Switzerland Tops Happiness Survey; Bomb Hoax Leads to Arrests; Animals Poisoned in Basel Park; Margarethen Skating Rink Targeted for Renovation

News on 28 April 2015

Last Thursday the United Nations released its 3rd Global Happiness Survey which seeks to quantify and rank nations by the happiness of its residents, and as a means to influence the policies of its governments.  In this year's survey Switzerland overtook Denmark to become ranked first, followed by Iceland, Norway and Canada.  Western European countries in general accounted for 7 of the top 10 happiest countries in the world.  You might be asking yourself how happiness is measured.  The UN study's authors identified parameters such as GDP per city, life expectancy, breadth of social networks and support, freedom of movement and expression and freedom from corruption. The goal of the survey is to more accurately define happiness through measures of peoples' well being, beyond measures of economic activity and productivity.  The biggest positive change in happiness rankings ironically may have been Japan, where the aftermath of the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear reactor disaster forced people to build mutual acceptance and cooperation.

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

Late Friday, tram service and traffic were diverted for hours from the Barfusserplatz area when a suspected bomb was found at the Tinguely Fountain.  In response, Basel Emergency services deployed a bomb-handling robot which had to be brought in from Zurich, having sold its robot in 2011 due to infrequent use.  Adding to the concerns of authorities and citizens alike was the fact that a page torn from German translation of the Muslim Holy Book - The Quran, was also found near the alleged bomb.  Thankfully, the event appears to have been a hoax perpetrated by a 16 year old Basel teenager and his girlfriend, whom the authorities took into custody Sunday evening. They now face criminal charges which could land them in prison for three years each and financial responsibility for the cost of the large scale police operation which was required.  The parents of the two were apparently unaware of their activities or intentions and were flabbergasted when they were informed of their children's arrest and the charges for which they were being detained. 

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

Schutzenmattpark in Basel appears to be the victim of a criminal attempt to poison pets, especially dogs.  Yesterday, two dogs were poisoned resulting in the death of one and requiring medical treatment for the other.  A dog owner that frequently walks his pet in the park told the Zwanzig Minuten newspaper that "at 8 o'clock in the morning he was walking his dog when he suddenly saw a very large dog vomit and collapse to the ground while foaming at the mouth and trembling"  The man called the police that responded, took the sick animal to the City veterinarians office and began to surveil the park and question witnesses for information.  There is no word yet on what the animals consumed to cause their illness, and that owners should be aware of.  Sadly, in similar circumstances, Schutzenmattpark was also the scene of a similar incident four years ago, when dogs were poisoned in the park by tainted sausages.  The police advise owners to be especially aware of their dog's habits at this time when walking in public parks.

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

Basel Stadt has undertaken exploratory plans to renovate the Margarethen Park skating area.  However, one of the controversial ideas that's been explored is possibly closing the ice rink for good and finding an alternative at the St. Jakobs sport complex.  For the time being however, the departments of the canton responsible for parks and maintenance are merely being tasked with evaluating the costs of all proposals, leaving the next skating season as-is.  Basel Stadt Parks commissioner Christoph Eymann elaborated on the thinking yesterday: "Basel is evaluating its comprehensive Ice-Sports Services Strategy. The estimated 40 million Franc renovation cost of Margarethen Park may not be sufficient to meet the social mandate for the advancement of ice-sports in Basel".  If the rink were closed, it is likely that an alternative public access rink will be built at St. Jakobs where ice-making facilities and infrastructure already exist to support the Basel Shark's hockey arena.  Before any changes to schedules are made, or construction work is undertaken, the plans will come before a public question and answer period, and subsequently a vote by the Basel Stadt Grand Council for funding, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the existing facilities.