GARDEN CITY, CALIFORNIA – The Crystal Cathedral church, famous for its hugely popular “Hour of Power” broadcasts, has been involved for months in an acrimonious dispute between the family of founder Robert Schuller and the rest of the international board. Saturday 10 March he and his wife Arvella resigned, saying that the situation had become untenable. The couple, who have filed for bankruptcy, said in a statement that they could not continue on the board “in an adversarial and negative atmosphere especially since it now seems that it will not be ending any time soon”.
The Kansas City Star notes that “sorting through competing financial claims has delayed $12.5 million in payments to some church creditors and could threaten the church’s ability to continue its ministries, including the ‘Hour of Power’ broadcasts. The Schullers’ resignation marks the end of an era. For the first time, no family member is serving on the board of the church that Robert Schuller founded 42 years ago.”
Their daughter and her husband are disputing, with the Schuller couple, the claims, copyright issues and accusations that they have continued to receive money from church funds while the legal arguments ensue. Three members of the family were kicked out of church affairs in the past week, reports Los Angeles CBS News.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Police amplified Tuesday evening on earlier vague news of gunshots going off in the small town of Lucens in canton Vaud Monday night 31 October. One man, age 30, from Kosovar and without a known address in Switzerland, was injured when a bullet struck him in the thorax. He was sitting in a car with two other men and the trio got into a dispute with two men who were standing near their apartment in Lucens.
The others are Swiss and Kosovars between the ages of 22 and 34. All have police records.
Shots rang out and the driver of the car was hit but drove off. Emergency services were called and a police patrol intercepted the car, where the two uninjured man were trying to take care of the wounded man as they headed towards Lausanne from Le Broye. The man was hospitalized and the four others placed under provisional arrest at Vaud Police headquarters at La Blecherette2
Valais climbing death: trainee guide falls to his death
SION, SWITZERLAND – A 17-year-old Valais youth died in hospital Friday 12 August, a week after being involved in an altercation with a 15-year-old in the village of Réchy. The young man was kicked in the chest and lost consciousness Saturday 1 August during a village festival. He was taken to Sion Hospital, where he had been in a coma since and where he died Friday morning.
The two were involved in an argument, according to police inquiries, early in the evening of Saturday 6 August, and the youth who died punched and broke the glasses of the 15-year-old. The two were separated by security services but later in the evening the younger man kicked the other one; the circumstances are not yet clear.
Both youths are Swiss and live in the region. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.
Guide was climbing Egginergrat alone
Valais police Friday 12 August also announced the death of a 28-year-old Jura man who had been training as a mountain guide. He had taken a group climbing Thursday, then left them at the Allalin restaurant in Saas Fee before heading out to climb the Egginergrat on his own.
When he didn’t return Thursday night a search mission was sent out and his body was found at the foot of the mountain, several hundred meters below where he had been climbing.
The remains of Preah Vihear, an ancient temple built nearly 1,000 years ago and a Unesco heritage site, are at the heart of a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has claimed several lives.
More than 10,000 Cambodian villagers reportedly have been evacuated from areas along the Thai border and are waiting for relief from the Cambodian Red Cross and other local NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
Thailand’s prime minister says “the French offer to mediate in the Thai-Cambodian border is not wanted,” and he referred to the episode, where fighter planes flew close to the Cambodian border, as a mistake.
The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry has also come out against a plan by Unesco to send a mission to inspect the temple following claims by Cambodia that it suffered severe damage in fighting between the two countries.
Links to other sites: BBC News, the Bangkok Post and the Phnom-Penh Post
Update 16 December Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Bananas have come close to being the fruit that broke the Doha Round’s back, but they could in the end save the talks, says the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). The European Union (EU) and Latin American exporters initialed an agreement Tuesday 15 December at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. It will settle their dispute over the banana trade and tariffs, which has been running for more than 10 years.
“An agreement on bananas is widely viewed as a critical condition for a conclusion to the stalled WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations,” says the Geneva-based ICTSD. The organization provides the international trade system with input on sustainable development aspects of trade.
A study published Tuesday by the ICTSD shows that “a new deal on European Union banana import tariffs will be a boon to Latin American exporters but would trigger a drop in exports of the fruit from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. But the blow to ACP banana exporters may be cushioned by the aid money that the EU has promised in conjunction with the deal.”
Miami, Florida (GenevaLunch) – Artworks worth some $6 million were confiscated by US federal marshals at Art Basel Miami Beach shortly before the VIP opening Thursday 3 December, to settle an insurance dispute. The paintings, including works by Joan Miro and Edgar Degas, were part of the booth belonging to one of Zurich’s well-known art galleries, Gmurzynska. The art fair told Bloomberg it was the first time artworks have been seized for a court case. By later in the day the two parties said they had settled the dispute and the art would be back on Friday, but no details were provided.
The gallery has been in a dispute with former Wall Street raider Asher Edelman over a painting he loaned the gallery for the 2007 Miami fair, the largest contemporary art show in the US.
Peter Galbraith’s absence as second in command of the United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan was for two weeks shrouded in confusion, notably over whether or not he was still in the job. It now appears that he is not. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced 30 September that he was recalling the former US ambassador. Galbraith was appointed to the post in March 2009 amid speculation that had been pressured by the US to approve the appointment. His stormy relationship with his boss, Norwegian Kai Eide, has made headlines. The two have known each other for years – Galbraith, who is the son of Canadian economist JK Galbraith, was reportedly introduced to his wife by Eide. Both men served in Bosnia. Galbraith has not been in his office since shortly after the Afghanistan elections, when he and Eide reportedly clashed over how to handle the controversial election results. Political blogger Laura Rozen on Politico spoke to Galbraith after reading the UN statement, and he said he hadn’t been informed, then refused to comment further.
The Times, UK, 15 September said Galbraith had been ordered to leave Afghanistan after the dispute with his boss, implying he was about to be fired and that the UN office in Kabul was torn by those loyal to Galbraith and his tougher stance, those following Eide and his softer approach.
Statues of "peace" and "justice" flank the entrance to the WTO, Geneva: artist Luc Jaggi sculpted them in 1925
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - China reacted with disappointment Thursday 13 August to the report issued by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on its publications and audiovisual materials dispute with the US. The WTO ruled that China must open its market more to the import of US films, DVDs, books and music downloads to respect commitments made when it joined the WTO in 2001.
