Bumpy weather for the airline industry means job cuts to engine maintenance crews in Basel
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Lufthansa Technik, a subsidiary of the parent of Swiss, the airline, is going on a strict died, restructuring to focus on just one product. The company will cut 82 of its 302-person workforce as a result. The move comes as a result of the high franc and tough airline market conditions, the company said Tuesday 15 May in a statement.
Lufthansa said earlier this month that cost cutting would involve 3,500 jobs worldwide in coming months, due to market conditions.
Lufthansa Technik “will concentrate exclusively on line maintenance, light base maintenance and logistics services for its customers at EuroAirport Basel” it says, and it will discontinue “The labor-intensive technical maintenance of VIP aircraft and the Component Services and Engine Services business will all be discontinued” due to under-utilization, with some job cuts coming before the end of this month.
“The demand for maintenance of regional aircraft and their engines had declined dramatically, and the company was unable to compensate for these disproportionate losses in capacity utilization through its business in the maintenance of VIP and executive jets,” it says.
The company has negotiated with Swiss a deal that may involve 22 staff keeping their jobs, with the Swiss fleet’s engines continuing to be maintained at the engine shop in Basel. The staff would not be working as employees of Lufthansa Technik, however.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Michele Bachmann, US congresswoman from Minnesota, has decided not to be Swiss after all, in the wake of media brouhaha over her decision to take up citizenship in a Thurgau village along with the rest of her family. Her husband, technically a Swiss and US dual national at birth, only decided to register as a citizen in March 2012. Bachmann, under laws that were in effect until 1992 in Switzerland, automatically became Swiss by virtue of marrying a Swiss man.
She announced the news on her House of Representatives website: “Today I sent a letter to the Swiss Consulate requesting withdrawal of my dual Swiss citizenship, which was conferred upon me by operation of Swiss law when I married my husband in 1978. I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen. I am, and always have been, 100 percent committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, stepdaughter of an Army veteran and sister of a Navy veteran, I am proud of my allegiance to the greatest nation the world has ever known.”
Fortunately for Bachmann, renouncing her Swiss citizenship will be far easier than giving up a US passport would be: she will not have to pay $450 or swear that she will file any outstanding tax forms with the Swiss government for the past several years (since she presumably has not been filing Swiss taxes) as she would have to do if she gave up her US passport instead.
Most measures demanded are already in upcoming changes to law, says Federal Council
Swiss law to crack down on unsafe drivers, with or without popular vote
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Federal Council Wednesday 9 May told Parliament it will not back a popular initiative calling for tougher measures against “chauffards” or road hogs, particularly those who injure or kill others. The cabinet says the proposal duplicates pending changes to legislation in two areas, a project to harmonize criminal penalties in a number of areas and the Via Secura road project.
The popular initiative calls for stiffer penalties: a driver’s license would be taken away for a longer period, fines would be heavier and their cars would be confiscated with the proceeds from sales going to help victims of road accidents. The government says the “quasi-totality” of these measures is covered by the pending legislation, but a final measure, to take away a driver’s license as a preventive action when serious charges are pending against a driver, was rejected by the council because it goes against the presumption of innocence.
Via Secura is making its way through parliamentary commissions of both houses, which have debated a number of details this winter, including limiting the duration of some driver’s licenses and setting a minimum age for cyclists.
The harmonization project calls for stronger penalties in the case of serious injury, putting the lives of others in danger or for homicide by negligence. The only difference here, compared to the initiative, says Bern, is that no minimum penalty is set for homicide by negligence or serious injuries due to negligence. On the other hand, the maximum penalties are increased.
Switzerland in 2011 had
Parent company plans 3,500 job cuts worldwide “in coming years”
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Airline Swiss and its mother company Lufthansa both showed losses for the first quarter of 2012, a year that the parent firm expects to remain difficult. Lufthansa posted a loss of euros 397, despite higher passenger traffic that resulted in revenues of euros 6.6 billion, a 5.6 percent increase.
