GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The cruise ship Costa Concordia, which crashed into rocks Friday 13 February off the Italian coast, remains the scene of painstaking searches for survivors, with Manrico Gianpetroni, chief purser, brought out alive and suffering from a broken leg, and a Korean couple on their honeymoon brought out dazed. Checks have now made it possible to ascertain that 17 people remain missing, fewer than earlier thought, but at least five people died, with two bodies found Sunday afternoon, and 70 were injured in the accident to the luxury liner that had 4,000 people on board.
Reuters cites Italian police as saying that “the captain of the luxury 114,500-tonne ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.”
Links to other sites: BBC, CNN, La Stampa (It), Le Monde (Fr)
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Swisscom, the Swiss telecommunications giant, announced 14 December that it will “charge to income an exceptional impairment” of CHF1.2 billion as a result in the fall in value of Italian mobile company Fastweb, which it bought in 2007. The Italian firm has grown well in the corporate market, where it is number two, but it has suffered in the private telecoms market, according to its Swiss parent.
An “impairment test has now shown that, taking into account the higher capital costs and lower growth, Fastweb’s corporate value at the end of 2011 is approximately EUR 1.3 billion below the book value of net assets including goodwill.”
Swisscom has invested a total of euros 4.6 billion to buy the Italian company.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, has told the country’s parliament, through his minister for relations with that body, that Italy should not seek a double taxation agreement with Switzerland along the lines of those with Germany and the UK.
But the opposition then accused him of not being open to negotiations with Switzerland, which has expressed its willingness to seek an agreement, and of not going after the CHF14-15 billion such an agreement could bring into the Italian government coffers.
The European Commission has said it is opposed to such agreements, which allow Switzerland to respect its banking secrecy laws and partner governments to collect tax revenues for their citizens holding Swiss bank accounts. The UK and German agreements call for Swiss financial institutions to collect withholding taxes on transactions, money that is paid to the foreign treasuries. Account holders then have the choice of coming forward and announcing their holdings in order to recuperate the tax, or remaining silent and forfeiting the tax.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Credit Suisse Thursday pushed its GDP growth forecast down sharply, from 2 percent to 0.5 percent, for 2012. The bank points to the euro crisis, which “continues to weigh on markets, with economic momentum in Europe fading unexpectedly quickly.” Switzerland will be hurt by the fall in exports due to “decidedly gloomier” prospects for countries to which the Swiss export, and the accompanying fall in capital investment on new machinery and equipment.
Consumers and the construction industry, which continues to boom thanks to low interest rates, will prop up economic growth, the bank’s analysts say.
Renovations, new construction: building industry and consumption will prop up Swiss economy in 2012
But “a significant cooling of European growth is no longer avoidable”, according to Credit Suisse, and “while the US economy has accelerated again slightly following the dip seen in mid-2011, the opposite is occurring in Europe. Most significantly, economic momentum in Germany – Switzerland’s key trading partner – has slowed. At the same time, the partial spillover of the debt crisis to Italy has brought increased volatility on the financial markets, growing tensions on the credit and interbank markets, and falling confidence among households and businesses.”
Sentiment is more of an issue than home-grown problems, the bank notes, pointing out that Swiss public finances and companies do not have excess debt.
“On the contrary, interest rates in Switzerland will remain low until at least the end of 2012. In addition, inflation is not an issue in Switzerland at present; pressure on consumer prices is holding up, so purchasing power is safeguarded (inflation in 2012: 0.4%). Finally, immigration is likely to remain strong, meaning an important driver of the growth in consumption will remain in place. By contrast, the constant talk of crisis, together with a deterioration in the labor market situation (unemployment rate in 2012: 3.3%), is increasingly impacting sentiment, and poses certain constraints for the growth in consumption.”
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Easyjet is adding three new cities in southern Europe to its 2012 summer flight schedule: Catania, Sicily in Italy, Athens, Greece and Venice, Italy.
