Topic: Switzerland

Featured

Meet the nine richest self-made women

Forbes has released its annual billionaires list, and nestled among the usual suspects were women who have made or helped make their own fortunes, in industries ranging from television to real estate to clothing. These are the nine richest self-made women on Forbes 2013 Billionaires List.

All Content

'Seeing' with sound: There's an app for that

A team of researchers have developed an algorithm that can map a room based on acoustic echoes, essentially using echolocation like a bat.
In first trip abroad, Chinese premier visits India

In an effort to expand economic cooperation and resolve a border dispute, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in India Sunday, his first trip abroad since taking office in March.
With conservative Islamists in power, blasphemy cases surge in Egypt

Accusations of blasphemy, a criminal offense under Egypt's new Islamist-backed constitution, have been leveled more frequently against writers, activists, and Christians in recent months.
Stash your cash in Switzerland? US and Europe push to make it harder.

A Spanish court ruling and investigations spurred by whistleblowers are aimed at scaring tax evaders and raising revenue. One watchdog's list could lead to some 300 billion euros in tax havens.
Star Spanish architect's work draws praise - and costly repairs

Santiago Calatrava's flowing, modernist projects are tourist attractions all over the world. But several have also been subjects of legal dispute over their need for repairs.
Stefan Karlsson Germany's declining population gets sudden immigration boost

Immigration to low unemployment Germany surged to 369,000 last year, with the influx from southern European nations on the rise.
Global News Blog Arrests in Belgian diamond heist are a jeweler's best friend (+video)

Police arrested 31 people in three countries in a Europe-wide manhunt, after $50 million in uncut gems were stolen at the Brussels airport in February. Jewelers in Belgium are sighing in relief.
Color schemes – imported from the Caucasus?

The 'all of the above' identities of the Boston bombing suspects illustrate the conflation of 'color' and religion.
Modern Parenthood Banned baby names: New Zealand struggles with what's in a name - as do we

Banned baby names were announced in New Zealand today: among them 'V8' and "Number 16 bus shelter." Oh, and there will be no 'Justice' there, either, as our mom who named four kids talks about the struggle to be unique but not cruel.
San Diego 2024 Olympics in Tijuana? How a cross-border Games could work.

San Diego 2024 Olympics boosters have included events in Tijuana, Mexico, as a selling point. The USOC is reaching out to potential bid cities, and a cross-border Olympics would be a first.
Global News Blog Switzerland shuts the door on EU migrants: A new 'us vs. them' in Europe?

News that Switzerland is capping residence permits for Western Europeans reached the Monitor's Europe bureau chief as she was having her own intolerable immigration experience.
Italians move northward to trade 'la dolce vita' for 'das süsse Leben'

Italian emigration jumped 30 percent from 2011 to 2012, with Germany and Switzerland the most popular destination for Italians looking for work.
The Monitor's View Alternative currencies like bitcoin are a mirror of their users

The e-currency bitcoin spiked and then fell last week, sowing doubts about alternative currencies, whether on the Internet or in local communities. Such experiments need a firm basis of trust.
Redoine Faid's brazen escape and other notorious prison breaks

Redoine Faid escapes: It wasn't the first time that Faid, an armed robber being held in the death of a police officer, had gone on the lam. Here are a few other notorious prison escapes.
Leonhard Euler, his famous formula, and why he's so revered (+video)

Google celebrates the birthday of Leonhard Euler, a Swiss mathematician recognized for popularizing much of modern math terminology and notation, as well as famous contributions to calculus and astronomy.
Lawmaker drops bombshell: North Korea may have nuclear missiles

An unclassified Pentagon report not yet released to the public suggests that North Korea can arm missiles with nuclear warheads, a lawmaker revealed Thursday.
Shroud of Turin authenticity up for debate again after new report (+video)

Scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have used infrared light and spectroscopy (the study of a physical object's interaction with electromagnetic radiation) to examine the shroud and found that it's actually much older than a previous study found.
Louis Agassiz: Creator of American Science

A new biography sheds light on some of the 'undelightful' aspects of the life and work of eminent Swiss zoologist, glaciologist, and paleontologist Louis Agassiz.
'God Particle': Six big consequences of the Higgs boson discovery

'God Particle': Physicists announced Thursday that they have confirmed the existence of the so-called God Particle – a term disliked by physicists and theologians alike. Here are six of the biggest consequences of this discovery.
Scientists confirm Higgs boson discovery

The particle detected last July by CERN's Large Hadron Collider is indeed the elusive Higgs boson, say researchers. The discovery completes the Standard Model of particle physics and could help predict the ultimate fate of the universe.
Iran plans to sue makers of 'Argo': Could lawsuit succeed?

Iran's wants to sue the makers of 'Argo,' the Oscar-winning film about the 1979 hostage crisis. But legal experts say Iran will have a hard time finding any legitimate court to take the case.
Exporting Grandma? Some German elderly head abroad for nursing care

Long-term nursing insurance is a pillar the German welfare model, but the system is increasingly stressed by the aging population – leading some elderly to go to other EU countries for care.
What is International Women’s Day? (+video)

Google celebrates International Women’s Day with a doodle of women from around the world. Many will honor advancements for women’s rights Friday, but how familiar are people with its history?
Meet the nine richest self-made women

Forbes has released its annual billionaires list, and nestled among the usual suspects were women who have made or helped make their own fortunes, in industries ranging from television to real estate to clothing. These are the nine richest self-made women on Forbes 2013 Billionaires List.
No more big banker bonuses? Europe set to crack down.

Europe's financial ministers are expected to approve new rules today that would cap bankers' bonuses at two years' salary – a move unthinkable in the years before the Lehman collapse.