Susan's News

Care drain threatens needy countries

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:19:24 +0000

Experts say incentives are needed to keep health care workers at home (© Medicus Mundi)

Switzerland is facing a dearth of health workers, but nothing like the shortages in developing countries where doctors and nurses have left for better opportunities.

To combat this problem, a coalition of Swiss health and humanitarian organisations has written a manifesto that addresses the worldwide need for properly trained healthcare professionals.

Click here to read the whole story on swissinfo.ch.

Funny English: a positive take on weight gain

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:43:08 +0000

Guaranteed: generous portions

Spotted this sign in Langenthal, canton Bern, while looking for a place to eat. Decided this sounded more filling than a pizza! The waitress said that loosely translated,”Winn Fat” meant prosperity. We left with pleasantly full bellies plus leftovers.

Swiss Federal Railways targets fare dodgers

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:02:26 +0000

Passengers can no longer buy tickets onboard. © Foto SBB

For Swiss Federal Railways, the new year has already begun. In addition to introducing new timetables on December 11, it has stopped selling tickets on board. This policy translates into hefty fines for passengers who fail to buy their tickets prior to boarding – either because they forgot or because they were in too much of a hurry.

Read the whole story here.

Doctors say weak students get too much therapy

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:23:04 +0000

Attentive in an Alabama classroom in 1936 (Marion Post Wolcott)

More than half of Swiss schoolchildren are undergoing some sort of therapy in an effort to solve learning problems. That is far too many, according to the authors of a recently-published book on children with learning difficulties. They say that parents, teachers and doctors have unrealistic expectations of children.

Solothurn pediatrician Thomas Baumann and Zug pediatrician and youth psychiatrist Romedius Alber have written a 285-page book aimed at health professionals. Their goal is to reduce the numbers of children in therapy that might well be unnecessary.

Read the whole story here on swissinfo.ch.

Towering over Switzerland – the high-rise trend

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:03:52 +0000

Prime property in Zurich (© Prime Tower Zurich)

As the grand opening of Prime Tower in Zurich nears, it seems that skyscrapers are gaining acceptance in the Swiss landscape.

At 126 metres tall, Prime Tower is the highest building in Switzerland – followed by Basel’s 105-metre Exhibition Tower in Basel, which was built from 2001-2003.

Towers are “trendy”, observes Christian Zimmermann, head of undergraduate studies at Lucerne University’s school of architecture.

“There was a time when people vehemently rejected them – saying they weren’t good for a city’s image or its residents – but suddenly people are thinking of making a big investment in something that really stands out,” Zimmermann told swissinfo.ch.

Click here to read the whole story.

This one’s for the animals

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 19:53:51 +0000

: My cat Buddy — adopted at an animal shelter

I dedicated a recent swissinfo.ch podcast to the animal kingdom; click here to listen to it.

The language of laughter

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:00:29 +0000

A Funny Laundry audience, photo by Julie Collins

Over the past 100 years, English has steadily been creeping into the mouths and minds of people all over Europe. Within Switzerland, the ascension of the English-language can especially be seen in the amount of Anglo theatre and stand-up comedy on offer, and its continued popularity.

Click here to read my whole story in Swiss News magazine.

Swiss press voices hope and fear over Libya

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:23:04 +0000

Moammar Gaddafi, photo by James (Jim) Gordon of New York

Swiss newspapers have been cheering what appears to be the imminent fall of the Gaddafi regime in Libya.

At the same time they have voiced concern over how the nation will move forward after four decades under the control of Moammar Gaddafi and his clan. Gaddafi’s location – as well as his intentions – remain unclear.

You can read the whole press review here as part of swissinfo.ch’s Arab Spring special: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/specials/the_arab_spring/Press_voices_hope_and_fear_over_Libya.html?cid=30966798

Switzerland “not facing an asylum crisis”

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:53:01 +0000

A 2007 Swiss People's Party billboard calling for the expulsion of foreign criminals -- altered to criticize its racist tone. Today, some people are anxious about large numbers of north African refugees, even if they're looking for work and not trouble.

Despite an increase in the number of people seeking asylum in Switzerland this year, there is no crisis, say experts.

So far, more than 8,000 people have come in 2011. In May there were 2,254 applications, many of them from North Africa, according to the Federal Migration Office.

Click here to read the whole story: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Switzerland_not_facing_asylum_crisis.html?cid=30565396

A chat with Krokus founder Chris von Rohr

Susan Vogel-Misicka — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:01:59 +0000

: Chris von Rohr of the rock band Krokus

I recently had the chance to visit Krokus founder and bass player Chris von Rohr in Solothurn, Switzerland. We chatted about the band’s history as well as von Rohr’s plans for the next few years.

You can listen to my audio feature on swissinfo.ch — but make sure you’re comfortable because it’s 17 minutes long!