Switzerland

The Federal Office of Public Health said on Monday that 154 cases of dengue fever have been reported since the start of the year, compared with 68 in 2022. The public health office blames this increase on the resumption of travel.

In addition to dengue fever, the number of cases of chikungunya has also risen sharply, from 2 reported in 2022 to 17 this year. The number of malaria cases is following the same trend, with 272 cases recorded up to the 38th week of this year, compared with 241 last year.

According to the public health office, the increase in cases of dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases is due to the resumption of travel after the Covid pandemic. The figures are back to pre-2020 levels. The cases reported in Switzerland exclusively concern people infected abroad.

The presence of the tiger mosquito in Switzerland does not necessarily mean that there will be a dengue epidemic, says the office. But it is possible that a local mosquito could bite an infected person returning from an endemic region and in turn transmit the virus to another person, it adds.

The long-term risk of disease transmission and the fact that tiger mosquitoes can be extremely annoying are the reasons why the spread is being actively monitored by the cantons. The tiger mosquito was first spotted in canton Ticino in 2003, and has since been found in several cantons in French-speaking Switzerland. Control measures have been put in place to prevent its spread.

The Vaud Cantonal Court has sent Alain Soral to prison. It ruled that the far-right ideologue, by calling a journalist a "fat lesbian", should be sentenced for discrimination and incitement to hatred.

The Franco-Swiss writer had initially been convicted of defamation at the first instance in 2022, and received a day's fine. However, the Vaud public prosecutor's office lodged an appeal and won the case at the end of last week's appeal.

The sentence handed down by the cantonal court amounts to 60 days' imprisonment, said Vincent Derouand, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, on Monday, confirming a report by Swiss public radio RTS. The essayist, who celebrated his 65th birthday on Monday, can still appeal to the Federal Court.

Soral, whose real name is Alain Bonnet, was on trial for comments he made about a journalist from La Tribune de Genève and 24 heures. After she wrote an article in 2021 that was not to his liking, Soral posted a video online in which he called the journalist a "fat lesbian" and a "queer activist", implying that the latter term meant "degenerate".

Repeat offender

According to the public prosecutor's office, these comments are not just defamatory. "These are not just words; they are messages. Mr. Soral has hatred and contempt for homosexuals," said Eric Kaltenrieder, the public prosecutor.

Kaltenrieder had asked for three months' imprisonment as part of a "penal logic" to "dissuade the defendant from re-offending", since Soral had already been convicted on some 20 occasions in France, largely for offences of provocation to hatred, defamation and anti-Semitic insult.

Kaltenrieder also drew on a new provision in the Criminal Code approved by Swiss voters in February 2020. It now makes it possible to punish calls for discrimination or violence based on sexual orientation, in the same way as discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or origin.

Case law

For his part, Soral acknowledged that he had made "somewhat virulent comments". The resident of Lausanne, where he has lived since 2019, nevertheless assured the public that he was "not a militant homophobe, as the public prosecutor would have us believe".

His lawyer denounced "a rather appalling inquisitional trial". He added: "It's the man we want to judge and not his few words of reaction on the spot, a response from the shepherd to the shepherdess."

Kaltenrieder said on Monday that he was "pleased to note" the Court of Appeal's decision and added that the verdict established "cantonal jurisprudence" on the application of the criminal law against discrimination and incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation.

Soral's lawyer, Pascal Junod, was not yet available on Monday for comment. In particular, he could not say whether his client would now be taking his case to the Federal Court.

'Strong signal'

LGBTQ associations were also pleased with the outcome. "We welcome a strong signal that not everything is allowed in Switzerland, that there are limits to hatred", said Gaé Colussi, head of French-speaking Switzerland at Pink Cross, when contacted by news agency Keystone-SDA. "We mustn't forget that this kind of comment has direct and worrying consequences for the LGBTIQ community."

Pink Cross, along with the Swiss lesbian organisation, Vogay and Lilith, also noted in a joint press release that the ruling was "a crucial step in the application of the article of the penal code" punishing homophobia. This new standard has already led to convictions in Switzerland, but without the same media coverage as the Soral case, noted Colussi.

Switzerland is participating in a NATO air exercise in southern Italy from October 2 to 13 to help strengthen defence capacity and international cooperation.

