Record number of passengers keeps Swiss Federal Railways in profit
Despite its loss-making cargo division, Swiss Federal Railways made a CHF80 million profit last year overall. There were more passengers than ever before and turnover was at CHF7.7 billion. There was also a record amount of freight carried, although the sector had a 190 million franc loss. Meanwhile, striking cargo division workers in Ticino are being urged to return to work, following a meeting of transport experts in the Senate. Members of the Senate transport committee called on the strikers to end their protest over the 400 planned job cuts to prevent further damage to the country’s economy.
ETA funds frozen in Switzerland
Switzerland has frozen almost CHF5 million linked to the Basque separatist organisation, ETA. The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office says the police money-laundering unit received a tip off from an unnamed bank back in 2006. Authorities here have since asked Spain to take over the two cases being investigated and the funds remain blocked. ETA has killed more than 800 people in four decades in its fight for independence for the Basque Country in northern Spain and southern France.
Iraqi reliefs exhibited in Zurich
Sixteen Iraqi reliefs which are around 2,800 years old are going on display in Zurich. The sculptures used to adorn royal palaces on the banks of the Tigris, in what is now northern Iraq. Several alabaster reliefs are being brought to Zurich University from Germany, while the others were donated to the uni in 1914 by the director of a Swiss export company.
Taxi driver behind bars for dealing in cocaine
A taxi driver is behind bars after being found guilty of drug dealing. The 60-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Lugano, in the canton of Ticino. The court heard that the taxi driver made 168 trips all over Switzerland to deliver more than 20 kilos of cocaine. His defence said that he had been forced into making the deliveries by some of his customers and because he was in dire financial straits. His arrest was part of Operation Kilimanjaro last summer, in which 18 people were arrested all over Switzerland for dealing in cocaine.
Centre to help professional women opens its doors in Lausanne
A centre to help women set up their own businesses and make the most of their professional lives has opened its doors in Lausanne. The idea for the centre, called CarriElles , comes from the Pact Association, which gives women advice on how to return to the workplace after a career break.If the centre is a success, others will be set up throughout French-speaking Switzerland. For more information go to www.pacte.ch