The first will be at least twice a week and the other two three times a week, starting 18 April 2012.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A group of scientists with Italy’s Gran Sasso research centre say their measurements of neutrinos sent by the Cern labs in Geneva indicate colleagues are mistaken in thinking these have travelled faster than the speed of light. They published their findings Saturday 19 November.
Another group of Gran Sasso researchers, working south of Rome with the Opera programme at Cern in Geneva, claimed in September 2011 that they measured neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light. Their finding provoked a flurry of scientific debate, given the implications for physics of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Robert Evans of Reuters in Geneva reports that the second Gran Sasso group, working far below the ground, published a paper on the Cornell University Library site Saturday that refutes this: “Icarus, another experiment at Gran Sasso—which is deep under mountains and run by Italy’s National Institute of National Physics—now argues that their measurements of the neutrinos energy on arrival contradict that reading.”
The new paper comes just days after other reports came in that appeared to confirm the Opera group’s initial findings. The Cern team that announced its findings in September were careful to say they were not announcing a discovery, but rather the results of their tests, inviting speculation and debate over the implications of these.
Swiss soldiers travel on Swiss trains for free when on duty (photo: Morges station, November 2011)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The 2012 train schedule that goes into effect 11 December will offer travellers better connections for trips abroad. Some parts of the Lake Geneva region will also see improvements. But the best news for many working travellers is that mobile connections are being improved, as is the online sales service.
The CFF rail company presented highlights of the new schedule to the press Thursday 17 November.
You’ll be able to plug in and connect better in 2012
All the new trains will have electric plugs and existing intercity trains will also get them. “All the new Duplex trains on the intercity trains will be equipped with WLAN,” says Jeannine Pilloud.
A major improvement could be the installation of equipment that amplifies signals received inside and outside the train cars, giving better access to the cell phone and Internet network.
1.8 million cell phone tickets ordered and number growing
The CFF app for ordering online tickets via cell phone is proving popular, with 1.8 million users since it was introduced in 2010, and the number is growing steadily, says the rail company.
Users of the small pocket timetables will find that some of the international ones are disappearing, in favour of online information, and that smaller stations’ stops are no longer listed, but are incorporated into regional listings. All details will be available online, however.
French-speaking Switzerland, especially commuters, to see significant improvements
A host of changes for trains in the Lake Geneva region will have a significant impact:
More double-decker trains will be used on the Geneva airport/Lucerne line, offering more seats
An additional InterRegio train will run between Neuchatel and Lausanne at 07:53 and the Neuchatel/La Chaux-de-Fonds/Le Locle line will have additional service during rush hour and a pair of trains is being added to the Neuchatel to Bienne line
Canton Vaud: the S4 line is being extended from Morges to Allaman, stopping in Saint Prex and Etoy, which will now have trains every 30 minutes instead of once an hour, Monday to Friday.
Geneva: La Plaine/Geneva, more trains will run during rush hour. Coppet–Geneva–Lancy-Pont-Rouge trains, the 30-minute schedule is being extended for weekend night and trains will run every half hour on Fridays and Saturdays until the end of the day.
New international connections, travel time cut on major links
©2011 Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Hickstead, the 2008 Olympic gold horse ridden by Canadian Eric Lamaze, died of heart failure following an aortic rupture, The FEI, the international equestrian federation, said Wednesday, based on a preliminary post-mortem. The horse collapsed and died in the arena in Verona, Italy, Sunday 6 November after competing with just 4 faults.
Lamaze was unhurt.
Cause behind the rupture may never be known says vet
The FEI’s veterinarian director, Graeme Cook, said Wednesday that “under FEI regulations any equine death at an FEI event must be investigated and a post mortem undertaken. The preliminary findings have revealed a catastrophic rupture of the major blood vessel, the aorta, which very rapidly led to heart failure. This is an unusual incident in Jumping and while we are investing the very many possible causes of a rupture of this nature, it is possible we may never know the real reason behind it.”
