September 14, 2010

Organizers are declaring the Basel premiere of the Run to the Beat marathon a runaway success. Nearly twenty five hundred runners enjoyed music playing from loudspeakers along the entire urban course of Sunday’s race which included half and full marathon distances. The fastest male marathon runner crossed the finish line after two hours and eleven minutes. Race spokesman Jan Kunz says a repeat event is planned for next year.

Source: 20 Minuten

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Basel's goverment has asked the Federal Office of Migration for higher quotas for non-EU managers and professionals. Basel says a shortage of skilled workers is hurting the canton's economy especially in the areas of life sciences, logistics, and services. Currently, the quotas for Basel and Basel-Land are exhausted after three or four months each year.

Basel also asked the Office of Migration to find a solution to allow student exchange programs and internships for further education and training of non-EU nationals.

Source: Basler Zeitung

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An area man has been named this year’s winner of the Prix courage. The annual award is sponsored by the journal Beobachter and honors acts of good samaritanism in Switzerland.

This year the autistic twenty four year old Marc Hoffman was honored for intervening in the random attack of two people by a violent group of thugs on the Gerbergasse in Basel. Hoffman was hospitalized after the attackers turned on him. The Prix courage is accompanied by a cash prize of twenty five thousand swiss francs.

Source: Basler Zeitung

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The new building for the University-Children's hospital in Basel is finished and ready to be furnished. The new hospital has a multi-colored fascade to give it a child-friendly-look. Construction took three years and cost just under one hundred and seventy million francs, which was on-time and on-budget. It will be equipped over the next four months and open its doors in late January.

Source: Basler Zeitung

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A Basel court cleared the secretary of the local Muslim association of charges to incite violence. Thirty three year old Aziz Osmanoglu was charged after expressing support for extremist Sharia law in a documentary film on the Islamic faith in Switzerland.

Osmanoglu argued that his on-camera approval of physical abuse of women and dismemberment of convicted thieves had been taken out of context by the filmmaker. A judge dismissed the prosecutor’s charges and ruled the statements fell under protection of freedom of speech.

Source: Basler Zeitung

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Two children were injured when a bouncy castle collapsed at a restaurant in Reinach. The eleven year old girl and the twelve year old boy fell to the ground when the slide they were on suddenly deflated. The girl broke her arm and the boy hurt his foot and suffered a concussion.

Police tested the moonwalk and found no damage that would have lead to the accident. Police believe someone may have opened the valve and let air out of the castle. The police are asking parents to come forward with any information.

Source: Basler Zeitung

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A dozen area bike couriers are planning a benefit ride from the Barfüsserplatz in Basel to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The event is slated for September 24th and riders aim to cover the five hundred kilometres between Basel and the city of lights in under twenty four hours. The couriers are raising awareness and funds for the Bikes for Africa Project which recycles, repairs and delivers used bicycles to poor communities in Africa.

Source: Blick am Abend

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