BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss news agency ats reports that four Swiss skiers and one French one were killed, and one Swiss skier was injured, in an avalanche in the north of Norway that hit their group of 12 ski tourers. The accident occurred on Sorbmegaisa mountain in Kaafjord, near Tromsoe, early Monday afternoon 19 March, according to ats. The skiers were at about 1,000m.
A large rescue operation with search dogs and helicopters included F-16 fighter jets that helped observe the avalanche area.
AFP reports that all 12 members of the group were wearing radio transmitters, which helped with the search. The injured man was under the avalanche for 2 hours but his injuries are described as “moderate” by Norwegian authorities, and he is in stable condition.
Authorities in Norway are now working on identifying the victims.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – A car that attracted the attention of police in Founex, canton Vaud, at 10:40 Saturday morning 3 March turned out to have stolen plates and when police took up positions to try to stop the car it took off rapidly. The car led police on a high-speed chase through Commugny, Founex, Chavannes-de-Bogis and Bogis-Bossey, driving on the wrong side of the road at times and crashing into two police vehicles, one belonging to customs police and the other to the cantonal gendarmerie.
When the vehicles was stopped the three occupants fled on foot. Two were captured and one remains at large. The two Frenchmen who were arrested are ages 27 and 28.
Customs police in Geneva activated the French-Swiss customs police cooperation centre (Centre de coopération police douane, CCPD), which coordinated the work of 23 patrols called into action, from Bursins, the Vaud gendarmerie dog unit, Nyon communal police, customs police, canton Geneva police and the French gendarmerie.
Or nearly, for Hollywood does like to gush
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Only the second silent film to win since Oscar became the film industry’s most coveted award, back in 1929 (the year of the first silent winner) and the first non-Anglo-Saxon world film ever to win top prize for a full-length film: France’s “The Artist” set new and unusual records Sunday night in Hollywood. It was an evening of surprises, including Meryl Streep named best actress after 13 failed attempts in a row, for her role in “Iron Lady”. And 82-year-old Christopher Plummer became the oldest actor ever to receive an Oscar, for his supporting role in “Beginners” as an elderly widow who comes out as gay.
“The Artist” swept five prizes including the best actor award for Jean Dujardin, the first time a Frenchman has won the award.
Links to other sites: Oscar complete list of winners, Le Monde (Fre), CBS News
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – This report is coming to you a bit later than usual as we waited for the ski news to improve and, happily, it has, but it’s not the perfect weekend for beginners. Sunday promises occasional glimpses of sun.
Yes there is snow, fresh snow, throughout much of the Alps, the depth is excellent everywhere and there is good powder. The snow line has been falling since early morning, to 400 metres in some areas.
The less happy news, for those who like blue skies, is that there aren’t any: gray is the norm. And for less confident skiers, whiteout conditions come and go, especially at relatively low altitudes.
In the news: Vaud is studying the option of a super-region that would connect Gstaad-Diableret-Villars-Gryon. The canton has ordered the “Vision Alpes vaudoises 2020″ study that estimates it would cost CHF160 million to build new lifts to link up the resorts and to recreate others, notably in the Glacier 3000 area. Other runs could be closed.
Note that the Vaud Alps resorts share an information web site, which has useful information in English, but if the links don’t take you anywhere try switching to French.
Keep French and Swiss school holiday dates in mind if you’re planning a ski trip in the near future, as the slopes become much busier at these times. Geneva school break starts 11 February, Vaud and Neuchatel break starts 25 February and French schools break at these times depending on their zones.
This weekend Swiss mountain roads are very icy and chains will be needed in more places than usual, with daytime temperatures just above zero then falling at dusk.
Weather forecast
Temperatures will start to fall, with daytime highs of 2 Sunday in most of Western Switzerland. A mixed snow and sun picture: intermittent snow is expected, with occasional sunshine.
Looking ahead, MeteoSwiss says we could be in for one of the coldest snaps in February in years, with highs next weekend already falling, to -6 and -7.
Special activities, offers in resorts this week
Anzeres has a deal worth considering: reserve before 31 January and you can get 20 percent off on several things including a number of hotels and apartments, ski passes, and equipment rentals.
