Switzerland

Last year, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.6% rather than the 2% previously thought, Swiss statisticians said on Thursday.

The real GDP growth published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday was based on the first national accounts data. The previously available estimate was published by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) at the end of May.

Last year’s significant increase took place in a growth-friendly environment and was characterised by the upturn in services and strong growth in manufacturing, writes the FSO. As is well known, services (transport, hotels and restaurants) in particular had still suffered heavily from the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Due to relatively high inflation, nominal growth rates were still significantly higher than real growth rates last year. Gross national income (GNI) at current prices, which measures the total income of companies and households based in Switzerland, rose by 4.7%, according to the FSO figures. However, a slight decline in the balance of income with foreign countries had a somewhat dampening effect.

In addition to these initial estimates for 2022, the GDP figures for 2021 and 2020 have also been revised upward. For 2021, it is now +5.4% after the previously communicated 4.2%, for the first Covid-19 year 2020 -2.1% instead of -2.4%. The exact calculation of the GDP figures is not statistically straightforward. Accordingly, various assumptions and estimates are needed for the first figures, which means that there may be major revisions in the future.

The first estimate of annual GDP in the national accounts is made after eight months (end of August) and, according to the FSO, is partly based on incomplete information and on short-term indicators (e.g. employment statistics). The second estimate after twenty months – i.e. currently for the 2021 figures – then includes structural data from surveys (e.g. for value added statistics) and administrative data.

The significant upward revision for 2021 (+1.2 percentage points) was primarily due to the inclusion of more comprehensive data on large multinational companies such as Nestlé, Novartis and Roche. For example, the growth of the pharmaceutical industry has been significantly adjusted upwards as a result of the new information, according to the FSO.

The corrections could be explained, for example, by adjustments in business models, volatility, and the increasing importance of income from licenses and patents as well as from real estate. The establishment of new subsidiaries of foreign groups in Switzerland, which had not been included in the initial data, also contributed to this.

The already exceptional results of the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products (including watches) were also more positive with the inclusion of the new data, the report added.

Multinational companies are playing an increasingly important role in the Swiss economy, and their business model is often very complex. The FSO is currently working on a solution to better take into account globalisation-related aspects and is trying to work more closely with large multinational firms and rethink certain processes to this end, the statement said.

Swatch will be able to challenge the seizure of around 100 rainbow-coloured watches by authorities in Malaysia, where homosexuality is illegal, after a high court gave the go-ahead, a lawyer for the Swiss company said.

In May, Swatch stores in 11 shopping malls were raided and watches confiscated because of “LGBTQ elements” by a police unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Southeast Asian country where homosexuality is illegal.

The hearing is scheduled for September 6, the lawyer added.

The LGBTQ community is discriminated against in the Muslim-majority country, where homosexuality is punishable by prosecution and corporal punishment.

The government announced in early August, ahead of a key electoral deadline, that wearers or sellers of the Swiss manufacturer’s rainbow watches were now liable to three years’ imprisonment in Malaysia.

In May, 172 watches worth a total of $14,000 (CHF12,100) were seized.

Swatch had lodged a legal appeal, arguing that “its commercial reputation had been damaged”. “The watches do not promote any sexual activity, but only express peace and love in a joyful way,” the complaint stated.

The authorities had justified the watch seizures by pointing out that they risked “damaging the nation’s interests by promoting, supporting and normalising the LGBTQ movement which is not accepted by the general public”.

The Zurich-based lender has set a target of winding down the Credit Suisse brand in the country, people familiar with the matter told the Bloomberg news agency. Executives are preparing for an announcement as soon as the end of this month, the people said, who asked not to be named discussing private details.

UBS has long signalled its preference to subsume its erstwhile local rival’s lucrative domestic business rather than spin it off – but Switzerland’s elections, due in October, had forced executives to downplay their plan. The domestic job cuts likely to ensue would add to controversy already heightened over the market power that UBS now wields in Switzerland.

No decision has formally been taken yet and plans could still change, the people said. A spokesman for UBS declined to comment on the plan.

UBS shares gained 1.3% on Wednesday and have risen almost 26% this year.

Earlier this month UBS announced that it was terminating an agreement with the Swiss government in which the state guaranteed up to $10 billion (CHF8.76 billion) of losses that could stem from the acquisition of Credit Suisse assets. That step, freeing the bank from ties to public funds, gives UBS more flexibility now in its plan for the domestic unit, one of the people said. It also removes the obligation to report to the government on the management of assets covered by the state backstop.

In the five months since the takeover was brokered, the government has refrained from taking an explicit stance on what the future of the Swiss unit should be. The financial regulator, FINMA, said in March that the application of competition rules was subordinate to the financial stability priorities contained in the takeover.

“UBS is free to choose its business model within the regulatory framework,” a spokesman for the Swiss government said in response to questions over the integration of Credit Suisse’s domestic bank.

The plan now sets the stage for thousands of potential job cuts in Switzerland, with a large proportion coming in the retail business. UBS is due to release more detailed information around its strategy along with second-quarter results for the combined banks on August 31.

UBS executives have still sought to keep their options open regarding the domestic unit. UBS has until recently devoted resources to planning for a potential spin-off of the Credit Suisse Swiss business, two of the people said. A divestment, spin-off or IPO of the business could, for instance, deliver an instant return which could be given to shareholders. The business had a roughly a book value of CHF13 billion ($14.8 billion) based on Credit Suisse’s 2022 annual report.

UBS vice chairman Lukas Gaehwiler said in April that the Credit Suisse brand would continue to exist in Switzerland for the foreseeable future.

About 30% of the megabank’s combined staff is in Switzerland but it is spread across the domestic businesses as well as employees who are based in the country but work for corporate functions or in wealth and asset management.

Credit Suisse’s Swiss unit had long been a profitable anchor while the rest of the bank lurched from crisis to crisis. It was the only one of Credit Suisse’s four main divisions to make money last year.

Combined, Credit Suisse and UBS would account for about 35% of domestic deposits, 31% of corporate loans and 26% of mortgages, analysts at Citigroup Inc. including Andrew Coombs wrote in a note. In Switzerland, a combined UBS-Credit Suisse Switzerland would compete with Raiffeisen and Zurich cantonal bank, as well as more than 200 other lenders.

Under previous CEO Tidjane Thiam, Credit Suisse had already proposed a partial IPO of the Swiss unit in 2015.

Credit Suisse was the leader in Swiss domestic investment-banking activity in terms of deal value for at least a decade. That points to the role of the bank’s historical predecessor, Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, founded by industrialist and railway pioneer Alfred Escher in 1856 to finance the nation’s industrial expansion.

The public prosecutor's office in Verden, Germany, is investigating, among other things, bribery in connection with Ruag tank deals. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) in Bern has received a request for legal assistance.

The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) confirmed an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday. The CH-Media newspapers had reported first. According to their research, the investigation is directed against an ex-Ruag employee.

According to the FOJ, a request from the Verden public prosecutor's office and a supplementary request were received regarding the sale of 25 Leopard 1 tanks to Germany. The request concerns allegations of unfaithful management of a business, corruption and bribery in commercial transactions.

Swiss defence Minister Viola Amherd had ordered that the purchase of 96 Leopard 1 battle tanks stored in Italy by Ruag be investigated externally, as well as the signing of a purchase contract for the tanks with the German arms company Rheinmetall.

Swiss Parliament wants to make it easier for Swiss citizens to join their families from third countries, so that they are no longer at a disadvantage compared to citizens of European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states. The Federal Council wants to accept the bill, but demands clarifications, as it wrote on Wednesday.

The bill was drafted by the House of Representatives State Policy Committee (SPK-N). It was initiated by parliamentarian, Angelo Barrile. The Federal Council proposes that the parliamentary bill be accepted. On Wednesday, it adopted its statement on the matter.

The SPK-N wants to amend the legislation so that Swiss citizens are treated equally to citizens of EU and EFTA states. This means that foreign family members of Swiss citizens from third countries no longer have to have a permanent residence permit from an EU or EFTA member state in order to join them.

A prerequisite for reunification should be that the reunified persons are granted maintenance. As provided for in the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, they must also have a flat that meets their needs. The requirement is based on a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court in 2009.

According to the government's statement, equal treatment in family reunification from third countries has always been the Federal Council's goal. Fundamental decisions of the European Court of Justice and the Federal Court on the free movement of persons had led to unequal treatment.

However, the government demands that it be clarified whether the facilitation is compatible with the constitutional article for limiting immigration. And the figures of the cantonal authorities responsible for family reunification should be used to make transparent how many applications from Swiss nationals for family reunification have been rejected.

The SPK-N proposal met with broad approval among the parties. Only the Swiss Peoples Party rejected it in the consultation.

Healthcare institutions, technical colleges and universities of applied sciences are to receive federal funding for the training of nursing professionals as of July 2024. On Wednesday, the Federal Council sent the corresponding implementation regulations for the nursing initiative for consultation.

There is a shortage of thousands of nursing specialists in hospitals and homes. The Federal Council wants to implement a nursing initiative which was adopted at the ballot box in November 2021. The Swiss government aims to do so in two stages.

The first stage is comprised of a training initiative, which is expected to start mid-2024 and last for eight years. The possibility for nurses to bill for certain services independently, has been signed and sealed by the parliament. The Federal Council has now sent various ordinance amendments based on the law for consultation.

The Swiss Confederation and the cantons are to contribute up to CHF1 billion ($1.14 billion) in the form of grants for training institutions and scholarships. The Federal Council wants to regulate further elements of the new constitutional article in a new law, the preliminary draft of which should be ready by spring 2024.

The Federal Council is going one step further in the fight against violence against children. The Swiss government wants to explicitly anchor the principle of non-violent upbringing in the Swiss civil code. In addition to slaps and other corporal punishment, this also concerns psychological abuse.

The Federal Council announced on Wednesday that it had opened a consultation process for a corresponding amendment to the civil code. The aim is to strengthen prevention processes in particular.

Currently, violence against children is not permitted in parenting. Children are protected by criminal law. Last year, a parliamentary motion instructed the Federal Council to anchor non-violent parenting in the civil code.

According to the press release, the new provision should explicitly state that parents must bring up a child "without the use of physical punishment and other forms of degrading violence". It is a guiding principle and sends a clear signal that violence will not be tolerated. The consultation process will last until November 23, 2023.

Paid signature gathering for initiatives and referendums continues to be allowed. The Federal Council has not approved a ban on national initiatives and referendums planned in canton Neuchâtel.

Canton Neuchâtel had amended the law on political rights in 2021, banning the paid collection of signatures for federal, cantonal and communal popular initiatives and referendums. However, cantonal implementing provisions must be approved by the federal government in order to be valid. The Federal Council has now refused this approval.

The ban on the paid collection of signatures for cantonal and communal initiatives and referendums in canton Neuchâtel, however, was not affected by the Federal Council's decision, it added.

The collection of signatures for federal initiatives and referendums may continue to be paid for.

Due to current temperatures, afternoon construction work in canton Geneva has been suspended. In Ticino this has been the case for some time already.

From noon each day, so-called very heavy construction work is prohibited in Geneva: for example, roofing, where workers are even more exposed to the sun.

Heavy work such as pushing carts or digging holes by hand is meanwhile prohibited from 2pm onwards. This was decided by Geneva labour authorities based on a new regulation in force since June. The fact that some work on Geneva construction sites may only be done until noon is a first. The measure could still apply until Sunday.

These new rules have been worked out without the construction industry in the canton of Geneva, says Eric Biesel from the cantonal section of the Swiss builders’ federation: he says that the rules are difficult to apply because it is not clearly regulated what is prohibited from when.

Above all, however, cantonal differences pose problems for construction companies – for example, when a company is active both in Geneva and neighbouring Vaud, says Biesel. Companies do not understand that they are being treated differently in different cantons. After all, the temperature and humidity are the same in both cantons. It is complicated to adapt to different rules at a distance of 20 kilometres.

If something is to be regulated because of the heat, then do it at the federal level through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), says Biesel. The canton of Geneva has not commented on the new heat rules.

Swiss watch exports declined slightly in July, the first monthly drop in more than two years, as demand for pricey timepieces begins to slow amid higher prices and economic pressures.

Shipments fell by 0.9% last month to CHF2.2 billion ($2.5 billion) with China driving the downturn, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Tuesday.

Exports to China, the second biggest market behind the US, fell 16.6% following a surge last year. Singapore, another key market, suffered a 7.9% drop compared to a strong rise a year ago.

The decline suggests booming demand for expensive Swiss timepieces may be starting to cool after climbing to a record above CHF24 billion in 2022. Brands from Omega to Patek Philippe and Rolex have raised prices to offset higher input costs, boosting sales and profits amid the upswing.

Zuirch cantonal bank analyst Patrik Schwendimann said the monthly drop in exports was unexpected and could negatively impact shares of Richemont and Swatch Group AG.

“However, as usual, a single month of watch exports should not be overestimated, as it is not a sales figure,” he said, predicting export growth to return in August and September.

The last time Swiss watch exports suffered a monthly drop was in January 2021.

The federation said the slight downturn “will not have a significant impact on the general trend or forecasts for 2023,” suggesting the industry can still hit a new record again this year.

Exports declined across all price segments with the exception of watches priced above CHF3,000, which gained 2.2% by value.

Shipments to the US, which overtook China as the biggest market in 2021, increased by 5.2% in July, indicating demand is still growing in the largest market for Swiss timepieces.

After a derailment two weeks ago led to the closure of the busy tunnel, the first freight trains passed through again on Wednesday morning.

By 7:30am, 21 trains had already passed smoothly through the tunnel, a spokesman for Swiss Federal Railways told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The east tunnel went into operation at midnight as planned, the spokesman said. The cadence would be continuously increased during the day until four trains per hour could run in both directions in the afternoon. This corresponds to almost 100 freight trains per day.

There will also be improvements in passenger services, the Railways said in a statement. They will continue to be diverted via the panorama route, but from Thursday, more trains can run at maximum length. This means that more seats will be available.

In addition, the Railways plan to again offer “supersaver” tickets to Ticino.

A three-year pilot study on the legal sale of cannabis began in Zurich on Tuesday. A group of 1,200 study participants can now buy controlled cannabis products.

At the start of the project named "Züri Can - Cannabis with Responsibility", the cannabis products will be sold in nine pharmacies and six social clubs, as the authorities of Zurich city announced on Tuesday. The cannabis products may be consumed in private rooms or in one of the social clubs. These are run by private individuals or associations.

Of the 1,200 people participating in the study, 80% are men. The age range of the participants is between 18 and 80.

The three-year pilot study aims to examine how the sale of cannabis products under regulated conditions affects the consumption and health of the participants.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/1580941

Apparently he didn't learn the first time and went back for more

Remains of the walls of a Roman building complex built around 2000 years ago have been discovered in a gravel pit in Cham, a municipality in canton Zug. According to the canton's Office for Historical Monuments and Archaeology of canton Zug, the discovery is "a sensation".

Such a discovery is "extraordinary", as there are very few known remains from the Roman era in the foothills of the Alps. The last such find in canton Zug was almost 100 years ago, said Gishan Schaeren of the cantonal archaeology service on Tuesday.

The complex is believed to cover an area of 500 square metres. The walls were only a few centimetres below ground. The archaeologists also found fragments of wall plaster.

Everyday objects such as bowls, millstones, glass containers, crockery and amphorae were unearthed. The specialists also discovered large quantities of iron nails and a fragment of gold that may have been part of a jewellery setting.

"At the moment, we're wondering what this complex of buildings was used for," said Kathrin Rüedi, from the Historical Monuments and Archaeology Service. It could have been a villa, an inn or a temple. Further research could help to answer this question.

In the Swiss labour market, there are large differences between the nationalities in terms of employment rates. The Germans are at the top with an employment rate of almost 90%.

According to an evaluation by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Tuesday, the employment rates of workers from EU countries are generally the highest. Behind Germany with 89.9%, Austria, Slovakia, France and Greece follow with rates between 89.5% and 85%. At the bottom of the employment rate table are nations such as Russia, Eritrea and Turkey, with rates below 60%.

Across all workers, the labour force participation rate in Switzerland for 2018 to 2022 averaged 83.5% for those aged 25 to 64. For foreign workers, it was 79.0%, and for people with a Swiss passport, 85.5%.

High level of education

Meanwhile, foreign workers are often better educated on average than workers with Swiss passports. For example, according to the FSO, about 90% of Americans and Russians have a tertiary education, followed by the United Kingdom (80.4%), the Netherlands (76.3%) and Greece (72.7%). For Swiss nationals, the corresponding proportion is only 48.2%.

This would also have an impact on the share of these nations in the management levels of the Swiss labour market. For people from the United Kingdom, for example, the share of management positions is 44.3%. This is followed by workers from the USA (38.8%), the Netherlands and Greece (35.9% each) as well as Germany (35.5%), France (34.8%) and Austria (33.1%). For persons with a Swiss passport, the rate of leadership positions is 28.7%.

Different working conditions

According to the FSO, there are also clear differences in the working conditions of foreign workers. For example, according to the FSO, employees from the United Kingdom and the United States most often have flexible working hours, with a share of around two-thirds. For the Swiss, this figure is 51.2%.

In contrast, the figure for workers from Eritrea and Sri Lanka is only around 10%. People from these countries also work comparatively often on fixed-term contracts and atypical working hours.

Despite stress, employees in Switzerland are better off than employees elsewhere in Europe. This is the result of a survey published on Tuesday. Just under one in four people in Switzerland feel that their safety or health is at risk at work.

According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO ) 23% of Swiss employees were in this situation. The European figure is 34%.

Fewer employees in Switzerland reported strain on their musculoskeletal system than in Europe. However, more Swiss than European employees complained about a comparatively high pace of work and work during leisure time.

On the other hand, more than half of the Swiss rated career opportunities, freedom to make decisions and support from superiors positively. These values were higher than in Europe.

SECO and the Federal Coordination Commission for Occupational Safety took part in the European Working Conditions Survey for the third time. In Switzerland, 1,224 employed persons were surveyed.

Human bones have been discovered in the mountains of Val de Bagnes in Switzerland. They belong to a German man who disappeared in 2016, according to the identification procedure. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.

In mid-July 2023, a hiker reported to the authorities that he had discovered a rucksack in the Avouillons region in the Petit Combin sector, the cantonal police said in a press release on Monday. Subsequent searches by the police led to “the discovery of other personal effects and bones”.

These items, which were submitted to forensic medicine, made it possible to formally identify the victim, a German national who had been missing since October 5, 2016, the police said. Information gathered at the time had made it possible to locate the missing man’s vehicle in a parking space near the Brunet hut above Fionnay. The search for the victim was unsuccessful.

As part of the search for missing persons, the Valais cantonal police are constantly looking for new leads. “This example shows once again how important it is to notify the authorities in the event of such a discovery,” a cantonal police spokesman told Keystone-ATS.

Swissmem director Stefan Brupbacher is pushing for a solution with the European Union on behalf of the machinery industry and warns: “When push comes to shove, it has the longer leverage.”

The EU does achieve an export surplus of CHF20 billion ($22.8 billion) in Switzerland, Brupbacher said in an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung published on Tuesday. But: “We earn €12,200 (CHF11,700) per inhabitant with goods exports to the EU, the EU conversely only €270. It’s easier to do without €270 than €12,200."

He senses how “certain EU circles” are losing patience with Switzerland, said Brupbacher, who is also chairman of the European tech association Orgalim. So far, he said, the EU has been trying to put pressure on stock exchange trading, research and product approvals.

“But if the talks fail again now after all these years, there is a risk of escalation,” Brupbacher said. “Without privileged market access, secure electricity supplies and internationally networked cutting-edge research, we will not be able to maintain our prosperity in the long term. Pride comes before a fall.”

The Swiss policy of neutrality with regard to Ukraine has not helped Switzerland so far either. Especially in Eastern Europe, this policy is met with incomprehension, said Brupbacher.

“While other countries are redefining their role in the face of the war, Switzerland is hiding behind an unhistorical, radical definition of neutrality under pressure from the neutrality initiative.”

In the past, neutrality was a means to an end. “Today, however, every state must ask itself whether our arms and security companies are still reliable.” The Swiss regulation calls this reliability into question.

Credit Suisse is shutting its cash equity sales business in Japan and has told hedge funds and other institutional clients it would no longer be taking orders as UBS Group AG proceeds with a global overhaul.

A number of staff in Tokyo are leaving as part of the process, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Credit Suisse’s investment bank arm has already exited from stock underwriting in the country, the people said, declining to be identified as the deliberations are private. Both UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

The purchase of Credit Suisse has increased UBS’s workforce to about 120,000, which Switzerland’s largest bank intends to ultimately cut by about 30%, Bloomberg has reported, and it’s considering slashing two-thirds of investment bankers in Asia-Pacific.

The Japanese securities unit had 421 employees as of March this year, according to local filings. It has also been offering foreign exchange trading among other services such as wealth management. It is unclear about the fate of Credit Suisse’s other businesses in the country.

UBS has shown little appetite for Credit Suisse’s investment bank since the government-brokered deal was announced in March. The bank said it would continue its own strategy of a smaller capital-lite securities unit and would only use Credit Suisse’s investment bank to reinforce their global business while managing the rest down. The bank has said it aims to reduce staff costs by about $6 billion (CHF5.25 billion) over the next several years.

UBS is due to release more detailed information around its strategy along with second-quarter results for the combined banks on August 31. This month, UBS announced that it was terminating an agreement with the Swiss government in which the state guaranteed up to $10 billion of losses that could stem from the acquisition of Credit Suisse assets.

Luxury watches worth more than £1 billion ($1.1 billion) have been reported as stolen or missing, with a surge in the number of thefts last year.

Around 80,000 watches have been registered as stolen or missing with The Watch Register, a company that helps owners, auction houses and dealers identify stolen timepieces for a fee.

Some 6,815 watches were added to the list last year, a 60% increase compared to the previous 12-month period, the company said Monday.

As secondary-market prices for the most in-demand models from Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe surged during the pandemic, so too did watch theft and crime.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service launched an operation last year to address the problem after the number of knife-point robberies jumped 60% between May and June. In Paris, a police taskforce dedicated to stopping luxury watch theft grew to 30 agents, Bloomberg News reported last year.

Rolex is the most targeted brand on The Watch Register’s database, accounting for 44% of timepieces, followed by Omega and Breitling. The company has been compiling data for over 30 years.

“The considerable value and prestige of these high-end timepieces continues to attract the attention of sophisticated and international criminal networks, making them a prime target for theft,” Katya Hills, The Watch Register’s managing director, said in a statement.

Some brands have taken radical steps to address the problem. Audemars Piguet, the maker of the Royal Oak, said in April it would offer to replace clients’ stolen watches as part of a new service program that would run for two years.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is reacting to the increased importance of sanctions and export controls. From September 1, it will combine the departments of sanctions, arms control and export controls in a separate service area.

Simon Plüss will head the new department, as the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced on Monday. It includes the previous departments of sanctions, arms control and arms control policy, export controls on industrial products and dual-use export control policy.

Sanctions and export controls have so far been part of the service area of bilateral economic relations.

The reorganization will better reflect the political importance, wrote the SECO, and the reorganization should improve the perception of the SECO as a competence center for export controls and sanctions. The State Secretariat also expects simplified internal processes and a smaller management span.

Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd has called for an investigation into the purchase of 96 Leopard tanks in Italy by Ruag Holding.

The investigation will also have to examine the functioning of the board of directors, in the context of the resignation of director Brigitte Beck.

Amherd faced a parliamentary committee hearing on Monday over her roles in the “Ruag affair” and an attempt to sell Leopard tanks stored in Italy to the German arms group Rheinmetall.

She ordered an external investigation into the purchase of the Leopard 1 main battle tanks stored in Italy by Ruag. The move was announced late Monday by the Defense Department and reported by Keystone-SDA news agency.

The circumstances under which Ruag acquired the 96 tanks in 2016 are to be examined. According to Ruag, they were bought as merchandise and as spare parts.

Amherd also wants clarification on the signing of a purchase contract for the tanks with the German armaments group Rheinmetall, co-producer of the Leopard 1, last February 13. At the time, Rheinmetall disclosed that the tanks would be delivered to Ukraine after repairs.

When the contract was signed, Ruag revealed that the delivery required federal approval. The Federal Council did not give this approval at the end of June. According to its own statements, Ruag accepted this decision.

At an extraordinary meeting of the Ruag board of directors on Sunday, further discrepancies were found in connection with the purchase of the tank, the Swiss ministry of defense noted. The head of department was informed about this by the chairman of the board of directors.

The latest findings raised questions, among other things, about the cooperation between Ruag and the federal government as its owner. The inquiry is intended to show whether adjustments are needed on this point. It is also checking how the board of directors exercises its supervisory duty towards the executive board.

On Monday, indigenous delegates from Malaysia and the Bruno Manser Fund presented a petition for mandatory declaration of palm oil in non-food products. Some 12,000 signatures have been deposited with the Federal Chancellery.

"What the palm oil industry is doing to our rainforests is worse than deforestation," said indigenous activist Mutang Urud, quoted in a Bruno Manser Fund press release.

About 85% of the world's palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, according to the tropical forest protection organization. However, the cultivation of palm oil takes place at the expense of tropical forests.

Declaring palm oil in foodstuffs has been mandatory in Switzerland since 2016, but not for non-food products. However, this vegetable oil is used in many products such as candles, soaps, cosmetics, cleaning products and paints.

The heatwave in Europe has pushed the zero-degree limit - the altitude at which the temperature dips into the minus - to a record height of 5,298 metres in Switzerland.

This new record was recorded on the sweltering night of August 20-21, the Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) said on Monday on the platform X, previously known as Twitter.

The previous record was 5,184 metres, set on July 25, 2022.

MeteoSwiss experts measure the zero-degree limit twice a day using weather balloons launched from their regional centre in Payerne, canton Vaud. In summer, the zero degree is typically between 3,000 metres (in June) and almost 4,000 metres (in July).

MeteoSwiss says that the zero-degree isotherm near the ground, calculated in this case by measuring stations, has risen by 200-700 metres, depending on the season, since the beginning of surveys in 1864. Since the 1970s, this rise has accelerated, especially in spring and summer, says MeteoSwiss.

The zero-degree isotherm separates the layers of air which have a temperature above 0°C at low altitudes from those with a temperature below the freezing point at higher altitudes, says MeteoSwiss.

Owing to its very important influence on the development of vegetation, the limit of snowfall and the water cycle, the zero-degree isotherm is an integral part of weather forecasts.

The main airports in Switzerland showed a sharp increase in passenger traffic between April and the end of June. However, it remains below the levels before the coronavirus pandemic.

In total, Swiss airports recorded 13.8 million passengers (+21% over one year) arriving or departing, local and transfer, in scheduled and charter traffic in the second quarter. This figure remains 10% lower compared to the same period in 2019 before the crisis caused by Covid-19, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a press release on Monday.

Zurich Airport remains the leading airport platform in the country with an increase of 28% to 7.6 million passengers transported during the period, followed by Geneva Airport (+12% to almost 4 million) and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (+ 14% to 2.2 million).

The number of air movements followed the same trajectory, with 56,136 take-offs and landings at Kloten (+18%), 31,981 at Cointrin (+7%) and 17,266 at Basel-Mulhouse (+7%).

Europe remains the number one destination for Swiss travellers - with Spain, the UK, Germany, France and Italy as the main destinations. Asia, North America, Africa, as well as South and Central America follow.