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)
SCATTER COCKROACHES IN RAFAH-ISRAEL HAS STARTED ITS CAMPAIGN OF PEACE.CASHLESS SOCIETY
MARK 13:8
8
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be
earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles:
these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great
earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME)
and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall
there be from heaven.
Elam (IRAN IN THE BIBLE) passed into the hands of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce).
Jeremiah 49:35-39
35-Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36-And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,
and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no
nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37-For I will
cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that
seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce
anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have
consumed them:
38-And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
39-But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 32:24
24-There
[is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them
slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the
nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the
living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the
pit.
EZEK 38:4-13
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses
and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6
Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of
the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with
thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and
prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto
thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be
visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is
brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against
the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is
brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of
them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a
cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with
thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that
at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think
an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of
unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor
gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand
upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people
that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and
goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and
the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say
unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company
to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and
goods, to take a great spoil?(OIL IS IN SPOIL-I BELIEVE THATS WHY
RUSSIA,ARAB/MUSLIMS MARCH TO ISRAEL)
EZEK 39:11-21
11 And it
shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there
of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the
sea: (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY) and it shall stop the
noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his
multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(CEMETARY OF
THE HORDE)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13
Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; (ALL AVAILABLE ISRAELS
WILL BURY THE RUSSIA,MUSLIM HORDE) and it shall be to them a renown the
day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they
shall sever out men of continual employment, (NUCLEAR PROFFESIONALS)
passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain
upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months
shall they search.(SO BY THE SOUNDS OF IT AFTER 7 MONTHS THE NUKED
RUSSIA,MUSLIM HOARDES BONES WILL STILL BE FULL OF RADIATION, SO VISITERS
TO ISRAEL WILL JUST PUT A SIGN BY THE BONES.NOT TOUCH THEM.OR THEY
WOULD STILL GET RADIATION POISONING FROM ISRAEL NUKING THEM 7 MONTHS
EARLIER.SO THE SIGN GOES BY THE BONES.THE NUCLEAR PROFFESIONALS WILL
PICK UP AND TAKE THE BONES TO THE JORDAN VALLEY BURIAL SITE.
15 And
the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone,
then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in
the valley of Hamongog.(VALLEY OF GOGS HORDES)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah.(MEANING CITY OF THE HOARDE) Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every
feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves,
and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel,
that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(RUSSIA,ISLAMIC HORDE)
18 Ye
shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of
the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them
fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall
see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon
them.
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)
1 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEN OVER TO
1-PROMISCUOUS SEX AMOUNG EACH OTHER.
ROMANS 1:24
24
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of
their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: (THE
60S FREE SEX)
2 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
2-SODOMITES - MEN LUSTING MEN, AND WOMEN LUSTING AFTER WOMEN.
ROMANS 1:26-27
26
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their
women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is
unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.
3 OF 3 GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO
3-A DEPRAVED MIND-ANY SIN GOES.
ROMANS 1:28-31
28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not
convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate,
deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER GOD GAVE THEM OVER TO THESE 3 DEPRAVED ABOMINATION SINS?
OH OH NOAHS DAY. WHAT HAPPENED IN NOAHS DAY. THE WHOLE WORLD WAS JUDGED BY WATER.
GENESIS 6:7,17
7
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face
of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the
fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
17 And,
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy
all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every
thing that is in the earth shall die.
GENESIS 7:4
4 For yet seven
days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty
nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from
off the face of the earth.
GENESIS 8:16
16 And the bow shall be in
the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting
covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is
upon the earth.
WELL THE SODOMITES PICKED THE RIGHT SIGN OF A RAINBOW
FOR JUDGEMENT. THE SODOMITES TRYED TO STEAL GODS SIGN THAT THE WHOLE
EARTH WILL NEVER DIE FROM FLOOD WATERS AGAIN. BUT THE JUDGEMENT THIS
TIME IS GOING TO BE BY FIRE.NOT WATER.
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in
store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men.
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.
IDF deploying two
reserve brigades to Gaza as Israel girds for Rafah offensive-Troops to
reportedly secure central corridor and US aid pier, allowing soldiers
there now to ready for planned push into southern city; 40,000 tents for
evacuees procured-By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies Today, 2:42 pm-APR
24,24
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday said it was readying
to deploy two reserve brigades for missions in the Gaza Strip, as the
military appeared to move ahead with plans for an offensive in the
southern Gaza city of Rafah as it seeks to remove the Hamas terror group
from its last major redoubt in the enclave.The 679th “Yiftah” Armored
Brigade and the 2nd “Carmeli” Infantry Brigade, which had been operating
on the northern border, were set to take responsibility for areas of
central Gaza that have remained under Israeli military control since
troops largely pulled back from other areas of the Strip earlier this
month, according to an Army Radio report.The move will free up Nahal
Brigade troops currently holding the central corridor to join the rest
of the 162nd Division in preparing for future operations, including
planned offensives in Rafah and central Gaza, military sources have
said.The IDF said the two reserve brigades “prepared in recent weeks for
their mission in the Gaza Strip.”They “practiced battle techniques and
learned the main insights and lessons from fighting and maneuvering in
the Gaza Strip so far,” the military said.The mobilized brigades were to
be placed under the 99th Division. During the first few months of the
IDF’s ground offensive, the division had been tasked with the so-called
Netzarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip, an east-west route.One of
the brigades will again be deployed to the east-west belt dividing the
Strip in two, while the second will secure a pier being built by the
United States on central Gaza’s coast aimed at boosting deliveries of
humanitarian aid, according to Army Radio.The corridor, built around a
road south of Gaza City, enables the IDF to carry out raids in northern
and central Gaza while allowing Israel to control access to the north
for Palestinians seeking to return after fleeing south.Victory in the
Gaza war, launched after Hamas’s cross-border massacre and kidnapping
spree on October 7, is impossible without taking Rafah, crushing the
terror group, and recovering any hostages there, Israel has said.Israeli
officials have said Hamas has six remaining battalions in the Gaza
Strip, including four in the southern city of Rafah: Yabna (South),
Shaboura (North), Tel Sultan (West), and East Rafah. Two more Hamas
battalions remain in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah
camps.The IDF has so far operated across northern Gaza and Gaza City, in
some parts of central Gaza, and southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, saying it
has dismantled the 18 Hamas battalions there.The fighting has pushed an
estimated million displaced Gazan civilians into Rafah, with the
international community, including the US, warning that an offensive in
the city could significantly worsen an already dire humanitarian
crisis.Egypt, which Rafah abuts, said it warned Israel against pushing
into the city. Such a move, Egypt’s State Information Service said,
“would lead to massive human massacres, losses [and] widespread
destruction.”While not discussing specific battle plans, the Israeli
military has increasingly signaled readiness to move on Rafah, after
pushing off the offensive for over a month to allow for truce talks
aimed at freeing the 133 hostages thought still held in the Strip and to
hear out US concerns about its plans for fighting in the city.“Hamas
was hit hard in the northern sector. It was also hit hard in the center
of the Strip. And soon it will be hit hard in Rafah, too,” Brig. Gen.
Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division operating in Gaza, told the
Kan public broadcaster in an interview aired on Tuesday.“Hamas should
know that when the IDF goes into Rafah, it would do best to raise its
hands in surrender. Rafah will not be the Rafah of today… There won’t be
munitions there. And there won’t be hostages there,” he said.Israel has
procured tens of thousands of tents for Palestinian civilians it
intends to evacuate from Rafah in the coming weeks, Israeli sources said
on Wednesday.After weeks of talks with the US about civilian
safeguards, Israel’s Defense Ministry has bought 40,000 tents, each with
the capacity for 10 to 12 people, for Palestinians relocated from
Rafah, Israeli government sources said.Video circulated online appeared
to show rows of square white tents going up in Khan Younis, a city some 5
kilometers (3 miles) from Rafah. Images from satellite company Maxar
showing multiple tent camps on Khan Younis land that had been vacant on
April 7.Government sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war
cabinet planned to meet in the coming two weeks to authorize civilian
evacuations — expected to take around a month — as the first stage of
the Rafah sweep.The Defense Ministry and Netanyahu’s office had no
immediate comment.Citing Israeli and Egyptian officials, The Wall Street
Journal reported earlier this week that the Israeli plans envision that
the first two to three weeks of the operation in Rafah will consist of
evacuating civilians, in coordination with the US, Egypt and other Arab
countries.The evacuation will reportedly involve moving civilians to the
nearby city of Khan Younis, among other areas in Gaza, where Israel
will set up shelters with tents, food and medical facilities.After that,
the officials said the IDF would gradually move troops into Rafah and
target areas where it believes Hamas leaders and operatives are
hiding.Israel also believes that many of the remaining 129 hostages
kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities are being held in
Rafah.The war in Gaza erupted when 3,000 terrorists poured across the
border with Israel on October 7 in an unprecedented Hamas-led attack
that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and
kidnapped 253.The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed over 33,000
people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. This figure
cannot be independently verified and includes over 13,000 terror
operatives Israel says it has killed since the beginning of the war.
Palestinian
woman tries to stab troops in West Bank, is shot dead — IDF-No soldiers
harmed in incident near Kiryat Arba settlement; alleged assailant
identified as 20-year-old woman-By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 3:39 pm-APR
24,24
Israeli troops foiled an attempted stabbing attack near the
West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, the military said Wednesday.The
Israel Defense Forces said a female Palestinian assailant tried to stab
troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion, who were stationed at
an army post at a junction near the settlement.“The troops engaged and
opened fire at the terrorist who held a knife and charged toward the
force,” the military said.The woman was killed, the army said. No troops
were hurt in the incident.The official Palestinian news agency WAFA
identified the alleged assailant as Maimouna Abdel Hamid Harahsheh,
20.Violence in the West Bank, already on the rise before October 7 —
when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill
nearly 1,200 people and abduct over 250 — has escalated throughout the
war sparked by the onslaught, with frequent army raids on terror groups,
rampages by Jewish settlers in Palestinian villages and deadly
Palestinian street attacks.Earlier this week, soldiers shot dead three
Palestinians who attacked them in separate incidents near Hebron and in
the Jordan Valley.Troops also arrested Ahmed Dawabsha, 21, a resident of
the West Bank town of Duma, near Ramallah, who is alleged to have been
involved in the murder of 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir, who was found
dead on April 13, a day after setting out from an illegal West Bank
outpost to herd sheep.Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,850
wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,650
affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority’s health
ministry, more than 480 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that
time.
Germany to resume funding for UNRWA after probe-Europe’s
biggest economy announces it will once again cooperate with Palestinian
refugee agency, citing probe that found Israeli claims against group
lacked evidence-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 3:23 pm-APR 24,24
Germany
said Wednesday it will resume cooperation with the United Nations
agency for Palestinian refugees after a review found Israel had not yet
provided evidence that hundreds of staff were members of terrorist
groups.Israel alleged in January that some United Nations Relief and
Works Agency (UNRWA) employees may have participated in the October 7
Hamas attacks that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip and in which
terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped
253.In the weeks that followed, numerous donor states, including
Germany, suspended or paused some $450 million in funding.Many,
including Sweden, Canada and Japan, have since resumed funding.Following
the independent review’s release on Monday, Germany — Europe’s biggest
economy, and a major donor to UNRWA — said it would also “continue its
cooperation” with the agency again.“Germany will coordinate closely with
its closest international partners to disburse further funds,” said the
German foreign and development ministries in a joint statement.Germany
said it was aiming to support “UNRWA’s vital and currently irreplaceable
role in providing for the people in Gaza.”UNRWA and other UN agencies
must be able to carry out their jobs of distributing aid in the
territory, which was “more important than ever in light of the ongoing
humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” the statement said.The review, led by
French diplomat Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related
issues” at the agency, but noted that “Israel has yet to provide
supporting evidence” for its claim that UNRWA employs more than 400
“terrorists.”The neutrality issues highlighted included staff sharing
biased political posts on social media and the use of a small number of
textbooks with “problematic content” in some UNRWA schools.For years,
the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School
Education has been raising the alarm over UNRWA’s textbooks, which it
has said are systematically inciteful against Israel and
antisemitic.Israel said the report “ignores the severity of the
problem,” while UNRWA itself welcomed the findings.Berlin called for the
report’s recommendations to be implemented without delay.The United
States has yet to restore funding to the agency, however, with the White
House saying Tuesday it would “have to see real progress” before doing
so.Another UN probe is also looking into Israel’s allegations.
Argentina
asks host countries to arrest visiting Iranian minister over 1994
bombing-Buenos Aires notes Interpol warrant out for ex-senior
Revolutionary Guards official Ahmed Vahidi, accused of masterminding
AMIA Jewish center attack that killed 85 people-By ToI Staff and AFP
Today, 11:38 am-APR 24,24
Argentina has asked Pakistan and Sri
Lanka to arrest Iran’s interior minister over the 1994 bombing of a
Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people,
Argentina’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The Iranian minister, Ahmad
Vahidi, is part of a delegation from Tehran led by Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi currently on a trip to the two countries.Argentina’s
statement Tuesday noted the international law enforcement agency
Interpol’s arrest warrant for Vahidi. Interpol has had a red notice
seeking his arrest at the request of Argentina since 2007 — a warrant
that was renewed in 2022.Argentina has previously stated that Vahidi, a
former senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, is one of the
key masterminds of the 1994 attack on the AMIA, and sought his
extradition.Vahidi also served as defense minister from 2009 to 2013,
under then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.On April 12, a court in
Argentina placed blame on Iran for the 1994 bombing and for another
bombing two years earlier against the Israeli embassy, which killed 29
people.The 1994 assault has never been claimed or solved, but Argentina
and Israel have long suspected the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah
carried it out at Iran’s behest.Prosecutors have charged top Iranian
officials with ordering the attack, though Tehran has denied any
involvement.The court also implicated Hezbollah and called the attack
against the AMIA — the deadliest in Argentina’s history — a “crime
against humanity.”Tuesday’s statement from the foreign ministry said:
“Argentina seeks the international arrest of those responsible for the
AMIA attack of 1994, which killed 85 people, and who remain in their
positions with total impunity.”“One of them is Ahmad Vahidi, sought by
Argentine justice as one of those responsible for the attack against
AMIA,” said the statement, which was co-signed by the security
ministry.Raisi, Vahidi and other Iranian officials embarked on a
three-day trip to Pakistan starting Monday, seeking to patch up frayed
ties between the two countries. The delegation arrived in Sri Lanka on
Wednesday for a brief state visit aimed at strengthening ties and
opening a $514-million hydropower project.Decades-long probe-In their
ruling this month, the Argentine judges examined the geopolitical
context at the time of the attacks and found they corresponded with
foreign policy positions towards Iran under Argentina’s then-president
Carlos Menem (who was the Argentine president from 1989 to 1999).The
attacks’ “origin lies mainly in the unilateral decision of the
government — motivated by a change in our country’s foreign policy
between late 1991 and mid-1992 — to cancel three contracts for the
supply of nuclear equipment and technology concluded with Iran,” the
court concluded.The judges put blame on Iran’s then-president Ali Akbar
Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani, as well as other Iranian officials and
Hezbollah members.In 2006, Argentine courts requested the extradition of
eight Iranians, including Rafsanjani and Vahidi.In 2013, then-Argentine
president Cristina Kirchner signed a memorandum with Iran under which
Argentine prosecutors could question the suspects outside Argentina.The
Jewish community in Argentina expressed outrage and accused the
president of orchestrating a cover-up.Prosecutor Alberto Nisman opened
an investigation in 2015 when Kirchner was in the final year of her
second term.Just before he was due to testify before Congress, Nisman
was found dead with a gunshot to the head. The cause of death — suicide
or murder — remains a mystery.The Argentina justice system eventually
dropped its probe of Kirchner.
