Three Swiss duos occupy the podium at the Spiez Futures in Switzerland on Sunday with coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment Pairs from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported Netherlands and Czechia reach the women’s final Young team from Estonia complete the women’s podium with bronze As many as five of the six medallists at last week’s Beach Pro Tour Spiez Futures in Switzerland were from countries whose National Federations receive coach support through FIVB Volleyball Empowerment for their national beach volleyball teams Quentin Metral & Jonathan Jordan and Mirco Gerson & Luc Fluckiger lined up on the all-Swiss men’s podium to the delight of the home crowd on Sunday The Netherlands’ Brecht Piersma & Wies Bekhuis and Czechia’s Marketa Slukova & Karin Zolnercikova earned the gold and silver medals in the women’s tournament that finished on Saturday Estonia’s Eva Liisa Kuivonen & Liisa-Lotta Jurgenson completed the women’s podium with bronze The Spiez Futures 2024 all-Swiss men’s podium (Photo credits: cev.eu) Swiss Volley’s beach volleyball department has so far been allocated CHF 216,000 in coach support Polish instructor Lukasz Fijalek is training their men’s national pairs The Nederlandse Volleybalbond (Nevobo) has been granted a total of CHF 144,000 in coach support for their beach volleyball duos so far Their women’s national teams are training under the guidance of Nina te Lintel Hekkert has also received CHF 144,000 in coach support for their women’s teams Another CHF 15,000 has been tagged for funding Knowledge Transfer Programme projects for Czechia’s national team coaches development Argentinean coach Sebastian Menegozzo is in charge of their women’s beach volleyball duos 25-year-old Yves Haussener and 17-year-old Julian Friedli (pictured in the main photo; credits: cev.eu) lived up to their top seeding in the men’s main draw and claimed gold their first-ever Beach Pro Tour medal since they teamed up earlier this season they faced the new team of Haussener’s previous partner Quentin Metral with Jonathan Jordan and mounted a hard-fought 2-1 (18-21 the Spiez silver was also the first Beach Pro Tour medal Haussener & Metral collected two gold medals on the 2022 Beach Pro Tour and a Spiez Futures silver in 2023 while Friedli had never made it to the podium before Haussener & Friedli had a bumpy start in Spiez with a tight three-set win over Swiss compatriots Mirco Gerson & Luc Fluckiger and a loss to France’s Joadel Genevieve-Gardoque & Keran Duval in pool play but then picked up speed and cruised on to the final without losing a set in the next three matches they met Gerson & Fluckiger again and outclassed them in straight sets Spiez Futures silver medallists Quentin Metral & Jonathan Jordan (Photo credits: Adrian Knecht / volleyball.ch) Second-seeded Metral & Jordan followed a similar path – a win and a loss in their pool followed by three straight-set wins on the way to the final 21-12) victory over 10th-seeded Serbian qualifiers Djordje Klasnic & Marko Makaric The tournament in Spiez marked the return of Tokyo 2020 Olympian Mirco Gerson from retirement It was his first appearance at a major international event since the Games in the Japanese capital back in 2021 The 31-year-old defender decorated his Beach Pro Tour debut with bronze It was the first Tour appearance for his new partner Entering the main draw with a wild card as the bottom seed in the bracket they lost only two matches in the competition both to champions-to-be Haussener & Friedli Gerson & Fluckiger mastered a 2-0 (21-18 Mirco Gerson back in international action (Photo credits: cev.eu) Wies Bekhuis and 2023 U21 world champion Brecht Piersma celebrated their first gold and third overall podium on the Beach Pro Tour as a duo 22-year-old Bekhuis and 21-year-old Piersma did so in an emphatic manner without dropping a single set in five matches played in Spiez the third-seeded Dutch pair delivered a 2-0 (21-19 21-17) upset of top-seeded Swiss duo Leona Kernen & Annique Niederhauser and followed up with a 2-0 (21-19 21-14) sweep of the final against seventh-seeded Marketa Slukova & Karin Zolnercikova of Czechia The Spiez Futures 2024 women’s final (Photo credits: cev.eu) 35-year-old three-time Olympian Slukova secured her first Beach Pro Tour medal It was only the third Tour appearance for her and her 22-year-old partner Zolnercikova as a team Their four-match winning streak on the way to the final was shaped up by a 2-1 (24-26 15-8) comeback in their semifinal against bottom-seeded qualifiers Eva Liisa Kuivonen & Liisa-Lotta Jurgenson 21-year-old Estonians Kuivonen & Jurgenson entered the tournament as the 10th seed in the qualification bracket and after winning six of the eight matches played in Spiez The only losses they suffered were in their first main draw match against top-seeded Kernen & Niederhauser they got back at Kernen & Niederhauser with a 2-0 (21-18 The Spiez Futures 2024 women’s podium (Photo credits: cev.eu) 27 men’s and 27 women’s teams representing a total of 28 different countries from all five Continental Confederations took part in the Spiez Futures The next Futures tournaments – a double-gender event in Sveti Vlas Poland – will take place from 6 to 9 June Spiez Futures: results and standings The FIVB is the governing body responsible for all forms of Volleyball on a global level Working closely with national federations and private enterprises to develop Volleyball as a popular media and entertainment sport FIVB Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Château Les Tourelles Edouard-Sandoz 2-4 1006 Lausanne Switzerland Phone: +41 213 453 535 Fax: +41 213 453 545 Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab). Leave empty if the image is purely decorative. Text description provided by the architects. As part of a two steps project's competition organized in 2010 for the new library of the city of Spiez, the jury awarded the first place to the "Buchwert" project ("book-treasure", word game of the term « book value ») designed by 'bauzeit architekten' office in Biel. The project consists of a two levels wooden building, which forms an 'ensemble' with two existing buildings; the school and the main municipal,'s administration building. On the first floor, we find an extension for the municipal's administration (social services), on the ground floor the library and the game library for kids. The first phase of the detailed project was spread from 2011 to 2013, followed by the realization and the end of works in autumn 2014. © Yves AndréThe new building as part of the ensemble of public buildings defines, with its geometry, the surrounding space: in the eastern side, the park with its exotic trees maintains a clear spatial framework, while on the western side a sufficient distance is maintain between the residential neighbourhood area and the public buildings. In the North, it joins at the foot of the hill of the vineyards of Spiez. © Yves AndréThe organization of the internal spaces can be freely modified thanks to the not carrier walls of separation While in this period the timbers often imported from foreign countries because of the monetary situation of Switzerland it is necessary to underline the exceptional fact that more than 98% of the 451m3 of wood used for the construction of the building results from Swiss forests managed durably You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email If you would like to learn more about the IAEA’s work sign up for our weekly updates containing our most important news has worked on developing a national radioactivity monitoring capacity and on assessing residual levels of fallout radionuclides from the atmospheric nuclear weapon testing in the Marshall Islands The IAEA and Switzerland’s Spiez Laboratory will increase cooperation to boost Member States’ capability to study radionuclides in environmental samples and provide internationally acceptable radioanalytical data – especially critical in case of transboundary releases of radioactivity Redesignated today as an IAEA Collaborating Centre until 2025, the research body will also enhance activities of the network of Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) by developing novel radioanalytical methods available to over 190 laboratories across the world new radioanalytical methods were established