Новости за 24.04.2018

Switzerland authorised the export to Syria of five metric tons of the chemical isopropanol in 2014, which can be used to make sarin gas, Swiss public television, RTS, reports.  The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced in May 2014 that Syria had destroyed its stock of 120 metric tons of isopropanol. However, six months after the elimination of the stock, a Swiss firm was able to export five metric tons of isopropanol to Syria without any opposition from the Swiss authorities, RTS reported on Tuesday. Читать дальше...

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Switzerland handed over a batch of around 550 ancient Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman coins to Serbia on Monday. They were going to be sold online.  The lot had been seized and confiscated following criminal proceedings led by the public prosecutor of the southern canton of Ticino. Most of the coins date to the Roman Empire, said the Federal Office of Culture on Tuesday.  The highlights of the seized loot are a coin (sesterce) bearing a depiction of Roman Empress Faustina dating from the 2nd century... Читать дальше...

The number of Swiss children who are overweight or obese is declining, a national survey has revealed.  The percentage of overweight and obese children in Switzerland fell from 19.9% to 16.7% between the school years 2005/6 and 2016/17, Promotion Health Switzerland reported on Tuesday (in French). The statistics are based on body mass index calculations collected for 14,000 children from Basel, Bern and Zurich at nursery, primary and secondary school levels.  "It is satisfying that the positive... Читать дальше...

The Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) and the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) have launched a free smartphone application on pollen allergies in Switzerland. Data from the app will serve as the basis for a scientific study.  Called "Ally Science", the app is available from Tuesday in the four national languages and in English. It enables users to maintain their pollen allergy diary, check pollen forecasts, and together with the app community generate real-time representations of increases... Читать дальше...

Nearly 1,000 watchmaking ateliers and buildings in Switzerland could be contaminated by radium, a radioactive element that was used to add luminescence to watch dials and hands until the 1960s. The study by the University of Bern, commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health, shows that radium was used in almost 700 buildings. In addition, there are approximately 300 other buildings where the use of radium is uncertain. The findings double previous estimates of potential radium contamination in Switzerland. Читать дальше...

Although we have known the causes of our environmental problems and possible solutions for decades, not much has changed. Christoph Küffer asks why. One core task of the environmental sciences is to analyse the causal drivers of environmental problems and to develop technical solutions. We have achieved a great deal in this regard: we understand global environmental problems such as climate change, and we are documenting the loss of biodiversity around the globe and how this is threatening quality of life. Читать дальше...

The stakes are high as Swiss voters decide in June about a new gambling law, including a ban on using the websites of foreign casinos. Youth wings of several political parties have mounted a challenge. Supporters argue the legal amendment is a financial boon for society and will help prevent gambling addiction. For opponents, the law will preserve the monopoly of the 21 casinos in Switzerland and amounts to censorship of the internet. Under the new law agreed by parliament last September, Swiss casinos can offer online versions of roulette... Читать дальше...

The Swiss fried potato dish rösti will be on the dinner menu at an inter-Korea summit on Friday, which will be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It is the first time South Korea has acknowledged Kim’s childhood connection to Switzerland.   South Korea’s executive Blue House, which will host the dinner, said the popular Swiss dish was chosen as an homage to Kim's childhood spent in country, according to the Reuters press agency.  The North Korean leader arrived in Switzerland aged 12... Читать дальше...

Two Swiss nationals and four Italians have been arrested and taken into police custody in the French Alps. On Sunday, they helped 30 illegal migrants enter France from Italy.   The prosecutor’s office of French town of Gap said on Monday that the two Swiss are in police custody for "aiding the entry of foreigners without the right paperwork into the country in an organised operation". Those arrested joined around 100 mostly French and Italian activists, who crossed the Montgenèvre pass at the Italian border with the migrants. Читать дальше...

Cranes and construction workers have become commonplace in International Geneva, where around a dozen major renovation and new building projects are underway for international organisations based in the Swiss city. (RTS/swissinfo.ch)  Over CHF2 billion ($2.05 billion) is being invested over the next ten years in the district, which is home to 37 international organisations and 380 non-governmental organisations. Much of the finance consists of federal and cantonal loans.  The biggest chunk is for... Читать дальше...