Tshuva’s Delek unit inks deal for
Eni’s UK oil and gas fields in North Sea-Ithaca Energy says the
combination deal worth about $938 million will turn the oil and gas
exploration company into one of the North Sea’s largest producers-By
Sharon Wrobel-Today, 4:18 pm-APR 24,24
Ithaca Energy, an oil and
gas exploration company controlled by Yitzhak Tshuva’s Delek Group, has
secured an agreement to snap up almost all of Eni’s British oil and gas
fields in a share-based deal worth about £754 million ($938 million).As
part of the deal, the Italian energy group will merge almost all of its
United Kingdom-based oil and gas assets in the North Sea in exchange for
a stake in the enlarged issued share capital of Ithaca, which is 89
percent owned by Tel Aviv-based Delek.Following the combination
transaction, Tshuva’s Delek will remain the controlling owner of Ithaca
and will hold about 52.7% of the share capital, Eni UK will hold 37.3%,
and 10% will be held by the public.“The strategic move will turn Ithaca
into a major player in the North Sea, with excellent assets and
significant cash flow that is expected to grow as a result of the deal,”
said Delek CEO Idan Wallace.The combined group with 37 producing oil
and gas assets is expected to generate more than 100,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day from the second half of 2024, with the potential to
grow to 150,000 barrels of oil per day by the early 2030s, Ithaca
said.In 2023, the average production output from Ithaca’s assets
amounted to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.With the completion
of the deal, Ithaca plans to pay an annual dividend of $500 million
each in 2024 and in 2025 to shareholders. In 2023, the London Stock
Exchange-listed firm paid an annual dividend of $400 million.Founded in
2004, Ithaca has stakes in six of the 10 largest energy assets in the
UK’s North Sea. It operates oil and gas assets in the northern and
central North Sea, West of Shetland and Moray Firth areas of the British
continental shelf.Israeli energy conglomerate Delek Group, through its
NewMed Energy unit, formerly Delek Drilling, holds a 45.3% working
interest in the Leviathan gas field in the Mediterranean, Israel’s
largest offshore gas reservoir. NewMed also owns a 30% stake in the
Aphrodite natural gas field, offshore of Cyprus.
FM Katz: Aid
package sends strong message to our enemies-Minister claims Biden
harming ties with Israel, says he’d vote for Trump if he could-Comments
from Amichai Chikli accusing US president of failing to project strength
come hours before package earmarking billions in military aid expected
to be signed into law-By ToI Staff Today, 2:17 pm-APR 24,24
An
Israeli government minister bashed United States President Joe Biden as
weak and said he would vote for presumptive Republican challenger Donald
Trump if he could vote in the American elections.The Wednesday comment
from Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, which drew an immediate rebuke
from Israel’s opposition leader, came as Biden was set to sign a bill
sending billions in military aid to Israel hours after it was passed by
Congress.“The US is not projecting strength under [Biden’s] leadership,
and it’s harming Israel and other countries,” Chikli, of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, told Kan Radio.“He said ‘Don’t’ at the
start of the war — to Hezbollah, as well as Iran. We saw the result,”
he added, referring to Iran’s unprecedented launch of hundreds of
missiles and drones at Israel, which were shot down by Israel with the
help of the US and other countries.“If I were an American citizen with
the right to vote, I’d vote for Trump and Republicans,” he added.The
remarks underlined growing divisions between Netanyahu’s government and
Biden’s administration, which has tempered its support of Israel’s war
effort in Gaza with criticism of the Israeli military’s approach to the
fight, the handling of humanitarian needs in the Strip and Netanyahu’s
leadership. Washington has grown progressively more bold in projecting
its unease as protests against its support for Israel have gained steam
across the country, building into a formidable challenge to Biden’s
re-election hopes.“Biden is a friend of Israel, but he’s under intense
pressure that is affecting him and creating real damage to relations
between the countries,” Chikli added.Responding to the remarks,
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said Israel has a “government of complete
stupidity.”“This is what comes hours after the Senate approved $14
billion in security assistance and a few hours before President Biden is
supposed to sign it,” Lapid wrote on X.Biden promised late Tuesday to
immediately sign the bill into law once it reaches his desk Wednesday.
The package earmarks some $13 billion in military aid for Israel, as
well as another $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and $2.4 billion
for US military activities in response to attacks in the Middle East.
The lion’s share of the $95 billion package will go to bolster Ukraine
in its fight against Russia’s invasion.In a statement early Wednesday,
Foreign Minister Israel Katz celebrated the passage of the long-delayed
military assistance, thanking the legislative chamber’s Democratic and
Republican leaders for their “unwavering commitment to Israel’s
security.”“As we mark 200 days to the barbaric October 7th terror attack
by Hamas, Israel and the United States stand together in the fight
against terrorism, defending democracy and our shared values,” Katz said
in a statement. “The Israel aid package that now passed both houses of
Congress is a clear testament to the strength of our alliance and sends a
strong message to all our enemies.”Passage of the aid, which comes on
top of $3.8 billion on foreign military assistance the US sends Israel
annually, will come as anti-Israel protests have ramped up on college
campuses and in cities across the US, with some calling to cut off
military aid to Israel.The issue has proven vexing for the president,
who has long joined the US foreign policy establishment in embracing
Israel as an indispensable Middle East ally. Yet he also has criticized
Netanyahu for mounting deaths in Gaza and told him that future US aid
depends on Israel taking steps to protect civilians.The US is also
mulling blacklisting the Israel Defense Forces’ Netzah Yehuda battalion
and other units over alleged human rights abuses, and has levied
unprecedented sanctions on Israeli citizens accused of extremist attacks
on Palestinians.Trump, who like Netanyahu is currently on trial,
frequently touts himself as a devoted ally of Israel, pointing to his
decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and his administration’s
role in brokering the 2020 Abraham Accords, which saw Arab countries,
including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, normalize ties with
Israel. But he has also complained bitterly about Netanyahu due to the
prime minister’s recognition of Biden as the winner of the 2020 election
and has accused him of betrayal.Days after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught,
Trump criticized Israel for failing to anticipate the attack and called
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant a “jerk.” More recently, the mercurial
former US president has spoken in favor of Israel “finishing the job”
against Hamas, but has also panned Israel’s handling of the war and said
it should finish it up quickly.As Diaspora minister, Chikli is charged
with maintaining Israel’s relations with Jewish communities in the US
and around the world. Many Jewish leaders have criticized Trump for
invective hurled at the Jewish community for a perceived lack of
loyalty.Earlier this month, Trump said that “any Jewish person who votes
for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head
examined.”Agencies contributed to this report.
Anti-Israel
university protests the latest election-year tightrope for
Biden-Students’ opposition to the US president’s Middle East policy
could be the difference between another Biden term in the White House or
the return of Donald Trump-By Will Weissert, Michelle L. Price and
CHRIS MEGERIAN Today, 1:06 pm-APR 24,24
NEW YORK (AP) — Student
protests over the war in Gaza have created a new and unpredictable
challenge for United States President Joe Biden as he resists calls to
cut off US support for Israel while trying to hold together the
coalition of voters he’ll need for reelection.The protests at Columbia
University in New York and other campuses have captured global media
attention and resurfaced questions about Biden’s lagging support from
young voters. His handling of the Middle East conflict is also being
closely watched by both Jewish and Arab American voters in key swing
states.At best for Biden, the protests are a passing distraction while
the White House presses forward with negotiations over a ceasefire and
the release of hostages held by Hamas while pushing Israel to limit
casualties with more than 34,000 Palestinians claimed to be dead.The
number has been reported by Hamas and cannot be independently verified
as it is believed to include both Hamas fighters and civilians, some of
whom were killed as a consequence of the terror group’s own rocket
misfires.The Israel Defense Forces says it has killed over 13,000
terrorists in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 who were killed inside
Israel on and immediately following October 7.At worst, the protests
build momentum toward the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in
August, potentially triggering scenes of violence that could recall the
unrest of protests against the Vietnam War during the party’s convention
there in 1968.“If it ends with Columbia, that’s one thing,” said Angus
Johnston, a historian focused on campus activism. “If this sends the
national student movement to a new place, that’s a very different
situation.”Already, Biden’s aides have had to work to minimize
disruptions from antiwar protesters, holding smaller campaign events and
tightly controlling access. Demonstrators forced his motorcade to
change routes to the Capitol on his way to deliver the State of the
Union, and they’ve thrown a red substance intended to symbolize blood
near his home in Delaware.The president could face more confrontations
with students this spring. Morehouse College said Tuesday that Biden
would appear at the iconic historically Black campus in May.More than
100 anti-Israel demonstrators camped out at Columbia were arrested
Thursday, with dozens more people arrested at other campuses. Many now
face charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct. The protesters have
demanded that their universities condemn Israel’s war in Gaza after the
October 7 Hamas attack in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people,
mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253 and divest from companies that do
business with Israel.Some people have reported antisemitic chants and
messages at and around the Columbia campus, and similar concerns have
been reported at other universities. Some Jewish students say they’ve
felt unsafe on campus. The White House, in a message Sunday to mark the
Passover holiday, denounced what it called an “alarming surge” of
antisemitism, saying it “has absolutely no place on college campuses, or
anywhere in our country.”Four Jewish Democratic members of Congress
toured Columbia’s locked-down campus on Monday with members of the
school’s Jewish Law Students Association. They condemned that things had
escalated to where Jewish students felt unsafe and the university
canceled in-person classes Monday. Columbia said it would use hybrid
remote and in-person learning through the end of the spring term.Rep.
Kathy Manning of North Carolina called on the Education Department and
Justice Department to work with the White House “to ensure that all
universities take steps necessary to keep Jewish students and faculty
safe.”“This discrimination is simply unacceptable and cannot be allowed
to continue,” she said.Biden on Monday sought the same middle ground
that he’s staked out for months as he backs Israel’s military operations
with weapons shipments while also pushing Israel to limit civilian
casualties and get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the United
Nations has said there is a looming famine.“I condemn the antisemitic
protests,” the president said at an Earth Day event. He then added, “I
also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the
Palestinians.”Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a high-profile
progressive who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, spoke before
Biden at the same event. She said it was “important that we remember the
power of young people shaping this country” and praised “the leadership
of those peaceful student-led protests.”Former US president Donald
Trump, Biden’s presumptive Republican opponent in November, pointed to
the headlines and images coming out of Columbia to redirect focus from
his criminal hush money trial in New York, telling reporters in the
courthouse Tuesday that Biden bears the blame for the unrest.“If this
were me, you’d be after me. You’d be after me so much,” he said. “But
they’re trying to give him a pass. But what’s going on is a disgrace to
our country, and it’s all Biden’s fault and everybody knows it.”In a
sign of the political potency of the situation at Columbia, Republican
House Speaker Mike Johnson planned to visit the school Wednesday and
meet with Jewish students.Joel Rubin, a former State Department official
and Democratic strategist who has worked in Jewish politics for years,
rejected critics blaming Biden “for everything that’s gone wrong,” but
said the president would have to “make the argument for why the policy
is the right one and let the chips fall where they may.”“If it were
purely politics and polling, it would be a very hard one,” Rubin said.
“But I think Biden is making these decisions based on national
security.”Biden graduated from Syracuse’s law school in 1968, bypassing
the campus convulsions over the Vietnam War. He distanced himself from
that protest movement two decades later during his first run for
president.“I was married, I was in law school, I wore sports coats,”
Biden said in 1987. “You’re looking at a middle-class guy. I am who I
am. I’m not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts. You know, that’s
not me.″Biden has been endorsed this year by many leading youth activist
organizations and also built his campaign around key social issues —
such as defending abortion rights, combating climate change and
canceling student debt for millions — that they believe can energize
voters under 30 who are more likely to be concerned about the
president’s approach to Gaza.He was in Florida on Tuesday to capitalize
on the momentum against nationwide abortion restrictions and criticize a
state law soon to go into effect that will ban abortions after six
weeks, before many women know they’re pregnant. A day earlier, US Vice
President Kamala Harris held an event promoting abortion rights in the
swing state of Wisconsin.Safia Southey, a 25-year-old law student at
Columbia who is Jewish, has been participating in the protest and
sleeping at the encampment on the university’s quad since Thursday. She
believes outrage over the war will deflate Biden’s chances against Trump
because staunch supporters of Israel are more likely to support the
presumptive Republican nominee.“I think Biden has tried to be very
strategic and it’s backfired in a lot of ways,” she said.However,
Southey said she’ll vote for Biden “pretty much no matter what” in a
matchup with Trump.“The students who are upset, especially at these
kinds of universities, are smart enough to not stay home,” she said. “I
think that they’re going to go out and vote, and they’re going to go for
the most strategic option, even if they’re not happy for Biden. I think
that they would do anything to make sure that Trump’s not in
office.”Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher was skeptical that campus
demonstrations over Gaza would prove to be politically influential.“What
percentage of Americans are really in those narrow spaces, and how
representative are they of a broader American audience or even a broader
youth audience?” he asked.Johnston, the historian on student activism,
said the current protests don’t approach the size or intensity of
demonstrations in the 1960s, when school officials were held hostage and
campuses were vandalized.But over the years, he said, “there’s a lot of
times where student protests have shaped the national debate.”Times of
Israel staff contributed to this report.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL AND THE WEST
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10
Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same
time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil
thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to
the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that
dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither
bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine
hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the
people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle
and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and
Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND)
with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW
ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come
to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry
away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great
spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth
safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7
Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and
Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the
inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4
And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD
FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all
thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of
armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6
Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of
the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with
thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from
thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many
people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon
horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up
against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be
in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the
heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before
their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have
spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which
prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against
them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall
come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall
come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath
have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the
land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
44 But
tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS
WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL)
therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the
chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will
turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the
sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I
BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA)
and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4
Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,(
ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the
ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be
devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6
And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them
that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the
LORD.
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.
JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the
valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people
(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the
nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS
DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD
BILLION IN WW3)
JUDE 14-16
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15
To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their
own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's
persons in admiration because of advantage.
WATCH THIS VIDEO-1/4 OF ISLAM MIGHT BE GONE BY MAY 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ7wh6BMTlw
THIS
VIDEO COULD BE A SIGN BEING IT IS RADAM IN COCKROCH LANDS. WHILE IN
THIS VIDEO A CROW TAKES AN ISRAEL FLAG OFF THE FLAG POLE. REPRESENTING
THE MUSLIM COCKROACHES WANT ISRAEL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. THEN ON
THE VIDEO WE SEE THE CROWS TEARING UP THE ISRAELI FLAG. TO ME THIS SAYS
BY MAY 2024. THESE MUSLIM COCHROACH HORDES WILL BE COMING AGAINST
ISRAEL. AND ISRAEL WILL NUKE 1/4 OF ISLAM. THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING
BIRDS WILL EAT THE MUSLIM COCKROACHES FLESH. AND THE 300 MILLION DEAD
MUSLIMS WILL BE BURIED IN MASS GRAVES IN THE JORDAN VALLEY.
DANIEL CHAPTER 9:24-27 EXPLAINED.
24
Seventy weeks (70X7=490 YEARS) are determined upon thy people (ISRAEL)
and upon thy holy city,(JERUSALEM) to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.(JESUS ANNOINTED WITH HOLY OIL AS
KING OF JERUSALEM FOREVER).
