Switzerland

Barricades burned and shop windows were smashed across Zurich and Basel on a night of unauthorized protests that left police deploying rubber bullets and water cannons. In Zurich's District 4, a Tesla was set on fire and rioters reportedly hindered officers attempting to reach an injured teenager. The Halloween party in the Langstrasse continued despite the smoke; it takes more than a street battle to interrupt a Swiss holiday.

The retail giant Migros is attempting a radical restructuring to address what it calls alarming financial figures. The plan involves consolidating its cooperatives into a single entity, though it will have to navigate this transition without its current CEO. Meanwhile, the Federal Court prepares for a sensitive hearing on whether two judges entered into an impermissible permanent partnership, a case so delicate that some details remain under a reporting ban.

Artificial intelligence has reached the administrative sector, though not as a solution: Swiss authorities report they are being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of inquiries generated by AI. Elsewhere, the search for a new Federal Councillor continues to focus on Thomas Aeschi, whose path to the cabinet may depend on whether colleagues find his parliamentary behavior a disqualifying trait or a job requirement.