GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Michel Chevrolet, the 39-year-old Geneva politician who was found dead in his Rives apartment 24 April, died of natural causes, Geneva’s public attorney said Thursday 26 April in a statement. There will be no criminal investigation into his death as a result, although additional medical tests are underway, says the judicial office. The autopsy results will not be known for several weeks.
Le Matin and sister newspaper La Tribune de Geneve report, without citing the source, that he had recently had a battery of medical tests in preparation for a heart bypass scheduled for June, but that the tests did not reveal any major problems.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Bank and gas station robberies have become more frequent in western Switzerland in recent months, and police have stepped up efforts to catch them.
Canton Valais’s operation Cobra bore fruit early Wednesday 25 April after a night-long mountain forest manhunt near the resort of Crans-Montana, with a dragnet that involved 200 police officers, a heat-seeking Puma helicopter and police dog teams.
The Savièse branch of UBS bank was robbed at 14:00 Tuesday by two men who threatened the manager with handguns. The two drove off, leaving the manager unharmed, and operation Cobra went into effect as soon as the alarm was sounded.
The car carrying the two men was stopped by a police barricade between the villages of Ayent and Icogne, at a bridge over the Lienne river, which comes down a canyon banked by steep forests on each side. The pair stopped their car and tried to flee. One of the men was caught and the money from the hold-up was recovered in the car.
The other man fled into the forest and a dragnet was set up in the area. Local residents were warned to lock their doors and cars in case the fugitive tried to find shelter or steal a car. Police combed the area and the Puma, which uses infra-red to detect the heat of bodies, scoured the forest from the air.
At 07:00 Wednesday morning a Mercedes 350 with a man and a woman inside was stopped by police as it entered the dragnet area. The man was the fugitive and the couple had spent the night at a chalet they’d rented in Icogne. Police then found a third car used by the trio, parked in nearby Grimisuat, for use after the car in which the robbers fled the bank, part of a scheme designed to throw off pursuers.
Cobra also involved police in neighbouring cantons put on alert, with police dog teams from Vaud on standby to be called in if necessary.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The tickets for Paleo Music Festival came and went in no time Wednesday, after sales opened, and by evening the six days of concerts were sold out.
The Nyon festival, one of Europe’s most popular summer outdoor festivals, will welcome 230,000 music fans from 17 to 22 July. The festival has 210 concerts and more than 200 stalls.
Paleo reserves 1,500 tickets a day that it sells the day of the concerts, starting at 009:00 daily during the festival, online and at Ticketcorner outlets.
It also organizes an online ticket market where people can buy and sell tickets “at a fair price”, to fight black market sales.
Tickets are not sold at the Festival ticket offices.
A fire in early April in Sierre in a private parking lot caused extensive damage to 28 cars and a building, one of scores of fires since the start of the year
SION, SWITZERLAND – A man in his 20′s who is a member of the fire brigade in Sierre, canton Valais, is in jail after he admitted to setting a number of fires, mainly in the town.
Police, with the cooperation of the fire department’s leaders, decided to take DNA samples from firefighters, on a voluntary basis after 28 cases of suspected arson in the first three months of this year.
The young man, who was under suspicion of setting the fires, refused the tests.
When questioned, he admitted to all the fires set in basements, cellars, and outbuildings but not to those in football stands.
The police investigation is continuing.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Police are investigating the death of politician and former local media figure Michel Chevrolet, age 39, at his home Tuesday 24 April. The city of Geneva issued a statement noting that he died “suddenly” and a number of politicians have issued statements noting their shock at the death of one of the city’s most dynamic young politicians. Police have issued no details and early media reports that implied the possibility of foul play have been toned down. (Correction: please note that our own translation of “brutalement” as “brutally” was most likely a misinterpretation; under the circumstances “sudden” is probably a more accurate translation)
Chevrolet, a member of the PDC, was born in Argentina, but grew up mainly in Geneva, where he became involved in politics at an early age. He came to local fame as the editor-in-chief at radio station Leman Bleu and later at One FM, before creating a communications agency, comChevrolet.
