WRS WRS web@wrs.ch en Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:19 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 Switzerland’s tendency to allow cantons or towns to decide certain issues sometimes makes for piece-meal solutions, and such is the case with special sections of cemeteries for different religions.  The oldest “Muslim” cemetery was established in 1978 in Geneva’s Petit- Saconnex, after local Muslims came to an agreement with local officials.  Though not without controversy, many cities have since found solutions to allow special burials, with Lucerne being one of the last major cities to do so.  WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports that the Muslim cemetery there has been only moderately used so far, but that might not be a problem. Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:01 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/muslim-cemeteries-seen-as-long-term-investments.shtml?30664 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20664 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Tony Ganzer According to a study from the Federal Office of the Environment, the Internet consumes a whopping eight percent of all the electricity used in Switzerland. WRS’s Alex Helmick chats with Michel Monteil, head of the Waste Recovery and Treatment Section at the Environment Office, about what everyday web surfers can do to reduce consumption: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:00 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/internet-consumes-eight-percent-of-countrys-electricity.shtml?30665 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20665 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Alex Helmick The squeeze on family reunification for foreigners in Switzerland is getting tighter. It’s estimated about half the country’s immigration occurs this way. A new law clamped down on it four years ago. But now right wing parties want more. Even the Christian Democrats, a party that styles itself as a defender of family rights, is calling for stricter rules. Meanwhile the official watchdogs keep barking “watch out!” WRS’s Lucas Chambers reports: Wed, 16 May 2012 07:07:46 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/parties-put-squeeze-on-family-reunification.shtml?30653 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20653 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Lucas Chambers The political elite of Greece is preparing to form an interim government today, ahead of a new nationwide vote in around a month’s time. The meeting comes after days of coalition talks failed to deliver a new government. In elections 10 days ago, a majority of Greeks backed political parties which had taken a stand against austerity measures. But European leaders say they’ll cut off funding to Athens if voters reject the external bailout deals. That could mean effective bankruptcy for Greece and an almost inevitable exit from the euro. WRS’s Pete Forster spoke to Yanis Varoufakis, a Greek political economist who’s written extensively about the eurozone and on globalization: Wed, 16 May 2012 06:52:13 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/greece-is-just-the-canary-in-the-mine.shtml?30650 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20650 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Pete Forster http://worldradio.ch/wrs/programmes/worldbusiness/business-report-could-greece-get-a-third-bailout.shtml?29558 http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/20120222-greece-on-national.shtml?29232 Last March two airplanes narrowly escaped colliding on takeoff at Zurich’s Kloten airport. It was an incident that both air traffic control and the Swiss Air Accident Investigation Bureau have been analysing—and their findings have just been revealed. WRS’s Jo Fahy has more: Wed, 16 May 2012 06:42:16 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/near-misses-at-zurich-airport.shtml?30649 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20649 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Jo Fahy The Asian tiger mosquito is an aggressive little beast with a reputation for spreading diseases such as dengue fever, and it is on the move. A recent study by scientists at the University of Liverpool shows the Asian tiger mosquito is set to spread throughout northwestern Europe thanks to climate change. The mosquito was first spotted in Switzerland in 2003 when it crossed into Ticino from Italy. WRS’s Adam Beaumont asks Dr. Mauro Tonolla, who is head of Ticino’s mosquito control group, whether this black and white striped mosquito has spread to other parts of the country: Tue, 15 May 2012 15:10:00 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/health-authorities-monitor-spread-of-asian-tiger-m.shtml?30643 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20643 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Adam Beaumont http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/tiger-mosquito-put-under-surveillance.shtml?13177 In the last few years, the number of parents who say they feel overwhelmed has been steadily increasing in Switzerland. That’s why Swiss foundation Pro Juventute decided to create a new nationwide service to help them cope. It’s called the “Swiss Parents’ Club,”and it was launched on Sunday, to coincide with Mother’s Day. WRS’s Dave Goodman spoke to  Marianne Affolter, spokesperson for the Pro Juventute Foundation and began by asking her how the idea came about: Tue, 15 May 2012 06:59:22 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/swiss-parents-club-aims-to-ease-juggling-act.shtml?30639 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20639 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Dave Goodman http://www.projuventute.ch/Site-web-du-Club-Suisse-des-Pa.1937.0.html?