blue News and Keystone-ATS give you a first glimpse of the news, with the latest news unearthed in the press. Without forgetting birthdays and the saying of the day!
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Today’s highlights
ALPINE SKIING: The Swiss Marco Odermatt, at the top of the general classification of the Alpine Ski World Cup, can take advantage of the Bormio stage, where a descent then a super-G are planned for Saturday and Sunday, to take off. The Nidwalden already has four podiums on the Stelvio, two successes in super-G and two second places in downhill.
ALPINE SKIING: The Swiss Camille Rast debuts this weekend the red bib for the first time overall in the Alpine Ski World Cup in Semmering, Austria. The Valaisanne, who has not competed on the white circus since her first victory in slalom on December 1 in Killington, approaches the Austrian events with confidence but with a certain pressure, in the absence of the American Mikaela Shiffrin and Slovakian Petra Vlhova, injured. A giant is on the menu on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday.
ICE HOCKEY: Two matches are scheduled for Saturday in Davos as part of the Spengler Ice Hockey Cup. The Czech team Dynamo Pardubice faces the Finnish club Kärpät Oulu from 3:10 p.m. From 8:15 p.m., it’s Team Canada’s turn to play its second match against the German Tigers of Straubing.
Seen in the press
VOTES: The Federal Chancellery has discovered numerous irregularities in the collection of signatures for the popular initiative “Yes to security of medical supplies”, the Basler Zeitung, the Berner Zeitung, the Bund and the Tages-Anzeiger revealed on Saturday. The text was given to him on October 3 with 131,542 signatures. Of this total, 3626 initials are invalid, of which 3308 come from Geneva. A forensic analysis showed that many of the instructions were written by the same hand, Andreas Faller, member of the initiative committee, explains in the newspapers. The latter cooperates with the authorities, adds Mr. Faller, stressing that some of the signatures come from private collection companies.
DEFENSE: An investigation by a law firm reveals systematic dysfunctions at RUAG and in the Leopard 1 tank trade, said the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on Saturday, which obtained the interim conclusions of the report. An employee of the Swiss arms company operated a hidden trading system for years and profited massively from it. The resigning chairman of the board of directors Nicolas Perrin speaks of sums of a “significant amount”. Mr. Perrin announced his resignation at the beginning of 2024, at a time when RUAG MRO was singled out by an audit by the Federal Financial Control for its management of the sale of Leopard 1 combat tanks.
UKRAINE: Former federal councilor Alain Berset said in Saturday’s Blick that he had already engaged in the war in Ukraine and the crisis in Georgia as part of his new role as secretary general of the Council of Europe. He has already visited Ukraine three times since taking office in September. “I have witnessed air alerts on several occasions, day and night.” The whole country is at war and not just part of it, he recalls in the newspaper, while politicians in Switzerland want to remove the protection status of Ukrainians. “There are no safe areas in Ukraine at the moment,” he adds.
VOL: Supermarkets are increasing checks in Switzerland to deal with a significant increase in thefts over the past three years, 24 Hours and the Tribune de Genève reported on Saturday. The cause is inflation. In 2023, 24,252 shoplifting incidents were recorded, compared to 16,752 in 2021, according to the Federal Statistical Office. They had already increased by 20% in 2022 compared to 2021. The checks carried out at normal checkouts, however, remain less widespread and more recent than the random searches carried out at self-service checkouts. “Current security measures are sufficient to ensure a constant and low theft rate,” assures retailer Migros.
DRUG: The first measures of the plan against crack in Geneva have made it possible to stabilize the crisis after a year, said Friday in Le Temps Thomas Herquel, the director of Première Ligne, an association which manages an injection premises in the city of Calvin, the Pier 9. “The situation is under control, which was not the case a year ago,” when the number of crack users doubled every month, he adds. “The number of consumers is constant and violent acts have decreased,” he notes. According to him, “the maximum pool [des personnes susceptibles de consommer du crack] has been achieved.” He notes that the police and the association have managed to “better control the terrain and fight against opportunity tourism”.
Birthdays and jubilees
– One year ago (2023): death of the former State Councilor and Attorney General of Ticino Dick Marty. The man who was also rapporteur at the Council of Europe and member of the OSCE Human Rights Commission fought energetically against organized crime and in favor of human rights.
– 10 years ago (2014): an AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-200 crashed in the Java Sea with 162 people on board.
– 10 years ago (2014): a fire broke out on the Italian ferry Norman Atlantik during a violent storm. The ship, which carried 478 people, was traveling from Patras, Greece to Ancona, Italy. Most of the passengers were rescued by helicopters. Seven people died.
– 20 years ago (2004): death of American writer Susan Sontag. Considered a mediator between Europe and the United States of America, she is publicly committed to human rights. She was also known as a critic of cultural and social conditions and the American government.
– 70 years ago (1954): birth of American actor Denzel Washington (“Philadelphia”).
– 90 years ago (1934): birth of British actress Maggie Smith. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in “The Wonder Years of Miss Brodie” in 1970 and for Best Supporting Actress in “California Hotel” in 1972. She also played Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” saga. Potter. She died on September 27, 2024.
Saying of the day
“A too cold December does not make the peasant rich.”