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Italy’s Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi agreed late Tuesday 8 November to step down, but on condition that the parliament pass two key financial reforms. There were signs Wednesday that parliament would play his game, with the leader of the opposition party, Dario Franceschini, saying his party is ready to approve the law by the end of the week. But even this was not enough to contain borrowing costs and calm markets, reports the Financial Timesin the early afternoon: “The sell-off in the Italian bond market spread into equity and currency markets, with the Eurofirst 300 down more than 2 per cent and the euro down 1.5 per cent against the dollar at 1.3627.”
Reuters had written early Wednesday that markets were set to rally on the news of Berlusconi’s departure after some 20 years of colourfully marking Italian politics.
Berlusconi told his own TV station Canale 5 Wednesday that he will not run in 2012, when early elections are held. “I will resign as soon as the law is passed. Since I believe there is no other majority possible, I see elections being held at the beginning of February and I will not be a candidate in them,” reports Xinhuanet. He repeated his determination not to stand again to newspaper La Stampa.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The number of asylum seekers in Switzerland rose 4.9 percent in October, representing 100 more individuals (total, 31 October: 2,142) than in September, new figures from the Federal Migration Office shows. The office says that at the end of September the figures for the second quarter of the year were stable, with a 1.2 percent increase.
Zurich, Bern and Vaud have the largest number of active asylum applications under consideration.
Eritreans and Tunisians remain the two largest groups seeking asylum, with Nigerians third.
Switzerland sent 351 applicants to Italy in October, under the terms of the Dublin Regulation, which is designed to prevent asylum-seekers from applying to several European Union states or to move continually from one to another.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Bond markets were nervous Monday as Greece scurried to put in place a 100-day emergency coalition government that will push through a bailout plan before money runs out. Governments in the eurozone rushed to placate the traders as Italy’s borrowing reached its highest-ever point, raising new fears about its financial stability.
Reuters reports that Lucas Papademos appears to be the front-runner to lead the coalition government, which would be in place until new elections in February. He is a former vice-chairman of the European Central Bank.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is calling for a confidence vote, vigorously denying he is planning to resign. Italy’scost of borrowing reached its highest ever level Monday, with AP noting that “if the cost of borrowing rises too much, Italy might not be able to refinance its debt. Italy is the euro zone’s third-largest economy and is too big be bailed out by Europe’s financial rescue fund.”
Links to other sites: BBC, Economist, Miami Herald/AP
The Rhone (top of photo) was swollen by rains at the end of the week and during the weekend, but water levels fell Sunday
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Genoa, Italy is cleaning up after Liguria’s Friday floods, which followed those of a week earlier centred around nearby Spezia. Four people are reported dead and scores injured after flash floods 4 November.
France’s Var region was hard hit by floods over the weekend, with a retired couple missing and presumed dead after their car was washed away in flooding. Le Monde reports that 1,300 people were evacuated, with more than 300 ml of rain falling in three days, an amount normally seen in three months.
Switzerland’s southern regions, notably Ticino, and some Alpine areas in other cantons were on high alert at the start of the weekend with water levels high, but by late Sunday Meteo Swiss had lifted the danger alerts, with water levels falling for the Rhone and Lakes Lugano and Majore.
Swiss natural disaster alerts are listed on a federal web page, www.dangers-naturels.ch
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Dublin is under water and three people are dead, five missing in Liguria, in northwest Italy, as heavy rains led to floods Monday and Tuesday. Thailand’s continuing woes from rivers swollen by weeks of heavy rain resulted in the second airport in the capital, Bangkok, being closed Tuesday 25 October.
Dublin is almost back to normal Wednesday after several public transport services shut Tuesday, following torrential rains the previous day and night. Other parts of Ireland still have roads shut due to flooding. The rainfall in October has set a record for the country.
Italy’s popular tourist towns in Cinque Terre, along the Ligurian coast, have been hit by high winds and rain. Three people have died and five are missing according to Spezia police Wednesday morning. Authorities are asking residents of the area to stay home if possible and to not drive their cars.
