The Middle East war risks becoming unpredictable in terms of its duration and outcome, Switzerland’s foreign minister said in an interview published Saturday.
The conflict is further complicating the situation in the region, Ignazio Cassis told Le Temps newspaper.
“If the goal was to resolve everything with an operation like the one in Venezuela, that hasn’t been achieved,” he said.
“And we risk getting involved in a war whose duration, intensity, and outcome are difficult to predict. There’s also the escalation of the conflict across the entire region, the Middle East. This is precisely what Switzerland has always sought to avoid.”
For decades, militarily neutral Switzerland has played a key role in maintaining basic diplomatic contacts between Iran and the United States.
In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.
“The role of communication channel continues; it has not been denounced by either side. But currently, it does not apply, since communication is, unfortunately, carried out by force of arms,” said Cassis.
US and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, through Omani mediators, in Switzerland on February 26.
Two days later, the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran. Tehran has responded by striking targets across the Gulf region and beyond.
Cassis said he had spoken with the negotiating parties on February 26.
“They all seemed to think we still had some time to reach a solution,” he said.
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“When progress is being made, you obviously can’t be happy when a war breaks out just as you’re making headway. History shows that most conflicts end up being resolved around a negotiating table.”
Switzerland decided Friday it will not authorise the export of war materiel to the United States during the Middle East conflict, in line with its long-standing principle of military neutrality.
Switzerland has already refused US requests for flights over its territory since the war erupted.
“Before this decision, we had obviously contacted them,” Cassis said.
“We explained that, given our neutrality, it wasn’t possible to allow their warplanes to fly over our territory. But since the flyover only lasts a few minutes, they can easily find alternatives. So we weren’t expecting a strong reaction.”
France goes to the polls again on Sunday for the crucial second round of voting in French local elections, with close races expected in several of the major cities including Paris and Marseille.
France’s municipales elect local mayors in all of the country’s 35,000 communes, ranging from small villages to the biggest cities.
Although some towns elected their mayor with more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, in most places – including all the big cities – voting goes to a second round to elect the mayor.
In both Paris and Marseille the race is neck and neck, with the far right potentially poised to take Marseille, which would be their biggest town to date.
Results are released from 8pm and we will be updating this article live as they come in.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin didn’t mince words when asked about those being critical of his recent controversial in-game behavior.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said bluntly. “Everybody needs to get a life. … C’mon, man. … We’re not coaching little league, buddy. Everybody doesn’t get an at-bat.”
Recently, both Cronin and UConn head coach Dan Hurley have drawn widespread criticism for their sideline antics. Cronin went viral in February for ejecting his own player, while Hurley was ejected from a game in March after making contact with an official.
Cronin defended his fellow coach.
“You want to win big, but you think Coach Hurley [is] not supposed to be intense?” he asked.
The No. 7 seeded Bruins face the No. 2 seeded Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
UCLA advanced to the Round of 32 after a narrow 75-71 win over 10th-seeded UCF on Friday night. In that game, Eric Dailey Jr. scored 20 points, Xaiver Booker had 15 points and eight rebounds to make up for the absence of leading scorer Tyler Biloudeau.
Under the comical and combustible Cronin, the Bruins are back in the second round for the second straight tournament after missing out in 2024. Cronin preached for his team to hit the reset button after losing in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and skipping the NCAA selection show.
Cronin is in his seventh season as UCLA’s head coach following a 13-year run at Cincinnati. He’s looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since accomplishing the feat in his second year with the Bruins.
The BBC, working in collaboration with analysts Jeremy Carrasco and Angel Nulani from Riddance, has identified 60 such accounts, mainly on Instagram, that have carried links, or chains of links, to paid-for sexually explicit content on third-party sites. The sites labelled the imagery as AI-generated, but the Instagram accounts did not.
Parents can also set ‘Bedtime’ and ‘Take A Break’ reminders for their children, which joins the lineup of existing options they have for teen well-being protections.
The agency is operating in what it describes as the world’s most severe women’s rights crisis, where women are nearly four times less likely than men to access formal justice. Yet programmes remain active, reaching hundreds of thousands in need.
“Despite the restrictions on women and girls and the current conflicts…no matter what, UN Women is staying and delivering in Afghanistan,” said Susan Ferguson.
In 2025 alone, UN Women helped safeguard access to lifesaving services for more than 350,000 women and girls and supported nearly 200 women-led civil society organisations.
However, operations continue to face major constraints. In a country where services for women must be delivered by women, the agency is calling for the ban on Afghan female UN staff and contractors accessing UN premises to be lifted.
“We continue to find ways to operate,” Ms. Ferguson said, “and stand with those who need support the most.”
Oppression intensifying
Ms. Ferguson emphasised the impact of Decree No. 12 issued by the Taliban earlier this year, which formally removes equality between men and women before the law and authorises violence against women by allowing husbands to carry out punishments, including physical violence, in the home.
“We call on the de facto authorities to ensure that laws and policies protect the rights of women and girls in line with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations”, the UN Women country representative said.
Ms. Ferguson warned the international community of “normalisation”.
“When we start to accept this as normal, we stop believing it can change…change is still possible, but only if the world continues to stand with Afghan women.”
Heavy toll of conflict
In the wake of an air strike in Kabul on Monday night reportedly killed hundreds of people, Ms. Ferguson said that of the 289 verified civilian deaths or injuries prior to that attack during hostilities with Pakistan, many were women and children “who are paying a heavy price for the continuing violence.”
At least 64,000 people have been affected by the military escalation with Pakistan, just over half of them women and girls.
Amid ongoing hostilities with Pakistan and conflict in the Middle East, “for many women, this is their second or even third time they’ve been forced to flee in the past year.”
She anticipates “a sharp increase in Afghans returning from Iran in the coming weeks, including women traveling alone or with children.”
With more than 10 million women and girls already expected to need humanitarian assistance this year following a deepening economic crisis and disruption caused by the August 2025 earthquake, “rising prices linked to conflict in the region will make it even harder for families.”
Urgent shelter needs
Initial assessments by the UN and partners show that women’s most urgent needs are shelter, healthcare and clean water.
UN Women is also mobilising resources to expand cash support for women-headed households, provide well-being kits and help them start small businesses.
Despite these initiatives, UN Women faces a 50 per cent funding gap for their work in Afghanistan in 2026, where UN operations overall face a $500 million shortfall.
Calling on the international community, Ms Ferguson said, “we urgently need more funding to meet these needs at this critical moment… If the current hostilities continue, needs will only grow.”
Women receive treatment at the National Cancer Hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The European Commission has approved the addition of ‘Kräuterhefe‘ from Germany in the register of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) as well as ‘Liptovská bryndza‘ from Slovakia to the register of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
German ‘Kräuterhefe’ is a yeast preparation produced in biological processes with fermented herbal and other plant extracts. It is more digestible and suitable for consumption due to the breakdown of the yeast cell walls. The herbal yeast is a liquid source of proteins, traditionally produced in three steps – from fermentation of vegetable raw materials, cultivation of herbal yeast to yeast cell disruption. This method has been used unchanged for more than 50 years.
Slovak ‘Liptovská bryndza’ is a soft sheep’s cheese with a delicate, slightly sour taste, made using traditional methods in the Liptov region in northern Slovakia. Produced from freshly extracted, unheated sheep’s milk, it is aged and then crushed, ground, and mixed with salt. Its characteristics are shaped by the natural microflora of the lump cheese, originating from sheep that graze in high mountain meadows. The diverse flora of the meadows adds a rich array of nutrients, aromatic substances, and minerals to the sheep’s milk, enhancing its taste, aroma, and nutritional value with beneficial fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants. Additionally, mountain herbs provide essential oils and antioxidants, enriching the sheep’s milk with a sweet, creamy flavour and a slight sourness that create ‘Liptovská bryndza’.
The new denominations will be added to the list of 95 traditional specialities guaranteed and already protected as well as to the list of more than 3,900 protected names already listed in theeAmbrosia database. More information is available on the ‘Quality Policy’ pages.
The tracks now visible on the sandstone slab at Vieux-Emosson were left by animals passing through the area 230 million years ago.
Keystone
Switzerland occupies a special place in the world of ichnology, the science that studies the fossilised remains of animals that have been extinct for millions of years. A book takes stock of the situation on the 50th anniversary of a major discovery in the Valais Alps.
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I’m mainly in charge of translating, proofreading and publishing articles for SWI swissinfo.ch. I also occasionally write press reviews and original articles on “Swiss oddities” – the things that make Switzerland unique.
After studying history and religious studies, I began my journalistic career at Radio Fribourg. After a spell in the newsroom at the Swiss Telegraphic Agency, I joined SWI swissinfo.ch in 2000, where I specialised in federal politics and history. I now translate, proofread and produce stories.
In 1976, French geologist Georges Bronner discovered fossilised traces on a rock face in the Vieux-Emosson area of the Valais Alps, near the border with France. The fact that this discovery took place that year was no coincidence. Bronner was involved in organising an exhibition on the region’s geology as part of the construction of the Emosson Dam, which was due to be inaugurated on October 1, 1976.
In addition, 1976 was marked by an unprecedented drought. In the mountains, this “drought of the century” caused the snow cover to recede more sharply than usual, making it possible to see rocks that were usually covered in snow.
In his book Un dinosaure dans la montagneExternal link(A dinosaur in the mountain), Pierre-Yves Frei tells the story of this discovery. A member of the Geneva Natural History Museum, journalist, author and science populariser, he uses a method already tried and tested in previous works, such as Du pâté d’éléphant chez Calvin (Elephant pâté at Calvin’s): starting with a specific fact to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary overview of a subject.
In this case, the 1976 discovery provides an opportunity to discuss the history of palaeontology, plate tectonics and the classification of species.
Dinosaurs that aren’t dinosaurs
The discovery made by chance during a hike was exceptional. It is a 350m2 slab of sandstone with more than 800 fossil remains dating from the Triassic period. “Overnight, Emosson became a beacon of ichnology perched at an altitude of 2,400 metres,” notes Pierre-Yves Frei.
Research carried out at the time revealed images of animals – mostly dinosaurs – moving along a strip of sand by the sea. And dinosaurs are still the stuff of dreams. “200 million years ago, dinosaurs were grazing at Vieux-Emosson”, wrote the Valais daily Le Nouvelliste in 1979.
Very quickly, dinosaurs were even used to promote tourism in the region. “Beach, mountains, dinosaurs – the perfect recipe for a story that was bound to be a big hit,” says Pierre-Yves Frei.
The view of the Mont Blanc massif is already a great draw for tourists. But if there’s a dinosaur to boot, that’s even better. In Finhaut, in the Trient Valley, the tourism board has clearly got the message.
Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott
But not everyone is convinced by this wonderful story. For example, the absence of shellfish or microalgae fossils in an area that is supposed to have once been by the sea is fuelling doubts. And this time it’s not a comet from outer space, but scientific research that is extinguishing the Valais dinosaurs.
In 2002, palaeontologists came to the conclusion that the traces found on the site were not those of dinosaurs, but of archosaurs, reptiles from the Triassic period that were the ancestors of crocodiles and dinosaurs. As for the beach by the sea, it is transformed into the shore of a river of Pangaea, the single continent that still existed at the beginning of the Triassic period.
“The title of this book is a bit clickbaity,” admits the author, Pierre-Yves Frei. “It promises a dinosaur in the mountains and then spends the whole book trying to prove there isn’t one.”
epflpress
Jurassic Parc is in… Jura
Switzerland has other Triassic sites. Ticino is even home to one of the world’s largest deposits of Middle Triassic fossils at the Monte San GiorgioExternal link site, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This site even has its local star, the Ticinosuchus, a carnivorous archosaur close to the ancestors of crocodiles. But there are no traces of dinosaurs here either.
There are, however, traces of dinosaurs dating from the Triassic period in Switzerland. There are 200 of them in the Swiss National ParkExternal link, south of Graubünden. But here too there is a slight disappointment: the dinosaurs in the National Park were much smaller than those in Jurassic Park. Discovered in 1961, these traces have been dated to around 220 million years ago, which corresponds to a period when dinosaurs were still relatively modest and not very diverse. They are attributed to primitive herbivorous dinosaurs measuring between five and eight metres in length.
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Swiss oddities
Switzerland, home of the original Jurassic park
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The name of the period in the Mesozoic Era originates in the mountain range dividing Switzerland and France.
So there are no traces in Switzerland of the enormous dinosaurs that make children – and adults – dream? Yes, in the Jura, in the heart of the mountain range that gave its name to the Jurassic period, the golden age of dinosaurs. As at Vieux-Emosson, the remains of these dinosaurs have been brought to light thanks to excavation work.
In the early 2000s, the construction of a motorway led to the discovery of dinosaur footprints that had been preserved since the Upper Jurassic period. At the time, the future Jura looked a bit like the Bahamas, with small islands and large sandbanks. Palaeontologists found some 14,000 footprints in a total of 637 tracks, an unusual density on a European scale. The discovery of this veritable “dinosaur highwayExternal link” was immediately hailed as exceptional in terms of its sheer size and the legibility of the tracks.
And this time, we’re talking about “real” dinosaurs. The surfaces uncovered during the motorway work show the footprints of sauropods – very large four-legged herbivores – and carnivorous theropods. Some of the footprints show animals up to 30m long, making them the largest dinosaurs recorded in Switzerland.
More than just tracks
Swiss soil has not yielded any large fossils of the kind found in abundance in the United States, Argentina or China. For the moment, the largest bone fossil is a plateosaurus measuring around eight metres found in Frick, canton Aargau, in northern Switzerland. It is therefore much smaller than the giants that left their mark in the Jura.
Although it has few fossils, Switzerland occupies a special place in world of ichnology. Switzerland has an exceptional density of sites in a relatively small area. What’s more, the Swiss deposits contain some of the best-preserved fossil footprints in Europe, covering key geological periods for understanding the evolution of vertebrates: the Lower Triassic (first archosaurs), the Upper Triassic (diversification of primitive dinosaurs) and the Upper Jurassic (peak of the great dinosaurs).
Obviously, footprints are less impressive than the great fossils that are the pride of museums. But for those who know how to observe them, they are much more than just traces in the ground. Ichnology shows how extinct animals really lived: their tracks reveal their gait, their speed, their size, and sometimes their interactions. Footprints capture a moment in life – an animal walking, speeding up, gliding or following a group.
“Palaeo-ichnology opens up special windows onto the past, onto the behaviour of animals that have been dead for millions of years, whereas the analysis of fossil skeletons generally only provides anatomical information about an organism,” emphasises Pierre-Yves Frei.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Translated from French by AI/ts
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The US military declared on Saturday it had taken out an Iranian bunker housing weapons threatening oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, as thousands of Iranians marked Eid al-Fitr with prayer. The US statement appeared designed to calm the concerns of energy markets and of Washington’s sceptical international allies, more than 20 of whom issued a statement vowing to back efforts to re-open the key sea lane.
LOS ANGELES – For Tom Brady, throwing the football is like riding a bike – something perfected over time that never leaves your muscle memory.
And during practice for Saturday’s inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic, it certainly looked like Brady had spent some time working and preparing for his return to competitive play.
“I feel great,” Brady said, when I asked what kind of shape he was in. “Fortunately, as an athlete your body is your asset over a period of time and you learn how to take care of it. Even when you retire, I felt like I still wanted to do the same things after football when I was playing. I still want to be active. I want to be outside. I want to continue to live a healthy, active lifestyle.
“And I learned a lot of good, healthy habits over the course of a 23-year career. So, it’s basically been the same. I ran and I threw a little bit. I’ve thrown more over the last three months than I’ve had over a period of time. But there’s no feeling like going out there and throwing a football, and to watch it go exactly where you want. I don’t think that feeling will ever get old.”
Brady was the headliner of the three-team flag football event at BMO stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday. Loaded with current and former NFL stars, the three-team tournament featured Team Founders and Team Wildcats as well as Team USA, the reigning world champion in flag football.
The game followed modified Olympic-style flag football rules, featuring two, 15-minute halves with a running clock on a 50-by-25-yard field. All three teams met in a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams advancing to the championship.
Brady’s Founders were beaten by Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow’s Wildcats, as well as Team USA. Those two other teams faced off for the championship on Saturday night.
While the 48-year-old seven-time Super Bowl champ looked like he could still lace him up, Brady dispelled speculation that he was interested in playing for Team USA Football in the upcoming Olympics set for Los Angeles in 2028.
“I would love to play some role in USA flag football, but it won’t be on the field,” Brady said.
However, other current players, like Burrow, were looking forward to earning a chance to play on Team USA Football and represent their country in the Olympics.
“The Super Bowl is obviously the pinnacle of what we do,” Burrow said. “Tom brought up being an ambassador for the game and for the league. And that’s something I take very seriously. And I think the league tries to reward people that go out of their way to help in that context.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the Olympics. I never necessarily played in an Olympic sport before. So, when this got announced, I was pretty excited about it. The opportunity to win a gold medal is something I’ve thought about an opportunity like that for a long time as a kid. And I think it would be something that’s very special.”
Of course, Burrow will have to compete for one of those spots against current players on USA Football like quarterback Darrell Doucette, whose team haven’t lost an International Federation of American Football (IFAF) tournament since 2018.
Doucette said he appreciates the respect elite NFL players like Burrow has shown him and his teammates this week, but also understands Saturday is a prime opportunity to show that he and his teammates can compete with the best athletes in the world.
And that means keeping things close to the vest when it comes to scheme.
“We give them little things like rules, but we’re not going to give them strategies,” joked Doucette. “There’s too much on the line. We’re not going to give them any secrets.”
Doucette did lead Team USA to a 2-0 record on Saturday in round-robin play, impressively beating both teams full of NFL stars.
While he’s looking forward to taking the field again, Brady said the overarching goal is to bring more attention to one of the fastest growing sports in the country in flag football, with the Olympics two years away.
“For me, it’s seeing some of the best athletes in the world try something different,” Brady said. “Some of the skill sets are similar, but the rules are quite a bit different. But really, it’s a great gauge for all these players, and the players that will be playing in L.A. in 2028 to see where we’re at, and what we need to do in the next two years.”
