ISRAEL PLANS BUFFER ZONE ON BORDER

1-Storm may reach Hawaii by Friday. 2-Heavy rains from Typhoon Kaemi pounds China. 3-Europeans wait for relief from heat. 4-Putin and Aminijad discuss mideast peace (Heres trouble). 5-Israel plans buffer zone on border. 6-Eu hold talks on Lebanon. 7-letter exposes rift in Solano role in mideast. 8-Mideast peace talks fail,Condiliza Rice under fire.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Storm may reach Hawaii by Friday Tue Jul 25, 10:47 PM ET

HONOLULU - A tropical storm that formed in the Pacific Ocean last week could brush through Hawaii by the weekend, but forecasters say it is losing speed and strength. Tropical Storm Daniel is on track to cross the Big Island and then pass just south of the rest of the state. It had sustained winds Tuesday of 50 mph with gusts to 65 mph.By the time it reaches Hawaii as the state's first storm of the season, it likely will have winds of about 40 mph, gusting to 50 mph, forecasters said.As much as 10 inches of rain could fall in some parts of the state starting early Friday, said National Weather Service forecaster Norman Hiu. If a rain band crosses Oahu, Honolulu could get between 4 and 6 inches.

Heavy rains from Typhoon Kaemi pound China, 11 dead by Cindy Sui 1 hour,

BEIJING (AFP) - Eleven people were killed and several others left missing when torrential rains from Typhoon Kaemi caused widespread flooding in southeastern China, as about 750,000 evacuees remained in shelters. The typhoon, which hit southeast China's Fujian province on Tuesday packing winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) an hour, was downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday morning, but still caused widespread chaos.Seven of the dead were killed in east China's Jiangxi province, which also had 19 people missing, the office of the national natural disaster reduction committee was quoted by the Xinhua news agency saying.Four others were killed in two landslides in southern Guangdong province and the southern province of Hainan, with another person missing, Xinhua said.

Seven others were missing in central China's Hunan province, it said.By 4:00 pm (0800 GMT) Wednesday, around 750,000 people had been relocated to safe places, including 649,000 in southeast China's Fujian province and 80,000 in east China's Zhejiang province, the committee and Xinhua said.In Fujian, a 200-meter (660
feet) long levee collapsed because of heavy rainstorms brought on by Kaemi, threatening more than 20,000 people in six villages with flooding, Xinhua said.Around 200 soldiers were immediately dispatched to the scene in Zhao'an county and by Wednesday evening they had thrown more than 5,000 sandbags into the breach, it said.

Across the south and east of China in areas still reeling from Tropical Storm Bilis, which killed more than 600 people earlier this month, authorities were implementing emergency measures to prepare for more disasters from Kaemi's relentless rain.After Kaemi made landfall, affected provinces issued an emergency order to prepare for flooding and landslides.Up to 12 centimeters (4.8 inches) of rain fell along the Fujian coast.Authorities expect heavy rain for the rest of the week in several provinces.

Local press cited Li Ronggen, vice governor of Guangdong, which was not directly hit by Kaemi, urging local officials not to be complacent and to prepare for possible flooding.

We must pay special attention to the safety of reservoirs and disasters like landslides, evacuate those in dangerous areas and prevent mishaps that can kill or injure people,Li said.Shanghai, China's economic heart on the east coast to the north of Fujian, appeared to have missed the worst of the weather with strong winds but no heavy rain on Wednesday, but authorities there were also taking precautions.They ordered residents to leave coastal areas and river banks and to inspect billboards, electricity poles, and makeshift shelters at construction sites to ensure flying debris did not cause damage.

The nation's railway system -- an important mode of transportation for millions -- was also under guard, after the key north-south Beijing-Guangzhou line was disrupted by Bilis, stranding thousands of residents in train cars.Xinhua cited the ministry of railways saying that typhoons this summer disrupted train services 78 times on 17 of China's arterial railways, stopping operations for a total of 604 hours.Traffic had resumed on most flood-damaged lines after repairs.

Bilis was similarly downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm before it hit China on July 14. It hovered over the south and center of the country for nearly 10 days, dumping massive rains and wreaking havoc in cities as well as mountainous areas.

The death toll in China from Bilis stood at 612 with another 208 people missing, state media had said. The Red Cross Society of China meanwhile has delivered funds and supplies, including tents and quilts, worth 2.54 million US dollars, to help people still trying to cope in the aftermath of Bilis, Xinhua cited the group as saying.

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Europeans wait for relief from stifling heatwave 39 minutes ago

PARIS (AFP) - Europe baked again in the grip of a deadly heatwave that has led to forest fires, forced water restrictions and damaged farmland across the continent.