The Swiss army will send 45 soldiers to the NATO Tiger Meet in Gioia del Colle in southern Italy, the Federal Department of Defence said in a statement on Monday. Pilots will deepen their knowledge via the participation of five F/A-18 aircraft. This air exercise is one of the largest organised in Europe.

In total, thirteen countries are participating with over 70 combat aircraft, 15 helicopters and 1,500 soldiers. The objective is to test air defence beyond borders (joint force operating scenario), to exchange experiences and to compare capabilities.

Every year, the NATO Tiger Meet welcomes the air forces of several countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Switzerland participates as a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PPP) programme. The Swiss air force has been a member of the NATO Tigers Association since 1981 and participated in the Tiger Meet since 2004.

Fraudsters are increasingly targeting elderly people in Switzerland, using online scams, phishing emails and selling overpriced items, a new study reveals. It is estimated that they are conned out of around CHF675 million a year.

In recent years, almost 80% of people over 55 have been confronted with scams by fraudsters, a study published on Monday by Pro Senectute Switzerland reveals.

The Swiss advocacy organisation for older people estimates the annual losses to be around CHF675 million. That is two-thirds more than in the first study five years ago (CHF400 million).

The Covid-19 pandemic is thought to have had an influence on this trend, promoting greater use of the internet and new opportunities for fraud. Cases of cybercrime have almost doubled in the past five years and affect 52.3% of those surveyed.

Over the past five years, almost four out of five people (78.2 percent) have been confronted with an attempted fraud. While most of those affected were aware of the attempt, almost 20% of those surveyed fell victim, Pro Senectute said.

Despite this, older population in Switzerland are particularly alert to cases of telephone fraud, says Beatrice Kübli from Swiss Crime Prevention (SKP). “But we are seeing cases of a new phenomenon, “shock calls”, which are increasing significantly.”

During a so-called “shock call”, fraudsters contact an elderly person and report that a relative has been involved in an emergency, which is why the related costs must now be pre-financed. The person concerned was immediately prepared to meet the demand for money because they feared for their relatives, says Kübli. “The fraudsters are deliberately exploiting this state of emergency.”

Those affected often knew about the phenomenon before the incident. “But in the state of emergency, people no longer think about it,” she says. A current campaign focuses on this moment of shock and encourages older people to put the phone down.

Kübli generally recommends older people not to include their full name in address directories. For example, instead of “Rosmarie”, just write “R.” In order to get the phenomenon better under control, those affected should also report it to the police, even if it was just an attempt.

Switzerland has no immediate plans to deploy additional Swiss peacekeeping troops on the Swisscoy mission in Kosovo despite rising tensions in the region and news that NATO is beefing up its KFOR peacekeeping force after a deadly shootout.

No increase of the Swiss contingent is planned following recent events, the Swiss Armed Forces International Command (SWISSINT) told the Keystone-ATS news agency on Sunday. The safety of soldiers is of the utmost priority and takes precedence over operational requirements. For the time being, there is no indication that security is not guaranteed.

The members of Swisscoy, a Swiss army unit attached to the NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), are contributing in various ways to the multinational peace mission. They ensure the maintenance of a safe and stable environment and the freedom of movement of all citizens and KFOR. The soldiers are deployed in various locations. The town of Banjska is outside Switzerland's area of responsibility, according to SWISSINT.

Last Sunday's attack by a 30-strong Serbian commando force, heavily armed, against Kosovar police officers in the town of Banjska, in northern Kosovo close to the Serbian border, has reignited tensions in the region. Three Serb attackers and a Kosovar police officer were killed in the clashes.

Switzerland currently deploys 195 troops on the Swisscoy mission in Kosovo as part of the KFOR peacekeeping force. It has been active there since 1999.

UBS Group AG reached a settlement with Mozambique over Credit Suisse’s role in a ship-financing scandal, resolving the case between the two on the eve of a London trial.

The settlement between Credit Suisse and the southern African nation also includes most of the other lenders under the Proindicus Facility Agreement, Zurich-based UBS said in a statement Sunday. No financial details were given by the bank, which took over Credit Suisse in June.

