Basel parliament calls for Rhine bank facelift
The Grand Council has passed a motion by the FDP which calls for a renovation of the Rhine banks between the Mittlere Brücke and Solitude in Kleinbasel. The government had previously put a similar project on hold to save money.
The Grand Council passed the motion - signed by left-wing and right-wing politicians - to the government with 56 to 27 votes and 11 abstentions. The SVP and a majority of LDP politicians were against the plan while all other parties were in favour.
The motion called for a project at Schaffhauserrheinweg, which was put out to tender in 2010, to be implemented by 2020. It also said the area between Mittlere Brücke and Wettsteinbrücke should be renovated by 2019.
The tender for the design concept for the 2010 project was won by the landscape architect Hager, from Zurich, together with two partners. It included, among others, an avenue of trees, broad steps to the water, and gravel beaches.
Four years after the tender was won, the government however decided to renovate the area at Schaffhauserrheinweg when the public piping system will be renewed in 2030 to 2035. The costs for the redesign would amount to 15 million Swiss francs.
Zoo Basel says farewell to Saar the rhino
A transporter with heavy cargo left Basel Zoo bound for France yesterday. It was carrying Saar, a 17-year-old rhino who has spent the last 18 months in Basel and has found a new home at a zoo in France.
When Saar arrived at Basel Zoo in 2016 it caused a stir. It was only the second time in the history of the zoo that a female Indian rhinoceros had been imported for breeding. The first imported rhino was back in 1952 when Joymothi came to Basel. The son of Joymothi, Rudra, was the first Indian rhinoceros to be born in a zoo.
At Basel Zoo there was hope that Saar would also have a child. Around 210 Indian rhinos live in zoos and animal parks around the world. As representatives of their endangered relatives in the wildlife, they draw attention from millions of zoo visitors to the necessary protection of rhinos in India and Nepal. The protection of Indian rhinos is a race against time because rhinos in Africa and Asia are facing more and more difficulties, and poachers become increasingly ruthless.
A total of 35 Indian rhinos have been born in Basel zoo since 1956. Unfortunately, Saar did not become pregnant during her stay. Although she was very calm and approachable and was friends with the 24-years-old Basler female rhino, Quetta, she never made friends with Quetta’s son, Orys, who was born in January. This led to arguments among the females. Saar also did not show any signs of rutting and therefore never mated with the 23-year-old Basler bull, Jaffina.
Although they were sad to see her go, staff at the zoo, who have coordinated the European Endangered Species Programme since 1972, remain hopeful that Saar will make friends at the Parc Animalier et Botanique Banféré and maybe also get pregnant.
Federer's one step back to win
Roger Federer on Tuesday beat Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals in London with an unusual mix of defence and stamina, and as a result he is especially pleased with the win.
It was unusual and slightly worrying that Roger Federer tried to find refuge in backhand slice hits, although he has gone from victory to victory this year with an unconditional offensive drive. However, on Tuesday night he had to pull out his plan B against German player, Alexander Zverev.
«I simply didn't feel good using the backhand,» Federer explained after his 7:6, 5:7, 6:1 win against world's number three. The win secured him a place in the semi-finals before he played his last group game. «I couldn't swipe my hits well,» he said.
The 36-year-old record winner of the masters series blamed this on his lack of rhythm in the early phase of the tournament – just like other players. «Mistakes can sneak in and one loses confidence a bit,» the Basler said. «After that I automatically took a step back in order to make a win from there, and you need to develop some force for that, which I am lacking at the moment.»
In the end Federer was happy with his day, he said. «I also succeeded in many things and have received a lot of information about my defence,» he said. It was an idea to play more offensively but he decided to «play from the downside and with a slice» instead of being frustrated and give away point after point. He had to motivate himself to win every point and get every ball in the defence. «That's why I value this win so highly since it showed me that I can also win with this method.»
He had a break yesterday, when he did not do any training, and today (Thursday) he plays his match against Croatian Marin Cilic, in which he can «only» play for 200 ATP-points and 191,000 dollars of price money. Federer has already secured the win of his group. The ideal opportunity to work on his rhythm and offense.