JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Four climbers found dead in tents on Everest, identities unknown-[Reuters]-By Gopal Sharma-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali sherpas have found four climbers dead in their tents on Mount Everest, officials said on Wednesday, taking the death toll on the world's highest mountain to 10 in the past month.The climbers were found overnight in two tents at Camp Four, at 8,000 meters (26,246 feet), Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks group, to which the sherpas belonged, said.The identities of the four remained unknown as none of the expeditions on the mountain reported any of their members missing and the head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said they may have been climbing on their own."It is possible that some individual climbers obtained permits and were climbing without much support due to the cost factor," said Ang Tshering Sherpa."It was windy and very cold in the mountain yesterday (Tuesday). It appears they died due to suffocation as they must have been using a stove to keep warm inside the tent.”The Himalayan Times reported that two of the dead were foreigners, but did not give their nationalities."It is most likely they died from carbon monoxide poisoning by using their stoves in the tent without proper ventilation," U.S. climber Alan Arnette, who blogs on Everest, said in a post.The sherpas who discovered the bodies were on their way to retrieve the body of Vladimir Strba of Slovakia who died near the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit over the weekend.Strba's body has been brought down to Camp Two at 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) and was expected to be taken to base camp later on Wednesday, Mingma said.More than 5,000 climbers have scaled Mount Everest since it was first climbed by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Nearly 300 have died trying.Many of the victims remain on the mountain, entombed in snow, as it its too difficult to bring their bodies down.Exhaustion, exposure, frostbite, falls and altitude sickness are major causes of death on Everest.But the biggest killer in recent years has been avalanches.Eighteen people died in 2015 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake triggered avalanches which smashed into the base camp.A year earlier, 16 sherpas hauling gear for climbers to higher camps were killed when they were hit by an avalanche while they were crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp.Climbers can ascend Everest from the Nepal side and the Chinese side. One of the 10 recent deaths was on the Chinese side.Nepal has issued permits to 371 foreign climbers this season, up from last year's 281, each of which cost $11,000.In addition, hundreds of sherpas climb the mountain or help others to do so.Permit fees are a major source of income for cash-strapped Nepal which earned more than $4 million this year from Everest permits, officials said.The climbing season closes at the end of May when the rainy season traditionally begins, bringing cloud and snow at high altitudes.(Reporting by Gopal Sharma,; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ed Osmond)
China says no one should bring chaos to Korean peninsula-[Reuters]-By Michael Martina-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday no one had the right to bring chaos to the Korean peninsula, a day after it pushed for full implementation of U.N. sanctions against neighboring North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests and called for dialogue.The United States has been trying to persuade China, North Korea's lone major ally, to do more to rein in Pyongyang, which has conducted dozens of missile launches and tested two nuclear bombs since the start of last year, in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.The North has proudly publicized its plans to develop a missile capable of striking the United States and has ignored calls to halt its weapons programs, even from China.It says the program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression. Its last missile test was on Sunday."No matter which party it is, no one has the right to bring war and chaos upon the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters after meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.He said anyone who did that would bear "historical responsibility".U.S. President Donald Trump has said "a major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible and that all options are on the table, but that he wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically.China has been infuriated by the U.S. deployment of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea, saying it is a threat to its own security and will do nothing to ease tensions with North Korea.The United States and South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, have said the deployment is aimed purely at defending against the North Korean threat.China fully implements its U.N. Security Council sanction commitments toward North Korea and will continue to play a constructive role in negotiations, Wang said.Almost a month ago, Washington began discussions with China on strengthening U.N. sanctions. However, a week ago U.S. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Beijing had gone quiet.Traditionally, the United States and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving the other 13 U.N. Security Council members.The Security Council first imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006 and ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches. North Korea is threatening a sixth nuclear test.(Writing by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Nick Macfie)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Four climbers found dead in tents on Everest, identities unknown-[Reuters]-By Gopal Sharma-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepali sherpas have found four climbers dead in their tents on Mount Everest, officials said on Wednesday, taking the death toll on the world's highest mountain to 10 in the past month.The climbers were found overnight in two tents at Camp Four, at 8,000 meters (26,246 feet), Mingma Sherpa of the Seven Summit Treks group, to which the sherpas belonged, said.The identities of the four remained unknown as none of the expeditions on the mountain reported any of their members missing and the head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said they may have been climbing on their own."It is possible that some individual climbers obtained permits and were climbing without much support due to the cost factor," said Ang Tshering Sherpa."It was windy and very cold in the mountain yesterday (Tuesday). It appears they died due to suffocation as they must have been using a stove to keep warm inside the tent.”The Himalayan Times reported that two of the dead were foreigners, but did not give their nationalities."It is most likely they died from carbon monoxide poisoning by using their stoves in the tent without proper ventilation," U.S. climber Alan Arnette, who blogs on Everest, said in a post.The sherpas who discovered the bodies were on their way to retrieve the body of Vladimir Strba of Slovakia who died near the 8,850 meter (29,035 feet) summit over the weekend.Strba's body has been brought down to Camp Two at 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) and was expected to be taken to base camp later on Wednesday, Mingma said.More than 5,000 climbers have scaled Mount Everest since it was first climbed by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Nearly 300 have died trying.Many of the victims remain on the mountain, entombed in snow, as it its too difficult to bring their bodies down.Exhaustion, exposure, frostbite, falls and altitude sickness are major causes of death on Everest.But the biggest killer in recent years has been avalanches.Eighteen people died in 2015 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake triggered avalanches which smashed into the base camp.A year earlier, 16 sherpas hauling gear for climbers to higher camps were killed when they were hit by an avalanche while they were crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall, just above base camp.Climbers can ascend Everest from the Nepal side and the Chinese side. One of the 10 recent deaths was on the Chinese side.Nepal has issued permits to 371 foreign climbers this season, up from last year's 281, each of which cost $11,000.In addition, hundreds of sherpas climb the mountain or help others to do so.Permit fees are a major source of income for cash-strapped Nepal which earned more than $4 million this year from Everest permits, officials said.The climbing season closes at the end of May when the rainy season traditionally begins, bringing cloud and snow at high altitudes.(Reporting by Gopal Sharma,; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ed Osmond)
China says no one should bring chaos to Korean peninsula-[Reuters]-By Michael Martina-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday no one had the right to bring chaos to the Korean peninsula, a day after it pushed for full implementation of U.N. sanctions against neighboring North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests and called for dialogue.The United States has been trying to persuade China, North Korea's lone major ally, to do more to rein in Pyongyang, which has conducted dozens of missile launches and tested two nuclear bombs since the start of last year, in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.The North has proudly publicized its plans to develop a missile capable of striking the United States and has ignored calls to halt its weapons programs, even from China.It says the program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression. Its last missile test was on Sunday."No matter which party it is, no one has the right to bring war and chaos upon the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters after meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.He said anyone who did that would bear "historical responsibility".U.S. President Donald Trump has said "a major, major conflict" with North Korea is possible and that all options are on the table, but that he wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically.China has been infuriated by the U.S. deployment of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea, saying it is a threat to its own security and will do nothing to ease tensions with North Korea.The United States and South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, have said the deployment is aimed purely at defending against the North Korean threat.China fully implements its U.N. Security Council sanction commitments toward North Korea and will continue to play a constructive role in negotiations, Wang said.Almost a month ago, Washington began discussions with China on strengthening U.N. sanctions. However, a week ago U.S. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Beijing had gone quiet.Traditionally, the United States and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving the other 13 U.N. Security Council members.The Security Council first imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006 and ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches. North Korea is threatening a sixth nuclear test.(Writing by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Nick Macfie)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
OTHER NEWS ON THE ISLAMIC SLAUGHTER OF THE CHILDREN
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/05/22-total-dead-119-injured-in-uk-islamic.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/05/uk-21000-seat-arena-terrorist-attack-at.html
When the young are targeted, explaining terrorism to children-[Christian Science Monitor]-Sara Miller Llana-YAHOONEWS-May 23, 2017
When she took her 7-year-old on a visit to London just days after the terrorist attack near Westminster in March, Vicky Hall-Newman felt it her duty as a mother to explain what to do in the case they were to run into a “bad guy.”“ ‘If mummy runs, you run. If mummy says to get on the floor, you get on the floor,’ ” she told her daughter. “She said ‘OK,’ and then went off to play. Later on I heard her talking to her dolls, she was saying, ‘If mummy tells us to run, we have to run.’ ”But the mother, who writes a blog at Beingtillysmummy.co.uk and has written about stress in children, suspects the latest attack at a concert of a pop teen idol in Manchester will be a harder talk than simple instructions – because children were among the 22 killed and teen girls were the overwhelming witnesses of the chaos and carnage Monday night.“It is going to bring reality to them,” says Ms. Hall-Newman, in a telephone interview from Manchester where she happens to be at a conference – and where she spent the weekend with her daughter.The suicide bomber is reported to be 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was born in Manchester to parents who fled Libya's Qaddafi regime. He is believed to have set off an improvised explosive at around 10:30 p.m. Monday night at the Manchester Arena just after Ariana Grande, an American singer who first became known to the public on Nickelodeon, finished her set. Among the 22 dead, and more than 50 injured, is Georgina Callander, 18, whose photo shows her sporting big glasses. The youngest confirmed victim is Saffie Roussos, age 8, just a year older than Hall-Newman’s daughter. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility.Andrew Mumford, co-director of the Center for Conflict, Security, and Terrorism at the University of Nottingham, says that the timing, right before a snap general election called for June 8, as well as the targeting, is not random. “One of the things clearly most shocking about this attack is the victims look to be mainly young people, young girls, children who were enjoying one of the most innocent pleasures that we enjoy in the Western world – a pop concert,” he says. “That I think was deliberate.”-PINK BALLOONS AND IPHONES-Video footage taken on iPhones and spread across social media shows those lingering after the concert clutching pink balloons that had been released in Ms. Grande’s final song. After an explosion is heard, a girl is recorded asking, “Oh my god, what just happened?” In another video are the sounds of voices squealing, the unmistakable tones of those underage.The bomber exploded the device, and himself, in the foyer of the arena, in the heart of Manchester, a thriving, post-industrial city that launched many bands in the 1980s. Many parents were waiting on the steps outside the arena to pick up their young concert goers, some of them at their first-ever concert unchaperoned, when the bomb went off.Grande wrote on Twitter hours later: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU, tweeted in support of the young. “Fear won’t prevail. European youth will continue to enjoy their love for life, freedom & joy, together.”Children have always been the victims, direct and indirect, of war and violence. They have been singled out in school shootings that have become too common in the United States. They were specifically targeted by Anders Behring Breivik while at a political summer camp in Norway in 2011. In the violence perpetrated by Islamist extremists they have been killed, caught at the wrong place, and lost parents and loved ones. Even children not directly affected by attacks have been shaken, as a video that went viral of a man consoling his son after the Bataclan attacks in Paris in November 2015 shows.The latest attack comes as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a British charity, has reported a 35 percent rise in counseling sessions through their “Childline” between 2014-15 and 2015-16. The reasons include everything from family matters to world affairs (including Brexit) to terrorism. The office says they see a spike after any attack. They released a statement today urging adults to listen carefully to a child’s fears and to avoid “complicated and worrying explanations that could leave them more frightened and confused.”Fred Zelinger, a New York-based psychologist who works with teens and young adults, says that Monday night’s incident could impact children more because they will relate to the victims. “For all of us, the closer we identify with the victim the more significant the impact is going be. A child witnessing a child being injured or hurt, has much more impact ... because it directly deals with their perception of safety,” he says. They’ll think, “If that child wasn’t safe how can I be safe?”His wife Laurie Zelinger, a child psychologist who wrote the children’s book “Please Explain Terrorism to Me,” agrees that children have a “magical sense” where they more closely identify with young protagonists that could make this tragedy harder to process.She decided to write her book, which includes illustrations and text, to help children navigate the terrorism they are increasingly seeing around them – especially portrayed in the media – in an age-appropriate and calming way.Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist who pens a column for The Telegraph, says she believes that the ages of the victims could make a deeper psychological impression on parents, who are “100 percent programmed to be protecting the young,” more so than the children themselves. And she advises parents not to initiate a conversation about the attack, but follow a child’s lead.-'KEEPING OUR BALANCE'-Still, Ms. Blair suspects in this case children could be more prone to questioning – simply because the attack at the arena involves younger people and a star that they admire. She says when they do have questions, it is a parent’s job not to project their own anxieties, and to give the child a more balanced picture than the media does when it focuses on the negative side of the news. One academic study conducted after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, for example, concluded that “repeated bombing-related media exposure was associated with higher acute stress than was direct exposure.”“This is an unbelievably terrible thing, but it is one thing, and also there will be good people trying to help,” Blair says. “Keeping our balance will help us let our children grow up embracing life rather than fearing it.”Hall-Newman is trying to strike that balance right now. “I’m supposed to bring my daughter [back] to Manchester at the weekend, and I’m thinking, maybe I shouldn’t. Or should I?”At first she woke up saying to herself that she wouldn't have her daughter come, especially because they are supposed to be going to a kids’ musical festival this weekend. Then she changed her mind, in part because she says: "If I do stop, then they [the terrorists] win.”She doesn’t believe that it’s a more dangerous era to be growing up. When her other, now-adult daughter was young, there was no major terrorist threat, but more attention on kidnapping and child murder. And Hall-Newman's father was in the army, so she grew up around conflict with Northern Ireland.She says she believes it’s her duty to tell her daughter what are the dangers in the current area, in simple, non-threatening terms. She put a post on Facebook today, imploring her friends and family not to mention the Manchester bombing to her 7-year-old daughter, especially while she is still there. “I don’t want her worrying about me,” she says. “ Also I feel I can explain it better to her.”-Tamara Micner contributed reporting from London.