in the framework of this collaboration,” said Najat Mokhtar IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications “The Spiez Laboratory’s expertise in nuclear forensics will significantly help the IAEA to enable Member States to respond in a harmonized way to accidental or intentional releases of radioactivity by producing accurate reliable and timely analysis of environmental samples.” As Switzerland's leading scientific institution for the protection of the population against nuclear the Spiez Laboratory is strategically positioned to assist the IAEA in its research and capacity building support to analytical laboratories and networks Collaboration between the two organizations will now expand in the area of capacity building to support the quality assurance of radioactivity data collection and analysis in IAEA Member States laboratories Training programmes on using field measurement techniques particularly In-Situ Gamma-ray Spectrometry will be provided to strengthen Member States’ preparedness and response to radiological and nuclear emergencies Capacity building support on using ICP-MS gamma and alpha spectrometry in environmental radionuclide analysis applying the ISO/EN17025 international quality standards will also be provided through ALMERA network These R&D and training programmes will enhance national capabilities to rapidly assess the type and level of environmental contamination that play a critical role in the decision making process in the case of a nuclear emergency “We are pleased that the designation of Spiez Laboratory has yielded positive results for the work of the Agency,” said Ambassador Benno Laggner Switzerland’s Resident Representative to the IAEA “We are confident that the re-designation will provide new opportunities to further strengthen the partnership between Switzerland and the IAEA.” Spiez Laboratory was first designated as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in 2016 The initial partnership focused on environmental protection and the establishment of radioanalytical methods of the highest standard Laboratory’s expertise was instrumental in supporting the work of the IAEA to verify the accuracy of radionuclide monitoring by Japanese laboratories off the Fukushima coast sediments and fishery products from coastal waters in front of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were sent to the Spiez Laboratory and other labs for detailed testing The results of this mission confirmed the reliability of data from previously analyzed samples by Japanese laboratories the Spiez Laboratory has collaborated on developing a national radioactivity monitoring capacity in the Marshall Islands The samples underwent a detailed radioisotope analysis in Spiez A full report of the results submitted to the IAEA and the local authorities in the Marshall Islands contributed to a comprehensive surveillance study and data comparison activities “This agreement will strengthen our collaboration with the IAEA in enhancing the study of radionuclides in the environment using ISO accreditation standards,” said Marc Cadisch “Our cooperation will enhance scientific and technical capabilities in other IAEA Member States.” Collaborating Centres are scientific institutions that work together with the IAEA by undertaking original research and development and training relating to nuclear science, technologies and their safe and secure applications. There are currently 47 active Collaborating Centres working on helping Member States reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Deputy Director General Najat Mokhtar hands over a plaque to Ambassador Benno Laggner re-designating Spiez Laboratory as an IAEA Collaborating Centre 25 Years of IAEA Support for Reliability of Global Data on Environmental Radioactivity IAEA Director General Discusses Nuclear Safety Non-Proliferation and Expanding Collaboration in Switzerland Representatives of Laboratories from 44 Countries Gather in Sweden to Improve Monitoring of Radioactivity in the Environment Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Since its invasion of Ukraine in February, the Russian Federation has alleged that Ukrainian public health laboratories supported by the United States are conducting offensive biological activities in violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) while promoting the fullest use of biology for peaceful purposes such as disease surveillance and developing medical countermeasures against pathogenic threats Russia brought its allegations before the UN Security Council and invoked a formal consultation process under the BWC designed to address treaty implementation concerns The historic effort at transparency protects the BWC consultation mechanism as a way to address legitimate concerns about biological activities The Article V consultation was held earlier this month and BWC parties have published documents and statements from the meeting which mitigates the risk that Russia or other BWC parties could present a misleading account of the consultation and its outcome This historic effort at transparency protects the BWC consultation mechanism as a way to address legitimate concerns about biological activities and offers a playbook for how such consultations should be conducted in the future It also heightens the importance of the upcoming BWC review conference Such Russian behavior continued the long-documented history of the former Soviet Union's propaganda efforts during the Cold War Russia continued to raise unfounded and debunked allegations that U.S.-backed laboratories in Ukraine are developing biological weapons and Russia invoked the consultation process under the BWC Article V of the BWC obligates states that join it to cooperate in "solving any problems" regarding treaty implementation Consultations under Article V provide a formal mechanism to increase transparency and mitigate ambiguities regarding biological programs there are limited historical examples of its use Russia's resort to Article V represents only the second documented multilateral consultation in the treaty's history. The only previous use was in 1997, when Cuba accused the United States of dispersing agricultural pests over crops. In that instance, BWC parties were unable to agree regarding the nature of the event but only the procedural report was published publicly No other documents are available on the 1997 consultation website highlighting major challenges to the mechanism in the face of complex geopolitical tensions These statements illustrate broad denouncement of Russia's disinformation efforts and support for legitimate public health activities in Ukrainian laboratories Russia's disinformation regarding Ukrainian biological labs is intended to distract and divide global attention from its reprehensible acts in Ukraine The commitment that BWC parties demonstrated concerning transparency in the Ukraine consultation creates an opportunity to set a precedent for future Article V proceedings. An advance copy of the procedural meeting report has been posted but BWC parties should produce and make publicly available a substantive report including a detailed account of the debate and a collated list of the evidence submitted during the discussion A substantive report will limit the ability of governments to distort or misrepresent the consultation which will preserve the integrity of Article V and reinforce transparency as a guiding principle for future consultative sessions The degree of transparency achieved during the Ukraine consultation should serve as the new minimum standard for future Article V proceedings BWC parties should establish formal guidance and procedures for future consultations and institutionalize lessons from this experience with the principal aim of ensuring the long-term viability of Article V as a tool for mitigating uncertainty and ambiguity regarding biological activities under the BWC The Ukraine consultation took place shortly before BWC parties gather in November and December to shape the BWC's future at the treaty's ninth review conference This meeting provides BWC parties with a major opportunity to institutionalize the lessons from the consultation and set other ambitious goals concerning the complex and evolving biosecurity challenges facing countries for the foreseeable future The geopolitical fault lines exposed by