Swiss Identity

New football season awaits Euro 2008 effect

This content was published on Jul 18, 2008 Last season saw average crowd numbers at top flight games break the 10,000 barrier for the first time, as FC Basel won their fourth championship in seven years during a pulsating final weekend. But it remains to be seen if domestic football fever blows as hot after Switzerland’s disappointing exit from the European championships, that…

Demographics

Fly-fishing reaches great heights

This content was published on Jul 18, 2008 Arriving at Melchsee-Frutt, a popular departure point for hikers in summer and skiers in winter, you are likely to spot eager anglers setting off for a day’s fishing at one of the nearby lakes. There are the solitary men in angling waistcoats for whom fishing is close to a religion but also families on a…

Demographics

Swiss firms eye gold at Olympic Games

This content was published on Jul 18, 2008 The House of Switzerland public meeting hub will serve both as a gathering place for Swiss athletes and as a marketing platform for enterprises as diverse as UBS bank and the Lucerne tourist board. The Olympic Games, to be staged in the Chinese capital between August 8-24, represent an ideal opportunity for many companies to…

Demographics

Army chief insists on right to privacy

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 A series of allegations, leaked on Sunday, put increasing pressure on Defence Minister Samuel Schmid, who is facing calls to resign. “Enough is enough. I’m not only head of the armed forces but I remain a human being and a citizen who has a right to privacy,” said Nef in news conference at the defence…

Culture

Swiss blow new wind into Basel Tattoo

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 Swiss blow new wind into Basel Tattoo.

Demographics

More babies born in Switzerland

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 Figures issued by the Federal Statistics Office on Thursday for 2007 show that 74,500 children were born in Switzerland, up 1.5 per cent on the previous year, and the highest figure since 2001. These babies can hope to live for longer than ever before. Men now have a life expectancy of 79.4 years, where boys…

Demographics

US Senate probe implicates UBS in tax evasion

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 Two UBS executives are due to appear before the Senate subcommittee on investigations on Thursday. The bank is being probed by the US tax authorities after a former employee admitted aiding tax evasion. Senate investigators accuse UBS and a Liechtenstein bank of using the “cloak of banking secrecy laws” to help US citizens evade billions…

Demographics

Cicognini aims for shuttle diplomacy

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 Claude Heiniger, the two-time Swiss badminton champion, cites Cicognini’s mental strength as one of her main advantages in the world’s fastest racket sport. But “Cico”, who is robust and pugnacious on court rather than light and graceful, also has a solid technique: she became Swiss champion at only 16. The world number 47 – and…

Culture

Lucerne’s one-of-a-kind music festival

This content was published on Jul 17, 2008 The international festival, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year – as well as some top music names – is aiming to differentiate itself from muddy open-air concerts. “The festival was an idea I had with two of my friends, one was a musician and the other an organiser, early one morning when we…

Culture

Expert warns of bold but risky genocide charges

This content was published on Jul 16, 2008 swissinfo talked to Andrew Clapham, professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, about the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday asked the ICC for an arrest warrant for Bashir, accusing him of running a campaign of genocide that has killed…

Swiss Identity

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