25 Know therefore and understand, that
from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, (7X7=49
YEARS) and threescore and two weeks:(62X7=434 YEARS) the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.(490-49-434=7 YR
PERIOD WERE GOD DEALS WITH ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM (NOT THE CHURCH-THE TRUE
CHURCH IS IS IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS FOR THAT LAST 7 YEAR PERIOD.)(DANIEL
9:26-27 IS IN THE FUTURE WHEN GOD DEALS ON EARTH WITH ISRAEL AND
JERUSALEM FOR THAT FINAL 7 TEAR PERIOD. WHEN ALL OF ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED
BY MESSIAH JESUS.)(AT THE END OF IT)
26 And after threescore and two
weeks (69X7=483 YEARS)(ONE 7 YEAR PERIOD UNTIL PROPHECY IS FULFILLED)
shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the
prince (ROMANS) that shall come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary;(2ND TEMPLE AND JERUSALEM) and the end thereof shall be with a
flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(NOW THE
FINAL ISRAEL-JERUSALEM COUNTDOWN FOR MESSIAH JESUS RETURN THE LAST 7
YEARS)
27 And he (HE WHO? HE HERE IS THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE LEADER
THAT MAKES THE FINAL 7 YR CONTRACT WITH ISRAEL AND MANY MUSLIM COUNTRIES
FOR A 7 YR PERIOD, AND THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR THIS
LAST PERIOD) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: (7
YEARS) and in the midst of the week (3 1/2 YEARS IN) he shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, (THIS FALSE MESSIAH OR ROMAN LEADER
STOPS THE ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN THE 3RD TEMPLE AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE 7
YR DEAL. A JEW MURDERS HIM WITH A SWORD WOUND AND HE HAS A FALSE
RESSURECTION-SATAN INCARNATES IN HIS BODY. AND BRINGS HIM BACK TO
LIFE.AND HE THEN SITS IN THE 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AS THE WORLD
SAYS HES JESUS REINCARNATED. AND BY THIS FALSE RESURRECTION GOD SENDS
THIS STRONG DELUTION ON THE EARTH THAT ALL THE LOST WILL WORSHIP THIS
ROMAN LEADER AS GOD AND ACCEPT HIS NAME, NUMBER OR NUMBER OF HIS NAME IN
THEIR MICROCHIP IMPLANT. THAT THEY MIGHT BE DOOMED, DAMNED TO THE LAKE
OF FIRE FOREVER. WHO WORSHIPS THIS ROMAN LEADER AS GOD.) and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate.(WARS NON STOP DURING THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR
PERIOD.
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-28 (FROM DAN 9:27)
27
Fulfil her week,(7 YEARS) and we will give thee this also for the
service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, (NUKE WARS BREAK OUT) as travail upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways
lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR
TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD
LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)(1 LAST AND WORST HOLOCAUST IN
HISTORY AGAINST ISRAEL BY THIS ROMAN LEADER.AFTER THIS LEADER STOPS THE
ANIMAL SACRIFICES.A JEW KILLS HIM.HES RESURRECTED TO LIFE AND INCARNATED
BY SATAN HIMSELF. AND SINCE SATAN HATES ISRAEL-NOW THAT HES POSSESSING
THE ROMAN LEADERS BODY. HE FIRST POLLUTES THE 3RD TEMPLE BY SITTING IN
THE 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD.HE THEN GOES AFTER ISRAELIS TO KILL
EVERY ONE ON EARTH OF THEM.THE FALSE MESSIAHS MASK IS OFF. AND THE
ISRAELIS ARE FLOWN TO PETRA IN JORDAN WERE THEY WILL BE PROTECTED BY GOD
FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD.BUT THERE WILL STILL
BE LOTS OF ISRAELIS IN ISRAEL YET. GOD MUST JUST PROTECT THE SAVED
ISRAELIS IN PETRA JORDAN.
7 WORLD EMPIRES IN WORLD HISTORY.
1-Egyptian (3000 BC – 858 BC)-Defeated by Assyrian invasion and succeeded by them.
2-Assyrian (858 BC – 612 BC)-Nineveh destroyed by Medes and Babylonians in 612 BC then defeated by Babylonians.
3-Babylonian (605 BC – 539 BC)-Begun by Nebuchadnezzar, ended by Medes and Persians.
4-Media-Persian
(539 BC – 532 BC)-Together with Medes destroyed Babylon.Established by
Cyrus the Great.Ended by defeat at hands of Alexander.
5-Grecian (331 – 31 BC)-Alexander defeated the Persians and established Greek world rule. Ended by Roman.
6-Roman (31 BC through New Testament period with “ Holy Roman Empire.”Fell to Germanic invasion.(DIED FROM INTERNAL CORRUPTION).
7-Revived
Roman Empire (1957, the Treaty of Rome-(REVIVED ROME TREATY-JESUS
RETURNS) is a matter of end-time prophecy.JESUS DESTROYS AND RULES FROM
JERUSALEM FOR 1,000 YEARS.THEN FOREVER.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
through
which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water.
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for
fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly
people.
Elam (IRAN IN THE BIBLE) passed into the hands of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce).
Jeremiah 49:35-39
35-Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36-And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,
and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no
nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37-For I will
cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that
seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce
anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have
consumed them:
38-And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
39-But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 32:24
24-There
[is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them
slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the
nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the
living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the
pit.
IDF: Fighter jets, artillery forces hit 40 targets in south Lebanon in short period-By Emanuel Fabian-APR 24,24
Israeli
fighter jets and artillery forces carried out a wave of strikes against
dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the military
says.According to the IDF, some 40 targets in Ayta ash-Shab were hit by
aircraft and artillery shelling within several minutes.The targets
included weapon depots and other assets belonging to Hezbollah, the
military says.The IDF says the strikes are “part of the effort to
destroy the organization’s infrastructure in the border area.”Ayta
ash-Shab is used by Hezbollah for “terror” and it places dozens of its
sites in the area, the military charges.
Gallant: IDF has ‘eliminated’ half of Hezbollah’s south Lebanon commanders, remainder are in hiding-By Emanuel Fabian-APR 24,24
Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant says half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern
Lebanon have been killed by the Israeli military.The remarks are made
following a visit to the IDF Northern Command in Safed, where Gallant
held an assessment with the chief of the command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin,
and other top officers.“Half of the Hezbollah commanders in south
Lebanon have been eliminated… and the other half hide and abandon south
Lebanon to IDF operations,” Gallant says.He says Israel’s main goal in
the north is to return the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to
their homes, amid Hezbollah’s daily attacks.“We are dealing with a
number of alternatives in order to establish this matter, and the coming
period will be decisive in this regard,” Gallant says.
‘Son of
Hamas’ Mosab Hassan Yousef: ‘If we finish Rafah, we finish Hamas’Back in
the public sphere after Oct. 7, the former terror scion turned
undercover Shin Bet agent laments how the Islamist group his father
co-founded is tolerated in the West-By Natan Galula Today, 5:32 am-APR
24,24
One of the most passionate voices in support of a
large-scale Israel Defense Force operation to clear Hamas from its last
major stronghold in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah comes
from a man raised by the terrorist organization.Mosab Hassan Yousef, the
disowned son of a Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, told The Times
of Israel last week that the Israeli government must “finish the job”
in Gaza to remove Hamas from power, regardless of the unfolding
situation with Iran.“We need to go into Rafah now. Not tomorrow. What
are we waiting for? We finish Rafah, we finish Hamas. This will remove
them from power, which will be the first step [toward peace],” he
said.The 45-year-old was born in Ramallah and vividly remembers the
foundation of Hamas in 1986. Decades ago, Yousef was dubbed the “Green
Prince” (also the title of a 2014 documentary based on his
autobiography) for his efforts to help Israel’s internal security
agency, the Shin Bet, in thwarting terror attacks during the Second
Intifada in the early 2000s.After saving countless lives in those
harrowing days, he has developed a “fundamental relationship” with the
Jewish people, albeit not without bumps along the road.His sharp-tongued
criticism of Hamas has been considered too controversial by some, he
said, eventually leading to his disappearance from public activism.
However, the October 7 atrocities brought him back.On that day,
thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel and butchered
1,200 people, most of them civilians, with stunning brutality in an orgy
of violence that saw entire families burned alive, widespread rape and
sexual assault, and the torture and dismemberment of victims that
included women, children and infants, and the elderly. Two hundred and
fifty-three people were also abducted to the Gaza Strip, where 133 are
still being held hostage.“When October 7 happened it was like an
earthquake for me,” said Yousef. “I wanted to go into silence. I was
leading a very simple life. But that morning, the lion within me
awakened, a volcano was about to erupt. I made a decision to burn this
evil down to ashes.”‘I made a decision to burn this evil down to
ashes’Yousef warned that Iran’s latest attack against Israel with more
than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones was “just a
rehearsal. We don’t know if Iran has biological weapons, we don’t know
if Iran has chemical weapons.”“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a very
serious global threat, not just against Israel. Iran is not only a
dictatorship, a terrorist regime, but a truly irresponsible religious
leadership that is not concerned with this life; they are concerned with
the afterlife. If they destroy the entire region to achieve their
religious agenda — they are willing to do it,” he claimed.Ambassador of
anti-Hamas ‘hope’Since speaking with British talk show host Piers Morgan
in the early days of the war in Gaza, Yousef has again become a popular
speaker on the campus circuit — though he’s not always given a warm
welcome. In early April, Indiana University urged the Jewish
organization IU Hillel to postpone an event featuring Yousef for
“security concerns.”The Times of Israel spoke with Yousef ahead of a
planned event at UC Berkeley last week that was billed as a debate with
Al Jazeera host Marc Lamont Hill. According to The Jewish News of
Northern California, there were no protesters outside the auditorium,
which was filled to capacity.He was invited to Berkeley by Israel-born
Siena Naaman Cohen, who saw Yousef deliver a talk at the University of
Michigan a few months ago. Cohen, who lives in Lafayette, California, a
few miles east of Berkeley, urged her husband, Scott, to help make this
happen. Her husband graduated from UC Berkeley, and the couple is active
in the local Jewish community.October 7 was a “shock” for Cohen, who
said that bringing Yousef to UC Berkeley, infamously known for its
anti-Israel activism, was a significant statement, one that filled her
with “hope.”Cohen related that when she contacted the Jewish Community
Center in the San Francisco Bay Area to raise funds for the event, the
organization rejected the request. Her friend, attorney Michael Geller, a
member of the JCC’s board of directors, resigned over the decision, she
said.Even without the fundraising help, the event in Berkeley took
place as planned with no on-campus tensions — unlike the violent protest
in late February that forced the cancelation and evacuation of a
pro-Israel event, and the takeover of the Golden Gate Bridge by
pro-Palestinian demonstrators.“We published the event only last week,
without disclosing the Jewish groups behind it,” Cohen noted. “In just
one or two days, 500 people signed up. The university gave us a hall
with 237 seats.”‘Jewish groups consider me controversial’Yousef, who has
converted to Christianity, sought political asylum in the United States
in 2007, after which he published an autobiography titled “Son of
Hamas.” In it, he details how he became a spy for Israel, speaks about
the brutal Hamas regime, and discusses how he became disillusioned with
Hamas’s ideology.“The Islamic ideological dimension, their hatred toward
the Jews, is something that we need to address. We cannot keep hiding.
Every time I bring up the topic everybody just closes their ears. Even
some Israelis, they don’t want to hear it,” Yousef said.Yousef said he
is frustrated by the Jewish organizations, campuses and institutions
that don’t invite him to speak to students about the conflict with his
firsthand knowledge of the workings of the notorious terrorist
organization.“I could have been educating students about Islamists,
about Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and even Iran. This is my field,” Yousef
said. “But for some reason, some Jewish organizations still consider me
controversial; they look at me even in suspicion, which is very hard for
me to say.”“Most people don’t want to face the truth,” he said. “When I
touch the religious and ideological aspect of the conflict, which is
fundamental — I cannot ignore it — when I say Islam is a problem, many
Jewish organizations say: Wait a moment, he will be considered an
Islamophobe, that’s not how we want to represent ourselves.”The former
spy noted with bitter irony that those who were supposed to be his
friends were critical of his messages, while the pro-Palestinians
accused him of being funded by the Israeli government and Zionist
organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) — all while he was advocating for Israel at his own expense.‘I’m
following my moral compass and taking my own moral responsibility’“I’m
following my moral compass and taking my own moral responsibility. For
me this is not a business, it’s the future of children, the future of
the region, the future of humanity; it’s a fundamental fight,” Yousef
said.October 7 ‘seeps to the depths of my soul’Yousef approaches the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in black-and-white terms: right and wrong,
good versus evil. Having witnessed the terrorist organization’s cruelty
against its own members while he was imprisoned in Israel in his late
teens, Yousef has taken on the task of warning people against the
Islamist power that now reigns in Gaza.“For many years I warned Israel, I
warned the global community. I wrote a book about it in detail; I
appeared on so many media outlets saying that Hamas is not good news. I
was sentenced to death [by Hamas] in the process. But instead of
listening to my warnings as an eyewitness from the ground, I got
canceled,” Yousef said.While Yousef initially avoided watching the
footage of Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, he eventually mustered the
strength to view it.“When I look at this it is very personal… and I am
very frustrated. I don’t want to say that this is my war, but it seeps
into the depths of my soul. I cannot help but now yell. I’m shouting out
loud and people are still not listening,” he lamented.Yousef speaks
with great pain about Hamas’s strengthening. Allowing it to rule over
Gaza was a “big mistake,” he said, adding that to reverse course now and
revive the more peaceful days once shared by Israelis and Palestinians
would require an ideological reboot from the ground up.“I’m not trying
to ignite a religious war because there is already a religious war,” he
said. “I’m trying to turn this around by saying you cannot weaponize
your Islamic, religious identity against a religious minority and expect
to get away with it. I have to call them out.”‘I’m not trying to ignite
a religious war because there is already a religious war’People cite
land, occupation, or colonization as the primary causes of the conflict
while ignoring the fundamentalist religious aspect, “which is how Hamas
is winning the PR war,” Yousef said.When discussing his renunciation of
Hamas and abandoning his religious and tribal identity, Yousef recalled
what was at stake. Entrusted with the Hamas finances at one point,
Yousef had financial security, social prestige, and a well-connected
Palestinian family. But to Yousef, all of it was “death.”“You need to
defy death in order to live. Suppose we do not make our peace with
death… In that case, people bullying us, people trying to control us in
the name of God, in the name of religion — at some point [you] have to
rebel,” he said.
Columns In Urdu-Language Pakistani Dailies
Discuss 'Missing Persons': 'The Involvement Of Missing Persons In
Various Incidents Of Terrorism... Is A Matter Of Grave Concern'; 'Not
Just Two Or Four, Hundreds Of People Are Missing From Baluchistan'April
24, 2024-Pakistan | Special Dispatch No. 11292
In recent columns
in Pakistan's Urdu-language newspapers, two Pakistani columnists
discussed the issue of "Missing Persons," a term used to refer both to
terrorists in Pakistan, especially in the border tribal region, as well
as to civil rights activists and secessionists in Baluchistan province,
who are believed to have been picked up by intelligence agencies over
the past decade and more.In September 2012, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad
Chaudhry, the then chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, described
Pakistani intelligence agencies as "death squads" after they refused to
comply with 60 of his orders from 68 court hearings.[1] After 9/11, the
Pakistani government indeed captured many terrorists and handed them
over to the U.S. However, the reference to "Missing Persons"
predominantly means the Baluchi activists, academics, students, and
rebels who have been routinely picked up by Pakistani intelligence
agencies, and their relatives routinely organize protests and rallies in
Islamabad to highlight the issue and get emotional closure.Baloch women
at a protest in Islamabad demanding freedom for their missing relatives
(image courtesy: Twitter)-After the March 26, 2024, terror attack at
Bisham in Shangla district in which five Chinese nationals were killed,
former Pakistani lawmaker and columnist Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani wrote
an article, titled "New Wave of Terrorism," in the Urdu daily Roznama
Jang, presenting a pro-military view and arguing that the "Missing
Persons" refer to terrorists who launch attacks in Pakistan from their
hideouts in Afghanistan and Baluchi activists in terror training camps
in India and Iran.On January 5, 2024, noted columnist Shahnawaz Farooqui
wrote a provocative column in the Urdu daily Roznama Jasarat titled
"Pakistan or Laptastan", which coined the term "Laptastan" to mean "the
land of Missing Persons." Roznama Jasarat belongs to Jamaat-e-Islami
Pakistan. In his article, Shahnawaz Farooqui criticized those who do not
acknowledge the issue of "Missing Persons" and argued that Pakistan's
military generals have always made one thing or another go "missing,"
including half of Pakistan itself in the 1971 war.Following are excerpts
from Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani's article:[2]-"After 9/11, Attempts Were
Made By International Forces To Make Baluchistan A Part Of The Great
Game; There Were Reports In The Media That Secret Agencies From At Least
Three Foreign Countries Who Want To Use Innocent Baloch Citizens Are
Active In Baluchistan""A vehicle belonging to Chinese engineers was
attacked and fell into a deep ditch at Basham in the area of Shangla in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Five Chinese citizens and a Pakistani driver lost
their lives as a result of the alleged suicide attack [on March 26,
2024]. The Basham attack was strongly condemned at the highest level of
government, including by the president [Asif Zardari]. The prime
minister of Pakistan [Shehbaz Sharif] went to the Chinese Embassy in
Islamabad to personally offer condolences. China has demanded that those
responsible for the cowardly attack be punished."A day earlier [on
March 25], a brave soldier of the Pakistan armed forces was martyred in a
terrorist attack on the naval base in Turbat in [Baluchistan province].
