WRS WRS web@wrs.ch en Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:19 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 The Indy 500 isn’t the only big race this weekend. The Formula 1 teams are storming through the south of France for the Monaco Grand Prix—iit too is one of the most famous races in the world. The Swiss F1 team Sauber looks to rebound from a very disappointing start this season. The team has just five points and is in a dismal eighth place just ahead of the very bottom teams in F1. Joining us now is Swiss-German television SF’s Formula 1 commentator Michael Stauble: Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/f1-sauber-looks-to-rebound.shtml?35909 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25909 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Richard Jones is the European Union ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. He talks to WRS’s Alex Helmick about the relationship between this country and the union. He also commented on what he saw as the biggest issues between the two entities— the EU’s single market approach. Switzerland is not in the EU but has unique access to its market—something that Ambassador Jones says could change soon: more WRS coverage on EU Fri, 24 May 2013 15:30:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/could-swiss-lose-access-to-eu-market.shtml?35913 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25913 EU News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/anxiety-rises-over-swiss-eu-talks.shtml?35828 Simona de Silvestro is the top woman in Indy car racing. The Swiss from Thun is currently at the top in points and has had three top 10 finishes this year. The Indy 500 runs this weekend and it’s de Slivestro’s fourth time at Indy. WRS’s Alex Helmick talks to to the KV Racing Technology driver: Fri, 24 May 2013 15:18:54 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/talking-with-top-swiss-woman-in-indy-car-racing.shtml?35914 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25914 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National All but four of the canton of Bern’s police stations will be closed today and tomorrow, as officers are drafted, rested or put on reserve amid big events such as the Chinese premier’s visit, two major football matches and the Tanz Dich Frei public demonstration party. Some have questioned the message the move sends out to the public—but Bern’s police chief has support at a national level. WRS’s Catherine Allen spoke to Max Hofmann, the Secretary General of the Swiss federation of police employees: Fri, 24 May 2013 08:10:53 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/reshuffling-of-duties-shuts-bern-police-stations.shtml?35904 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25904 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National The Swiss foreign ministry has proposed a unique law that would make it easier to freeze the assets taken by deposed foreign leaders, and return them to their countries of origin. The legislation, which is the first of its kind in the world, comes after nearly one billion francs linked to dictators in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria were frozen following the onset of the Arab Spring. Lawyers working on the recuperation of such assets say the old procedure was long and time-consuming, denying war-torn countries valuable assets until the process was completed. Rita Adam of the Foreign Ministry’s Directorate of International Law, which had formulated the new law, talks to WRS’s Dave Goodman: Fri, 24 May 2013 08:02:06 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/swiss-propose-a-first-with-law-on-freezing-assets.shtml?35903 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25903 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, is making an official visit to Switzerland later. He’s on his first foreign trip with his trade delegation since taking office earlier this year and will only visit here and Germany. This highlights Switzerland’s increasing importance to the Asian tiger. A free-trade agreement with China has been two years in the making. Reporter Morven McLean has been finding out more about the visit and Swiss-Chinese relations. She spoke with WRS’s Dave Goodman: Fri, 24 May 2013 07:51:04 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/chinese-premiers-visit-highlights-swiss-importance.shtml?35902 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25902 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National The weekend weather is expected to take a turn toward the cold and rainy with temperatures on the plain in some places hitting the low single digits. So when will the weather get warm and stay that way? WRS’s Alex Helmick talks to Andre-Charles Le Testu, meteorologist from the nation’s forecaster MeteoSwiss:  Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:01 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/polar-air-blows-in-cold-rainy-weekend.shtml?35894 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25894 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Top Stories http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/web/en/weather/current_weather.html Thousands of construction permits for second homes could be in jeopardy. The potential review of permits approved last year comes after the Federal Court backdated the Lex Weber law from January 1 of this year to last March. Permits issued after that are subject to individual appeal in communes where there is already a high percentage of second homes. Some cantons are specifically impacted—Bern, Graubünden, Vaud and Valais. WRS’s Alex Helmick talks to Jean-Michel Cina from the Valais cantonal government: more WRS coverage on real estate Thu, 23 May 2013 15:30:01 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/second-home-permits-up-in-the-air.shtml?35895 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25895 real estate News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/wrsnews/second-homes-law-from-march-2012.shtml?35881 As the Syrian conflict rages on, the death toll continues to rise, and was recently estimated to stand at over 80,000.  