In 2023 the 9 million Switzerland will be a fact and the world will depend on nuclear power plants – the New Year’s news Medicines are becoming scarce in Switzerland – the medicine bottleneck in 4 points

Fast immigration: Switzerland is growing much faster than its neighbors

If you add up the permanent and non-permanent population, Switzerland is likely to cross the nine million mark this year. An analysis by the “SonntagsZeitung” shows that since the introduction of the free movement of persons, the Swiss population has grown twice as fast as that of Great Britain or France and even 20 times faster than that of Germany. This is due to the strong immigration. The consequences for the environment, infrastructure and social life are striking. More and more green buildings are being built, traffic is becoming more and more congested and despite major savings efforts, it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve the CO2 targets. Consequently, immigration is likely to become one of the most important issues of the 2023 election year. Economic historian Tobias Straumann says Switzerland’s strong immigration is a zero-sum game: “We have full employment, a stable economy and growth, but per capita wealth is growing slowly and far from benefiting everyone.”

ICRC president wants to travel to Moscow

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) always wants to talk to all warring parties – in the Ukraine war, that includes Russia. “I will travel to Moscow,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger told the “NZZ am Sonntag”. However, the time has not yet been determined. “We talk to all parties about respecting international humanitarian law,” said Spoljaric Egger. “This includes access to prisoners of war and civilians.” Without the consent of the respective warring party, this would not be possible for the ICRC.

The SBB wants to invest half a billion in small stations

The SBB wants to renovate its stock and expand its offer: over the next six to seven years, the small stations will be put into shape for half a billion francs, SBB boss Vincent Ducrot said in an interview with the “NZZ am Sonntag”. “You have to be more pleasant and cleaner, the passengers have to feel comfortable there again,” says Ducrot. First the toilets would be renovated. According to their boss, the federal railways want to expand the offer: “The future must be that the railways in Switzerland become a large S-Bahn system.”

Offered hand registers massively more calls

The Offered Hand Service, which can be reached on 143, is receiving more and more requests for help. In the regions of Zurich and Aargau, the hand offered recorded an increase of about 10 percent last year, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. The number of callers reporting all kinds of fears will even increase tenfold in the Zurich region by 2022. The volunteers of the Dargebotene Hand conduct around 200,000 conversations throughout Switzerland every year. Since 2019, the number of calls due to mental illness has increased, albeit less strongly. In the Bern region, for example, almost 47 percent of people requesting help in 2022 called because of a mental illness. Before the pandemic, that share was 39 percent. “We are in a multiple crisis,” says Matthias Herren, head of the Dargebotene Hand Zurich. “For people who already feel private burdens, everything becomes too much at some point.”

Accused in Raiffeisen trial dies of dementia

Peter Wüst, one of the defendants in the Raiffeisen trial, died shortly before Christmas as a result of severe dementia, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” writes. Since his assets were frozen, his lawyers have been fighting with Raiffeisenbank representatives over contributions to hospital costs. Wüst was considered a key figure in connection with the investment vehicles of the prime suspects, the former bosses of Raiffeisen and Aduno, Pierin Vincenz and Beat Stocker. While they were released immediately after their arrest, Wüst had gone into shock during his imprisonment. After that, his health went downhill. The former top manager, who had worked for Swissair and Valora, among others, denied all allegations against him until the end.

Switzerland records peak unemployment

At the end of November 2022, Switzerland had an unemployment rate of 2.0 percent. Historically, this is excellent: since 2003, this value has never been at such a low level at this time of year, as the “SonntagsBlick” writes. The absolute figures are even more impressive: on average over the past twenty years, Switzerland had 132,000 unemployed at the end of November. In 2022 there were only 91,327. The number of long-term unemployed has even halved in twelve months. There is no catch with these figures, the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) assures. For example, there were not very many adjustments that would explain and put the extraordinarily low unemployment into perspective. This welcome development also has implications for the Regional Employment Offices (RAV) – they need fewer staff.

Anabolic steroids are booming in Switzerland

A study by the Arud Center for Addiction Medicine concludes that more than 200,000 people in Switzerland consume anabolic steroids over the course of their lives. Rising trend. In addition, three-quarters of all anabolic steroid products are counterfeit, as the “SonntagsBlick” writes. They contain different active ingredients than specified or are not dosed correctly. Medicines derived from veterinary medicine are sold on the Internet and through dealers – or illegal substances that are manufactured in secret laboratories and sold on the black market. A multi-million dollar business for criminal networks. This is also confirmed by Jonas Personeni of the Swiss Sport Integrity Foundation (SSI): “The banned doping substances mainly come from Eastern Europe and Asian countries.” In recent years, the number of imports of anabolic steroids has increased, indicating that there is a trend towards these products.

Large Swiss companies want to create jobs

2023 will be a good year for Swiss workers: significantly more companies are announcing job creation than job cuts. This is evident from a survey by the “SonntagsZeitung” among the ninety largest employers. 34 want to increase the number of jobs – only four face a reduction, the large rest expect a stable number of jobs. No company is more optimistic than Swiss. The airline is announcing about 1,500 new employees for the new year. There will be a significant increase in jobs at Geneva-based luxury watch brand Rolex. Because the demand for her luxury watches is so great that she has to expand production enormously. Three of the largest employers will be among the biggest job killers in 2023: Credit Suisse, UBS and the pharmaceutical company Novartis.

Record number of new nuclear power plants planned worldwide

Around the world, 500 new nuclear power plants are under construction or planned. That’s more than ever. More and more countries, including EU countries, are coming to the conclusion that they can only get rid of CO2 quickly with nuclear energy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also thinks this is a good idea. Switzerland, on the other hand, is under pressure with the ban on nuclear power plants. Because without nuclear energy – even with a planned expansion of photovoltaic cells – it has to import 40 percent of its electricity in winter. This will be very problematic for Switzerland if it fails to negotiate an electricity deal with the EU, according to a new detailed study by the federal government to be made available to the “SonntagsZeitung”. According to energy experts, the construction of a new type of small nuclear power plant could solve the problem. The construction time is only three years.

The melting glaciers are changing national borders

The melting glaciers in the Alps are changing the landscape – and the course of the borders. A mountain hut near Zermatt, which was on Italian territory for decades, is now in Switzerland. As early as 2018, the two countries started talks about the future border. Most recently, in November 2021, the two countries’ border commissions met in Florence for a multi-day exchange. “During the negotiations, a solution was outlined together,” Sandrine Klötzli of the Federal Office of Topography (Swisstopo) told the “SonntagsZeitung”. This is now being approved by the responsible authorities in both countries. “In Switzerland, a corresponding application from the Federal Council is possible at the earliest in 2023,” says Kloetzli. The border commissions have agreed not to disclose the specific content until the solution has been politically approved. The document, which would be available to the “SonntagsZeitung”, shows that the new border largely follows the previous border stones.

Thanks to the lack of pesticides: the birds of prey in Switzerland are doing very well

Bearded vultures, golden eagles, snake eagles, scops owls, buzzards, kestrels – many species of birds of prey have returned to Switzerland, says Le Matin Dimanche. “Almost all species of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey have relatively high populations and sometimes even record populations, such as the red kite,” said the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach. She speaks of a possible “golden age of raptors”. Biologist Lionel Maumary said the raptors are back in shape thanks to the protective measures taken and, in particular, not using the pesticide DDT, which altered their eggs and poisoned their food. (sda)