Links to other sites: Bangkok Post, CBS, Irish Times, TSR (Fr)
Swiss exports, imports (Source: Swiss Statistical Office, 20.10.11)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss exports and imports continued to expand in the first nine months of 2011, but with the rate of growth slowing down steadily and “losing strength” and reflecting the state of the world economy, the Swiss Statistical Office said Thursday morning in a press release.
Exports grew by 2.4 percent from January to September, CHF147 billion, with growth in the first two quarters but a decline in the third.
The growth was achieved despite falling prices, down 10.7 percent in real terms, although without including pharmaceuticals, prices fell by 7 percent.
Imports rose in the first nine months but by a weak 1 percent.
Switzerland showed a positive trade balance from January to September of CHF16.7b, a one-year 14.7 percent increase. A CHF17b surplus with Asia offset the CHF16.3b deficit with the European Union.
A bright spot: orders from Italy, France and Germany rose by 4 percent in September.
MILAN, ITALY – Sunday 9 October was a car-free day in Milan, designed to get the pollution level, one of Europe’s highest, down to legally acceptable levels. Seventy firefighters and extra police officers ensured that from 08:00 to 18:00 virtually no cars were driven in the city. The city’s safety commissioner said they were also checking cars with stickers for the handicapped, which could be driven, to catch cheaters, according to Corriere della sera newspaper.
The fine is euros 155 for driving on a car-free Sunday.
The ban followed 10 days of restrictions on certain categories of vehicles that were labelled polluters. The system kicks in when the pollution level rises above 50 micrograms of particulates per m3 of air over 12 days
Source: WHO, September 2011
Detractors, including some environmental groups, say the day off does little to bring down levels. Corriere della sera cites one critic who notes that the level has dropped to within legal limits after only on six of the 15 car-free Sundays in recent years, and that the city should invest more in anti-pollution measures for its public transport system.
Milan’s citizens were encouraged to take advantage of free entry Sunday to the city’s swimming pools and discounted entries for several museums, using the additional buses and subway trains that were put on for the day.
The northern Italian city has one of the highest car ownership ratios in the world and ranks as one of Europe’s most polluted cities for both the extent to which pollution rises above the European Union PM10 (particulates) limit of 50 micrograms per m3, and the duration. An Ecopass system to reduce car traffic went into effect in 2008, at which point 98,000 cars reportedly entered the city every day. The number of cars affected by Sunday’s ban three years later was 120,000, according to city officials.
The most recent comparative figures, from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in late September, show Milan, Torino and Naples sharing the top spot, with 2008 annual PM10 figures of 44 or 45 on average. The WHO published its new clean air guidelines and database covering more than 1,000 cities in 91 countries, noting:
“PM10 particles, which are particles of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream, can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections. The WHO air quality guidelines for PM10 is 20 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) as an annual average, but the data released today shows that average PM10 in some cities has reached up to 300 µg/m3.”
Bern, Geneva and Zurich showed annual averages of 21 to 24, while Rome was 35 and Paris 38, according to WHO figures.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Europe’s financial outlook is gloomy today: Italy’s economy slipped another notch late Tuesday 4 October, Greece was refused another loan by the European Union, and the euro fell in early Wednesday trading in Asia.
Moody’s downgraded Italy’s government bond rating from Aa2 to A2 and gave a negative outlook because of long-term debt financing risks and the economy’s slow growth. It is the first cut for Italy by the ratings agency in two decades, reports Bloomberg, and follows the 20 September cut by S&P. Italy is now the sixth country in the euro region to have its credit rating cut this year.
Meanwhile, European finance ministers delayed giving Greece the euro 8 billion bailout money it needs to avoid defaulting while insisting the EU will not allow it to default. Markets rallied in Europe on the more positive news that the ministers have agreed a coordinated approach to EU banks’ capitalization is needed, with the commissioner for economic affairs, Olli Rehn telling the Financial Times, “Capital positions of European banks must be reinforced to provide additional safety margins and thus reduce uncertainty,” adding that “This should be regarded as an integral part of the EU’s comprehensive strategy to restore confidence and overcome the crisis.”
