Swiss Identity

Harsh criticism of decision to resume canyoning at site of disaster

This content was published on Apr 8, 2000 The company responsible for a canyoning excursion that resulted in disaster last July, when 21 people died near the Swiss town of Interlaken, wants to start taking groups down the site of the tragedy again. Adventure World said it would resume trips down the Saxeten gorge on May 1.But a relative of two of the…

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Swiss Red Cross says blood donations safer than ever

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 The Swiss Red Cross says blood transfusions in Switzerland are safer than ever before. Launching a campaign to attract new donors, officials said no case of tainted blood transfusions had been registered for the past three years. Guy Lévy, the director of the Red Cross’ transfusion centre, said the risk of contracting Aids or hepatitis…

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Week in Switzerland

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 Asylum issues, a vote on a bilateral treaty with the European Union and the trial of a notorious extremist dominated the news headlines this week in Switzerland. The justice minister, Ruth Metzler, visited Kosovo this week for talks on the planned repatriation of refugees from Switzerland. She met families who have already returned under a…

Basel museum traces history of tobacco

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 Anyone trying to give up the smoking habit is advised to stay well clear of the Culture Museum in Basel. It has mounted an exhibition on the social history of tobacco which gives the visitor as much pleasure as a good cigar. Tobacco was first cultivated as a medicinal plant by the indigenous population of…

Culture

African masks exhibited in Geneva

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 The Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva is showing “the other face” – the title of an exhibition of African masks. Some 250 masks made by over 100 ethnic groups throughout the continent are on display, providing an insight into a wide diversity of cultural tradition. They were worn for funerals, births, initiation rituals and had many…

Demographics

Electronic tags keep convicts on the straight and narrow

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 A pilot scheme using electronic tags to make sure convicted criminals keep to their probation orders, has been hailed a success by police. Dora Andres, the police director of canton Berne, where some of the first trials took place, said 19 convicted criminals participated in the scheme. She said there was only one case where…

Culture

Musical Feast kicks off Easter Festival in Lucerne

This content was published on Apr 7, 2000 Lucerne’s Easter Festival gets underway this weekend with its traditional blend of classical and religious music in churches and the city’s new concert hall. The London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bernhard Haitink is the guest orchestra, and soloists include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Cecilia Bartoli and Murray Perahia. Organisers say it’s important that concerts reflect the various…

Culture

Utrillo brings Paris to Switzerland

This content was published on Apr 6, 2000 The medieval abbey of Payerne in canton Vaud is playing host to an exhibition which unites the work of Maurice Utrillo with over 100 paintings of his contemporaries such as Picasso, Renoir and Modigliani. It opens on April 9 under the title “Utrillo and the painters of Montmartre”. It is the first time in 30…

Demographics

Metzler signs refugee repatriation convention

This content was published on Apr 6, 2000 The Swiss justice minister, Ruth Metzler (pictured), has signed an agreement with the United Nations administration in Kosovo on the return of refugees from Switzerland. The deal is designed to make it safer for the Kosovars to go back home, but it also facilitates forced repatriations. The signing came on the second day of an…

Demographics

Holocaust panel publishes policyholders’ names

This content was published on Apr 5, 2000 An international panel has published the first 10,000 names of Holocaust era insurance policy holders who may have claims against five European insurers, including the Swiss companies, Winterthur and Zürich. The list was published by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC). It is the first step in a worldwide campaign to find…

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Swiss Identity

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Harsh criticism of decision to resume canyoning at site of disaster

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Swiss Red Cross says blood donations safer than ever

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Week in Switzerland

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Basel museum traces history of tobacco

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African masks exhibited in Geneva

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Electronic tags keep convicts on the straight and narrow

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Musical Feast kicks off Easter Festival in Lucerne

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Utrillo brings Paris to Switzerland

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Metzler signs refugee repatriation convention

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Holocaust panel publishes policyholders’ names

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