Now firmly in its second week, the heatwave brought temperatures of more than 30
degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) to most of Europe with hotspots in France, Germany, Spain and northeast Italy.More than 50 people are estimated to have been killed by the heat, but so far there has been no repetition of the massive loss of life in the heatwave of 2003 when in France alone 15,000 died.

This time round, factors such as greater awareness, slightly lower temperatures and preventative action by goverments to protect the elderly are thought to have helped limit the number of deaths.Nevertheless, in Italy the heat killed a man of 87 and a woman of 89 in the northern city of Turin during the night of Tuesday, the Italian ANSA news agency reported on Wednesday.

And in Spain, the death of a woman of 83 in Barcelona in northeast Spain brought the toll in that country to nine.Towards the end of the week, weathermen predict that storms and wet weather will spread east across western Europe, dousing Britain, France and Germany and bringing relief to the millions suffering from the high humidity, sticky nights and blazing sunshine.In France on Wednesday, the mercury climbed to 38 degrees Celsius (100 F) in the south of the country while Parisians faced a sticky 36 degrees Celsius (97 F).On Wednesday, French Environment Minister Nelly Olin warned that groundwater levels in the Paris region were at their lowest level in 20 years and said that water restrictions were in place for nearly half of the country.It needs to rain without storms. That would be the ideal situation but I don't think we're there yet today,she told French television channel France 2.

In Britain, temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius (91 F) and residents of Berlin in Germany sizzled in similar heat. The temperature in the German capital was set to hit 36 degrees in the next few days before storms on Saturday.

The level of the river Elbe which crosses Germany's main port Hamburg has dropped below 90 centimetres (three feet) upstream at Dresden near the Czech border, making navigation almost impossible. Normally the level is some 2.2 metres.In Belgium temperatures reached between 26 degrees C (79 F) on the coast and and 35 degrees (95 F) inland.In Spain, where scorching summer temperatures are more normal, the mercury hit 38 degrees C (100 F) in the northeast while the southeast was much cooler with 27 C (81 F) in Almeria.In Poland, firefighters were on maximum alert to tackle forest fires caused by the drought.

Over 8,000 fires have broken out in recent days and access has been banned to most forests.According to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, Warsaw has seen the hottest month of July since temperatures began to be recorded 227 years ago. The average
temperature in the Polish capital this month was 23.2 degrees Celsius, five degrees higher than the norm.In nearby Latvia, potato farmers added their voice to a chorus of anguish from Europe's agricultural sector.

Farmers in France, the Netherlands and Poland have already warned of lower harvests this year and France on Wednesday lowered its forecast for its soft wheat harvest to below 35 million tonnes. Latvia's potato growers' association said that this year's crop could shrink by 50 percent compared with last year.

Nothing good can be expected this year, and the situation will be especially sad with the late-bearing potatoes,Ilmars Immurs of the Kartupelu Audzetaji was quoted by the Baltic News Service as saying. The potato crop would be seriously damaged if Latvia sees no rain in the near future, Imurs added. In the Netherlands, there were signs that the hot weather was beginning to take its toll on workers. A leading organisation that monitors health issues for Dutch companies, De Arbo Unie, reported a rise in the number of people calling in sick. Compared to the average rate, the number of workers on sick leave normally rises by 4.0 in the summer. This year the rise has been 7.4 percent.

Most of the people calling in sick were elderly or overweight, a company spokesman told the Dutch news agency ANP. There was also an increase in the number of diabetics and pregnant women falling ill. In Denmark, undergoing one of the hottest summers on record, many local authorities have banned open air fires except at fixed barbecue sites. Electricity supplies in the Czech Republic were back to normal Wednesday after widespread blackouts caused by overload the day before.

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE 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:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
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.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
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.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They 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 have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines(PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Putin and Ahmadinejad discuss Mideast crises Wed Jul 26, 2:33 AM ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the Israeli offensive in Lebanon and Iran's nuclear program with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. The crisis situation surrounding Lebanon was at the center of discussion, the Kremlin press service said of the telephone conversation late on Tuesday. Different aspects of resolving the Iranian nuclear program were also touched upon.On both topics, Vladimir Putin stated the fundamental position of the Russian side,it said.Russia has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and criticized the Israeli attacks, saying they went beyond the anti-Hizbollah military operation the Jewish state said it was conducting.Russia is one of six powers that want Iran to respond to an offer of incentives in exchange for Tehran stopping uranium enrichment. Unlike the United States and some other Western powers, it says it is too early to talk about economic or other sanctions against Tehran.

The telephone exchange took place at Ahmadinejad's request.Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday during a visit to Tajikistan that the conflict between Lebanon and Israel could sweep through the entire Middle East like a hurricane.The United States and key European countries fear Iran's nuclear activity is a cover for bomb making. Tehran says it has a right to civilian nuclear power and that its nuclear program is aimed only at producing electricity.

