200 DEAD IN INDONESIA FLOODS

1-Us accuses Iran of supplying weapons to Iraqi Shias. 2-Wild midwest storms. 3-200 dead in Indonesia floods.

US accuses Iran over Iraqi Shias

Although the US has no evidence that Iranians were operating directly in Iraq, Gen Casey said "surrogates" regularly attacked US troops. He also suggested that some troops were likely to leave Iraq this year, but no final decision has yet been taken. He noted that troop levels had fallen since late 2005, and said he was "confident" more troops would leave during the rest of 2006. Gen Casey is working with the US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to draw up a proposal for potential US troop withdrawals.

He spoke as the US Senate rejected two Democrat measures calling for troop withdrawals to begin later this year. Democrat leaders in the Senate had proposed two measures, one calling for a phased withdrawal starting in 2006, the other for all troops to be pulled out of Iraq by mid 2007. Republicans criticised the plans, labelling one "cut and run" and the other cut and jog.

Iranian 'surrogates'

Speaking alongside Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon, Gen Casey said intelligence on Iranian activities now confirmed previously-held suspicions. Since January we have seen an upsurge in [Iranian] support, particularly to the Shia extremist groups The US has often accused Iran of aiding Shia groups in Iraq, but has offered little proof of Tehran's alleged activities. Since January we have seen an upsurge in their support, particularly to the Shia extremist groups, he said.

They are using surrogates to conduct terrorist operations both against us and against the Iraqi people. We are quite confident that the Iranians, through the special operations forces, are providing weapons, IED [improvised explosive device] technology and training to Shia extremist groups in Iraq,he said. Training was probably carried out in Iran and possibly in Lebanon, Gen Casey said.

He suggested that Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas were also likely to be involved in training Iraqi militias. Direct contacts between the US and Iran over the security situation in Iraq have been suspended recently. Iran accused the US of exploiting the issue amid continuing
diplomatic wrangling over Iran's nuclear programme.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Wild midwest storms leave firefighter dead By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer

Severe storms pounded the upper Midwest with strong winds and heavy rain for a second day Thursday and were blamed for the death of a firefighter who tried to rescue two teenagers from rising floodwaters. Al Anderson Jr., 47, was trying to get to the teens, whose Jeep had gotten stuck, when he drowned in Wellington, Ohio, about 40 miles southwest of Cleveland, authorities said. The teens were rescued.Near Logan, Ohio, nine people were injured Thursday afternoon when lightning struck a shelter during a charity run, according to the State Highway Patrol. One had life-threatening injuries.

In Indiana, strong thunderstorms prompted numerous storm and flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service and left behind widespread reports of damaged homes, downed
trees and blown over semitrailers. A lightning strike in Indianapolis sent six firefighter trainees to a hospital, although officials said none of the injuries appeared serious.

The site of the U.S. track and field championships was evacuated twice as storms moved through the downtown area. On Wednesday, 5 inches of rain fell in a five-hour span in the Toledo, Ohio, area, 56 mph wind gusts and golf ball-size hail pelted northern Ohio, and tornadoes were reported in Michigan, the National Weather Service said.Flooding for the first storm had split the city of Norwalk, Ohio, after 7 inches of rain sent water overflowing a reservoir, about 60 miles southeast of Toledo.

Mayor Sue Lesch and Huron County commissioners declared states of emergencies Thursday in what the mayor called the worst flooding since a dam broke in 1969. Floodwater topped the playground equipment in parts of town, and about 20 homes were evacuated in the city of 16,000.Low-lying areas are all covered with water, said Tim Fitzgerald, business manager of Norwalk's St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, where a shelter was set up.

Our big concern is that the reservoir dam is really stretching to its limits. In Toledo, firefighters resorted to rubber boats to rescue motorists from flooded underpasses, said Lucas County EMA Director William Halsey. Water as deep as 15 inches closed many major roads Wednesday, officials said.

My sump pump has never run so much, Denise Hudgin, 41, of suburban Sylvania, said of the storm. "I've never seen so much water pour in. There were just incredible amounts of rain.Residents in part of Martins Ferry, in eastern Ohio, were evacuated Thursday when lightning apparently hit a transformer and ignited a hillside. At Magruder Hospital in Port Clinton, between Toledo and Norwalk, the staff had to use generators for a short time after the power went out, and pumps were brought in to remove several inches of water from the front entrance and lobby, supervisor Nancy Merk said.The storm spawned at least two tornadoes in Michigan, one near Manitou Beach and another near Lambertville, just north of the Ohio line. No injuries or major damage were reported, officials said, but about 40,000 people lost power.

More than 200 dead in Indonesian floods By NINIEK KARMINI,
Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 22, 10:31 AM ET

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Soldiers pulled bodies from villages razed by floods and landslides in central Indonesia on Thursday, bringing the death toll from days of heavy rain to more than 200 people, officials said. Another 135 people were missing. At least two roads were blocked by landslides, and water and mud reached almost 7 feet high in Sinjai, the hardest hit district of southern Sulawesi province, where rescuers scrambled to evacuate survivors.The number of dead climbed to 201 and hopes of finding the scores of people still missing were quickly fading, said Dadang, an official at the island's disaster relief coordination office who goes by one name.

Rescuers say most of the missing people are likely to have been swept out to sea, said Ode Parmodes, also of the relief office. The flash floods and landslides were triggered by incessant rains since Monday, and the government has promised an investigation into claims that illegal logging may have been a contributory factor.What has happened in Sinjai should become a lesson to all of Indonesia: people must be alert if torrential rains pour over areas where forests have been depleted,said Forestry Minister Malam Kaban.Hundreds of people flocked to hospitals to look for missing relatives, witnesses said.

One man, Rohim, said a flood tore through his house early Tuesday, sweeping him out to sea. He said he survived for nine hours by hanging onto a piece of drift wood, but his wife and two sons had vanished.I pray for them, and hope rescuers can find them, he said at Sinjai hospital, where he had been looking for their bodies in the morgue. I will stay here until I can find them: dead or alive. Sulawesi is about 1,000 miles northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, where millions of people live in mountainous regions and near fertile flood plains close to rivers. Some environmentalists and government officials blame rampant deforestation, which they contend loosens soils on mountainsides.