February 9, 2010

Adults and children carrying candles marched this evening across the Mittlerebrücke from Claraplatz and down Gerbergasse from Barfusserplatz, in a show of solidarity with children with rare diseases.

A disease is considered rare if it affects fewer than three hundred people in Switzerland. Most of the thousands of rare diseases identified by researchers are still without a cure. By some estimates up to ten percent of the population is affected by a rare disease during their lifetime.

As we present this newscast, marchers are converging on marktplatz in the form of the word "selten"- the German word for rare.  Proceeds from the march will fund research.

Source: Matt Gilsenan
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Basel will host a new design exhibition this year. Organizers of the Blickfang show selected Basel as their fifth location after Stuttgart, Zürich, Vienna and Tokyo. The exhibition was founded in 1993 and drew nearly twenty thousand visitors last year in Zürich.

The Blickfang showcases furniture, lighting, fashion and jewelry. Basel's premiere will run from April 23rd til 25th. Over a hundred designers will show their creations. A third of participating designers are from the Basel area.

Source: Basler Zeitung
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A man allegedly smuggled two and half tons of Spanish food items into Switzerland over the last two years. He was selling meat, sausages, cheese and alcoholic beverages to friends and to local Spanish and Portuguese restaurants.

The smuggler stored the items in France and drove the goods in small amounts across the border as needed, before customs caught on. Customs says he will pay 30‘000 Francs in duty as well as a large fine.

Source: bazonline.ch
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The new anti-smoking law takes effect in Basel on April 1st. Most restaurant and bar owners chose not to build a designated smoking room to comply with the law. This means smokers will have to go outside for a cigarette. Businesses located in residential areas fear noise complaints from neighbors and expect a twenty percent reduction in turnover.

Backlash against the new law continues. Six Kleinbasel bar owners have formed a club to sidestep the smoking ban. The restaurants Schafeck, Han, Volkshaus, Schiefes Eck, Wilder Mann and Torstübli will be open only to smoke-friendly members.

Source: Basler Zeitung
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One of two men involved in the attempted robbery of an armored car in Pratteln yesterday morning has been arrested. The robber was shot by the driver of the armored car and was arrested last night when he went to the hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound.

Doctors routinely alert police when patients have gunshot wounds. Police added that the wound was extremely painful, but not life theatening. The man‘s accomplice is still at large.

Source: bazonline.ch
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The man who shot his estranged wife in a phone booth on the Marktplatz in 2004 is being deported to Turkey. He has spent the past six years in a Basel prison and will finish his eighteen year sentence in his home country. He is also banned indefinitely from returning to Switzerland.

Basel's immigration department reports about thirty deportations of convicted criminals every year with numbers on the rise.

Source: Basler Zeitung
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Basel‘s health department launched a new web site for adolescents yesterday. The department said surveys showed that young people are interested in topics dealing with their health, but want them to be available on the internet in a suitable form.

The new site „www.mixyourlife.ch“ attempts to do just that. The site focuses on health information for young people and on the counseling available from the canton.

  Source: Bazonline.ch
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A forty nine year old area man signed a bill of sale for a used car at a Liestal dealership last week. He promptly asked to take the car for a test drive. When he did not return, the car dealer called the police.

The man returned intoxicated three and a half hours later. Police called to the scene did a blood test and found an alcohol level of nearly two pro mille. It was also revealed than the man was driving without a license.

Source: Basler Zeitung
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