Twickenham, London (GenevaLunch) – France dominated the first half of their game in Cardiff to take a 0-20 lead at half time. Wales responded with another spirited recovery but it was not enough and France ended with a 20-26 win. The French have now won their first three games: they face Italy and England for their final games.
Italy scored a rare Six Nations win when they beat Scotland 16-12.
Milan, Italy (GenevaLunch) – Urgent cleanup work is underway on the Po, Italy’s longest river and a major tributary that is important to industry and agriculture, after a massive amount of fuel and heating oil spilled into it, near Milan. Police are saying a “criminal act” lies behind the spill, with eight storage tanks tampered with at a closed storage facility that belongs to Lombarda Petroli SpA.
The fuel initially went into the Lambro River. Estimates of the amount of fuel spilled vary wildly, with the lowest talking about hundreds of thousands of litres, but a state of emergency has been declared in Lombardy as concerns grow over the potential impact on natural reserves, wildlife and crops.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg/BW, Corriere della Sera (Ita), National Geographic feature on the Po
Update 13:50 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss federal government announced Wednesday 17 February that it will continue the policy begun in November 2009 of restricting visas for Libyans. Italy, France and Malta were calling Tuesday for Switzerland to change its policy, given Libya’s announcement Monday that it would not allow citizens of Schengen countries to cross its border, citing a black list of nearly 200 Libyan officials who have been refused visas.
Swissinfo reports that “Jacques de Watteville, Swiss ambassador to the EU, says Switzerland had rejected just 270 applications for Schengen visas out of 30,000, less than one per cent.” The Swiss government has not confirmed there is a black list.
Swiss officials say they have been in contact with European Union authorities since the start of the restrictions, contrary to remarks made earlier this week by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner when interviewed by TSR, Swiss public television.
German newspaper Deutsche Welle says that Sawsan Chebli, an associate fellow with the German Council on Foreign Relations, told the paper, “The EU is Libya’s greatest trade and export partner. This is a leverage the EU could use. However, Italy and other EU member states with close relations with Libya in the past have shown that they are not interested to spoil their relations with Libya whatever Gadhafi’s action may be.
Switzerland's autoroute stops are heavily used by truck drivers taking their legally required breaks. Here: above Montreux, Vaud
Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A truck driver from one of the former Yugoslavia regions, stopped Monday 15 February near Gentilino on the A2 autoroute for speeding, ate his tachometre, say cantonal police in Ticino. The man was stopped for speeding, but it was discovered that he had driven 1,054 kilometres without pausing for a break over the course of 18 hours. Truck drivers are legally required to take regular breaks, and Ticino police, at the border with Italy, say they have noticed a growing lack of respect for the rule, so they’ve stepped up controls.
An ambulance had to be called for the 34-year-old man, who was later released from hospital but had to pay CHF2,000 in bail pending charges.
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - France sent out a message that their team is in fine form, and must now be favourites to win the Six Nations tournament and very likely take the Grand Slam as well. They powered past current champions Ireland with an impressive 33-10 victory. The Irish kept pace with the French for the first 20 minutes but then conceded 10 quick points when down to 14 men after a yellow card for Healy. Once France was on top they never looked back and dominated the game with a disciplined display of forward power backed up by incisive attacks.
Scotland dominated Wales for most of the match in Cardiff but then fell apart due to a combination of injuries, lack of discipline and Welsh passion. They ended the match with only 13 players, having transformed a 24-14 lead with three minutes left of normal time into a 31-24 win for the Welsh.
England play Italy in the Sunday game.
Links to other sites: Six Nations, South Wales Argus
Twickenham, London, England (GenevaLunch) - England celebrated the centenary of the famed Twickenham ground with the same result as in the first match: a victory over Wales. The single player most responsible for the result was the Welsh second row forward Alun Wyn Jones who was given a yellow card for tripping the English hooker Dylan Hartley. While he was off the field for 10 minutes England scored 17 points.