Russian disinformation and the Ukraine consultation risk aggravating diplomatic tensions ahead of the review conference, potentially setting the stage for a contentious gathering. If BWC parties cannot reach consensus on priorities or a plan of action, then action on Article V and on other critical issues will be postponed until the review conference in 2027 or, even worse, progress made in past years might unravel. The historic and continuing devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic should motivate BWC parties to work harder to prevent deliberate biological events and mitigate their potential impact. Many BWC stakeholders believe that a positive and concrete outcome at the Ninth Review Conference is necessary to demonstrate the treaty's ability to adapt to rapidly evolving biological capabilities and threats and to reinforce the global prohibition on biological weapons. Aurelia Attal-Juncqua is a fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Her primary interests include pandemic preparedness, biosecurity, emerging biotechnologies, biodefense, and biological weapons nonproliferation policy. Matthew P. Shearer is an associate scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a senior research associate in the department of environmental health and engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Gigi Gronvall is a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Look for your next weekly newsletter in your inbox. Protecting Ukraine's laboratory infrastructure is crucial to prevent a health crisis How Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant threatens human health A photographic view of the fallout from past nuclear incidents for health For years Botswana's scientists have been on the cutting-edge of research Stay up to date with the latest trends in global health Look for our next weekly newsletter in your inbox. A heavy loss for the German band Scooter: a crew member dies unexpectedly of heart failure just a few hours before the planned gig in Switzerland. Singer H.P. Baxxter mourns on Instagram. The German band Scooter around frontman H.P. Baxxter is going through a difficult time. On their Instagram page, singer H.P. Baxxter (60) and his colleagues Jay Frog (48) and Marc Blou (24) made it public that they are mourning the loss of a member of the band. "Some of you have already heard at the Seaside and Summerdays festivals that a tragic incident has taken place among our crew. Suddenly and completely unexpectedly, our great backliner Seb was taken from our lives," the band wrote on social media. Backliners play a central role in the band's operations and ensure behind the scenes that the musicians' equipment is always ready for use. The deceased had been an integral part of the Scooter crew for many years and supported H.P. Baxxter and his bandmates at their numerous festival appearances. The tragic incident occurred on August 30. Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an Ein Beitrag geteilt von SCOOTER (@scooterofficial) The band also wrote about the loss on Instagram: "Our crew and ourselves are shocked The death occurred on Scooter's way to Spiez BE. The head of the Seaside Festival, Philippe Cornu, told "nau.ch" that the band had arrived by car in the morning Cornu: "There they discovered that their colleague had died in his sleep." The emergency doctor who was called was only able to determine that the 40-year-old German had died The cause of death was apparently heart failure due to a pre-existing condition Four teams receiving support viathe transformative FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme reached the women’s and men’s finals at last week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event in Spiez Ukraine’s Diana Lunina and Tetiana Lazarenko outplayed Czechia’s Michaela Brinkova and Karin Zolnercikova while Marco Krattiger and Florian Breer emerged victorious from the all-Swiss men’s final (pictured in the main photo credits: cev.eu) against Quentin Metral and Yves Haussener A tense moment during the women’s final in Spiez (Photo credits: cev.eu) Through an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine the FIVB is currently covering Lunina and Lazarenko’s participation expenses food and local transportation for international events After their silver at the Madrid Futures last month and her 30-year-old new partner Lunina did even better and took the gold in Spiez these two tournaments were only their third and the fourth appearances on the Beach Pro Tour together fourth-seeded Lunina and Lazarenko went unbeaten through all five of their matches in Spiez 15-10) comeback against home pair Livia Stolz and Julie Bovet 21-14) shutout of Lithuania’s Ieva Vasiliauskaite and Erika Kliokmanaite in pool play Two more straight-set victories followed: 2-0 (25-23 25-11) over Czechia’s Kylie Neuschaeferova and Marketa Svozilova in the quarterfinals and 2-0 (21-17 21-18) over Germany’s Nele Schmitt and Paula Schurholz in the semifinals the Ukrainians came back from a set down to master a 2-1 (16-21 15-10) victory over 14th-seeded Brinkova and Zolnercikova Benefitting from a 12-month coach support project through Volleyball Empowerment under the mentorship of Argentinean coach Sebastian Menegozzo the Czech pairing of 20-year-old Brinkova and 21-year-old Zolnercikova crowned their international debut as a team with silver making the entire journey from Thursday’s qualifiers to Sunday’s final in Spiez They went on a streak of six wins in a row 21-15) semifinal victory over second-seeded Georgia Johnson and Jasmine Fleming of Australia After successfully tackling the qualifiers Brinkova and Zolnercikova managed three tie-breaker wins over third-seeded Australians Tara Phillips and Brittany Kendall and Sweden’s Tina Thurin and Sanna Thurin in pool play and over Switzerland’s Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser in the quarterfinals Johnson and Fleming took bronze to complete the women’s podium The women’s podium in Spiez (Photo credits: cev.eu) Switzerland also benefits from the Volleyball Empowerment coach support since the Polish specialist Lukasz Fijalek has also been integrated into the coaching team of the men’s programme of Swiss Volley since November Also enjoying support from the home crowd in Spiez in which second-seeded Krattiger and Breer celebrated a 2-0 (21-16 21-19) victory over top-seeded Metral and Haussener to earn their second medal and first gold on the Beach Pro Tour making up the current number 26 team in the FIVB World Ranking 21-14) shutout of Australia’s D’Artagnan Potts and Garang Anyang and a hard-fought 2-1 (19-25 16-14) comeback against Austria’s Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger to win Pool B They then followed up with emphatic sweeps of their knockout matches – 2-0 (21-14 21-14) against England’s Niko Gleed and Harry Jones in the quarterfinals and 2-0 (21-10 21-14) against Poland’s Piotr Janiak and Jedrzej Brozyniak in the semis – to reach the final Metral and Haussener shut out pretty much the same set of opponents on the way to the semifinals: the Englishmen and the Poles in pool play They lost their first set of the tournament in their semifinal encounter with Finland’s Santeri Siren and Jyrki Nurminen but still managed to win the match by 2-1 (17-21 15-12) to secure their third Beach Pro Tour podium after claiming two Futures gold medals during last year’s inaugural season Janiak and Brozyniak took the bronze after beating the Finns by 2-0 (21-14 21-15) for the third place to celebrate their third podium on the Tour as well Quentin Metral and Marco Krattiger (Photo credits: cev.eu) A total of 56 teams representing 24 different countries from all five Continental Confederations took part in the tournament Beach Pro Tour 2023 full event schedule Participants engaged in hands-on exercises performing random systematic sampling in various contamination case study scenarios Scientists from 25 countries have received IAEA training on environmental sampling analysis to help them mitigate the impacts of radioactivity in the environment The IAEA’s training workshop for the network of Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) focused on environmental sampling for radionuclide analyses The event was hosted by the Spiez Laboratory in Schwarzenburg The workshop aimed to harmonize