(Keystone) For most of us paradise is a place with plenty of sunshine, coconut trees and endless beaches. But one man left all that to find his own special slice of heaven in Switzerland. Let's block ads! (Why?)

Mar 27, 2016 - 17:00Conrad Gessner’s 16th century masterpiece, Historia animalium, catalogued all the animals that were known at the time. The 500th anniversary of the Swiss scholar's birth is March 26, 2016.The encyclopaedia of more than 1,000 animals in words and pictures came at a time when zoolo...

Mar 26, 2016 - 11:00Switzerland owes its literary archives to the renowned Swiss author and dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990), who bequeathed his legacy to the country on condition that a national literary archive be founded. However, that is only half the story.xa0The idea actually came fr...

Mar 25, 2016 - 12:00It was 50 years ago on March 25 when five exhausted climbers achieved what no one had before – summited the Eiger North Face following the most direct route. The price was high: the ‘direttissima’ claimed the life of team leader John Harlin.The record nowadays for climbing the im...

A Be -based company operating for more than two decades has provided halal certificates to over 200 companies around the world (Keystone) Swiss and European food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic firms must tread carefully if they want to tap the surging $1 trillion global halal market with products that...

Students sit in the atrium of the University of Zurich (Keystone) Debate is raging in Switzerland about whether to raise the country’s still low university fees. But statistics show that with living expenses, the real cost of studying in Switzerland is already comparable with some universities in th...

Thiam was handsomely compensated for leaving Prudential (Keystone) The day after it announced 2,000 more job cuts, Credit Suisse revealed that it paid its newest chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, some CHF4.6 million ($4.7 million) for six months of work last year. Three years on from the Minder initia...

Square meal: a first taste of Choba Choba (Paula Dupraz) A Swiss co-founded initiative aimed at revolutionising cocoa production in Peru is empowering farmers and tu ing them into entrepreneurs. “Let’s bring down the stock market!” one person shouted after the three dozen cocoa producers, assembled ...

Mumbai-based Mayur Desai is looking to deal directly with the biggest watch and jewellery brands (swissinfo.ch) Away from the glitz and glamour of watch model launches by big Swiss brands, precious stones worth millions of dollars exchange hands at the Baselworld watch and jewellery fair. Indian gem...

Mou ing victims at Place de la Bourse in Brussels (Keystone) As Swiss newspapers lament the terrorist attack on the “heart of Europe”, many say the violence in the Belgian capital was not unexpected. The day after explosions at Brussels airport and within its metro system killed more than 30 people ...

Rio Abiseo in northe Peru became one of the latest areas to be recognised by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.xa0 (SERNANP, Peruvian environment ministry) Biosphere reserves are model regions for sustainable development, but there are many obstacle to their creation, as Swiss expert Flavia Schlegel tel...

Thanks to their farmer, Milena and Rahel still have their ho s. (swissinfo.ch) Can one man persuade 100,000 fellow citizens to care whether cows have ho s or not? If the man is as bull-headed as Swiss farmer Armin Capaul, the answer seems to be yes. With his rosy cheeks, reddish-blond moustache and ...

Mar 22, 2016 - 16:28He has played an angel (Wings of Desire), Hitler (Downfall), a grandfather more than once (Heidi and Vitus), a vampire (Nosferatu the Vampyre), a waiter (Bread and Tulips) and many, many other characters. Bruno Ganz, Switzerland’s best-known actor, is celebrating his 75th birthda...

A soldier stands near broken windows after explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels Johann Schneider-Ammann, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has tweeted a message of sympathy to the victims of Tuesday’s explosions at Brussels airport and the underground system. Reports say mor...

In Zurich, a Cuban cigar finds fulfillment (Keystone) Even before US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba this week, Americans travelling to Cuba had gained the ability to bring back up to $400 (CHF389) of Cuban goods – of which only $100 (CHF97) could be their beloved Cuban cigars and ru...

A second blast was reported at a metro station close to European Union buildings (Keystone) Explosions rocked the Brussels airport and the subway system on Tuesday, killing 26 people and injuring over 100, according to reports. Switzerland’s president sent a message of sympathy to the victims of the...

Both improv theatre and scientific research hinge on the same central question: what will happen next? (thecatalyst.ch) When you put an actor in the role of a scientist, you often end up with a bespectacled, jargon-filled eccentric in a lab coat. But what happens when you put a scientist in the role...

Syngenta's seed production R&D center in Beijing. With Europe an increasingly attractive target for Chinese investment, some 70 Swiss brands – including the likes of Syngenta, Mercuria and Swissport – have already been subject to Chinese mergers and acquisitions. That has led to anger and doubt amon...

Mar 21, 2016 - 10:00It is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees – to take for granted the myriad ways in which forests and trees are vital to the world’s health.For this year’s celebration of world forests, the United Nations emphasizes that forests are key to supplies of fresh water, the b...

Here are the stories we will be watching in the week of March 21: (Keystone) Tuesday When you put an actor in the role of a scientist, you often end up with a bespectacled, jargon-filled eccentric in a lab coat. What happens when you put a scientist in the role of an actor? That is the experiment br...