One person missing after mudslide buries Swiss mountain village
It came after a glacier overlooking the settlement of Blatten, in southern Switzerland, partially collapsed on Wednesday, sending the debris raining down.
"An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," Matthias Ebener, a spokesman for local authorities in the Valais canton.
He also confirmed one person was missing.
Approximately 300 residents, as well as livestock, were evacuated from the area on 19 May after geologists warned that a 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier overlooking the village was at risk of imminent collapse.
Local councillor Stephane Ganzer told Swiss media that the mud and rockslide "at first glance covered 90% of the village".
Footage shared on social media showed the moment the debris came down, leaving behind destroyed buildings and other infrastructure in the village, which is nestled in the Loetschental valley.
Emergency services warned people that the area was hazardous and urged them to stay away.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her solidarity with villagers.
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Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
The dizzying fall of the King of Davos
Klaus Schwab was the undisputed 'King of Davos' for 55 years. But when his downfall came, it was swift. The 87-year-old founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which holds the annual conference in the Swiss alpine ski resort, fought until the end. But over two days in April, beset by allegations of misusing WEF funds, manipulating research and inappropriate behaviour with staff, he was forced out of his personal fiefdom. 'He had the chance to step back 10, seven, five years ago. But he hung on,' one WEF insider told The Telegraph. On Sunday, the early findings of a second investigation into the WEF were leaked. They alleged Mr Schwab had misspent WEF money and manipulated research for political reasons, including rigging data to make Brexit look like a failure. Mr Schwab also allegedly put his crotch in front of a female staffer's face, splurged $50m on a luxury villa, and ran up £836,000 in expenses that were not sufficiently linked to WEF activities. His credibility now lies in ruins and the future of Davos is openly questioned. Some see the investigation in response to a whistleblower complaint as a barely disguised attempt to push Mr Schwab out. For his part, he denies any wrongdoing. 'He wasn't perfect, but he has been stitched up because he wouldn't go when people wanted him to go,' one person close to the organisation told The Telegraph. Other insiders fear that the push to remove Mr Schwab will come at too high a reputational cost to the WEF itself. 'They've used a sledgehammer to crack a nut,' one said. It is an astonishing fall from grace from the former executive chairman, who was awarded an honorary knighthood by the UK in 2006. The German-born professor built his empire from humble beginnings, establishing the WEF in 1971 as a forum for policymakers and CEOs to discuss global issues. Over the years it mutated into a magnet for world leaders, a capital of fevered dealmaking, a byword for elitism and a lightning rod for conspiracy theories. The title of his book 'The Great Reset' – about how the pandemic could remake global economies – has become shorthand for online extremists convinced that plots to create a world government are hatched at Davos. Mr Schwab, the quintessential 'Davos Man,' was front and centre every year as he welcomed a galaxy of heads of state and government. They included prime ministers and presidents as different as Angela Merkel and Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi or Baroness May and Vladimir Putin. At this year's gathering, in January, there was no Sir Keir Starmer, French president or German chancellor in Davos. The demise of Davos has often been predicted, but rivals are circling. China has the Boao Forum, colloquially known as 'the Asian Davos', and Saudi Arabia has launched the Future Investment Initiative, which is dubbed 'Davos in the Desert'. The rumblings of what would become an avalanche of revelations about Mr Schwab began with a 2024 investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which accused the WEF of having a workplace culture that was hostile to black people and women. Women were allegedly sidelined after becoming pregnant, while two staff members used the n-word, according to the Journal. The WEF said at the time it had zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment and disputed the allegations in the newspaper report. Staff alleged that Mr Schwab was inappropriate and made unwanted suggestive remarks, while one female staffer claimed he put his leg on her desk with his crotch in front of her face. She said Mr Schwab told her he wished she was Hawaiian because he'd like to see her in Hawaiian costume, which the WEF fiercely denied. Others told the Wall Street Journal that attractive women were chosen to meet international delegates. There was a slang term for such encounters – 'white on blue action' – a reference to the different coloured lanyards worn at the conference by officials and famous guests. Former staff at the non-profit were reported to have set up a WhatsApp group called 'WEFugees' in which they shared horror stories about their experiences. A former staffer told the Journal: 'We promote inclusion and improving the state of the world and women's issues but do the opposite.' Mr Schwab complained bitterly about the Journal's reporting but was determined to craft a graceful, prolonged exit from the WEF, which generates about $500m a year. The WEF's founding bylaws state 'the Founder himself designates his successor', and stipulates he or 