Gstaad kicks off a winter season of 16 concerts at the beautiful old Rougement church, Sunday 29 January.
Leysin/Les Mosses hosts the start of the beautiful Transalp dog races 30 January. This run that covers 160 km of mountain terrain ends 5 February and is one of the highlights of the Alpine purebred Huskies dog race season.
You can now buy package tickets that combine various fun things like fondue dinners with the Villars Night Show that starts 11 February and is on Saturdays and Wednesdays through March.
Jura report
by Shirley Curran
We have another week before the French holidays begin in earnest and we have been favoured this year by great falls of snow. More is expected at the end of the week. As always, it is a good idea to log in to Monts-jura.com and check the webcams to see our impressive conditions for yourself. Snow depth: 120-155cm, depending on the station.
Ed. note: the site corrected Friday evening’s forecast noting that Saturday morning opened with clear skies, although the web cams show clouding over by noon, so definitely check the site for the latest updates.
Alpine resorts
Holding up against the snow - just
Anzere The snowcross (snowmobile) races as well as the 4x mountain bike on snow races scheduled for Saturday 28 January have been postponed; stay tuned for an update.
Crans-Montana Mostly open, with little wind in the region. Snow conditions superb.
Gstaad 80% of runs are open, but whiteout conditions throughout much of the area
Leysin Slopes open, except superpipe snow park, and hints of sunshine. A highlight this winter, with the great snow, is the village toboggan park that features 8 corridors of 150-200 metres and snow tubing, open from 10-20:00
Verbier Virtually everything open, avalanche risk down to level 2, snow depth at Les Gentianes at 310cm and for the good skiers who love this place, the gray skies won’t matter, although with temperatures at -3 to -10, it’s chillier than it’s been.
Villars Mostly open, 10cm of fresh snow added to the 235cm depth.
Rich cultural, international mix of songs
Location: Patinoire du Littoral, Neuchatel
Link out: http://www.livemusic.ch/concerts/bernard-lavill…
Date: 4 Nov 2011
Start time: 20:30
NEUCHATEL, SWITZERLAND – The unemployment rate in Switzerland held steady at 2.8 percent in July, figures released Monday 8 August show. The number of jobless was down slightly, by 1,178 from May and down by more than 33,000, or 23.3 percent, compared to a year earlier.
The Swiss/foreign makeup of the unemployed has gone back to 2007 levels, with 2.1 percent of Swiss unemployed and 5.2 percent of foreigners registered. The figures had risen, in 2009, to 2.7 percent and 7.2 percent. French citizens and those from the western Balkans had the highest rates of unemployment, over 5 percent, in July, among foreigners.
Trient glacier area accident, Valais: climbers hit by Copt Couloir rockfall
Update 19:50 SION, SWITZERLAND – A French climber died early Sunday 3 July when he and another climber, also French, were surprised by a rock fall. A 23-year-old Valais man died three hours later when he fell 400 metres to his death.
Two French climbers were roped together, climbing the Copt Couloir, heading towards the Tête de Biselx near the Trient glacier, at 06:15 when the rocks fell. One man caught a rock in the head, while the second climber was able to avoid the rocks.
After the rockfall, the rope slipped the length of the corridor and the second climber suffered ankle injuries.
The survivor was flown to a hospital for treatment.
Saas Fee accident: man had just removede rope
A 23-year-old Swiss man climbing near Saas Fee died at 09:25 Sunday morning when he was coming down from the north face of the Stecknadeljoch.
He had just finished rappeling and was unhooking himself in order to anchor himself to the wall when he suddenly fell 400 metres, to the Hohbalm glacier.
Spectacular car accident near St Luc-Vissoie in Valais
A 30-year-old Valais man was hospitalized in Sion after his car flipped over several times on a mountainside and landed 140 metres below the place where it left the road.
The accident happened Sunday morning 3 July at 07:50 on the St Luc to Vissoie road. The driver was thrown from him car as it rolled several times, after he missed a curve to the left.
Car rolled 140 metres down the mountainside, landing on the road; driver is in hospital in Sion
The car landed on the road below, 140m lower.
Police, accompanied by a search dog, checked the area after the accident to make sure there were no passengers in the car.
