(swissinfo.ch) Today, on World Radio Day, we celebrate the power of radio and its role in bringing people together. It is also an occasion to look back at how swissinfo.ch began... with radio.Begiing in 1935, special programmes for the Swiss abroad were broadcast over short wave. In 1939, the Short Wave Service got its own antea, located at Schwarzenberg in canton Be.Here is a sample programme from May 3, 1949, with a speech in Switzerland by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. And in this interview from 1958, we hear from legendary jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong in relaxed mood. In 1978, the Short Wave Service was renamed Swiss Radio Inteational (SRI).The radio broadcasts destined for a foreign audience reached their golden age during the Cold War. With programmes in eight languages, SRI reached an estimated five to ten million listeners around the world. The decline of short wave began at the end of the 1980s. Political changes, such as the end of the Cold War, and technological advancements including satellite transmissions and the emergence of the inteet, called into question the need to c

This content was published on February 12, 2018 1:13 PMFeb 12, 2018 - 13:13 Balthazar Burkhard was in the right place at the right time: Be in the 1960s. The city had a lively bohemian scene, and was a magnet for radical artists and ideas that culminated in 1969 in the anthological exhibition, "When attitudes become form" at the Kunsthalle Be. That's also the moment in Burkhard’s five-decade career to which the Fotomuseum Winterthur is now dedicating a comprehensive retrospective (until 21.05.2018).Having leaed the trade with Kurt Blum, one of the most important Swiss photographers in the mid-20th century, Burkhard started to travel in the bohemian circles of Be. Soon, he was part of the entourage of Harald Szeema, who directed the Kunsthalle Be from 1961 to 1969. During those years, Szeema captured the zeitgeist of radical political and social movements that also touched the arts, and Burkhard’s photography was closely coected to Szeema’s work.The Kunsthalle Be welcomed all those radical ideas, up to the point when Szeema felt it was time to break with the established artistic practices, and make a proper manifesto out of an exhibition.

Jürg Schär and Konrad Rüegg are both members of the Swiss Federation of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (swissinfo.ch) Switzerland’s Federation of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) supports a proposal to do away with mandatory licence fees for public service broadcasters, which will come to a nationwide vote on March 4. Two of its members sat down to discuss the issue. The SME umbrella organisationexteal link is up against an alliance of most political parties, parliament, the govement, trade unions and most sectors of the business community, who recommend voting against the initiative. But it is a political force to be reckoned with, representing about 300,000 companies grouped in 250 trade associations.The federation spearheaded a campaign to try to scupper a reform of the public radio and television funding system in 2015. It has also been at the forefront of political efforts to abolish public broadcast licenceexteal link fees, but not all of its members toe the line. Schär has been pioneering e-bikes(swissinfo.ch) Jürg Schär, who made a name for him

An Egyptian soldier guards the Luxor temple. (Keystone) Switzerland has one of the most generous, state-funded victim support services in the world. However, it doesn’t benefit everyone: Swiss people who live abroad and their relatives – as well as Swiss tourists – who are victims of crime are falling through the net.While assistance to victims in Germany, for example, is almost entirely dependent on donations, the system in Switzerland has been a public institution for the past 25 years.Victims of a criminal offence in Switzerland are supported in three ways, according to the so-called three-pillar modelexteal link. Not only do they receive free medical, psychological and legal support, but they are also protected during the criminal proceedings and receive damages and remuneration if the perpetrator and insurance companies do not recompense them sufficiently. Victims also have access to counselling without having to report the offender to the police, a rule which particularly benefits victims of domestic abuse.Direct democracyThis forward-thinking model of supporting victims was brought about only thanks to Switzerland’s di

At 91, she's the oldest elected politician in Switzerland: Marlies Näf-Hofma from Arbon in canton Thurgau. And she's still going strong. Swiss Public Television, SRF looks back at an often controversial political career. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) She represents the Christian Democratic Party in the Arbon city parliamentexteal link, where she campaigns on behalf of the elderly, in particular. But she has changed her political allegiances several times. For 20 years, Näf-Hofmaexteal link worked as a lawyer for the the right-wing conservative Swiss People's Party on the cantonal council of Thurgau, and was party member for 50 years. After a brief stint with the Green Liberals, the lawyer joined the city parliament two years ago as a non-party member. In summer 2017, she officially changed to the Christian Democratic Party.'Sharp as a whistle'Her pet subjects are accessibility of public transport and day care centres for people with dementia. She is described as persistent, passionate and quite uncompromising.Her voice is strong, and the former lawyer is said to be 'sharp as a whistle'. She keeps fit at the gym. Since her husband died of Parkinson's disease in 2008, Näf-Hofma has de