methodological practices among ALMERA laboratories and ensure consistent and reliable data across the network Early to mid-career ALMERA network laboratory personnel were trained on environmental sampling for radionuclide analyses to implement systematic sampling approaches in their labs The IAEA assists countries in improving the quality assurance for measuring and monitoring radioactivity in the environment in accordance with ISO 17025 the international standard for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories “Sampling is the key to answering difficult questions and making robust decisions in any situation—existing, planned, or emergency,” said Marc Stauffer, Head of the Nuclear Chemistry Division at Spiez Laboratory. The ALMERA network provides reliable and timely analysis of environmental samples in the event of an accidental or intentional release of radioactivity It has over 200 analytical laboratories in 90 countries Groups led by trainers from Spiez Laboratory’s Nuclear Chemistry Division discuss decision units and sampling strategies focused on the fundamental principles of environmental sampling Participants learned about techniques and tools used in sampling campaigns through field demonstrations They were also trained to collect representative samples for site characterization in emergency and routine monitoring conditions  A visit to the Spiez Laboratory and the Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant provided practical insights into real-world applications Building Capacity for Environmental Monitoring: IAEA Webinars on Gamma Ray Spectrometry Checking for Radionuclides in Dairy Food Products The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Swiss Confederation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System This facility will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally the facility will serve as a centre for the safe receipt storage and preparation of biological materials for distribution to other laboratories and sustain global preparedness against these pathogens “Close international collaboration to ensure the timely sharing of epidemiological and clinical data as well as biological materials is of utmost importance Switzerland supports the WHO BioHub initiative in its initial phase by providing the necessary infrastructure of a Swiss biosafety laboratory in Spiez we hope to contribute to the establishment of an international exchange system for SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens,” said Swiss Federal Councillor Alain Berset most pathogen sharing is done bilaterally between countries and on an ad hoc basis and leave some countries without access to the benefits and tools The BioHub will enable Member States to share biological materials with and via the BioHub under pre-agreed conditions This will ensure timeliness and predictability in response activities “The COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks and epidemics have underscored the importance of rapidly sharing pathogens to help the global scientific community assess the risk and develop countermeasures such as diagnostics therapeutics and vaccines,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus “The BioHub System is an important step towards facilitating this flow of information We thank the Swiss Government for its support in establishing the first  BioHub Facility.” WHO will broaden its BioHub System for the use of biological materials by qualified entities – such as manufacturers – for the development of medical by-products for fair allocation to countries to test the feasibility and operational arrangements for sharing such materials with the facilities of the BioHub System the BioHub will expand from SARS-COV-2 and its variants and connect partners with other repositories and laboratory networks in 2022 Spiez Laboratory is believed to have been involved with the analysis of chemical agents used in the U.K It was allegedly targeted by Russian agents earlier this year A Swiss laboratory likely involved in analyzing samples from a March chemical attack in Salisbury has reportedly been targeted by Russian agents The president of the Netherlands announced that two agents were deported from The Hague in late March The move was part of a sweeping set of expulsions following the Salisbury incident in which former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent Swiss and Dutch authorities did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment also declined to comment on the deportations he confirms the laboratory's computer systems have been probed by unknown hackers in recent months "We've had indications that we were in the crosshairs," Bucher says British authorities have been sharing samples from their investigations with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons One of the victims later died from her exposure to the substance and Russia is the only nation believed to possess them in any quantity Skripal worked for Russian intelligence during the 1990s and later defected to the West Russia has denied any involvement with the Skripal incident those samples went to several independent and anonymous reference laboratories for confirmation Although Spiez Laboratory has not officially acknowledged receiving a sample an independent chemical weapons expert based in France Only OPCW can comment this assertion. But we can repeat what we stated 10 days ago: We have no doubt that Porton Down has identified Novichock. PD - like Spiez - is a designated lab of the OPCW. The standards in verification are so rigid that one can trust the findings. #Skipal pic.twitter.com/3xp3dBFAdP The alleged Russian agents were expelled from The Hague during a period when the OPCW was actively investigating the case Zanders believes they may have been trying to hack into the Spiez Laboratory computer system to learn more about what British and international authorities knew about the Novichok used in the Salisbury attack He also suggests Russia may have wanted to tamper with the official findings a former OPCW inspector who now runs a private consultancy in Austria also says that data manipulation may have been a motive In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov named Spiez as one of the labs conducting the OPCW's analysis. According to a report in April by the Russian news agency TASS Lavrov received information "confidentially" that Spiez found traces of U.S On Twitter, Spiez Laboratory publicly refuted Lavrov's claims. "We have no doubt that Porton Down has identified Novichock," the lab tweeted in April There is also an indication that Spiez continued to be a target even after the Russian agents were deported from the Netherlands. In June, a conference hosted by the lab was targeted by hackers using a destructive worm that was first released during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang Become an NPR sponsor Euro Atlantic Scientific and technological advances emerging from convergence of biology and chemistry bring enormous benefits but also unknown safety and security threats for society Potential implications for existing arms control regimes need to be discussed between all involved communities The second edition of Spiez Convergence provided a unique platform for effective communication between experts from academia industry and policy making as well as experts involved with the implementation of related arms control requirements This report summarises the discussions held at the second Spiez Convergence Workshop organized by Spiez Laboratory that took place from 5 – 8 September 2016 The workshop series is part of a broader effort by Switzerland aimed at strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by discussing significant developments in science and technology and their potential bearing on both Conventions Spiez CONVERGENCE is a Swiss contribution to the preparations of the Eighth Review Conference of the BWC in 2016 as well as the upcoming Fourth Review Conference of the CWC in 2018 To the Publication liegt nicht in der gewünschten Sprache vor Möchten Sie auf die Startseite der gewählten Sprache wechseln The content you are trying to access is not available in the selected language Would you like to switch to the home page of the selected language Climate & Resources Interiors & Design Products & References Videos & Podcasts Current Issue Collaborations Advertorials Company Portraits BAU 2025 Detail About Schüco Detail About Solarlux BAU 2025 Events DETAIL Product Award 2023 DETAIL Award 2024 DETAIL Award 2022 Detail Inspiration DETAIL Magazine DETAIL Inspiration DETAIL Books Contributors 60 Years DETAIL Digital Lab DETAIL Product Award 2023 DETAIL Award 2022 Legal Notice Data protection Social Media Media Kit Newsletter Climate & Resources Interiors & Design Products & References Current Issue Collaborations Events DETAIL ARCHITECTURE GmbH is a leading international platform for design and construction solutions in architecture usable information and inspiration to all of the world's leading architects and architectural schools based on a unique project database with thousands of buildings documented in detail - in DETAIL EventsDETAIL InspirationDETAIL Inspiration FAQMagazineBooksCollectionCancel Subscription Social Media Register now for our newsletter and get a €10 voucher for the DETAIL Shop By sending this message, I agree that the data provided may be processed and used for the purpose of sending the newsletter. 