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Local News Summary of November, 28th

  • Three government members mark installation of new street sign
  • One woman arrested during raid in Basel’s “Red Light District“
  • Man wanted in Switzerland arrested in Lörrach

Three government members mark installation of new street sign

The first street sign giving information about its name has been installed in De Wette-Strasse in Basel. Government members Baschi Dürr, Hans-Peter Wessels, and Lukas Engelberger gathered in temperatures as low as 3°C at the junction of De Wette-Strasse and Elisabethenstrasse to celebrate Basel getting its first street sign of its kind.

Up until now, the sign only carried the words “De Wette-Strasse“. However, hardly anyone would know who that person was. Wilhelm Martin Leberecht De Wette was a heretic from Weimar who lived in exile, and who became head of the University of Basel five times. It is not only the streets named after people that will be explained, but also areas where houses were built. This is not just for the benefit of tourists but also for residents to gain a deeper understanding of the city they live in.

At the ceremony, there were short speeches and a buffet served before the street sign was officially handed over to the members of government. It was then handed back to be erected - however, it would have been nice to see a member of government on a ladder working with a cordless screwdriver. Mr Dürr instead rubbed his hands while Mr Wessels shook the hands of others and everybody awaited the big moment. After a few minutes it was all over, and the old enamel sign lay on the ground like a hunted animal, replaced on the wall of a house with a new plastic version.

The initiative originates from then MP Lukas Engelberger, who came up with the idea in 2008. This explains why the Director of the Health Department also had to attend. He thanked Mr Dürr and Mr Wessels and addressed how his idea had been carried through by others: “I had an idea, people were interested, and in the end other departments had to work on it.“ In 2012, the decision had been taken to modernise street signs of Basel.

Nobody wants to answer the question what happens to the old street signs. Paul Haffner, president of the nomenclature commission, assumed they would be re-used and then admitted that such enamel signs are not produced anymore. So it‘s also a goodbye to these old signs. They must give way to the information society.

One woman arrested during raid in Basel’s “Red Light District“

The passports of three alleged sex-workers were seized and one person was arrested during a raid at a “contact bar” in Kleinbasel on Sunday night.

The woman was arrested in connection with an alleged immigration offence, while the licensee of the premises is facing criminal charges after allegedly allowing people to work without a permit.

The raid had been organised by the investigative service of the cantonal police Basel-Stadt and was supported by further police forces, the Office for Migration, and the Office for Economy and Labour. Among the ten people at the bar, around six were alleged sex-workers. They were taken to the Spiegelhof police station to be further interviewed. The women originate from Nigerian, Hungary, Brazil, the Czech Republic, and the Dominican Republic.

Man wanted in Switzerland arrested in Lörrach

A 30-year-old man who is wanted by the Swiss authorities after an assault was on Sunday arrested in Lörrach.

The police made the discovery about the man‘s identity after he was seen shouting in the street in the German town around midnight. He had caught the eye of police officers on patrol, who pulled over to speak to him. The police officers say he tried to open the door of the police car and became aggressive. The officers suspected that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol and feared that he may attack them. As they put him in handcuffs in the police car, he struggled, refused to give his name, and could not be calmed down. He was then taken to a custody cell.

Further investigations revealed that he is a 30-year-old violent criminal who is known to the police. He is registered as living in Germany and wanted by the police in Switzerland following an incident at a cinema where he was involved in a fight. He allegedly hit two people and injured a third with a toy weapon. The man himself was also injured. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear and are subject to further investigations.