WRS WRS web@wrs.ch en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:45:10 UT Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:58:47 GMT Big Medium 2.0.8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/index.shtml (C) WRS 2009 News & Politics no Thirty-six talented musicians were selected to attend the three week long Verbier Festival Academy. Aged 18 to 30, these violinists, violists, cellists, pianists and singers will attend a number of master classes conducted by some of the most revered players of each instrument. A couple of days ago, WRS’s Marc Menichini joined them to find out what these Master Classes are really about: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:45:01 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/sitting-in-on-verbiers-master-classes.shtml?20178 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10178 News/Feature Stories Ticino—it’s a lovely part of the country. The food, the weather, the lakes and the palm trees are all reasons tourists site for heading to the Italian speaking canton. However, most of them probably wouldn’t admit to visiting prostitutes. Yet, it’s become a huge industry in the canton, with hundreds of girls working in brothels. The council of Arbedo in northern Bellinzona has come up with a creative way to bring more transparency to the business. WRS’s Conor Lennon spoke to Nicole della Pietra, Radio Suisse Romande’s Ticino correspondent. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:16:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/sex-tourism-in-ticino-is-growing-problem.shtml?20165 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10165 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Switzerland’s National Day on August 1 falls on a Sunday this year. WRS’s Conor Lennon took a look back at the past 12 months with our regular contributor on international affairs and diplomacy Dr. Ruxandra Stoicescu. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:20:26 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/libya-the-un-and-ubsa-rocky-year-gone-by.shtml?20161 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10161 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Health insurance in Switzerland is getting ever more expensive. Some estimates expect premiums to go up ten percent at the beginning of next year and that has prompted a debate over transparency—people want to know exactly where that money is going. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:05:40 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/the-rising-price-of-health-insurance.shtml?20160 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10160 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National There have been a number of serious accidents in recent days on Switzerland’s summer luge and toboggan runs. In the worst incident, a Pakistani tourist died after coming off a luge track in Interlaken in the canton of Bern. Two children needed hospital treatment after separate accidents on tracks in the cantons of Lucerne and St Gallen. Heinz-Walter Mathys is a lawyer and chairman of the Swiss Commission for the Prevention of Accidents on snow-sport runs. WRS’s Adam Beaumont spoke to Mathys and began by asking him who is responsible for carrying out safety checks. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:57:39 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/how-safe-are-summer-toboggans.shtml?20159 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10159 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Guitar heroes are headed for St Julien, right outside Geneva, for their very own festival. The fourth Guitare en Scene festival features some big names playing the instrument that arguably made modern music. WRS’s Alex Helmick spoke to Adrian Gartner, one of the organizers of the festival: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:45:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/guitar-heroes-take-the-stage-in-switzerland.shtml?20156 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10156 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Guides/Events Calendar Alex Helmick http://www.guitare-en-scene.com/ http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/special/festivals2010/index.shtml?19848 Swiss scientists say sleepwalking is more common and more dangerous than previously thought. Dr. Claudio Bassetti is director of the Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland. He recently collated data showing that about two to four percent of adults and nearly ten percent of children in Europe sleepwalk. In Switzerland that figure is one to two percent—70,000 people. One in three of these hurt themselves during their nighttime walkabouts. WRS’s Alex Helmick spoke to Dr. Bassetti about his research. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:15:01 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/sleepwalking-more-common-than-previously-thought.shtml?20155 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10155 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Alex Helmick Most of us are aware that Swiss-German is in fact a patchwork of local dialects that may change drastically over a distance of a few kilometers. But there are also many small dialects and languages still hanging on in the French and Italian speaking parts of the country and they’re growing in popularity amongst young people. The question is why? WRS’s Conor Lennon asked Alain Schorderet from the Swiss Study Foundation, which recently brought together a group of students from all over the country to learn more about each other’s languages. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:19:42 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/young-people-speak-up-for-local-dialects.shtml?20141 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10141 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Imagine, if you dare, a world where your music software and your favourite search engine won’t work on your new computer. Where a premium is charged on the black market for your smartphone to have its own unique internet address. Such a future might not be so far off. The world could run out of new IP addresses in less than a year, according to the people who allocate them. WRS’s Conor Lennon went to Jon McNerney of the Geneva based Internet Society for an explanation. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:02:18 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/could-an-ip-address-shortage-stop-you-using-the-in.shtml?20140 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10140 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Should Switzerland abandon or renegotiate the Free Movement of People accord with the EU? Should long term unemployed foreigners be sent home? Should foreigners who commit serious crimes be automatically deported? The Swiss People’s Party has sent out a questionnaire to every Swiss household to canvas opinion on these and similar issues. The questionnaire’s accompanied by a pamphlet outlining the Swiss People’s Party’s outlook on foreigners, immigration and crime. WRS’s Vincent Landon has more. Topics: EU Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:47:55 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/the-immigration-quizswiss-peoples-party-question-t.shtml?20139 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10139 EU News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews/right-wing-party-takes-pulse-on-immigration.shtml?20127 Earlier this year Switzerland donned an unfortunate title—the country has the most suicides by firearms per capita in Europe. A new study is helping to paint a better picture of who those victims are. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:31:15 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/stopping-the-plague-of-gun-suicides.shtml?20138 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10138 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews/gun-suicides-highest-in-central-switzerland.shtml?20135 Swiss actress Marthe Keller is no stranger to Hollywood. She has starred in a number of big films, including Marathon Man with Dustin Hoffman, and will be a small part of Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter coming out in early 2011. But before that, she has decided to read poetry at the Verbier Festival. Last Saturday, Russian composer Lera Auerbach presented her some of her most recent work, including the musical adaptation of New Year, a poem written by the Russian poetess Marina Tsvetaeva. Keller was asked by Auerbach to read a French version of the poem prior to the concert. WRS’s Marc Menichini met up with the renowned actress and opera director before the performance. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:00:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/a-movie-star-in-the-midst-of-musicians.shtml?20136 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10136 News/Feature Stories News/Special Series/Summer Festivals 2010 Daily Shows/The Wrap Marc Menichini http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/special/festivals2010/index.shtml?19848 http://www.verbierfestival.com/ Bern’s Young Boys  football squad now have a chance to step out of the shadow of Swiss champs Basel FC, as the team battles Fenerbahçe, Wednesday night. Some are calling it the biggest game of the season for the club, and it’s only July. WRS’s Alex Helmick talks to Brian Homewood, sports reporter for Reuters. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:15:00 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/basels-other-footballers-play-perhaps-biggest-game.shtml?20131 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10131 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Alex Helmick http://www.fcb.ch/Intro http://www.bscyb.ch/ One Swiss quality export in particular is proving popular in Africa: the bicycle. Velos für Afrika or Bikes for Africa is a Swiss scheme which has sent 70,000 repaired bikes to the continent since it started 17 years ago. Now a delegation from a technical school in Ghana is visiting Switzerland to learn more about bike repair and to draw up a business plan to run the school’s own bicycle workshop as a profitable business. WRS’s Vincent Landon has more. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:09:25 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/swiss-bikes-for-africa.shtml?20124 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10124 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National http://www.velosfuerafrika.ch/vfa/index/index.html Trams are pretty big—hard to miss, you might say. Yet some drivers find them hard to avoid, there are regular crashes on Switzerland’s roads as the two battle for space on the streets. Now, as light railways return to their former glory, more road awareness is clearly needed, as WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:56:20 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/a-crash-course-in-tram-safetylearning-the-hard-way.shtml?20123 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-10123 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National