The municipal councilor’s campaign for a seat on the administrative council in February 2011 was characterized at the time by TSR public TV as “American” and he was described Tuesday by more than one politician, in several local media, as very warm and outgoing.
The Tribune de Geneve cites friends who say he was busy planning two trips abroad and had invited numerous people to a grand gala in May to celebrate the expansion of his communications agency and the recent purchase of a magazine. “Michel was someone who lived at 200 kph,” the Tribune quotes Green Party national councilor and fellow Argentinian Antonio Hodgers as saying.
For his 2011 campaign Chevrolet created a Lip Dub about Geneva, a city he defended passionately.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss woman kidnapped last week in Timbukto, Mali was released “into the custody of a representative of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) by the group holding her,” Bern announced Tuesday evening 24 April. She has been taken to a safe place and is “is reported to be in good health considering the circumstances” the FDFA said, noting that “In view of the need to protect the privacy of the person concerned, no further details can be given.”
The woman, who lives in Mali, was taken when rebels overran the area.
A military junta overthrew the government in March, and rebels in the north of the country have recently taken advantage of the situation to stake out their own territory.
A family no matter which name they choose
BERN, SWITZERLAND – All is supposed to be fair in love and war, but Swiss law covering keeping your name or changing it when you marry has not treated men and women equally.
This will change 1 January 2013, when married couples and homosexual couples will have more options.
The changes passed by parliament in September 2011 also cover the names of children, so it extends to unmarried couples with children.
Bern’s announcement of the change states: “Marriage in theory no longer has an impact on the name of the members of a couple nor any obligation to change these. Each of them keeps his or her own name and the right to maintain it. An engaged couple may, however, announce that they intend to use the name of either one as the single family name. The same option is available to same-sex couples who have registered their partnership.”
A partner who changed his or her name upon marriage under the current law and who wishes to change it back to the pre-marriage name may, at any time, tell the civil authorities that he or she wants to make the change.
Same-sex couples who registered their partnership before the change in the law have one year to declare the pre-partnership name they want to share.
The changes include:
- Children of married parents take either the single shared family name or, if the parents have different names, the pre-marriage name that the parents choose as a family name when they marry
- If the parents are not married, the child carries the mother’s name
- If the parents have shared custody, they may opt for the child to have the father’s name; they have one year to officially declare this
- In the case of unmarried parents with joint custody the parents have one year to give the child the father’s name, but once a child is 12, the child’s agreement is needed to make any name change.
Finals are just 2 weeks away and Valais’s finest Alpine cows show their stuff in Mollens arena
Tete-a-tete, Swiss fighting cows
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – You know spring is here when Swiss cows begin to fight (tourism office schedule) and the crowds stream in from all corners of the country to watch them.
Cool weather at 900 metres in Mollens, canton Valais and 30 titles to be won Sunday 22 April brought out 4,000 spectators for a tradition that is as popular as it is unusual in the animal world.
Spring comes slowly to the alps, the splendid pastures high above the Rhone River where lucky Swiss cows get to spend their summers, but the girls don’t take the wait lying down.
This is the season when many of the cows get pregnant, and as hormones kick in, snow melts and the air starts to smell of fresh grass, the herds look for their leaders.
These are the cows that are smarter, tougher and like a good challenge. The short legs on the Val d’Herens breed of small (relatively) black cows are particularly good for maneuvering steep Alpine slopes.
The cows don’t need encouragement from humans: left alone, they fight in the fields to determine the hierarchy of the troop.
Wander through canton Valais during the next six weeks and you’re likely to see a black cow start pawing the dirt and eying her buddies to see which one is up for a good tussle, then the cowbells suddenly clang like mad while they leap into action.
Yes, these are cows. No, they are not bulls!