“The parties have mutually released each other from any liabilities and claims relating to the transactions,” the bank said in the statement.

The settlement brings to a close a case that began a decade ago when Credit Suisse first financed the construction of a new coastal patrol force and tuna fishing fleet for Mozambique.

Red flags ignored

The African nation alleges the Swiss bank ignored red flags and the corruption of its own bankers in deals struck as part of $2 billion (CHF1.8 billion) worth of bond deals. Proindicus is a Mozambican state-owned entity, for which Credit Suisse provided financing.

Credit Suisse agreed in 2021 to pay almost $475 million to resolve multiple investigations around the world into its role in the scandal, which saw hundreds of millions looted from Mozambique and tipped the country into economic crisis.

As part of the deal, a European unit of the bank pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Credit Suisse also entered into a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department.

The case is one of Credit Suisse’s many legal troubles, which UBS has been looking to settle so that it can focus on integrating thousands of employees from its former rival. In August, UBS agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a long-running case over US mortgage-backed securities.

Switzerland refuses to adopt an opening round of targeted European Union sanctions against China, according to a media report.

Last December, the Swiss government quietly shelved proposals to copy-paste EU sanctions aimed at Chinese individuals and companies accused of human rights abuses.

Switzerland feared retaliatory measures from China but kept the decision quiet for undefined legal reasons, reports the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

“The Federal Council [government] weighed up the interests based on various foreign policy and legal criteria,” the Swiss Economics Ministry told the newspaper.

Retaliation threat

The EU started imposing ‘thematic’ sanctions against specific Chinese targets in 2021. Initial sanctions were imposed for human rights offences, but the EU has since threatened to sanction companies that support Russian aggression in Ukraine.

China’s ambassador to Bern, Wang Shihting, warned Switzerland last November not to impose sanctions. “Anyone who really cares about the friendly relations between the two countries and who makes responsible polities will not agree to the sanctions,” he said.

The Swiss government will decide on future EU sanctions on a “case-by-case basis”, it said in a statement to NZZ.

The Conference of Cantonal Health Directors is resisting proposals for national hospital planning. The federal government is far away from everyday healthcare, Conference President Lukas Engelberger told SonntagsBlick.

The federal government would have to build structures and acquire the necessary knowledge, Engelberger said in the interview published on Sunday. Consequently, the federal government would also have to pay for inpatient hospital treatment. The cantons currently bear more than half of these costs.

Cantons need to plan better and work more closely together, said Engelberger. However, the number of hospitals is not crucial. What is more important is how efficiently the hospitals are organised.

The cantons of Basel-City and Basel-Country have joint hospital planning, said Engelberger. It was shown there that there was sometimes an “above-average use of certain medical treatments”. The Conference tried to restrict performance orders. Individual measures ended up in court. “The federal government would also have this experience if it were to take over hospital planning,” said Engelberger.

The president of the health insurance association Santésuisse, Martin Landolt, proposed national hospital planning last Wednesday. The cantons are in a conflict of interest. As a result, they run “overpriced and unnecessary” hospitals, Landolt told Tamedia. This statement is incorrect, said Engelberger.

The new Swiss Cardinal Emil Paul Tscherrig hopes for real church reforms at the world synod in Rome that begins on Wednesday. “I hope that the synodal process will successfully bring the necessary changes in the Church,” he told the Sonntagsblick newspaper.

A lot of work still needs to be done so that, in addition to the priests, the laity are also more involved in church affairs and are more involved, said the 76-year-old from Valais.

A total of 365 voting members will take part in the conference from October 4 to 29. Although the vast majority are bishops, there are also other clergy and lay people (non-clergy). For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, 55 women will take part as voting members. In addition, there are experts who are not allowed to vote. “I hope that the synod will find new ways,” said Tscherrig.

However, Tscherrig did not want to comment on the church's current problems surrounding the Swiss abuse study. "The topic concerns me very much. But I can't comment on it because I live outside Switzerland." The University of Zurich published a study in mid-September that documented 1,002 cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland since the middle of the 20th century. According to the researchers, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Tscherrig was appointed Cardinal on Saturday alongside 20 other bishops and archbishops in the Vatican. He is currently the second Swiss cardinal in the Vatican alongside Kurt Koch and only the tenth Swiss to hold the office. Cardinals are the Holy Father's most important advisors and administrators. They also elect the Pope.

Becoming Pope himself is currently out of the question for Tscherrig. "No, I can't imagine that," he told the newspaper. As to whether he would still accept an election, he said: "I don't know." He was already preparing for his retirement. Everything was settled and his term as Nuncio to Italy was supposed to end in February. “Now I don’t know what the new order is,” said the cardinal newly installed by the Pope.

According to organisers, tens of thousands of people took part in the national climate demonstration in the city of Bern on Saturday. They called for immediate climate protection.

The unusually long demonstration started at 2:30pm with a slight delay not far from Bern train station, as a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency reported. The destination was the Bundesplatz. The organisers spoke of over 60,000 participants.

Participants formed several demo blocks on topics such as health, agriculture and outdoor activities. They wanted to illustrate that the effects of the climate crisis are already being felt in all areas of society.

The main demand of the rally was climate justice. The climate crisis is further exacerbating the inequalities that already exist at the global level, it said in a call. The countries of the Global North caused the crisis, the worst consequences of which would first affect the people in the South.

“The forest is burning, the Arctic is melting, politics is sleeping” could be read on one of the many handwritten banners. “If the climate were a bank, we would have saved it long ago,” was written elsewhere on a piece of cardboard.

The Swiss Climate Alliance called for the demonstration. According to its own information, it includes over 140 organisations from the areas of environment, development, churches, youth, trade unions and consumer protection.

The St Gallen public prosecutor's office is weighing up the resumption of an investigation into a private Christian school in Kaltbrunn, following allegations of abuse made in a television programme.

A spokesperson for the prosecutor confirmed this to the Beobachter magazine on Friday.

The email from the public prosecutor's office to the consumer magazine was also available to the Keystone-SDA news agency. The media had previously speculated about a resumption of the proceedings, which were suspended in 2022.

“When examining the new investigative approaches that arise, we also rely on reports from victims who are willing to testify,” said the spokesperson. The public prosecutor's office will immediately follow up on new information from victims who came forward.

In a report on Swiss public broadcaster SRF, former students of the evangelical institution recently made serious allegations. They reported beatings with belts, rape and a climate of fear.

The school “Domino Servite” (Serve the Lord), which is now called the Christliche Schule Linth, was co-founded by the former chocolatier Jürg Läderach. He denied allegations that he was personally involved in abuse.

According to the president of the Swiss Employers' Association (SAV), higher wages are pointless against the labour shortage.

It is particularly damaging when the public sector turns this screw, said SAV President Severin Moser.

“If wage competition intensifies, it will not lead to more people and more job opportunities,” said Moser in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung published on Saturday.

Aside from wages, companies would have to think about how they can remain attractive to new and existing employees. Better working conditions and additional benefits are conceivable. Moser also mentioned affordable childcare places for working parents. Companies would have to offer new models such as reduced working hours for older employees.

Switzerland is dependent on workers from abroad, said Moser. Moser countered the accusation that immigration was too cheap for employers by saying that the domestic resident population was not simply unemployed and available. "We don't bring in the foreigners because we don't want to invest in the locals." There are basically too few domestic workers who are already trained or who are being trained.

But Switzerland cannot turn the migration screw at will either. Neighboring countries struggled with similar problems. “Germany, France and Italy will not stand by and watch as we steal workers away from them with higher wages,” said Moser.

Switzerland is tightening its sanctions against the Iranian drone industry in connection with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. It is adopting sanctions that the European Union decided on last July.

The sale, delivery, export and transit of components used for the construction and production of drones are now prohibited, according to the economics and defence ministries.

At its meeting on Friday, the government decided to join the EU’s tougher sanctions. These will apply from 6pm on Friday. Financial and travel sanctions are also planned against individuals and organisations connected with support for the Iranian drone programme.

The government adopted the sanctions, which were tightened by the EU in July, “in view of Iran’s continued military support for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, which is contrary to international law, and the fact that Russia is using Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to support the military aggression”, according to the statement.

With this decision, the government is continuing its close partnership with the EU in the area of sanctions. The EU sanctions regarding the delivery of Iranian drones to Russia have been applied by Switzerland since autumn 2022. The measures are regulated in an ordinance, which is now being amended.

Switzerland is to play a pioneering role in mine clearance in Ukraine. The government has made the demining of civilian and agricultural areas in the war-torn country a priority and allocated CHF100 million ($110 million) for this purpose.

The support package is intended to enable Ukraine to rebuild, the government wrote in a statement on Friday. “Switzerland is offering its expertise to help tackle this enormous humanitarian challenge,” it said.

The financial resources of CHF100 million for the years 2024 to 2027 will come half from the budget of the defence ministry and half from the foreign ministry.

Switzerland is already involved in humanitarian demining in Ukraine. According to the government, a total amount of CHF15.2 million has been made available for the years 2022 and 2023. Among other things, the defence ministry has supplied a demining device.

The Swiss government has recommended that voters reject the daycare initiative, citing the costs, but it said it is committed to promoting supplementary family childcare.

“The initiative would place a massive burden on the federal government’s financial budget with additional costs in the billions,” the government said in a statement on Friday. And this in an area that is primarily the responsibility of the cantons and municipalities.

The government argued that it made more sense to advocate for a further strengthening of supplementary family childcare within the framework of the parliamentary debate on the future of start-up financing.

The popular initiative “For good and affordable supplementary family childcare for all” was launched at the end of July. It demands that parents must spend a maximum of 10% of their income on daycare places for their children.

However, the initiative not only wants to make day-care centres and after-school care centres accessible and affordable for all families, but also the entire spectrum of supplementary family and school care. The initiative committee is broad-based with representatives from the political left to the centre.

According to the initiative text, the federal government would have to cover two-thirds of the costs. In addition, it would have to issue minimum guidelines on the quality of care, working conditions and other requirements.

Employers also under obligation

“The government shares the view that supplementary family childcare must continue to be promoted and that the public sector should provide greater financial relief for parents,” the statement said. For 20 years, the government has been making financial contributions to the creation of childcare places within the framework of the temporary impulse programme, it said.

It is now of the opinion that the tight financial situation does not allow any further commitment. “It is the task of the cantons to expand supplementary family childcare, and employers should also participate in this expansion in an appropriate form.”

Bernard Sonney, the deputy bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, has temporarily vacated his office after two weeks in the job following allegations of abuse. An investigation is underway against him.

Sonney had decided to take this step “following a report”, journalists were told at a media conference in Fribourg on Friday. The report was taken from a letter sent to the bishop, Charles Morerod, by an alleged victim.

Morerod was not present at the media conference. He is currently recovering from an emergency operation in mid-September after reportedly having a bicycle accident. Morerod’s emergency hospitalisation came a day after the publication of a study by the University of Zurich into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland. This documented more than 1,000 cases of abuse in the Catholic Church in Switzerland since the middle of the 20th century.

Morerod had been accused in the Sonntagsblick newspaper of having failed to intervene after reports of abuse. Priest suspended

The diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg further announced that it had suspended a priest in canton Neuchâtel. His identity and the nature of the incident, which was reported by a foreign bishop, were not specified.

Sonney is not the first high Catholic dignitary to resign over allegations of abuse. In mid-September, the Abbot of St-Maurice, Jean Scarcella, announced that he would leave his office.

Cooperation with European and other close partners, promotion of democracy and the fight against climate change are among Swiss foreign policy priorities for the coming years.

These are the priority areas proposed by the government for 2024-27, it said in a press release. On Friday, it adopted the 52-page draft of the Foreign Policy Strategy 2024-2027. In it, the government defines the priorities and goals of foreign policy for the coming legislative period.

Compared to the current strategy, various adjustments are planned, in particular due to the new situation with the Russian war in Ukraine. “In a world marked by growing political and economic fragmentation, taking steps to ensure a stable and more prosperous Europe is even more important today,” says the government.

Switzerland should therefore focus on "constructive relations with all regions of the world". The G20 states have an important role to play. “Settling outstanding issues in Switzerland's relationship with the EU is imperative,” it says. In addition, the government wants to strengthen contributions to European security and attach strategic importance to the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Swiss foreign policy should set new priorities in the areas of climate change, biodiversity, pollution and sustainable energy supply, according to the proposals.

The draft will be submitted to the cantons and parliamentary foreign affairs committees for consultation, before the final version is adopted early next year.

The Swiss economy continues to register negative signals, suggesting that a slowdown will occur between now and the end of the year, according to the KOF Swiss Economic Institute.

KOF on Friday reported a further weakening in September. Its monthly barometer fell by 0.3 points compared with August, to 95.9 points. This fall is mainly attributable to a series of indicators in the manufacturing and services sectors, said economists at the Zurich centre.

Developments in the financial and banking sectors do not give cause for optimism.

In industry, companies active in metallurgy, paper and printing are weighing on the economic outlook, as are chemicals, pharmaceuticals and plastics. On the other hand, the food sector appears resilient, says the press release.

KOF also highlights the negative outlook for employment in manufacturing and construction.

The KOF Business Cycle Barometer is a leading indicator on the Swiss economy, which is made up of a large number of individual indicators. These are combined into an overall indicator using statistically determined weights.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti has stressed that his country needs Swiss support as it seeks to join the Council of Europe.

To become a member of the Council of Europe, the country needs friends "who represent us truthfully", Kurti said in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung published on Friday.

Kosovo is aiming to join the Council of Europe next year, he told the paper. In the run-up, he said, it was a matter of geopolitics. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) would not recognise Kosovo. "We need Switzerland's support," Kurti said. The interview came after his meeting with President Alain Berset a week ago.

Switzerland supports Kosovo's aspiration to join the Council of Europe, the Swiss foreign ministry announced after the meeting. Its admission would allow all inhabitants of the country - including members of the Serbian minority - to have access to the European Court of Human Rights.

Call for restraint

After the meeting, Berset called on Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreements negotiated in Brussels and Ohrid in the spring, which should help normalise relations between the two countries. Berset emphasised Switzerland's support in the normalisation process, according to the foreign ministry.

Two days after the meeting, heavy fighting broke out in Serb-inhabited northern Kosovo. "There will be a before and after September 24," Kurti said in the interview.

The Swiss foreign ministry condemned the attack on Kosovo police "in the strongest possible terms". It called for calm and restraint.

The head of the Swiss National Bank said the central bank should focus on its price stability mandate rather than trying to wade into climate change policy.

“The key contribution of the SNB to the sustainability of Switzerland is in price stability,” President Thomas Jordan said on Wednesday evening at an event in Lausanne. “For this, we have the instruments.”

The SNB, like other central banks, has come under pressure from activists and politicians to do more to speed up the greening of the economy and of the financial system. But Jordan said that technocratic institutions have little power to directly influence consumers and investors toward more environment-friendly habits.

“The vast majority of the Swiss population agrees that price stability is important,” he said, while it would be “difficult” to get a mandate for environmental concerns.

The SNB faced protests at its annual general meeting this year calling for more responsible investment choices. Activists demanded that the central bank use its 700 billion-franc ($760 billion) chest of foreign-currency reserves to foster climate goals. Jordan turned them down on that occasion, saying that the central bank’s sole mandate is price stability.

On Wednesday, he warned of the risk of potential conflicts of interest with the SNB’s monetary policy mandate if the central bank’s balance sheet is used to promote environmental goals.

“We shouldn’t bet on that portfolio to save the planet,” he said.

The speech in Lausanne was the central bank’s chief first public appearance since the SNB last week surprised investors by halting interest-rate increases.

The Senate wants to reverse the tightening of the War Materials Act decided by parliament in 2021 in one point. The Federal Council should be able to deviate from the approval criteria in exceptional cases.

A motion adopted by the Senate on Thursday demands that the Federal Council be able to deviate from the approval criteria for foreign transactions if there are extraordinary circumstances. It should also be able to do this if the protection of the country's foreign or security policy interests requires it.

According to the text of the motion, the Federal Council must inform the security policy commissions of its decision within 24 hours. If the deviation from the approval criteria is implemented by regulation, it must be limited in time.

A left-wing minority in the Senate was against the motion, which was approved with 27 votes to 11 and 3 abstentions. The Federal Council had requested a yes vote. The motion goes to the House of Representatives.

The Rorschach district court has acquitted an alleged member of a Belarusian special unit in a case of possible atrocities.

The man was accused of enforced disappearance and misleading the administration of justice. The judges saw contradictions in the statements.

Certain descriptions are simply absurd, argued the presiding judge in the verdict announced orally on Thursday afternoon. The facts have not been proven. It is possible that the accused wanted to have a positive influence on his asylum decision with the dramatic descriptions.

The alleged member of a Belarusian special squad was the first person to be charged with enforced disappearance in Switzerland. At the trial last week, the public prosecutor's office demanded a guilty verdict and a prison sentence of three years, one year of which was unconditional.

When applying for asylum in 2019, the 45-year-old defendant stated that he was involved in the murder of three opposition politicians on behalf of the regime of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

After the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, individual passenger trains will be running through the tube again from Friday.

There will be a train to the south on Friday and one to the north on Sunday, as the SBB announced on Thursday.

During the following three autumn peak weekends, two further connections will be added to the south on Saturdays and one to the north on Sundays. The courses on Friday evening from Zurich to Lugano and on Sunday evening from Locarno to Zurich through the tunnel will run until the timetable change.

The SBB is covering the autumn holidays in German-speaking Switzerland until October 15th with two trains from Zurich to Bellinzona on Saturday mornings and one from Lugano to Zurich on Sunday afternoons. SBB will be using double-decker compositions for these courses from Saturday, October 7.

The SBB is thus increasing the number of seats available. There are 900 more places on the autumn holiday weekends. The journey time is reduced by 15 to 30 minutes. The Federal Office of Transport granted approval for passenger traffic through the Gotthard Base Tunnel.

The first passenger train will depart Zurich again through the base tunnel on Friday at 5:33 p.m. For the time being, the SBB is restricting passenger traffic to weekends following the derailment of the freight train on August 10.

Then the number of passengers on the Gotthard axis is highest and fewer freight trains run. In addition, no repair work will take place over the weekends in the west tunnel that was damaged in the derailment. The work takes place in multiple shifts during the week. For safety reasons, no passenger trains are allowed to travel through the undamaged eastern tube during the work.

A third of Swiss people have already used artificial intelligence such as chatbots for their application.

According to a survey by the Xing platform, a good third are also willing to conduct a job interview with a chatbot.

The market and opinion research company Marketagent Schweiz surveyed over 1,000 working people in Switzerland on behalf of Xing. Accordingly, a third of working people stated that they had used AI tools to apply for a new job in the past two years. What is particularly popular here is writing application documents such as CVs or cover letters.

In addition, 35% of those surveyed said they were ready for a job interview with AI chatbots, either in writing or voice-based. However, another third categorically rules this out, according to the survey published on Thursday.

The rest are “rather negative” about an interview with an artificial intelligence, but are also willing to do so if there is no alternative. In general, the willingness is higher among men and younger people, it goes on to say.

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) has confirmed that the derailment of a freight train in the Gotthard Base Tunnel last month was caused by a broken wheel.

The existing train control systems were unable to detect earlier damage to the wheel.

The broken wheel was caused by fatigue cracks in the metal, the STSB wrote in an interim report published on Thursday. Such fatigue cracks grow with continued use until the wheel breaks. The STSB found no evidence of operational defects as a cause of the accident.

According to the current train control systems used on Swiss railway infrastructure, the cracks could not have been discovered. STSB said a crack can only be discovered to a limited extent during technical tensile tests, and they also depend on its size. In addition, cracks can only be found in the visible area of ​​the wheel.

The damage pattern corresponds to a safety warning by the Belgian and Italian supervisory authorities from 2017, STSB said. In 2016 and 2017, several cracks and breaks occurred in similar freight train wheels in Belgium and Italy. Measures were then taken to limit risks during operation and maintenance.

The freight wagon that caused the derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel on August 10 belonged to a Zug company. It was the eleventh wagon being pulled by the train. According to STSB, a fragment of the wheel disc broke off about ten kilometres after entering the tunnel. More fragments then came loose.

The axle hung diagonally under the car. The last fragment broke off 17 kilometres into the 57.1-km tunnel. The axle hit and destroyed a switch. The following 16 freight cars then derailed. The train was torn apart between the 13th and 14th wagons and certain wagons ended up on the opposite track.