Around the world in a solar boat

In autumn 2010, the Swiss solar boat “PlanetSolar” embarked on a world tour. The 19-month adventure took the catamaran across the United States, the Panama Canal, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Persian Gulf. On May 4, PlanetSolar reached Monaco, accomplishing its record-braking mission.
(By courtesy of PlanetSolar)

“Help! I’ve broken my hip in Paris!” – swissinfo

Back in 1960 the Swiss Air Rescue Service (Rega) began repatriating Swiss citizens who were injured or fell ill while abroad. Today the organisation has its own jets and carries out several hundred repatriation flights every year. (SF/swissinfo.ch/Rega)

Spectacular video: ‘Jetman’ soars over Rio de Janeiro skyline

Fight over Gruyère cheese label spreads to US – swissinfo

Emmi, the largest Swiss dairy, is expanding its cheese production in the United States with a big new Gruyère cheese factory. Faced with opposition from Swiss cheesemakers, Emmi is now rethinking the name of its US product. (RTS/swissinfo.c)

War-scarred Bosnian makes new life in Bern – swissinfo

This is the story of a Bosnian Muslim woman who fought on the frontline during the Bosnian war, and later fled to Switzerland. In 1995, Zuhra Hodzic found herself at the centre of the massacre of Srebrenica.
(Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch/SF)

How a poor country became rich – swissinfo

Switzerland was once a poor country. Only at the end of the 19th century things did begin to change after an economic boom. Then it took just 130 years for the Swiss population to grow from three to eight million.
(SF/swissinfo.ch)

Watery tourism – swissinfo

Branding 2012 as the “Year of Water”, Switzerland Tourism is promoting the H2O theme in all its forms. It’s part of efforts to find new ways of helping the industry overcome the effects of the strong franc. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Brain power robot – swissinfo

Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne have accomplished the task of piloting a wheelchair using brainpower alone. This brain machine was developed by the Institute’s Neuroprosthetic Centre, and promises to vastly improve the lives of disabled people. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Skin cancer on the rise – swissinfo

Switzerland has the highest rate of skin cancer in Europe, with some 2,000 cases being diagnosed every year. Men seem to be particularly vulnerable. Over the past two decades, detection rates have sharply increased and melanoma is now the fourth most prevalent cancer in Switzerland. (SF/swissinfo.ch)

Business oasis – swissinfo

Switzerland is expensive. The franc is too strong for the industrial sector to be competitive. Some Swiss companies have had to move their production abroad because of this. But there are also many foreign firms which relocate to Switzerland, mainly because of tax cuts but also because they want a good business environment and the “Swiss made” label. (SF-ECO-swissinfo.ch)

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