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, Financial Times, RT News, Russia (video)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Media in the Italy, Britain and the US are heavily covering the release from prison of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, following the judge’s decision in Italy to overturn their murder convictions in the November 2007 death of Meredith Kercher. Coverage of the trial and release continue to follow national lines, with American media often portraying Knox as an innocent victim, British media emphasizing the prosecution’s description of her as a liar with a split personality, and Italy media incensed that their justice system is being called faulty by Americans.
Knox sobbed as she left the courtroom. Sollecito’s father gave an emotional TV interview outside. And Kercher’s family quietly left, telling journalists briefly of their disappointment, appearing stunned by the verdict. They will give a press conference later today.
Rudy Guede, 24, from Cote d’Ivoire, was also accused of the murder in a separate trial and his appeal was upheld although he, too, claims innocence.
A fourth person involved in the court case, bar owner Patrick Lumumba, was once Knox’s employer, and while under interrogation she accused him of the murder. He was detained for two weeks based on her evidence. Know was found guilty 3 October of slander and was sentenced to three years, which she has served, and ordered to pay him several thousand dollars. Knox is likely to quickly sign an agreement worth at least $1 million with a US television network, according to Britain’s Sky News.
Links to other sites: Guardian, UK, Seattle PI, Sky News, Zimbio images
Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Faster than a speeding bullet, faster even than the speed of light, neutrinos flying in beams sent through the Earth’s crust the 730km between Cern in Geneva and the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy are astonishing the world scientific community. Initial measurements of the neutrinos have given scientists startling results, showing them to travel at 20 parts per million above “the world’s cosmic speed limit”, the speed of light.
Neutrinos are elementary particles that are electrically neutral.
The Opera project, which has thus far measured some 15,000 neutrino events, has prompted Cern to open access to other scientists to better understand the results, the Geneva group says in a statement Friday, linked to a seminar on the results. The surprising results, which fly in the face of accepted science, must be independently verified, says Cern. Checks for faulty equipment and methodology have turned up nothing.
“The Opera measurement is at odds with well-established laws of nature, though science frequently progresses by overthrowing the established paradigms,” Cern notes in its Friday statement. “For this reason, many searches have been made for deviations from Einstein’s theory of relativity, so far not finding any such evidence. The strong constraints arising from these observations makes an interpretation of the Opera measurement in terms of modification of Einstein’s theory unlikely, and give further strong reason to seek new independent measurements.”
“This result comes as a complete surprise,” said Opera spokesperson, Antonio Ereditato of the University of Bern. “After many months of studies and cross checks we have not found any instrumental effect that could explain the result of the measurement. While Opera researchers will continue their studies, we are also looking forward to independent measurements to fully assess the nature of this observation.”
“When an experiment finds an apparently unbelievable result and can find no artefact of the measurement to account for it, it’s normal procedure to invite broader scrutiny, and this is exactly what the OPERA collaboration is doing, it’s good scientific practice,” says Cern’s research director Sergio Bertolucci.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The 6,000-plus ton satellite that is expected to fall to Earth late Friday has gripped US media this week, and the frenzy of concern over where it will fall has extended to Italy. Civil protection authorities in northern Italy Friday told people the risk is greater in their area and they should stay home to avoid the possibility of falling debris.
Nasa, the US space agency, says the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite is one of hundreds that return from space every year but this one is the size of a small van. Most of it will burn up during re-entry, but chunks weighing more than 150 kg could survive the fall. The odds of a person belong hit are nevertheless tiny, on the order of 0.03 percent. Italian authorities say the odds are 1.5 percent in the north of the country.
Civil protection authorities are warning Italians not to go near any pieces of the satellite they find, because they could emit toxic gases.
US media have made the story headline news all week. The satellite was launched in 1991. It has spent 7,317 days in space.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Standard and Poor’s downgraded Italy’s sovereign debt Tuesday 20 September by one notch to A/A-1, and it maintained its “negative” outlook. The move came as a surprise to markets, which expected Moody’s to downgrade Italy first, according to CNBC, but it has said it will wait a month to decide.
The S&P move had an immediate impact on the euro, which fell in trading. S&P remarked in its statement that it believes Italy’s National Reform Plan will have little influence on improving the country’s economic performance.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lashed out at the rating agency, saying that its assessments seemed “more dictated by newspaper stories than by reality”, according to Aljazeera.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The road to the St Bernard Pass and tunnel between Switzerland and Italy has been closed since Saturday night, following a landslide near the village of Bourg St-Pierre.
No one was injured when mud and rocks were washed down by torrential rains about 19:15 3 September.
Several thousand cubic metres of rock, gravel and mud blocked the road after the support walls gave way.
Road crews are working to clear the area, but it will take several days and the road is closed until further notice, say canton Valais police.
Trucks and other vehicles are being shifted to the Col de Forclaz via Chamonix and to the Simplon Pass, to link up with Italy.
Update 8 August, 07:30 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The European Central Bank late Sunday agreed to buy Spanish and Italian government bonds, Reuters reports late Sunday night 7 August, based on information from a “monetary source” and noting that the ECB will shortly issue a statement to that effect. “‘The Euro system will intervene very significantly on markets and respond in a significant and cohesive way,’” the source is quoted as saying. The move is designed to prevent the sovereign debt crisis, which has been aggravated by Friday’s downgrading of the US debt, from worsening the situation for Italy and Spain, two of the euro zone’s most exposed countries in the crisis.
Markets open Monday for the first time since the US credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s Friday 5 August. The euro jumped Monday morning as currency markets opened, following the late Sunday decision by the ECB.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, Economist, Guardian, Financial Times, Reuters
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The prosecutor in the case against two Italians and one Swiss from Ticino who are accusing of plotting to bomb an IBM nanotechnology research centre near Zurich has called for the trio to be given firm rather than suspended prison sentences, given that two of them have previous convictions linked to anarchy. They face at least three years in prison and fines of CHF15,000 each if convicted, reports ATS/Le Temps.
The court’s verdict is expected Friday 22 July.
The three have been under arrest since April 2010. Expert witnesses have testified this week that the explosive device the three had on them at the time of their arrest would likely have caused a rapidly spreading fire and death if it had been used.
The “eco-terrorists” as they are widely referred to, have refused to speak during their trial. They have admitted they belong to an anarchists’ movement. A small group of about 50 supporters has picketed outside the courthouse in Bellinzona, with placards calling for them to be freed and for IBM to be shut down and nano-technology to be eliminated.
Part of the cocaine haul (photo: Valais police)
SION, SWITZERLAND – A Swiss-Italian cocaine ring operating between Milan and canton Valais, mainly in the Val d’Anniviers and Goms Valley areas, was dismantled at the end of January, police say. The investigation continued for several weeks.
Seven people were arrested and five remain behind bars, one of them a Swiss man from Valais and the other four Nigerians, two of whom are residents of Italy and two of whom near Brig, where they have B permits.
The two from the Brig area were arrested for selling 2.7 kg of cocaine. The woman from Italy was caught in the act of hiding 210 g of cocaine “in her private parts”, police say, and the man from Italy was arrested the same day after being identified as the ringleader.
A 51-year-old Ghanaian man was arrested for selling the drugs they supplied, in the Brig area, and a 23-year-old Frenchman was also arrested, for selling the cocaine to young consumers in the Val d’Anniviers region.
The investigation began in October 2010 and led police to question 33 consumers, one of whom was arrested on other charges, a 20-year-old French youth who admitted to several car thefts and break-ins in the Val d’Anniviers.
