Swiss Identity

Blank finish to men’s super-G season

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 Despite a late improvement in the weather, the men’s race was called off in the middle of the afternoon so as to allow the women’s super-G race to go ahead. While Austria’s Hermann Maier has already clinched the super-G crown and the overall men’s title, the women’s race could still have a bearing on the…

Culture

Judging books by their covers

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The competition, organised by the federal cultural office, rewards graphic designers for their efforts, and takes into account factors such as typography and binding. This year, a jury of experts chose 35 books and pamphlets published in 2000 from a selection of 317, and the winners have just been announced. “The aim,” says competition organiser…

Culture

American country music takes Zurich by storm

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The festival brings together established and up-and-coming acts from North America and Switzerland, which counts the biggest community of country music fans in German-speaking Europe – possibly on the whole continent. More than 30,000 fans are expected to have attended the festival by the time it ends. And the festival organisers have done everything possible…

Culture

Italian-speaking Ticino grapples with language threat

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The last national census in 1990 found that just under 10 per cent of the canton’s 300,000 inhabitants speak German. But there are pockets where the proportion is far higher. Orselina, near Locarno, counts a German-speaking population of 45 per cent, while the figure in Ascona is 28 per cent and 25 per cent in…

Demographics

Kälin steps down

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 Speaking on the last weekend of the season, Kälin said that he would be taking up a new position with Swiss ski manufactures Stöckli. The canton Schwyz skier can look back on a number of notable achievements in a career spanning more than 15 years. A giant slalom specialist, Kälin won an Olympic silver medal…

Government gives green light to legalisation of cannabis

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The cabinet said on Friday that Switzerland’s drugs law needed to reflect the reality that cannabis consumption is a part of everyday life for many people in Switzerland. A recent study showed that one in four people in Switzerland have tried cannabis at least once in their lives, and that consumption is particularly widespread among…

Demographics

Roche seeks US approval for new cancer drug

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The therapy is a combination of two drugs, Xeloda and Taxotere, which are already on the market. Clinical trials have shown that the combination therapy is more effective than Taxotere alone. It improved survival rates significantly, and reduced the treatment time from six to four months. The therapy is intended for women with locally advanced…

Demographics

Gagliardi downed again; Vavrinec through

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 Pitted against an opponent ranked just five places above her in the sport’s standings, Gagliardi offered little resistance in the first set which Valero took 6-3. The Swiss world number 87 put up more of a fight in the second but was eventually beaten 5-7. Swiss number four Miroslava Vavrinec made a far better start…

Culture

Fribourg exposes films from developing countries

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 A dozen films including features, documentaries and short films from 10 different countries have been entered into the international competition category. The festival will also try to give budding African filmmakers a chance to impress distributors with its “Overview of young African cinema”. A separate photo exhibition on pygmies aimed to coincide with the festival…

Demographics

Swiss men appeal against drug convictions in Guatemala

This content was published on Mar 9, 2001 The appeal is the latest twist in a long-running legal saga, which began in 1997, when the two men were arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine worth $100 million (SFr175 million) to Europe in containers carrying ornamental flowers. They were convicted the following year, along with three others, and sentenced to prison terms of up…

Swiss Identity

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