Word: switzerland
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Geneva is a world diplomatic capital not only because of its beauty and its convenience but also because of its unique traditions and style. It is dedicated to neutrality, like the rest of Switzerland, and yet it is not at all like the rest of Switzerland. It was the last territory to become a canton of the Swiss Confederation, in 1815, after centuries of independence. Its patriotic holiday, known as the Escalade, commemorates the December night in 1602 when an old woman roused and saved the sleeping city by throwing a pot of soup at the invading troops...
Geneva lost its independence to the French Revolution. France, which almost completely surrounds the city, annexed it in 1798, but after the fall of Napoleon it finally became the 22nd canton of Switzerland. By then it was just a peaceful backwater. Franz Liszt came here after eloping with the Countess d'Agoult, and he composed a piano piece inspired by the city's church bells. "Happy is he who can stay long by these shores," wrote another aristocratic visitor, Lord Byron...
Gilbert stepped down from his post as chairman and chief operating officer at Biogen Corporation--a Switzerland based biotechnology firm which he helped found in 1979--last December, and since then has declined to publicly state what his future plans...
...Boston institution's misstep came to light when the bank pleaded guilty to a felony charge--failing to report huge cash shipments to nine foreign banks, primarily three in Switzerland. The Internal Revenue Service requires U.S. banks to file a report any time they make a cash transaction of $10,000 with an individual, company or foreign institution. Federal prosecutors say that during the past four years, First National received $529 million, mainly in small bills (weight: at least 20 tons), and sent out $690 million in bills generally of $100 or more...
...fear that the strong dollar will force the U.S. to close its markets to foreign products. Says Aldo Palmeri, managing director of Italy's Benetton Textile group: "Our overseas exports are increasing by 100% a year, but before long American industry will be demanding restrictive measures against imports." Concurs Switzerland's Fritz Leutwiler, former president of the Bank for International Settlements: "We should be very concerned about the high dollar pushing protectionism in the United States...