EuroCity in Ticino (©2011 CFF)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – EuroCity trains between Geneva and Milan will take a few minutes longer during the coming week, the CFF rail company warns, and passengers will have to change at Domodossola, effective today, Wednesday 13 July.
Regular maintenance work showed up repairs that are needed to the inclined trains axles on some of the EuroCity trains and the work is expected to last until at least the start of next week.
The slightly damaged axles are not a security risk, the CFF says, but if left alone more costly repairs will be needed in the future. The cause of the damage has not yet been determined.
EuroCity direct trains between Geneva and Venice are not affected and will continue to use the ETR610 inclined rails.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – World stock markets slid early Wednesday 13 July as investors’ nerves were tested, first by Ireland Tuesday evening becoming the third Eurozone country after Greece and Portugal to have its sovereign debt given a junk rating, then by news from Italy that borrowing costs are at their highest level in a decade.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called on Italians Wednesday morning to make sacrifices, saying national unity is needed to reduce what he referred to as the country’s debt mountain. Parliament is scrambling to pass a deficit-reducing budget by Friday, before a European Union meeting on budgets.
The Financial Times reports that Moody’s downgrading Tuesday of Ireland’s debt is based on reasoning “similar to that used in Portugal’s downgrade to junk last week, a move that provoked a furious reaction from European policymakers who threatened new regulation of rating agencies.”
France is watching warily, with Le Monde saying markets are affected by “sharp concern” that the debt problem is moving beyond Greece, Portugal, and Ireland and is now threatening Italy and Spain.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Voters in Italy soundly rejected a three-part referendum in voting Sunday and Monday 12-13 June, handing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi a defeat that he acknowledged Sunday evening. The referendum asked Italians if they wanted to reject legislation covering three issues:
- a return to a nuclear energy programme
- privatization of water resources
- government officialls’ exemption from the obligation to appear in court if called to trial because of government duties.
Voter turnout was the largest in more than 15 years, 57 percent, despite Berlusconi’s appeal to citizens to boycott the opposition-sponsored referendum. The proposals were rejected by more than 90 percent.
Berlusconi himself currently faces three trials for corruption and one where he is charged with having sex with an under-age prostitute.
Links to other sites: CS Monitor, Deutsche Welle, Irish Times
Italian side of the Simplon pass, March 2011
Updae 19:00 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Police in canton Valais re-opened the Simplon road pass between Italy and Switzerland Friday morning after closing it for more than 24 hours following a fire in the Simplon rail tunnel. The fire broke out in a freight train early Thursday shortly after the train left Iselle, in Italy, heading for Switzerland. There were no injuries, but as of Friday afternoon smoke was still a problem in the tunnel and trains are being rerouted until at least Saturday noon.
The CFF rail companies has announced the following changes, until further notice:
Passengers from Basel, Geneva and Lausanne heading for Milan: take another route
Passengers travelling from Geneva / Lausanne to Milan’s Central station should take the EuroCity trains (EC) Genève – Lausanne – Milano Centrale and change in Brig + Domodossola. The CFF asks passengers to allow for a longer travelling time.
Passengers travelling from Basel SBB / Olten / Bern to Milano Centrale or vice versa should travel via Luzern / Zürich HB – Chiasso and allow for a longer travelling time.
Hotline
The CFF rail company hotline for updates, from inside Switzerland: 0800 99 66 33.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Silvio Berlusconi’s stronghold of Milan, his hometown, as well as Naples, appear to have elected leftist mayors in local elections, with a clear swing away from the centre-right that has been key to Berlusconi’s coalition government, in voting Sunday 29 May.
The first round of voting two weeks ago made it clear that the two cities might be lost to the prime minister, but Sunday’s voting, with the total not yet confirmed, appears to back this. Political analysts in Italy are scurrying to assess what this means for the leader and his party, but newspapers in neighbouring Italy are already focusing on Berlusconi’s trial for sex with an under-age prostitute, which resumes Tuesday 31 May.
Links to other sites: Corriere della Sera, CNN, Guardian,
