Nbr. 3, March 2004

Index

• Call for reforms.
• Dissecting government role in medicine.
• EU fears over open Swiss borders.
• Leading investor.
• Sharing the wealth.
• Soaring insurance costs.
• Survey: inflation dips.
• Swiss continue tsunami aid.
• Table for four.
• Alcopops taxed.
• Editorial.
• From the editor.
• Mission to Mars.
• Soulful summer.
• Chappatte.
• Chappatte.
• Flamenco flair.
• Hydrogen, petrol of the future?
• Roger Federer on a winning spree.
• Tighter belts for farmers.
• New year, new referenda: Swiss voters once again marched up to the ballot box on February 8, kicking off the first of four referenda in 2004. Despite the recent changes in the country's political landscape, the citizenry reaffirmed that they have the last word.
• Another banking secret.
• Bern's Parliament Square an award-winner.
• Chaplin museum.
• Cigarette prices to rise.
• Economy is looking up.
• Holiday homes vote.
• Home from home.
• Intelligent pills.
• It's in the genes, night owls.
• Not for the faint-hearted.
• Path of religion.
• Politically savvy--Calmy-Rey: since 2003, Micheline Calmy-Rey has been the Swiss minister of Foreign Affairs. During her first year of office, the social democrat successfully highlighted her country as a safe haven for human rights and humanitarian aid.
• Schwingen season.
• Science City aims to fuel world-class research: the Federal Institute of Technology is targeted for sweeping change beginning in November 2005. Swiss News looks at plans for the new 'Science City.'.
• Signs good, but prices up.
• Smart cards a Swiss specialty.
• Summer music.
• Time is everything.
• World cup.
• Airport noise accord.
• Binge drinkers to pay.
• Changing times.
• Chappatte.
• Cry for help.
• European champs: ZSC Lions.
• Film traces the downfall of once-proud Swissair.
• Giving you a voice.
• Keeping it in the family.
• Record watch exports.
• Salty food challenged.
• Swiss HIV finding prompts health agency warning.
• Swiss Post accused of over-charging.
• The common flu bug is getting tougher.
• Travel news.
• 10 questions with Nick Hayek.
• CH and US: the ties that bind: Switzerland and America have a lot more in common than most people think. The two 'sister republics' enjoy a longstanding relationship anchored in political, economic and social values, and dating back more than 200 years.
• Cheese, not whine.
• Internal revenue service opens last chance saloon.
• Lighting up ... or butting out? Winds of change could soon make it harder to light up in Switzerland, yet the Alpine nation still lags behind some of its European counterparts with regard to its non-smoking laws.
• Meet James Sharkey: he is the Irish ambassador to Switzerland--home to an estimated 4,000 Irish nationals--and a historian with a passion to let Swiss and Irish know about events that link both countries.
• Museum sans frontiers.
• Swiss sculpture breaks record.
• Swiss-Turkish troubles: shadows from a distant past suddenly jeopardise diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Turkey. A report.
• The big shift: the 2014 Swiss Economic Forum turns its attention to modern times.
• UBS to hang up dress code.
• Alpine island of stability.
• Cars take Geneva by storm: March 3rd through the 13th, the Palexpo in Geneva will host one of the year's most influential motor shows. Swiss News takes a look at what delights await both car enthusiasts and curiosity seekers alike.
• Chappatte.
• Chappette.
• Geneva's motor show zooms on: it's time for the 74th Geneva International Motor Show. Swiss News brings the details to the show's enthusiastic visitors.
• New Swiss passport.
• Questions with ... Maurice Turettini.
• A more science-friendly constitution: on March 7, Swiss voters will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment, providing a legal foundation for scientists to conduct research on humans. Scientists have been waiting a long time for such a proposal; however, unsurprisingly it is not without its opponents.
• A way of life.
• Geneva's rite of spring: you may think the first day of spring is March 21, but in Geneva you'd be wrong. Here it is marked by the appearance of the first bud on an 'official' chestnut tree.
• Keeping Nations United: this year, the United Nations celebrates its 60th anniversary. Swiss News looks at the structure of the UN and its history, as well as the activities of its office in Geneva and how the UN is trying to adapt to the challenges of a changing world.
• Kjus: sporting with innovation.
• Switzerland's most loved and most distained artist.
• Swiss people (and your) party.
• "The obstacle is the opposite of the flow".
• From the Potomac to the Aare: appointed by President Barack Obama, Don Beyer has travelled from Virginia to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For the first time in years, there's a whole family living in the residence next to the American Embassy in Bern. Swiss News caught up with the ambassador for a fireside chat.
• The credit crunch and its effects: if the newspapers are to be believed, the mood at the recent 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos was nothing like the upbeat atmosphere of days past.
• Vontobel: success through adversity: for some Swiss financial institutions, the tightening of international banking regulations sounded the death knell of their cross-border customer wealth management strategies. In contrast, the Vontobel Group saw it as an opportunity for success ...
• Love cars? You're not alone. Each year half a million of car enthusiasts flock to Switzerland's car mecca, the International Motor Show in Geneva.
• Roll the dice and spin that wheel: business is booming in casinos across Switzerland. And nowhere is it doing better than at the recently refurbished Casino de Montreux.
• Ambassadors of horology.
• Art Basel: a portrait.
• Attracting foreign investors: what makes Switzerland an attractive country for foreign investments? Swiss News provides the answers.
• Basel area: life at its best: situated on the Rhine River and the borders of France and Germany, the tri-national Basel area has a long-standing tradition of cultural diversity, technological innovation, and an appreciation of all things artistic.
• Being Geneva: those unfamiliar with the custom of having a human embodiment of the State present on ceremonial occasions are astonished to see Geneva's top officials accompanied by a person wearing a cape and Napoleon-style hat. Swiss News talks to Paul-Henri Perrin about the ins and outs of personifying Geneva.
• Education special: a decentralised system with high standards for private as well as public schools, Swiss education did not seem apt to change. Nevertheless, education in Switzerland is now undergoing one of the biggest changes in history.
• Julian Zigerli: the feel-good factor.
• A wireless boom.
• Aboard Swiss.
• Adecco under pressure.
• Nestle and L'Oreal.
• Roche: back in black.
• SMI gainers & losers: January.
• Soaring profits at UBS.