GenevaLunch - Hot News

GenevaLunch has moved: here is how to use these archives, change feeds

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:22:23 +0100

[Update 30 May: if you've reached these pages through a search engine such as Google, please use the URL www.genevalunch.com to reach our new home.]

GenevaLunch changed its platform - the underlying software and server - 15 April. The new site is at the same address, www.genevalunch.com, with all the previous articles in these archives (note that the address in your browser window is http://genevalunchcom.site.securepod.com).

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Child falls off ski-lift in Verbier

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 20:00:04 +0100

Verbier chairlift, where child fell Friday 13 April 2007 (photo, Valais police 2007)

Cantonal police, Valais, Switzerland, Fre - A seven-year-old child from Britain fell off a four-seat chairlift in Verbier Friday, suffering head injuries and stomach pains. He was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Sion. The boy was with three children and first reports were that they were unable to close the bar properly, but this version of the story is contested by Televerbier, which operates the lifts. The child fell from a height of about eight metres, according to the police report, after riding the lift for 100 metres. A ski teacher and three other children were in the seat ahead of the foursome.

German fighter jet that crashed in canton Bern flying lower than normal

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:44:29 +0100

romandie/ats, Fre - The German military Tornado that crashed near Lauterbrunnen Thursday, killing the 27-year-old pilot and injuring the 34-year-old officer with him, was flying lower than is normal for Swiss military jets, officials said at a press conference Friday afternoon. The cause of the crash remains unknown and a military as well as a penal invetigation have been opened. The surviving officer was well enough to be questioned. They were flying by sight rather than by instrument.

More people bet on Friday the 13th

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 12:16:19 +0100

WRG-FM - More people buy scratch cards and more people buy lottery tickets on a Friday the 13th, says the Swiss Lottery Association.

Verbier skier's death has freeride world in mourning

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:46:15 +0100

24 Heures, English Corner - Verbier 18-year-old extreme skier Neal Valiton tumbled to his death Wednesday afternoon in competition in Tignes, France, in front of a horrified crowd.

According to organizers it is the first death in 10 years of freeride competitions.

Nyon starts to count cars

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:28:53 +0100

La Cote, Fre - The number of cars in Nyon has risen 40% in 15 years and the town, with its narrow winding city-centre streets has struggled to cope. Beginning Friday and until 8 May Nyon is counting cars and interviewing drivers to obtain a precise traffic picture. Tuesday 17 April drivers going uphill on three routes (Clémenty, Morâche, route de l’Etraz) will be stopped to answer questionnaires, and on Thursday coming down the same three routes. Surveys will be done on other roads in following weeks.

Nyon voters in September 2006 voted against municipal plans for an inner ring road to relieve congestion.

Internet presence could be as good as opinion polls for measuring voter trends

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:11:17 +0100

Tribune de Geneve, Infos générales, Fre - A Geneva-based company, Agence Virtuelle, has been measuring the presence of French presidential candidates on the Internet for the past year to determine if Internet buzz is as good an indicator of voting trends as opinion polls. It is, says the company's president, Stéphane Périno. He notes that with 14 million French people online, the population base for the study is good, although there are limitations, such as not knowing who is under 18. Pre-election events such as the rapid rise of François

Energy consumption in Switzerland climbs

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:54:25 +0100

RSR, Fre - Energy consumption in Switzerland increased by 0.8% in 2006, despite growing concerns about global warming and politician's efforts to keep consumption in line with a possible electricity shortage in the country from 2015 to 2020. Electricity use rose, according to the federal energy office, because of a higher gross domestic product (GDP), up 2.7% and a population increase of 56,000.

Man with assault rifle kills one, injures four in Baden hotel

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:19:06 +0100

Le Temps, Fre - A man with an assault rifle opened fire, apparently at random, in a hotel in Baden, canton Argovie, Thursday night. One person was killed and three taken to hospital with injuries. A fourth person appears to have shown up later at the hospital. The killer was taken into custody.

Few details are available but police have announced a press conference for early Friday afternoon.

Edipresse profits down 20% - free newspapers cited

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:46:12 +0100

24 Heures, Vaud section, Fre - Edipresse, the second largest media publisher in Switzerland, announced a 2006 drop in profits of nearly 20%, blaming a poor market in Spain, where it has several magazines, and the rise of free newspapers in Switzerland. The company owns Geneva's Tribune de Geneve, Lausanne's 24 Heures and Le Matin. It also publishes the region's most successful free paper, Le Matin Bleu. CEO Tibère Adler says that while advertising has been climbing for the

Zurich team finds means to stop diabetes 2 progression

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:56:34 +0100

swissinfo - A team at Zurich University, working with scientists in Sweden and Denmark, Thursday published in the New England Journal of Medicine their findings that anakinra, a medicine used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, blocks the action of Interleukin-1 beta, which has a key role in diabetes type 2.

Diabetes type 2 affects 90% of diabetics and is on the rise worldwide, especially in older people. It is linked in particular to excess weight and can lead to a variety of other health problems. In the US, national statistics show that 7% of the population has diabetes. According to the World Health Organization diabetes accounts for 5% of deaths globally every year and the number of cases is set to increase by 50% in the next 10 years unless urgent action is taken.

At 150 metres a second, the new TGV makes passengers' hearts beat faster

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:06:52 +0100

24 Heures, Vaud section, Fre - The TGV that last week became the world's fastest train, traveling at 574.8km per hour, is a breathtaking experience even at the mere 500kph the train did Wednesday afternoon with 60 invited guests, writes Mehdi-Stéphane Prin. The new rail that makes these high speeds possible is being tested and used as a laboratory, with 700 passengers traveling on it in the space of a few days. Next week the track, in Champagne in eastern France, will be dismantled. It will serve as the prototype for the high-speed track that will link Basel and Zurich.

Federer's watch gives Rolex an extra smile as watch fair opens in Basel

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:32:03 +0100

Le Matin, Fre - First it was Breitling whose hot air balloon world tour was celebrated on a stamp in 1999 and now it's Rolex's turn to smile at the additional free publicity from having its watch appear on Swiss postage stamps. Roger Federer's new stamp shows the tennis champion holding his Wimbledon trophy - with his Rolex in plain view. Le Matin talked to watchmakers as the [annual watch fair](http://www.baselworld.com/go/id/ss/lan

German Tornado fighter jet crashes near Lauterbrunnen

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:48:09 +0100

[Update, Friday, 12:56: the plane was headed towards Sion, according to romandie/ats. 24 Heures reports that the two German fliers managed to eject and were found on a glacier below the point of impact, where the survivor gave signs of life.]

RSR, Fre - A German fighter jet returning home after exercises in Corsica crashed in canton Bern near Lauterbrunnen Thursday, shortly after 15:00. One pilot was killed and another injured. The plane had refueled in the region and was apparently doing navigation exercises, where a set of objectives must be met. For reasons that are not clear, it crashed into a rock wall between Aebniflue and the Mittaghorn, close to Stechelberg.

Rega air rescues near 10,000 mark

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:29:20 +0100

12 April 2007, Alpine peaks: with 1,514 mountain rescues a year, chances are someone on these peaks will be calling Rega today.

TSR, Fre - Rega, the Swiss air ambulance service, was called on 9,578 times in 2006, an increase of 6.4% over the previous year. The number of trips due to mountain sports accidents was up 9%, with July and September the busiest months of the year. Winter sports accidents alone increased by more than 11%.