The cowardly ambitions of the terrorists could not be fulfilled by the
timely and effective response of the security agencies. No one has yet
accepted the responsibility for the recent incidents of terrorism, but
there is no doubt that the fabric of all such horrific attacks in the
past has been linked to extremist elements hiding in Afghanistan."The
increasing incidents of terrorism in recent days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Baluchistan, which border Afghanistan, prove that the monster of
terrorism is rising again in the troubled areas of Pakistan. A few days
ago, I came across a video clip on WhatsApp in which 'missing persons'
were found to be involved in terrorism. The issue of missing persons in
Pakistan first came to the fore during the reign of General Pervez
Musharraf after 9/11 when the United States attacked Afghanistan along
with the coalition forces."Those with ideological association with the
Taliban went to Afghanistan [to fight against American troops], while
here [in Pakistan] their families declared them 'missing persons.' Only a
few of the thousands of fighters could return home safely; the rest are
still missing. [They]... continued to attack Pakistani security
agencies. There were many reports that, due to them leaving their family
without telling them anything, their grieving families declared them
missing and demanded their recovery from the government of Pakistan.A
screenshot of the article in Roznama Jang-"More or less the same
situation was seen in the province of Baluchistan, which is adjacent to
Afghanistan and Iran, when the Baloch leader [and former chief minister
Nawab] Akbar Bugti, who was protesting in the mountains during the reign
of General Musharraf, was targeted in a missile attack [by Pakistani
military on August 26, 2006]."After 9/11, attempts were made by
international forces to make Baluchistan a part of the Great Game. There
were reports in the media that secret agencies of at least three
international countries are active in Baluchistan who want to use
innocent Baloch citizens to achieve their nefarious purposes.
Secessionist military groups began emerging in order to create
lawlessness in the province. They started a series of attacks on those
coming from outside the province [non-Baluchis employed in the
government of Baluchistan or private sector]."In many tragic incidents,
innocent passengers from buses were killed in public because their
National Identity Cards had an address outside Baluchistan. The Chinese
experts working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which
is indispensable for the country's development and prosperity, also
became a target of the wave of terrorism.""While All Major Political
Parties At The National Level Agree With The Position Of The Security
Agencies That Are Trying To Defend The Country, That The Case Of
'Missing People' Is A Well-Thought-Out And Organized Conspiracy Against
The Forces Of Pakistan To Make Innocent Citizens Hate The Pakistani
State""When voices started to be raised for the return of the 'missing
persons,' some political parties in Baluchistan made this issue a part
of their election manifesto. While all major political parties at the
national level agree with the position of the security agencies that are
trying to defend the country, that the case of 'missing persons 'is a
well-thought-out and organized conspiracy against the forces of Pakistan
to make innocent citizens hate the Pakistani state and turn the people
against the government institutions.
MEMRI TV JTTM -Russian
Political Scientist Ivan Timofeev: 'The Idea Of Jointly Countering The
U.S. Finds Support In Both Moscow And Beijing' April 24, 2024-Russia,
China | Special Dispatch No. 11295
Political scientist and
General Director of Russian International Affairs Council Ivan Timofeev
argues in his April 15, 2024 article for Valdai Discussion Club that the
current crisis in Russo-Western relations has delivered an
unprecedented blow to Euro-Atlantic security system and deliberates on
the need to establish a new structure of Eurasian security. China and
Russia, he argues, strive to build contours of the new system, which
will be based on the principles of dialogue, distribution of
responsibility, and multi-dimensional security.[1]Associate Professor at
MGIMO University Ivan Timofeev at an expert seminar conducted by
Russian International Affairs Council. (Source: RIAC)"Russia Has
Increasingly Viewed NATO Expansion As A Security Threat""Already in
April 2024, the Russian leader's idea was being pursued during Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to China. Russia's top diplomat
told the press about an agreement with the Chinese to begin a dialogue
on the structure of security in Eurasia, a topic that was addressed
during the visit. The very fact that Putin's idea appeared on the agenda
of negotiations between the two major powers suggests that it could
take concrete shape, both at the level of political theory and at the
level of practice."The idea of Eurasian security inevitably raises
questions about other related projects. Sergey Lavrov, during his visit
to Beijing, directly linked the need for a new structure with the
problems of Euro-Atlantic security built around NATO and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). References
to the Euro-Atlantic experience seem important for two reasons."First,
the Euro-Atlantic project is distinguished by its high level of
institutional integration. In fact, it is built on the basis of a
military alliance (NATO) where the members maintain strict obligations.
Despite the end of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Alliance not only
survived, but also expanded to include former Warsaw Pact countries.
NATO is the largest and, by historical standards, an exceptionally
stable military alliance."Second, the Euro-Atlantic project after the
end of the Cold War was unable to solve the problem of common and
indivisible security for all countries in the region. The OSCE, in
theory, could bring together both NATO countries and those which did not
belong to the alliance, including Russia, into a single community. But
since the beginning of the 2000s, there has been a process of
politicisation of the OSCE in favour of the interests of Western
countries. Russia has increasingly viewed NATO expansion as a security
threat. Instruments such as the Russia-NATO Council were unable to
absorb the growing contradictions. The lack of effective and equal
institutions that would take into account the interests of Russia and
integrate it into the common security space ultimately led to growing
alienation and a crisis in relations between Russia and the West. This
transition was accompanied by the degradation of the arms control
regime, the erosion of the rules of the game in the field of security
against the backdrop of military operations by the United States and its
allies, and interference in the internal affairs of post-Soviet
countries. The culmination was the Ukrainian crisis, the military stage
of which finally determined the dividing lines in Europe.
US commander sees 'breathtaking' development of China's space power-by AFP Staff Writers-Sydney (AFP) April 24, 2024
China's
military capabilities in space are developing at a "breathtaking" pace
that only looks set to intensify after recent defence reforms, the head
of the US Space Command said Wednesday.General Stephen Whiting told
journalists that Beijing had "tripled the number of intelligence
surveillance and reconnaissance satellites on orbit" in just six years,
with repercussions across military domains."Frankly, the People's
Republic of China is moving at breathtaking speed in space and they are
rapidly developing a range of counter-space weapons to hold at risk our
space capabilities," Whiting said.Describing China as the United States'
top "pacing challenge", Whiting said Beijing had used "space
capabilities to improve the lethality, the precision and the range of
their terrestrial forces".China's leaders had underscored future space
ambitions with recent military reforms, he added.Beijing on Friday
announced the creation of an information support force within the
People's Liberation Army, essentially reforming the way cyber,
information, logistics and space operations are run.The changes "further
enhance the importance of space and information warfare and cyber
operations" in China's military, Whiting said, offering an initial
assessment of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's April 19 announcement.The head
of the US Space Command -- a unified combatant command that brings
together all service branches including the Space Force -- urged "more
transparency" from China, as it develops civilian and military space
capabilities.The world's second-largest economy has pumped billions of
dollars into its military-run space programme in an effort to catch up
with the United States and Russia.China will on Thursday send a fresh
crew to its Tiangong space station, part of an effort to send astronauts
to the Moon and establish a research base on the lunar surface by
2030.China has billed the International Lunar Research Station as a
cooperative and scientifically focused project."We've seen the
announcements of China's ambitions to go to the Moon and you know, those
appear to be exploratory and scientific on the surface," said
Whiting."But the Chinese aren't very transparent with what they do in
space. And so, you know, we hope there's not a military component to
that. But we would certainly welcome more transparency.
"China to
send fresh crew to Tiangong space station Jiuquan, China (AFP) April
24, 2024 - China will send a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station on
Thursday, Beijing's Manned Space Agency announced, the latest mission
in a programme that aims to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.The
Shenzhou-18 mission -- crewed by three astronauts -- is scheduled to
take off at 8:59 pm (1259 GMT) Thursday from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in northwest China, Beijing announced Wednesday.It will be
led by Ye Guangfu, a fighter pilot and astronaut who was previously
part of the Shenzhou-13 crew in 2021.He will be joined by astronauts Li
Cong and Li Guangsu, who are heading into space for the first
time.Commander Ye described the launch as a "new beginning"."Facing the
challenge, my two teammates and I are fully prepared. We are full of
confidence in completing this mission!" he said at a press conference on
Wednesday.Li Guangsu said he wanted to take a "good look at the
beautiful blue planet, the splendid mountains and rivers of the
motherland, and find the places that have nurtured me along the way"."I
also want to see for my lovely child if the stars in the sky can really
twinkle or not," he added.The latest batch of Tiangong astronauts will
stay in orbit for six months, carrying out experiments in gravity and
physics, as well as in life sciences.They will also carry out a "project
on high-resolution global greenhouse gas detection", Deputy Director
General of the CMSA Lin Xiqiang said, according to state news agency
Xinhua."All pre-launch preparations are on schedule," he said."They will
work with other active astronauts to carry out the follow-up space
station missions and to realise the country's manned lunar landing."The
Tiangong, which means "heavenly palace", is the crown jewel of a space
programme that has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made
China the third country to independently put humans in orbit.It is
constantly crewed by rotating teams of three astronauts, with
construction completed in 2022.The Tiangong is expected to remain in low
Earth orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometres (250 and 280 miles) above
the planet for at least 10 years.The new crew will replace the
Shenzhou-17 team, who were sent to the station in October.- Moon by
2030? -Plans for China's "space dream" have been put into overdrive
under President Xi Jinping.The world's second-largest economy has pumped
billions of dollars into its military-run space programme in an effort
to catch up with the United States and Russia.Beijing also aims to send a
crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, and plans to build a base on the
lunar surface.China has been effectively excluded from the International
Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from
engaging with the country -- pushing Beijing to develop its own orbital
outpost.China's space agency said on Wednesday it had secured new
international partners for its planned lunar base, known as the
International Lunar Research Station, which Beijing has said will be
completed by 2030.The partners include Nicaragua, the Asia-Pacific Space
Cooperation Organization and the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space
Sciences, Xinhua said.Yang Liwei, China's first man in space, told media
on Wednesday that the country was "hoping and willing to cooperate with
countries around the world on equal and mutually beneficial terms".He
said he was "personally looking forward" to greater cooperation in space
with the United States."Because lots of the astronauts in the US are
also our good friends, and we are all familiar with each other," he
added.
CHINA.WIRE-EU opens probe into China's medical device market.
Brussels,
Belgium, April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2024-The European Union on Wednesday
announced a probe into China's medical devices market, prompting an
immediate accusation from Beijing that the bloc was engaging in
"protectionism".Brussels suspects China is favouring its own suppliers
for the procurement of medical devices. The EU's official administrative
journal, announcing the probe, set out ways that could be happening,
including through a "Buy China" policy.The EU also has concerns that
China may have restricted imports and imposed conditions "leading to
abnormally low bids that cannot be sustained by profit-oriented
companies," the notice in the journal said.In response, a Chinese
foreign ministry spokesman said the investigation would "damage the EU's
image"."All the outside world sees is it (the EU) gradually moving
towards protectionism," said the spokesman, Wang Wenbin, calling on
Brussels to "stop using any excuse to groundlessly suppress and restrict
Chinese business".China's medical devices market is the second largest
after the United States, worth around 135 billion euros in 2022 ($145
billion), according to a 2023 report by China-focused think tank
MERICS.The EU probe is the first under the bloc's International
Procurement Instrument which seeks to promote reciprocity in access to
international public procurement markets."The... restrictive measures
and practices put at a significant and systemic disadvantage (European)
Union economic operators, goods and services as they systematically
favour the procurement of domestic products to the detriment of imported
ones," the official journal said.If the investigation finds unfair
behaviour by China, the EU can limit Chinese companies' access to the
27-nation bloc's public procurement market.The journal said the
investigation would conclude within nine months, although the European
Commission can extend this by five months.Beijing is "invited to submit
its views and to provide relevant information" and can hold
consultations with the European Commission -- the EU's trade authority
-- "to eliminate or remedy the alleged measures and practices," the text
said.Brussels wanted to "achieve a level playing field in our
procurement markets for producers of medical devices, on both sides," EU
trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said."Regrettably, our repeated
discussions with China on this trade irritant have been fruitless," he
added.In a statement, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said
Washington "will follow with interest the European Commission's
investigation"."The International Procurement Instrument is a trade tool
that can potentially help address the unfair procurement policies and
practices pursued" by China, Tai added.- Slew of probes -The EU has
launched a wave of investigations targeting China over the past few
months, particularly into green tech subsidies.The EU provoked Beijing's
ire in April after announcing an investigation into Chinese wind
turbine suppliers.Other probes have focused on Chinese subsidies for
solar panels, electric cars and trains as Brussels seeks to move away
from reliance on cheaper Chinese technology.On Tuesday, the commission
announced surprise raids on the EU offices of an unidentified company
that makes and sells "security equipment" as part of a probe into
foreign subsidies.The Chinese chamber of commerce in the EU denounced
the raids in the Netherlands and Poland against a Chinese company.The EU
has also adopted laws that often have China in their sights.The
European Parliament on Tuesday approved a ban on products made using
forced labour. Supporters hope it will be used to block goods from
China's Xinjiang region where the Uyghur Muslim minority is said to
endure many rights abuses.The latest investigation was announced after
German authorities arrested an aide to a far-right German MEP,
Maximilian Krah, on suspicion of spying for China.
Partial power outage at Fukushima plant, water release suspended.
Tokyo,
April 24 (AFP) Apr 24, 2024-The release of treated wastewater into the
ocean from Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant was suspended on
Wednesday as a partial power outage affected the site, operator TEPCO
said.The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said in a statement that
the system to cool reactors remained operational and "no meaningful
change" had been detected at plant facilities that monitor
radioactivity.In 2011, the Fukushima-Daiichi plant on Japan's
northeastern coast went into meltdown after a huge earthquake and
tsunami that killed 18,000 people. It was one of the worst nuclear
disasters in history."At around 10:43 am (0143 GMT), electricity source
line A stopped," Wednesday's TEPCO statement said without giving
details.The release of water treated through a filtration process called
ALPS also stopped at the same time, it said.TEPCO added that a worker
had been injured during an excavation operation.An inspection later
found the worker was near an electric circuit when the incident
occurred."Therefore, it is assumed that the worker damaged the cable
during excavation work," the company said in a statement.Earlier, a
TEPCO spokesman told AFP that "there seems to be a link between this
electricity loss and suspension of the ALPS operation.""We are trying to
figure out" a potential link between the injury and the electricity
loss, he said.The worker was conscious and not contaminated, but was
seen by an on-site doctor and an ambulance was called.Last year, Japan
began releasing treated wastewater from the plant into the Pacific
Ocean.The facility was running out of space to build more water tanks,
and TEPCO needed to clear the area for the much more hazardous task of
removing radioactive fuel and rubble from three stricken reactors.Japan
argues that the water being released gradually over decades is harmless
and heavily diluted with seawater.The International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and many leading economies have endorsed the release.But China,
later joined by Russia, banned all Japanese seafood imports, saying that
Japan was polluting the environment.IAEA officials and international
experts are currently in Japan to review the water release.Their mission
to review "the safety and regulatory aspects of the discharge" is
scheduled for April 23-26.
Kim oversees North Korea's first 'nuclear trigger' drills.