'at least one member of his immediate family' is on the board of trustees. Mr Schwab's plan was to move to a role as non-executive chairman and retire in stages, picking his successor. But then whistleblowers sent a letter in an email to WEF trustees, including luminaries such Al Gore, the former US vice-president, and cellist Yo Yo Maa. It accused Mr Schwab and his wife, Hilde, of misusing WEF funds. It said Mr Schwab had used company funds to pay for private massages, and he had redirected WEF resources and staff in a vainglorious bid to get nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 'This was not a WEF initiative, but a self-driven effort disguised as organisational work,' the letter said. It complained about Hilde Schwab's spending of about $50m on Villa Mundi, a mansion next to WEF headquarters overlooking Lake Geneva. It alleged she controlled access to the property and that one entire floor was reserved for the couple's exclusive use, according to the Wall Street Journal. They denied the allegations. 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Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Benjamin Mendy released by Swiss club after just EIGHT games after partying antics left club bosses furious
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Times
23-07-2025
- Times
Graham Thorpe asked me to help him die, cricketer's wife tells inquest
The former England and Surrey cricketer Graham Thorpe told his wife he 'wanted to go to Switzerland' weeks before his death, an inquest has heard. Thorpe, a father of four, was hit by a train at Esher railway station shortly after 8.30am on August 4 last year. He was 55. Amanda Thorpe, his widow, told Surrey coroner's court: 'The weeks leading up to his death, he told me he doesn't want to be here any more. He asked me to help him end his life. He said he wants to go to Switzerland. I was in turmoil. Then we get a letter for an appointment (with the medical team) in a month's time. 'How ill do you have to be? I just wish he could have been kept safe. If you're not here, there's no hope.' She said Thorpe had attempted to take his own life in 2022, spending three weeks unconscious in hospital. He had been sacked as England batting coach following the team's heavy loss in the Ashes series in Australia that year. 'He came back from the tour of Australia in a terrible state — lots of things, the video, the environment, the set-up,' she said. • A video Thorpe had taken emerged, showing that he was told to return to his hotel room at about 6am by police in Tasmania after contravening local laws by smoking a cigar indoors during a post-series drinking session with players from both teams. It leaked to the media and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) opened an investigation. 'To be sacked after that — I think it was foreseeable that it would be really really hard on him,' Mrs Thorpe said. 'If he hadn't been on that Tour, then he wouldn't be dismissed and that was ultimately what he couldn't deal with.' Mrs Thorpe said her husband was later offered a coaching role by the Afghan national team but was too unwell. 'He tried to do it but he was spiralling down. He signed a contract and I had to tell them he was too unwell to do that job,' she said. By June 2024, Mrs Thorpe said, he 'had no interest in food, he wanted to hide away, totally isolated, in real crisis and despair'. 'He told me he was scared, and I told him I was scared too because I didn't know how to help him,' Mrs Thorpe said. Father questions care Thorpe was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2018, his GP said in a statement. Dr Joan Munnelly said the suicide attempt in 2022 resulted in a brain injury. Thorpe spent time in a private hospital after he was discharged from intensive care. Geoff Thorpe, his father, said Thorpe's 'life came crashing down' when he lost his job and that he became 'more and more desperate and helpless in the last year of his life'. Reading Geoff Thorpe's statement, the coroner said: 'You felt those who were responsible for Graham's safety and care could've done more to intervene.' Professor Nick Peirce, the ECB's chief medical officer, said in a statement that after Thorpe's employment ended in February 2022 his private health insurance cover was extended until that May, when the ECB was told of the suicide attempt. Peirce said: 'At no point during Graham's time at ECB had there been any concern regarding a risk of self harm or intent to end life.' • My friend Graham Thorpe: sensitive, warm and a wonderful team-mate Referring to Mrs Thorpe's statement, the coroner said: 'You had been upstairs on the phone and Graham had gone out. You thought he had gone to walk the dog but then you saw the dog. You tried to locate him using your phone but weren't able to do that. Then you got a call from Geoff telling you, 'He's gone.'' Thorpe struck 16 Test hundreds for England, including a debut century against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, and represented his country 182 times in all formats. He memorably scored the winning runs in near darkness in Karachi in December 2000 when England secured a first Test series victory in Pakistan for 39 years. He featured 82 times for the ODI side and enjoyed a 17-year career with Surrey. He scored his final Test century under Michael Vaughan's captaincy against South Africa in December 2004 and made his final Test appearance in June 2005 before being omitted from that summer's victorious Ashes series. Thorpe is due to be honoured during the second day of the fifth and final Test in the current series of England against India which takes place at The Oval — his home ground, on August 1. That day would have been his 56th birthday. The inquest is due to continue until Friday.
