Sun, May 19th 2024
Demands due to the Gaza war, reports of physical violence at hospitals, and higher hotel prices due to the shortage of skilled workers dominate Sunday newspapers. Here are the key headlines from unverified reports:
Google employees in Zurich have called for an end to the controversial AI project Nimbus. “Google builds tools that claim lives in war,” a Zurich employee told SonntagsZeitung. Google intensified its cooperation with Israel following the Gaza war escalation. Meanwhile, activists at the University of Lausanne published a list of university members collaborating with Israeli researchers. “SonntagsZeitung” reported that none of the research was linked to the war or Israeli policy. The SVP demanded the Federal Council investigate the protests at Swiss universities, as “NZZ am Sonntag” wrote. This includes investigating domestic and foreign networks behind the protests.
Reports of physical violence at Swiss hospitals have doubled in the past three years. Last year, cantonal police intervened over 70 times due to serious threats at hospitals and clinics, according to the Federal Statistical Office analysis for “SonntagsBlick”. Cantonal police registered around 490 violent crimes. At Zurich University Hospital, security intervened several times daily. The 900 cases involved verbal abuse, threats, or violence against emergency ward staff. Inselspital Bern’s security was called 2,200 times, the newspaper reported.
Every second Swiss hotel plans to increase room rates this summer due to a skilled worker shortage, as “NZZ am Sonntag” wrote. Four out of five hotels struggle to fill vacancies, according to a Hotelleriesuisse survey. Cooks and service staff are particularly in short supply. Consequently, some hotels are increasing wages and hiring headhunters. The hospitality industry has thin margins, and rising staff costs must be passed on to customers, association president Martin von Moos told the newspaper.
The Young Finns have submitted a voting complaint on the cost brake initiative. They argue that the figures in the voting booklet mislead the population, “SonntagsZeitung” wrote. The complaints were submitted in Basel, Bern, and Zurich for formal reasons. The issue is the presentation of salaries and premiums as percentages, not absolute figures, obscuring significant wage increases compared to premiums. The doctors’ association also criticized this. The Federal Chancellery disagreed, stating that percentage presentation was appropriate.
Swiss hospitals’ annual investments increased by one billion francs to 2.8 billion francs between 2010 and 2022. Hospitals invested over 30 billion francs during this period, according to the Federal Office of Public Health figures published by “SonntagsZeitung”. Hospital investments accounted for around four percent of the premium volume in 2022. Hospitals increasingly ask cantons for help, but financial aid is politically and legally controversial. Some cantons do not comply with federal law, said Bernhard Rütsche, a law professor at the University of Lucerne.
According to Switzerland Tourism forecasts, the number of Chinese tourists will rise this year, remaining less than 20% below pre-pandemic levels. Marketing in China aims to boost growth until recovery is complete, a spokeswoman told “SonntagsBlick”. Amid over tourism debates, marketing strategies are under scrutiny. Switzerland Tourism must promote “demand for Switzerland as a travel and tourism destination”, the newspaper wrote. Experts call for a rethink of advertising to distribute tourist flows better. Switzerland has not yet reached its limit, said association president Martin Nydegger.
Around 90 of FIFA’s 120 legal department employees have left or plan to leave the company. This includes executives, “NZZ am Sonntag” wrote. FIFA faced significant challenges relocating its legal department and other units to Miami. Departures included experts in TV rights, sports sponsorship, doping, and the transfer market. One official suggested the departures were partly calculated. The process illustrates FIFA’s difficulties in moving its headquarters from Zurich.
In the 1990s, Eritrean autocrat Isaias Afewerki was seen as a beacon of hope by the Swiss government, according to unpublished diplomatic documents, “NZZ am Sonntag” wrote. Official Switzerland misjudged the situation, the newspaper wrote. Afewerki was seen as an “unpretentious, level-headed leader who openly admits mistakes”, according to a 1992 Swiss ambassador’s report. The Foreign Ministry in 1992 saw optimism in the human rights situation. However, the impression has changed, and Afewerki’s death could now lead to civil war, the State Secretariat for Migration told the newspaper.
©Keystone/SDA
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