Swiss Identity

World’s largest skiing event set to go in Engadine

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 About 10,000 men and 2,000 women have already signed up for the marathon, but the organisers say late entries will be permitted until March 10. There are entrants from nearly 40 countries and from such unlikely places as Hong Kong, Brazil and Israel. Last year’s winner finished the scenic course in 1:25:29. The top woman…

Demographics

St Gallen move to fill Amoah void

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 Switzerland’s defending football champions will be hoping that the 26-year-old player can fill the gap left by last season’s league top-scorer Charles Amoah. The Ghanaian striker, who played a major role in helping St Gallen win their first league title in almost 100 years, left the club at the end of the winter qualifying round…

Demographics

Solid Swiss showing in Kvitjfell

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 Didier Defago was the highest placed Swiss skier, taking fifth place after coming in a third of a second behind Maier. The result marked a senior career best for the 23-year-old from canton Valais. Franco Cavegn and Silvano Beltrametti finished just three hundredths of a second behind Defago to grab joint sixth place. All three…

Demographics

Serbian court hands down four year sentence to killer of Swiss teacher

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 The Swiss embassy in Belgrade announced on Friday that Ded Gecaj had been sentenced in his absence to four years by a Serbian court last December. The court ruled that Gecaj could only be held partially culpable for the killing of Paul Spirig, on the basis of several psychiatric evaluations. Gecaj shot his daughter’s teacher…

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Swiss firm denies processing Milosevic gold

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 The Geneva-based MKS Finance SA handles hundreds of tonnes of precious metals each year. In a statement on Friday, it said it followed strict rules on identifying the origins of metals it accepts for processing. “MKS Finance SA was actively involved in the investigation conducted in Switzerland to assess the exact origin of the gold…

Demographics

Basel police first to recruit foreigners

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 Of canton Basel’s 44 students at the police academy this year, two do not have Swiss nationality. Leonardo d’Innocente and Bruno Moresi were born in Switzerland, but they are both Italian. They are the first two foreigners in Switzerland to join a Swiss police force. “Becoming a policeman was a childhood dream for me,” said…

Demographics

Kratochvil no match for Agassi

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 The 21-year-old Swiss number three made a strong start against the reigning Australian Open champion, taking a 4-1 lead in the opening set. But Agassi then pulled himself back into the match, levelling the score at 4-4 with a 166kph ace before breaking Kratochvil to go ahead. “It felt good to get back into that…

Demographics

Sulzer to challenge new US lawsuit over faulty hip replacements

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 The new legal move by patients affected by the faulty implants was announced in the US on Thursday. A lawyer acting on behalf of the plaintiffs, Robert Bonsignore, said his clients had suffered a number of health problems, including leg pains, infections and walking difficulties, since being fitted with the defective joints. He said they…

Demographics

Government unveils plans to overhaul legal system

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 Announcing the package of reforms on Thursday, the justice minister, Ruth Metzler, said the legal system was in need of an overhaul, largely because of the growing backlog of cases at the Federal Court in Lausanne and the Federal Insurance Court in Lucerne. A key aim of the package is to limit the number and…

Culture

Switzerland condemns Afghanistan over statue purge

This content was published on Mar 2, 2001 The Swiss foreign ministry said the monuments, which are being smashed, have immense cultural and historic value for all of humanity and called on the Taliban movement to revoke the order. The destruction of monuments include two famous fifth-century statues of Buddha carved into a mountainside in Bamiyan province. One Buddha, measuring 53 metres, is…

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