World Radio Switzerland

Swiss regulator steps up UBS trading probe

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:18:48 UT

more WRS coverage on banks

Defense department decides to leave old munitions at bottom of lakes

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:15:00 UT

Switzerland’s lakes attract tourists with their pristine image, but up until the 1960s the army was using them as a dumping site. Over 8,000 tons of munitions lay below the surface and today the department of defense announced that they will stay there for good. WRS’s Jordan Davis is at the Federal Palace in Bern:

Documentary explores how Nelson Mendela reconciled an entire nation

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:01 UT

Reconciliation is perhaps both a noble and foreign concept to many. How do you forgive those who have been so violent and unfair towards you? Documentary filmmaker Michael Henry Wilson looks at how an entire nation was made to forgive each other in his latest documentary Reconciliation: Mandela’s Miracle. The director interviews victims of apartheid in South Africa and follows how Nelson Mendela united his country through the difficult process of reconciliation. His film is now open in French-speaking Switzerland. WRS’s Alex Helmick speaks to Wilson:

Rail ticket prices to rise again

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:59:47 UT

Asylum seeker killed in fight

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:50:21 UT

Graubünden has coldest night of winter

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:31:49 UT

Brain Freeze: Name one of the countries or territories with the highest percentage of home owners

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:17:32 UT

COMCO probes UBS, Credit Suisse for cartel

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:57:54 UT

Private bank Wegelin indicted in U.S.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:53:19 UT

Xamax faces Neuchâtel prosecution

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:51:08 UT

Police search for mother, daughter

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:43:02 UT

Why Geneva has higher rents than Zurich

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:13:00 UT

For many people living in Switzerland, the idea of a housing crisis is nothing new. But how do rents in Zurich compare to those in Geneva, Bern or in smaller towns in less populated cantons? According to comparis.ch, the winner of the most expensive average rent is Geneva. A Geneva flat advertised with four and a half rooms comes with an average monthly rent of 3,900 francs. That even beats Zurich by almost 1,000 francs. WRS’s Dave Goodman talks to a specialist in real estate economics, professor Philippe Thalmann from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne:

more WRS coverage on real estate

Sparks fly over proposed tax break for home buyers

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:50:52 UT

This year voters may experience déjà vu. Twice in a just a matter of months they’ll be asked about tax incentives for people saving to buy a house. The first nationwide vote comes March 11. Supporters of the initiative say they want more Swiss people to be able to buy houses. But opponents call it a giveaway for the rich. WRS’s Jordan Davis reports:

more WRS coverage on real estate

Could emerging economies solve the EU debt crisis?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:15:01 UT

With the eurozone riddled by a debt crisis and EU countries unable to come up with a viable action plan, Switzerland’s export industry, which is heavily reliant on its neighbors Germany, France and Italy, is getting worried. Where can a solution be found? Many ideas are floating around out there and one of them involves help from the developing world, the emerging economies. WRS’s Alex Helmick asks 2001 Nobel Prize winner in Economics Michael Spence, an expert in the field of developing economies, whether this might work:

Equity group wants all Petroplus refineries

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:45:31 UT