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)
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Large fire caused by kite sent from Gaza rages outside Israeli kibbutz-Nine firefighting teams, 4 planes said participating in efforts to douse flames; second fire reported in area-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
Two fires blazed near Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip Saturday afternoon, caused by incendiary kites flown into Israel from the territory.A large fire was raging near Kibbutz Or Haner, Channel 10 news reported. Nine firefighting teams were at the scene, with the support of four firefighting aircraft.A second fire was reported near Kibbutz Nir Am.Officials said there was no current danger to the communities themselves.Recent months have seen an uptick in violence at the Gaza border, with weekly violent Palestinian protests, ongoing rocket attacks, and the new phenomenon of incendiary kites and balloons flown over the border, sometimes at a rate of several dozen each day.The incendiary devices have sparked near-daily fires that have burned thousands of acres of farmland, parks, and forests. Some have been found connected to explosive devices.On Friday police launched a campaign urging children to stay away from any unknown kites, balloons, or drones they may find on the ground this summer.On Friday thousands of Israelis took part in a rally near Gaza calling for the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas.Some 4,000 people took part in the Israeli event, waving Israeli flags and flying blue kites in a peaceful counter to the flaming airborne devices launched at Israel in recent months from Gaza.Separately Friday, a few thousand Palestinians participated in the weekly “March of Return” protests on the Gaza border. One was reported killed when a device he was holding exploded.
Abbas adviser compares Israeli security at Temple Mount to Nazism, Inquisition-Mahmoud Habbash laments restrictions on Muslim access to Al-Aqsa Mosque: 'Are they trying to do to others what was done to them?'-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
A religious affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas compared Israel’s security measures for Muslims at the Temple Mount compound to those employed against Jews during the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.In remarks last week on Palestine TV, Mahmoud Habbash lamented restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits on the holy site known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif.“There are roadblocks, restrictions, closure of the gates, road closures, and age restrictions… People who are under 40 years of age are not allowed to pray,” Habbash said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.“Dear God! What is this? What historical age are we living in?” said Habbash, also the PA’s supreme Sharia judge. “In the days of the Inquisition? Are they trying to do to others what was done to them in the ghettos, in the Inquisition courts, or in the Nazi courts? Is this or is this not the Inquisition?”“It is an Israeli Zionist Inquisition, which is trying to violate one’s human dignity, and the dignity of religious belief and of human faith in God,” the PA official concluded.The Temple Mount houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, and is considered Islam’s third holiest site. It is the holiest place in Judaism, revered by Jews as the location of the Jewish Temples.Under the present arrangement instituted by Israel after it captured Jerusalem’s Old City in 1967, the site remains under Jordan’s religious custodianship. Jews are allowed to visit the compound under the existing arrangements but are barred from religious worship or prayer.Israel does not restrict access for Muslims in Israel, including East Jerusalem, to the site. It has sometimes closed the area to men under 40 at times of high security alert, but has not done so recently. It does routinely maintain restrictions on West Bank Palestinians entering the country, amid its overall security procedures.Israel and Jordan signed a peace accord in 1994, but relations have long been cold.Last July the holy site became the focus of a major crisis between Israeli authorities, Palestinians, and Jordan over security measures taken at the entrances to the compound. Metal detectors and cameras were installed following a deadly attack in which three Arab Israelis emerged from the site and shot dead two Israeli police officers using weapons that had been smuggled onto the Temple Mount. The upgraded security measures were all ultimately removed.Early last year Habbash warned that the Trump administration’s plans — since realized — to move the US embassy to Jerusalem were “a declaration of war on all Muslims.”
Duterte vows to resign if anybody can prove God exists in a selfie-Days after calling God 'stupid,' controversial Philippine president implores heavily Catholic nation to produce photographic evidence of the divine-By AP-JUL 9,18-TOI
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president, who recently sparked outrage for calling God stupid, has courted new controversy in his largely Roman Catholic country by saying he will resign if anybody can prove that God exists.President Rodrigo Duterte, who has had a thorny relationship with the church, questioned anew in a speech late Friday some of the basic tenets of the Catholic faith, including the concept of original sin, which he said taints even innocent infants and can only be removed through baptism in a church for a fee.“Where is the logic of God there?” Duterte asked in a speech at the opening of a science and technology event in southern Davao city.The 73-year-old leader said that if there’s “one single witness” who can prove, perhaps with a picture or a selfie that a human was “able to talk [with] and to see God,” he will immediately resign.Duterte, however, suggested that there must be a God or a supreme being that prevents billions of stars and celestial bodies from colliding in a frequency that could have long threatened the human race.Last week, he was slammed, including by some of his political allies, for calling God “stupid” in another speech, with one Catholic bishop calling him a “psychopath.”Duterte lamented in that speech that Adam and Eve’s sin in Christian theology resulted in all the faithful falling from divine grace.“Who is this stupid God? This son of a bitch is then really stupid,” he said last week. “You were not involved but now you’re stained with an original sin … What kind of a religion is that? That’s what I can’t accept, very stupid proposition.”Opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shot back at Duterte by describing him as “one evil man” and his remarks as “very much consistent with the deceitfulness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness of his policies.Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has defended his remarks, saying Duterte has the right to express his opinion on religion and cited the president’s previous disclosure that he was once sexually abused by a priest.Duterte on Friday recalled that experience, when he said he and other students were fondled by a foreign Jesuit priest, who has since died.Amid the criticisms, officials have arranged a meeting between Duterte and the head of the largest association of Catholic bishops on Monday. Filipino bishops opened an annual conference in Manila Saturday and were expected to address Duterte’s tirades when they conclude their meeting on Monday.Some Catholic bishops have been critical of Duterte’s brutal crackdown against illegal drugs, which have left thousands of suspects dead in reported clashes with the police, along with his vulgar and expletive-laden speeches. He once called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” for sparking a monstrous traffic jam during a 2015 visit in Manila that trapped Duterte for hours.
Fire likely cause of 2016 EgyptAir crash, French investigators say-Information acquired from flight recorders suggests blaze broke out and spread rapidly, 'causing the loss of control of the aircraft'; officials suspect phone or tablet to blame-By AFP-TOI-JUL 9,18
French investigators said Friday a cockpit fire likely caused the 2016 EgyptAir MS804 crash that claimed the lives of 66 passengers and crew, contradicting Egyptian authorities who said explosives traces were found on the victims’ remains.France’s civil aviation accident bureau, known by its French acronym BEA, said that information gleaned from the flight recorders suggested that “a fire broke out in the cockpit while the plane was at cruising altitude and the fire spread rapidly, causing the loss of control of the aircraft.”The Airbus A320 was flying from Paris to Cairo on May 19, 2016 when it crashed into the southeastern Mediterranean, killing 66 people, including 40 Egyptians and 15 French citizens.French investigators had always leaned towards a mechanical fault as the cause of the crash, saying they suspected that a mobile phone or tablet had caught fire.An official Egyptian investigation suggested the plane had been bombed, claiming traces of explosives had been found on the victims’ remains. But a source close to the French investigation previously said no such traces were found by the team.The BEA said the crew could be heard discussing a fire on the cockpit voice recorder and that the plane’s automatic ACARS messaging system had flagged up smoke on board.It said it was waiting for Egypt to publish its final report into the crash to understand how the two countries arrived at a different conclusion.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Pope denounces ‘complicit silence’ on Mideast attacks against Christians-Francis and Orthodox patriarchs pray for peace in region 'covered by dark clouds of war, violence and destruction'-By Trisha Thomas and Nicole Winfield-TOI-JUL 9,18
BARI, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis denounced the “complicit silence” that has allowed violence to consume the Middle East and drive tens of thousands of Christians from their homes, during a remarkable gathering Saturday of Orthodox patriarchs and Catholic leaders united in praying for peace in the region.Francis hosted the daylong ecumenical service in the symbolically rich Adriatic port city of Bari, considered a bridge between East and West and home to the relics of St. Nicholas, an important saint in the Orthodox world.Francis greeted the patriarchs outside the Basilica of St. Nicholas and together they descended to the crypt to pray before the relics and light a flame for peace symbolizing the unity of Christians.For years, the Vatican has voiced concern about the plight of Christians driven from Mideast communities that date to the time of Christ. Just last week, Francis decried intensified attacks in southern Syria that killed scores of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.In his opening prayer, Francis said the Middle East represented the source of Christianity, where ancient Christian rites and heritage are preserved and where “our very souls are rooted.”And yet, in recent years the region has been “covered by dark clouds of war, violence and destruction, instances of occupation and varieties of fundamentalism, forced migration and neglect,” he said.“All this has taken place amid the complicit silence of many,” he lamented. “The Middle East has become a land of people who leave their own lands behind.”In a prayer service punctuated by haunting Arabic chant and Catholic hymn, Francis said the Orthodox and Catholic leaders wanted to give voice to those who have none.“Indifference kills, and we desire to lift up our voices in opposition to this murderous indifference,” he said. “For the Middle East today is weeping, suffering and silent as others trample upon those lands in search of power or riches.”Among the patriarchs on hand was the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, as well as patriarchs from ancient churches of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Notably absent from the gathering was Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria. Kirill sent his deputy, Metropolitan Hilarion.
