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Top Stories
WRS to close at end of August
Thursday, 2 May, 2013The Federal Council yesterday made a decision about the future of World Radio Switzerland—this station. As of the end of August, WRS will no longer have an FM license, and will no longer be part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. The decision not to issue an FM concession triggers an automatic hand-over of the station to Nyon-based Anglo Media. To begin our look at this news affecting the future of the station you’re listening to now, we hear from Francois Besencon who was in charge of the privatization process of WRS. He gave the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s position to WRS’s Tony Ganzer:
Thursday, 2 May, 2013The Federal Council yesterday made a decision about the future of World Radio Switzerland—this station. As of the end of August, WRS will no longer have an FM license, and will no longer be part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. The decision not to issue an FM concession triggers an automatic hand-over of the station to Nyon-based Anglo Media. To begin our look at this news affecting the future of the station you’re listening to now, we hear from Francois Besencon who was in charge of the privatization process of WRS. He gave the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s position to WRS’s Tony Ganzer:
No more WRS on FM from September
Wednesday, 1 May, 2013World Radio Switzerland will cease to exist on FM radio as of September. The Federal Council made the decision to release the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation from its obligation to further fund and operate WRS. The SBC announced last year that it was looking for private entities to purchase the FM and digital radio licenses of WRS. Neither bidder has been chosen for the FM license, however, Anglo Media will take over the digital aspect in September. The decision means that there will be no FM-frequency English language radio station in Switzerland as of September. It’s not clear at this point until what date WRS will broadcast in its current form on FM. WRS’s Pete Forster explains to host Alex Helmick what this means for the station:
Wednesday, 1 May, 2013World Radio Switzerland will cease to exist on FM radio as of September. The Federal Council made the decision to release the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation from its obligation to further fund and operate WRS. The SBC announced last year that it was looking for private entities to purchase the FM and digital radio licenses of WRS. Neither bidder has been chosen for the FM license, however, Anglo Media will take over the digital aspect in September. The decision means that there will be no FM-frequency English language radio station in Switzerland as of September. It’s not clear at this point until what date WRS will broadcast in its current form on FM. WRS’s Pete Forster explains to host Alex Helmick what this means for the station:
Daycare with a difference
Wednesday, 1 May, 2013Lausanne’s daycares have gone local and organic. The cooks of the city’s 10 pre-school centers are getting their fruit and veg delivered by bike couriers who buy from local farmers. It’s a first in Switzerland, but the founder hopes to take the concept countrywide. WRS’s Lucas Chambers has this story:
Wednesday, 1 May, 2013Lausanne’s daycares have gone local and organic. The cooks of the city’s 10 pre-school centers are getting their fruit and veg delivered by bike couriers who buy from local farmers. It’s a first in Switzerland, but the founder hopes to take the concept countrywide. WRS’s Lucas Chambers has this story:
Male teacher muses over gender debate
Tuesday, 30 April, 2013The number of male primary school teachers is growing but they’re still in the minority in Switzerland. A politician has called for a 30 percent male quota on teacher training courses to encourage more men to work in primary classrooms. Does it matter whether your children are taught by a man or a woman while they’re at primary school? Mark Hammond has been teaching for 14 years and is a year six class teacher at the Geneva English School:
Tuesday, 30 April, 2013The number of male primary school teachers is growing but they’re still in the minority in Switzerland. A politician has called for a 30 percent male quota on teacher training courses to encourage more men to work in primary classrooms. Does it matter whether your children are taught by a man or a woman while they’re at primary school? Mark Hammond has been teaching for 14 years and is a year six class teacher at the Geneva English School:
3D printing poses prickly copyright issues
Friday, 26 April, 20133D printing is seen as one of the most exciting innovations of recent years. It offers new ways of creating products as well as the potential to reduce the environmental impact of industrial production. But it also poses a series of challenges—not least for the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO, which is concerned with questions of copyright and patents. WIPO has been taking a look at 3D printing as part of World Intellectual Property Day as our international Geneva correspondent, Vincent Landon, reports:
Friday, 26 April, 20133D printing is seen as one of the most exciting innovations of recent years. It offers new ways of creating products as well as the potential to reduce the environmental impact of industrial production. But it also poses a series of challenges—not least for the World Intellectual Property Organization or WIPO, which is concerned with questions of copyright and patents. WIPO has been taking a look at 3D printing as part of World Intellectual Property Day as our international Geneva correspondent, Vincent Landon, reports:
Immigration cap 'valium for the public'
Thursday, 25 April, 2013The Federal Council has decided to continue limits on immigration to Switzerland from central and eastern Europe, and will do the same for the so-called EU-17 nations. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga announced the decision yesterday, saying the Swiss would invoke the “valve clause” of the free movement of people accord, as a temporary measure to stem migration. WRS’s Tony Ganzer has more. WRS’s Dave Goodman also talks to Swiss business lawyer Jean Russotto who is based in Brussels:
Thursday, 25 April, 2013The Federal Council has decided to continue limits on immigration to Switzerland from central and eastern Europe, and will do the same for the so-called EU-17 nations. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga announced the decision yesterday, saying the Swiss would invoke the “valve clause” of the free movement of people accord, as a temporary measure to stem migration. WRS’s Tony Ganzer has more. WRS’s Dave Goodman also talks to Swiss business lawyer Jean Russotto who is based in Brussels:
Too many English words on Swiss TV?
