Protests, Swiss skiers, Anti-aging apples

Controversy continues about the Swiss ban on minarets with up to 8,000 people in the French-speaking part of Switzerland protesting the recent referendum vote.

This past week a march in Lausanne attracted up to 5,000 supporters, while a demonstration in Geneva was attended by more than 2,000 people, with smaller protests taking place in other towns. In Lausanne the crowd marched from the cathedral to the mosque shouting "no to exclusion" and "no to discrimination".

In front of the mosque, representatives of the Muslim community thanked the four cantons – Geneva , Vaud and Neuchâtel and here in Baselstadt – which voted against the minaret ban. "You warmed our hearts," they said.

The protests were organized by the Movement Against Racism with support from the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities.

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Swiss skiers are off to a strong start this season.  Historically, Switzerland has been one of the world’s great ski powers, but recent years have not been so good.  This year may, however, be different with the Swiss mens’ team won big at the World Cup in North America .

Switzerland 's Carlo Janka, just 23 years old, won all three of his races -- a super combined, downhill and giant slalom -- and leads the World Cup overall standings. His 35-year-old teammate, Didier Cuche, is second in the standings while Austria 's Benjamin Raich, who won the overall in 2006, is a distant third.

Janka has three wins so far this season and Cuche has two. At least for now, it's good to be Swiss, taking great momentum into the European schedule.

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And finally…..a rare Swiss apple is being hailed in the cosmetic and fashion world as a possible anti-aging breakthrough.

The Uttwiler Spätlauber apple has long been known for its excellent storability – staying fresh looking for up to four months after harvesting. Now Swiss scientists are trying to bring the apple’s ingredients to the fight against human skin aging. 

Having concluded that the apple’s amazing longevity is due to its stem cells, Mibelle Biochemistry, which is a division of Migros, is developing the apple’s ingredients into a cream for humans.  As skin ages, the number of skin stem cells decreases and their ability to repair the skin becomes less efficient.  Stem cells from the Uttwiler Spätlauber apple are thought to protect skin cell regeneration and, in the process, delay the onset of wrinkles. 

While this may sound fanciful, this technology is attracting lots of attention. There is no word on when this will be available broadly but stayed tuned for more on this from the English Show.