The number of applications received from Americans at ETH Zurich has increased significantly.Image: keystone
The former chief of army staff wanted to prevent the amount of his severance pay from being published and applications to top Swiss universities from the USA are increasing significantly: the Sunday news.
02/22/2026, 06:0402/22/2026, 06:04
Swiss companies want money back from the Trump administration
According to “NZZ am Sonntag”, well-known Swiss companies have announced repayments following the Supreme Court’s decision on Donald Trump’s customs policy. “We will try to reclaim the tariffs from the US government. “I can’t disclose how much we paid, but it’s significant amounts,” said the CEO of the luxury watch brand Breitling, Georges Kern, to the newspaper. The Läderach chocolate company is also considering a refund. “If the opportunity arises to reclaim amounts that have been overpaid, we will do so,” a spokesman was quoted as saying. According to the report, the prospects of a refund could be good for companies with offices in the USA. In retrospect, the affected financial year could prove to be better than previously calculated. According to Kern, the auditors would examine the effects of the Supreme Court decision on the income statement.
Ex-division officer received large compensation – and wanted to prevent publication
According to “SonntagsBlick”, the former chief of army staff Claude Meier received compensation of 179,016 francs for his early departure. Although the Federal Court demanded the disclosure of such severance payments, Meier objected to the publication. The Defense Department only announced the amount after a recommendation from the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). Meier wanted to become army chief, but Federal Councilor Viola Amherd chose Thomas Süssli. The relationship between Süssli and Meier was tense and increasingly deteriorated. Meier was offered various positions, including as commander of the Air Force, but he was ultimately transferred to Geneva in 2021. According to insiders, there were also tensions there. Meier did not want to comment when asked by “SonntagsBlick”.
Up to 50,000 francs: The federal government is considering higher support for Crans Montana victims
According to “NZZ am Sonntag”, the federal government is considering solidarity contributions of 30,000 to 50,000 francs per case for the victims of the Crans-Montana fire disaster. Justice Minister Beat Jans informed parliamentarians in a small group on Friday about the details of this federal aid and called on them to support it, while the Federal Council wanted to write the aid into urgent law on Wednesday. The National Council and the Council of States should make an urgent decision on this in March so that the money can be paid out quickly. The contributions would be in addition to the 10,000 francs in emergency aid from the canton of Valais and the planned foundation, which the canton wants to support with ten million francs. Critics argued that emergency aid was primarily a matter for the municipality and canton, especially since Valais received 109 million francs from the National Bank’s profit distribution, twice as much as budgeted.
IT chaos at ALV: Budliger asserts progress with payouts
Despite major problems with the IT system for unemployment insurance, according to Helene Budliger Artieda in “SonntagsBlick”, over 600 million francs have been paid out. The Seco State Secretary therefore does not want to speak of a debacle. “The performance is getting better day by day, that’s what government councilors from the cantons assured me this week,” said Budliger Artieda to the newspaper. She regrets that there has been so much uncertainty and so much anger among a large number of unemployed people and that many colleagues have not had weekends off since December and are working overtime every evening. «I take responsibility for everything that went wrong at Seco. But in some cases the problems arose somewhere else entirely. The investigation will show that.” Since the introduction of the new payment system in January, there have been significant disruptions in the payment of unemployment benefits.
Akris illegally received Covid support in the USA
The Swiss luxury fashion brand Akris illegally received Covid support money from “NZZ am Sonntag” in the USA. The American branch, which had 64 employees at the time, received $1.2 million in 2021. The subsidiary did not declare that it was part of a larger company in Switzerland. “In the USA, there were à fonds perdu loans for small and medium-sized companies with up to 300 employees during the pandemic. Since we have a subsidiary in the USA, our local CFO made use of this opportunity,” said Chairman of the Board of Directors Peter Kriemler to the newspaper. They received the green light from the authorities and assumed that everything was legal. When it later turned out that there was no claim, the authorities cooperated and the money was paid back with interest. The amount amounted to 1.823 million dollars, as the “NZZ am Sonntag” wrote.
Lucerne hospital installs patient cameras – data protection officer knows nothing
According to “SonntagsBlick”, the Lucerne Cantonal Hospital introduced patient monitoring cameras without consulting the cantonal data protection officer. “I have not yet been informed about the project,” Lucerne data protection officer Natascha Ofner told the newspaper. “We must be involved if a data protection-related project results in a high risk to the personality or fundamental rights of the people concerned.” The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) explained that the issue is currently affecting many hospitals in Switzerland and that they are in discussions with the cantonal data protection officers. The “Virtual Care” project would use cameras in patient rooms that, according to internal documents, could do more than was officially communicated. The technology recognizes facial expressions and records whether a bed has been made or a plate has been eaten empty. However, the hospital emphasizes that these functions are practically not used and that only real-time transmission takes place without recording.
Top Swiss universities are flooded with applications from the USA
According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, the top Swiss universities have received significantly more applications from the USA. Last year, 680 people from the United States applied for a master’s degree at ETH Zurich, which corresponds to an increase of 46 percent. 123 students who had previously studied in the USA actually started a master’s degree. Applications from America have also increased by 60 percent at EPFL Lausanne. The reasons given by students are the policies of US President Donald Trump and the high cost of studying in the USA. “The political situation in the USA is causing many students to even think about studying outside the USA,” said an American enrolled in Geneva to the newspaper. A year of study in the USA can easily cost $90,000, which is why even studying in expensive Swiss cities is financially attractive.
The Morettis had no money of their own when they took over “Le Constellation”.
According to “SonntagsZeitung” and “Le Matin Dimanche”, the French owners of the bar “Le Constellation” in Crans-Montana had no money when they took over in 2015. A friend told the newspapers that the operators had taken over the restaurant without any funds of their own. He has known the patron since the early 2000s from the prostitution milieu, where he himself operated an escort website. The French owners collected money from their friends for the renovation. He himself loaned them 30,000 francs. This amount has now been repaid and represents less than ten percent of the total of 342,000 francs that the couple said they invested in the renovation. Before the renovation, the friend described the restaurant as “a wart in the middle of Crans-Montana”. (sda/con)