More raids in Manchester; Soldiers protecting key UK sites-[Associated Press]-JILL LAWLESS and GREGORY KATZ-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British security forces arrested three more suspects and raided a building Wednesday in central Manchester as they investigated the deadly concert bombing. Hundreds of soldiers were sent to secure key sites across the country, including Buckingham Palace and the British Parliament at Westminster.Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the bomber, identified as British-born ethnic Libyan Salman Abedi, "likely" did not act alone when he killed 22 people and wounded dozens at an Ariana Grande concert Monday night in Manchester. She said he had been known to security forces "up to a point."Many at the concert were young girls and teens enthralled by Grande's pop power — and those who died included an 8-year-old girl.Officials are examining Abedi's trips to Libya and Syria as they piece together his allegiances and try to foil any new potential threats. The government said nearly 1,000 soldiers were deployed Wednesday instead of police in high-profile sites in London and elsewhere.Britain raised its threat level from terrorism to "critical" after an emergency government meeting late Tuesday amid concerns that the 22-year-old Abedi may have accomplices who are planning another attack.Suicide bomber Abedi was born in Britain to a Libyan family, grew up in Manchester's southern suburbs and once attended Salford University there. Police said three men were arrested Wednesday in south Manchester, where a day earlier a 23-year-old man was also arrested and at least two homes were searched.Heavily armed police raided an apartment building in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon and a controlled explosion was heard. The building, Granby House, is popular with students and young professionals.Muye Li, a 23-year-old student who lives on the third floor, said he heard an explosion as police stormed an apartment on his floor. He said officers knocked on his door and "asked me if I had seen the lady next door," so he thinks they were looking for a woman.Across London, troops fanned out and authorities reconsidered security plans.The changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace was canceled Wednesday so police officers can be re-deployed, Britain's defense ministry said. The traditional ceremony is a major tourist attraction in London.The Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament in London, was also closed Wednesday to all those without passes, and tours and events there were cancelled until further notice. Armed police were also seen on patrol outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London, another popular tourist spot."(The goal) is to make our city as hostile an environment as possible for terrorists to plan and operate," said London Police Commander Jane Connors.The Chelsea soccer team announced it would cancel Sunday's victory parade in London that was to have celebrated the team's Premier League title win this season."We are sure our fans will understand this decision," the team said, adding that the parade would have diverted police from the bombing investigation.Police on Tuesday raided Abedi's house in Manchester, using a controlled explosion to blast down the door. Neighbors recalled him as a tall, thin silent young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress.Early Wednesday, Manchester police arrested a man at a house just a 10-minute walk from Abedi's home.Omar Alfa Khuri, who lives across the street, said he was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a loud noise and saw police take away the father of the family that lives there in handcuffs. He said the man is named Adel and is in his 40s, with a wife and several children."There was a policeman, armed policeman, shouting at my neighbor ... and I realized there is something wrong here," he said. "They arrested the father, and I think the rest of the family kind of disappeared."He said he knew the man from the neighborhood and the mosque but "in the last 15 years, I haven't seen him in trouble at all. I haven't seen police come to his house."British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting Wednesday of her emergency security cabinet group to talk about intelligence reports on Abedi and concerns that he might have had outside support.Officials are probing how often Abedi had traveled to Libya, which has seen an eruption of armed Islamist groups since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.France's interior minister said Abedi is believed to have traveled to Syria and had "proven" links with the Islamic State group. British officials, however, have not commented on whether Abedi had links to IS or other extremist groups.Rudd said Britain's increased official threat level will remain at "critical" as the investigation proceeds and won't be lowered until security services are convinced there is no active plot in place.She also complained about U.S. officials leaking sensitive information about Abedi to the press. Rudd said Britain's operational security could be harmed by the leaks, taking "the element of surprise" away from security services and police."I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," she said.In addition to those killed in the concert bombing, Manchester officials raised to 119 the number of people who sought medical treatment after the attack.Sixty-four people are still hospitalized, Jon Rouse of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said Wednesday. Officials say 20 of them are being treated for critical injuries.Many had serious wounds that will require "very long term care and support in terms of their recovery," Rouse said.Officials said all the dead and wounded had been identified. But Greater Manchester Police said it could not formally name the victims until forensic post-mortems were concluded, which could take four to five days. It said all the affected families have been contacted and trained officers are supporting them.__Katz reported from London. Sylvia Hui in London, Rob Harris in Manchester and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.
Use of air power in Afghanistan up sharply as Trump troop decision looms-[Reuters]-By Josh Smith-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes dropped more weapons on Afghanistan in April than in any other single month since 2012, according to new statistics, as military officials press U.S. President Donald Trump to send thousands more troops to the country.The escalation in the use of American air power was partly due to an effort by U.S. commanders to wipe out a nascent Islamic State presence before the group can establish more of a foothold in the county, a military spokesman said.The U.S. Air Force unleashed 460 bombs, missiles, or other ordnance last month in Afghanistan, more than double the 203 weapons dropped in March and more than seven times the quantity deployed in April last year.Trump has yet to announce a decision on proposals from his top military advisers calling for the United States and its coalition allies to send 3,000 to 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Currently around 8,400 U.S. and 6,500 coalition troops are deployed, mostly to train and support Afghan forces.The additional troops could also be used to ramp-up air support, which has often been seen as decisive in preventing the total collapse of some Afghan defensive positions and relies on trained air controllers on the ground.The last time more weapons were dropped in a single month was August 2012, when nearly 80,000 U.S. troops were battling the Taliban and two years before former President Barack Obama declared an end to the combat mission in Afghanistan.Since then, however, Afghan forces have struggled to hold back a resurgent Taliban insurgency. Islamic State's small local affiliate, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), has been active since 2015.Last month the U.S. military dropped one of its largest conventional weapons ever used in combat, a 21,600-lb (9,797 kg) GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, on suspected Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan.The Air Force data, however, shows that while unusually large, that bomb was only part of a greatly expanded air campaign.As of the end of April, Air Force warplanes had released 917 weapons, compared with 1,337 in all of 2016, and 947 in 2015, the first year of the "non-combat" mission in Afghanistan.-SPRING FIGHTING SEASON-U.S. military spokesman Captain Bill Salvin said the increase was due to greater latitude to provide air support to Afghan forces granted to military commanders by Obama last June, and the focus by General John Nicholson, who leads the foreign forces in Afghanistan, on going after Islamic state."The two main reasons are this is the first spring fighting season since the expanded authorities were granted," he said."And General Nicholson has stated the goal to eliminate ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017, which has required more offensive operations and strategic effects support."The Air Force statistics only report "weapons released" as well as "sorties with at least one weapon release", neither of which necessarily correspond to a single air strike, which can include multiple weapons and aircraft.The numbers also do not include strikes by the U.S. Army, which fields attack helicopters in Afghanistan, but Salvin told Reuters that, all together, U.S. forces had conducted 898 "kinetic strikes" in the first four months of the year, compared with less than 300 in the same period in 2016.U.S. forces in Afghanistan are allowed to conduct air strikes under three circumstances, which include counter-terror operations, strikes to protect coalition forces, and air support that helps Afghan forces achieve "strategic effects" against Taliban or other insurgents.Strikes in all three categories increased dramatically in April compared with a month before, Salvin said.Ninety-two counterterrorism strikes were conducted in April, compared with 55 in March.U.S. forces intervened with 296 strikes to provide "strategic effects" for Afghan forces in April, up from 115 the month before.And U.S. aircraft were called upon 62 times to provide protection for coalition troops last month, a major increase from only six times in March.Last month United Nations investigators reported a "substantial" and "disturbing" increase in casualties from air strikes by U.S. warplanes, as well as by the Afghan Air Force.In the first quarter of 2017, 72 civilians were killed and 76 wounded in aerial operations by both U.S. and Afghan forces, up from eight dead and 21 injured in the corresponding period last year, the U.N. said.(Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Turkey's Erdogan says NATO should do more on intelligence sharing-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday NATO allies should cooperate more closely in the fight against terrorism and that rapid information sharing was crucial.Erdogan, speaking in Ankara before flying to Brussels for a summit of NATO leaders and a meeting with European Union leaders, also said Turkey was not seeking to break with the EU but that the bloc must fulfill its own responsibilities.Turkey's relations with NATO and the EU have been strained by differences over Syria policy with the United States and by open disagreements with European leaders during last month's referendum which granted Erdogan sweeping new powers.(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Dominic Evans)
New leftist Ecuador president set for swearing-in-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
Quito (AFP) - Ecuador's new president Lenin Moreno takes office Wednesday, tasked with steering a flagship of the Latin American left through troubled economic and political waters.Congress was due to swear in Moreno, 64, at 1500 GMT, as the quieter successor to one of the feistiest personalities in Latin American politics: Rafael Correa.Moreno is the first wheelchair-user to become Ecuador's leader, and one of few such leaders in the world ever to serve as president.His legs have been paralyzed since he was shot during a robbery in 1998.He went on to lead a task force on disability rights as vice-president in Correa's government. That earned him a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.President for a decade, Correa, 54, is one of a generation of colorful leftist leaders who governed the mineral-rich region over recent decades.He won the hearts of many with welfare spending, social equality policies and subsidies which he says reduced poverty.And unlike his allies in Brazil, Argentina and Peru, his side managed to win re-election this year.Known to his supporters simply as 'Lenin,' Moreno "is willing to be less confrontational and to have a softer approach as president to the opposition and the media," said Farith Simon, an analyst at San Francisco University in Quito."He will not change political course but will change the style of government."Economists warn Moreno faces tougher conditions than those enjoyed by Correa, however."It will be very difficult to maintain" the level of social spending, said Simon Pachano, a political scientist at the Latin American Social Sciences Faculty in Quito.
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2017/05/uk-21000-seat-arena-terrorist-attack-at.html
When the young are targeted, explaining terrorism to children-[Christian Science Monitor]-Sara Miller Llana-YAHOONEWS-May 23, 2017
When she took her 7-year-old on a visit to London just days after the terrorist attack near Westminster in March, Vicky Hall-Newman felt it her duty as a mother to explain what to do in the case they were to run into a “bad guy.”“ ‘If mummy runs, you run. If mummy says to get on the floor, you get on the floor,’ ” she told her daughter. “She said ‘OK,’ and then went off to play. Later on I heard her talking to her dolls, she was saying, ‘If mummy tells us to run, we have to run.’ ”But the mother, who writes a blog at Beingtillysmummy.co.uk and has written about stress in children, suspects the latest attack at a concert of a pop teen idol in Manchester will be a harder talk than simple instructions – because children were among the 22 killed and teen girls were the overwhelming witnesses of the chaos and carnage Monday night.“It is going to bring reality to them,” says Ms. Hall-Newman, in a telephone interview from Manchester where she happens to be at a conference – and where she spent the weekend with her daughter.The suicide bomber is reported to be 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was born in Manchester to parents who fled Libya's Qaddafi regime. He is believed to have set off an improvised explosive at around 10:30 p.m. Monday night at the Manchester Arena just after Ariana Grande, an American singer who first became known to the public on Nickelodeon, finished her set. Among the 22 dead, and more than 50 injured, is Georgina Callander, 18, whose photo shows her sporting big glasses. The youngest confirmed victim is Saffie Roussos, age 8, just a year older than Hall-Newman’s daughter. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility.Andrew Mumford, co-director of the Center for Conflict, Security, and Terrorism at the University of Nottingham, says that the timing, right before a snap general election called for June 8, as well as the targeting, is not random. “One of the things clearly most shocking about this attack is the victims look to be mainly young people, young girls, children who were enjoying one of the most innocent pleasures that we enjoy in the Western world – a pop concert,” he says. “That I think was deliberate.”-PINK BALLOONS AND IPHONES-Video footage taken on iPhones and spread across social media shows those lingering after the concert clutching pink balloons that had been released in Ms. Grande’s final song. After an explosion is heard, a girl is recorded asking, “Oh my god, what just happened?” In another video are the sounds of voices squealing, the unmistakable tones of those underage.The bomber exploded the device, and himself, in the foyer of the arena, in the heart of Manchester, a thriving, post-industrial city that launched many bands in the 1980s. Many parents were waiting on the steps outside the arena to pick up their young concert goers, some of them at their first-ever concert unchaperoned, when the bomb went off.Grande wrote on Twitter hours later: “broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don’t have words.”Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU, tweeted in support of the young. “Fear won’t prevail. European youth will continue to enjoy their love for life, freedom & joy, together.”Children have always been the victims, direct and indirect, of war and violence. They have been singled out in school shootings that have become too common in the United States. They were specifically targeted by Anders Behring Breivik while at a political summer camp in Norway in 2011. In the violence perpetrated by Islamist extremists they have been killed, caught at the wrong place, and lost parents and loved ones. Even children not directly affected by attacks have been shaken, as a video that went viral of a man consoling his son after the Bataclan attacks in Paris in November 2015 shows.The latest attack comes as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a British charity, has reported a 35 percent rise in counseling sessions through their “Childline” between 2014-15 and 2015-16. The reasons include everything from family matters to world affairs (including Brexit) to terrorism. The office says they see a spike after any attack. They released a statement today urging adults to listen carefully to a child’s fears and to avoid “complicated and worrying explanations that could leave them more frightened and confused.”Fred Zelinger, a New York-based psychologist who works with teens and young adults, says that Monday night’s incident could impact children more because they will relate to the victims. “For all of us, the closer we identify with the victim the more significant the impact is going be. A child witnessing a child being injured or hurt, has much more impact ... because it directly deals with their perception of safety,” he says. They’ll think, “If that child wasn’t safe how can I be safe?”His wife Laurie Zelinger, a child psychologist who wrote the children’s book “Please Explain Terrorism to Me,” agrees that children have a “magical sense” where they more closely identify with young protagonists that could make this tragedy harder to process.She decided to write her book, which includes illustrations and text, to help children navigate the terrorism they are increasingly seeing around them – especially portrayed in the media – in an age-appropriate and calming way.Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist who pens a column for The Telegraph, says she believes that the ages of the victims could make a deeper psychological impression on parents, who are “100 percent programmed to be protecting the young,” more so than the children themselves. And she advises parents not to initiate a conversation about the attack, but follow a child’s lead.-'KEEPING OUR BALANCE'-Still, Ms. Blair suspects in this case children could be more prone to questioning – simply because the attack at the arena involves younger people and a star that they admire. She says when they do have questions, it is a parent’s job not to project their own anxieties, and to give the child a more balanced picture than the media does when it focuses on the negative side of the news. One academic study conducted after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, for example, concluded that “repeated bombing-related media exposure was associated with higher acute stress than was direct exposure.”“This is an unbelievably terrible thing, but it is one thing, and also there will be good people trying to help,” Blair says. “Keeping our balance will help us let our children grow up embracing life rather than fearing it.”Hall-Newman is trying to strike that balance right now. “I’m supposed to bring my daughter [back] to Manchester at the weekend, and I’m thinking, maybe I shouldn’t. Or should I?”At first she woke up saying to herself that she wouldn't have her daughter come, especially because they are supposed to be going to a kids’ musical festival this weekend. Then she changed her mind, in part because she says: "If I do stop, then they [the terrorists] win.”She doesn’t believe that it’s a more dangerous era to be growing up. When her other, now-adult daughter was young, there was no major terrorist threat, but more attention on kidnapping and child murder. And Hall-Newman's father was in the army, so she grew up around conflict with Northern Ireland.She says she believes it’s her duty to tell her daughter what are the dangers in the current area, in simple, non-threatening terms. She put a post on Facebook today, imploring her friends and family not to mention the Manchester bombing to her 7-year-old daughter, especially while she is still there. “I don’t want her worrying about me,” she says. “ Also I feel I can explain it better to her.”-Tamara Micner contributed reporting from London.
More raids in Manchester; Soldiers protecting key UK sites-[Associated Press]-JILL LAWLESS and GREGORY KATZ-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British security forces arrested three more suspects and raided a building Wednesday in central Manchester as they investigated the deadly concert bombing. Hundreds of soldiers were sent to secure key sites across the country, including Buckingham Palace and the British Parliament at Westminster.Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the bomber, identified as British-born ethnic Libyan Salman Abedi, "likely" did not act alone when he killed 22 people and wounded dozens at an Ariana Grande concert Monday night in Manchester. She said he had been known to security forces "up to a point."Many at the concert were young girls and teens enthralled by Grande's pop power — and those who died included an 8-year-old girl.Officials are examining Abedi's trips to Libya and Syria as they piece together his allegiances and try to foil any new potential threats. The government said nearly 1,000 soldiers were deployed Wednesday instead of police in high-profile sites in London and elsewhere.Britain raised its threat level from terrorism to "critical" after an emergency government meeting late Tuesday amid concerns that the 22-year-old Abedi may have accomplices who are planning another attack.Suicide bomber Abedi was born in Britain to a Libyan family, grew up in Manchester's southern suburbs and once attended Salford University there. Police said three men were arrested Wednesday in south Manchester, where a day earlier a 23-year-old man was also arrested and at least two homes were searched.Heavily armed police raided an apartment building in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon and a controlled explosion was heard. The building, Granby House, is popular with students and young professionals.Muye Li, a 23-year-old student who lives on the third floor, said he heard an explosion as police stormed an apartment on his floor. He said officers knocked on his door and "asked me if I had seen the lady next door," so he thinks they were looking for a woman.Across London, troops fanned out and authorities reconsidered security plans.The changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace was canceled Wednesday so police officers can be re-deployed, Britain's defense ministry said. The traditional ceremony is a major tourist attraction in London.The Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament in London, was also closed Wednesday to all those without passes, and tours and events there were cancelled until further notice. Armed police were also seen on patrol outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London, another popular tourist spot."(The goal) is to make our city as hostile an environment as possible for terrorists to plan and operate," said London Police Commander Jane Connors.The Chelsea soccer team announced it would cancel Sunday's victory parade in London that was to have celebrated the team's Premier League title win this season."We are sure our fans will understand this decision," the team said, adding that the parade would have diverted police from the bombing investigation.Police on Tuesday raided Abedi's house in Manchester, using a controlled explosion to blast down the door. Neighbors recalled him as a tall, thin silent young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress.Early Wednesday, Manchester police arrested a man at a house just a 10-minute walk from Abedi's home.Omar Alfa Khuri, who lives across the street, said he was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a loud noise and saw police take away the father of the family that lives there in handcuffs. He said the man is named Adel and is in his 40s, with a wife and several children."There was a policeman, armed policeman, shouting at my neighbor ... and I realized there is something wrong here," he said. "They arrested the father, and I think the rest of the family kind of disappeared."He said he knew the man from the neighborhood and the mosque but "in the last 15 years, I haven't seen him in trouble at all. I haven't seen police come to his house."British Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting Wednesday of her emergency security cabinet group to talk about intelligence reports on Abedi and concerns that he might have had outside support.Officials are probing how often Abedi had traveled to Libya, which has seen an eruption of armed Islamist groups since dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011.France's interior minister said Abedi is believed to have traveled to Syria and had "proven" links with the Islamic State group. British officials, however, have not commented on whether Abedi had links to IS or other extremist groups.Rudd said Britain's increased official threat level will remain at "critical" as the investigation proceeds and won't be lowered until security services are convinced there is no active plot in place.She also complained about U.S. officials leaking sensitive information about Abedi to the press. Rudd said Britain's operational security could be harmed by the leaks, taking "the element of surprise" away from security services and police."I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," she said.In addition to those killed in the concert bombing, Manchester officials raised to 119 the number of people who sought medical treatment after the attack.Sixty-four people are still hospitalized, Jon Rouse of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said Wednesday. Officials say 20 of them are being treated for critical injuries.Many had serious wounds that will require "very long term care and support in terms of their recovery," Rouse said.Officials said all the dead and wounded had been identified. But Greater Manchester Police said it could not formally name the victims until forensic post-mortems were concluded, which could take four to five days. It said all the affected families have been contacted and trained officers are supporting them.__Katz reported from London. Sylvia Hui in London, Rob Harris in Manchester and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.
Use of air power in Afghanistan up sharply as Trump troop decision looms-[Reuters]-By Josh Smith-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes dropped more weapons on Afghanistan in April than in any other single month since 2012, according to new statistics, as military officials press U.S. President Donald Trump to send thousands more troops to the country.The escalation in the use of American air power was partly due to an effort by U.S. commanders to wipe out a nascent Islamic State presence before the group can establish more of a foothold in the county, a military spokesman said.The U.S. Air Force unleashed 460 bombs, missiles, or other ordnance last month in Afghanistan, more than double the 203 weapons dropped in March and more than seven times the quantity deployed in April last year.Trump has yet to announce a decision on proposals from his top military advisers calling for the United States and its coalition allies to send 3,000 to 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Currently around 8,400 U.S. and 6,500 coalition troops are deployed, mostly to train and support Afghan forces.The additional troops could also be used to ramp-up air support, which has often been seen as decisive in preventing the total collapse of some Afghan defensive positions and relies on trained air controllers on the ground.The last time more weapons were dropped in a single month was August 2012, when nearly 80,000 U.S. troops were battling the Taliban and two years before former President Barack Obama declared an end to the combat mission in Afghanistan.Since then, however, Afghan forces have struggled to hold back a resurgent Taliban insurgency. Islamic State's small local affiliate, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), has been active since 2015.Last month the U.S. military dropped one of its largest conventional weapons ever used in combat, a 21,600-lb (9,797 kg) GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, on suspected Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan.The Air Force data, however, shows that while unusually large, that bomb was only part of a greatly expanded air campaign.As of the end of April, Air Force warplanes had released 917 weapons, compared with 1,337 in all of 2016, and 947 in 2015, the first year of the "non-combat" mission in Afghanistan.-SPRING FIGHTING SEASON-U.S. military spokesman Captain Bill Salvin said the increase was due to greater latitude to provide air support to Afghan forces granted to military commanders by Obama last June, and the focus by General John Nicholson, who leads the foreign forces in Afghanistan, on going after Islamic state."The two main reasons are this is the first spring fighting season since the expanded authorities were granted," he said."And General Nicholson has stated the goal to eliminate ISIS-K in Afghanistan in 2017, which has required more offensive operations and strategic effects support."The Air Force statistics only report "weapons released" as well as "sorties with at least one weapon release", neither of which necessarily correspond to a single air strike, which can include multiple weapons and aircraft.The numbers also do not include strikes by the U.S. Army, which fields attack helicopters in Afghanistan, but Salvin told Reuters that, all together, U.S. forces had conducted 898 "kinetic strikes" in the first four months of the year, compared with less than 300 in the same period in 2016.U.S. forces in Afghanistan are allowed to conduct air strikes under three circumstances, which include counter-terror operations, strikes to protect coalition forces, and air support that helps Afghan forces achieve "strategic effects" against Taliban or other insurgents.Strikes in all three categories increased dramatically in April compared with a month before, Salvin said.Ninety-two counterterrorism strikes were conducted in April, compared with 55 in March.U.S. forces intervened with 296 strikes to provide "strategic effects" for Afghan forces in April, up from 115 the month before.And U.S. aircraft were called upon 62 times to provide protection for coalition troops last month, a major increase from only six times in March.Last month United Nations investigators reported a "substantial" and "disturbing" increase in casualties from air strikes by U.S. warplanes, as well as by the Afghan Air Force.In the first quarter of 2017, 72 civilians were killed and 76 wounded in aerial operations by both U.S. and Afghan forces, up from eight dead and 21 injured in the corresponding period last year, the U.N. said.(Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Turkey's Erdogan says NATO should do more on intelligence sharing-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday NATO allies should cooperate more closely in the fight against terrorism and that rapid information sharing was crucial.Erdogan, speaking in Ankara before flying to Brussels for a summit of NATO leaders and a meeting with European Union leaders, also said Turkey was not seeking to break with the EU but that the bloc must fulfill its own responsibilities.Turkey's relations with NATO and the EU have been strained by differences over Syria policy with the United States and by open disagreements with European leaders during last month's referendum which granted Erdogan sweeping new powers.(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Dominic Evans)
New leftist Ecuador president set for swearing-in-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-May 24, 2017
Quito (AFP) - Ecuador's new president Lenin Moreno takes office Wednesday, tasked with steering a flagship of the Latin American left through troubled economic and political waters.Congress was due to swear in Moreno, 64, at 1500 GMT, as the quieter successor to one of the feistiest personalities in Latin American politics: Rafael Correa.Moreno is the first wheelchair-user to become Ecuador's leader, and one of few such leaders in the world ever to serve as president.His legs have been paralyzed since he was shot during a robbery in 1998.He went on to lead a task force on disability rights as vice-president in Correa's government. That earned him a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.President for a decade, Correa, 54, is one of a generation of colorful leftist leaders who governed the mineral-rich region over recent decades.He won the hearts of many with welfare spending, social equality policies and subsidies which he says reduced poverty.And unlike his allies in Brazil, Argentina and Peru, his side managed to win re-election this year.Known to his supporters simply as 'Lenin,' Moreno "is willing to be less confrontational and to have a softer approach as president to the opposition and the media," said Farith Simon, an analyst at San Francisco University in Quito."He will not change political course but will change the style of government."Economists warn Moreno faces tougher conditions than those enjoyed by Correa, however."It will be very difficult to maintain" the level of social spending, said Simon Pachano, a political scientist at the Latin American Social Sciences Faculty in Quito.
