Simonetta Sommaruga should lead the Swiss Red Cross (SRK) out of the crisis. Research by “NZZ am Sonntag” shows that influential circles around the aid organization are trying to win over the former federal councilor as the new president. Various sources confirm to the newspaper that the first informal exploratory talks with the Social Democrat have taken place. The former top politician would not have ruled out a connection with the SRC and would have shown interest. Sommaruga did not respond to questions from “NZZ am Sonntag”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is in financial difficulties, has asked Switzerland for help. “The foreign and finance departments are currently in talks with the ICRC to discuss current and future challenges regarding the ICRC’s financial situation,” the FDFA’s foreign department told the SonntagsZeitung. It is also about whether a Covid loan of 200 million francs should be repaid. Switzerland is the third largest donor to the ICRC. Last year the contribution amounted to CHF 166 million. The Geneva-based aid organization recently announced that 400 million Swiss francs had to be saved due to financial problems and that 1,800 of the approximately 20,000 employees worldwide would lose their jobs.
The traffic jam at the Gotthard is getting longer and longer. Now three politicians are seeking liberation thanks to road pricing, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes: GLP National Councilor Corina Gredig, Center National Councilor Simon Stadler and FDP National Councilor Matthias Jauslin are jointly submitting a motion for a tunnel charge for the north – south on Monday transit a. “Toll systems at the crossings over the Alps have long been a reality in neighboring countries”, they write as justification in their proposal. The idea of the motion makers: the greater the demand, the more expensive it should be to use the tunnels at the Gotthard and San Bernardino. The three hope to smooth out the traffic jams around Easter and Pentecost.
Representatives of the SP, GLP, Mitte and FDP have been searching for months for a way for the federal government to allow third countries to pass on Swiss war material to Ukraine. Security politicians in the National Council presented a compromise in February that was recently approved by the Security Policy Committee of the Council of States. The Council of States announced two weeks ago that they would submit their amendments in writing. The letter, written by Commission President Werner Salzmann, is available for “NZZ am Sonntag”. The re-export ban should therefore simply expire after five years. The Federal Council would no longer have to decide on every application, which would depoliticize the process.
Internal documents show serious abuses at the Swiss Animal Protection (STS). According to this, the association with more than 70 members is characterized by an authoritarian leadership style, a culture of opacity and quarrels at management level. In the “SonntagsBlick”, several leaders make serious accusations against President Nicole Ruch. SP National Councilor Martina Munz, who has been on the central board of the STS since 2019, says: “The president is behaving like an autocrat. Ruch and her people run the association in an authoritarian and opaque manner.” Under Ruch, there were also several departures from well-known executives – and there would be financial irregularities. The STS vehemently rejects the allegations.
One of the many reasons for the exploding health insurance premiums is that the cantonal governments approve too high rates for hospital treatment. As the “SonntagsZeitung” writes, a current rate overview from price monitor Stefan Meierhans shows large price differences for all frequent inpatient hospital treatments. The Health Insurance Act would actually be precise. It states that the prices must be based on those of the cheapest hospitals. There is no entitlement to the cost coverage of an individual hospital. But this law is ignored by many cantonal governments responsible for tariff approval. Meierhans and the two health insurers Santésuisse and Curafutura are demanding that the Federal Council finally establish a uniform national rate standard.
After the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Geneva-based company Fractal Shipping appeared out of nowhere, bought 27 tankers – and shipped billions worth of Russian oil in just one year – completely legally, despite sanctions. Today, the discreet shipping company operates one of the largest fleets specializing in the transportation of Russian oil, as the “SonntagsZeitung” writes. The raw material, which cannot be sold in Europe and the US due to the war in Ukraine, is transported in old used tankers from Moscow to new customers: China, India and the Middle East. Estimates by the commodities analyst Kpler, which are available for the Norwegian business newspaper “Dagens Næringsliv” and the “SonntagsZeitung”, show the size of the company for the first time: since April 2022, Fractal Shipping, based in Switzerland, had Russian crude oil and Russian petroleum products worth about 3 billion francs.
The aid organization of the Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church (Witch) is responsible on behalf of the federal government for the legal representation of asylum seekers in northwestern and eastern Switzerland. Research by “NZZ am Sonntag” now shows that the aid organization has significantly reduced its legal representation in northwestern Switzerland in recent months. According to its own information, the Witch has not participated in 449 of the 499 so-called Dublin talks since the beginning of the year. Witch media spokesperson Lorenz Kummer justifies this with the high number of asylum seekers: “In the region of northwestern Switzerland, the high workload due to administrative pending issues represents a huge challenge for all actors.” The reform of the asylum law in 2016 introduced free legal aid.
The city of Geneva has become the Swiss capital of the Asian hornet – an invasive species that has spread rapidly in Switzerland in recent months. “By Friday evening we had received 31 reports confirming the presence of Asian hornets. Almost all of them came from western Switzerland, except for one from the Basel region,” biologist Daniel Cherix, head of the insect monitoring task force, told “Le Matin Dimanche”. “There were two in Vaud, four in Neuchâtel, seven in the Jura and in Geneva – listen and be amazed – 17”, he explains, emphasizing that there were very few reports at this time last year. The Asian hornet wreaks havoc on bee colonies as it feeds on the bees.
The complexity of European airspace leads to up to 10 percent higher CO2 emissions. “European air is extremely dense and there are many flight restrictions, such as for military aviation,” said Pascal Hochstrasser, head of the control tower at Geneva airport, quoted by “Le Matin Dimanche”. In the United States, airspace has been rationalized and you can fly directly from New York to Los Angeles, says Jean-Marc Thévenaz, director of Easyjet in Switzerland. “But in Europe the flight routes are so complex that we estimate that longer routes entail an additional fuel consumption of about 10 percent.” A European reform to simplify European airspace was launched in 1999, but is making no progress. (con/sda)
source: watson
I’m Maxine Reitz, a journalist and news writer at 24 Instant News. I specialize in health-related topics and have written hundreds of articles on the subject. My work has been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Healthline. As an experienced professional in the industry, I have consistently demonstrated an ability to develop compelling stories that engage readers.