The driver’s alcohol level was above the legal limit, at 0.96. He was flown to the Sion hospital; police have not given his medical condition.
Click on images to view larger
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 14-year-old girl is reported by the Tribune de Geneve to be in serious condition after being shot in the stomach accidentally at 21:30 during a small party held Thursday evening at an apartment on the rue Robert-de-Traz in Florissant. The flat reportedly belongs to French-Swiss actor Alain Delon. The party was held by the 17-year-old son of the actor. All evidence appears to point to an accident, according to the Tribune, with the young people unaware that a gun in the home was loaded.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – French and French-language Swiss media have added a new angle to the weekend revelation that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF, was arrested on attempted rape and related charges: Tristane Banon, a young French journalist who said in 2007 that a senior political figure tried to rape her in 2002, has resurfaced. The man was named as DSK, the French media nickname for Strauss-Kahn.
Banon, who interviewed Strauss-Kahn for a book she was writing when she was 22 years old, told a French TV interviewer in 2007 that she had had to fight off a political figure, whose name she mentioned, but it was beeped from the show. The TV team, however, was aware of who the man was. She later said she had seen lawyers and put together a legal complaint of sexual aggression which she did not file, dissuaded in part by her mother, who is a senior politician in France. “I didn’t want to be known as the girl who had a problem with a French politician.”
Her mother confirmed the information in an interview Monday 16 May with Paris-Normandie. Anne Mansouret, the mother, is a Socialist candidate for the French presidency in the primaries set for September, as is Strauss-Kahn.
Police, border guards, working more closely than in past
Geneva's borders more open than in the past, so police cooperation is being stepped up
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Quick coordinated work between border guards and police in Geneva and Lausanne Monday 13 December has resulted in three French youths, ages 19-22, being arrested after they crossed into Switzerland from France with a car they hijacked in Lausanne 9 December. One youth was driving the black Mercedes, spotted by a border guard in Geneva at 14:40. His car was accompanied by another, a Saab. The Mercedes was taken at knifepoint in the centre of Lausanne Saturday 9 December at 16:00.
The three live in Isère, France. They were arrested near Palexpo after the border guards alerted Geneva police, who contacted the judge in charge of the Lausanne carjacking. He promptly issued an arrest warrant and the threesome is behind bars in Lausanne.
The incident underscores the growing cooperation between police and customs officials working on both sides of the border. Le Matin reported over the weekend that police in Geneva and France are on the verge of signing an agreement to use a new radio transmission system that will have a better range than current systems, to be based in the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre near the airport in Geneva. The new system is part of larger plans, throughout Europe, to improve cross-border police cooperation since border controls ended as part of the Schengen Area agreement.
Fillon’s new cabinet pulls the government to the right
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday dissolved his government when Prime Minister François Fillon handed in his resignation, and Sarkozy then formed a new one, with Fillon remaining as prime minister. The unusual move, since government changes are not normally announced on weekends, came four days after France’s new pension law went into effect, raising the retirement age from 60 to 62, despite weeks of turmoil caused by strikes against the pension plan.
The president promised in June that he would form a new government once the pension law changed.
Fillon has led the government as long as Sarkozy has been in office, since May 2007. His popularity ratings remain well above those of Sarkozy.
Swiss Gruyere, aging for six months in a mountain cheese cellar
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – A Gruyère is a Gruyère, but not exactly: Swiss authorities said 14 August that France has abandoned its three-year-old fight to get AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) status for its holey version of the famous but smooth Swiss cheese, named after the village it calls home.
The French version of the cheese has a distinctly different taste.
The Swiss cheese was given AOC status in 2007 and the French version in 2007, when France decided to seek AOP recognition, essentially the same but at a European level.
Instead, following recommendations from Brussels, the French have agreed to IGP (indication géographique protégée) status, less prestigious, but it allows them to continue using the name.
Swiss cow in the Alps: high pasture grazing gives Gruyere a special flavour
Facts about the Swiss cheese: it takes 400 litres of milk to make one round of the cheese, which generally weighs 35 kg. It is made according to recipes dating back to 1115.
The cows are fed on grass during the summer, hay in winter, and no additives are allowed to the diet or cheese.
