Cold Splash for Drunk Bicycle Driver Lands her in Legal hot Water; Syngenta to Cut 500 Basel Based Jobs; Swiss Tennis Innovation To Be Tested; Most Valuable Swiss Gold Coin Ever to be Auctioned; Basel Contemplates Zurich Style Sex Boxes

Last night at approximately 10pm a 41 year old bicycle rider fell into a drainage canal just over the borders from Basel in Germany.  Luckily for the woman, who was determined to be drunk after her rescue, alert nearby residents rushed to her rescue.  Hearing her cries for help, a local resident was able to pull the victim from the canal by throwing her a jacket before she was washed down stream where the nearby canal is underground and would have complicated her rescue.  Luckily, the woman appears to have suffered only from a mild case of hypothermia...her legal troubles however are probably just beginning, as driving a bicycle while intoxicated carries similar penalties to operating a motor vehicle under the influence.   ********************************************************************************************   The Basel based global agro chemical firm Syngenta has announced that it plans to eliminate 1800 jobs globally.  Also affected, are 500 operational positions in Basel of which 2/3 will be relocated abroad and the remaining being eliminated altogether.  The company cited a difficult market environment for its products and the desire to achieve necessary cost savings in making the move.  Syngenta executive committee member christoph mäder said the company hopes to complete the employment transition by 2017.  Patrick Dubach, chairman of Unia Northwest Switzerland, a trade union representing the interests of workers affected by the job reductions, expressed dismay at the surprise announcement and cited the social responsibility the company bears in outplacement, relocation and severance of affected employees.   ********************************************************************************************  

There’s a revolutionary new form of tennis being promoted, and at the forefront of it all is Switzerland’s Roger Federer. Federer and Aussie Lleyton Hewett are preparing to go head to head in an exhibition of the shortened game prior to the Australian Open. The new rules are designed to make the game much faster, and feature no advantage scoring, no tiebreakers and first to four games sets with no tie breakers. Fresh from helping Switzerland secure the Davis Cup, Federer said he was thrilled to be a part of the concept. And Hewett backed him up, saying  “It's a fantastic innovation for tennis, and one that I hope will take off”

 

********************************************************************************************  

The most valuable Swiss coin ever is to be auctioned tomorrow in Geneva.  Beside its numismatic value, it is of particular interest because of its depiction and connection to Basel.  The 20 Ducat gold coin weighing 68 grams was struck in 1741 by the Basel City mint and was probably presented as a gift to a city patron.  the coin depicts the basilisk holding the basel town herald on one side and the basel city-scape on the other (including a depiction of the mittlerbrucke when it was still made of wood).  For the last 200 years the coin has been in the possession of a single private family.  According to the auctioneers Numismatica Genevensis the only known existing replica of the coin is in the Swiss National Museum in Bern and is in far worse condition than the coin about to be auctioned.  How much for so much history in one small beautiful coin you might ask: Frank Baldacci of Numismatica auctions estimates the coin will fetch a half a million francs at auction...

 

*********************************************************

 

Local politicians are considering new rules to help control prostitution in Basel, with a plan to implement ‘sex boxes’ being floated. The controversial boxes, already in place in zurich, provide a drive in zone in which customers can meet prostitutes. The move comes as KleinBasel’s red light district continues to stretch toward breaking point. It is hoped the sex boxes will serve to contain the trade. However, not everyone is pleased with the idea. Local prostitutes claim the problem is being overstated, and that hiding the trade way will serve little purpose.