&L=1 A growing population is using too many resources and putting unbearable pressure on our planet. That’s the view of the WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature which launches the 2012 edition of its Living Planet report today. The report measures changes in the health of the planet’s ecosystems and the WWF has brought forward its publication to send a strong message to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio next month. As Jim Leape, Director General WWF International tells WRS’s reporter Vincent Landon, the news is grim whatever statistic you choose: more WRS coverage on environment Tue, 15 May 2012 06:36:27 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/wwf-issues-sobering-message-ahead-of-rio.shtml?30638 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20638 environment News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Vincent Landon http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews/wwf-says-swiss-consumption-harms-planet.shtml?27159 http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/lpr_2012_final_120507.pdf As the Arab Spring erupted across the Middle East and North Africa, social networks like Facebook and Twitter offered a minute by minute account of the revolutions. One of those who exploited the internet is Sultan al Qassemi. He is a freelance columnist from the United Arab Emirates, whose Twitter account grew from a few thousand followers to more than 110,000 over the course of the conflict. WRS’s Tony Ganzer spoke with al Qassemi about political transition in the region and his part in bringing the world a picture of the changing times: Tue, 15 May 2012 06:28:43 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/how-one-mans-twitter-account-exploded-during-arab-.shtml?30637 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20637 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Tony Ganzer http://worldradio.ch/wrs/programmes/gadgetguru/gadget-guru-twitter-censoring-and-an-electric-box-.shtml?28932 http://worldradio.ch/wrs/programmes/nsfa/foreign-affairs-looking-at-the-arab-awakening-one-.shtml?29228 http://worldradio.ch/wrs/programmes/dateline_ch/dateline-ch-revealing-reactions-to-the-arab-spring.shtml?23589 http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/streets-of-cairo-less-secure-but-still-a-comfort.shtml?29495 http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/back-home-again-in-revolutionary-cairo.shtml?29455 The French with a bit of money to invest have been peering over the border for a couple of years now. The canton of Jura in particular has caught  their eye. Since January this year, a high speed train connection puts it within just over two hours of Paris. The canton also offers lots of investment opportunities, but above all, it goes easy on taxes. And with the new left wing regime now in power in France, the number of new arrivals is growing fast. What does this mean for Jura’s economy and the cost of living? WRS’s Lucas Chambers reports from the town of Porrentruy: more WRS coverage on jura, tax Tue, 15 May 2012 06:19:20 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/more-french-investors-eye-jura-for-attractive-town.shtml?30636 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20636 tax jura News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Lucas Chambers Temperatures dropped dramatically last weekend as a major cold front moved in. WRS’s Alex Helmick talks with meteorologist Andre-Charles Letestu from MeteoSwiss about this spring weather and the week ahead: Mon, 14 May 2012 16:15:07 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/meteosuisseyo-yo-temperatures-likely-through-the-w.shtml?30629 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20629 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Alex Helmick http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/meteosuisse-we-were-spoiled-by-march-weather.shtml?30063 http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/en.html Last week clothing retailer H&M launched its annual swimwear campaign. Posters displayed the usual images of model, beach and bikini. What’s different, however, is the apparent extreme tanning of the model’s skin. Ironically, the campaign was launched in skin cancer awareness week in Switzerland, a country with one of the highest rates of melanoma in Europe. WRS’s Pete Forster talks to Dr. Ralph Braun, the director of the skin cancer prevention program at Zurich Hospital: Mon, 14 May 2012 10:01:16 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/hm-swimsuit-posters-get-under-cancer-docs-skin.shtml?30617 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20617 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Pete Forster http://www.hm.com/ch/fr/ http://worldradio.ch/wrs/programmes/health/health-matters-preventing-melanoma-skin-cancer.shtml?30523 Bridging the global digital divide—that’s the ambitious goal the World Summit on the Information Society has set out for itself. WSIS is a United Nations summit that started in Geneva in 2003. And almost 10 years later, it’s back. All this week, IT experts, ministers and other stakeholders from around the world will be talking about information and communication technologies, or what are often called ICTs. WRS’s Lucas Chambers asked the organizers what’s been accomplished so far and if we’re on track for 2015: Mon, 14 May 2012 07:05:24 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/digital-summit-ponders-how-to-get-internet-to-all.shtml?30613 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20613 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National http://www.itu.int/wsis/index.html Nina Fargahi was born to Iranian parents and grew up in the Wyde quarter of Birr in the canton of Aargau. It’s a working class neighbourhood, where eastern Europeans, Turks and Arabs have replaced Italians and the Spanish. She started an immigration blog to show the real people behind the political parties’ posters and the sensationalist headlines. And it’s this blog for the NZZ newspaper, which recently made her a double award winner for local online journalism at the Swiss Press Awards. WRS’s Jo Fahy asked her why she started blogging: Mon, 14 May 2012 06:43:24 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/award-winning-blogger-for-nzz-tracks-real-lives-of.shtml?30615 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20615 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Jo Fahy http://migration.blog.nzz.ch/ American artist Jeff Koons—famous in the ’90s for his erotic artworks featuring himself and his wife—is showing his very first exhibition in Switzerland. One of the world’s most controversial living artists, Koons is known for his kitsch take on popular culture. Basel’s Beyeler Foundation welcomed the artist this weekend. Journalist Jennifer Davies was there to gauge opinion: Mon, 14 May 2012 06:32:51 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/artist-jeff-koons-in-zurich-the-art-is-in-the-view.shtml?30614 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-20614 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National