FEBRUARY 23, 2002

Near-miss for the FIA

THE international automobile federation had a near-miss last night, according to police reports from Geneva. The federation had hosted an evening out for around 40 of its staff in the Geneva office at a restaurant near the FIA headquarters at Geneva's Cointrin district, not far from the city's international airport.

Not long after the party broke up a man with a 9mm hunting rifle burst into the restaurant and began firing shots. He was arrested and explained to police that he had worked fitting new windows on the restaurant but not been paid. He had drunk too much and decided to try to convince the patron to pay up by other means.