Spain emerges as EU's new weak link for Africa migration-[Reuters]-By Sonya Dowsett, Ahmed Eljechtimi and Gabriela Baczynska-YAHOONEWS-July 9, 2018
TARIFA, Spain/RABAT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain has become the new main entry point for asylum-seekers fleeing Africa, an influx that European Union officials fear could exacerbate political tensions across the region over migration.Around 19,000 asylum-seekers arrived in Spain in the first five months of this year, almost as many as arrived there in all of 2017, eclipsing for the first time the numbers flowing through north Africa to Italy.The surge has intensified in recent weeks as Italy's new government shut its ports to most asylum-seekers, rescue officials say.With the EU struggling to contain dissent over migration policy, some officials in Brussels say they worry that Spain could become a new flash-point, even as overall numbers of arrivals into Europe from Africa are in sharp decline."We must not let it blow up," an EU diplomat said.He said the Morocco-Spain route had been kept under control for years. "It's not dramatic for now, but we are keeping an eye on this one."Spain's new socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has been welcoming, and accepted two boat-loads of asylum-seekers denied port entry by Italy even as the number of boats from Morocco also rose.The asylum-seekers are arriving in mostly inflatable boats each week, often without enough fuel for the crossing, straining Spain's coastguard. Madrid is training more lifeguards to deal with the rising numbers, coastguard union officials say.People-smugglers in Morocco use a rights activist to contact the coastguard, advising it when boats set off for Spain, said coastguard official Oriol Estrada."The people traffickers know that the lifeguards are going to come for them," said Estrada, whose vessel has rescued around 1,200 people so far this year, more than 80 percent of its total for 2017."They call to say that a certain boat has left such-and-such a coast at a certain time with however many people. They even give the names of those aboard."A similar situation developed off Libya before Rome's recent crackdown, prompting Italy's ruling League party to accuse rescue ships of running a "taxi service".-'I WANT TO GO TO EUROPE'-Rescue officials working in the Strait of Gibraltar say more Asian migrants from countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also crossing, another sign that smuggling networks are focusing more of their efforts on Spain.Morocco is a destination in itself for those fleeing poverty and violence in sub-Saharan Africa, but it has become more of a stepping stone as people determined to reach Europe realize the Libya-Italy route may be worse than futile, refugees say."In Libya I saw migrants being fired at with live ammunition. A friend of mine was killed in front of my eyes by a Libyan teenager," said Guinea migrant Oumar Dialo, who tried and failed to reach Europe via Libya before ending up in Morocco."I would never recommend Libya even to my enemy."Speaking in Rabat, Dialo said he had tried to reach Spain by crossing a fence on the border of Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta, but fell and broke his leg. He said he would try to reach Spain again when the time was right, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional roller-skater."I want to go to Europe because I want to help my family and become a professional roller," he said.Morocco said it was boosting efforts to counter illegal immigration this summer, the busiest time for sea crossings."Morocco is committed to cooperating with its partners in the fight against illegal migration," government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi said.EU officials in Brussels are struggling to agree on a joint response to migration to calm tensions in Italy and Germany. Leaders signaled their concerns over Spain last week when they reached a new accord on the issue, pledging to support Madrid and Morocco to stem the tide.A Spanish government spokesman told Reuters the arrivals trend started more than a year ago and was not a result of any one factor. He added Spain is pushing for policy in Europe to be harmonized, however.There are early signs that Sanchez might feel political pressure to toughen his approach if the influx continues to pick up speed.Fernando Maura, foreign policy spokesman for the center-right opposition Ciudadanos party, said the prime minister's current approach risked creating a "pull factor"."When you send out a signal of this kind, it could well be received by those who want to come to Europe," he said.(This story was corrected to delete reference to record year in paragraph two.)(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in ROME; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Sonya Hepinstall)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
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.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
38 dead, nearly 50 reported missing as heavy rain hits Japan-People flee to rooftops and balconies, waving furiously at hovering rescue helicopters-By YURI KAGEYAMA-TOI-JUL 9,18
TOKYO (AP) — Torrents of rainfall and flooding battered a widespread area in southwestern Japan on Saturday, with local media casualty reports climbing quickly. Public broadcaster NHK said 38 people were dead, four were injured seriously, and 47 were missing.Television footage showed a residential area in Okayama prefecture seeped in brown water spreading like a huge lake. Some people fled to rooftops and balconies and waved furiously at hovering rescue helicopters.Okayama prefecture said a man caught in a landslide died, and six others were missing. Evacuation orders had been issued to more than 360,000 people, the prefecture said in a statement.Throughout the affected areas, parked cars sat in pools of water. NHK TV said water had reached as high as 5 meters (16 feet) in the worst-hit areas.Kyodo news service, which put the death tally at 34 people, said one death was in a landslide in Hiroshima, which had set off a fire, while the body of a child was found in another area. NHK said a woman died in her home in Hiroshima when it got buried in a mudslide.Assessing overall casualties was a challenge because of the widespread damage. NHK repeatedly urged those awaiting rescue to not lose hope.In Ehime prefecture, a woman was found dead on the second floor of a home hit by a landslide, Kyodo said. Also in Ehime, two elementary-school girls and their mother, who got sucked into a mudslide, were rescued but their hearts weren’t beating, it said.Kyoto prefecture said it was working to control flooding at several dams and identified one fatality as a 52-year-old woman.Military water trucks were rushing to areas where water systems were no longer working, Okayama prefecture said. Troops in camouflage outfits helped people and pets reach dry land on small military boats.Evacuation orders or advisories were sent for 4.72 million people, and 48,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces, police, and firefighters were mobilized for search missions, according to Kyodo.
Recovery divers in Thai boat disaster confronted by underwater tomb-Volunteers leading grim task of retrieving bodies of 41 Chinese tourists from sunken vessel, including mothers still clutching their infants-By Elizabeth Law-TOI-JUL 9,18
PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) — A scene of horror in the hull of a sunken boat: mothers still holding babies, their bodies suspended in water as the lower lounge of the Phoenix became a tomb in one of Thailand’s worst ever sea disasters.At least 41 people died — all Chinese tourists — when the Phoenix went down in rough seas on Thursday.Fifteen people are still missing but two days later flickers of hope for miracle survivals are all but extinguished.While some 48 passengers and crew managed to flee the sinking vessel by jumping into the sea or mounting life rafts, many were trapped in the main lounge as the pleasure boat plummeted 40 meters into the Andaman Sea.“It’s difficult… it’s traumatic… as you can imagine when you find dead bodies, children, kids, in the arms of the mother in the wreck,” said Philippe Entremont, the manager of a Phuket dive shop who was helping coordinate the underwater search.“But now the best thing to do for us, our job is to find the bodies and bring them back to the families,” the Frenchman added.Dozens of rescuers — including volunteers and recreational divers — have scoured the waters for two days, in an area known for its reefs.Most of Thailand’s diving experts have been diverted to the north to a rescue operation at a flooded cave where 12 schoolboys have been trapped for two weeks.That left volunteers in Phuket leading the grim task of trying to retrieve bodies from the sunken vessel.Entremont said those going down are specially trained to dive at depth — the boat has sunk to about 47 meters.South African Dominic Robnik, who has been involved in the search on both days, called the scenes “very, very sad.”“There was a lot of debris, shoes, glass, and even personal belongings, so we had to navigate through all that,” he said.Divers were positioned every five meters so recovered bodies were slowly passed up to the surface, Robnik said, adding that he had helped move at least six bodies.One body has been particularly hard to retrieve after it was trapped by the sunken boat, the divers said, adding that they were ready to bring in specialized equipment.But late Saturday afternoon, the underwater search was stopped with the Thai navy taking over the operation.The bodies would “surface naturally” according to Rear Admiral Charoenphone Khumrasee.It is the grim reality of boat disasters, said Entremont.“Maybe in a few days’ time we’ll find them on a beach somewhere drifting away.”
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)
North Korea says talks with Pompeo were ‘regrettable’-Pyongyang accuses Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure it into abandoning its nukes even as the US describes the meetings as 'productive'-By ANDREW HARNIK and Matthew Lee-TOI-JUL 9,18
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday that high-level talks with a US delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were “regrettable” and accused Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure the country into abandoning its nukes.The North’s statement came hours after Pompeo wrapped up two days of talks with senior North Korean officials without meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but with commitments for new discussions on denuclearization and the repatriation of the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War.Before departing Pyongyang, Pompeo told reporters that his conversations with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol had been “productive,” conducted “in good faith,” and that “a great deal of progress” had been made in some areas. He stressed that “there’s still more work to be done” in other areas, much of which would be done by working groups that the two sides have set up to deal with specific issues.The North provided a much harsher assessment of the talks, saying that the United States betrayed the spirit of last month’s summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim by making “one-sided and robber-like” demands on “CVID,” or the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.It said the outcome of the follow-up talks was “very concerning” because it has led to a “dangerous phase that might rattle our willingness for denuclearization that had been firm.”“We had expected that the US side would offer constructive measures that would help build trust based on the spirit of the leaders’ summit … we were also thinking about providing reciprocal measures,” an unnamed spokesman of Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.“However, the attitude and stance the United States showed in the first high-level meeting [between the countries] was no doubt regrettable,” the spokesman said.Pompeo said that a Pentagon team would be meeting with North Korean officials on or about July 12 at the border between North and South Korea to discuss the repatriation of remains and that working level talks would be held soon on the destruction of North Korea’s missile engine testing facility.In the days following his historic June 12 summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, President Donald Trump had announced that the return of the remains and the destruction of the missile facility had been completed or were in progress.Pompeo, however, said that more talks were needed on both.“We now have a meeting set up for July 12 — it could move by one day or two — where there will be discussions between the folks responsible for the repatriation of remains. [It] will take place at the border and that process will begin to develop over the days that follow,” he said as he boarded his plane for Tokyo.On the destruction of the missile engine plant, Pompeo said, “We talked about what the modalities would look like for the destruction of that facility as well, and some progress there as well, and then we have laid out a path for further negotiation at the working level so the two teams can get together and continue these discussions.”Earlier, Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol both said they needed clarity on the parameters of an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula that Trump and Kim Jong Un agreed to in Singapore. The trip was Pompeo’s third to Pyongyang since April and his first since the summit.Unlike his previous visits, which have been one-day affairs during which he has met with Kim Jong Un, Pompeo spent the night at a government guesthouse in Pyongyang and did not see the North Korean leader, although US officials had suggested such a meeting was expected. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said no meeting with Kim Jong Un had been planned.As they began their talks on Saturday, Kim Yong Chol alluded to the fact that Pompeo and his delegation had stayed overnight in Pyongyang.“We did have very serious discussions on very important matters yesterday,” Kim said. “So, thinking about those discussions you might have not slept well last night.”Pompeo, who spoke with Trump, national security adviser John Bolton, and White House chief of staff John Kelly by secure phone before starting Saturday’s session, replied that he “slept just fine.” He added that the Trump administration was committed to reaching a deal under which North Korea would denuclearize and realize economic benefits in return.Kim later said that “there are things that I have to clarify” to which Pompeo responded that “there are things that I have to clarify as well.”There was no immediate explanation of what needed to be clarified, but the two sides have been struggling to specify what exactly “denuclearization” would entail and how it could be verified to the satisfaction of the United States.Pompeo and Kim met for nearly three hours Friday and then had dinner amid growing skepticism over how serious Kim Jong Un is about giving up his nuclear arsenal and translating the upbeat rhetoric following his summit with Trump into concrete action.On his flight to Pyongyang, Pompeo said both sides made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearization of North Korea and on what a transformed relationship between their two countries might look like.One hoped-for breakthrough on this trip would have been the return of the remains of US troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea committed at last month’s summit to the “immediate repatriation” of remains already identified, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Thousands head home in south Syria after ceasefire deal, monitor says-Calm reported in Daraa region Saturday as sides finalize truce; regime troops celebrate recapture of border crossing with Jordan-By Agencies-TOI-JUL 9,18
Thousands of displaced Syrians were heading home Saturday after rebels and the government reached a ceasefire deal in the south following more than two weeks of deadly bombardment, a monitor said.Under the agreement announced Friday after talks between rebels and regime ally Moscow, opposition fighters will hand over territory and heavy weapons in Daraa province near the Jordanian border.The Russia-backed regime offensive has displaced around 320,000 people since June 19, the United Nations says, including tens of thousands who fled south to the sealed border with Jordan.Calm reigned over the region on Saturday as the two sides finalized the ceasefire deal, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.“People have started to return to their homes since yesterday, taking advantage of the calm,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.“More than 20,000 people have set off for home so far, heading to areas for which an accord has been reached in the southeastern Daraa countryside,” he said.But others “are scared to return to regime-controlled areas, fearing their children will be arrested,” Abdel Rahman said.The accord follows a string of similar deals with rebels for other areas of Syria, which have seen the regime retake more than 60 percent of the country, according to the Observatory.A government takeover of Daraa would be a symbolic victory for President Bashar Assad as the province was the cradle of the uprising against him seven years ago that led to civil war.More than 150 civilians have been killed in the regime bombing campaign on Daraa since June 19, the Observatory says.Under Friday’s deal, rebels are expected to hand over their heavy weapons, while those who reject the agreement will be bused with their families to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, state media has said.Government forces will also take over “all observation posts along the Syrian-Jordanian border,” it said Friday, hours after the regime regained control of the vital Nassib border crossing with Jordan.Syrian soldiers celebrated the recapture of the main border crossing with Jordan Saturday, raising portraits of Assad and tearing down rebel flags.Troops captured the Naseeb border crossing a day earlier. State-run Ikhbariya TV showed troops at the crossing, some flashing victory signs and pumping fists in the air as they shouted pro-Assad slogans. A soldier could be seen hoisting the Syrian flag on top of a watchtower. Another tore down the rebel flag from a building.One officer told the TV outlet that troops have taken up positions along the border with Jordan and are removing illegal crossing points.“We have ended their existence,” he said of the rebels. “They have no future anymore, God willing.”State-run news agency SANA said the army deployed at the crossing after combing and clearing it of the remnants of “terrorist groups.” It said Syrian army units have also established control over the town of Nuaima in the past 24 hours.The rebels seized control of the crossing in 2015, severing a lifeline for Syrian exports and disrupting a trade route between Syria and Jordan, Lebanon and the oil-rich Gulf countries.The rebels in southern Syria once received significant backing and support from the US that has receded and all but dried up over the past few years. Although the US government negotiated a deescalation agreement for southern Syria last year, it has remained silent as Assad’s forces marched onto Daraa in the past two weeks.The government’s offensive near the Israeli border began on June 19, and is now expected to turn more forcefully toward retaking Quneitra, potentially setting up a clash between Israel and Hezbollah and Iran unless they agree to stay away from the area as Israel demands.
Israeli spy firm targeted NGOs tied to Soros before Hungary election — report-Agents for secretive intel company obtained recordings later used by PM Viktor Orban to claim Jewish billionaire is trying to take control of the country, POLITICO reports-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
Secretive Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube was hired to engage in a campaign to discredit local NGOs, along with individuals connected to Jewish billionaire George Soros, ahead of Hungary’s presidential election earlier this year, POLITICO reported Friday.Recordings made by operatives of the Tel Aviv-based company were then used by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to attack rights groups and Soros himself in the days leading up to his landslide election victory in April, the report said.The magazine cited a former employee of the firm as well as an individual with knowledge of the organization who both confirmed the details. It provided numerous pieces of evidence backing up its claim, including addresses and names of fake individuals and companies used in the operation which Black Cube has used in the past.Politico said operatives for the company met with officials from local civil rights groups under false pretenses and identities, and made compromising recordings of those officials.Recordings included statements on efforts to lobby foreign governments to pressure Hungary against legislation cracking down on those NGOs. These were leaked to The Jerusalem Post and the state newspaper Magyar Idok, which both published stories on the issues.Orban himself used them in claiming enemies inside and outside Hungary were attempting to gain control of the country.“Soros’s people will be installed in government — this is what the ‘Soros Leaks’ recordings tell us,” Orban said in one interview before the election, in quotes provided by POLITICO.“If Soros’s people have influence in government, they will occupy the Hungarian energy sector and the banking system. And the Hungarian people will pay the price for that.”It is not known who hired Black Cube to allegedly conduct the operation. The report’s two sources were unable to confirm whether the money the Israeli firm was given for its work came from the Hungarian government, and a spokesman for the latter declined to comment on the claims.A spokesperson for Black Cube told the news magazine that the company’s policy is to not confirm or deny such claims made regarding its operations.Since 1979, the Hungarian-born Soros has funneled tens of billions of dollars into his Open Society Foundations (OSF), which in turn fund civil society groups around the world.Orban, who based his campaign on demonizing migrants, accuses Soros and organizations supported by his Open Society Foundations of seeking to allow thousands of immigrants into Hungary.In the lead up to the campaign, Orban’s Fidesz party plastered the country with billboards “warning” about Soros.One of them depicted the philanthropist and opposition candidates holding wire-cutters to destroy the razor-wire fence that Orban erected on the Serbian border in 2015 to keep out migrants.Orban and his government repeatedly attacked Soros using language that some critics have said has anti-Semitic undertones.While Black Cube has been accused of involvement in controversial dealings in the past, the POLITICO report claims the Hungarian presidential campaign would be the first time the private intelligence firm’s work has been allegedly used in an election campaign.As part of the operation, Black Cube agents met with the NGO staffers and Soros allies in various cities across Europe and the US pretending to be supporters. They used fake aliases, but two of them had “discernible Israeli accents,” those who met with them told POLITICO.After meetings with the intelligence firm’s targets were completed, information on the fabricated companies the agents had pretended to represent was deleted from the internet and telephone numbers were disconnected.-Black Cube logo-According to POLITICO, one of the fake email addresses given by Black Cube agents had been used in another operation launched by the private intelligence firm targeting actress Rose McGowan, after she accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.A Black Cube board member later apologized for his firm’s work on behalf of Weinstein, and said it would not have assisted the disgraced producer had it had known it was helping suppress sexual assault allegations against him.Black Cube’s name has come up in a number of other high-profile intelligence gathering operations.In May, the New Yorker magazine reported that the firm was allegedly hired by aids to US President Donald Trump to dig up dirt on Obama officials in order to discredit the Iran nuclear deal.The operation in 2017 reportedly targeted Ann Norris, a former US State Department official who is married to Ben Rhodes, a foreign-policy adviser to former president Barack Obama and a prominent advocate of the Iran nuclear deal. It also targeted Rebecca Kahl, a former program officer at the National Democratic Institute and the wife of the former Obama administration foreign-policy adviser Colin Kahl.And Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower who revealed that data analysts Cambridge Analytica had harvested details of 50 million Facebook users and used the material in Trump’s election campaign, also told the British parliament that Black Cube was involved in a hacking scheme targeting the president of Nigeria.Black Cube denied involvement in both operations, in apparent deviations from its aforementioned policy of not confirming or denying reports on its work.Along with a second private intelligence company, Psy-Group, it is being sued for alleged defamation in a Canadian lawsuit by hedge fund West Face Capital Inc., for $500 million in damages. In one instance cited in that case, a Black Cube operative is alleged to have tried to entrap a retired Canadian judge into making anti-Semitic comments.In response to a Times of Israel request for comment on that case, Black Cube said last month: “It is Black Cube’s policy to never discuss its clients with any third party, and to never confirm or deny any speculation made with regard to the company’s work. Referencing Black Cube has become an international sport during 2018. It is important to note that Black Cube always operates in full compliance of the law in every jurisdiction in which it conducts its work, following legal advice from the world’s leading law firms.”
Iran executes 8 over 2017 Islamic State attack on Tehran-Mass hangings take place over a year after assault on parliament and shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50-By Amir Vahdat and Jon Gambrell-TOI-JUL 9,18
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Saturday it executed eight people convicted in the 2017 Islamic State group attack on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran.The June 7, 2017 attack has so far been the only assault by the Sunni extremists inside of Shiite Iran, which has been deeply involved in the wars in Iraq and Syria where the militants once held vast territory.The judiciary’s official Mizan news agency and semi-official news agencies in Iran acknowledged the executions Saturday, but did not say when they took place. Executions in Iran are carried out by hangings.While Iran is one of the world’s top enforcers of the death penalty, such mass executions are rare. In August 2016, human rights activists criticized Iran for carrying out the mass execution of 20 Sunni militants from a group identified as Jihad and Tawhid after a six-year trial. In August 2007, Iran hanged seven men convicted of rape in Mashhad at the same time.Mizan noted in its report that the executions came after the eight men had been tried and convicted in a trial that included both eyewitness testimony and video footage showing their involvement.“These eight worked directly … in martyring and wounding a number of innocent compatriots,” Mizan said.The news agencies on Saturday named those executed as Soleiman Mozafari, Esmail Sufi, Rahman Behrouz, Majed Mortezai, Sirous Azizi, Ayoub Esmaili, Khosro Ramezani and Osman Behrouz.The Islamic State attack killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. It saw gunmen carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives storm the parliament complex where a legislative session had been in progress, starting an hours-long siege.Meanwhile, gunmen and suicide bombers also struck outside Khomeini’s mausoleum on Tehran’s southern outskirts. Khomeini led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah to become Iran’s first supreme leader until his death in 1989.The assault shocked Tehran, which largely has avoided militant attacks in the decades after the tumult surrounding the Islamic Revolution.Over a dozen others remain on trial over the attack. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard responded to the attack by launching six missiles into eastern Syria targeting IS militants.Iran was second only to China in 2017 in the number of known executions carried out, according to Amnesty International. Iran executed over 500 people last year, according to the group.The IS executions come as controversy still swirls in Iran surrounding the country’s mass executions of 1988 near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. Activists at the time said Iran executed as many as 5,000 people after sham trials of Communists, Kurdish separatists, political prisoners and members of an Iranian exile group known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.The executions represent one of the darkest moments of Iran’s post-revolution history and are still not recognized by its government.
Two US destroyers sail into Taiwan Strait: Taiwan gov't-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-July 7, 2018
Taipei (AFP) - Two United States warships entered the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the Taiwanese government said, at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.The destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold sailed into the narrow waterway separating Taiwan and China on Saturday morning and were expected to continue on a northeast course, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement."The military is monitoring the situation in neighbouring areas, and has the confidence and abilities to maintain regional stability and defend national security," the statement added.A defence ministry official told AFP the ships were still in the strait on Saturday night, sailing in what he described as international waters.The warships’ entry into the strait comes as Washington and Beijing are locked in a trade war and as tensions escalate between Beijing and Taipei.China sees self-ruling democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, but the island sees itself as a sovereign country.Although the US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is its most powerful ally and biggest arms supplier.China has stepped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took office two years ago as her government refuses to acknowledge that the island is part of "one China."Relations between the US and Taiwan have warmed recently as President Donald Trump signed legislation paving the way for mutual visits by top officials and the US government approved a licence required to sell submarine technology to Taiwan.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Large fire caused by kite sent from Gaza rages outside Israeli kibbutz-Nine firefighting teams, 4 planes said participating in efforts to douse flames; second fire reported in area-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
Two fires blazed near Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip Saturday afternoon, caused by incendiary kites flown into Israel from the territory.A large fire was raging near Kibbutz Or Haner, Channel 10 news reported. Nine firefighting teams were at the scene, with the support of four firefighting aircraft.A second fire was reported near Kibbutz Nir Am.Officials said there was no current danger to the communities themselves.Recent months have seen an uptick in violence at the Gaza border, with weekly violent Palestinian protests, ongoing rocket attacks, and the new phenomenon of incendiary kites and balloons flown over the border, sometimes at a rate of several dozen each day.The incendiary devices have sparked near-daily fires that have burned thousands of acres of farmland, parks, and forests. Some have been found connected to explosive devices.On Friday police launched a campaign urging children to stay away from any unknown kites, balloons, or drones they may find on the ground this summer.On Friday thousands of Israelis took part in a rally near Gaza calling for the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas.Some 4,000 people took part in the Israeli event, waving Israeli flags and flying blue kites in a peaceful counter to the flaming airborne devices launched at Israel in recent months from Gaza.Separately Friday, a few thousand Palestinians participated in the weekly “March of Return” protests on the Gaza border. One was reported killed when a device he was holding exploded.
Abbas adviser compares Israeli security at Temple Mount to Nazism, Inquisition-Mahmoud Habbash laments restrictions on Muslim access to Al-Aqsa Mosque: 'Are they trying to do to others what was done to them?'-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
A religious affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas compared Israel’s security measures for Muslims at the Temple Mount compound to those employed against Jews during the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.In remarks last week on Palestine TV, Mahmoud Habbash lamented restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits on the holy site known in Arabic as Haram al-Sharif.“There are roadblocks, restrictions, closure of the gates, road closures, and age restrictions… People who are under 40 years of age are not allowed to pray,” Habbash said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.“Dear God! What is this? What historical age are we living in?” said Habbash, also the PA’s supreme Sharia judge. “In the days of the Inquisition? Are they trying to do to others what was done to them in the ghettos, in the Inquisition courts, or in the Nazi courts? Is this or is this not the Inquisition?”“It is an Israeli Zionist Inquisition, which is trying to violate one’s human dignity, and the dignity of religious belief and of human faith in God,” the PA official concluded.The Temple Mount houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque, and is considered Islam’s third holiest site. It is the holiest place in Judaism, revered by Jews as the location of the Jewish Temples.Under the present arrangement instituted by Israel after it captured Jerusalem’s Old City in 1967, the site remains under Jordan’s religious custodianship. Jews are allowed to visit the compound under the existing arrangements but are barred from religious worship or prayer.Israel does not restrict access for Muslims in Israel, including East Jerusalem, to the site. It has sometimes closed the area to men under 40 at times of high security alert, but has not done so recently. It does routinely maintain restrictions on West Bank Palestinians entering the country, amid its overall security procedures.Israel and Jordan signed a peace accord in 1994, but relations have long been cold.Last July the holy site became the focus of a major crisis between Israeli authorities, Palestinians, and Jordan over security measures taken at the entrances to the compound. Metal detectors and cameras were installed following a deadly attack in which three Arab Israelis emerged from the site and shot dead two Israeli police officers using weapons that had been smuggled onto the Temple Mount. The upgraded security measures were all ultimately removed.Early last year Habbash warned that the Trump administration’s plans — since realized — to move the US embassy to Jerusalem were “a declaration of war on all Muslims.”
Duterte vows to resign if anybody can prove God exists in a selfie-Days after calling God 'stupid,' controversial Philippine president implores heavily Catholic nation to produce photographic evidence of the divine-By AP-JUL 9,18-TOI
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president, who recently sparked outrage for calling God stupid, has courted new controversy in his largely Roman Catholic country by saying he will resign if anybody can prove that God exists.President Rodrigo Duterte, who has had a thorny relationship with the church, questioned anew in a speech late Friday some of the basic tenets of the Catholic faith, including the concept of original sin, which he said taints even innocent infants and can only be removed through baptism in a church for a fee.“Where is the logic of God there?” Duterte asked in a speech at the opening of a science and technology event in southern Davao city.The 73-year-old leader said that if there’s “one single witness” who can prove, perhaps with a picture or a selfie that a human was “able to talk [with] and to see God,” he will immediately resign.Duterte, however, suggested that there must be a God or a supreme being that prevents billions of stars and celestial bodies from colliding in a frequency that could have long threatened the human race.Last week, he was slammed, including by some of his political allies, for calling God “stupid” in another speech, with one Catholic bishop calling him a “psychopath.”Duterte lamented in that speech that Adam and Eve’s sin in Christian theology resulted in all the faithful falling from divine grace.“Who is this stupid God? This son of a bitch is then really stupid,” he said last week. “You were not involved but now you’re stained with an original sin … What kind of a religion is that? That’s what I can’t accept, very stupid proposition.”Opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shot back at Duterte by describing him as “one evil man” and his remarks as “very much consistent with the deceitfulness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness of his policies.Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has defended his remarks, saying Duterte has the right to express his opinion on religion and cited the president’s previous disclosure that he was once sexually abused by a priest.Duterte on Friday recalled that experience, when he said he and other students were fondled by a foreign Jesuit priest, who has since died.Amid the criticisms, officials have arranged a meeting between Duterte and the head of the largest association of Catholic bishops on Monday. Filipino bishops opened an annual conference in Manila Saturday and were expected to address Duterte’s tirades when they conclude their meeting on Monday.Some Catholic bishops have been critical of Duterte’s brutal crackdown against illegal drugs, which have left thousands of suspects dead in reported clashes with the police, along with his vulgar and expletive-laden speeches. He once called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” for sparking a monstrous traffic jam during a 2015 visit in Manila that trapped Duterte for hours.
Fire likely cause of 2016 EgyptAir crash, French investigators say-Information acquired from flight recorders suggests blaze broke out and spread rapidly, 'causing the loss of control of the aircraft'; officials suspect phone or tablet to blame-By AFP-TOI-JUL 9,18
French investigators said Friday a cockpit fire likely caused the 2016 EgyptAir MS804 crash that claimed the lives of 66 passengers and crew, contradicting Egyptian authorities who said explosives traces were found on the victims’ remains.France’s civil aviation accident bureau, known by its French acronym BEA, said that information gleaned from the flight recorders suggested that “a fire broke out in the cockpit while the plane was at cruising altitude and the fire spread rapidly, causing the loss of control of the aircraft.”The Airbus A320 was flying from Paris to Cairo on May 19, 2016 when it crashed into the southeastern Mediterranean, killing 66 people, including 40 Egyptians and 15 French citizens.French investigators had always leaned towards a mechanical fault as the cause of the crash, saying they suspected that a mobile phone or tablet had caught fire.An official Egyptian investigation suggested the plane had been bombed, claiming traces of explosives had been found on the victims’ remains. But a source close to the French investigation previously said no such traces were found by the team.The BEA said the crew could be heard discussing a fire on the cockpit voice recorder and that the plane’s automatic ACARS messaging system had flagged up smoke on board.It said it was waiting for Egypt to publish its final report into the crash to understand how the two countries arrived at a different conclusion.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Pope denounces ‘complicit silence’ on Mideast attacks against Christians-Francis and Orthodox patriarchs pray for peace in region 'covered by dark clouds of war, violence and destruction'-By Trisha Thomas and Nicole Winfield-TOI-JUL 9,18
BARI, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis denounced the “complicit silence” that has allowed violence to consume the Middle East and drive tens of thousands of Christians from their homes, during a remarkable gathering Saturday of Orthodox patriarchs and Catholic leaders united in praying for peace in the region.Francis hosted the daylong ecumenical service in the symbolically rich Adriatic port city of Bari, considered a bridge between East and West and home to the relics of St. Nicholas, an important saint in the Orthodox world.Francis greeted the patriarchs outside the Basilica of St. Nicholas and together they descended to the crypt to pray before the relics and light a flame for peace symbolizing the unity of Christians.For years, the Vatican has voiced concern about the plight of Christians driven from Mideast communities that date to the time of Christ. Just last week, Francis decried intensified attacks in southern Syria that killed scores of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.In his opening prayer, Francis said the Middle East represented the source of Christianity, where ancient Christian rites and heritage are preserved and where “our very souls are rooted.”And yet, in recent years the region has been “covered by dark clouds of war, violence and destruction, instances of occupation and varieties of fundamentalism, forced migration and neglect,” he said.“All this has taken place amid the complicit silence of many,” he lamented. “The Middle East has become a land of people who leave their own lands behind.”In a prayer service punctuated by haunting Arabic chant and Catholic hymn, Francis said the Orthodox and Catholic leaders wanted to give voice to those who have none.“Indifference kills, and we desire to lift up our voices in opposition to this murderous indifference,” he said. “For the Middle East today is weeping, suffering and silent as others trample upon those lands in search of power or riches.”Among the patriarchs on hand was the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, as well as patriarchs from ancient churches of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Notably absent from the gathering was Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has been a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria. Kirill sent his deputy, Metropolitan Hilarion.
Spain emerges as EU's new weak link for Africa migration-[Reuters]-By Sonya Dowsett, Ahmed Eljechtimi and Gabriela Baczynska-YAHOONEWS-July 9, 2018
TARIFA, Spain/RABAT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain has become the new main entry point for asylum-seekers fleeing Africa, an influx that European Union officials fear could exacerbate political tensions across the region over migration.Around 19,000 asylum-seekers arrived in Spain in the first five months of this year, almost as many as arrived there in all of 2017, eclipsing for the first time the numbers flowing through north Africa to Italy.The surge has intensified in recent weeks as Italy's new government shut its ports to most asylum-seekers, rescue officials say.With the EU struggling to contain dissent over migration policy, some officials in Brussels say they worry that Spain could become a new flash-point, even as overall numbers of arrivals into Europe from Africa are in sharp decline."We must not let it blow up," an EU diplomat said.He said the Morocco-Spain route had been kept under control for years. "It's not dramatic for now, but we are keeping an eye on this one."Spain's new socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has been welcoming, and accepted two boat-loads of asylum-seekers denied port entry by Italy even as the number of boats from Morocco also rose.The asylum-seekers are arriving in mostly inflatable boats each week, often without enough fuel for the crossing, straining Spain's coastguard. Madrid is training more lifeguards to deal with the rising numbers, coastguard union officials say.People-smugglers in Morocco use a rights activist to contact the coastguard, advising it when boats set off for Spain, said coastguard official Oriol Estrada."The people traffickers know that the lifeguards are going to come for them," said Estrada, whose vessel has rescued around 1,200 people so far this year, more than 80 percent of its total for 2017."They call to say that a certain boat has left such-and-such a coast at a certain time with however many people. They even give the names of those aboard."A similar situation developed off Libya before Rome's recent crackdown, prompting Italy's ruling League party to accuse rescue ships of running a "taxi service".-'I WANT TO GO TO EUROPE'-Rescue officials working in the Strait of Gibraltar say more Asian migrants from countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also crossing, another sign that smuggling networks are focusing more of their efforts on Spain.Morocco is a destination in itself for those fleeing poverty and violence in sub-Saharan Africa, but it has become more of a stepping stone as people determined to reach Europe realize the Libya-Italy route may be worse than futile, refugees say."In Libya I saw migrants being fired at with live ammunition. A friend of mine was killed in front of my eyes by a Libyan teenager," said Guinea migrant Oumar Dialo, who tried and failed to reach Europe via Libya before ending up in Morocco."I would never recommend Libya even to my enemy."Speaking in Rabat, Dialo said he had tried to reach Spain by crossing a fence on the border of Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta, but fell and broke his leg. He said he would try to reach Spain again when the time was right, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional roller-skater."I want to go to Europe because I want to help my family and become a professional roller," he said.Morocco said it was boosting efforts to counter illegal immigration this summer, the busiest time for sea crossings."Morocco is committed to cooperating with its partners in the fight against illegal migration," government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi said.EU officials in Brussels are struggling to agree on a joint response to migration to calm tensions in Italy and Germany. Leaders signaled their concerns over Spain last week when they reached a new accord on the issue, pledging to support Madrid and Morocco to stem the tide.A Spanish government spokesman told Reuters the arrivals trend started more than a year ago and was not a result of any one factor. He added Spain is pushing for policy in Europe to be harmonized, however.There are early signs that Sanchez might feel political pressure to toughen his approach if the influx continues to pick up speed.Fernando Maura, foreign policy spokesman for the center-right opposition Ciudadanos party, said the prime minister's current approach risked creating a "pull factor"."When you send out a signal of this kind, it could well be received by those who want to come to Europe," he said.(This story was corrected to delete reference to record year in paragraph two.)(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in ROME; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Sonya Hepinstall)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
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.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
38 dead, nearly 50 reported missing as heavy rain hits Japan-People flee to rooftops and balconies, waving furiously at hovering rescue helicopters-By YURI KAGEYAMA-TOI-JUL 9,18
TOKYO (AP) — Torrents of rainfall and flooding battered a widespread area in southwestern Japan on Saturday, with local media casualty reports climbing quickly. Public broadcaster NHK said 38 people were dead, four were injured seriously, and 47 were missing.Television footage showed a residential area in Okayama prefecture seeped in brown water spreading like a huge lake. Some people fled to rooftops and balconies and waved furiously at hovering rescue helicopters.Okayama prefecture said a man caught in a landslide died, and six others were missing. Evacuation orders had been issued to more than 360,000 people, the prefecture said in a statement.Throughout the affected areas, parked cars sat in pools of water. NHK TV said water had reached as high as 5 meters (16 feet) in the worst-hit areas.Kyodo news service, which put the death tally at 34 people, said one death was in a landslide in Hiroshima, which had set off a fire, while the body of a child was found in another area. NHK said a woman died in her home in Hiroshima when it got buried in a mudslide.Assessing overall casualties was a challenge because of the widespread damage. NHK repeatedly urged those awaiting rescue to not lose hope.In Ehime prefecture, a woman was found dead on the second floor of a home hit by a landslide, Kyodo said. Also in Ehime, two elementary-school girls and their mother, who got sucked into a mudslide, were rescued but their hearts weren’t beating, it said.Kyoto prefecture said it was working to control flooding at several dams and identified one fatality as a 52-year-old woman.Military water trucks were rushing to areas where water systems were no longer working, Okayama prefecture said. Troops in camouflage outfits helped people and pets reach dry land on small military boats.Evacuation orders or advisories were sent for 4.72 million people, and 48,000 members of the Self-Defense Forces, police, and firefighters were mobilized for search missions, according to Kyodo.
Recovery divers in Thai boat disaster confronted by underwater tomb-Volunteers leading grim task of retrieving bodies of 41 Chinese tourists from sunken vessel, including mothers still clutching their infants-By Elizabeth Law-TOI-JUL 9,18
PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) — A scene of horror in the hull of a sunken boat: mothers still holding babies, their bodies suspended in water as the lower lounge of the Phoenix became a tomb in one of Thailand’s worst ever sea disasters.At least 41 people died — all Chinese tourists — when the Phoenix went down in rough seas on Thursday.Fifteen people are still missing but two days later flickers of hope for miracle survivals are all but extinguished.While some 48 passengers and crew managed to flee the sinking vessel by jumping into the sea or mounting life rafts, many were trapped in the main lounge as the pleasure boat plummeted 40 meters into the Andaman Sea.“It’s difficult… it’s traumatic… as you can imagine when you find dead bodies, children, kids, in the arms of the mother in the wreck,” said Philippe Entremont, the manager of a Phuket dive shop who was helping coordinate the underwater search.“But now the best thing to do for us, our job is to find the bodies and bring them back to the families,” the Frenchman added.Dozens of rescuers — including volunteers and recreational divers — have scoured the waters for two days, in an area known for its reefs.Most of Thailand’s diving experts have been diverted to the north to a rescue operation at a flooded cave where 12 schoolboys have been trapped for two weeks.That left volunteers in Phuket leading the grim task of trying to retrieve bodies from the sunken vessel.Entremont said those going down are specially trained to dive at depth — the boat has sunk to about 47 meters.South African Dominic Robnik, who has been involved in the search on both days, called the scenes “very, very sad.”“There was a lot of debris, shoes, glass, and even personal belongings, so we had to navigate through all that,” he said.Divers were positioned every five meters so recovered bodies were slowly passed up to the surface, Robnik said, adding that he had helped move at least six bodies.One body has been particularly hard to retrieve after it was trapped by the sunken boat, the divers said, adding that they were ready to bring in specialized equipment.But late Saturday afternoon, the underwater search was stopped with the Thai navy taking over the operation.The bodies would “surface naturally” according to Rear Admiral Charoenphone Khumrasee.It is the grim reality of boat disasters, said Entremont.“Maybe in a few days’ time we’ll find them on a beach somewhere drifting away.”
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)
North Korea says talks with Pompeo were ‘regrettable’-Pyongyang accuses Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure it into abandoning its nukes even as the US describes the meetings as 'productive'-By ANDREW HARNIK and Matthew Lee-TOI-JUL 9,18
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday that high-level talks with a US delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were “regrettable” and accused Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure the country into abandoning its nukes.The North’s statement came hours after Pompeo wrapped up two days of talks with senior North Korean officials without meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but with commitments for new discussions on denuclearization and the repatriation of the remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War.Before departing Pyongyang, Pompeo told reporters that his conversations with senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol had been “productive,” conducted “in good faith,” and that “a great deal of progress” had been made in some areas. He stressed that “there’s still more work to be done” in other areas, much of which would be done by working groups that the two sides have set up to deal with specific issues.The North provided a much harsher assessment of the talks, saying that the United States betrayed the spirit of last month’s summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim by making “one-sided and robber-like” demands on “CVID,” or the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.It said the outcome of the follow-up talks was “very concerning” because it has led to a “dangerous phase that might rattle our willingness for denuclearization that had been firm.”“We had expected that the US side would offer constructive measures that would help build trust based on the spirit of the leaders’ summit … we were also thinking about providing reciprocal measures,” an unnamed spokesman of Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.“However, the attitude and stance the United States showed in the first high-level meeting [between the countries] was no doubt regrettable,” the spokesman said.Pompeo said that a Pentagon team would be meeting with North Korean officials on or about July 12 at the border between North and South Korea to discuss the repatriation of remains and that working level talks would be held soon on the destruction of North Korea’s missile engine testing facility.In the days following his historic June 12 summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, President Donald Trump had announced that the return of the remains and the destruction of the missile facility had been completed or were in progress.Pompeo, however, said that more talks were needed on both.“We now have a meeting set up for July 12 — it could move by one day or two — where there will be discussions between the folks responsible for the repatriation of remains. [It] will take place at the border and that process will begin to develop over the days that follow,” he said as he boarded his plane for Tokyo.On the destruction of the missile engine plant, Pompeo said, “We talked about what the modalities would look like for the destruction of that facility as well, and some progress there as well, and then we have laid out a path for further negotiation at the working level so the two teams can get together and continue these discussions.”Earlier, Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol both said they needed clarity on the parameters of an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula that Trump and Kim Jong Un agreed to in Singapore. The trip was Pompeo’s third to Pyongyang since April and his first since the summit.Unlike his previous visits, which have been one-day affairs during which he has met with Kim Jong Un, Pompeo spent the night at a government guesthouse in Pyongyang and did not see the North Korean leader, although US officials had suggested such a meeting was expected. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said no meeting with Kim Jong Un had been planned.As they began their talks on Saturday, Kim Yong Chol alluded to the fact that Pompeo and his delegation had stayed overnight in Pyongyang.“We did have very serious discussions on very important matters yesterday,” Kim said. “So, thinking about those discussions you might have not slept well last night.”Pompeo, who spoke with Trump, national security adviser John Bolton, and White House chief of staff John Kelly by secure phone before starting Saturday’s session, replied that he “slept just fine.” He added that the Trump administration was committed to reaching a deal under which North Korea would denuclearize and realize economic benefits in return.Kim later said that “there are things that I have to clarify” to which Pompeo responded that “there are things that I have to clarify as well.”There was no immediate explanation of what needed to be clarified, but the two sides have been struggling to specify what exactly “denuclearization” would entail and how it could be verified to the satisfaction of the United States.Pompeo and Kim met for nearly three hours Friday and then had dinner amid growing skepticism over how serious Kim Jong Un is about giving up his nuclear arsenal and translating the upbeat rhetoric following his summit with Trump into concrete action.On his flight to Pyongyang, Pompeo said both sides made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearization of North Korea and on what a transformed relationship between their two countries might look like.One hoped-for breakthrough on this trip would have been the return of the remains of US troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea committed at last month’s summit to the “immediate repatriation” of remains already identified, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Thousands head home in south Syria after ceasefire deal, monitor says-Calm reported in Daraa region Saturday as sides finalize truce; regime troops celebrate recapture of border crossing with Jordan-By Agencies-TOI-JUL 9,18
Thousands of displaced Syrians were heading home Saturday after rebels and the government reached a ceasefire deal in the south following more than two weeks of deadly bombardment, a monitor said.Under the agreement announced Friday after talks between rebels and regime ally Moscow, opposition fighters will hand over territory and heavy weapons in Daraa province near the Jordanian border.The Russia-backed regime offensive has displaced around 320,000 people since June 19, the United Nations says, including tens of thousands who fled south to the sealed border with Jordan.Calm reigned over the region on Saturday as the two sides finalized the ceasefire deal, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.“People have started to return to their homes since yesterday, taking advantage of the calm,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.“More than 20,000 people have set off for home so far, heading to areas for which an accord has been reached in the southeastern Daraa countryside,” he said.But others “are scared to return to regime-controlled areas, fearing their children will be arrested,” Abdel Rahman said.The accord follows a string of similar deals with rebels for other areas of Syria, which have seen the regime retake more than 60 percent of the country, according to the Observatory.A government takeover of Daraa would be a symbolic victory for President Bashar Assad as the province was the cradle of the uprising against him seven years ago that led to civil war.More than 150 civilians have been killed in the regime bombing campaign on Daraa since June 19, the Observatory says.Under Friday’s deal, rebels are expected to hand over their heavy weapons, while those who reject the agreement will be bused with their families to the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib, state media has said.Government forces will also take over “all observation posts along the Syrian-Jordanian border,” it said Friday, hours after the regime regained control of the vital Nassib border crossing with Jordan.Syrian soldiers celebrated the recapture of the main border crossing with Jordan Saturday, raising portraits of Assad and tearing down rebel flags.Troops captured the Naseeb border crossing a day earlier. State-run Ikhbariya TV showed troops at the crossing, some flashing victory signs and pumping fists in the air as they shouted pro-Assad slogans. A soldier could be seen hoisting the Syrian flag on top of a watchtower. Another tore down the rebel flag from a building.One officer told the TV outlet that troops have taken up positions along the border with Jordan and are removing illegal crossing points.“We have ended their existence,” he said of the rebels. “They have no future anymore, God willing.”State-run news agency SANA said the army deployed at the crossing after combing and clearing it of the remnants of “terrorist groups.” It said Syrian army units have also established control over the town of Nuaima in the past 24 hours.The rebels seized control of the crossing in 2015, severing a lifeline for Syrian exports and disrupting a trade route between Syria and Jordan, Lebanon and the oil-rich Gulf countries.The rebels in southern Syria once received significant backing and support from the US that has receded and all but dried up over the past few years. Although the US government negotiated a deescalation agreement for southern Syria last year, it has remained silent as Assad’s forces marched onto Daraa in the past two weeks.The government’s offensive near the Israeli border began on June 19, and is now expected to turn more forcefully toward retaking Quneitra, potentially setting up a clash between Israel and Hezbollah and Iran unless they agree to stay away from the area as Israel demands.
Israeli spy firm targeted NGOs tied to Soros before Hungary election — report-Agents for secretive intel company obtained recordings later used by PM Viktor Orban to claim Jewish billionaire is trying to take control of the country, POLITICO reports-By TOI staff-JUL 9,18
Secretive Israeli intelligence firm Black Cube was hired to engage in a campaign to discredit local NGOs, along with individuals connected to Jewish billionaire George Soros, ahead of Hungary’s presidential election earlier this year, POLITICO reported Friday.Recordings made by operatives of the Tel Aviv-based company were then used by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to attack rights groups and Soros himself in the days leading up to his landslide election victory in April, the report said.The magazine cited a former employee of the firm as well as an individual with knowledge of the organization who both confirmed the details. It provided numerous pieces of evidence backing up its claim, including addresses and names of fake individuals and companies used in the operation which Black Cube has used in the past.Politico said operatives for the company met with officials from local civil rights groups under false pretenses and identities, and made compromising recordings of those officials.Recordings included statements on efforts to lobby foreign governments to pressure Hungary against legislation cracking down on those NGOs. These were leaked to The Jerusalem Post and the state newspaper Magyar Idok, which both published stories on the issues.Orban himself used them in claiming enemies inside and outside Hungary were attempting to gain control of the country.“Soros’s people will be installed in government — this is what the ‘Soros Leaks’ recordings tell us,” Orban said in one interview before the election, in quotes provided by POLITICO.“If Soros’s people have influence in government, they will occupy the Hungarian energy sector and the banking system. And the Hungarian people will pay the price for that.”It is not known who hired Black Cube to allegedly conduct the operation. The report’s two sources were unable to confirm whether the money the Israeli firm was given for its work came from the Hungarian government, and a spokesman for the latter declined to comment on the claims.A spokesperson for Black Cube told the news magazine that the company’s policy is to not confirm or deny such claims made regarding its operations.Since 1979, the Hungarian-born Soros has funneled tens of billions of dollars into his Open Society Foundations (OSF), which in turn fund civil society groups around the world.Orban, who based his campaign on demonizing migrants, accuses Soros and organizations supported by his Open Society Foundations of seeking to allow thousands of immigrants into Hungary.In the lead up to the campaign, Orban’s Fidesz party plastered the country with billboards “warning” about Soros.One of them depicted the philanthropist and opposition candidates holding wire-cutters to destroy the razor-wire fence that Orban erected on the Serbian border in 2015 to keep out migrants.Orban and his government repeatedly attacked Soros using language that some critics have said has anti-Semitic undertones.While Black Cube has been accused of involvement in controversial dealings in the past, the POLITICO report claims the Hungarian presidential campaign would be the first time the private intelligence firm’s work has been allegedly used in an election campaign.As part of the operation, Black Cube agents met with the NGO staffers and Soros allies in various cities across Europe and the US pretending to be supporters. They used fake aliases, but two of them had “discernible Israeli accents,” those who met with them told POLITICO.After meetings with the intelligence firm’s targets were completed, information on the fabricated companies the agents had pretended to represent was deleted from the internet and telephone numbers were disconnected.-Black Cube logo-According to POLITICO, one of the fake email addresses given by Black Cube agents had been used in another operation launched by the private intelligence firm targeting actress Rose McGowan, after she accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.A Black Cube board member later apologized for his firm’s work on behalf of Weinstein, and said it would not have assisted the disgraced producer had it had known it was helping suppress sexual assault allegations against him.Black Cube’s name has come up in a number of other high-profile intelligence gathering operations.In May, the New Yorker magazine reported that the firm was allegedly hired by aids to US President Donald Trump to dig up dirt on Obama officials in order to discredit the Iran nuclear deal.The operation in 2017 reportedly targeted Ann Norris, a former US State Department official who is married to Ben Rhodes, a foreign-policy adviser to former president Barack Obama and a prominent advocate of the Iran nuclear deal. It also targeted Rebecca Kahl, a former program officer at the National Democratic Institute and the wife of the former Obama administration foreign-policy adviser Colin Kahl.And Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower who revealed that data analysts Cambridge Analytica had harvested details of 50 million Facebook users and used the material in Trump’s election campaign, also told the British parliament that Black Cube was involved in a hacking scheme targeting the president of Nigeria.Black Cube denied involvement in both operations, in apparent deviations from its aforementioned policy of not confirming or denying reports on its work.Along with a second private intelligence company, Psy-Group, it is being sued for alleged defamation in a Canadian lawsuit by hedge fund West Face Capital Inc., for $500 million in damages. In one instance cited in that case, a Black Cube operative is alleged to have tried to entrap a retired Canadian judge into making anti-Semitic comments.In response to a Times of Israel request for comment on that case, Black Cube said last month: “It is Black Cube’s policy to never discuss its clients with any third party, and to never confirm or deny any speculation made with regard to the company’s work. Referencing Black Cube has become an international sport during 2018. It is important to note that Black Cube always operates in full compliance of the law in every jurisdiction in which it conducts its work, following legal advice from the world’s leading law firms.”
Iran executes 8 over 2017 Islamic State attack on Tehran-Mass hangings take place over a year after assault on parliament and shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini that killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50-By Amir Vahdat and Jon Gambrell-TOI-JUL 9,18
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Saturday it executed eight people convicted in the 2017 Islamic State group attack on parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran.The June 7, 2017 attack has so far been the only assault by the Sunni extremists inside of Shiite Iran, which has been deeply involved in the wars in Iraq and Syria where the militants once held vast territory.The judiciary’s official Mizan news agency and semi-official news agencies in Iran acknowledged the executions Saturday, but did not say when they took place. Executions in Iran are carried out by hangings.While Iran is one of the world’s top enforcers of the death penalty, such mass executions are rare. In August 2016, human rights activists criticized Iran for carrying out the mass execution of 20 Sunni militants from a group identified as Jihad and Tawhid after a six-year trial. In August 2007, Iran hanged seven men convicted of rape in Mashhad at the same time.Mizan noted in its report that the executions came after the eight men had been tried and convicted in a trial that included both eyewitness testimony and video footage showing their involvement.“These eight worked directly … in martyring and wounding a number of innocent compatriots,” Mizan said.The news agencies on Saturday named those executed as Soleiman Mozafari, Esmail Sufi, Rahman Behrouz, Majed Mortezai, Sirous Azizi, Ayoub Esmaili, Khosro Ramezani and Osman Behrouz.The Islamic State attack killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 50. It saw gunmen carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives storm the parliament complex where a legislative session had been in progress, starting an hours-long siege.Meanwhile, gunmen and suicide bombers also struck outside Khomeini’s mausoleum on Tehran’s southern outskirts. Khomeini led the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah to become Iran’s first supreme leader until his death in 1989.The assault shocked Tehran, which largely has avoided militant attacks in the decades after the tumult surrounding the Islamic Revolution.Over a dozen others remain on trial over the attack. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard responded to the attack by launching six missiles into eastern Syria targeting IS militants.Iran was second only to China in 2017 in the number of known executions carried out, according to Amnesty International. Iran executed over 500 people last year, according to the group.The IS executions come as controversy still swirls in Iran surrounding the country’s mass executions of 1988 near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. Activists at the time said Iran executed as many as 5,000 people after sham trials of Communists, Kurdish separatists, political prisoners and members of an Iranian exile group known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.The executions represent one of the darkest moments of Iran’s post-revolution history and are still not recognized by its government.
Two US destroyers sail into Taiwan Strait: Taiwan gov't-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-July 7, 2018
Taipei (AFP) - Two United States warships entered the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the Taiwanese government said, at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.The destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold sailed into the narrow waterway separating Taiwan and China on Saturday morning and were expected to continue on a northeast course, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement."The military is monitoring the situation in neighbouring areas, and has the confidence and abilities to maintain regional stability and defend national security," the statement added.A defence ministry official told AFP the ships were still in the strait on Saturday night, sailing in what he described as international waters.The warships’ entry into the strait comes as Washington and Beijing are locked in a trade war and as tensions escalate between Beijing and Taipei.China sees self-ruling democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, but the island sees itself as a sovereign country.Although the US does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is its most powerful ally and biggest arms supplier.China has stepped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took office two years ago as her government refuses to acknowledge that the island is part of "one China."Relations between the US and Taiwan have warmed recently as President Donald Trump signed legislation paving the way for mutual visits by top officials and the US government approved a licence required to sell submarine technology to Taiwan.
