Internal: Archive

Switzerland’s forests get top marks in world wide nature report

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 Switzerland’s forests are the best in Europe, according to survey by the World Wide Fund for Nature. But the organisation warned that even Switzerland could do better. The WWF study shows Switzerland leading the list of 19 European countries. Swiss forests came top in the survey which looked at nearly 100 different factors from environmental…

Controversy over Matterhorn resolved

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 Italian scientists using satellite technology have confirmed that Switzerland’s best known landmark, the Matterhorn, is 4477.54 metres high. The figure confirms Swiss measurements made in 1920. Using a satellite measuring system, known as the Global Positioning System (GPS), an Italian professor from the university of Turin has confirmed the famous peak’s height which is rounded…

Government puts forward plans for using excess gold

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 The Swiss government has ruled out using excess gold reserves from the National Bank to reduce the country’s debt. A spokesman said the cabinet had other plans for the proceeds from the sale of 1,300 tonnes of gold, which parliament approved last year. The gold is no longer considered necessary for the bank to achieve…

Clariant in takeover talks with BTP

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 The specialty chemicals group, Clariant, is in takeover talks with the British fine chemicals company, BTP. The Financial Times newspaper on Thursday said analysts had suggested an offer of around SFr15 a share, valuing the company at more than SFr2.5 billion. Clariant confirmed it was in negotiation but gave no further details. Rumours of a…

Sulzer releases mixed results

This content was published on Jan 20, 2000 The industrial and medical technology group, Sulzer, has reported another mixed set of sales figures. The group as a whole has announced a two per cent increase for 1999, but that masks some considerable differences in performance. Once again, Sulzer Medica is the star of the group, reporting a rise in sales of eight per…

New theories on the origins of crop circles

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Crop circles have mystified and fascinated us for centuries. The sudden appearance of geometric patterns in farmers’ fields has many convinced that extraterrestrial powers are at work. Swiss researcher, Werner Anderhub, has been studying crop circles for more than a decade. He points out that crop circles need not be circles at all. They take…

Workers keep up pressure on Adtranz

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Trade unions and workers representatives say they plan to press on with their campaign to save two Swiss plants which the German rail company, Adtranz, intends to close. 750 jobs are under threat at the plants in Pratteln near Basel, and Zurich-Oerlikon. Toni Patscheider, a member of the workers council at Adtranz Switzerland, was disappointed…

New boss plans shake-up of Locarno film festival

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 The new president of the Locarno International Film Festival, Giuseppe Buffi, says the organisation has to adopt a more professional approach, if it’s to survive in the long-term. Buffi, a member of the Swiss Senate, said Locarno had to introduce professional structures, if it was to stave off eventual financial collapse. Speaking at his first…

Construction industry turns down deal with unions

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Employers in the Swiss construction industry have turned down a compromise salary deal worked out after months of painstaking negotiations with the unions. The move could lead to an escalation of unrest in the industry. At an extraordinary meeting, the Swiss Master Builders’ Association put a new proposal on the table, namely a general salary…

New GM rice to combat blindness

This content was published on Jan 19, 2000 Researchers in Switzerland and Germany have developed a strain of genetically-modified rice, which they say could mean an end to a leading cause of blindness and death among children. Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and the University of Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany, have developed rice plants which stimulate the body…

Internal: Archive

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

Sign in and personalize Swissinfo

Internal: Archive

More

Switzerland’s forests get top marks in world wide nature report

More

Controversy over Matterhorn resolved

More

Government puts forward plans for using excess gold

More

Clariant in takeover talks with BTP

More

Sulzer releases mixed results

More

New theories on the origins of crop circles

More

Workers keep up pressure on Adtranz

More

New boss plans shake-up of Locarno film festival

More

Construction industry turns down deal with unions

More

New GM rice to combat blindness

Popular Stories

Most Discussed