Seoul,
April 23 (AFP) Apr 23, 2024-North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has
overseen the country's first ever "nuclear trigger" drills, state-run
KCNA news agency said Tuesday, which involved simulating a nuclear
counterattack as a warning to enemies.The drills showcased North Korea's
"nuclear trigger" management system for the first time, the official
Korean Central News Agency reported, adding this was the country's
combined control system for its nuclear weapons.The drill took place on
Monday, according to the report. Seoul's military had earlier announced
that the North had fired several short-range ballistic missiles that
day, with Tokyo also confirming the launch.Kim "guided a combined
tactical drill simulating a nuclear counterattack involving super-large
multiple rocket artillerymen," the report said.The rockets "hit their
island target" some 352 kilometres (219 miles) away, it continued,
saying Kim had expressed "great satisfaction" over the result, which
boosted "the Korean-style tactical nuclear strike".The drill examined
"the reliability of the system of command, management, control and
operation of the whole nuclear force" and ensured the super-large
multiple rocket units had "mastered" the ability to switch into nuclear
counterattack mode, KCNA said.KCNA said the drills were in response to a
US-South Korean joint air drill, which runs from April 12 to April
26.The US and South Korean air forces said the annual exercises would
serve for "demonstrating lethality in the air domain, and enhancing
their ability to deter, defend, and defeat any adversary."Pyongyang
claims it is "seriously threatened by the hostile forces' ceaseless
military provocations" KCNA said Tuesday.As a result, the North needs to
"more overwhelmingly and more rapidly bolster up the strongest military
muscle," it added.- 'Nuclear missiles' -The latest launch "is an
exercise designed for a scenario showing how the Kim regime would
respond to a surprise aerial bombing on Pyongyang by joint US-South
Korea air forces," Han Kwon-hee of the Korea Association of Defence
Industry Studies told AFP."The drill shows the possible response could
involve retaliation by nuclear missiles at the South," he
added.Pyongyang declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear weapons state
in 2022, outlining its right to conduct preemptive nuclear attacks.The
launch is the second in less than a week by Pyongyang, which on Friday
tested a "super-large warhead" designed for a strategic cruise missile,
state media said. Seoul's military confirmed it had detected cruise
missile launches at the time.The launches come after Pyongyang's ally
Moscow in March used its United Nations Security Council veto to
effectively end UN monitoring of sanctions violations on Kim's
government for its nuclear and weapons programme.The largely isolated
country has recently bolstered military ties with Moscow, and this month
it thanked Russia for its UN veto.It has also ramped up testing,
claiming in early April to have tested a new medium-to-long-range
solid-fuel hypersonic missile.Analysts have warned that North Korea
could be testing cruise missiles ahead of sending them to Russia for use
in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul claiming Kim has already shipped
weapons to Moscow, despite UN sanctions banning any such moves.Seoul
claims Pyongyang has sent around 7,000 containers of weapons to Moscow
for use in Ukraine.Last year, the North conducted a record number of
missile tests in defiance of UN sanctions in place since 2006 and
despite warnings from Washington and Seoul.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3
Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a
witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment
come.(IN 1 HR THE STOCK MARKETS WORLDWIDE WILL CRASH)
17 For in one
hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all
the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood
afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping
and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich
all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one
hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast
their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be
removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to
deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy
their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the
stumblingblock of their iniquity.
MARK OF THE BEAST (engraved microchip in your hand or forehead)
REVELATION 13:16-18
16
And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 16:1-2
1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels,
Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the
earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth;
and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the
mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
I
KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP
WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2,
19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS
DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE
CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD
TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN
WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO
GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK
WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA,
KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS
A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM
5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A
POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E
(BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUM VALLATION IN A
SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO
"GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING,
-TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα,
στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German
stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in
or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves
and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded
or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general
they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped
themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling,
Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.)
Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says
he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils,
hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of
Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary,
servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage
cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.)
THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo
THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.
LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
‘I've got you under my skin’ – The role of ethical consideration in the (non-) acceptance of insideables in the workplace☆
Author links open overlay panel-https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2018.09.008
Highlights-The role of ethical acceptability in technology (non)-acceptance is under researched.
The ethical issues identified by laymen with chip implants in the workplace are broader than privacy. A new framework to study the (non)-acceptance of insideables is proposed.
Abstract
This study examines the press coverage of initiatives taken by three companies, in three different countries, to propose chip implants to their employees (‘insideable’ technology). The study sought to identify prevalent topics, the motivations and measures taken by the companies, the drivers and barriers of employees towards the chips, and the issues raised by experts in the newspaper articles. Content analysis was performed, with each Case being analysed separately. Then, overarching themes and differences are observed. The ethical considerations driving perception of technology have to do with privacy, the proportionality principle, harm and safety. People accepting the technology do not mention such constructs, they focus on the possibility of being pioneers and the convenience offered by the technology. Societal acceptance, through the gaze of others and the infrastructure developed in the different countries to use microchips, also plays a role to drive personal and work-related acceptance of insideables. A modelling to investigate the acceptance of insideables taking into account different dimensions of acceptability is proposed.
Introduction
Anyone can get a microchip implant, buying the chip online for 50$. While the individuals aiming at becoming the first cyborgs have been proceeding to such implants for years [27]. This practice is now becoming more widespread as companies suggest to their employees to get chip implants too. The chips are meant to give new abilities to employees and replace natural movements or other artefacts such as credit cards or keys. Indeed, implants allow users to automatically open doors, they can trigger computers or printers, and they can pay for purchases. Although these chips are linked to trivial activities, their growing use can be seen as a sign of the acceptance of insideable technologies, e.g. technologies put inside the skin. Future implementations could go as far as chips embedded into the brain for monitoring brain activity [49]. Their acceptance also highlights the idea of human enhancement, i.e. the willingness to use technology in order to make people more efficient and simplify their lives.
Proposing chip implants to employees raises questions about the role that technology is meant to have in society.
Firstly, it immediately opens up a new role for technology at work. Technology has always been an integral part of a workplace. However, technology used to take the form of an external artefact, and most of the time it would be activated by the expressed willingness of the user, who had at least a certain level of control on the technology (e.g. the ability to operate a machine functioning in the background). Moreover, the technological artefacts provided were used by individuals only for a given period of time during the day. Embodied technologies seem to be in opposition to the technologies described above: they are a priori characterized by a few features, namely their continuous presence and potential use, the lack of control of the user, and forms of use that do not require express intentionality. They can also be open to hacking—that is, others may modify the functionalities of the chips or to access information through them. Most importantly, they could also eventually become an intrusion into the bodily functions of the individual.
Secondly, proposing chip implants to employees can have a long-term impact on the structure and functioning of society. Embodying work technology also changes an individual's relationship to work. It makes work become part of the individual. Initially, the employees lend their energy, time, physical and mental abilities to an employer, and they are compensated for this through salary. With the implant, the employees host work-related information and give out personal information on a permanent basis.
Thirdly, such a practice can transform the way individuals interact with the world around them, and it may make certain infrastructures obsolete while also creating needs for new ones. While the individual uptake of chip implants was limited to a few cases, it can be hypothesized that a more structured and organized use of these chips in the workplace can lead to a surge in chip-related services and uptake across different areas of society. Financial considerations and infrastructure changes might lead individuals to accept microchip implants without giving them a clear alternative, and this raises ethical issues. The practice of implanting chips can create a new market with companies developing these technologies, programming them, and guaranteeing their safety and security. Given the economic potential of microchip implants, it is expected that more and more applications will be developed.
With the above argumentation in mind, it is therefore important to examine how the first cases of employee chip implants are presented to society in general. Information support is a component of societal acceptance, and research on other emerging technologies has shown that analysing the content of news media allows to understand how risks and benefits are presented to society [52]. This paper proposes an analysis of news content related to the experience of three different companies who have proposed chip implants to their employees between 2015 and 2018. The analysis focuses on identifying the drivers of acceptance and use—or lack thereof—of the chips at the organizational and individual levels, and it also identifies how the issue is framed by news media. Particular attention was given to the role of functional and ethical considerations so that beyond describing the phenomenon, this paper also questions the role of ethical considerations and acceptability in technology acceptance. In doing so, this study proposes to complete the technology acceptance model (TAM [17]) and broaden the conception that the information systems community has regarding ethics. Finally, the paper contributes to the current body of knowledge by highlighting areas for future research, as well as areas to be considered by policy and management.
The paper is organized as follows. Firstly, this paper reviews the literature on acceptability and acceptance of technology by looking at how both can be framed by media. Secondly, the paper describes the methodology followed in order to proceed to the content analysis. Thirdly, the paper describes the cases by providing an overview of the topics and a more in-depth qualitative analysis. An initial modelling of what could be ethics-related drivers and barriers of acceptance of these technologies is presented and suggested for refinement in future research involving employees directly. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the results in relation to theory, research, and the practical implementation of such technologies in the workplace.
Section snippets
Literature review
The idea of implanting chips into individuals in order to simplify their lives and make them more efficient can be regarded as an attempt at enhancing individuals. Enhancement has been extensively discussed from the perspective of ethics, bioethics, philosophy, and medicine. In particular, the moral and ethical acceptability of human augmentation has been largely documented [13,21,29], and discussions on human dignity and human enhancement have grown [31]. However, the acceptance of these
Methodology
This paper selected three cases of implementation of the chips, as these are the only cases known by the author of employee chip implant.4
Results
This study analysed the data for each company Case separately. The results that are presented show the cases as they occurred in chronological order—namely Epicenter first in 2015, followed by Three Square Market and New Fusion in 2017. Summary tables contain the coding made regarding topics and actors; both were the basis for writing the cases summaries in the following subsections. The number attached to citations from the newspapers refers to the corresponding newspaper article number as
Discussion
The coverage of the first Case from 2015 and the coverage of the two other cases from 2017 is essentially different. The few articles from 2015 that were retrieved presented the fact that these implants were possible and offered remarks on possible futures. The articles from 2017 offered more lengthy descriptions of the technology, the reasons to use it, and the attached ethical issues; remarks on where this technology can go in the future were also found. In any case, the greater coverage
Conclusion
The three cases described in this paper allowed for ethical considerations to be identified, as well as some societal considerations driving resistance to technology and also more functional considerations driving the acceptance of microchip implants in the workplace as reported in the media. Doing so, the study highlighted how current approaches to acceptance and resistance of technology need to be adapted to assess the technologies promoted to enhance individuals.
Acknowledgments-This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 795536.Stéphanie Gauttier holds her PhD in Information Systems and is currently a Marie Curie Fellow at the department of Philosophy of the University of Twente (the Netherlands). Her work focuses on the link between ethics and technology acceptance.
BRICS:
21 Countries Officially Agree to Ditch the US Dollar in 2023-Vinod
Dsouza-September 7, 2023-Source: geopoliticaleconomy.com
The US
dollar is facing challenges from developing countries that are
threatening its status as the global reserve currency. A handful of
alliances in Asia, Africa, and South America are looking to end
dependency on the U.S. The BRICS and ASEAN groups are at the forefront
of challenging the US dollar’s status.Developing countries fear U.S.
sanctions could hurt their economies and, therefore, want to strengthen
their local currencies and economies. The de-dollarization efforts are
in full swing in 2023, and nearly two dozen countries want to ditch the
U.S. dollar.Two different alliances have officially agreed to ditch the
U.S. dollar for global trade in 2023. In March 2023, the ASEAN bloc was
the first to decide not to use the U.S. dollar for cross-border
transactions. The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations signed a
declaration to stop using the U.S. dollar and promote their local
currencies instead.Additionally, the BRICS alliance concluded to stop
settling international trade using the U.S. dollar at the summit in
August this year. BRICS will use local currencies for trade and is also
looking to create a common currency among member nations. The trade will
be settled within the existing bloc of 10 countries and not with other
nations outside the alliance.ASEAN countries leaders-The ASEAN group
consists of 10 countries, and the BRICS alliance is now an 11-member
group. In conclusion, a total of 21 countries have officially agreed to
ditch the U.S. dollar for global trade in 2023. Read here to know what
could happen to the U.S. dollar if BRICS and ASEAN stop using USD for
trade.The ASEAN bloc of 10 countries includes Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
and Vietnam. Also, the BRICS alliance includes Brazil, Russia, India,
China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Argentina, and
Ethiopia.
Why the world is turning away from the US
dollar-Published: January 12, 2024 7.54am EST-Author-Alexandros
Mandilaras-Associate professor, University of Surrey
The invasion
of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted the US Treasury Department to
impose unprecedented sanctions on Russia, to hold it “accountable for
its premeditated and unprovoked invasion”.The aim was to prevent Russia
from “prop[ing] up its rapidly depreciating currency by restricting
global supplies of the ruble and access to reserves that Russia may try
to exchange to support the ruble”. In other words, Russia wouldn’t be
able to sell enough US dollars in the foreign exchange market to buy up
Russian currency and bolster its value.Indeed, US secretary of the
treasury Janet Yellen called this an “unprecedented action” that would
“significantly limit Russia’s ability to use assets to finance its
destabilising activities”.Freezing a sovereign country’s dollar holdings
(Russia’s in this case) is a seismic event. It risks accelerating a
move away from use of the US dollar for trade or investment by countries
that have different geopolitical interests than the US, such as China
or the Gulf states.In fact, several governments outside the west are
exploring ways to reduce their exposure to the dollar. Russia is
currently settling a quarter of its international trade using Chinese
renminbi, and its bilateral trade with China is almost entirely settled
in the two countries’ respective currencies.In March 2023, China settled
a payment for UAE gas in its own currency rather than US dollars for
the first time. Then in November, China and Saudi Arabia signed a
currency swap agreement, citing a desire to expand the use of their
currencies.There are more troubling signs for the US dollar. Even though
central banks’ foreign exchange reserves have been growing steadily
year-on-year for more than 20 years, the percentage held in US dollars
reached its lowest point in the fourth quarter of 2022, as this chart
shows:US$ held by central banks-Line chart showing countries' USD
holdings falling.Currency composition of central banks’ foreign exchange
reserves. Author provided using International Monetary Fund data., CC
BY-NC-NDThis is not a blip. It is the culmination of a long negative
trend that has seen the US currency’s share in foreign reserves held by
central banks fall from over 70% in the early 2000s to under 60%
today.While the drop is not dramatic, it’s significant and indicative of
a negative trend for the dollar that reflects several developments –
economic but also geopolitical.Leaving the US behind? The US economy’s
share in the world’s output is falling as emerging economies, especially
China, continue to outgrow the US and its western partners. China, the
US’s biggest economic competitor, is now the main trading partner to
more than 120 countries, with exports amounting to more than US$3.6
trillion (£2.8 billion). This risks leaving the US behind in the race
for global trade dominance.Over the last 20 years, China’s share of the
global economy has more than doubled from 8.9% to 18.5% while the US’s
share declined from 20.1% to 15.5% in purchasing power parity terms
(which compare prices of specific goods to determine currency purchasing
power).Last year, the Brics economies (fast-growth developing countries
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) overtook those of the G7
(developed economies US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and
Germany) based on their share of world GDP in purchasing power parity
terms.As more countries join the Brics, it will give the group even more
economic clout.Meanwhile, the US economy’s global GDP share is falling
and its debt is hitting new heights as it issues more Treasury bills,
notes and bonds to fund current government spending. The US national
debt stands in excess of US$33 trillion, or 123% of the country’s annual
output. Inflationary shocks followed by interest rate increases have
made servicing this debt very expensive for US taxpayers, repeatedly
raising the risk of a debt default in recent years.There is no doubt the
US dollar still dominates world markets right now, accounting for most
of the transactions in international trade. Its share in the foreign
exchange market is colossal at 88% of transactions, and it remains the
most widely held “international reserve” by central banks who want to
ensure they can cover their countries’ imports and support the value of
their own currencies.But the centrality of the US currency since the
second world war has not always been welcome –– certainly not by US foes
and sometimes not even by its friends. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the
20th president of France and a finance minister in the 1960s, called the
dollar’s reserve status an “exorbitant privilege” for the US. He
probably meant that demand for US assets from abroad was so high that it
could borrow easily at favourable terms to finance its current account
deficit –– a privilege not available to other nations.Current global
geopolitical and economic shifts could now see this exorbitant privilege
challenged. The refusal of Russia’s Brics partners and many UN nations
to undertake western-style sanctions against Russia is evidence of the
limitations the west faces in exerting geopolitical influence.And from
an economic perspective, China as the world’s top trader and Russia as
one of the world’s richest countries by energy reserves have amassed
large gold holdings which could replace some US dollar uses. Both are
looking to work with other countries, including those in the Gulf
region, to reduce reliance on the US dollar.Challenger
currencies-onvincing non-western investors to use a “challenger
currency” – whether the Chinese renminbi or a Brics currency – could
become easier following the US Treasury’s freezing of Russian assets.