High oil prices were the main culprit but the company noted its earning were also hit by “the air traffic tax imposed in Germany and Austria and the costs of emissions trading in force in Germany since 2012 all had an adverse effect on the Group’s operating result.”
Swiss showed an operating loss of euros 6 million and its sister airline in the Lufthansa Passenger Airlines group had a loss of euros 67m, out of a total loss of euros 442m for the group.
Lufthansa says its cost-cutting plan “is to be achieved partly by cancelling loss-making routes and restricting capacity growth, which has been set at zero for 2012 and a maximum of four per cent for the years 2013 and 2014 each.” It is stepping up its investment in first-class service, saying it intends “to remain the European airline with the most First Class seats by far.”
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – An arms embargo will remain but other sanctions against Myanmar/Burma have been lifted by the European Union, to take effect the week of 30 April, the EU announced 23 April.The easing comes as a result of the Burmese parliament re-opening and other signs that the repressive regime is serious about opening up the country and improving its human rights record.
Switzerland, whose own sanctions match closely those of the EU, has not yet announced if it will make a similar move. The Swiss began sanctions 12 years ago because of human rights abuses, and it tightened these in 2006.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – UN specialist workers are being given, for work in the Republic of Congo, 300 systems to safely remove arms stockpiles from a distance. The systems are being supplied by the Swiss federal government at the request of the United Nations.
Switzerland is taking part in the UN’s Emergency Response Mission to rid the country of munitions following a deadly explosion 4 March in the capital, Brazzavile. The blast killed 250 people and left another 1,500 injured.
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 – GenevaLunch is taking a two-day break from the news for the Easter holiday, celebrated throughout Switzerland and France.
The weather forecast might keep many of us indoors at least part of the time: lows of 2-3C and highs of 7-8C with occasional showers.
Happy holidays from the GenevaLunch team!
The newly expanded WRS newsroom in 2009
Update 12:15 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – WRS, World Radio Switzerland, says Wednesday morning 4 April, that SSR (Swiss public broadcasting, also known as SRG), its parent company, is considering the possibility of selling the station and privatizing it or closing it down.
The station cites SSR chief executive officer Roger de Weck as saying English-language radio should no longer be publicly funded. De Weck was formerly president of the Graduate Institute in Geneva, took over at the helm of SSR in January 2011.
The station called in a media observer this morning to comment on the situation.
The station was formerly the private station WRG, World Radio Geneva, but SSR, which had been a partner, took it over in 2007. Three years later the station added several hours of programming and began to work with NPR in the US as well as the BBC for broader news coverage, part of its extension as a national rather than local radio station.
Mark Butcher and Peter Sibley, who created the online and cable station Radio Frontier in June 2011, as the linchpin of their company Anglo Media, reacted to the news in a statement saying the company ” believes the closure of an English language FM station is potentially a backward step” but that they sympathize “with the financial pressure the SSR has to face up to – many public broadcasters across Europe have made similar tough decisions.” They believe “the private sector has to be given the opportunity to provide these essential information services,” noting that they are talking to all parties concerned.
Butcher, who spoke to GenevaLunch Wednesday morning, says that as a former WRG and then WRS announcer he is “obviously sad for the people who work there” but that he does “understand the situation that Swiss Public Broadcasting finds itself in,” citing Europe-wide radio difficulties.
GENEVA / ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Airline Swiss announced Tuesday 27 March that it will be increasing long haul flight fares 2 April, by CHF10-30 in economy class and CHF50-100 in business, for flights from Switzerland.
Changes in the market account for the price hikes, says the company, which notes that first class fares and special offers are not affected.
EasyJet confirmed Monday that it will begin a trial of allocating seats on five lines, possibly including Geneva, in April. The plan was announced last December, but losses in the airline industry have put some plans on hold.
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.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The official inauguration of Switzerland’s first university research centre in Asia takes place Friday 16 March in Singapore. The Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC) was created by Zurich’s federal polytechnic institute ETH in September 2010 with financial support from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore.
The first research programme undertaken by the ETH Zurich, with various academic partners, as part of the SEC was the Future Cities Laboratory, which will be visited by Swiss Federal Councillor Alain Berset with Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Vivian Balakrishnan. The project aims is “to plan more sustainable and resource-efficient cities for the future because today over half the world’s population already lives in cities, and megacities in Asia, Africa and other world regions are expected to continue to grow in the coming years and decades”, the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs says in a statement.
Singapore is home to a number of Swiss research centres, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. Berset will also be visiting the Novartis‘ Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), which has a research programme on tropical diseases that particularly affect populations in the poorest developing countries.
Brady Dougan, Credit Suisse CEO
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Credit Suisse Thursday 9 February reported a net loss of CHF637 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, significantly worse than many analysts’ expectations, according to Bloomberg. Full-year figures remained in the black, with net income of CHF1.95 billion, but the profit was down by 62 percent, compared to a net profit of CHF5.2b in 2010.
Chief executive Brady Dougan summarized the result for Q4 as “disappointing”, saying “It reflects both the adverse market conditions during the period and the impact of the measures we have taken to swiftly adapt our business to the evolving market and regulatory requirements.”
It is the bank’s first quarterly loss since 2008 and in the statement issued Thursday the bank attributes it to “realignment costs of CHF414 million from cost-efficiency measures, and CHF567 million from businesses we are exiting and the reduction of risk-weighted assets in our Investment Banking fixed income business.”
The bank’s private banking business was hurt by “significantly lower levels of client activity and higher expenses for legal matters and credit provisions”.
Private banking new money continued to flow in, with net new assets of CHF40.9 billion for the year, but the last quarter was CHF7.6b, mainly from emerging markets, indicating a slowdown.
State of talks with the US government
Talks with Swiss and US government officials are ongoing, Credit Suisse notes, over allegations that the bank acted illegally with wealthy US residents who were trying to hide their money from American tax authorities. “Credit Suisse is strongly supportive of a resolution acceptable to both the US and Switzerland. Credit Suisse continues to cooperate with the authorities both in the US and Switzerland to resolve this matter in a responsible manner that complies with its legal obligations.”
Swiss and US officials have indicated this week that they are anxious to resolve the situation, which one top official not directly involved in the talks described off the record as a top area of “tension” between the two countries.
CEO says costs incurred to prepare for new world where banks face new regulatory environment
Dougan says costs incurred to re-position the bank will pay off as it cuts losses from less profitable business areas.
“In mid-2011, we decided to aggressively reduce risks and costs. This decision was rooted in our belief that the market and regulatory environment is undergoing fundamental change, and that by embracing these developments and proactively adjusting our business model, we can position Credit Suisse to succeed in the new environment. The regulatory developments and the subdued market environment in the second half of 2011 have confirmed our views. The accelerated implementation of the risk reduction plan and our measures to exit businesses that are no longer expected to deliver attractive returns in the changed regulatory environment, as well as higher charges incurred due to the rapid execution of the cost reduction programs, led to negative impact of CHF 981 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.”
Max the white stork, in early March 2009, on her snowy nest near the Swiss-German border - will she find snow again this year? (photo: Heida Buergermeister)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Max knows something the rest of us don’t: spring is on the way. Freezing temperatures throughout Switzerland for the next few days and record snowfalls make it hard to believe, but one of the first harbingers of spring, Max the stork, has started her return north from the area around Madrid in central Spain.
Max’s movements are followed by the Natural History Museum of Fribourg, which banded the bird. This is her 13th winter migration and her movements tell us much about the change in seasons. Some years Max has wintered over in North Africa, but most often she opts for Spain, often further south than this year.
Max is a Swiss-born white stork who has been tracked for longer than any other bird in the wild. She left her summer home in Tuefingen, Saturday 10 September, taking about three weeks to make the trek to her winter home in Spain. Last year she arrived 8 February and was mating a month later. Her five 2011 offspring were born around 20 April.
GenevaLunch background: Max the stork
Zurich airport
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – More morning and evening flights, but fewer flights over southern Germany from Zurich: this is the tradeoff agreed to by Switzerland and Germany, which announced Saturday 28 January they have signed an agreement to reduce noise.
The new accord is expected to go into effect in the summer of 2012.
Noise reduction in the southern German air corridor has been a contentious issue for a number of years and the two governments said in announcing the agreement that they also hope new developments in airplane technology will ease the situation.
Swiss, one of the main airlines using the corridor, has said it will be replacing half of its fleet there by 2020, according to TSR.
Switzerland has said it needs more flexibility for flights in and out of Zurich, particularly in the morning.
Zurich Airport had 20,911 “movements” of planes in December 2012, up 1.7 percent from a year earli.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Xamax, the Neuchatel football team, lost its license Wednesday 18 January, the latest in a string of major distractions off the field, for the team and Swiss football fans. Controversial club owner Bulat Chagaev has five days to appeal and show that the club is financially sound.
TSR, Swiss public television, Wednesday evening carried a series of reactions to the club’s bump from the Super League as the result of the move by the Swiss Football Association.
The license was taken away after a string of financial incidents, from unpaid supplier bills to unpaid social security bills and alleged fake statements showing that the Chechen owner has $35 milion with which to back the club.
Fox Sports reports that the license loss has prompted an ownership group to prepare “to save the publicly humiliated club from an apparently inevitable demotion of at least two divisions, and possible bankruptcy under its current Chechen owners.” TSR, Swiss public television, reports Wednesday night that
Swiss football has been suffering in recent weeks from other off-the-field fights, with Sion being fined 36 points by the Swiss Football Association, a move the club has hotly contested.
Swiss Bankers Associatio CEO Claude-Alain Margelisch
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Few details have surfaced from the discussions between the US and Switzerland about a new “global solution for all banks“ that would end serial tax evasion investigations by US authorities, with both sides pledged to silence while negotiations are underway.
The head of the Swiss Bankers Association gave a rare glimpse into the talks when he said in Geneva Tuesday 22 November that his group’s role is to find a solution for “the rest of the financial sector” but not for the 11 banks under investigation by the US Justice Department.
The small group of banks, which includes Credit Suisse, is suspected by the US of helping American clients evade taxes by hiding money offshore.
Claude-Alain Margelisch, chief executive of the Swiss Bankers Association, qualified discussions with US officials as “productive”.
Margelisch, Swiss banking group head, met with int'l media in Geneva Tuesday
His group approached its members, he says, “to find solutions. I can say we’ve made progress.”
His remarks came in the context of a presentation to the Swiss Foreign Press Association on key banking events of the past year. The agreements with the UK and Germany were major accomplishments, he said, but these are not yet ratified and “we have to convince all parties” that the treaties are a compromise and the best way forward.
The group’s priority with the agreements is to see them ratified, he says. “Our view is that there can be no renegotiation”, as suggested by some German parliament members who are opposed to the treaty.
Swiss banks want to “draw a line under the past but protect the future,” he told the reporters. “Our strategy is clear: we want the clients’ [business] to remain in Switzerland and we want this business done correctly.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – It took one hour, 28 minutes and it was a tough match, but Swiss Roger Federer defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 2-6 6-4 Sunday 20 November for the opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals. The two faced off just a week ago when Federer beat Tsonga in the final of the ATP Masters tournament at Paris-Bercy.
Federer played a better first set and then Tsonga powered past him in the second set, breaking service twice.
The match was even in the third set until Tsonga fell apart in the final game.
