Also in Switzerland: Jewish students are bullied more often – the Sunday news Raiffeisen increases profits thanks to strong interest in business

Many households in Switzerland spend more than 10 percent on health insurance

Many households spent more than ten percent of their disposable income on health insurance in 2020, when premiums were still lower. This is what the “SonntagsZeitung” writes, citing figures from monitoring on behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health. According to this data, a family with two adults, two small children and an average income in Switzerland paid on average about 11 percent of their disposable income in premiums in 2020. And that is after deduction of the premium discount. For a married couple without children that was 12 percent.

Depending on the canton, certain households even reached almost 20 percent in 2020. In June, Swiss voters will vote on the premium aid initiative. It states that a maximum of ten percent of disposable income must be paid for health insurance.

The intelligence service does not know what it is allowed to do – and what it is not allowed to do

The Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) is unclear how far it is allowed to go on the internet. This hits the department that could have stopped last week’s attacker from Zurich, writes the ‘NZZ am Sonntag’. A previously unpublished audit report from the regulator AB-ND provides indications of organizational problems in the field of the intelligence service responsible for open source intelligence (Osint), or the collection of open information on the internet.

According to the report, it is unclear in which cases NDB employees can freely obtain information from the Internet – for example from social networks – and in which cases external approval would be required. There are “no criteria or structured guidelines on what Osint is and what leaves Osint’s legal framework,” the report’s summary says.

Anti-Semitism in schools has increased since the start of the Gaza war

Parents are sounding the alarm about anti-Semitism in schools: since the start of the Gaza war, Jewish students in Swiss primary schools have been increasingly bullied and excluded. A group of concerned parents has been documenting relevant incidents for several weeks, the “SonntagsZeitung” writes. For example, a boy played a video of a Hamas rape to a Jewish classmate and said she would experience it herself. Statements aimed at National Socialism are common.

In the “SonntagsBlick” interview, Jonathan Kreutner, secretary general of the Swiss Association of Israeli Communities (SIG), said: “Numerous anti-Semitic insults and real bullying against Jewish and Israeli students have been reported to us.” Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, the problem has worsened enormously. At school, Jews are generally and completely wrongly blamed for the war in Gaza. The SIG assumes that the number of unreported cases is high.

Intelligence service warns of Russian espionage

After the eavesdropping affair in Germany and media reports about increased espionage activities by Russia in Europe, the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) responds and strengthens its warning: “The greatest current threat of espionage comes from Russian intelligence services,” an NDB spokeswoman said. to the newspaper. “Sunday newspaper”. In addition to cyber espionage, a significant part of information collection in Switzerland comes from human sources. “Russian diplomatic missions are mainly used for these activities.” However, the number of accredited diplomats from Russia has remained stable since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are currently 218 people. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says former intelligence chief Peter Regli.

Member of telephone fraud gang in court for the first time

Criminals use telephone fraud to defraud millions of elderly people every year – according to police, the damage is constantly increasing. Now, for the first time, a money messenger from a gang of fraudsters is on trial. The gang’s victim, a pensioner living in the canton of St. Gallen, describes to the “SonntagsZeitung” how the fraudsters acted when they robbed her of more than 15,000 francs. The files available to the newspaper show how the fraudsters used Swiss crypto ATMs to transfer their loot abroad. The machine is from the Swiss company Värdex. The St. Gallen case is “extremely regrettable,” Värdex said in a statement. Efforts are made to actively educate, but cases of fraud continue to occur

The shipping lobby was allowed to have a lot of say in the law that affected them

The shipping lobby had a major say in the development of the tonnage tax proposal: in 2020, the director of the Federal Tax Administration (FTA), then still the “project manager for tax policy transactions”, sent the lobby organization Swiss Trading & Shipping Association (STSA) a questionnaire about the design and effects of a tonnage tax, as “SonntagsBlick” writes based on relevant emails.

“How high should the tax base be, taking into account the level of applicable ordinary tax rates in Switzerland, for the regime to be internationally competitive?” the report said. The rates proposed by the shipping lobby ultimately ended up in the bill one-for-one. The FTA defends the approach, saying the tonnage tax was intended to fulfill a 2016 parliamentary mandate in favor of the shipping sector. At the same time, the tonnage tax is already applied in 21 of the 27 EU member states.

Farmers with high animal welfare standards pay more

If they do more than the law requires in terms of animal protection, farmers have to pay extra out of their own pocket. This is what “SonntagsBlick” writes. A new report from the Federal Council on the income of farming families shows that companies that voluntarily participate in federal animal welfare programs and meet stricter requirements often lose money as a result. The federal contributions are not sufficient to cover the additional costs.

The premium that retailers pay for ‘welfare animal meat’ often does not cover the costs. This year the problem is going to be even worse. Retailers recently reduced premiums due to “decreasing demand.” And as part of its savings program, the federal government has reduced animal welfare contributions by 15 million francs from January 2024: an average cow receives only 75 instead of 90 francs per year.

Wallis investigates the Patrouille des Glaciers committee

The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened proceedings against the Association for the Support, Management and Promotion of the Patrouille des Glaciers (ASPDG). Contrary to previous statements by the authorities after audits, there are still “complications”, as “Le Matin Dimanche” writes. The ASPDG was responsible for overseeing the Swiss Army’s international military ski mountaineering competition and was criticized in 2021, among other things, for high compensation for board members and conflicts of interest. There are currently no charges and the cantonal police are investigating, the Public Prosecution Service said. (con/sda)