Category Archive: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

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Swiss boss of UN refugee agency warns it could implode

2023-04-17

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What will become of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East if the main UN organisation set up to help them implodes? The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been supporting Palestinian refugees in the Middle East for 74 years. Money troubles have constantly plagued the institution. Since around 2010, the situation has steadily worsened as several donors cut their contributions. A big hole was caused in particular by the temporary...

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Behind the scenes: Explaining how the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer works

2023-04-12

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After postponing its launch due to risk of lightning, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) has successfully begun its eight-year journey to Jupiter on April 14. Video journalist Michele Andina explains how he went about making an explainer video on the juice mission, using models of planets made of styrofoam and spacecrafts made of paper. #jupiter #europeanspaceagency #esa #animation #esajuice Watch our JUICE explainer here: or here:...

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Juice: The ESA mission to Jupiter is ready for take-off

2023-04-11

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On April 13, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) begins its eight-year journey to Jupiter. The probe will orbit the giant gas planet as well as Jupiter’s three icy moons for three years to search for, among other things, traces of life. The University of Bern contributed to the development of several key instruments. The European Space Agency mission is also specifically targeting Jupiter's second innermost moon, Europa, which is thought to have...

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How the Swiss are helping to make Ukraine safer

2023-04-06

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Ukraine is littered with explosives, posing a physical and mental threat to the population. Since February 2022, the situation is said to have deteriorated drastically.The Swiss government has a new action plan for 2023-26 that will expand humanitarian mine action in Ukraine. About half of Swiss funds go to the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), a leading centre of mine action expertise and knowledge. GICHD director...

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Gender equality at the Chalandamarz in Zuoz, Switzerland

2023-03-24

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The Chalandamarz in Zuoz is very important. The spring custom was made world-famous thanks to Swiss children's book "Schellen-Ursli" (A Bell for Ursli), whose story is set on March 1st, the day when this traditional parade takes place. Ursli's adventures take place in the Engadine village of Guarda, in southeastern Switzerland, but the actual stronghold of the custom has been the village of Zuoz for many years. Here, the Chalandamarz has...

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Winter tourism in Kyrgyzstan | #shorts

2023-03-23

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Video journalist Julie Hunt talks about her latest documentary that she filmed in Kyrgyzstan. It's about a group of Swiss ski instructors helping to create new winter tourism jobs in a country where one in four people are out of work. Watch Julie's documentary here:  --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international...

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Why the Swiss are boosting winter tourism in Kyrgyzstan

2023-03-21

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Kayaking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are just a few of the winter activities the Swiss are supporting in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The goal is creating new jobs in a country where one in four are out of work. The programme, funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the Swiss NGO Helvetas, focuses on the northern mountainous region of Karakol. Local mountain guides, cultural guides and...

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Behind the scenes: Making an animation about the Swiss political system

2023-03-17

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At SWI swissinfo.ch we like to explore new ways of untangling Swiss politics for our audience abroad. Here video journalist Michele Andina uses stop motion animation to show how the federal parliament is set up. This October, Swiss voters will elect their political representatives for the next four-year term. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to...

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Avalanche research in Switzerland

2023-03-17

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When and where the next avalanche will happen is hard to predict. In a special cold laboratory in Davos, researchers simulate the effects of wind on fresh snow to better understand the mechanisms that trigger avalanches. For centuries, avalanches have posed a threat to mountain farmers and their livestock. With the development of winter tourism, roads, railways and hydropower plants, the interest in avalanche research and protective measures has...

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How Swiss voters elect their parliament

2023-03-14

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In October, Swiss voters elect their political representatives for the next four-year term. Parliament is made up of two chambers to balance the interests of the different cantons (political regions): the House of Representatives and the Senate. For a law to pass, it must win approval in both chambers separately. They also meet for joint sessions, notably to elect the members of the Swiss government and the courts. The Swiss political system has...