Tuesday, 23 April, 2013One national member of Parliament has called on the Federal Council to intervene against the “takeover” of English on Swiss German TV, SRF. Martin Candinas is a Christian Democrat MP in the National Council, representing the canton of Graubünden. A native Romansh speaker, he says too many TV shows on SRF have English names. But, he told WRS’s Catherine Allen, he’s not against English. He’s for national pride:
Tuesday, 23 April, 2013One national member of Parliament has called on the Federal Council to intervene against the “takeover” of English on Swiss German TV, SRF. Martin Candinas is a Christian Democrat MP in the National Council, representing the canton of Graubünden. A native Romansh speaker, he says too many TV shows on SRF have English names. But, he told WRS’s Catherine Allen, he’s not against English. He’s for national pride:
New electric buses coming to Geneva
Monday, 22 April, 2013Flash charge electric buses are coming to Geneva and to the world at large. The Swiss engineering giant ABB has just unveiled a new concept that will be officially launched May 26 at the International Public Transport Union’s 60th World Congress. It could spell the end of that ugly wire webbing hanging overhead on city streets today. WRS’s Lucas Chambers went on the inaugural ride.
Monday, 22 April, 2013Flash charge electric buses are coming to Geneva and to the world at large. The Swiss engineering giant ABB has just unveiled a new concept that will be officially launched May 26 at the International Public Transport Union’s 60th World Congress. It could spell the end of that ugly wire webbing hanging overhead on city streets today. WRS’s Lucas Chambers went on the inaugural ride.
Cross border shopping trends 'quite alarming'
Tuesday, 9 April, 2013Cross border shopping has hit 5 billion francs a year. The news came as a bit of a shock to the Swiss Retail Association which mandated the study. It shows the high Swiss franc is to blame in 80 percent of cases. WRS’s Lucas Chambers spoke to Adrian Wyss, director of the Swiss Retail Association:
Tuesday, 9 April, 2013Cross border shopping has hit 5 billion francs a year. The news came as a bit of a shock to the Swiss Retail Association which mandated the study. It shows the high Swiss franc is to blame in 80 percent of cases. WRS’s Lucas Chambers spoke to Adrian Wyss, director of the Swiss Retail Association:
Swiss off-shore shell firms alive and well
Friday, 5 April, 2013The Swiss government has in recent times promoted a clean money strategy for its massive financial services sector, ostensibly ushering in an age of transparency. But an international cooperative of journalism organizations released this week the first insight into leaked financial data showing off-shore trusts and shell corporations are alive and well. And Swiss banks and residents have been fingered as party to this. WRS’s Tony Ganzer has more:
Friday, 5 April, 2013The Swiss government has in recent times promoted a clean money strategy for its massive financial services sector, ostensibly ushering in an age of transparency. But an international cooperative of journalism organizations released this week the first insight into leaked financial data showing off-shore trusts and shell corporations are alive and well. And Swiss banks and residents have been fingered as party to this. WRS’s Tony Ganzer has more:
Swiss hit by top burglary rate in Europe
Thursday, 4 April, 2013Every eight minutes in Switzerland, a home is burgled. That arresting statistic is from the European Union, which says Switzerland has the highest break-in rate on the whole continent. It’s more than three times the rate in France, Italy or Germany, and more than six times the rate in Austria. To analyse the numbers, WRS’s Catherine Allen spoke to professor Martin Killias, a criminologist at the University of Zurich:
Thursday, 4 April, 2013Every eight minutes in Switzerland, a home is burgled. That arresting statistic is from the European Union, which says Switzerland has the highest break-in rate on the whole continent. It’s more than three times the rate in France, Italy or Germany, and more than six times the rate in Austria. To analyse the numbers, WRS’s Catherine Allen spoke to professor Martin Killias, a criminologist at the University of Zurich:
'Life in the river wiped out' after dam disaster
Wednesday, 3 April, 2013Swiss hydroelectric power is thought of as relatively clean—and abundant in the Swiss Alps. But over the weekend a problem at a hydroelectric dam in Graubünden led to thousands of dead fish, and a river saturated with sediment. Officials are now reviewing what went wrong. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports:
Wednesday, 3 April, 2013Swiss hydroelectric power is thought of as relatively clean—and abundant in the Swiss Alps. But over the weekend a problem at a hydroelectric dam in Graubünden led to thousands of dead fish, and a river saturated with sediment. Officials are now reviewing what went wrong. WRS’s Tony Ganzer reports:
Why more Swiss are buying their homes
Tuesday, 2 April, 2013More and more Swiss are choosing to buy their own homes. The latest figures from the Swiss Federal Statistics office show that 36.8 percent of people live in their own homes, up from 34.6 percent in the year 2000. WRS’s Pete Forster spoke to Marco Salvi, property economist with the thinktank Avenir Suisse:
Tuesday, 2 April, 2013More and more Swiss are choosing to buy their own homes. The latest figures from the Swiss Federal Statistics office show that 36.8 percent of people live in their own homes, up from 34.6 percent in the year 2000. WRS’s Pete Forster spoke to Marco Salvi, property economist with the thinktank Avenir Suisse:
India rejects Novartis patent extension
Tuesday, 2 April, 2013Yesterday India’s supreme court rejected an appeal by Swiss firm Novartis to grant a patent on its top selling cancer drug Glivec. The case stretches back to 2006 when Novartis applied for a patent of a new version of the drug on the grounds that changes to the way the body absorbed the drug qualified as an innovation. One of those groups campaigning against Novartis in this case is Medecins Sans Frontiers. WRS’s Pete Forster speaks to Aziz Rehman, a lawyer with the group:
Tuesday, 2 April, 2013Yesterday India’s supreme court rejected an appeal by Swiss firm Novartis to grant a patent on its top selling cancer drug Glivec. The case stretches back to 2006 when Novartis applied for a patent of a new version of the drug on the grounds that changes to the way the body absorbed the drug qualified as an innovation. One of those groups campaigning against Novartis in this case is Medecins Sans Frontiers. WRS’s Pete Forster speaks to Aziz Rehman, a lawyer with the group:
Toms River documents dark Swiss chapter
Wednesday, 27 March, 2013Toms River, by Dan Fagin, is a new book describing one of the darkest chapters in Swiss chemical history. It chronicles the soil and groundwater contamination at a chemical plant in New Jersey, the challenge of clearing up the mess and the legal battle over a childhood cancer cluster. WRS’s Vincent Landon paid a visit to Toms River to hear about the rise and fall of Swiss chemical giant, Ciba-Geigy. In the first of a two-part series, retired journalist, Don Bennett drives him round the site:
Wednesday, 27 March, 2013Toms River, by Dan Fagin, is a new book describing one of the darkest chapters in Swiss chemical history. It chronicles the soil and groundwater contamination at a chemical plant in New Jersey, the challenge of clearing up the mess and the legal battle over a childhood cancer cluster. WRS’s Vincent Landon paid a visit to Toms River to hear about the rise and fall of Swiss chemical giant, Ciba-Geigy. In the first of a two-part series, retired journalist, Don Bennett drives him round the site:
