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Devastating 'World War ZERO' destroyed ancient Mediterranean civilisations and plunged Europe into a dark age 11:41, 13 MAY 2016 UPDATED 11:44, 13 MAY 2016 BY JASPER HAMILL Controversial theory finally identifies mysterious 'Sea Peoples' blamed for cataclysmic series of events which changed the course of history It was a disaster which destroyed the ancient world's greatest civilisations and plunged Europe into a dark age that lasted centuries. Now one archaeologist think he's worked out who's to blame for sparking an event he calls "World War Zero", but which most academics refer to as the The Late Bronze Age Collapse ....

Venezuela sent $1.3 billion worth of gold bars to Switzerland in mid-January, according to data from the Swiss Federal Customs Administration. That gold was shipped out just weeks before two big debt payments due this month, totaling $2.3 billion. On Friday alone, Venezuela has to pay bondholders $1.5 billion. Venezuela is running out of cash and many experts believe there's a high chance it will default by this fall when a string of big debt payments are due. "It's a question of when Venezuela will default, not if," says Russ Dallen, managing partner at LatInvest, a firm that invests in...

The Trojan War was a grander event than even Homer would have us believe. The famous conflict may have been one of the final acts in what one archaeologist has controversially dubbed "World War Zero" -- an event he claims brought the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world crashing down 3200 years ago. And the catalyst for the war? A mysterious and arguably powerful civilisation almost entirely overlooked by archaeologists: the Luwians. By the second millennium BC, civilisation had taken hold throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The Egyptian New Kingdom coexisted with the Hittites of central Anatolia and the Mycenaeans of mainland...

icture a tiny, Christmas town filled with classic Alpine chalets and surrounded by mountains, with the citizens working dutifully to contribute to the common good, and you will envision Zermatt, Switzerland. Zermatt is a picturesque tourist town that would fit the typical political progressive’s idea of utopia on earth: modern, clean and government-controlled. Environmental preservation is key. Residents pride themselves on the pure, glacial water flowing through the town. Cars are banned, except for the few licensees who are permitted to drive electric vehicles. I spoke with a shopkeeper who explained the government’s protection of the Swiss deer. If you...

perhaps they need more refugees (satire) Swiss authorities were monitoring the social media activity of about 400 possible jihadists who might pose a security threat, the NDB federal intelligence service said on Monday. Switzerland is not a primary target for Islamist attacks because it is not part of the military campaign against groups such as Islamic State, but the security threat level has been elevated nonetheless, the NDB's annual report said. The report showed a photo of a Swiss passport next to an explosive belt posted online by a suspected Swiss jihadist who had traveled to the Middle East, and...

The Eidgenossen matter. The who? What? Why? OK, let me back up. Two weeks ago, while talking about the Battle of Crecy I mentioned the concept of a Revolution in Military Affairs. At that time I gave a fairly simple definition. A better, or perhaps just more complete definition of a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) might go like this: “A fundamental change in the practice of warfare

Switzerland has suspended the citizenship process for the family of two teenage Muslim brothers who refused to shake hands with female teachers. The brothers aged 14 and 15 said physical contact with women who were not family members was against their faith. Some Swiss Muslim groups said there was no religious justification for refusing to shake a female teacher's hand and urged the Swiss not to give in to extremist demands. But one Islamic organisation said a handshake between men and women was prohibited.

In January, researchers at Caltech in the US suggested a large, additional planet might be lurking in the icy outer reaches of the Solar System. Now, a team at the University of Bern in Switzerland has worked out what they say are upper and lower limits on how big, bright and cold it might be. The study has been accepted by the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Prof Mike Brown and Dr Konstantin Batygin made their case for the existence of a ninth planet in our Solar System orbiting far beyond even the dwarf world Pluto. There are no direct observations...

Some male Muslim students in Switzerland will no longer need to shake hands with their female teachers, following a ruling that has caused an uproar and consternation in the country. Education authorities in the northern Swiss municipality of Therwil, in the canton of Basel-Country, reached the controversial decision after two male students complained that the Swiss custom of shaking hands with the teacher is counter to their religious beliefs if the teacher is a woman.