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Swiss help transform Kyrgyzstan’s ski industry

2023-03-07

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Just like in alpine Switzerland, there is also a ski industry in the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, and it’s getting some help from the Swiss. Eight years ago, a dedicated ski instructor from the eastern Swiss canton of Graubünden started a winter tourism project in Kyrgyzstan to create jobs in the cold season. Edda Hergarten took fellow instructors with her to teach the Kyrgyz people how to ski. Now about 40 of them are instructors...

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Creating peace in Ukraine: live podcast discussion

2023-03-06

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In a special live recording of the Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes was joined by experts in conflict resolution to discuss what a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine might look like, and to find out what makes a successful, sustainable peace. Why do some peace negotiations take years? Why do few succeed and why do so many fail? This episode brought together: Katia Papagianni, Director of Policy and Mediation Support at the Centre for...

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What’s causing allergies?

2023-02-14

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The small city of Davos in southeastern Switzerland, located at an altitude of 1,560m above sea level in the Swiss Alps, attracted tuberculosis patients back in the 1800s and 1900s, after scientists discovered that the clean mountain air had a positive effect on their health. With the development of antibiotics, however, the sanatoriums eventually lost their purpose. Today that same clean Davos air, marked by the absence of tree pollen, such as...

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The Swiss view of free movement within the EU

2023-02-07

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Livia Leu, Switzerland's chief negotiator with the European Union, has been talking about the challenges ahead in 2023, especially when it comes to the free movement of people. For about 20 years, Switzerland has regulated its relations with the EU in bilateral agreements, an alternative to EU membership that it would like to maintain. But the rules governing EU market access have now changed so the bilaterals need updating. The EU and Switzerland...

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How popular votes made Switzerland a global democracy leader

2023-02-07

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With its second federal constitution of 1874, Switzerland was suddenly catapulted to the forefront of democracy development worldwide. No canton had voted so strongly in favour of radical change as Schaffhausen. Adopting the new federal constitution marked a milestone in Swiss history. It brought about several important improvements, making up for just about everything the original constitution lacked. Many of these improvements would not have...

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Will Switzerland sort out its differences with the EU in 2023?

2023-02-03

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In 2021, the Swiss government broke off negotiations with the EU on an institutional framework agreement to govern future relations. Now both sides are looking for a new path. In this video, Larissa Rhyn, a correspondent for Swiss Public Television, SRF, explains what’s at stake. --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on...

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Director vs dictator: The enduring relevance of Charlie Chaplin

2023-01-31

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“A bad imitation of me,” Charlie Chaplin said of Adolf Hitler, who inspired The Great Dictator, one of Chaplin’s most commercially and critically successful films. But what message does it have for audiences today? Exactly 45 years ago, on December 25, 1977, one of the most famous men in the world died in Corsier-sur-Vevey overlooking Lake Geneva: Charlie Chaplin. The British actor had lived for a quarter of a century in Switzerland, where he had...

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The gathering of bone doctors

2023-01-18

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The Swiss town of Davos is famous for mountain slopes, winter sports and the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. But did you know that it also attracts scientists and doctors from all over the world? In this six-part video series, SWI swissinfo.ch journalists Sara Ibrahim and Michele Andina take you on a journey to discover five of Davos’s research institutes. In this first episode, they take you to the AO Davos Courses, a two-week...

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From cocoa bean to chocolate: the process explained

2023-01-10

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The chocolate supply chain features many intermediaries from bean to bar. Those doing the hardest jobs at the bottom of the chain get a tiny portion of a bar's price while those at the top make the most money. Today, Ivory Coast and Ghana produce over 60% of the world’s cocoa beans and Switzerland has become synonymous with chocolate. This mutually beneficial relationship has come under strain in recent years. The West African countries are no...

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Thank You!

2023-01-04

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2022 was a colourful, challenging year for SWI swissinfo.ch. Here's a taste of some of the reports we produced, and products we launched. We want to thank you for supporting us, and look forward to new adventures in 2023. Happy NewYear! --- swissinfo.ch is the international branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to report on Switzerland and to provide a Swiss perspective on international events. For more articles,...

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