Too much of a good thing means we need to cut back, says the Federal Office of Public Health
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss are known for their conservative approach to money, but one area where they are too liberal, it appears, is in adding sodium, or table salt, to their food. A study released Monday by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) shows that people consume nearly double the amount of salt they should, but it also points to ways to reduce this, starting with the food industry.
Too much salt causes health problems, with the risk of cardiovascular disease high on the list. The Chuv (university hospitals) in Lausanne was mandated to carry out the research, with questionnaires for 1,500 people followed up by tests for hypertension.
Men were found to consume more salt than women, 10.6 grams compared to 7.8g. The World Health Organization’s recommends an intake of 5g maximum.
More men had a problem with high blood pressure, 32.3 percent, than women, 19.1 percent, but the average of more than 25 percent shows a population too much at risk for cardiovascular disease, says the FOPH.
School lunches, work canteens will use less salt, more herbs and spices
Expect less, get more, could well be the motto of the future for the Swiss population, with the food industry and researchers now working with the health office to cut back on the use of salt without any loss of flavour or safety in order to help consumers boost their health.
The study is part of the FOPH’s “Salt Strategy 2008–2012“, which aims to reduce the nation’s salt consumption. Salt Strategy is one part of the Swiss Nutrition and Physical Activity Programme 2008–2012.
Eleven categories of products have been targeted for reduced salt, with the federal government laying out recommendations for industry cutting back. Read more…
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Sonntagszeitung in Zurich has reported, citing an unnamed source, that Credit Suisse is handing over client data for 130 customers to the Swiss government, at the request of the American tax service, the IRS. The federal government, which has demanded that the bank turn over the names immediately, according to the Swiss weekly, will review the names and data, and provide them to the US tax authorities once it decides they meet the criteria required for Switzerland to provide administrative assistance to the US.
Swiss procedure allows the clients a chance to appeal, a process that could well mean it takes several months for the IRS to obtain the information.
Credit Suisse has so far not confirmed the Swiss weekly publication’s numbers. Last week it said it was informing clients who are affected by the move.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss companies share first place at the bottom of the list, but for a change this is a good thing: the list is Transparency International’s (TI) rankings of countries most likely to bribe abroad. Russia heads the list, with China close behind. The last two invested $120 billion overseas in 2010.
The Netherlands and Switzerland are the countries whose companies are the least likely to bribe. The report ranks 28 major international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad, based on surveys of 3,000 business executives.
The annual report on bribery looks, for the first time, at business to business bribery rather than just bribes paid to government officials. Story continues …
Source: Transparency International, November 2011
BERN, SWITZERLAND – A number of Swiss trains are delayed, cancelled or taking different routes Friday after a Thursday evening sideswipe crash between two trains left one conductor in critical condition. The cause of the crash in Olten, a major centre for Swiss trains, with several intersecting rail lines, is not yet known.
One of the trains had left Sissach and the other Basel. Twenty people were aboard the two trains, but there were no other serious injuries. The engine was badly damaged and two cars derailed in the accident.
The Olten-Basel line is closed until at least 15:00 Friday, with the CFF announcing the following changes (updates, CFF):
Derailment: Tecknau – Olten (SBB CFF FFS)
Derailment: Between Tecknau and Olten on the Basel SBB – Olten line, no train services are operating.
The Basel SBB – Chur / Zürich HB Intercity trains are being rerouted.
Long-distance trains IR Basel SBB – Luzern are cancelled between Gelterkinden and Olten.
Long-distance trains Basel SBB – Lugano / Locarno are cancelled between Basel SBB and Olten.
The IC Zürich HB – Bern trains make an unscheduled stop in Olten.
The Basel SBB – Bern – Interlaken Ost / Brig Intercity trains are being rerouted. The trains make an unscheduled stop in Gelterkinden. Please allow for approx. 30 minutes more travel time.
S-Bahn trains S3 are cancelled between Tecknau and Olten.
S-Bahn trains S9 are cancelled between Sissach and Olten.