(PatitucciPhoto) The Alps are full of huts and shelters for farmers and their cows to use in the summer, but in the winter, they can provide welcome respite for skiers as well.Photographer Dan Patitucci captured this shot of a rest stop at a hut while out for a day of skiing."We'd just spent hours skiing around the Lobho Hut in the sun, but had dropped back into the fog during our descent back to Isenfluh," he writes. "Once back in the grey murk, we checked our watches and realized we had plenty of time to head back up for some last sun, and more skiing. These little farmer's sheds make for logical tu-around points because a dry place to sit, even if only for a moment, is always appreciated." Neuer Inhalt Horizontal Line subscription form Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox. swissinfo EN The following content is sourced from exteal partners. We caot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired. Join us on Facebook!

(Keystone) Here are the stories we'll be following the week of February 12, 2018. (Keystone) MondaySwitzerland has generous aid available for victims of crimes, but some groups – namely the Swiss living abroad – get left out. An in-depth look at the issue, and who can benefit from assistance. (swissinfo.ch) TuesdaySwitzerland’s Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises is one of the groups that has come out in favour of the initiative to do away with public media license fees. Yet its members don’t always agree. Two of them debate the issue and whether the fee should be mandatory.Then, a look at how the Geneva-based United Nations has stepped up its game in the world of corporate social responsibility. (Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch) WednesdayHow are disabled children integrated in Swiss schools? We tell the story of one student experiencing the process first-hand. (Keystone) ThursdayWe speak to the man who

The Davos sledge has become a part of Swiss heritage(Adrian Moser) The small wooden sledges were originally intended for transporting goods until a carpenter launched the “Davos sports sledge”. The museum-piece mode of transport has since been a fundamental part of Swiss wintertime and carpenters like Paul Burri are keeping the tradition alive.It gets quite cramped in Paul Burri’s small carpentry workshop in Lohnstorf, canton Be, at the start of winter. Everything is geared towards one thing – sledges. Sawn wooden parts lie ready in one coer. In another, finished sledges are stacked almost up to the ceiling. Outside, the little street where Burri works and lives is covered in snow. It is the same little street that Burri raced down on a sledge with his brothers during his childhood. The local authority’s road patrol used to spray gravel on the hardened snow to make the surface safe. But the Burri boys made themselves a plough to get rid of the speed-curbing grit and carried on sledging. Now, over 50 years later, Burri is the local sledge-maker.It is not just Burri who has childhood memories of sledging. At the first sign of

A cloud of confetti at the start of the Lucee caival on Thursday(Keystone) Almost every article published by swissinfo.ch contains a percentage, an age, an amount of money or some other figure. Here’s a round-up of the most interesting statistics to appear in the past week’s stories. Exteal Content Formatting classes Monday5The number of F/A-18 Hoet fighter jets belonging to the Swiss Air Force that had to be grounded after cracks were discovered.Tuesday40The distance from Earth in lightyears of the star TRAPPIST-1. One of the star’s seven exoplanets is more similar to our planet than any other that has yet been found. Wednesday800,000Swiss telecom company Swisscom revealed that 800,000 of its clients had been victims of a data breach in autumn 2017. “Unknown parties” had got their hands on “non-sensitive” information like names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, it said. Thursday5,300,000Don’t ask who worked this out, but this is the number of bits of confetti which will need to be picked up off the pavements of Lucee following the start of the caival season.F

This content was published on February 10, 2018 11:00 AMFeb 10, 2018 - 11:00 Falconer Ulrich Lüthi spends part of his time with his birds of prey hunting rooks in Swiss towns. swissinfo.ch spent a day watching them in action. Lüthi’s birds sit on the back seat of his car, letting out the occasional high-pitched screech. In the front, a falcon’s hood decorated with feathers swings from the rear-view mirror. On the car’s dashboard, his key ring - a miniature falconer’s glove - gives away his passion and profession.Lüthi, who lives in canton Be, hasn’t had a holiday for at least 15 years. But he’s not unhappy about this.“I have found my path in life,” he declares. Several years ago, scientists welcomed the increase in the number of rooks in Switzerland. But since then, the black birds are viewed more negatively, and their crowing and droppings disturb residents. Rooks are not always scared of humans but they fear birds of prey. City authorities have therefore tued to Lüthi to help hunt the birds.With his birds of prey tucked under his arm, the falconer walks through city streets and parks in search of rooks. Curious passers-by often stop him and thank him fo