World Radio Switzerland

Sitting in on Verbier's Master Classes

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:45:01 UT

Music recorded at the Master Class was played by Vladimir Babeshko and Adrian La Marca, two violists of the Verbier Festival Academy.

Fewer deaths on the road

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:14:57 UT

The downward trend in the number of deaths on Swiss roads is continuing. The federal statistics office says the number of serious injuries also declined.

Last year, 349 people lost their lives in accidents, eight fewer than in 2008.

However, the news is not so good for people on motorbikes. Over the past decade, the number of motorcyclists killed on the roads has doubled.

Officials also say alcohol-related deaths on the roads has remained stable after the rate was halved between 2004 and 2006. They say it’s because tougher restrictions were introduced on blood alcohol limits.

Switzerland’s record on road accidents is very good compared with the European Union, where in 2008, there were 78 road deaths per million inhabitants—Swiss figures stood at only 47.

Drugs campaigner faces new charges

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:06:15 UT

Bernard Rappaz, the convicted cannabis dealer, is facing new charges for crimes committed between 2002 and 2006.

The cantonal prosecutor for Valais says the charges include money laundering, falsifying documents and violation of drug laws.

He’s also facing charges involving the old age and disability pension plans and accident insurance.

Rappaz is back under house arrest after being sent home from prison where his health deteriorated due to his hunger strike.

He was protesting his five year prison sentence for possession of over 51 tons of marijuana.

His property has been cordoned off and his house arrest will continue until the Federal Court decides on whether to suspend his sentence.

Boat seized in lake death case

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:56:06 UT

Police in Bern have seized a boat in their investigation into the death of a woman on Lake Biel earlier this month.

The police aren’t releasing any more details except to say that they haven’t yet made any arrests.

The boat was moored on Lake Biel.

On July 11, a speedboat ran over a woman on the lake, killing her.

The boat, which had three passengers in addition to the driver, did not stop.

This is not the first boat that police have examined in their investigation.

Parents pay price over swim ban

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:52:42 UT

Five families have been fined in the canton of Basel City for refusing to let their children attend compulsory swimming lessons.

The Muslim parents of at least six kids concerned would not give their permission due to religious reasons.

Education authorities in the canton said this is the first time such an action has been taken.

The new Education Act came into force a year ago, regulating the rights and obligations of parents, including fines of up to 1,000 francs for those who forbid their children to attend compulsory courses.

Human rights breached says court

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:38:20 UT

Switzerland has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights in a case involving asylum rights.

The Court unanimously found that the separation of two pairs of asylum seekers from Ethiopia breached Article eight of the Convention.

Switzerland will pay the plaintiffs approximately 12,000 euros in moral damages and costs.

The Ethiopian applicants, who applied for asylum in 1994 and 1998, had been directed to the cantons of Bern and St Gallen, while their companions were in canton Vaud.

In 2003 and 2004, the two women had married their partners, but the Federal Office for Migration didn’t give them permission to live in Vaud until 2008.

Sex tourism in Ticino a growing problem

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:16:02 UT

Libya, the UN and UBS—a rocky year gone by

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:20:26 UT

The rising price of health insurance

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:05:40 UT

How safe are summer toboggans?

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:57:39 UT

Guitar heroes take to the stage near Geneva

Alex Helmick — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:45:02 UT

Sleepwalking more common than previously thought

Alex Helmick — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:15:01 UT

Oldest African elephant in captivity dies

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:43:58 UT

Ruaha, thought to be the oldest African elephant living in captivity, has died at the Basel Zoo.

At 59 years old, she is believed to have died from natural causes,

She was found dead by a guard at the zoo earlier today and officials said she was surrounded by a group of elephants touching her body with their trunks.

Ruaha arrived when she was a year old, in 1952. She was named after the Tanzanian plain where she came from.

Alcohol consumption down, binge drinking up

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:40:11 UT

The average per person consumption of alcohol is down, but officials are concerned that binge drinking is on the rise.

In 2009, each person in the country drank an average of 37.9 liters of wine and 57.3 liters of beer. Those amounts are slightly down, less than a liter in each case, from the previous year.

But government officials say despite a general downward trend in consumption, alcohol abuse and its social consequences, are some of their biggest public health concerns. They say binge drinking is on the rise, mostly among young people.

The Swiss Alcohol Board says it’s for this reason that the Federal Council is proposing changes to the Alcohol Act, including prohibiting the free distribution of alcohol and requiring licensed premises to provide at least three non-alcoholic beverages at a price lower than the cheapest alcoholic drink.

—Jackie Campo, World Radio Switzerland

Elton John to play exclusive in Geneva

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:34:16 UT

Elton John is to play an exclusive one-off gig in Geneva with virtuoso percussionist Ray Cooper.

The duo plan to reinvent the songs of Elton John on December 19, 2010 at the Geneva Arena.

Fans will be able to hear new orchestrations of such Elton John classics as Nikita, Must Be The Hardest Word or Tiny Dancer.