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(Data protection) the details of which are only now emerging Save Tucked away in a drab industrial estate on the outskirts of the Swiss town of Spiez lies a multistory concrete office block flanked by a parking lot and a soccer field A modest gate with a small plaque is all that greets visitors fed from the peaks of the Blüemlisalp massif above the corner of Switzerland where James Bond met Blofeld in a revolving mountaintop hideaway; where Sherlock Holmes plunged to his death The building in question, an outpost of Switzerland’s Federal Office for Civil Protection, might be unassuming—home to just 98 academics The elite facility focuses on global nuclear and is one of a limited number of sites designated by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to conduct research and analysis Safely under the protective cloak of the country’s diplomatic neutrality Spiez Laboratory carries out its work with little fanfare or controversy as the lab became caught in a cold war between Russia on one side and the United Kingdom and the West on the other occasionally flashing hot in deadly fashion From the attempted assassination of a double agent in a sleepy English city to the expulsion of scores of Russian diplomats from Western capitals drawing in a chemical-weapons attack in Syria and rolling scandals about Russian sports doping Russia and Britain went toe-to-toe in an international intelligence and PR battle exposing fissures in their respective systems and societies as NATO leaders meet in London this week to discuss the future of the military alliance 70 years after its founding with implications for the wider contest between Russia and the West Whereas NATO was founded to unite the Western world against the threat of conventional military aggression by the Soviet Union eventually contributing to the Communist bloc’s demise the alliance is today confronted with a recalcitrant Russia that seeks to leverage propaganda and disinformation to sow confusion and discontent and that exhibits a willingness to use its traditional military force and intelligence agencies to expand its influence It is a Moscow that is able to project disproportionate power—despite being dwarfed in economic size and resources by even mid-tier Western countries—thanks to a web of international influence or lack the military might and political will to fill the gap (Germany) And faced with a new array of threats from Russia the alliance has more than once been caught unawares at times thanks to its own unforced errors but also in no small part due to a lack of long-term vision to do anything other than de-escalate tensions Despite Russia deploying a chemical weapon on the streets of a NATO member (also Britain) the country’s international freeze is already beginning to thaw It has successfully expanded its influence in the Middle East and has secured its illegal land grab in Crimea though in keeping with much of modern conflict there are no obvious measures to determine who won and who lost The months-long information war that Russia fought with Britain was one in which mistakes were difficult to judge and success hard to immediately quantify This is a story about disinformation and spycraft It is also a story that again and again returns to the tiny Swiss town of Spiez The details of the Skripal poisoning are well known: On the night of March 4 who was living in retired exile in Britain foaming at the mouth on a park bench in Salisbury then-British Prime Minister Theresa May formally accused Russia of carrying out the attack Britain’s Porton Down military-research facility—which is one of the centers of expertise accredited by the OPCW—had determined that the Skripals were poisoned with a nerve agent called Novichok had been smuggled into the country by two hitmen working for Russia’s military-intelligence agency Britain and its allies in 28 countries expelled more than 150 suspected Russian spies Russia protested its innocence and denounced the Western response (Skripal and his daughter ultimately survived after spraying what she thought was perfume and a police officer was hospitalized while investigating the poisoning of the Skripals.) Details of the information war that ensued are only now emerging The onslaught of such stories in the weeks and months after the Skripal attack—and their success in reaching a wide and receptive audience—emerges in lists of the most viral social-media content from that period This data was gathered for The Atlantic by the online monitoring company NewsWhip which tracks how many “interactions” a particular news story has garnered on social media sites like Facebook Twitter and Pinterest—measured by the number of likes there appeared to have been genuine orchestration of these efforts with Russia-friendly outlets jumping on apparent contradictions in Britain’s public statements government itself of manipulating the media with leaks and censorship This Russian strategy is wearily familiar to former Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe (as well as the United States there were concerning signs for London that it was having some effect Internal government polling carried out in the months after the poisoning showed that a significant proportion of the population did not believe the British government’s assertion that Russia was behind the attack according to an official briefed on the data with the most skeptical being those aged 18 to 24 that distilled the results of polling showed that the “perception of Russian culpability” stood at just 55 percent This was down from a peak of 65 percent at the end of March—the month of the attempted murders (One of May’s aides told me that this lack of trust in government is now a major structural challenge when dealing with incidents of national security.) Some of those I spoke with insisted that such setbacks were only temporary but all largely agreed that Russia reacted quickly and effectively “There was a private admission that we had lost the information battle,” one senior U.K government official involved in the British counterattack told me The Russians were just really quick off the mark.” Numerous stories by outlets such as RT and Sputnik promoted dueling theories as to who carried out the Skripal poisoning On April 14, 2018, RT published an article that would go on to become the most viral news story in 2018 about the incident as measured by online interactions Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a “Swiss lab” had discovered that a different toxin was used to poison the Skripals—not Novichok The report would go on to be shared on social media by RT as well as by accounts such as the WikiLeaks Task Force, which describes itself as the “official @WikiLeaks support account,” verified with a blue checkmark on Twitter The story would rack up 137,360 social-media engagements still the most of any story published on the Skripal affair Illustration by Ricardo Santos*And yet the article was entirely misleading Spiez was indeed one of a small number of international centers chosen by the OPCW to confirm the conclusions reached by Porton Down and it did find a different toxin from Novichok But that was part of the process: After receiving samples from