England dominated possession in the first half, taking advantage of the vulnerable Welsh line-out, but were held to 3-3 until the 35th minute. Wales fought hard to come back from the 20-3 deficit and threatened to take the lead after a fine try by James Hook.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two United Nations (UN) special rapporteurs based in Geneva are calling on the Italian government to take strong measures to end the “growing xenophobic attitude” towards migrant workers in the Calabria region. Unrest in the area led to 53 people injured the first week of January and more than 1,000 migrant workers being sent to immigration centres in Bari and Crotone. Several of them are now being deported, says the UN.
UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante, and UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Githu Muigaiwelcomed, said in a joint statement issued Wednesday 13 January that while they welcome the steps the government has taken, they insist violence cannot be an answer to “difficulties under any circumstances.”
Italy’s first sextuplets since 1997, according to Italian media, are in good condition, although they will remain hospitalized because of their small size and premature birth. A couple in southern Ital, near Naples, had the six children who weigh between 610 and 800 grams each, during the mother’s 27th week of pregnancy: Paolo, Maurizio, Francesca Pia, Angelica, Annachiara and Serena.
Links to other sites: BBC (video), Canadian Press, and story of Jenny Masche, who had sextuplets and ran a marathon for their first birthday
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.”
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was badly scratched and hit in the face by a man wielding a small souvenir replica of Milan’s cathedral, Sunday 13 December in Milan, although it’s unclear if the man threw it or hit Berlusconi with it. The prime minister is receiving 24 hours of treatment and observation in a hospital but is expected to leave late Monday. The hospital has issued a statement saying he has a slight nose fracture and two broken teeth. The man who accosted him while he was signing autographs has a history of psychiatric problems.
Close of Olympic Games for doping
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne has stripped Rashid Ramzi from Bahrein of his gold medal. He won the men’s 1,500 metre race in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Italian Davide Rebellin, who placed second in the men’s road cycle event, will have to return his silver medal, the IOC announced. The world governing body for the Olympic Games sanctioned three other athletes who participated in the Beijing Olympics for using the banned hormone CERA, 18 November.
The IOC’s zero-tolerance policy in the use of endurance or performance-enhancing drugs means that it will store blood and urine samples taken during the Games for eight years so that the laboratories can do retroactive testing.
Croke park, Dublin,Ireland (GenevaLunch) - Irish captain Brian O’ Driscoll celebrated his 100th cap for Ireland with a last minute try that allowed the home team to draw their match with Australia 20-20. In other matches a dull England side plodded their way to a 16-9 win over Argentina. The New Zealand All Blacks struggled against a tough Italian side before winning 6-20 in front of 80,000 fans in the San Siro stadium in Milan.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, The Times
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss banks are discussing the possibility of asking some foreign clients to sign forms saying they are in compliance with their countries’ tax laws, Patrick Odier told Swiss German newspaper NZZ. Odier is head of the Swiss Bankers Association. The interview appears in the Sunday edition of NZZ. Odier, a Geneva banker who has headed the bankers’ group since September, says Swiss banks are not interested in “black gold” but in line with Swiss law they are working to find solutions to work with other countries without having an automatic transfer of client information. He also told the newspaper that his association favours a tax on interest earned that would be paid to governments – but from anonymous sources.
Hans-Rudolf Merz, Swiss president, finance minister
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz has put negotiations on the new Swiss-Italian double taxation treaty on hold until further notice. The move follows a raid by Italian tax authorities on Italian branches of Swiss banks last week and rumours of Italian officials spying on their countrymen in canton Ticino, which has caused outrage in Ticino. The tax treaty was ready to be ratified by the parliament, reports Sonntagsblick in an interview 1 November.
Merz has designated Renzo Respini, a former member of the upper house of Parliament, to be the government’s special political advisor in tax questions concerning Italy.
Surprise at Italy's actions
Lugano, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Italian tax authorities raided 76 branches of Swiss banks in 22 cities around Italy, 27 October, ostensibly checking to see whether the institutions were in compliance with reporting requirements on bank operations. Federal Counsellor Pascal Couchepin said on national radio that they “were desperate measures” and suggested that the social contract between the Italian government and its citizens was in “bad shape”.