Israel plans buffer zone on border
Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem ,July 27, 2006

ISRAEL wants to establish a 2km-wide strip in southern Lebanon free of Hezbollah guerillas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said last night, for the first time giving the dimensions of Israel's proposed new security zone.Mr Olmert outlined the plans in a closed-door meeting of the parliament's Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee, a day after they were floated by Defence Minister Amir Peretz.

Mr Peretz said the zone would be handed over to a strong international peacekeeping force planned to take over the area. If there is no multinational force with an enforcement capability, we will continue to fire on anyone approaching the security
zone,he said. For many, Mr Peretz's statement was reminiscent of the announcements from Jerusalem in 1982, when Israeli troops were sent into Lebanon to drive back Palestinian militants from the southern border. At the time, the Israelis insisted the incursion would last no more than a few days.

But it was 18 years before Israel pulled out. Mr Peretz's aides hastened to stress the temporary nature of the planned buffer zone by saying Israel would build no outposts or other structures in it.

The Defence Minister suggested the new no-go zone for guerillas could be enforced by air and artillery strikes, without a permanent army presence. European diplomats have asked Jerusalem about how far north into Lebanon it intends to push and how long it intends to stay there.

Israeli officials have said Israel has no intention of reoccupying Lebanese territory beyond the operational requirements of the current battle. Israeli ground forces continued to push north yesterday, even though the battle for the Hezbollah stronghold of Bent Jbail was not over. Israeli officials had said the town was captured on Tuesday, after a two-day battle, except for pockets of resistance. But heavy fighting broke out at dawn as Hezbollah fighters remaining in the city took on the Israelis. Israeli officers said seven soldiers had been wounded but more than 50 Hezbollah fighters had been killed. The army said it had killed the top Hezbollah commander in the area. Brigadier General Gad Hirsch said his troops had uncovered sophisticated communications centres, Iranian-made surveillance equipment and large arms caches.

We have also gathered a great deal of intelligence,he said. Engineers blew up several multi-story buildings that provided a direct line of fire to Israeli settlements across the border. On Tuesday, 96 rockets fired by Hezbollah struck across Israel. One killed a 15-year-old girl when it hit the Israeli Arab village of Maghar. At least four Israeli Arabs have been killed by Hezbollah rockets, and
many wounded. The Lebanon Health Ministry reported that at least 422 people had been killed in the two weeks of Israeli attacks, including 20 Lebanese soldiers and at least 27 Hezbollah guerillas, but the vast majority have been civilians. Fifty-five Israelis have been killed, including 37 soldiers. The UN World Food Program yesterday sent the first convoy of food and medical supplies from Beirut to the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, one of the hardest-hit areas and now home to thousands of refugees.

While thousands have fled Tyre, tens of thousands still remain stranded with no fuel for their cars, no money for rocketing taxi fares and dwindling supplies of food,said Amer Daoudi, the emergency co-ordinator for the WFP operation in Lebanon. In the Gaza Strip, where continuing fighting has been overshadowed by events in Lebanon, 12 Palestinians, including a toddler, were killed yesterday as Israel pounded the strip with airstrikes and spearheaded a new incursion by 50 tanks. Nearly 130 Palestinians have now been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, launched in an effort to recover a captured soldier and stop rocket attacks. At least six of the dead were said to be militants, including four from the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement, one of the three groups to claim responsibility for the June 25 raid in which 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit was seized.

DANIEL 7:23
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,( 7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

REVELATION 17:9-10
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

EU foreign ministers to hold talks on Lebanon
26/07/2006 - 14:05:10

European Union foreign ministers will hold special talks on Tuesday to discuss efforts to end the conflict in Lebanon, diplomats said today.The announcement comes amid stepped up EU diplomatic efforts to try to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.The EU is also looking at ways to improve aid to victims of the conflict there.The European Commission said today it was sending an additional €10m in humanitarian aid to Lebanon and €11m in separate aid to help cover the costs of travel home for citizens of poor countries fleeing the country.The European Commission said the total amount of humanitarian aid it has committed since fighting began in Lebanon now stands at €20m. EU spokesman Michael Mann said the European Union has set aside a provisional €50m in its budget for aid relief in Lebanon.The additional aid to pay for evacuating non-Europeans is meant to cover travel costs for around 10,000 people, mostly from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, officials said.They said up to 200,000 workers from developing nations, mostly in Asia, were living in Lebanon.

The evacuation aid was meant to relieve pressure on EU nation Cyprus, which is overwhelmed with fleeing Europeans and other nationals from Lebanon.EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel reiterated calls for both Israel and Hezbollah militants to respect humanitarian rules and principles and allow aid workers into the worst hit areas, in southern Lebanon.Safe humanitarian corridors must be granted as a matter of urgency, Michel said in a statement.He said aid convoys were ready to roll into conflict zones, but have so far not received the green light that they can transport their goods to victims.This is not enough. I urge the warring parties to accept a humanitarian truce, Michel said.

