Courses for e-bikes and 1.5 million for Hamas from Geneva – the Sunday news The SVP wants to combat list connections in elections for the National Council

Geneva’s connections with Hamas, housing container shortages and e-bike courses: this and more is in the Sunday papers.

1.5 million for Hamas

An aid organization from Geneva is said to have transferred 1.5 million francs to Gaza and is linked to Hamas. The chairman of the Secours Humanitarian Foundation (FSH) visited the head of the Islamic organization Hamas in Istanbul in 2021, as the “SonntagsZeitung” wrote.

The FSH financial officer was on the radar of the US Office of Terrorism. The Swiss Foreign Ministry emphasized that it had not supported the FSH financially. The Federal Public Prosecution Service is investigating suspicions of Hamas financing from Switzerland. She declined to comment on whether the FSH was in the picture “for tactical reasons”.

UBS whistleblower

The whistleblower in the French tax dispute with UBS has accused the state of manipulation. French Stéphanie Gibaud told the “NZZ am Sonntag” that she was forced to cooperate by the authorities.

The agency’s fight against tax evasion was a masquerade, she said. This was an attempt to cover up their own scandals, Gibaud said. She was referring to the then Budget Minister, whose UBS account had become his undoing.

Gibaud provided the state with a customer list that led to a $1 billion fine against UBS. She received 4,500 euros for this and now lives on social assistance, the newspaper writes.

Decision: containers for schools or for the asylum area

Swiss communities increasingly have to choose between containers for schools or for asylum purposes. “If we sell into the asylum sector, we are taking capacity away from schools,” the head of market leader Condecta, Olivier Annaheim, told “NZZ am Sonntag”.

However, there is currently still sufficient capacity. If the asylum rate increases, they may reach their limits. Condecta and competing companies built 2,500 to 3,000 containers throughout Switzerland within a year. According to Annaheim, that is twice as much as last year.

Mandatory course for e-bike riders

The federal government is considering a mandatory course for e-bike riders. The Federal Road Agency (Astra) has commissioned a catalog “on the necessary fitness for driving, driving skills and driving skills”, as the “SonntagsZeitung” wrote.

Depending on your age, different rules may apply. The elderly are particularly at risk on e-bikes, the newspaper writes. People over 80 are five times more likely to have an accident than young people. In addition, the chance of dying in a cycling accident is four times greater for seniors, says a spokeswoman for the Accident Prevention Advisory Center.

Sick people suffer from price negotiations on medicines

Price negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) have become increasingly intensive in recent years. Those who suffer are sick people who urgently need medicine, as the “SonntagsZeitung” wrote.

The deadline for adding new medications to the specialty list is 60 days. This year the recording lasted an average of 306 days. Last year it was 134 days. The pharmaceutical industry identified the problem in the outdated system under which new medicines are reimbursed. The BAG sees the pharmaceutical industry as the culprit. She was said to have submitted the applications “significantly late”.

Economiesuisse criticizes the transport concepts of cities

The economic umbrella organization Economiesuisse has criticized the transport concepts of Swiss cities. Online retailers and parcel carriers were made scapegoats, writes the ‘NZZ am Sonntag’ based on a position paper from the association.

It said that the administrations were designing “pseudo-solutions” on the drawing board with their logistics concepts. Economiesuisse received support from the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE). It is important to look at the total traffic, says an ARE spokeswoman. The association of cities replied: no concrete such concept was planned. The cities wanted to work with the logistics sector, not against it.

IV rating institute rejects IV retirees more often than others

According to a new report, the IV assessment institute PMEDA has rejected IV pensions more often than other experts. PMEDA has certified full ability to operate in about 57 percent of cases in 2022 and 2023, as “SonntagsBlick” wrote, citing the report.

This was written by the Federal Commission for Quality Assurance of Medical Reviews. Other experts stated that they were fully able to work in about 26 percent of the cases. The PMEDA said the report was flawed in form and content. The claimed difference was not seriously investigated.

Rösti wants to regulate AI

According to Federal Councilor Albert Rösti, Switzerland needs regulations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, some kind of complaints body is needed, he said in an interview with “NZZ am Sonntag”.

The head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Uvek) said his department will submit a position statement to the Federal Council by the middle of next year. Rösti can imagine that Switzerland will adopt the rules of the European Union (EU). “But actually it is a global issue,” said the SVP federal councilor. The United Nations could also play a role.

Union communications criticized in the EU file

The future chairman of the National Council’s Foreign Policy Committee has sharply criticized the trade unions’ communication in the EU file. “It is unbearable to see how the unions are fooling the Federal Council,” said national councilor Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP) in an interview with “SonntagsBlick”.

Federal councilor Ignazio Cassis confidentially informed party leaders and social partners, i.e. employers and trade unions, about the status of the exploratory talks with the EU. The unions were made public immediately after the meetings before the Federal Council announced its decisions, Portmann said. The strategy to involve the social partners failed.

Ems-Chemie manipulates reviews on Kununu

The chemical company Ems-Chemie has removed negative entries on the employer rating platform Kununu. At the same time, there was a lot of positive feedback, as “SonntagsBlick” wrote.

The managers have been asked by the human resources department to provide positive reviews, a management member told the newspaper. The company denied this. He was not aware of that. According to the newspaper, internal emails showed that Kununu does not immediately delete a message. Kununu said they first had to make sure the statements in the message were untrue.

(jam/sda)