And these switches could accelerate if the US decides to seize the
frozen Russian assets.It’s increasingly clear that, as non-western
countries assert themselves in the world’s economic arena, geopolitical
divisions with the west will cause additional friction. As a result, the
US dollar’s role is almost certain to become more limited than it has
been at any time since the end of the second world war.
US debt
default could trigger dollar’s collapse – and severely erode America’s
political and economic might-Published: January 30, 2023 8.13am EST
Updated: May 10, 2023 9.06am EDT-Author-Michael Humphries-Deputy Chair
of Business Administration, Touro University
Congressional
leaders at loggerheads over a debt ceiling impasse sat down with
President Joe Biden on May 9, 2023, as the clock ticks down to a
potentially catastrophic default if nothing is done by the end of the
month.Republicans, who regained control of the House of Representatives
in November 2022, are threatening not to allow an increase in the debt
limit unless they get spending cuts and regulatory rollbacks in return,
which they outlined in a bill passed in April 2023. In so doing, they
risk pushing the U.S. government into default.It feels a lot like a case
of déjà vu all over again.Brinkmanship over the debt ceiling has become
a regular ritual – it happened under the Clinton administration in
1995, then again with Barack Obama as president in 2011, and more
recently in 2021.As an economist, I know that defaulting on the national
debt would have real-life consequences. Even the threat of pushing the
U.S. into default has an economic impact. In August 2021, the mere
prospect of a potential default led to an unprecedented downgrade of the
the nation’s credit rating, hurting America’s financial prestige as
well as countless individuals, including retirees.And that was caused by
the mere specter of default. An actual default would be far more
damaging.Dollar’s collapse-Possibly the most serious consequence would
be the collapse of the U.S. dollar and its replacement as global trade’s
“unit of account.” That essentially means that it is widely used in
global finance and trade.Day to day, most Americans are likely unaware
of the economic and political power that goes with being the world’s
unit of account. Currently, more than half of world trade – from oil and
gold to cars and smartphones – is in U.S. dollars, with the euro
accounting for around 30% and all other currencies making up the
balance.As a result of this dominance, the U.S. is the only country on
the planet that can pay its foreign debt in its own currency. This gives
both the U.S. government and American companies tremendous leeway in
international trade and finance.No matter how much debt the U.S.
government owes foreign investors, it can simply print the money needed
to pay them back – although for economic reasons, it may not be wise to
do so. Other countries must buy either the dollar or the euro to pay
their foreign debt. And the only way for them to do so is to either to
export more than they import or borrow more dollars or euros on the
international market.The U.S. is free from such constraints and can run
up large trade deficits – that is, import more than it exports – for
decades without the same consequences.For American companies, the
dominance of the dollar means they’re not as subject to the exchange
rate risk as are their foreign competitors. Exchange rate risk refers to
how changes in the relative value of currencies may affect a company’s
profitability.Since international trade is generally denominated in
dollars, U.S. businesses can buy and sell in their own currency,
something their foreign competitors cannot do as easily. As simple as
this sounds, it gives American companies a tremendous competitive
advantage.If Republicans push the U.S. into default, the dollar would
likely lose its position as the international unit of account, forcing
the government and companies to pay their international bills in another
currency.A mincer shows dollars being inserted in the top and shredded
underneath.Loss of political power too-The dollar’s dominance means
trade must go through an American bank at some point. This is one
important way it gives the U.S. tremendous political power, especially
to punish economic rivals and unfriendly governments. For example, when
former President Donald Trump imposed economic sanctions on Iran, he
denied the country access to American banks and to the dollar. He also
imposed secondary sanctions, which means that non-American companies
trading with Iran were also sanctioned. Given a choice of access to the
dollar or trading with Iran, most of the world economies chose access to
the dollar and complied with the sanctions. As a result, Iran entered a
deep recession, and its currency plummeted about 30%.President Joe
Biden did something similar against Russia in response to its invasion
of Ukraine. Limiting Russia’s access to the dollar has helped push the
country into a recession that’s bordering on a depression.No other
country today could unilaterally impose this level of economic pain on
another country. And all an American president currently needs is a
pen.Rivals rewarded-Another consequence of the dollar’s collapse would
be enhancing the position of the U.S.’s top rival for global influence:
China.While the euro would likely replace the dollar as the world’s
primary unit of account, the Chinese yuan would move into second
place.If the yuan were to become a significant international unit of
account, this would enhance China’s international position both
economically and politically. As it is, China has been working with the
other BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia and India – to accept the yuan as a
unit of account. With the other three already resentful of U.S.
economic and political dominance, a U.S. default would support that
effort.They may not be alone: Recently, Saudi Arabia suggested it was
open to trading some of its oil in currencies other than the dollar –
something that would change long-standing policy.Severe
consequences-Beyond the impact on the dollar and the economic and
political clout of the U.S., a default would be profoundly felt in many
other ways and by countless people.In the U.S., tens of millions of
Americans and thousands of companies that depend on government support
could suffer, and the economy would most likely sink into recession – or
worse, given the U.S. is already expected to soon suffer a downturn. In
addition, retirees could see the worth of their pensions dwindle.The
truth is, we really don’t know what will happen or how bad it will get.
The scale of the damage caused by a U.S. default is hard to calculate in
advance because it has never happened before.But there’s one thing we
can be certain of. If Republicans take their threat of default too far,
the U.S. and Americans will suffer tremendously.This is an updated
version of an article originally published on Jan. 30, 2023.
Cashless Societies: Which Countries Are Making The Switch? Reading Time: 9 minutes-Last Updated on May 23, 2023 by Corepay
We’ve
all heard that we’re moving towards cashless societies, but we’ve all
probably brushed it off as doomsaying or too-far-into-the-future
technology.Except now we’re getting closer to that reality.According to
an article in SmarterTravel.com, some banking experts are predicting
that Sweden will eliminate cash as a payment method by the year 2023 and
that all of their transactions will use a digital payment method, such
as credit and debit cards, RFID signals, digital wallets, and so
on.Should this happen, this would make Sweden the first cashless country
in the world.In this article, we are going to take look at the various
countries that are aiming towards cashless societies in the near future
as well as what this means for merchants moving forward.Merchants need
to have a greater understanding of what payment solutions are going to
look like in the future.It is important to note, that while some
predictions indicate the United States will go cashless, it still
remains a distant reality.Let’s take a look at what a cashless society
and cashless countries would entail for merchants, as well as for
individuals.What Is A Cashless Society? Mobile Credit Card Machine-A
cashless society in its simplest terms is a society in which purchases
of services and or goods are made by credit cards/electronic funds
rather than cash or check.You might be thinking, “well aren’t a vast
majority of purchases made electronically already?” You would be
correct, as it is impossible to deny the convenience of electronic
transfers and purchases.This being said, just because countries are
taking tremendous steps to go cashless, that doesn’t mean that it will
be enforced by the government.It is also important to remember that
there are individuals who still prefer cash, as they feel there is less
government control.A cashless society doesn’t mean just a major shift
from cash to electronic payments, it means a complete shift in that cash
is no longer used for anything.To better understand what going cashless
means, let’s take a look at the pros and cons below.Pros-There are many
benefits to going cashless. Those who are able to take advantage of
ever-growing technology will find that one of the main benefits is
convenience.With apps like Venmo, Paypal, and Zelle, it is hard to deny
the convenience that technology has provided us with.Should countries
decide to go cashless, this would greatly decrease illegal activity such
as money laundering, illegal transactions, illegal gambling, and drug
operations.Here are the main benefits that you could expect from a
cashless country.Convenience: Far more convenient for consumers and for
merchants, especially when those are traveling and dealing with currency
exchange.Lower Crime Rates: Going cashless would mean there would be no
tangible money to steal, reducing crime.Decreased Money Laundering: It
is harder for people to launder money without cash as it is much easier
to track electronic payments/spending with digital paper trails.Time: A
lot of time will be saved from not managing cash for both businesses and
consumers.Health Benefits: In general, cash is dirty. The spread of
viruses and other illnesses can be greatly halted when germs aren’t
being spread through cash.While a lot of these points may seem like
common sense, they are extremely valid points of discussion.In general,
many individuals probably would agree that all of these things are
positives.This being said, let’s take a look at some of the cons with a
cashless society.Cons-From what we’ve gathered, the main downfalls of
going totally cashless are security breaches and personal spending
habits. To combat this, over the years, the banking and credit card
processing industries have seen drastic increases in security.While
hacking can certainly be a concern, digital paper trails could end up
being the reason why you’re able to get back $2,000 that was stolen from
you. If this was cash, it would be much harder to prove it wasn’t you
who spent the funds or that you were robbed.Security: Should your bank
account get hacked, you wouldn’t have any additional funds until it’s
cleared up.Spending Habits: Some may have trouble saving money when
physical cash isn’t leaving their wallets.Tech Problems/Glitches: Should
there be glitches or outages, merchants may have trouble accepting
payments, leaving you without the ability to purchase goods when
needed.Digital Paper Trails: All transactions would be easy to track and
this could be something that frequent cash users won’t like.Overview Of
A Cashless Society-cashless payments-So, what would a cashless society
look like? In a way, similar to what we’re seeing today with electronic
transfers, and more and more businesses accepting different forms of
electronic payments.This is one of the major reasons why merchants need
to make sure they are working with reliable and up-to-date payment
processing companies. Without cash and coins, all payments would be
handled electronically. Rather than using cash to exchange value, you
would be authorizing transfers of funds from one bank account to the
next.While credit cards and debit cards are definitely seeing a heavy
uptick in overall users, they may not be the only thing to contribute to
a totally cashless society.In addition to the traditional Visa,
MasterCard, and American Express cards, as well as Discover, JCB (Japan
Credit Bank), there are other options you need to be prepared for.There
are apps like PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and Cash apps. There’s WeChat Pay
and AliPay mobile chat and payment apps, which have 800 million users
around the world.And lastly, there’s Brazil’s Boleto Bancário, which is
organized by the Brazilian Federation of Banks, which makes up 25% of
the country’s total payments with 3.7 billion transactions per
year.Mobile wallets would also likely be heavily prevalent with services
like Apple Pay. Countries that are starting to stray from cash and have
seen a steady rise in mobile payments.The last thing to touch on is
cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are already being used for transfers
and they also bring new technology and innovation. This being said,
cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are still considered to be extremely
high-risk for merchants and consumers.To sum this all up, we would
likely see an increase in security and an increase in mobile apps
focusing on convenience for consumers and merchants. Cashless
Cities-Shanghai-Smarter Travel predicts that cities like Stockholm,
Reykjavik, Seoul, Singapore, and several cities in China will go
cashless. So what does this mean for retail and online merchants, and
their merchant service providers? While these cities going cashless will
only affect a fraction of the globe, merchants who accept all forms of
payment may need to get used to more and more alternative forms of
payment to crop up.Cashless Countries-Future Cashless Countries-There
are currently no cashless countries. This being said, there’s a growing
number of countries seeking to go cashless in the coming years.Let’s
take a look below at some of the countries that are closest to going
cashless:Sweden-Finland-China-South Korea-United
Kingdom-Australia-Netherlands-Canada.Sweden-With a date set in 2023 to
go completely cashless, Sweden is arguably the closest country to
achieve this. It is currently not uncommon to see signs that say “No
Cash Accepted” in various shops in Sweden.A recent study from the
European Payments Council showed that cash transactions accounted for
only 1% of Sweden’s GDP in 2019 with cash withdrawals steadily declining
by about 10% a year.While consumers are generally happy, those
struggling financially or technologically still continue to rely on
cash.Recent reports show that mobile payments are accelerating very
sharply in Sweden. One of the main reasons for this is that Swedes are
tech-savvy.For example, Swish, which is a mobile app, had over 7.8
million users in July of 2020 and also performs close to 50 million
transactions a month. Should Sweden achieve a truly cashless economy,
visitors will want to be sure that they have forms of electronic
payments.Finland-Finland has a smaller population of around 5.5 million.
This being said, cash in Finland is becoming irrelevant through rural
and urban areas.So, what is Finland doing differently than Sweden?
Finland is not taking as aggressive measures as Sweden in going towards a
fully digital economy, however, it is reported that Finland is
currently more capable of going fully cashless this moment.Finland
currently ranks second to just Ireland in terms of frequency of use of
cards, and fifth in e-commerce spending, and second in smartphone
penetration. China-While China is a bit behind both Finland and Sweden,
the growth in electronic payments is far more significant, given its
massive population size.Like other countries that have been aiming
towards going cashless, China has shown a rapid adoption of mobile
payments. Currently, one of the most popular ways to pay by phone is
through QR code scanning.China is leading the charge in eCommerce and is
the biggest eCommerce market in the world. With annual online sales of
$672 billion and an annual growth rate of 27.3%, China doesn’t show
signs of slowing.South Korea-South Korea is currently more cashless than
China, however, there are far fewer people.More and more South Koreans
are starting to rely on credit cards and various digital payment tools.
South Korea already has most of the infrastructure in place nationwide
to go cashless.It was reported that roughly 6% of South Korea’s GDP
being eCommerce spending and more than 100 transactions on every credit
card per year.This should keep South Korea in the conversation in the
coming years when it comes to the idea of going cashless or even just
relying more on electronic solutions.United Kingdom-The UK has embraced
technology, including the digitization of money. London, specifically,
has done so the most so far and continues down this path.The UK has a
strong presence in online banking and it is currently in second place to
just the United States when it comes to financial tech areas. There has
also been a strong increase in merchants accepting more card and mobile
payments.In 2020, the UK was 3rd to just the United States and China in
eCommerce GDP, and they sit well above 4th place,
Japan.Australia-Australia is a bit behind the other countries mentioned
in this list, however, it is definitely worth the mention. We are
currently seeing Australia start to digitize most of its economy. It is
predicted that most individuals in Australia will own a smartphone by
2020.This is a major advancement as a lot of payments are done via
mobile transactions nowadays.On top of this, internet banking
penetration is now over 75% of the total population.Over the last 5
years, the use of debit cards has increased by over 90% and online
banking transactions have increased by over 43%.Netherlands-The
Netherlands is one of the leaders in Europe when it comes to electronic
transactions. A striking statistic is that 99% of the population
currently owns a debit card.Over half of payment transactions in 2020
were contactless and via debit card. This is a huge step towards the
potentiality of going cashless.With this being said, cash still remains
to be an important payment type.Canada-While Canada is nowhere near
going cashless, they have some very interesting statistics regarding
electronic transactions.83% of Canadians now have a smartphone. This is
huge as consumers use smartphones to pay bills, shop online, and
transfer funds. A study even suggested that nearly 80% of Canadians
wouldn’t leave home without their phones.We’re also seeing that over 70%
of personal purchases in Canada are now card-based. While it’s hard to
deny this boom, going completely cashless in Canada seems to still be
far away.Will The U.S. Become A Cashless Country? United States Of
America-With a disparate level of technology and a wide span between
rich and poor people, it is hard to see the United States going
completely cashless in the near future.When a significant number of our
population are poor, refuse to use smartphones, or are severely
unbanked/underbanked, one could guess that cash will be around for a
long time.Not to mention the various laws that require that anyone who
sells something must accept cash as a form of payment, as well as
several cities that have also passed ordinances to prevent businesses
from going completely cashless.While many believe the United States
won’t be going cashless anytime soon, countries with lower levels of
economic inequality and greater trust in government seem to be pushing
the envelope.This being said, the United States, like most countries, is
making some major moves when it comes to electronic payments and
transactions. What Can Merchants Do? Now, more than ever, merchants
should be doubling down and making sure that they are able to accept
various payment methods.As certain cities and countries around the world
continue pushing electronic transactions, it will be more important
than ever that your business is able to process various payments.Even if
countries don’t go completely cashless, tourists may be reluctant to
travel with cash and may resort to different forms of payment.Wrapping
Up-While we still have a few years before Sweden goes totally cashless
and the other countries begin to follow suit, take this opportunity to
look at accepting different payment methods and forms of currency.Should
you be a merchant, it is extremely important to make sure that you are
working with a merchant services provider that is ready to adapt to an
ever-changing industry. Not only does Corepay do this, but we also offer
solutions to all types of industries including high-risk.
