Energy efficiency is all well and good – just as long as it doesn’t get in the way of aesthetics. That’s the message being sent by critics of new regulations that make it easier for people to retrofit Zurich’s existing buildings with solar panels
Month: February 2012
A 39-year-old Bosnian-born sex worker in Zurich hounded a former client who had tried to break off their relationship. She was convicted of several charges, though the court found her not guilty of “coercion” to have sex.
The divide between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” is vast, and a new study of Internet use in the land of Gutenberg finds that twice the number previously believed barely go online at all.
Many Chinese are convinced that the bile produced by a bear’s digestion process has strong medicinal benefits. One of the biggest black bear breeding farms is set to be quoted on the stock exchange. But first, they let reporters and animal rights
A pair of recent cases in Switzerland has turned new attention to the issue of “Babyklappe” – drop-off points for abandoned newborns. The country currently has just one such facility, though more could be on the way.
A relieved Mitt Romney heads back to the campaign trail after sweeping crucial primaries in Arizona and his childhood home of Michigan to revitalize his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has provided a further 530bn euros ($713bn) of low-interest loans to 800 banks across the European Union.
Security forces are advancing on the rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr in Homs, as Syrian officials confirm a ground offensive is under way.
That uniquely New World attitude that anyone can achieve success appears to be fading into history. Seen from Peoria to Paris, the so-called “Great Gatsby Curve” paints a picture of the United States with growing inequalities and stagnat
Analysis: The U.S., Europe and Asia all must keep the relationship between population and productivity at the center of social and economic policy. Education is key, but so too are efforts to commit to the long-term well-being of qualified immigrants.
Analysis: In the birthplace of Martin Luther, the relationship among Roman Catholicism, traditional Protestant churches and newer evangelical movements offers a laboratory for how different strands of Christianity today are united and divided by ethics mo
Considered the most famous drawing ever of the human body, Leondardo Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ was thought to have been the fruit of the Italian artist-scientist’s singular genius. But now a similar image that pre-date
While commentators debate who stood to gain from an alleged plot to kill Putin just days before the presidential election, there is reputed evidence going back several months that might connect the dots.
The youngest in a crowded field of presidential contenders, labor activist Khaled Ali is also the last to announce his candidacy. Not that it was his fault. Until turning 40 this past Sunday, he wasn’t technically old enough to run for the country
Cruise ship left adrift in the Indian Ocean with more than 1,000 people on board now being hauled toward land by French fishing vessel.
Passenger bus targeted in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan in an apparent sectarian attack.
Israeli officials say they won’t warn the U.S. to decrease the likelihood that the Washington would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel’s potential attack.
Chileans love hot dogs. Just ask G&N, whose Doggis restaurants dominate the local fast food market with annual domestic sales of roughly $100 million. The company is now hoping Doggis will be able to fetch similar earnings across the continent.
Five centuries after his death, Florentine explorer and chronicler Vespucci is still derided for having his name slapped on two continents that many think should’ve been called North and South Colombia. But the history, and the man, are more subt
Analysis: The unprecedented Academy award victory capped a perfect storm of French culture, Hollywood nostalgia and the “Napoleonic” tactics of U.S. producer Harvey Weinstein.
Categories
Saleh hands over Yemen reins to successor
Outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has formally handed over power to his vice-president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the winner of an uncontested campaign to replace him after 33 years of one-man rule.
Categories
‘The Artist’ is big winner at Academy Awards
Nostalgia ruled at the Oscars, with the classic film homages “The Artist” and “Hugo” dominating with five awards each, Meryl Streep winning her first best-actress prize in nearly three decades.
Categories
Putin assassination plot foiled
Russian and Ukrainian special services have arrested a group of suspects over an alleged plot to assassinate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Coach Özgür Gözüacik earned the respect of her players – and the attention of the media – after breaking into one of the world’s most male-dominated professions: professional soccer. Istanbul’s sole female coach, the 29-year-old yearns for a cham
Essay: A digital spat between mega-popular Chinese blogger Han Han and one of his chief critics reveals that in modern China, despite some state restrictions, the information revolution is changing the relationship between media, fame, power and popularit
Analysis: Neighbors in Europe worry that Germany is either acting too boldly, or not boldly enough. China’s Asian neighbors wonder about the emerging global giant’s long-term plans. Berlin and Beijing face a similar question: What to do
The White Nile offers perfect rafting conditions: soft water and few sharp stones. The number of times you go overboard depends mainly on the mood of who’s steering.
Mexico’s bloody drug wars could mean new opportunities for private military companies like XE Services, better known as Blackwater, which became infamous in Iraq. Latin America provides such firms with both quality recruits and new business opportunities.
Often with multiple passports, the “foreign” vanguard in the battle for women’s rights in Libya must shift their attention from the evils of dictatorship to the risks of pious Islam.
Outperformed in school and, in many cases, the workplace too, men are increasingly being seen as a “problem” – especially when it comes to forming families. Women prefer men who are equally if not more accomplished. Trouble is, there aren’t enough such me
Debate rages over genetically-modified organisms (GMO) used in the agriculture industry, as health experts and environmentalists try to keep a ban in place. In the Gironde region of France, a single corn and vegetable farmer staunchly defends his right to
Thousands of babies around the world are born each year without a sex-specific chromosome count, and that may have male or female genitalia – or a mix of both. Germany’s top ethics board is deciding if such ‘intersexuals’ should
World powers convening Friday in Tunisia are mapping out a plan to call for a cease-fire and give political legitimacy to the Syrian opposition, while details emerged that Arab nations have begun supplying arms to Syrian rebels.
Dutch Prince Johan Friso, injured in an avalanche last week, is in a coma and may never regain consciousness, doctors treating him in Austria say.
Alarmed by reports of fraud during last year’s parliamentary elections, a group of computer-savvy Russians prepared for the upcoming presidential election by creating a virtual monitoring site. The platform has already caught the attention of Mikhail Prok
A huge air strike in al-Shabab-held southern Somalia has killed at least six people, including foreign militants of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab rebels.
South Africa may have put the “S” in BRICS, but unlike the other members of the emerging nations’ group, it is facing weak growth and structural disadvantages that include apartheid’s legacy and the toll of AIDS on economic reju
A recent book is shedding new light on Terezin, a Czech town and fortress that was converted by the Nazis into a Jewish concentration. More than 30,000 people died there. Three times that number were sent from Terezin to Poland-based Nazi camps like Ausc
On the 10th anniversary of the abduction of Ingrid Betancourt, the Marxist guerillas, although weakened militarily, continue to sow trouble in Colombia. They survive thanks to drug trafficking — and refuse the government’s conditions for negotiation.
Britain and France demand Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cease attacks against the besieged opposition stronghold of Homs to allow three journalists to receive medical care even as reports emerged of renewed shelling in the flashpoint city.