Swiss Identity

Nordic skiers Ammann and Cologna finish strongly

This content was published on Jan 6, 2010 Ammann led the field in Bischofshofen, Austria after his first jump of 136 metres but had to settle for third place and fifth in the tournament after a second attempt of only 131.5m. The winner of the Bischofshofen event was Austrian Thomas Morgenstern followed by Finland’s Janne Ahonen. Yet another Austrian – Andreas Kofler –…

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Swiss referee voted “world’s best”

This content was published on Jan 6, 2010 Almost half of the 81-member voting panel of the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) put the multilingual Swiss in first place. Italian title holder Roberto Rosetti was voted the second best referee of the world in 2009, with British man Howard Webb chosen as world number three. Busacca, known for his calm…

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Bomb alert at US embassy in Bern

This content was published on Jan 6, 2010 A bomb alert was issued at 10am local time, Bern police confirmed, and bomb disposal experts were sent to the scene. The object was subsequently found to be harmless and the street reopened by midday. “An abandoned package was found. The normal procedure was followed. It turned out to be nothing serious,” an embassy spokeswoman…

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Europe seeks to offload flu vaccines

This content was published on Jan 5, 2010 Amid controversy over its costly swine flu vaccine campaign, France said on Monday it wanted to cancel 50 million of the 94 million doses it had ordered because of over-supply. These latest moves could hit drugmakers’ profits, say analysts. France had originally planned to spend €869 million (SFr1.3 billion) on 94 million vaccine doses, estimating…

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Avalanche tragedy strikes rescuers hard

This content was published on Jan 5, 2010 For Bruno Jelk, head of the rescue service of Zermatt in canton Valais, the tragedy is also a reminder of the respect that people should have for the Alps. The worst such accident since 1999 involved two avalanches that came down shortly after each other in the Diemtig Valley. Among those killed was a doctor…

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Off-pisters face fines for causing avalanches

This content was published on Jan 5, 2010 Six people have been reported to the cantonal prosecutor for allegedly setting off avalanches that swept onto pistes in Anzère and Zermatt where people were skiing, the Valais police reported on Monday. “It’s about sending a message that skiers who don’t respect others can be prosecuted,” police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told Associated Press. Tragedy was…

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Double avalanche claims several lives

This content was published on Jan 4, 2010 The police said at least three other people were missing and believed to be buried under the snow from avalanches that killed two ski mountaineers and a doctor involved in the search and rescue operation. It was the first time in the history of the Swiss Air Rescue Service (Rega) that a team member died…

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Swiss to step up security on US-bound flights

This content was published on Jan 4, 2010 The measures involve extra rigorous checks of United States-bound passengers originating from countries the US regards as “state sponsors of terrorism” and other “countries of interest”. They are: Nigeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Somalia. The US has called for the passengers to undergo full-body pat…

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Avalanche destruction

This content was published on Jan 4, 2010 The village of Blatten was particularly hard hit and the full extent of the damage was only discovered in some places when the snow had melted.

Veil will not be banned in Zurich schools

This content was published on Jan 4, 2010 The cantonal parliament rejected by 104 votes to 65 a motion put forward by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party which wanted to ban the veil in places of education “in order to makes Swiss values respected in schools”. The motion had also wanted to do away with a special dispensation for Muslims in sports lessons…

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Nordic skiers Ammann and Cologna finish strongly

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Swiss referee voted “world’s best”

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Bomb alert at US embassy in Bern

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Europe seeks to offload flu vaccines

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Avalanche tragedy strikes rescuers hard

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Off-pisters face fines for causing avalanches

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Double avalanche claims several lives

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Swiss to step up security on US-bound flights

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Avalanche destruction

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Veil will not be banned in Zurich schools

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