Swiss Identity

Politician accused of misusing charity funds

This content was published on Aug 14, 2002 Guido Zäch, who is also a member of Switzerland’s federal parliament, is suspected of illegally investing SFr57 million of the foundation’s funds. The authorities in Basel claim the money was squandered in a series of loss-making projects and property. Prosecutors launched their investigation after receiving a tip-off from a former member of the foundation. Zäch,…

Culture

Stone spearheads and iron swords

This content was published on Aug 14, 2002 Visitors keen to follow in the footsteps of those who first wandered through the Alps should start at a former prison in Sion. Until January 2003, the former prison – located in the canton Valais capital – will be home to the exhibition, “The First Men of the Alps”, presented by Valais’ Natural History Museum.…

History

The Escalade on the Wings of Time

This content was published on Aug 14, 2002 The original play, On the Wings of Time, is the centrepiece of a year of celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the Escalade, Geneva’s national holiday. Billed as a “sound and light extravaganza”, it is a marriage of period costumes, classical music and state of the art technology. “We celebrate the Escalade every year, but…

Demographics

US extradition pact gets short shrift from Swiss

This content was published on Aug 13, 2002 The Swiss foreign ministry said the ICC would be undermined if Bern agreed not to send US citizens to the Court in The Hague. Bern decided to follow Norway and reject attempts to exempt US citizens from prosecution abroad for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Israel and Romania have already signed up to…

Culture

Swiss Abroad surprised by lack of “swissness” at Expo.02

This content was published on Aug 12, 2002 Dozens of stands were set up around the Expo.02 site in the city of Biel to demonstrate the diversity of Switzerland’s so-called “fifth community”. Stands were organised along national lines – featuring displays of products, profiles and greetings from countries where Switzerland’s largest expatriate communities live. Swiss mix On one side was the South African…

Culture

Locarno ends on a high note

This content was published on Aug 12, 2002 Late last year, the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations officially acknowledged that Locarno had come of age: no longer was it a festival specialising in “young” and new films (rather an ambiguous definition in any case), but a full-scale festival of general interest. Helping the festival to achieve this new status was a budget…

Young guns shooting for Leopards

This content was published on Aug 11, 2002 Each year, the festival – which wrapped up on Sunday – offers young directors the chance to win two separate cash prizes of SFr5,000 ($4,000) each, plus film stock and equipment worth tens of thousands of francs. And this year, cinematographers from Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand were competing for the top prizes. Many winners…

Culture

“Desire” scoops top award at Locarno

This content was published on Aug 11, 2002 Swiss directors Jacob Berger (“Aime ton père”) and Rolando Colla (“Oltre il confine”) both went home empty-handed. But there was some consolation for the Swiss when the Zurich-based film-maker, Samir, won the critics’ week prize for his documentary “Forget Baghdad – Jew and Arabs – The Iraqi connection”. The most popular film with the public,…

Demographics

Bucher takes 800m silver in Munich

This content was published on Aug 11, 2002 The world champion came in just behind the Kenyan-born Dane, Wilson Kipketer, who won his first European title in Munich, after finishing eighth in 1998. Bucher had already reached his goal of qualifying for the final after spending most of the season on the sidelines following a foot injury. Before the championships, he had only…

Demographics

T-shirt with pulling power

This content was published on Aug 11, 2002 The new dating system is called “Loveconnection”, and it is aimed at taking the embarrassment out of making that all-important first move. “This is not meant to be taken too seriously. The aim is to bring people together, but it’s meant to be fun – a kind of a game,” says Virginie Gerber, the brains…

Swiss Identity

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Swiss Identity

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Politician accused of misusing charity funds

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Stone spearheads and iron swords

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The Escalade on the Wings of Time

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US extradition pact gets short shrift from Swiss

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Swiss Abroad surprised by lack of “swissness” at Expo.02

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Locarno ends on a high note

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Young guns shooting for Leopards

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“Desire” scoops top award at Locarno

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Bucher takes 800m silver in Munich

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T-shirt with pulling power

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