Switzerland on Friday unveiled tough draft legislation for unilateral curbs on immigration, raising the stakes in talks with Brussels on limiting the influx of foreigners from the European Union. Switzerland is two-thirds of the way through a three-year timetable to enforce a binding 2014 referendum vote in favor of immigration quotas which would violate a bilateral pact guaranteeing freedom of movement for EU workers.

The Swiss parliament has voted to withdraw the country’s long-standing application to join the European Union (EU) amid a row on immigration. The National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, voted by 126 to 46 to formally withdraw the application, 24 years after the country first applied for membership of what was then the European Community (EC). The withdrawal motion will now go to the Council of States.

My WORD to you is meant to be used and adhered to as the mighty men of David that willingly supported their king by leading in the battle no matter the numbers for they walked in My wisdom and their obedience came from actively pursuing the command of their king that walked in My understanding without fear. So it must be with you my children do not be like the sloth and bury the talents I have so graciously bestowed upon you for as you do it shall be multiplied onto you yet in this same manner I shall send...

A Swiss butcher has gotten himself into trouble for selling pork in his shop. For this, he will be spending the next six months in a prison cell. No, selling pork isn't illegal in Switzerland. What is illegal is to spend three years selling pork to Muslims and telling them it's Halal.

Swiss police on Tuesday launched a manhunt for a Syrian man convicted of rape, after he fled his cell along with a female prison guard.The two fugitives may already have left the country, after the guard helped the prisoner break out of jail near Zurich on Monday night, Zurich cantonal police police said in a statement. The 27-year-old Syrian man had been sentenced to four years in the Limmattal jail in Dietikon for rape.

The risk of a real estate bubble occurring in several regions of Switzerland reached its highest level at the end of 2015 since the late 1980s, according to a report from UBS. The bank on Thursday said its Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index reached 1.41 points in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 1.34 in the third quarter and the highest rate in around 15 years. The Lake Geneva and Greater Zurich areas remain the most exposed regions in the country with the highest risk potential for a residential real estate bubble. Other exposed cities include Zug, Lucerne,...

The hunt is on for billions of dollars in ill-gotten assets accumulated by the family of Saddam Hussein, now believed to be scattered in a labyrinthine network of front companies and secret bank accounts from Panama to Switzerland to Jordan. As U.S. forces moved into Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, investigators reported signs of large sums of money moving from Iraqi government-controlled accounts to private accounts in the Middle East. "People with connections are trying to loot what they can," said one private investigator with access to information about money flows around the region. < SNIP > One of the...

During a recent visit to the United States, a United Nations (UN) working group has said that the US should consider giving long overdue reparations to descendants of slaves. The group also suggests the US government establish a national human rights commission, and publicly acknowledge that the Transatlantic Slave Trade was a crime against humanity. The UN working group, called "Experts on People of African Descent," went on a fact-finding mission, which included meetings with African-Americans from multiple cities, including Baltimore, New York, and Chicago. Although they won't release their full report until September, each member read a statement to...

With Citi's chief economist proclaiming "only helicopter money can save the world now," and the Bank of England pre-empting paradropping money concerns, it appears that Australia's largest investment bank's forecast that money-drops were 12-18 months away was too conservative. While The Finns consider a "basic monthly income" for the entire population, Swiss residents are to vote on a countrywide referendum about a radical plan to pay every single adult a guaranteed income of around $2500 per month, with authorities insisting that people will still want to find a job.

Tyler DurdenJanuary 29, 2016 With Citi's chief economist proclaiming "only helicopter money can save the world now," and the Bank of England pre-empting paradropping money concerns, it appears that Australia's largest investment bank's forecast that money-drops were 12-18 months away was too conservative. While The Finns consider a "basic monthly income" for the entire population, Swiss residents are to vote on a countrywide referendum about a radical plan to pay every single adult a guaranteed income of around $2500 per month, with authorities insisting that people will still want to find a job. The plan, as The Daily Mail reports,...

A Swiss cleaning firm working for McDonald's is in trouble after promising refugees work permits if they worked for free for three months. “At first I thought it was normal to work for free in Switzerland to get a residency permit. My friends at the refugee home also did it.” These are the words of Yusuf, a young man from Sudan who worked cleaning McDonald's restaurants “non-stop” and “without breaks” for some 40 days with just four days off in late 2014 and early 2015. Yusuf was not paid for any of this cleaning work because his employer – a...