Link to: Gruyere AOC official site
Belgium could end up with as many as eight parties in a coalition government, after the NVA Flemish Separatist party appears to have won at least 27 of 150 seats in parliament, 30 percent of the vote, as ballot counting draws to a close. The strong result gives the party more seats than any other, but outspoken NVA leader Bart de Wever looks likely to have to tone down his rhetoric to participate in a coalition government of several parties.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The 18-year-old twin brother of the young man shot by a police officer during a high-speed chase is in prison in Fribourg, the court-appointed lawyer has confirmed to Swiss media. The two were in a stolen car, one of three, when they came up against a police roadblock on the A1 autoroute near the Vaud-Fribourg cantonal line. A police officer shot seven times, killing the passenger in the car. The policeman has been held for questioning on possible involuntary manslaughter charges.
The family of the dead man, minus his twin brother, attended funeral services in Lausanne Thursday 22 April and visited the site on the autoroute where he died. The family, of Kurdish origin, lives in France, near Lyons. The two brothers were part of a group that was stealling three luxury cars from a garage in Fribourg.
Background, GenevaLunch
Link to RSR, public radio in French
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - French tennis player Richard Gasquet was exonerated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Thursday 17 December from any fault or negligence over cocaine in his system, which he says was from kissing in a nightclub. The CAS agreed his assertion is the most likely explanation for the minute amount of the drug found in his system 28 March during the ATP tournament in Miami, Florida, USA.
The amount was so small that it did not reflect social use of the drug, but rather incidental contamination, the court says. “It was also established that the player was clearly not a regular cocaine user, even in very small amounts.”
(Reuters video) The European Union has two new leaders, in posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which goes into effect 1 December 2009 following final approval by Ireland and the Czech Republic. Herman van Rompuy, Belgian prime minister, was named President of the European Council, a two-and-a-half year job. He was elected by a majority vote by the 27 members states. A key part of his job is to chair meetings of the European Commission. Catherine Ashton was made EU high representative for foreign affairs. She has been the EU’s trade commissioner for the past year.
The election of the pair, both of whom have relatively low profiles in international affairs, has been praised by the US, France and Germany but those who were hoping to see the first European president play a strong role are expressing disappointment. Turkey’s leaders are unhappy with Rompuy, who resisted Turkish membership and the UK media reaction has been more puzzled than enthusiastic.
Links to other sites: BBC, Die Welt (Ger), Guardian, UK, Le Monde (Fre), Le Temps (Fre), Times, UK
Mother and baby, Lake Geneva
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nathan and Emma win the stakes for most popular names for babies born in French-speaking Switzerland in 2008, but if you want to follow the German speakers you’ll go for Tim and Lara.
Down in Ticino and Graubuenden’s Italian-speaking areas, the winners are Alessandro and Giulia, reports news agency ats.
Researchers in France report that gorillas from western central Africa carry a strain of HIV Aids that was previously unknown, showing that they as well as chimpanzees could be a source of the disease. They suggest that this is a fourth HIV-1 lineage. “The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups” note the researchers in the journal Nature Medicine. Reuters
Update 18:05 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch, agencies and other media) – Cécile Brossard, the murderer of Edouard Stern, has been found guilty by a jury in Geneva of homicide for killing her lover 28 February 2005. The jury will decide Thursday on her sentence, up to 20 years in prison.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – In a lengthy, ongoing Swiss educational debate over which languages to learn at what stages of schooling, Swiss German cantons in the centre of the country now offer clear evidence that learning English in the third year of primary school helps with French when children take it up as a third language of study two years later.
French officials denied claims of a relationship between nuclear weapons tests and health problems among the testers for decades. Defense Minister Hervé Morin told Le Figaro, Tuesday 23 March, that they will compensate those suffering from illnesses linked to radiation exposure from the test. French authorities carried out more than 200 nuclear tests between 1960 and 1996 that theoretically affected approximately 150,000 civilian and military personnel, according to Morin. International Herald Tribune
A French battleship, Danton, sunk by a German submarine in 1917, has been found and is in remarkable condition reports the BBC, in over 1,000 metres of water in the Mediterranean. It was discovered 35km southwest of Corsica during a survey for a gas pipeline.