the Skripal poisoning from the U.K. added a new substance into the batch for quality control—a test to ensure that Spiez’s and other laboratories’ results were accurate then whatever else they found could not be trusted The toxin added by the OPCW was a derivative of BZ It would be surprising if Lavrov was not aware of this distinction confirmed the British findings in a report that named the control substance Was it a simple misstep on the foreign minister’s part How did he know that Spiez had done the testing That the Swiss lab was among those chosen by the OPCW to confirm Porton Down’s conclusions was kept confidential as per the OPCW’s security protocols a rule seen as “sacrosanct,” according to one of the U.K told me that the research facility did not even know which other sites were used to test the findings The Russian embassy in London declined to comment on the incident when I asked them about it but Bucher said he had falsely cited the report If the most viral Skripal-related story illustrates how Moscow’s propaganda machine looked to actively plant disinformation the second on that list highlights how Russia was able to take advantage of unexpected openings as well The Independent, an online British outlet, on April 3 published a story based on an interview given to Sky News by Gary Aitkenhead Aitkenhead said that the British facility had confirmed that the toxin used in Salisbury was Novichok but that its scientists “have not identified the precise source” of where it came from then–Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had claimed that Porton Down had confirmed that the nerve agent originated in Russia The apparent contradiction exploded into life online with the Independent story getting picked up and promoted by Kremlin supporters as well as by the Russian embassy in Skopje “San Diego For Bernie Sanders 2020,” eventually receiving 93,999 interactions on social media a high figure even for a story that was dominating the news Britain rushed to repair the damage after a 10 Downing Street rapid-response unit which monitors web traffic and works closely with the national-security communications team (One security official told me that government analysis of social media showed that Salisbury-related posts made up 12 percent of the entire U.K the second-highest figure during the entire crisis after the day May blamed Russia for the attack.) which formally laid out the charges against the Russians The episode is seen by those inside Britain’s security communications team as the most serious misstep of the crisis Aikenhead could never have blamed Russia directly because that was not his job—all he was qualified to do was identify the chemical The aftermath of the Skripal poisoning illustrated not only a PR offensive waged by outlets sympathetic to Moscow but also the breadth of the Russian state’s capabilities and efforts to include its diplomatic corps as well as its intelligence agencies this barrage was referred to as a “diplomatic DDoS attack,” a reference to the cyberstrike in which a server is shut down simply by overwhelming it a surge in malign Russian bot activity was detected online in which social-media accounts were activated to amplify and spread messages In the six weeks following the Skripal poisoning through to the April 13 air strikes on Syria launched by the U.K. and France in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons British officials say they calculated a 4,000 percent increase in this type of activity the same organization that dispatched the two hitmen to Salisbury OPCW facilities around the world received an email apparently from the Spiez Laboratory inviting them to a conference for specialists in chemical and biological warfare the third such meeting organized by the Swiss research site and the email was sent in the name of the Swiss Federal Department of Defence the government agency responsible for the laboratory Attached was a Word document that purported to contain information about the meeting one that was actually a sophisticated spear-phishing attack a cyber Trojan horse known as an advanced persistent threat in which a computer is accessed by stealthily giving attackers full control of the compromised host’s network Who was behind the attack—and what they hoped to achieve—has never been confirmed. The Russian embassy declined to address this specific case when I asked them about it. Kaspersky, a cybersecurity firm that analyzed the incident, told me that it did not know for certain who the hackers were, whether they had been successful, or even what their goal was.* In the shadowy world of spycraft it’s almost impossible to be sure about what is a false flag and what is real Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre is less circumspect, however, assessing “with high confidence that the GRU was almost certainly responsible.” Through a special “link door” from 10 Downing Street deep inside the Cabinet Office in central London government’s main emergency-response center: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A—or Cobra This is the British equivalent of the White House Situation Room It is where emergency meetings are held at times of crisis to coordinate strategy in the most secure environment Attached to Cobra are a number of boardrooms where officials can listen in to what their ministers are discussing inside Throughout the spring and summer of last year a group of some of the most senior government communications officials dubbed “Comms Cobra,” met daily to discuss how to respond to the Russian disinformation blitz They were in full crisis mode—not only was the Russian campaign overwhelming in its scope but Russia seemed to be one step ahead of the U.K Among the measures the group took was to tighten the circle of who was in the know and agencies involved in responding to the Salisbury case was huge The Department for Environment was leading the cleanup and the Home Office was dealing with security and the local police force were investigating raising the level of official secrecy on some communications and resulting in often cumbersome procedures Instead of having a single phone number for meeting participants to dial in to the Metropolitan Police—which leads Britain’s national counterterror and security operations—began holding conference calls by dialing each individual separately infuriating officials who were left waiting on the line for half an hour before discussions could start The two men accused of poisoning Skripal and his daughter are seen on CCTV in Salisbury on the day of the attempted murder (Handout / Reuters)The effect of the surprise information barrage was dominance online Only two of the 10 most viral stories in the weeks following the announcement were sympathetic to Russia “This was all kept secret to put the Russians on the hop,” one told me “Their response was all over the place from this point Amid an apparent failure to counter the British case, the accused hitmen appeared on Russian state media claiming that they had visited Salisbury on a sightseeing trip Britain’s security communications team sat “glued to the telly” watching their claims but ultimately decided not to react—across Europe satirical TV shows and websites were picking up the story and making fun of it If September was the month Britain wrested control of the Skripal narrative October was when it rocked Russia with a significant blow of its own four men arrived in the Netherlands on diplomatic passports had launched a chemical-weapons attack on a suburb of Damascus was tasked with investigating not only the Skripal poisoning but also the Syrian chemical-weapons attack had been assigned a hacking operation in which they were to target the OPCW’s networks by sneaking in via Wi-Fi connections From their arrival, however, the group (subsequently identified as belonging to GRU Unit 26165) was being monitored by the Dutch security services Two of them had left their equipment in the trunk of a rental car parked outside the OPCW’s headquarters and Swiss secret services—all of which were involved in the operation—they had obtained a treasure trove The arrests were not immediately made public published a list of transgressions by the Russian state and specifically the GRU unit that was caught the British ambassador to the Netherlands joined the Dutch defense minister at a press