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S U B S C R I B E
Feature Stories
Second home permits up in the air
Thursday, 23 May, 2013Thousands 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:
Thursday, 23 May, 2013Thousands 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:
NGO trains Syrian rebel forces in humanitarian law
Thursday, 23 May, 2013As 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:
Thursday, 23 May, 2013As 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:
EU and Swiss play chess on info exchange
Thursday, 23 May, 2013EU 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:
Thursday, 23 May, 2013EU 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:
'Partnerships' key to offering universal healthcare
Thursday, 23 May, 2013Access 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:
Thursday, 23 May, 2013Access 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:
Former Serono honcho buys building for biotech spot
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Swiss 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:
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Swiss 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:
Taking the taboo out of teenage problems
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Two 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:
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Two 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:
'We risk going back to the pre-antibiotic era'
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Delegates 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:
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013Delegates 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:
Lucerne hosts first car sharing congress
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013More 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:
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013More 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:
With Al-Anon 'I felt a huge relief'
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013It’s alcohol awareness week in Switzerland with campaigns focusing on the damage done to people’s lives by excessive drinking. But what of those who are close to alcoholics? Al-Anon is a sister organization to Alcoholics Anonymous, set up at around the same time to help families living with alcoholism. Marisa K. is a member. Her father was an alcoholic who died of cirrhosis of the liver when she was in her 20s. She told WRS’s Pete Forster about the impact on her family of her father’s alcoholism:
Wednesday, 22 May, 2013It’s alcohol awareness week in Switzerland with campaigns focusing on the damage done to people’s lives by excessive drinking. But what of those who are close to alcoholics? Al-Anon is a sister organization to Alcoholics Anonymous, set up at around the same time to help families living with alcoholism. Marisa K. is a member. Her father was an alcoholic who died of cirrhosis of the liver when she was in her 20s. She told WRS’s Pete Forster about the impact on her family of her father’s alcoholism:
Pressing for paternity leave
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Should companies be forced to offer paternity leave in Switzerland? More and more companies are voluntarily offering fathers paid leave to help raise their children, but should it be law? The Federal Council will decide in the coming months. From the Federal Palace in Bern, Swiss-German radio SRF’s political correspondent Pascal Krauthammer talks to WRS’s Alex Helmick:
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Should companies be forced to offer paternity leave in Switzerland? More and more companies are voluntarily offering fathers paid leave to help raise their children, but should it be law? The Federal Council will decide in the coming months. From the Federal Palace in Bern, Swiss-German radio SRF’s political correspondent Pascal Krauthammer talks to WRS’s Alex Helmick:
Should football fan marches be banned?
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Yesterday rival football fans clashed alongside police in Switzerland’s capital Bern as two fan marches escalated into violence ahead of the Swiss Cup final. It’s led some critics to say fan marches should be a thing of the past and made an upcoming vote on hooliganism seem even more pressing. WRS’s Jo Fahy has been following the story for us in Zurich:
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Yesterday rival football fans clashed alongside police in Switzerland’s capital Bern as two fan marches escalated into violence ahead of the Swiss Cup final. It’s led some critics to say fan marches should be a thing of the past and made an upcoming vote on hooliganism seem even more pressing. WRS’s Jo Fahy has been following the story for us in Zurich:
'We are all concerned as alcohol drinkers'
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Events are continuing around the country for “Alcohol Week,” a prevention campaign that focuses on personal contact rather than big billboards. Experts involved say that we often hear about extreme problems like teenagers binge drinking. But sometimes, that’s a way to avoid talking about issues closer to home—since most alcohol problems affect adults. WRS’s Catherine Allen spoke to Jean-Felix Savary, secretary-general of the GREA, an addiction group based in French-speaking Switzerland:
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013Events are continuing around the country for “Alcohol Week,” a prevention campaign that focuses on personal contact rather than big billboards. Experts involved say that we often hear about extreme problems like teenagers binge drinking. But sometimes, that’s a way to avoid talking about issues closer to home—since most alcohol problems affect adults. WRS’s Catherine Allen spoke to Jean-Felix Savary, secretary-general of the GREA, an addiction group based in French-speaking Switzerland:
New asylum policy would have 'negative effect'
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013In about three weeks, Swiss voters will weigh in on whether to maintain tougher, emergency asylum law provisions.There are some law changes that appeal to some on the left—like instituting work programs for refugees. WRS’s Tony Ganzer spoke to Susanne Bolz, head of the legal department of the Swiss Refugee Council. She says part of the political division might stem from the fact the urgent asylum measures are not only about controlling refugee numbers:
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013In about three weeks, Swiss voters will weigh in on whether to maintain tougher, emergency asylum law provisions.There are some law changes that appeal to some on the left—like instituting work programs for refugees. WRS’s Tony Ganzer spoke to Susanne Bolz, head of the legal department of the Swiss Refugee Council. She says part of the political division might stem from the fact the urgent asylum measures are not only about controlling refugee numbers:
Parks flooded by Lake Maggiore
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013The sunny canton of Ticino has had higher than normal rainfall and very high levels in its rivers and lakes. These include the Maggia, Ticino and Tresa rivers, and the picturesque Lake Maggiore. Weather experts say the lake briefly went above 195 metres above sea level, overflowing and flooding parks close to the centre of Locarno. To hear more, WRS’s Dave Goodman talks to ourTicino correspondent, Nicole della Pietra:
Tuesday, 21 May, 2013The sunny canton of Ticino has had higher than normal rainfall and very high levels in its rivers and lakes. These include the Maggia, Ticino and Tresa rivers, and the picturesque Lake Maggiore. Weather experts say the lake briefly went above 195 metres above sea level, overflowing and flooding parks close to the centre of Locarno. To hear more, WRS’s Dave Goodman talks to ourTicino correspondent, Nicole della Pietra:
Fans, cowbells celebrate Swiss hockey silver
Monday, 20 May, 2013The Swiss national ice hockey team touched down at Zurich airport this afternoon, after making it to yesterday’s world championship final in Sweden. They missed out on the title, but come home silver medal winners. WRS’s Jo Fahy was there to meet them at the airport:
Monday, 20 May, 2013The Swiss national ice hockey team touched down at Zurich airport this afternoon, after making it to yesterday’s world championship final in Sweden. They missed out on the title, but come home silver medal winners. WRS’s Jo Fahy was there to meet them at the airport:
