Trades will occur on a computer in one of the three countries, but will no longer be identifiably German, French or Swiss.

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The way will then be open for those on the right and - it is worth emphasising - left of health policy who believe the funding model cannot cope, and that a form of social insurance, French, Swiss or German style, is necessary to meet the burgeoning demand for healthcare.

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His new Swiss colleagues may or may not have told him that gerber in French describes what babies do with food that irks them.

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He and his network of French, Swiss, Australian and Russian scientists and explorers organize three or four adventure trips a year, some of them longer than 40 days at a time.

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He seemed to know everyone and could talk to them in English or French, and was familiar with the range of curious dialects known as Swiss-German.

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Business class passengers on El Al Israel Airlines and French carrier Open Skies are given an iPad to watch movies or listen to music, and Swiss regional carrier Skywork uses them for its in-flight customer satisfaction survey.

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