conference in The Hague where they lifted the lid on the attempted Russian hack of the OPCW Department of Justice announced charges against seven GRU agents linked to the Dutch investigation accusing them of hacking into WADA and the OPCW Security officials in London told me that everything was carefully coordinated and timed to coincide with the U.S A joint statement from the British and Dutch prime ministers was released to ram home the message The Russian embassy declined to comment on the operation or the U.S During the week of the OPCW press conference just one of the top 25 most viral stories was from a pro-Russian outlet—and even this was a relatively straightforward piece from RT “There were some signs that we had landed a blow,” one senior security official told me The OPCW was not the only target on the unit’s itinerary on its trip through Europe also in the GRU team’s possession on the day they were arrested were train tickets to Basel American authorities allege that they would have then traveled onward—to Spiez Having been at the forefront of the international PR battle with Russia feels that it is now well placed for any future battles It has created a national-security communications team based at the heart of government in 10 Downing Street and the adjoining Cabinet Office Communications strategy is now seen as being part of national-security strategy a fellow at the U.S.-based Wilson Center specializing in disinformation who has advised the Ukrainian government on how to combat the Russian threat effort was “leaps and bounds ahead of what we had seen before.” British officials did a good job of highlighting “all the absurd claims” coming out of Russia system was able to respond under such stress shows the system was working as it should,” she added pointing in particular to Britain leading the coordinated expulsion of diplomats “We’ve not seen anything like it since the Cold War is filling in the leadership gap where the U.S in the absence of any coordinated Western strategy to forcefully respond to a crisis sparked by limited forms of Russian aggression Moscow has been able to achieve a significant expansion of its influence Russia changed the rules of the game on the ground before the West could react Russia has filled a vacuum left by American withdrawal or indecision—in some cases literally by moving troops to occupy territory abandoned by the U.S.—meaning that any subsequent retaliation from Washington comes with an even greater risk than before is to hand victory to Russia for as long as it can sustain the cost of Western sanctions or diplomatic isolation only for it to be replaced by other foreign-policy priorities: The future of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal is uncertain and Tehran is testing the West’s collective patience; North Korea has resumed ballistic-missile tests; and months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have raised the specter of China taking more aggressive steps there But despite alleged British confidence—and clear Russian amateurism on occasion—it is clear that Moscow landed real blows in its 2018 communications battle with London and saw a worrying subsection of public opinion run toward conspiratorial skepticism It is beyond doubt that Russia had some success muddying the waters of blame throughout the summer of 2018 That may well have been enough for the GRU the focus of Russian disinformation efforts might once again shift to the United States What did Moscow learn from its six-month propaganda war with Britain “No matter what action you take against Russian intelligence services they are going to put a massive amount of resources into a divergence campaign,” said Bill Evanina the head of counterintelligence for the U.S “Vladimir Putin's most amazing trait is his ability to deny that today is Thursday “These people had us in the crosshairs,” Bucher told me * This article originally misstated where the cybersecurity company Kaspersky is headquartered; It is based in Moscow Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy About Us Contact Us Copyright © 2016 - Adgully.com   | Contactus Mike Bradley was credited with the win ahead of Larry Lawson, Kevin Spiez, Mikey Homewood, Warren Mahoney, Zack Millman, and McKibbon. Jeff Blackburn won the second qualifier in front of Nick Spiez, Rob Harrison, Kayla Semple, and Jason Semple. The third heat did not start off how Millman wanted as he slowed during the pace laps with an issue. The race then featured a trio of spins by Kevin Spiez, Mahoney, and Homewood, each not producing a caution. Larry Lawson got the win followed by Bradley, Spiez, Mahoney, and Homewood. Jeff Blackburn went for the daily double ahead of Nick Spiez, Harrson, Kayla Semple, and Jason Semple. Come feature time, Jeff Blackburn started pole in front of Mike Bradley, Larry Lawson, Nick Spiez, Kevin Spiez, Rob Harrison, Kayla Semple, Mikey Homewood, Warren Mahoney, Zack Millman, and Jason Semple. The feature started off on a rough note, with Nick Spiez getting into the grass. The second attempt to start the event went smoothly with Blackburn getting the early advantage over Bradley, Lawson, Kevin Spiez, and Homewood. Unfortunately, Homewood would go around on the frontstretch a lap later, after getting loose and slight contact with Mahoney. The restart saw the third yellow flag, as Harrison went for the split between a pair, instead getting sideways and going for a spin. The second attempt went smoothly with Blackburn holding serve ahead of Bradley, Lawson, Mahoney, Kevin Spiez, with Nick Spiez back up to sixth in front of Millman, Homewood, and Kayla Semple. Kevin Spiez continued to move forward, passing Mahoney for fourth on Lap 7, bringing his son Nick Spiez through with him. The father-son combo making their way forward didn’t end there, with both passing Lawson for second and third respectively on Lap 11. Jeff Blackburn would cross the finish line first, but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection. Mike Bradley was credited with the win, ahead of Kevin and Nick Spiez. Warren Mahoney and Larry Lawson rounded out the podium followed by Mikey Homewood, Kayla Semple, Zack Millman, Jason Semple, and Rob Harrison. Following a scary crash at Sunset Speedway on Monday, Outlaw Midgets officials are pleased to let fans know that Wayne McKibbon is at home resting with his family. Following a trip to the hospital after the wreck at the track, McKibbon had successful leg surgery, as well as his other injuries cared for. During the second qualifying heat, the veteran made significant contact with the wall off of turn two, flipping the car over. The Outlaw Midgets would like to thank the team effort of Sunset EMS, Track Staff, Paramedics, Innisfil Fire and the South Simcoe Police for their quick response to the situation. If you would to assist McKibbon in his recovery process, feel free to send him a donation at Wmckibbon71@gmail.com. From local grassroots racing to Canadian touring series and the Canucks who compete on the international stage, Inside Track Motorsport News is the leader in terms of timely, in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the motorsports that matter to Canadians. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password Switzerland (Reuters) – The setting is straight from a spy thriller: Crystal waters below snow-capped Swiss Alps above and in between a super-secure facility researching the world’s deadliest pathogens biological and nuclear threats since World War Two was tasked last year by the World Health Organization to be the first in a global network of high-security laboratories that will grow store and share newly discovered microbes that could unleash the next pandemic born of frustration over the hurdles researchers faced in getting samples of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to understand its dangers and develop tools to fight it scientists involved in the effort have encountered hurdles These include securing guarantees needed to accept coronavirus variant samples from several countries Some of the world’s biggest countries might not cooperate And there is no mechanism yet to share samples for developing vaccines treatments or tests without running afoul of intellectual property protections “If we have another pandemic like coronavirus the goal would be it stays wherever it starts,” Isabel Hunger-Glaser told Reuters in a rare media interview at the lab Hence the need to get samples to the hub so it can help scientists worldwide assess the risk “We have realised it’s much more difficult” than we had thought Spiez Lab’s exterior provides no hint of the high-stakes work inside Its angular architecture resembles European university buildings erected in the 1970s cows graze on the grassy central courtyard But the biosafety officer in charge keeps his blinds shut Alarms go off if his door is open for more than a few seconds He monitors several screens showing security camera views of the labs with the greatest Biosafety Level (BSL) precautions Samples of the virus used in the BioHub are stored in locked freezers A system of decreasing air pressure means clean air would flow into the most secure areas Scientists working with coronavirus and other pathogens wear protective suits They work with samples in a hermetically sealed containment unit Waste leaving the lab is super-heated at up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,830 F) to kill pathogens clinging to it That reputation is a key part of why they were chosen as the WHO’s first BioHub The WHO and Swiss government are funding the annual 600,000 Swiss franc ($626,000) budget for its first phase and there are some existing networks and regional repositories The sharing process has also been controversial for instance when researchers in wealthy countries get credit for the work of less well-connected scientists in developing nations “Often you just exchanged material with your buddies,” said Hunger-Glaser head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience in the Netherlands said it took a month for her lab to get hold of SARS-CoV-2 after it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 Chinese researchers were quick to post a copy of the genetic sequence online But efforts to understand how a new virus transmits and how it responds to existing tools requires live samples Luxembourg was the first country to share samples of new coronavirus variants with the BioHub while the latter two countries shared Omicron Luxembourg got Omicron samples from South Africa less than three weeks after it was identified enabling its researchers to start assessing the risks of the now-dominant strain Portugal and Germany also received Omicron samples all of which signalled in early 2022 that they wanted to send in variants found domestically chiefly because it is unclear which official in each country should provide the necessary legal guarantees There is no international protocol for who should sign the forms providing safety details and usage agreements None of the four countries responded to requests for comment Both WHO and Hunger-Glaser stressed the project is a pilot and they have already sped up certain processes Another challenge is how to share samples used in research that could lead to commercial gain BioHub samples are shared for free to provide broad access However this throws up potential problems if drugmakers reap profits from the discoveries of uncompensated researchers and bring labs in each global region online but it is not yet clear when or how this will be funded The project’s voluntary nature may also hold it back “Some countries will never ship viruses referring to their stance in recent outbreaks None of the three responded to requests for comment The project also comes amid heightened attention on labs worldwide after unproven claims in some Western countries that a leak from a high-security Wuhan lab may have sparked the COVID-19 pandemic an accusation China and most international scientists have dismissed Hunger-Glaser said the thinking around emerging threats must change post-COVID-19 WHO should even get a plane” to transport the virus to scientists (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Nick Macfie) Powered by PageSuite Larry Lawson won the qualifying heat followed by Rob McCall, Jessica James, Mike Bradley, Jeff Blackburn, Kevin Spiez, Mikey Homewood, Jamie Kay, and Kayla Semple, with Dan Bound failing to finish. Also, Dan Kviring did not take the green flag. The feature would start heads-up to the qualifying heat results, with Jessica James taking the top spot on Lap 1 ahead of McCall and Blackburn. The shuffling started on Lap 2, though, with Lawson moving up to third ahead of Bradley, with Blackburn back to fifth ahead of Spiez, Bound, Kay, Homewood, and Kviring. Blackburn would fight back, getting back by Bradley for fourth on Lap 6, while Kviring made his way pit side with mechanical issues. Bound was also able to make up some ground, moving into sixth on Lap 8, bringing Kay through with him as Spiez now ran eighth. Spiez’s race hit a bigger snag with five laps to go, as he went around for a spin in turn two. Jessica James got a good restart, and led the rest of the way en route to the victory, ahead of Larry Lawson, Jeff Blackburn, Dan Bound, Mike Bradley, Jamie Kay, Rob McCall, Kevin Spiez, Mikey Homewood, and Kayla Semple. Dan Kviring did not finish en route to placing 11th. For more information on the Outlaw Midgets, be sure to check out their website at http://www.outlawmidgets.ca. 23/05/2017 By Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) issued a traffic warning today ahead of the long weekends in May and June The public holiday this Thursday (Ascension) means many will take a day of leave on Friday to make a four-day weekend Monday 5 June is also a public holiday (Pentecost) creating a three-day weekend Later in June a public holiday on Thursday 15 June (Corpus Christi) is expected to bring further spikes in traffic FEDRO predicts north-south routes will be the most heavily affected particularly the A13 approaching the Gotthard tunnel they predict dense traffic on the following stretches of road: In addition, FEDRO warns of possible queues at the following customs points: Au; Koblenz; St. Margrethen; Thayngen At the beginning of summer queues to load cars on to car-carrying trains that pass through tunnels are typically shorter Some like the Oberalp service will not run because the road pass will be open Further information can be found here: www.tcs.ch, www.cff.ch, www.teletext.ch and www.bls.ch and on the RTS traffic app For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter Filed Under: Automotive, Travel Tagged With: By subscribing you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy Previous Newsletters Copyright © Le News Sàrl 2014-2022 / Company number: CH-550.1.129.786-5 / VAT number: CHE-193.843.357 TVA By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy. Larry Lawson takes the feature win at Flamboro Speedway. Photo by Ashley McCubbin. Mike Bradley won the first heat in front of Dave Bradley, Kevin Spiez, Derek Millman, Glenn Raymond, Fred Homewood, and Kayla Semple. Richard Woodland failed to finish. Nick Spiez was victorious in the second qualifier ahead of Larry Lawson, Rob Harrison, Zach Millman, Mikey Homewood, Jason Metcalfe, Jeremy Girard, and Jason Semple. Dave Bradley won the third heat in front of Mike Bradley, Kevin Spiez, Kayla Semple, and Fred Homewood. Woodland and Derek Millman failed to finish, while Raymond did not take the green flag. Larry Lawson was victorious in the final qualifier ahead of Nick Spiez, Harrison, Metcalfe, Mikey Homewood, Jason Semple, and Girard. Zach Millman failed to finish. When it came time for the main event, the eyes focused to the front of the field in the battle for the lead between the Bradley Brothers, as has been the case for several events in 2023. Mike Bradley seemingly grabbed the advantage as the laps became to tick by, with Larry Lawson moving into second on Lap 8. Lawson stayed in Bradley’s tire tracks as the laps ticked by, looking for a way by. Larry Lawson was able to make his move with two laps remaining, making the pass for the lead to pace the final laps en route to the victory. Mike Bradley held on for second, while Dave Bradley edged out Nick Spiez for third. Rob Harrison completed the top-five ahead of Mikey Homewood, Richard Woodland, Fred Homewood, Kevin Spiez, and Kayla Semple. Jeremy Girard scored an 11th-place finish, followed by Zach Millman, Jason Semple, Jason Metcalfe, Derek Millman, and Glenn Raymond. The Outlaw Midgets are back in action for their next event at Peterborough Speedway on October 8, 2023.