Replacement buses operating Olten (xx:15 / xx:30 / xx:50) – Läufelfingen – Sissach.
Replacement buses operating Sissach (xx:10 / xx:35 / xx: 55) – Läufelfingen – Olten.
Passengers travelling from Basel SBB
- to Lugano – Chiasso / Locarno or vice versa travel via Zürich HB.
- to Luzern or vice versa travel via Zürich HB.
Passengers travelling from Liestal
- to Bern should take the S-Bahn S 3 to Gelterkinden and change in Gelterkinden onto the InterCity (IC) to Brig / Interlaken Ost.
- to Olten or vice versa travel via Aarau.
Passengers travelling from Gelterkinden to Olten should take the InterCity (IC) to Brig / Interlaken Ost.
Passengers travelling from Tecknau to Olten or vice versa travel via Sissach.
Please allow for a longer travelling time.
The connections are not guaranteed.
Duration of disruption expected until 07.10.2011 15:00.
For further information, please call free SBB hotline at 0800 99 66 33.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss police and gendarme training school in Savatan has signed an agreement with the French national Gendarmerie to boost mutual training and continuing education projects. One of the key goals will be to improve cross-border collaboration, increasingly important given growing policing problems in urban France and the Lake Geneva region that require rapid responses, say canton Vaud police, who are closely involved in the project.
Theft and violent crime in the Lake Geneva region, often with the criminals coming from French urban areas, has increased in recent years.
New police academy projects will focus on improving joint work methods and greater use of technology.
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.
Vaud sailor Bernard Stamm's Cheminee Poujoulet was in 5th place Sunday in what the organizers call the "fearsome" Fastnet race (photo, ©2011 Gwendal Danguy)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss sailors were in a strong position at the end of Sunday in the 608 nautical miles Fastnet race, often called a “mythical” sailing event, in part because 15 people died during the storms that battered the race in 1979.
The 2011 race began Sunday 14 August on the Isle of Wight under what the event organizers called perfect conditions, with a record number of entries, 314. A line of clouds on the horizon suggested dramatic sailing might lie ahead.
The race runs along the south coast of the UK, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, before returning around the Scilly Isles to the finish in Plymouth.
Several of the boats, including Steve Ravussin’s (Swiss) Race For Water, were over the line early and had to turn around for a re-start, adding to the day’s drama.
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.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The three anarchists, or “ecoterrorists”, who were caught just 3 km short of their bombing target, a new IBM nano research centre near Zurich, were handed the maximum sentences Friday by the high court in Bellinzona, Ticino. Two Italians in their 30s and a 26-year-old Swiss man were sentenced to more than three-and-a-half years each, although the time they have spent in preventive custody since April 2010 can be counted as part of their time.
Canton Zurich is responsible for overseeing their prison time.
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.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - Hainan Airlines, one of the fastest-growing airlines in the industry and China’s fourth largest, starts three-times weekly flights between Zurich and Beijing Tuesday 31 May, the beginning of what promises to be stronger aviation ties between Switzerland and China.
Swiss is reportedly targeting Zurich-Beijing as one of its next offers, possibly linked to Swiss’s purchase of five new planes.
Photo: bridgestochina.com (Life in Beijing)
Hainan Air’s non-stop service will used an Airbus A330 with 34 business class and 179 economy seats. The flight runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in each direction. Flights leave Zurich at 13:20 and arrive at Beijing International Airport at 05:20 local time the next morning. The departing time from Beijing is 01:50 local time, landing at Zurich Airport at 7:05 the same day. Both arrival times offer the possibility of good connections for further travel, says Hainan Air, China’s largest private airline.
“The frequency is much likely to be increased if the market demand is higher,” notes Hainan in a press release about the new line. It also notes that with code-sharing with its partner Air Berlin for Zurich-Berlin flights that connect with Berlin-Beijing on Hainan, Switzerland and China now have nearly daily connections between their capitals, on Hainan.
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.
