Madoff, jazz and a cabinet reshuffle
Here are the top stories we’re following in the week of December 7.
Monday
First Madoff-linked trial kicks off in Geneva. This concerns the head of the largest of the Geneva feeder funds that channeled money to financial fraudster Bernie Madoff. The man on trial was charged in 2009 with aggravated mismanagement over his handling of client funds. Madoff is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence in the United States for running a $17.5 billion (CHF17.5 billion) Ponzi scheme that took money from new investors to pay old ones.
Tuesday
We report on how high-quality images and acoustics capturing irreplaceable moments from the history of jazz and blues, including such names as Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson, will soon be accessible to the public. The International Jazz Festival Bern is bringing out the Jazz & Blues Artbox, featuring DVDs of its archives, while the Montreux Jazz Festival’s archive, including rock and pop gems, will soon be completely digitised.
Wednesday
It’s cabinet election day in Switzerland. Who will step into the shoes of Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf in the seven-member executive? Will the conservative right Swiss People’s Party, the largest in parliament, get its longed-for second seat? Or will there be more drama ahead, as when Widmer-Schlumpf herself was elected? We’ll bring you all the latest developments.
Thursday
Extraordinary session of parliament on the refugee crisis in Europe and border controls. This comes shortly after Peter Gomm, president of the conference of cantonal social affairs directors, said that the refugee situation in Switzerland was “very tense”, with many cantons reaching their limits in terms of welcoming asylum seekers and providing accommodation.
What you may have missed last week:
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