Apple
to placate EU by opening developer access to NFC scanning, Face
ID-Google expands mobile biometrics implementation-Apr 22, 2024, 4:51 pm
EDT | Joel R. McConvey
Apple’s tap-and-go mobile payments
system, ID scanning and biometric capabilities should be available to
rivals soon, with a report from Reuters saying European antitrust
regulators could approve Apple’s offer by next month. The approval would
conclude a four-year investigation by the European Commission into
alleged attempts by Apple to thwart competition for its Apple Pay mobile
wallet. It would also likely cancel the possibility of Apple facing
substantial fines.The tech giant first offered to make its tap-and-go
near-field communication (NFC) technology available to rivals for use on
non-Apple wallet systems on iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices. NFC
scanning is also used by digital identity providers like Regula and
Inverid for scanning ID documents with electronic chips.Apple also
offered to open up additional functionalities to developers, such as
authentication through Face ID biometrics, defaulting for preferred
payment apps, and a dispute settlement mechanism. A round of feedback
from rivals and customers asked for some of the terms to be
modified.Now, final technical details are being ironed out, and the EU
is likely to formally accept the offer before summer.-Google Wallet,
Google Pay get biometric authentication upgrades-An announcement from
Google says it is adding a biometric payment authentication feature to
its Google Wallet system. “Before making a payment, you’ll now be
prompted to confirm your identity – either by PIN, pattern, thumbprint,
or Class 3 biometric unlock with the option to turn off verification for
transit fares,” says a statement posted to Google Wallet’s online help
forums.Enhanced biometric verification is also coming to Google Play.
Android Police reports that Google has enabled the option to use
biometric verification when making a purchase on Google Play, without
having to re-enter a Google password. Users will be asked to verify
every time they make a purchase, using either fingerprint or face
biometrics. The option is designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized
transactions.In other Google news, the company seems unwilling to decide
if it trusts its Wear OS watch platform as a secure host for Google
Wallet. A report from 9to5Google says a PIN could be requested for
additional user authentication before enabling tap-to-pay transactions
with Wallet on Wear OS, which until now have just required the user to
open the watch app and tap.
Canada to contract face biometrics for border app as airports worldwide embrace mobile-Apr 22, 2024, 1:40 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Canada
is seeking smartphone-based face biometrics to verify the identity of
travelers crossing its borders.The contract with the Canadian Border
Services Agency is expected to be worth anywhere from $5 million
Canadian (roughly US$3.6 million) to CA$25 million ($18.2 million),
according to the public posting.CBSA “is looking to acquire and test
biometrics FRT solutions (also known as “algorithms”) to evaluate
technical performance compared to what is currently in use in the
Canadian context.”Bidders must be based in a country that is a NATO
member or part of the Five Eyes alliance (Canada, the U.S., the UK,
Australia and New Zealand) to meet security requirements.The tender
closes May 21.The CBSA has been reported to be considering using facial
recognition for more border checks for some time now, but has also been
grappling with the disastrous and expensive rollout of the ArriveCan
app, which has turned into a partisan sideshow.Australia, US and EU all
prepare for further airport digitizationThe appeal of mobile apps for
airport processes comes in part from the ability to automate parts of
the system and speed up passenger checks. Digitization can also avoid
some of the headaches that can accompany physical credentials, as
well.Kentucky’s new Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses are in some
cases posing problems for the TSA’s authentication technology, according
to WXIX. The outlet recounts the story of a woman and her husband being
told by TSA officers that their IDs, issued only in 2023, look “washed
out.”Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram is hoping to
further advance the country towards “seamless” airport journeys through
biometrics before he departs the role later this year, he told
InnovationAus in an interview.“You arrive in Australia [and] we’ve
already pre-cleared you from an immigration point of view because we
know who you are, we have your biometrics, you could walk off the air
bridge and your bag could in theory go straight into the belly of a
domestic flight,” he says.It is not plausible for the government to hire
enough security personnel to handle the volumes of air passengers that
are expected in the years ahead, according to Outram.The Mobile Passport
Control app operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection can now be
used to pass CBP checks prior to boarding at Abu Dhabi airport.All 14
airports around the world with Preclearance now accept MPC, including
Aruba; Bermuda; Dublin and Shannon, Ireland; Nassau, Bahamas; and
Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and
Winnipeg, Canada. CBP says the preclearance program allows its officers
to focus more on inspections and less on administration, for faster
processing of American and some Canadian passengers.Members of European
Parliament will vote this week on whether to approve new rules for how
airlines should collect and transmit Advance Passenger
Information.Airlines will have to collect and share each passenger’s
name, date of birth, nationality and passport details. Biometrics,
however, will not be included, and data will be deleted when no longer
needed, meaning within 48 hours in most cases. The rules apply to
flights arriving from outside of the EU, law enforcement purposes, and
flights departing from EU countries.The vote will be held on
Wednesday.Utilizing data with digital processes and preclearance are
among the major themes of SITA’s new white paper on taking advantage of
biometrics to solve aviation industry challenges. The 41-page “Face the
Future” white paper covers several models for biometric apps to ease
passenger journeys, including the Star Alliance biometric app and
Digital Travel Credentials.
UN says law enforcement should not use biometrics to surveil protestors-Apr 19, 2024, 5:29 pm EDT | Masha Borak
Law
enforcement agencies should not use biometric technology to categorize,
profile or remotely identify individuals during protests, the United
Nations says in a document outlining how police should approach human
rights during demonstrations.“Facial recognition technologies and other
biometric identification technologies must not be utilized to identify
or track individuals peacefully participating in a protest,” the
document states.Known as the “Practical toolkit for law enforcement
officials to promote and protect human rights in the context of peaceful
protests,” the document aims to address arbitrary and unlawful
surveillance during protests. This includes not just facial and
emotional recognition but also the use of CCTV cameras, aerial drones
and international mobile subscriber identity-catchers, known as
“stingrays.”“There should be no blanket authorization for the use of
digital technologies in the context of peaceful protests,” it
notes.Released in March by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to
freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi
Voule, the toolkit aims to supplement an earlier UN Model Protocol for
law enforcement published in January.The toolkit was created after the
UN’s Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in July 2022 requesting
the development of tools and practices that could help law enforcement
officials protect human rights during peaceful protests. It covers
issues such as oversight and accountability and provides general
principles and guidance.Law enforcement can use technology to facilitate
peaceful assemblies, including estimating the number of attendees,
crowd density or likely route of a protest. It can also be used to
respond to security threats. However, a clear distinction must be made
between these use cases and surveilling protestors that could cause
chilling effects and an erosion of democratic participation.“This means
that any decision to record, process or retain information, should be
exceptional, subject to a high level of justification, stringent
authorization, and based exclusively on the obligation to ensure
accountability,” the document says.A group of UN officials called for a
regulatory crackdown on biometric surveillance last year.
NIST issues guidance to fit passkeys into digital identity recommendations-Apr 23, 2024, 1:39 pm EDT | Chris Burt
The
U.S. National Institute and Standards Institute has published a
supplement to its digital identity guidelines as interim advice for
agencies to use authenticators like passkeys that work across different
devices.The “Incorporating syncable authenticators” supplement to NIST
SP 800-63B Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Lifecycle
Management, provides guidance on using these authenticators, which are
typically but not necessarily passkeys, in enterprise or public-facing
applications.It comes in recognition of the phishing-resistant security
provided by passkeys, but also their non-compliance with the existing
Digital Identity Guidelines. As such, the supplement sets out
requirements and considerations for passkeys to meet Authentication
Assurance Level 2 (AAL2).The standards behind passkeys have matured
since NIST published its initial guidelines, the agency says, and major
consumer platforms have adopted them.NIST notes that the FIDO Alliance
estimates 8 billion user accounts support authentication with passkeys.
“While not yet ubiquitous, they are becoming more common by the day,”
writes NIST Digital Identity Program Lead for the Applied Cybersecurity
Division Ryan Galluzzo in a blog post explaining the changes.NIST notes
the change in authenticator technology that prompted the publication of
the 19-page supplement in its introduction:“Typically, this
authentication type protects a cryptographic key in hardware or software
that requires activation through a second authentication factor, either
a memorized secret or a biometric characteristic. Protecting the
private key from unauthorized exposure is fundamental to the security
model of a multi-factor cryptographic authenticator. This traditionally
includes ensuring that private keys are not exportable or cloneable.
However, this paradigm is starting to change. Notably, a new series of
authentication protocols and specifications has led to the rapid
adoption of syncable authenticators (commonly referred to as
‘passkeys’), which allow users to synchronize (i.e., duplicate) a
private key between different devices.”The FIDO Alliance has been
explicitly seeking recognition of phishing resistance from NIST since
2020, and the agency included phishing resistance in its update to SP
800-63B last year. A blog post from NIST in December noted that this
update specifically reflects the emrgence of passkeys and “emerging
credential types.”The supplement maps different attack types against
AAL2, and sets out requirements for syncable authenticators. They must
be generated using approved cryptographic methods and must be stored in
encrypted form. Private keys stored in the cloud must be protected by
“AAL2 equivalent MFA” access control mechanisms. Federal keys must be
stored in FISMA Moderate environments. The document also covers
implementation considerations, threats and challenges.The second public
comment period for SP-800-63-4 is expected later this year, at which
point NIST will take comments on the supplement. The changes will be
incorporated into Revision 4, and NIST will rescind the supplement as it
will no longer be necessary.Passkeys and FIDO protocol growth
continues-The FIDO Alliance hailed NIST’s move as an important step away
from passwords and towards robust phishing resistance.“This new NIST
guidance makes clear that passkeys – like other FIDO authenticators –
can support both AAL2 and AAL3 requirements. Synced passkeys can be AAL2
and device-bound passkeys can be AAL3,” writes FIDO Alliance Executive
Director and CEO Andrew Shikiar.And passkeys continue to roll out.Supply
chain management provider apexanalytix is launching passkeys to enable
suppliers to log into their accounts with native device fingerprint or
face biometrics or a screen unlock code. The launch will protect against
business email compromise, fraud and data breaches, the company
says.Enterprise credential management provider Versasec has not added
passkeys, at least yet, but has added support for passwordless
authenticators based on FIDO2 fingerprint biometrics. The new capability
is included in version 6.11 of Versasec’s vSEC:CMS and vSEC:CLOUD
credential management systems. The cryptography to implement passkeys
could follow next.
US oversight body calls for more real-world biometrics testing, bias protections-Apr 23, 2024, 12:49 pm EDT | Chris Burt
A
federal U.S. agency wants more testing of biometrics applications in
the real world, stronger protections against bias and more transparency
in biometrics use, after talking the matter over with other agencies,
“academics, advocacy groups and technology experts.”The Government
Accountability Office (GAO) identified six concerns shared by
stakeholders and five considerations to address those concerns in the
66-page report to Congressional Committees on “Biometric Identification
Technologies: Considerations to Address Information Gaps and Other
Stakeholder Concerns.”Concerns around biometrics include exacerbation of
systemic inequality, lack of transparency, biased outcomes, limited
understanding of the technology’s performance and effects, the technical
expertise of users and the security and privacy of sensitive data.
These concerns can be addressed, GAO suggests, through performance
evaluations, improved training and guidance, promoting transparency, new
and comprehensive data privacy laws or guidance and adopting a
risk-based approach to rules, risk and use.The GAO found in a report
released late last year that 15 of 20 agencies using AI are failing to
meet their transparency requirements, consistent with 2022 findings
about oversight and the use of facial recognition by federal agencies.In
its introductory address to Congressional Committees, the GAO notes the
2019 NIST test on demographic differentials, but not the follow-up
evaluation in 2022. The agency also notes correctly that six Black
individuals have been falsely matched by facial recognition systems,
leading to wrongful arrests. It says “all of those individuals have been
African American,” neglecting to mention that the latest false arrest
attributed to facial recognition to reach the press involved a white
person.The report outlines biometric technologies and their
applications, and the American federal government’s role in funding,
regulating and providing guidance on their use.The accuracy of
biometrics has improved, GAO says, but challenges in real-world
implementations remain, including those related to image quality and
demographic disparities, which may be related. “Both over- and
under-exposed images can result in false negatives,” Gao notes. NIST
officials reported improving accuracy and greater tolerance for changes
in the appearance of people by face biometrics algorithms. “However,”
continues the report, “false positive rates are still higher for certain
demographic groups that are not sufficiently represented in the
training data such as elderly East Asian women and elderly East African
women.”More operational testing is needed to understand real-world
implementation challenges, according to the GAO. In voice biometrics,
more research is needed into how different conditions and populations
impact system performance.The GAO also collected a sample of positive
and negative impacts related to biometrics use reported by interview
subjects. The majority were negative, and include an advocacy group that
estimates 20 percent of unemployment insurance applicants were not able
to complete identity verification with selfie biometrics.The use of
biometrics to deliver unemployment insurance during the COVID-19
pandemic is examined, with the GAO concluding that “Some communities may
have experienced denials or delays in receiving benefits” due to
technology bias.The CBP One app and law enforcement uses of facial
recognition are also considered, along with applications in financial
services, healthcare and education.
Open Home Foundation launches to defend privacy, choice in smart homes-Apr 23, 2024, 12:40 pm EDT | Bianca Gonzalez
The
Open Home Foundation has launched as a non-profit to support privacy,
choice, and sustainability for smart homes. This will defend against
surveillance capitalism, buyouts, and open-source projects becoming
“abandonware,” organizers say.The founders have transferred over 240
projects, standards, drivers, and libraries to the foundation including
Home Assistant, ESPHome, Zigpy, Piper, and Improv Wi-Fi.In partnership
with Nabu Casa, a key funder that owns Home Assistant and ESPHome, the
foundation collaborates on the development of open source projects. The
overall aim of the foundation is to “have the resources to be an active
political advocate,” it says in the announcement.The group will educate
the public, public servants, and private entities that offer smart home
devices and services about the importance of open standards, open-source
projects and data privacy.Users should be able to control their data,
and devices with cloud connection should still have a main functionality
that works without the cloud. Devices should be interoperable and not
require devices from specific manufacturers.And users should be able to
repurpose old devices beyond commercially-limited lifetimes as well as
limit environmental impact by reducing waste.Home Assistant first
started 10 years ago after Paulus Schoutsen wrote lines of Python for
his Philips Hue smart lights to gain control over a device he purchased.
Thousands of volunteer contributors ended up turning that script into a
smart home platform, creating an entire ecosystem of projects alongside
it.In 2018, Schoutsen, Ben Bangert, and Pascal Vizeli founded Nabu Casa
as a for-profit entity to support the sustained development of Home
Assistant. Nabu Casa also bought ESPHome with the same intentions. It
joined organizations like the Connectivity Standards Alliance and Z-Wave
Alliance in support of open standards like Zigbee, Z-Wave, and
Matter.In 2023, the smart home developers codified their ideals, which
led to the launch of the Open Home Foundation. During the Foundation’s
launch as part of the State of the Open Home 2024 event, the role of
voice biometrics in identifying speakers, or at least differentiating
between speakers in the same house, was discussed.At this point, Home
Assistant is known to have a steep learning curve, and onboarding
devices can be complex. The smart home standard Matter has improved
device interoperability and has facilitated easier onboarding.The Home
Assistant Green smart home hub will be sold on Amazon later this year,
marking the first time the company will sell to consumers directly,
Schoutsen told The Verge. The company will also launch the Home
Assistant Connect dongles for the Zigbee and Z-Wave.It will also expand
its Home Assistant Works With program, which certifies products that
work with the platform and will release a voice control hardware device
that will run a smart home voice assistant.It is also partnering with
Nvidia to incorporate its large language model into the home automation
platform and is looking at incorporating ChatGPT with Home Assistant.