Italians who travel to Switzerland overland have been subjected to unprecedented border checks, with closed circuit cameras and police dogs at the border. The Italian finance and economy minister, Giulio Tremonti, has said that he wants to “dry up” the banks in Ticino, where it is estimated that most Italians have deposited their money.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nineteen countries have now secured their places in the Fifa World Cup finals to be held in South Africa in 2010 after the penultimate games in the qualification series. In the African group Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are through and six places are up for grabs. Australia, Japan and the two Koreas take the Asian places with one more team entering a playoff with New Zealand. Seven of the 13 European places are decided:
The Constitutional Court in Italy, the country’s highest, ruled Wednesday 7 October that a law giving Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi legal immunity while in office is unconstitutional because it violates the principle of equality of all Italians under the law. Berlusconi responded by saying he expected the ruling, saying the court was dominated by left-wing judges. “We must govern for five years, with or without the law,” he said. “These things charge me up. Let’s go. Long live Berlusconi.”
The ruling opens up the possibility that Berlusconi will testify in at least three trials currently underway for corruption, all of them involving his business interests. BBC, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica
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Cisalpino II, July 2009
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A Cisalpino II train made its maiden Geneva-Venice voyage Thursday October 1, leaving Geneva’s Cointrin Airport at 07:33 and bringing back its first passengers from Venice at 16:20. The trains have been running on the Geneva-Milan stretch since July, on a test basis, and with the positive track record of the tests, the company has moved to putting the sleek passenger trains into service as part of the regular timetable.
Cisalpino will operate the trains until 13 December, when the parent Swiss and Italian companies, CFF and Trenitalia, will operate the Swiss-Italian service.
Maranello, Italy (GenevaLunch) – Swiss-based Fernando Alonso will be racing with Ferrari in the Formula 1 for three years, starting in 2010. The Italian company announced the news Wednesday 30 September, saying that next season’s driver lineup will therefore be Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, with Giancarlo Fisichella as reserve driver.
Genoa, Italy (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer overcame jetlag, slow clay courts and rain, not to mention Potito Storace, to give Switzerland a winning position in their World Group play-off against Italy. He won 6-3 6-0 6-4 to add to the two Swiss singles victories on Friday, which were followed by a loss in the doubles as Federer was rested.
George Clooney alive and well in Switzerland - Photo Laila Rodriguez
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - American actor and activist George Clooney was treated at a Swiss hospital following a mishap in his car which resulted in a broken hand.
Three people died in separate mountaineering accidents in the Alps 23 August.
A guide from Annecy in neighbouring France fell to his death on the Italian side of the Matterhorn. On the Mont Blanc mountain, another climber died near Peuterey, France, and a 75-year-old man became ill and fell 50 metres in the Pasubio massif near Vicenza in Italy.
Related: Le Dauphiné Libéré (Fre), Romandie News (Fre),
When the snow melts, Switzerland and Italy will know how to draw their border
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The usual cement country border markers don’t work in the high Alps, partly because the snow is too deep and partly because the boundaries tend to shift as nature moves her mountains slightly. The Swiss Federal Council 19 August signed notes drawn up by Switzerland and Italy laying out the procedure for drawing the boundary line if the need arises.
The high Alps border covers a large area around several peaks, including Bernina, Mont Rosa, and around the Matterhorn and Mont Vélan.
The origins of his fortune
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A family dispute over the inheritance of Italy’s richest man, Gianni Agnelli, who died in 2003, has opened a crack in the hermetic family’s financial affairs. Margherita, a daughter, claims in a court filing that she was excluded from a part of the inheritance because it is possibly abroad.
In a Canale 5 tv interview 13 August, Attilio Befera, head of the Italian tax collection agency, said that the government was investigating up to 170,000 Italians suspected of evading taxes by keeping money abroad, which could include the alleged Agnelli fortune. He said Swiss authorities were cooperating with Italian requests.
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland played a solid defensive game to hold World Cup winners Italy to a goal-less draw. Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio was impressive as he pulled off a series of saves. Switzerland is second, behind Greece, in its group for the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010. Only the top team is guaranteed a place in the finals so the next match, against Greece at Basel on September 5th, is vital.
Details: swissinfo