700+ kilo of pure cow pushing, head to head, Swiss fighting cows
The crowds love it. A cow that walks away from a fight is promptly eliminated. It might happen in a first round, when her mettle isn’t up, or after three rounds, when she’s had enough and wants to go back and graze peacefully.
These are not mean or vicious cows and they tend to have particularly warm ties to people, so they get a loving nose rub at the end of the match and the crowd cheers its appreciation.
The cows all have names. The dirt is raised as they leap and push, but you’ll hear someone cheering on a young cow called Gazelle.
By mid-June she’ll be heading up from her winter home on the plains to pastures at anywhere from 1,200 to 2,200 metres, sometimes higher.
She will eat fresh grass and flowers and provide the milk that makes Switzerland’s famous Raclette cheeses. These vary in taste depending on the pasture, much as wines vary depending on their terroir.
The cows fight in different weight categories and, as in sports, they are led off for drug control tests the day of the fights.
Down to the finish!
The big winner in every sense in Mollens Sunday is one of the canton’s heavyweights, Furibonde from Nax, age 8, who weighed in at 769kg. The finalists: Chips, Manila, Darwin, Rite and Calin.
The finals are 5-6 May in Aproz, when the Queen of the Cows is crowned, a title worth a few thousand francs to her owner.
Short video of a quick win
And here is a view of what it’s like when they let a group into the arena, as the eliminations get started
Lake Geneva region has no shortage of things to keep you happy this weekend despite mixed weather
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The weather forecast for the Lake Geneva region, and for the rest of Switzerland, is mixed, with lows of 5C and highs of 12-13C for the next three days, and rain alternating with some sunshine. Take an umbrella if you’re going out. Better yet, take advantage of the many events going on indoors in the region. Top of the pick:
Area gardens are coming to life
Lakeside villages (here, St Prex, canton Vaud) have lovely little gardens tucked away, so if the sun does come out, take a walk!
Schilliger Garden Centre in Gland is presenting its Jardins du Monde, a series of specially designed theme gardens that take you from the tropics to the Alps.
They are beautiful to walk through but even better for avid gardeners because a series of how-to sessions are organized for Saturday (08:00-18:00) and Sunday (09:00-17:00).
A bonus is that the center’s enormous hothouse is open to the public this weekend.
Schilliger grows most of its own plants, rather than importing them other climate areas and the greenhouse is a treasure chest worth viewing.
Check ahead for times of guided tours.
Morges Tulip Festival
The annual month-long tulip festival at the Parc de l’Independence in Morges is underway, and it has warmed up enough for the flowers to stand tall. This is a must-see for gardeners and anyone with visiting grannies or small children. A beautiful park, dressed to the nines for spring, on the lakefront in the city centre.
Cinema, a tried and true way to beat the rain
Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon
Nyon is growing in stature in part because of its documentary film festival, Visions du Réel, which kicks off officially Friday night 20 April and runs until 27 April.
The programme is a rich mix, in terms of style and cultures.
The shows are popular, entrance CHF15 or CHF35 for a daily card, with special rates if you want to go all week.
Arvinis, the wine season opener
The new 2011 vintages are out, although some are not yet even bottled, but they are available for sampling this weekend at Arvinis. The wine fair that opens the tasting season attracts some 20,000 people a year and the first two nights showed this year is no exception.
Arvinis runs from 18-23 April and offers wine-lovers 230 stands. The system is simple: you pay CHF30 to enter, are given a glass and you are free to wander around and try what you like. Don’t lose your glass!
Tips from GenevaLunch to make it an enjoyable learning experience
Visiting the Swiss Wine Promotion stand
Gewurtztraminer from Henri Cruchon, a top Morges producer
The guest of honour this year is Swiss Wine Promotion, which has a stand for each of the country’s six wine regions. These wines are to the left, shortly after the entrance.
Ed. note: visit EllensWineWorld on Facebook for wine notes for 25 white wines sampled at Arvinis (currently adding them), including several from the guest of honour; a series of tasting notes for red wines will be published Saturday.
Plan ahead and check the list of wine producers and other exhibitors, then match the ones you want to visit against the map of the stands.
There is still space at some of the special events, which vary in price and length. GenevaLunch editor and Swiss wine specialist Ellen Wallace is giving a class Friday evening, Introduction to wine-tasting, in English (2 spaces left as we publish).
For first-tme visitors, here is a mini-guide to Arvinis:
Transport, parking: Take public transport, to avoid drink/driving problems, but also because there is little parking next to Arvinis. The large public parking area at the entrance to Morges, coming from Geneva, is the best place to leave your car if you do drive.
Fee, tasting glass: CHF30, Visa, Masters credit cards accepted and PostFinance card
Hours: Open from 11:00 Saturday and Sunday, from 16:00 Monday, closes at 22:00 every evening except Sunday, 20:00
Children, animals: Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. No animals allowed.
Ordering wine: This is a commercial wine fair and producers will happily take your orders for delivery later. Many of them ship via the post office, at little or no cost depending on quantity. But the main goal of wine producers at Arvinis is to introduce their wines to you and help you learn about them.
Feel free to ask as many questions as you like and don’t be afraid to show that you’re not an expert.
For those whose French is weak, this is the perfect opportunity to perfect it, but a number of the wine producers speak English – just ask!
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 40-year-old Kosovo man who lives in Geneva was arrested by police 19 April for the murder of a 78-year-old man in Carouge 10 April. The man, who was picked up after he returned from a brief trip abroad, has confessed to the crime. The victim was found in his apartment with his throat cut.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The 53-year-old father who killed his teenage daughter in Zurich 10 May 2010 with a hatchet has been given 17 years in prison for the murder. He and his wife, immigrants from Pakistan, had been called to a police station after their daughter was caught for theft. When the parents returned home the girl was packing, saying she was leaving the family home and would support herself through prostitution if necessary, according to court records.
The father then attacked his daughter with an axe. His lawyer pleaded a crime of passion and asked for under four years, but the prosecution argued for 20 years for assassination.
Tax filing day has different implications for Americans abroad
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – This is the day when Americans back home are scrambling to get their tax forms to the IRS, but outside the US the difficulty of remaining tax compliant is leading a growing number of citizens to hand in their passports: on average, 7 Americans a day took the oath to stop being a US citizen in 2011.
For many of them, and this writer is one, 18 April offers a reminder of sorrow, not to be part of the nation one grew up believing in, but also relief that a major burden, often perceived as unjust, is gone.
“I’m just really relieved now”, says one former US citizen, who was grappling with the impact on pension money that could have been taxed twice, by the US and by the country of residence because their retirement fund laws differ.
The number of renunciations of citizenship (called “loss of citizenship” by the US Department of State) rose to 1,780 in 2011, the highest number ever. It is well up from the 235 figure for 2008, although overall the numbers have been steadily climbing since the US Department of Treasury began publishing them in 1998. Names of anyone who renounces and whose name is provided to the Treasury by the US Department of State are listed in the Federal Register.
Several people who have renounced have told US overseas citizen groups that their names have not appeared, so accurate figures are hard to come by.
US citizens subject to double taxation: issue is not money owed but compliance burden
How many are related to tax issues? Impossible to say, since the oath taken by those who renounce makes it clear that if you do so for tax reasons the renunciation can be considered invalid. Few ex-US citizens will therefore openly say taxes were the reason.
One person who gave up a US passport said that at the “cut-and-dried, impersonal” interview at a US embassy the explanation given was simply that it has become too complicated to become an American citizen abroad, and the official nodded, having clearly heard this before. “Few dare to go into much detail.”
The issue as reported by US media often implies that Americans outside the US are avoiding paying taxes, with little understanding or awareness that the US is the only government of a sizable country to tax its citizens who live abroad and pay taxes in their country of residence.