An international conference scheduled to take place at the start of June in Geneva is the first glimmer of hope in a conflict tainted by a continuous stream of allegations of human rights abuses and fears of chemical weapons being deployed by government forces. Several NGOs, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, encourage parties to respect international humanitarian law. Geneva Call, an NGO involved in engaging non-state actors to comply with international humanitarian law, recently sent a team of experts to neighboring Turkey, to train rebel forces. Vicken Cherterian, a consultant with the organization, returned this week from the Syrian border and talks to WRS’s Dave Goodman: Thu, 23 May 2013 14:38:53 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/ngo-trains-syrian-rebel-forces-in-humanitarian-law.shtml?35899 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25899 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National EU leaders have concluded talks in Brussels aimed at tightening tax rules. The 27 want to tackle tax avoidance and to limit banking secrecy. They’re also pushing for global standards on exchanging bank account information. Luxemburg and Austria, famous for their banking secrecy, accepted the idea of authorities exchanging data on private income but they want to be sure that Switzerland doesn’t have an unfair advantage. Richard Werly, Brussels correspondent for the newspaper Le Temps talks to WRS’s Dave Goodman: more WRS coverage on tax. banks Thu, 23 May 2013 14:32:45 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/eu-and-swiss-play-chess-on-info-exchange.shtml?35898 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25898 tax. banks News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Access to health services for all at an affordable price sounds like a utopian vision. But the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies believes we could make significant progress to achieving that goal through the use of trained volunteers. The idea is that community health workers have a better chance of reaching those parts of the population which generally fall through the net. The IFRC has issued a call to action on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. WRS’s Vincent Landon spoke to Matthias Schmale: Thu, 23 May 2013 09:13:25 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/partnerships-key-to-offering-universal-healthcare.shtml?35884 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25884 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National Vincent Landon Swiss billionaires have bought the Merck Serono building in Geneva to create a new biotech center. The buyers include former Serono honcho Ernesto Bertarelli. It was last year when Merck decided to move Serono’s headquarters to Germany, eliminating hundreds of jobs and vacating the Murphy-Jahn building. Joining WRS’s Alex Helmick is RTS Geneva correspondent Jordan Davis: Wed, 22 May 2013 15:30:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/former-merck-honcho-buys-building-for-biotech-spot.shtml?35880 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25880 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap Two groups aim to break the taboo of discussing puberty-related problems. Youth support group Pro Juventute and the Swiss Parents Association say parents are often reluctant to admit they have a problem with their adolescents. The two have launched a Facebook campaign and a 24-hour hotline offering advice to parents. WRS’s Gavin Blackburn spoke with Marianne Affolter from Pro Juventute: Wed, 22 May 2013 15:15:02 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/taking-the-taboo-out-of-teenage-problems.shtml?35878 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25878 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The Wrap http://www.projuventute.ch/ Delegates from around the world are gathered in Geneva for The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization.This year antibiotic resistance was the subject of a side event organized by the Swedish and UK governments with experts warning that everyday infections could become untreatable. WRS’s Vincent Landon spoke to Sally Davies, UK Chief Medical Officer, and began by asking just how serious the situation is: Wed, 22 May 2013 09:15:30 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/we-risk-going-back-to-the-pre-antibiotic-era.shtml?35866 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25866 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National More and more people don’t want—or cannot afford—to have a car. But there are also more and more ways to use one, without actually owning one such as car pooling. But it’s only one aspect of what we call “collaborative mobility.” The first international event dedicated to these new ways of travelling from A to B is starting today in Lucerne. The World Collaborative Mobility Congress, also known as Wo-Co-Mo-Co, is organized by the Mobility Academy, an organization created by the Touring Club Switzerland. WRS’s Dave Goodman talks to Jörg Beckmann: Wed, 22 May 2013 09:09:30 GMT http://worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/lucerne-hosts-first-car-sharing-congress.shtml?35864 79fb7a047369e85e0d59f47d8906b200-25864 News/Feature Stories Daily Shows/The National http://www.wocomoco.ch/en/