BASEL

Steel and coal from the Titanic have been transformed into a new line of luxury wristwatches that claim to capture the essence of the legendary ocean liner which sank in 1912. Watchmaker Romain Jerome SA billed its Titanic-DNA collection as among the most exclusive pieces showcased this week at the Baselworld trade fair.

A leak of honey at a Swiss transport company drew a swarm of hungry bees and forced the emergency services to step in, police said on Tuesday. Hundreds of litres of honey flooded out of a damaged barrel, which was part of a shipment from Mexico, and thousands of bees spread the word that the feast was on, said Basel police spokesperson Klaus Mannhart.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said on Tuesday that it was now ready to allow other companies or governments to produce Tamiflu, a drug considered a first line of defence against a potential flu pandemic. It also announced that it would go ahead with a new facility to produce the drug in the United States.

Three hippos attacked and killed a zebra they had lived alongside for 12 years in front of shocked visitors at Basel Zoo in Switzerland, authorities said on Thursday. Kalungu, a 17-year-old male zebra, was knocked into the water and mauled after he bit the lip of hippo Wilhelm during the animals’ daily ritual to establish territory.