Sunday, December 17, 2023
Published: Sunday, Dec 17th 2023, 05:00
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Pro Helvetia closes its office in Moscow, SBB transports luggage to the mountains by truck and Swiss Post makes its parcel carriers angry: This and more can be found in the Sunday newspapers. The headlines in unverified reports:
"NZZ am Sonntag":
Pro Helvetia stops its controversial involvement in Russia. Despite the war of aggression, the Swiss Federal Cultural Foundation continues to maintain an office in Moscow. Now the Board of Trustees has pulled the ripcord, as the "NZZ am Sonntag" writes. It has decided "that it is no longer possible to maintain the office in Moscow in its current form". Pro Helvetia is currently being shaken by a crisis. Director Philippe Bischof is being criticized for having a love affair with a female employee who reports to him. An employee survey revealed great dissatisfaction among staff and a lack of trust in the management. The director who was fired has announced his resignation - but not until mid-2025.
"SonntagsZeitung":
Until recently, two priests were active in a conservative Catholic scout group against whom there are currently allegations of sexual abuse. As the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reports, the police found video recordings of one of them. He had filmed a girl's breast for a long time at a scouting event. The cleric is on the blacklist of the Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). The second priest is currently being investigated by the public prosecutor's office in Graubünden. Stefan Loppacher, prevention officer of the Bishops' Conference, criticizes the passivity of the Catholic Church: "After such allegations, protection concepts should be reviewed at the Pfadi and it should be clarified what requirements there are for priests to gain access to minors.
"Le Matin Dimanche":
In an interview with "Le Matin Dimanche", UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said that there were other scenarios for the rescue of Credit Suisse (CS) than a takeover by UBS. However, it should have been dealt with earlier. "Unfortunately, the situation at Credit Suisse was allowed to deteriorate for too long", he said. The 3,000 jobs that the merged bank will cut will not all be cut at Credit Suisse, according to Ermotti. The "principle of meritocracy" will be applied. "It is not 3,000 people at Credit Suisse who have made mistakes", said the UBS boss.
"SonntagsBlick":
This year, Swiss Post introduced "dynamic route planning", known as Dyla. Dyla is intended to optimize parcel delivery. However, many long-standing employees feel that the changeover has significantly worsened their working day, especially in the stressful pre-Christmas period. Parcel carriers have complained to SonntagsBlick that the new system and associated app are unpredictable and unecological. Those responsible at Swiss Post are aware of the staff's displeasure: "We are aware that it is a major change, especially for long-standing postmen and women, to drive 'according to plan'," said a spokeswoman. At the same time, the company emphasizes that route planning has become so complex that technological support is needed to sort the parcels.
"SonntagsBlick":
The public transport industry transports around 350,000 pieces of luggage every year, around half of which in winter. But not always by rail: SBB has the luggage transported to the mountains by truck, as SonntagsBlick reports. Last week, the award of a corresponding contract worth CHF 2.5 million was published on Simap, the public procurement information system. "This amount includes services for five years," an SBB spokesperson told the newspaper. In the regions of north-eastern Switzerland, Zurich, Aargau, Basel and Bern, this involves collective transportation, i.e. pick-ups and deliveries at railroad stations, as well as "long-distance journeys" from Zurich to Valais and Graubünden. SBB explains the need for external support with the large quantities of luggage during the winter sports season. However, they emphasize that transport in trucks is not the norm and that luggage is mainly transported by rail.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
With a new decision, the Federal Administrative Court has burst into the middle of the political debate on asylum for persecuted women from Afghanistan: as the "NZZ am Sonntag" writes, it has ruled that "a self-determined life for women and girls in Afghanistan is not possible under the current regime". Due to the unbearable psychological pressure they are subjected to, they are entitled to asylum in Switzerland. And thus also to family reunification. Next Tuesday, the councils will debate two motions calling for a correction to the current asylum practices of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM). This summer, the office headed by Elisabeth Baume-Schneider decided that Afghan women should be granted asylum because they are persecuted on the grounds of their gender. Since then, family reunification has been easier. Civic politicians now want to reverse this decision.
"SonntagsZeitung":
Signa Holding's list of creditors includes ten companies and businesses with a Swiss address. In position 141: Migros-Genossenschaftsbund, as the "SonntagsZeitung" writes. The name of the retailer was repeatedly mentioned in the media in connection with the sale of the Globus department stores to Signa. It is now clear that Migros is indeed one of René Benko's creditors. Migros is not commenting on this. In addition to Migros, H. Kracht's Erben AG has also registered claims against Signa. It is the operator of the luxury hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich, the wine shop Baur au Lac Vins and the garage of the same name. In addition to other companies, there are companies that can be attributed to persons who have themselves invested in René Benko. For example, Kühne Holding, owned by logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne. One known creditor from Switzerland is Bank Julius Bär.
"NZZ am Sonntag":
Until now, cooperatives have been considered an island of bliss when it comes to rental costs. Unlike profit-driven real estate companies, they stand for affordable housing. However, cooperative rents are now rising in the canton of Zurich, as the NZZ am Sonntag writes. The Frohheim building cooperative (BGF), for example, is increasing rents in some estates by 25 to 30 percent in one fell swoop. Other cooperatives are also increasing rents. The Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich (ABZ), the largest building cooperative in Switzerland, has announced average rent increases of eight percent, although this could be significantly higher depending on the estate. The fact that cooperative rents rise far more than market rents is a Zurich specialty. A different pricing model applies for Zurich cooperatives than for private tenants; it is based solely on costs. Apparently, some cooperatives have miscalculated in this respect.
"SonntagsBlick":
Shortly after Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine began, Switzerland joined the sanctions against Russia. Since then, luxury goods may no longer be exported to Russia - especially not a luxury watch worth CHF 297,000, as discovered by Swiss customs in a shipment to Moscow. Since the sanctions came into force, 200 suspected cases of suspected violations of the Ukraine and Belarus Ordinance have been reported to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), as SonntagsBlick writes. These have so far resulted in 40 administrative criminal proceedings. Of these, 28 proceedings have been legally concluded with 20 discontinuation orders and eight penalty notices.
"Le Matin Dimanche":
The alleged shooter from Sion had already molested women as a minor, according to Le Matin Dimanche. The 36-year-old from Valais had already been convicted of molesting a teacher when he was 15 years old. He then went after young women he knew. "He was a child. He was stupid, but not evil. The messages were of the abusive kind," one of them told the newspaper. Over time, the problem got worse. On social media, "he created fake accounts with my first name and my boyfriend's last name. This harassment began to spread to my friends". Eventually, she filed a complaint and a penalty order was issued in 2011. After that, it got worse and worse, but the messages suddenly stopped without her knowing exactly why.
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