Switzerland

Several cantons have cancelled the traditional firework displays for the national holiday on 1 August due to fire risk, including Basel, that reinforced ban on any fire in the city except the beloved lantern parade, involving several hundred children

Draught is having multi-faced consequences in Switzerland: while in St Gallen in some cases water has to be transported to the Alps by helicopter, high temperatures and lack of rainfall seem to curb ticks and invasive beetles like Takahashia japonica

Hundreds of people queued outside Swatch shops in Switzerland in the hope of being able to buy one of the newly launched 'Royal Pop' watches; scuffles broke out in some places and the producer introduced a worldwide policy of quotas for queuers

A photo-trap has snapped a bear in the Valposchiavo valley in the southeast corner of Switzerland for the first time in several years, though no one had the luck to see it with their own eyes

Supermarket chains Coop and Migros are recalling cheese products due to a possible risk of salmonella; contaminated Kräuterbrie soft cheese found at Landbrügg dairy triggered the measure and the dairy's decision to recall its entire product range

Swiss cancelled hundreds of summer flight due to shortage of pilots and offered flight attendants financial incentives for voluntary resignation; currently though it added links on route like New Delhi following the situation in the Middle East

Despite sanctions, Swiss manufactured components have surfaced in remains of weapons used to attack Ukraine, to the point that Swiss microprocessors, GPS modules, connectors, cables exceed those from any other European country

Not a single Tesla model was among the ten best-selling new electric cars in Switzerland last month; the field is led by European manufacturers, with Škoda models Elroq and Enyaq lead the ranking followed by the Volvo EX30 and the BMW X1

63% of 405 food samples analyzed in a federal monitoring exercise contained pesticide residues, of which ten samples exceeded the legally permitted maximum limits, seven significantly; milk prices have been lowered since the beginning of February

Following the Crans-Montana tragedy, the media coverage, its political relevance, the Swiss have decided to keep a low profile, cancelling some of the events and parties scheduled alongside the Winter Olympics at House of Switzerland in Milan and Cortina

Doctors specialized in the treatment of severe burns, a specific condition with a complex clinical picture, have been summoned from neighbouring countries to the hospitals treating dozens of injured in the Crans-Montana fire, that left at least 40 dead

Swiss public transport is undergoing a historic reorganisation: timetables changes, four-track extension on the Basel-Olten line will be operative, new night trains between Bern and Winterthur will run at weekends and Zurich's tram network will evolve