GenevaLunch in the past year has talked to a number of former US citizens who say they owed no tax to the US, they paid their taxes regularly in their country of residence, but the US tax obligations had simply become too heavy, too unmanageable.
US citizens cannot renounce unless they already have a second nationality
The numbers are very low compared to the number of new US citizens every year, and as a percentage of the 5 to 7 million US citizens living abroad, but a key factor in renouncing US citizenship is that the person must already hold another nationality; international law does not allow a person to become stateless. Acquiring another nationality is often a long, slow process.
One ex-citizen notes that Americans abroad fall into two groups, those who are overseas for relatively short periods, often not learning the language of the place and sending their children to international schools. A second group stays longer, marries someone of another nationality, has dual nationality children, becomes fluent in the language and the culture of the new home. And pays taxes in the new country, buys into the pension and housing systems.
Awareness, for many in this second group, of new US tax and citizenship obligations began to surface only in about 2009, although some of the requirements, such as the FBAR, date back to post-911 anti-terrorism legislation and new rules, about which little information circulated publicly for several years.
The non-compliant group is a time bomb ticking
No one has figures on the number of Americans abroad who are not up to date on filing US taxes, but estimates are high. This is a group who will rarely speak openly, but several have spoken to GenevaLunch in the past year, usually after asking for first-hand information about what renouncing citizenship involves. Most say they stopped filing because it was too complicated and expensive, requiring specialist tax advisors even to declare no taxable income. They would like to file back taxes, but it is simply too complicated.
Given that renunciation involves promising to fulfill IRS obligations, they are afraid to move ahead on renunciation.
The FBAR, which is anti-terrorism rather than tax legislation, requires Americans to disclose financial assets over $10,000 (on any given day of the year), to which they have signatory power. This includes joint accounts and for Americans married to non-US citizens this rule alone often creates uncomfortable situations, which become far more so in the case of divorce.
One young man told GenevaLunch he would have serious reservations about marrying an American woman now that he sees what is involved.
Three couples married for more than 25 years have told GenevaLunch they took the drastic steps of closing down all joint accounts, including mortgages, to separate their finances and allow the American spouse to continue filing while protecting the other spouse’s pension and pre-marriage assets. Others have told GenevaLunch that being pulled in two directions led to or contributed to divorces.
At least a dozen people have said their almost-adult children consider a US passport a burden rather than a privilege and they intend to renounce before they starting earning money.
Meanwhile, banks in Switzerland and, with a time lag, in other countries are refusing to provide basic banking services to Americans due to soon to be implemented Fat legislation. Fatca will require foreign banks to report to the US government any assets and income of US citizens.
Passport legislation now in Congress could force people’s hands
The latest unnerving information making the rounds in the long-term overseas American community is that passport renewal may be linked to tax compliance. A law moving through Congress would give US officials the right to not issue new passports to those who are not up to date on taxes, but to stop Americans from traveling if they are suspected of being in arrears.
There is a precedent, reports The Atlantic in a 17 April article: a parent who is behind on child support payments can be stopped from leaving the country if a tax lien exists.
Lausanne meeting will benefit from recently published media and government information on changes
The growing complexity of tax compliance rules for US citizens abroad will top the agenda for the fourth of five American Town Hall meetings in Switzerland, Wednesday night 18 April in Lausanne. The meetings are jointly organized by the US Embassy in Bern, American Citizens Abroad and the Democrat and Republican parties abroad.
Questions about giving up citizenship are likely to be raised as well. These have come up at other Town Hall meetings, but now with increasing media attention in the US leading to greater awareness of the obligations and related difficulties for Americans abroad, “quiet” Americans abroad are getting noisier.
Related articles
- The Atlantic,“No Taxes, No Travel: Why the IRS Wants the Right to Seize Your Passport”, 17 April 2012
- The Economist, “Guides through the swamp, A big shake-up for America’s tax-preparation industry”, 12 March 2012
- The New York Times, “For Americans Abroad, Taxes Just Got More Complicated”, 17 April 2012
- Reuters, “Tax time pushes some Americans to take a hike”, 17 April 2012
- Isaac Brock Society, very active blog in Canada for US citizens abroad
Big names don’t disappoint: Noel Gallagher, Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Tony Bennett, Bobby Womack, Jane Birken
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – This wasn’t the plan, but the Montreux Jazz Festival has unveiled its music programme, just hours after Paleo, its lively younger cousin, posted its programme 17 April.
A terse message arrived in journalists’ mailboxes Tuesday evening 17 April, stating that the programme is being published: “Following an indiscretion by a Swiss media, which published some information it received from one of its readers – despite an embargo imposed by the Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF) – the programme for the 46th edition of the Festival was partially revealed on its German language site, two days before the official announcement.”
The headline names offer the usual rich selection, and newer musicians provide a rich and eclectic mix for the festival that runs from 29 June to 13 July. Tickets for two hugely popular artists have already been on sale: Noel Gallagher and his new project “Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds”
and one of Germany’s biggest names, Herbert Grönemeyer.
Tickets for the rest of the programme go on sale Friday 20 April at 10:00 and all information will be available on the website Wednesday April 18 at 14:00, montreuxjazzfestival.com.
Val d'Anniviers, above St Luc, avalanche that took the life of a 45-year-old Dutch skier 17 April
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 45-year-old Dutch man who lives in The Netherlands died in an avalanche Tuesday 17 April in canton Valais.
He and another person were ski touring in the Val d’Anniviers when they were caught by the avalanche at 12:40. The other skier managed to get free and call for help but the Dutch man was buried under snow and died from his injuries.
The two had left St Luc for the Vijivi Pass. The avalanche was set off as they came back down, at about 2,900 metres.
Shirin Omar, who speaks only Arabic, has been missing with her two young daughters for more than 2 weeks
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Sirin Omar, age 27, and her two daughters Sara, 3 and Nora, 6, have been missing since Saturday 31 March from the Lausanne centre for asylum seekers in Crissier.
The mother, who speaks only Arabic, suffers from psychological problems, say Vaud police.
Her husband waited for their return before contacting police Friday 13 April to report them missing.
The mother is 175cm tall, average build with medium-length dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a 3/4-length black coat and jeans when last seen.
Nora is 115cm tall and was wearing a dark red coat and jeans.
Sara is 100cm tall and was wearing a pink coat and jeans.
Anyone who thinks they have seen the woman and two girls or who has had contact with them is asked to contact the nearest police station or to phone Vaud police at 021 644 4444.
Nora, age 6, missing since 31 March with her mother and sister
Sara, age 3, missing with her sister and mother
Tickets go on sale Wednesday 25 April – expect a mad rush
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The programme for the Paleo Music Festival in Nyon was published Tuesday 17 April.
Headlining the programme: Sting, The Cure, Lenny Kravitz, David Guetta, Manu Chao, Justice, Garbage, Franz Ferdinand, Stephan Eicher, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Roger Hodgson, Bloc Party, The Kills, Bon Iver, M83, H.-F. Thiéfaine, Camille, The Kooks, Groundation, Kurt Vile, Warpaint, Other Lives, Miles Kanes, OrelSan, 1995, Chinese Man.
Some 230,000 music-lovers are expected to show up for the six-day frenzy of great music that ranges from rock to folk and French and world music.
Tickets go on sale 25 April at www.paleo.ch and at a number of sales points.
The full programme, ticket information and details about the 210 concerts on six stages and the 200 stands is at paleo.ch.
Programme, status 17 April 2012 (subject to change)
Geneva's buses and trams
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Fewer people died in train accidents in Switzerland in 2011, compared to 2010, but the number of deaths related to trams and buses rose. The country saw 13 deaths from trains last year, down by 5, most of them due to crossing train tracks and movements by freight trains.
The 18 other accidents, involving buses and trams, were mostly due to crashes by vehicles with other forms of transport, including bicycles and motorcycles, or with pedestrians.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Falling numbers and tighter budgets took the ax to Mr Switzerland in 2011 and in 2012 it is the turn of the Miss Switzerland pageant, which has been cancelled due to lack of funding, Swiss media reported Sunday morning 15 April. Both shows were broadcast by Swiss Public Broadcasting (SSR) stations, but with budget cuts everywhere in the broadcast world and audience numbers that were dropping, the organizers say they will not be able to run the pageant this year.
Mr Switzerland now has a three-year contract with German-language TV channel 3+. The Miss Switzerland pageant has been talking to +3.
The current Miss Switzerland, Bern’s Alina Buchschacher, will continue to hold the crown while a solution is found.
Miss Switzerland on Swiss public television, September 2011
Hot air balloon fans had better luck in 2011, with sunny skies in Geneva
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The cold damp bise that blows along Lake Geneva down to the city of Geneva, from the north, is keeping the Hot Air Balloon festival out of the skies Saturday 14 April.
The Montgolfiades internationales de Genève had to cancel Saturdays balloon flights from a number of parks in the city and it appears unlikely, given the weather forecast, that they will be able to go up Sunday, organizers told news agency ats.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – One person won CHF64.7 million with the Euro-millions Lottery Friday night. The lottery has nine participating countries, including Switzerland. The winner had to have the following numbers: 8, 13, 26, 39, 43 as well as matching two stars. Another 15 ticket holders who had the five numbers and matched one star won CHF171,209.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Five off-piste skiers were caught by an avalanche that began on the Scex Rouge glacier, near the arrival point for the Glacier 3000 at Diablerets at 12:30 Friday 13 April. The skiers managed to free themselves, with only one of them suffering injuries (face, hip, shoulder) but the group was blocked, police in canton Vaud say.
A rescue operation was underway by 13:00 but bad weather with poor visibility prevented a Rega helicopter from reaching the group. At 17:00 a group of 11 rescue workers began to work their way from the top of the ski area to the group, but the injured person will need to be taken down by sled, so work is continuing this evening to create a safe path to remove them from the area.
Editor’s special invitation to the best Swiss wine deal in town!
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Cloudiness Friday moving into rain by Saturday, with chilly temperatures: damp will dominate in all parts of Switzerland this weekend. Only the south side of the Alps is promised a glimmer of sunshine Saturday. Highs of 9C in the Lake Geneva region will slip to a high of only 6C Sunday. The snow line could fall to 1,000 metres late Saturday and Sunday in some areas.
Arvinis on your agenda
One of Switzerland’s biggest wine events, Arvinis, kicks off the tasting season for the new vintages, 18-23 April in Morges. The special guest this year is Swiss Wine Promotion, which works for the cantons’ groups of producers. They will be featuring 60 specialty wines from throughout the country, a great introduction for newcomers (and the rest of us!) to why Swiss wines have such an excellent reputation in the world of winemaking.
GenevaLunch will be provide its regular tips, suggestions and a how-to guide at the start of the fair, where 2,500 wines from around the world are presented at 150 stands. Ellen Wallace’s GenevaLunch wine blog, Among the vines, will feature a series of profiles of Swiss wine producers next week.
A very special offer is one of the best wine deals around: GenevaLunch editor Ellen Wallace, who is also a noted Swiss wine specialist and judge at international wine competitions, will be offering a fun and lively introduction to wine class, in English. The CHF30 entry fee to Arvinis is included in the CHF35 fee for the course, Friday 20 April at 18:00.
And to celebrate her new Facebook wine page that explores the world of Swiss wines, Ellen’s Wine World, your editor is offering a special bottle of Swiss wine to the 20th person to register for the hour-long class. It will leave you with the time and the skills to explore Arvinis Friday evening! Sign up now!
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 32-year-old British man who lives in the UK, whose identity has not been released by canton Valais police, died during the night of Wednesday-Thursday 11-12 April, after falling from a third-floor balcony in Verbier.
The man’s body was found at 08:20 Thursday at the foot of the building by a passerby, who contacted police. The circumstances surrounding his fall are unclear, police say. An investigation has been opened and an autopsy ordered.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 78-year-old Spanish man, identified by press reports as Julio, has become Geneva’s second murder of 2012.
According to Geneva police, the man was found Tuesday 10 April at 10:10, but his murder took place a few days earlier. His throat had been “significantly slit” by an unknown person who entered his apartment in Carouge.
Although the police report does not provide any further details, local press reports say the man had been living alone for the past two or three years, since his wife went to live in an assisted care facility.
The man was a friendly person, who didn’t always lock his door, neighbours told 20 Minutes and the Tribune de Genève.
Police say there are not yet any suspects in the case.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 42-year-old Swiss man lost his life Thursday 12 April when he fell 7 metres down a crevasse in the Zermatt region.
He and two other ski tourers, who were roped together, were crossing the Grenz glacier, heading from Ludiwigssattel to the Monte Rosa hut when the accident occurred at 10:30.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Caribana Festival
near Nyon, which opens the region’s summer music festivals, will feature Charlie Winston 9 June, the group announced Thursday 12 April.
Winston’s name completes the programme; he will head a night on the big stage that includes Keziah Jones and Grand Corps Malade.
Caribana and Rouge FM are running a joint evening 18 May to give an early taste of the festival: at Rouge City, Place Chauderon 18 in Lausanne. Swiss artists who have confirmed their presence: Motherockers, Elkee, Kyasma et Raphelson.Doors open at 18:30 and the concerts start at 20:00.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – A high-speed chase Monday 9 April at 17:00 that started near Gros-de-Vaud in canton Vaud, with the cars getting up to 200kph, ended in Echallens in front of a parking lot with the arrest of the 24-year-old Swiss driver. His companion was taken in for questioning and released once it was clear he was not behind the wheel.
Police were alerted by a caller who reported a red BMW 135i for dangerous driving near Chavorney. A squad car picked up the trail of the car, which fled when the driver spotted the police officers. He drove towards Corcelles-sur-Chavornay then Penthéréaz, committing a number of serious road crimes, say police, including cutting off another car and bumping it before continuing. The driver dropped off his passenger at one point near some woods, and the passenger thumbed a lift but was picked up shortly by police.
The car was clocked doing 130kph going through communes and 200kph on cantonal roads during the chase.
The driver, who was over the legal limit for alcohol and whose license was suspended, was jailed after being quesstioned Monday night, and the car was confiscated.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The six thermal baths resorts in canton Valais are joining forces for marketing purposes and investing CFH100 to increase Valais’s attraction as a thermal spa centre, they announced Wednesday 11 April. Two-thirds of the money will go to more hotel beds and the rest to improving the baths.
The six are: Breiten, Brigerbad, Leukerbad, Saillon, Ovronnaz and Val d’Illiez. The projects for each vary, from Brigerbad’s consstruction of an indoor centre to Ovronnaz will get a new spa and Saillon a new hotel.
Leukerbad (Loeche-les-bain in French), with 10 thermal baths, is building an apart-hotel as its share in the improvements
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – One Swiss person died and 19 others are injured following a bus crash in southern Turkey Tuesday 10 April near Antalya, a thermal baths resort. The foreign affairs department in Bern has confirmed information published by media late Tuesday. Three people were critically injured and one of them, a woman, died during the night.
Turkish media report that the bus may have swerved and hit a rock wall, but this has yet to be confirmed.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 28-year-old British resident, driving south on the A2 autoroute in Molena, near Bellinzona, was clocked doing 219kph on the 120-limit road just after midnight Tuesday 10 April, say police in canton Ticino. He is being charged with a serious offense against the Swiss Traffic Rules Act. He was released after putting down a deposit against a potential fine and he is now banned from driving on Swiss roads.