Letters expose EU divide on Solana Middle East role
26.07.2006 - 09:57 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Finnish EU presidency has sent a muted response to French president Jacques Chirac's request for a stronger role for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in the Middle East, highlighting internal EU divisions over Mr
Solana's position.

Mr Chirac last Thursday (20 July) sent a letter to Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen calling for a stronger, leading role by Mr Solana in brokering a lasting ceasefire in the region amid continuing violence between Israel and islamist Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. The letter states that the EU's top diplomat should step up efforts to find the necessary interlocutors and very swiftly contribute to proposals with the aim of gathering conditions for a broad and lasting ceasefire in the region.

Mr Solana's mission should highlight the efforts the European Union can make to achieve a de-escalation of violence as well as the conditions for a sustainable ceasefire. Our citizens would not understand it if the European Union…which has always made its original and balanced voice heard in the Middle East, does not act on the political level with regard to the drama which is taking place,Mr Chirac wrote. This is why I call upon you [the Finnish presidency] to launch this European initiative, the French leader added. But Mr Vanhanen, without answering the French president's request directly, merely wrote back on Tuesday (25 July) that The Finnish presidency fully supports the work of the high representative, Javier Solana, who is acting on the EU's behalf.

Mr Solana is doing everything in his power to promote political initiatives aimed at defusing the crisis and relaunching the Middle East peace process,the Finnish letter said adding that "the EU must remain at the forefront of efforts to find a way out of the crisis.

Muted response

A French diplomat said that Helsinki's response is encouraging as it shows everybody agrees that Mr Solana has a clear mandate. But another EU diplomat commented that the muted reaction by the presidency is an expression of the fact that not all countries are prepared to give Solana such a strong role. The British would not agree to that, the contact said, adding there is no unanimity on how to handle the Middle East issue. A UK diplomat commented that We are very happy with what he [Mr Solana] has been doing so far.French diplomats explained that Mr Chirac's letter had been designed to encourage Mr Solana to be Mister EU in the region, amid complaints by parties in the Middle East that they have had to receive a plethora of diplomats from different EU presidencies, different member states as well as the European Commission.

Plethora of EU visitors

The point is set to be highlighted on Wednesday (26 July) when Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja will travel to the region together with external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner after a major Rome international conference on the dispute.

Clearly the presidency wants to be involved as well,noted one diplomat. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Mr Solana said the Chirac letter, also sent to the Solana office, had been received very positively.The French president asked for something about which there is agreement among all 25 EU member states: that the EU is fully engaged in the crisis,she said. French contacts said the initiative was also totally in line with French ideas on strengthening Mr Solana's role in general, as proposed in a paper on the future of Europe this spring. The quasi-EU foreign minister idea is controversial as it is seen by some member states as cherry-picking from the EU constitution which suggested a common foreign minister for the bloc. Small member states are meanwhile complaining that Mr Solana is operating beyond their control.

Mideast peace talks fail, Rice under fire
[ 26 Jul, 2006 2304hrs ISTAGENCIES ]

ROME: A 15-nation crisis conference on Wednesday failed to agree on calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East but vowed to work with utmost urgency for a truce.

In a declaration released after the five-hour Rome conference, the countries expressed determination to work immediately to reach with utmost urgency a ceasefire to put an end to the current hostilities. Almost every nation attending an international conference in Rome put pressure on US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to call for an immediate end to the fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

But Rice stood her ground in two days of diplomacy in Lebanon and Israel and the West Bank. A ceasefire to end the bloodshed in the region must be lasting, permanent and sustainable, the world powers said. They gathered here also called on Israel to exercise utmost restraint while welcoming Israel's decision to let aid into Lebanon including aid flights to Beirut airport.

But the ceasefire pledge fell far short of meeting UN secretary-general Kofi Annan's plea for an immediate cessation of hostilities to stop the killing, with nearly 400 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, now dead. However, Rice insisted that the root causes must be addressed first. We are all agreed that we want most urgently to end the violence on a basis that this time will be sustainable.

Because unfortunately this is a region that has had too many broken ceasefires, she said. We do have a way forward, she said, referring to UN resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming and disbanding of all militias, including Hezbollah, and for the Lebanese government to assert its authority over all its territory. Much of southern Lebanon is controlled by Hezbollah. The conference set out no concrete steps for implementing the UN resolution, however.

We all committed to dedicated and urgent action to try to bring about an end to this violence that indeed would be sustainable and that would leave the Lebanese government with the prospect of full control of its country, