railways would take over the long…

Swiss exports to US reach record high

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 Last year Swiss exports to the US soared by 17.4 per cent, reaching SFr13 billion ($7.6 billion). In the past six months, they have continued to rise by another 11.5 per cent. The figures mean Switzerland is notching up an ever-greater trade surplus with the US. The latest data from the Federal Customs Authority showed…

ABB builds links to the New Economy

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 Energy Interactive’s products include energy billing systems, web-based residential energy auditing, and software to analyse energy loads, consumption patterns and pricing. The business will be renamed ABB Energy Interactive. The purchase takes ABB into the US retail power market where deregulation is expected to fuel long-term growth. “This is a strategic opportunity and a good…

Switzerland to provide holidays for children from war zones

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 The government announced the creation of “Swiss Cor” on Thursday, to coincide with a visit to parliament by a group of children from Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. They are spending two weeks in Switzerland at the invitation of the president. The foundation has been set up to arrange holidays every year for children caught up in…

Healthy performance for Roche

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 For the group as a whole, first half operating income adjusted for special items rose 11 per cent to SFr2.38 billion ($1.4 billion), while net income rose 13 per cent to SFr3 billion. This latest set of financial numbers excludes Roche’s former flavours and fragrances division, Givaudan, which was spun off in June. “Barring extraordinary…

Virus attacks UBS e-banking clients

This content was published on Aug 17, 2000 The bank said few clients were at risk and there were no reports of damage so far. “Only a small proportion of UBS e-banking clients are at risk. The vast majority do not use PIN software and are therefore not affected by the virus,” the bank said in a statement. It said the bank’s computer…

Good weather blamed for mountain deaths

This content was published on Aug 16, 2000 More people have died in the mountains so far this month than in June and July combined. Rescue workers say the combination of good weather and large quantities of snow in the mountains is to blame. Climbers tempted by the return of summery conditions are heading for Alpine summits where last month’s snow has still…

Solidarity Chain collects SFr17 million for Turkey

This content was published on Aug 16, 2000 The chain, which raises money for Swiss charities and aid organisations, says its partners in the region have already spent SFr10 million, and work is still continuing. Reporting on the past year’s activities, the Solidarity Chain said that, following last August’s disaster, it had helped to provide medicines, blood supplies and blankets to the victims…

Swiss love of travel poses environmental threat

This content was published on Aug 16, 2000 The author of the report, Ruedi Meier, says that for journeys within Switzerland the car is the preferred means of transport, and car journeys account for around two thirds of the 40 billion kilometres run up every year. Most of those trips are to see relatives and friends, with visits to sporting facilities accounting for…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo