File image of Yann Sommer.© X (Twitter)

The Swiss government is looking for innovative solutions to remove thousands of tonnes of ammunition dumped in the lakes. And it comes with a massive 50,000 franc (Rs 48.5 lakhs) prize money. The ammunition, estimated to be around 3,300 tonnes in Lake Lucerne and 4,500 tonnes in Lake Neuchatel, was disposed of by the Swiss military.

Background

Dumping munitions in lakes dates back to the Cold War era when Switzerland maintained a large militia army as part of its “armed neutrality” defence strategy. For decades, between 1918 and 1964, the Swiss military used the lakes – Neuchatel, Thun, Brienz and Lucerne – as dumping grounds for old munitions, believing it to be a safe disposal method. However, the reality is far from it. Some munitions lie at depths of 150-220 metres, while others are just six or seven metres below the surface. The risk of explosion and water and soil contamination is high, with toxic TNT potentially polluting the lake water and sediment.

Challenges

The submerged ammunition is covered by a fine sediment layer, and recovery efforts may stir up sediments, leading to oxygen loss and damage to the lake ecosystem. Previous assessments have shown that proposed recovery techniques would lead to muddy waters and high risks for the sensitive ecosystem of the lake. 

The recovery operation is expected to be long and costly, with estimates suggesting it could cost billions, which is why the Swiss defence department is seeking ideas for a safe and environmental solution to retrieve the munitions, with the public invited to submit their proposals until February next year. 

The competition, where the top three entries will be given prize money worth almost Rs 50 lakh, is open and anonymous, and the last date to submit entries is February 6, 2025. A panel of experts will assess the entries based on predefined criteria and announce the results in April 2025.

Retired Swiss geologist Marcos Buser suggests seeking advice from countries with experience in dealing with wartime wrecks containing unexploded weapons, such as the UK, Norway or Denmark. Mr Buser who advised the government on the issue warned of the dangers of explosion and contamination and stated the need for a careful and well-planned recovery operation, as per the BBC. 

In his research paper, Mr Buser highlighted two primary concerns: the risk of explosion and water and soil contamination.

Since fuses were not removed from the munitions before dumping, the risk of explosion remains even underwater. It poses a significant threat to the environment and human safety. Water and soil contamination is another concern, as highly toxic TNT could pollute the lake water and sediment. It could have devastating effects on the ecosystem. 

This is not the first time the Swiss military has faced criticism for its handling of munitions. In 1947, a massive blast in Mitholz killed nine people and destroyed the village. More recently, the military revealed that 3,500 tonnes of unexploded ammunition buried in the mountain was not safe, requiring a decade-long clean-up operation. 

Xherdan Shaqiri is Switzerland’s second most-capped player after Granit Xhaka on 130 caps.© AFP

Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon fourth round for the 16th time on Saturday after taking a break to help the Centre Court crowd celebrate England’s Euro 2024 win over Switzerland in Germany. Djokovic claimed a battling 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) win over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin as he stayed on course for a record-equalling eighth title at the All England Club and 25th Grand Slam. At 4-1 ahead in the second set, fans inside Centre Court let out a huge roar and applause to mark the national team’s penalty shootout win in Dusseldorf. 

Djokovic also marked England’s quarter-final win over Switzerland by imitating taking a penalty kick during the match. While Djokovic shadow-kicked the ball, his Australian opponent took on the role of goalkeeper, shaping to make a save.

Watch: Novak Djokovic’s mid-match penalty kick!

Novak Djokovic simulates taking a penalty kick after Wimbledon erupted at England winning. pic.twitter.com/SEgt9XmHAs

— Danny (@DjokovicFan_) July 6, 2024

“I assumed it was a penalty shootout between England and Switzerland – it felt like for a set and a half the crowd really wanted to understand what the score is in the football match,” explained Djokovic.

“Did England win in the end? That’s why you guys stayed. Congrats to England.”

He added: “I tried to shoot a penalty, I’m left footed, but Alexei defended it well.”

Djokovic has now made the last 16 at the majors for a 65th time while Saturday’s win was also the 95th at Wimbledon for Djokovic who underwent knee surgery last month.

World number two Djokovic will face Holger Rune, the 15th seed from Denmark, for a place in the quarter-finals.

Rune, a quarter-finalist last year, defeated Quinton Halys 1-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 to register his first win from two sets down.

England’s quest for a first major tournament win in 58 years remained alive after another late fightback before beating Switzerland 5-3 on penalties to book their place in the Euro 2024 semi-finals on Saturday. After the 120 minutes finished level at 1-1, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was the Three Lions’ hero in the shoot-out as he saved Switzerland’s first spot-kick from Manuel Akanji. Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold converted their penalties to send England into a semi-final meeting with Turkey or the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday. After needing Bellingham’s 95th-minute equaliser before going on to beat Slovakia in extra time in the last 16, England were again staring at defeat with 10 minutes to go.

A dreary encounter for the first 75 minutes came to life after Breel Embolo put Switzerland in front.

Saka’s fine strike from outside the box levelled with England’s first shot on target five minutes later.

Manchester City defender Akanji was then the unfortunate penalty villain as Switzerland’s horrible record in major tournament quarter-finals goes on.

They have now lost five without ever reaching a semi-final.

By contrast, England march on despite another in a string of underwhelming performances from Gareth Southgate’s men.

“We know there are two more games, we can change our lives and make more history that’s not been done before,” said man-of-the-match Saka.

In his 100th match in charge of his country, Southgate again resisted calls for mass changes in personnel but did alter his system.

Ezri Konsa made his first ever competitive international start in place of the suspended Marc Guehi as England switched to a back three.

However, contrary to expectation, Saka remained on the right in what proved to be an inspired decision by Southgate.

The Arsenal winger was by far the biggest threat of a first half in which neither side managed a shot on target.

Saka was skipping beyond Michel Aebischer at will and created the best chance of the first period when Kobbie Mainoo saw an effort deflected behind just before the half-time whistle.

The game continued at the same laboured pace from both sides into the second half.

Southgate has been repeatedly criticised for being too slow to influence games with his substitutions.

Despite having one of the most richly-talented squads at the tournament, it took until they fell behind for the England boss to shake things up.

England looked headed for a meek exit when Embolo pounced at the far post to turn in Dan Ndoye’s deflected cross at the back post.

Southgate reacted immediately with Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Luke Shaw, making his first appearance since February, sent on.

Within five minutes they were level as Saka cut inside and fired low and hard in off the far post.

Switzerland were indebted to a brilliant save from Yann Sommer to deny Declan Rice a second for England early in extra time.

Harry Kane was then forced off injured after a nasty fall into the England dugout.

And it was Switzerland who came closest in the second half of extra time as Xherdan Shaqiri‘s corner came back off the woodwork before Pickford parried Zeki Amdouni’s powerful strike from distance.

England had won only one of five previous penalty shoot-outs at the Euros, including defeat by Italy in the final three years ago.

But they were perfect from the spot as Saka erased some of the pain from his decisive miss in the Euro 2020 final.

“For me it is something I embrace,” added Saka. “You can fail once but you have a choice whether to put yourself in that position again.

“I believe we have some of the best takers in the Premier League and in the world.

“We were pretty confident if it came to penalties and showed that today. We scored five out of five and into the next round.”

England vs Switzerland Live Streaming Euro 2024 QF: When And Where To Watch© AFP

The UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-finals are set, and we have a bunch of blockbuster games coming up. One side of the quarter-final draw is stacked with reputed heavyweights, while a couple of underdogs have also slipped in to the Top 8 and could yet go much further. The five hot favourites ahead of Euro 2024 – France, England, Portugal, Spain and hosts Germany – are still in the race for glory. The Netherlands made it through after a convincing Round of 16 victory, while Switzerland and Turkey should not be counted out based on form.

The first quarter-final game, on July 5, is arguably the game of the tournament so far. Germany and Spain have been arguably the two best teams of Euro 2024 – and the two highest-scoring nations – but one journey will end here.

But speaking of the potential game of the tournament, and the second quarter-final – Portugal vs France – may have something to say about it. The two nations played out an enthralling 2-2 draw in Euro 2020, but have underwhelmed so far with their brand of football. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe are also yet to take the tournament by storm.

Switzerland are proving to be the giant-killers this summer. After nearly beating Germany, they dispatched defending champions Italy with ease in the Round of 16. Now, they face England, who have had to rely on Jude Bellingham‘s heroics amid some unconvincing displays.

Finally, Netherlands face Turkey in the last bout of the quarters. Turkey dumped out a strong Austria, while Netherlands won 3-0 against Romania.

Euro 2024 Quarter Final Draw in full:

1. Spain vs Germany – Friday, July 5 – Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart (9:30 PM IST)

2. Portugal vs France – Saturday, July 6 – Volksparkstadion, Hamburg (12:30 AM IST)

3. England vs Switzerland – Saturday, July 6 – Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf (9:30 PM IST)

4. Netherlands vs Turkey – Sunday, July 7 – Olympiastadion, Berlin (12:30 AM IST)

The winner of Spain-Germany faces the winner of Portugal-France in the semis, while the winner of England-Switzerland faces the winner of Netherlands-Turkey.

Italy are once again staring into the footballing abyss after Saturday’s humbling exit from Euro 2024 at the hands of Switzerland, the defence of their continental title ending in embarrassing fashion. A shockingly one-sided tie in Berlin, where Italy won the 2006 World Cup, led to a dismal last-16 exit after Luciano Spalletti’s side had scraped through the group stage by the skin of their teeth. Saturday’s limp defeat was one of the lowest points in the history of the four-time world champions and reigning kings of Europe, and the latest in a worryingly large number of recent humiliations, including missing out on the last two World Cups.

Italy were pinned back by the Swiss in the first half and after Ruben Vargas’ brilliant strike seconds after half-time they were easily held at arm’s length as they limped out of the tournament.

On Italy’s national broadcaster RAI the verdict was swift and brutal: “unacceptable”, “slow and predictable”, said disconsolate commentators.

After the match, Spalletti lamented to RAI how Vargas’ goal “took our legs out from under us” and said that his players didn’t come into the tournament in the right physical condition to compete.

He also suggested that Italy were affected by the heat in Berlin’s Olympiastadion, even though it didn’t stop the Swiss from performing at their best.

“Unfortunately, sharpness and tempo makes the difference,” said Spalletti.

“Right now, for too many reasons, we are unable to do anything more than this.”

It was not a convincing explanation for such disjointed performances over four matches and those comments followed a series of bizarre outbursts from Spalletti, who took the Italy job last summer with a huge amount of credit accrued after leading Napoli to a historic Serie A title.

Painful exit

Italian media are already questioning Spalletti’s position after less than a year in charge, so bad was his team’s showing in Germany and so confusing his constant chopping and changing of line-ups and formations.

World Cup 2026 qualifiers begin in September and after Saturday’s post-match press conference journalists were informed that Spalletti would have discussions with Italy’s football federation on Sunday to “take stock” before another conference with reporters.

But Spalletti refused to directly address his future, only saying vaguely that “we need to change things” and taking it in turns to take responsibility and then blame outside factors.

“I take responsibility for what happened, the players are mine, I chose them. I’m not happy with how we played today nor am I happy with how we played against Spain,” said Spalletti.

He added: “All of the other coaches had 20 games in charge, some had 30, before the Euros, I only had 10… We also had a number of players who sustained injuries, players I was counting on.”

Spalletti’s new-look side had come into the tournament as a work in progress and there were promising signs from their opening 2-1 win over Albania.

However, things rapidly went downhill with a single-goal thumping at the hands of Spain, in which goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the score respectable, and it took a 98th-minute equaliser against Croatia to send Italy through.

Captain Donnarumma was Italy’s only real bright spot at what was otherwise a miserable tournament and he was visibly upset at the nature of Italy’s elimination.

“It hurts, it really hurts. We can only say sorry to everyone, we were disappointing today and they deserved to win,” said Donnarumma.

“It’s difficult to digest but that’s how it went, we can’t do anything about it.”

His apologies fell on deaf ears however as angry fans in the stands unloaded their frustration on a team which enters yet another period of transition and soul-searching.

Switzerland vs Italy Live Streaming Euro 2024 Round Of 16 Live Telecast: When And Where To Watch© AFP

With exciting football and vibrant fans lighting up cities across Germany, Euro 2024 has thrilled even though the European game’s biggest stars have failed to take the tournament by storm. Between injury struggles, shaky form and bad luck, many of football’s leading lights have underwhelmed in the group phase. Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo, playing at a record sixth Euros, is yet to strike in three appearances — if he manages to, the 39-year-old will become the oldest ever goalscorer at the tournament.

Arguably the best player in the world, Kylian Mbappe is only off the mark for France with a penalty against Poland in a disappointing 1-1 draw that resulted in the favourites finishing second in Group D.

Mbappe spurned a golden opportunity against Austria, missing a draw against the Netherlands with a broken nose before returning with a mask in Les Bleus’ third outing.

“He’s hungry to play and the game would have done him some good,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, hopeful the forward will quickly find his devastating best with a last 16 clash against Belgium beckoning.

Poland’s talisman Robert Lewandowski could not feature in their opening defeat against the Netherlands because of a thigh problem.

The Barcelona striker and his country were eliminated as he was ineffective when he came off the bench against Austria, before he netted a penalty in the France draw.

England duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored from open play against Serbia and Denmark respectively but have vastly under-performed after thriving at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich this season.

England coach Gareth Southgate hooked Kane in a drab 1-1 draw against Denmark, but the subsequent 0-0 against Slovenia was even more dour.

“Not every player is going to star in every game,” said Southgate afterwards.

France’s Antoine Griezmann and England’s Phil Foden have also fired blanks after strong seasons for Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.

“Sometimes (Griezmann’s) generosity means he doesn’t have as clear a head as he should have,” said Deschamps, who benched the midfielder in the final group match.

Belgium’s all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku is also without a goal, albeit not for want of trying, having had three disallowed by VAR as his team slunk through in second from Group E.

Veteran Luka Modric, 38, usually a key figure in Croatia’s frequently impressive exploits, did score against Italy but only after missing a penalty and struggling in the first two matches, with his country eventually eliminated.

Own goals galore

Remarkably there have been seven own goals, making up 26 percent of the 27 inadvertently netted in the competition’s history.

Even the players who have shone thus far have largely been surprises for one reason or another.

N’Golo Kante is proving key for France despite moving a year ago to play in Saudi Arabia, while talented youngster Jamal Musiala has been hosts Germany’s leading light ahead of veteran stars Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz.

Target man Niclas Fullkrug has scored twice for Germany like Musiala, while Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz and Romania’s Razvan Marin also have a pair of goals to their name.

Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo finished neatly for his second goal in a 3-2 defeat by Austria, in a performance their coach Ronald Koeman labelled “appalling”.

The tournament’s current top scorer is debutants Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze with three goals, two of those from the penalty spot.

Spain qualified top of Group B with a game to spare and have arguably been the team of the tournament so far, but two of their key players have been unlikely candidates in Fabian Ruiz and Marc Cucurella.

With 15 matches still to play before one of the 16 remaining sides is crowned champions in Berlin on July 14, fans are still waiting for the tournament’s star names to join the party.