UK researchers extract drug residue from gel-lifted fingerprint biometrics-Apr 23, 2024, 11:46 am EDT | Joel R. McConvey
A
new breakthrough in a familiar technology could help researchers use
fingerprint biometrics to solve cold cases. A press release from
Loughborough University says a team of analytical scientists has
demonstrated, for the first time, how to detect drug residue on
gel-lifted fingerprints.This is particularly significant for sexual
assault investigations, since one of the drugs in question is the
sleeping pill Zolpidem, which has been used to spike drinks. The team
was able to use a gelatine surface to lift Zolpidem-laced fingerprints
from glass, metal, and paper surfaces in a lab setting.“This is the
first time that analysis of gel-lifted prints for a drug substance has
been accomplished and shows that lifted prints and other forensic marks
can be interrogated for useful information,” says Dr. Jim Reynolds, a
specialist in analytical chemistry, who led the research. “Since
gel-lifted prints and marks can be stored for many years, the technique
could be of real use in cold cases where additional information may
prove useful to either link or exonerate a suspect to the
investigation.”Gel lifters are widely used by forensics investigators
globally. But drug testing has been unreliable because of its inability
to distinguish between different types of chemicals. Together with Dr.
Ayoung Kim, Reynolds deployed a method called sfPESI-MS, which uses a
rapid separation mechanism to distinguish drug residue from the
chemicals in the gel used to lift the fingerprint biometric.The new
process employs mass spectrometry to identify the chemicals by measuring
their molecular weight. Chemicals are extracted from the gel lifter in
tiny liquid droplets, then ionized to activate or deactivate an electric
charge, depending on their chemical properties. Because drug residue in
the fingerprint is more surface active than the gel chemicals, it can
be separated.Reynolds says the research focuses on Zolpidem – “this
could be useful to detect individuals who have been spiking drinks, for
example, if the drug they are using gets onto their fingertips, then
they will leave evidence at the scene.” But he also foresees expanded
use cases for the technique in the future, including the detection of
other chemicals such as explosives, gunshot residues, paints, and dyes.
The team has plans to work with law enforcement agencies to identify
cases in which an analysis of stored gel-lifted prints could help
unsolved crimes.Reynolds and Kim’s research was published in the Drug
Testing and Analysis journal, and can be accessed in full on the journal
website.
ID platform delivered by WISeKey facilitates digital govt services in Seychelles-Apr 23, 2024, 11:32 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald
A
digital identity platform dubbed SeyID has been successfully delivered
for the government of Seychelles by WISeKey and is already producing
results.This follows an award of the contract to the Geneva-based
cybersecurity and digital ID firm, according to a company
announcement.The project, launched in 2022, has set up the SeyID
platform as part of efforts to facilitate and streamline the country’s
digital government, digital tourism and digital health programs.Based on
the WISeID platform, which enables easy authentication for access to
web and mobile applications, the SeyID application has since been
deployed with palpable results achieved.WISeKey’s WISeID platform
facilitates authentication for access to services using the SeyID mobile
application in a passwordless manner.Per the announcement, the SeyID
platform integrates a digital wallet which gives users the possibility
to securely store their National ID and digital driver’s license (mDL),
eliminating the need to carry the physical documents.Apart from its
digital signature feature, it also has the ability to generate a digital
version of the ID card, featuring a QR Code for secure third-party
verification for various purposes including bank account opening.In the
meantime, an upgrade is expected to the SeyID platform in the first
quarter of this year with the integration of a “document wallet” which
will make it possible for government to send digital documents to
citizens in a move that will curb paper document transactions in the
country.WISeKey’s partnership with the Seychellois government dates back
to 2014 when the company was awarded a PKI contract for digital
signatures.
UAE Pass gets security enhancement, new uses as digital ID adoption soars-Apr 23, 2024, 10:36 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald
Users
of the United Arab Emirates’ official digital ID (UAE Pass) have been
told how to make us of a new security feature introduced early this year
for web authentication when visiting websites using the ID. This comes
as authorities have reported a rise in the number of UAE Pass issuance
in the last couple of months, as well as the linking of new services and
uses to the mobile ID application such as eSIM activation and real
estate ownership deeds.How the web authentication works-According to an
explainer by Gulf News, the web authentication process for UAE Pass
logins requires confirming an authentication request number with the UAE
Pass app on a mobile phone.Once an authentication code generated from
the web has been accepted using the app, a facial recognition process is
then required to confirm the identity of the person logging into that
given website.The process for logging into an app using UAE Pass,
meanwhile, remains the same, the article notes, citing the
Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA)
which has also explained that the web authentication code system is a
seamless process that guarantees high level accuracy and security.In
February, authorities said over 7.2 million people were already using
the digital ID to access various services.Virgin Mobile eSIM
activation-Users of Virgin Mobile network in the United Arab Emirates
can now activate their eSIMs using the UAE Pass, per Arabian Business.To
do this, they need to download the Virgin Mobile app, choose a number
and plan, then confirm their identity using UAE pass to get the SIM card
installed and activated on their phone in just minutes.The move, which
has been hailed as a first for the country’s telecommunications
industry, will facilitate the way users acquire SIM cards, which
eliminates having to visit physical stores. The novelty is also said to
be environmentally friendly.UAE Pass needed for deeds-The country’s Real
Estate Registration Directorate has also announced a novelty that its
department in Sharjah will henceforth provide ownership and usufruct
deeds service of all types via the UAE Pass wallet.According to the
Emirates News Agency, users can download these various real estate deeds
from the digital ID application using their mobile phones.It is part of
the UAE government’s digital transformation plans and its quest to
facilitate access to public services for citizens, says Abdul Aziz Ahmed
Al-Shamsi, director-general of Sharjah Real Estate Registration
Department.Al-Shamsi said their objective is to “provide an easy and
smooth experience for customers while they use our services,” in a way
that they can “complete their transactions efficiently, quickly, and
effectively, which supports the strategic directions of the Department
by providing all the services in accordance with the best global
practices.”Last year, the country made the UAE Pass a compulsory digital
ID for access to industrial sector services.
U.S. military’s
health agency invites proposals for digital transformation
initiative-Apr 23, 2024, 9:49 am EDT | Joel R. McConvey
The
U.S. Army’s Defense Health Agency (DHA) has issued a call for
submissions to address how digital transformation can be leveraged to
“create a new value equation for military medicine,” according to a
release. DHA is collaborating with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to
seek out “industry expertise and new ideas” in the “lines of effort”
(LOEs) of patient experience, data management support and
provider-supported technology.A description of the project frames the
need for change as an urgent matter. “MHS cannot sustain the readiness
of the medical force in the present operating model,” it says. “A new
model for delivering care and a technology-enabled framework for
adapting and evolving is required.” Solutions for the three LOEs “may be
executed by a single vendor bringing a comprehensive solution or by
multiple vendors working in a teaming arrangement and demonstrating
interoperability.”While the call for submissions makes no explicit
mention of biometric technology, it makes multiple allusions to “a
patient experience that is frictionless for its beneficiaries.” On top
of frictionless access to services and care, it also calls for “seamless
integration with the existing Electronic Health Record.” This language
indicates the potential deployment of biometric or digital ID systems as
part of the military medicine overhaul.Per the documentation, “a
frictionless experience means that patients can securely access the full
suite of health services with a single-sign-on, facilitated by machine
learning and chatbots, that provides a longitudinal health record
(medical history, medications, test results, reminders), connects
patients to wellness and self-care packages, and/or assists patients in
virtual, in-person or asynchronous visits within the Direct Care System
or Private Sector Care. User interfaces are designed for mobile devices
(phones, tablets, augmented/virtual reality), intuitive and require
minimal customer support.”In defining “provider-supported technology in
the health ecosystem,” the DHA lists applications that use generative AI
to recognize speech and assist with workflows. “Over time,” it says,
“the health ecosystem will include applications for scheduling, virtual
nursing, preventing alert fatigue, chart search, telemetry, remote
patient monitoring and hospital command centers.”The healthcare industry
is in the midst of what some industry observers have called a “mad
dash” toward digital transformation, with high interest in initiatives
that leverage decentralized digital identity, self sovereign identity,
and other digital ID tools.
Burkina Faso gets support from Japan to enroll IDPs for biometric ID-Apr 23, 2024, 8:50 am EDT | Ayang Macdonald
The
government of Burkina Faso recently got a boost from Japan to its
efforts in conducting biometric identity enrollment for some internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.The support is in the form of
digital equipment worth $153,000 and it has been given through the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), We Are Tech Africa reports.The
equipment was donated early this month by Japanese government and JICA
representatives to the Minister of Solidarity, Humanitarian Action,
National Reconciliation, Gender and Family.Among the items handed over
to the Burkinabe government official are 120 fingerprint scanners and
120 power banks, to enable fingerprint biometrics capture in remote
settlements with limited or no electricity.The project is aided by two
applications developed by the government. While the first application
enables fingerprint registration and de-duplication in order to provide
accurate figures about IDPs, the second has to do with the processing,
analysis and dissemination of IDP data.The project to enroll IDPs in
Burkina Faso for biometric ID was launched in 2019, with the goal of
setting up a dependable database for the management of forcibly
displaced persons.It is estimated that the implementation of the
biometric ID system for IDPs will cost around XAF two billion (about
$3.2 million).The number of IDPs in Burkina Faso is said to be growing
as a result of rising insecurity in the Sahel region. It is hoped that
the biometric registration will help in the distribution of humanitarian
assistance to beneficiaries.Early this year, the World Bank approved
funding to Burkina Faso for a project that seeks to ramp up the
country’s digital public infrastructure implementation plan.
Biometric
payment cards launching in Bangladesh, approved by Mastercard-Idex
supplies MTC, Feitian and Fingerprint Cards win approval
Apr 22, 2024, 4:50 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Idex
Biometrics is supplying fingerprint biometric technology for payment
cards to Bangladesh-based Mutual Trust Bank, as the biometrics provider
expands its reach in Asia.The cards are based on Idex’ Pay
solution.“These cards are expected to attract new customers and increase
card usage among existing customers, bringing financial empowerment to
the people of Bangladesh,” says Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director
and CEO at MTB.Idex also revealed an agreement to provide biometric
payment cards to Bangladesh’s Eastern Bank at the tail end of last
year.CCO Catharina Eklof says Idex is continuing a “strategic focus on
growth markets in Asia.”Other biometrics and payment card providers see
the regional growth potential as well. Mastercard is launching a pair
of biometric cards in Turkey, working with Idex, Fingerprint Cards and
Thales.The FT-JCOS BioCARD, made by Feitian with Fingerprint Cards’
second-generation T-Shape biometric sensor, has been approved by
Mastercard.The cards use Feitian’s Java card operating system, and the
T-Shape sensor connects directly to the secure element, which at least
in the past has been supplied by Infineon.“This approval reinforces our
joint commitment to security in payments and acknowledges global
acceptance of the FT-JCOS BioCARD,” comments Adam Philpott, CEO of
Fingerprint Cards.Fingerprint Cards and Feitian expanded an existing
partnership on biometric payment cards in 2022.
Digital policy expert X-rays differences in G7, G20 approaches to DPI-Apr 22, 2024, 12:15 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald
The
visions shared by the G7 and G20 on the development of digital public
infrastructure (DPI) differ at three major levels, even if the ultimate
goal is to make life more liveable for citizens of the world.This is
according to digital policy commentator and non-resident fellow at the
Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, Anand Raghuraman.While the G20 has
been a participant in the global DPI development discourse for some
time, the G7 just recently made its position know on the subject through
a declaration adopted in March by industry, tech and digital ministers
of member states at the close of a meeting in Italy.In a commentary in
which he x-rays the approaches by the two inter-governmental
organisations to the design, development and deployment of DPI,
Raghuraman notes that their visions misalign at the level of scope and
purpose, motivation for developing DPI, and on design principles.On
scope, the writer observes that while the G20’s appears to be wider –
looking at DPI as an enabler of service delivery by governments and the
private sector, the G7 appears to looks at a “narrow focus”, which kinds
of limit DPI to the delivery of digital government services.With
regards to the second aspect, the G7 does not think engendering market
competition is the job of DPI builders, whereas the G20, for its part,
underlines the role of DPI in driving market competition, according to
the writer.The third thing discussed by Raghuraman is the vision of the
two organizations about whether DPI should be designed as open-source or
as proprietary technology. The G7 ministers in their March declaration
do not make specific mention of open-source standards, he says, unlike
the G20 which has made its position clear about developing DPI based on
open standards.These differences notwithstanding, the analyst holds that
the G7 still has room to assert itself in the discourse especially as
it plans to release a compendium on digital government services with the
help of the OECD.It’s important to note that it the G7 ministers’ March
declaration, members said they were in full support of “ongoing
international discussions on different approaches to digital identity
and other digital government services, including digital public
infrastructure (DPI), and the value of sharing examples.”This openness
on “different approaches”, observers say, implies that despite the
initial differences in vision on some aspects compared with that of the
G20, the G7 is ready to take a more flexible approach as it further
embraces global reflections on DPI standards. Local initiatives should
drive DPI: India G20 Sherpa-In a related DPI item, the Indian government
emissary at the G20 (Sherpa), Amitabh Kant, has highlighted the
importance of local initiatives aimed at developing DPI. He believes DPI
must not necessarily be led by big tech companies.Speaking recently at
an event, Kant spoke about India’s DPI efforts and its willingness to
share its DPI model with the rest of the world, Organiser reports.Like
in the past, he highlighted India’s DPI strides and the growing interest
in the system, adding that it shows the country’s approach is
successful.A recent report said India’s DPI will make the country a
trillion-dollar digital economy by 2030.
Cyprus gives new details on digital ID, government plan-Apr 22, 2024, 12:23 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald
Cypriots
may be able to access public services using a dedicated digital
government portal from either June or July this year while efforts
continue to progressively introduce digital services on the platform, a
government minister has announced.The deputy Minister of Research,
Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, disclosed this in a
recent interview granted to the Cyprus News Agency, Stockwatch
reports.To be known as gov.cy, the portal will operate with a generative
AI-powered digital assistant expected to go live in the last quarter of
this year, the same timeframe for the transfer of all government data
to a single secure location. For now, data is held in siloes by
government agencies.In the domain of justice, the minister announced
that a digital justice platform will be rolled out very likely in
September, as work is being done afresh on the project because things
didn’t go well as was required.With regards to how the country’s digital
ID and digital signature systems will function, Damianou mentioned that
details about their launch will be released next month.As part of the
digital transformation process, the official also spoke about the
introduction of a mobile application dubbed “digital citizen” which the
country’s president spoke about at the start of this year.Damianou said
the platform will enable citizens carry three credentials for a start,
namely the ID card, a driver’s license and a MOT certificate (a document
issued after a vehicle undergoes various checks).“I hope that in May,
we will be able to make an announcement on how we will give the citizens
the electronic identity and electronic signature. It is our identity in
the electronic world, it is the way I identify myself on the government
portal to submit a request,” Damianou said as quoted by
Stockwatch.Speaking about AI broadly, the official said it is something
that has the potential to positively impact the country’s digital
transformation plans, but that the government is in the process of
studying the potential harms to rollout a regulation framework.Other
issues addressed by the minister as being among the priority issues in
Cyprus’ digital transformation agenda include the need to up the
country’s digital skills level which is currently below the European
average of 59 percent, the putting in place of a comprehensive framework
for cybersecurity, and the building of a viable research and digital
innovation ecosystem.
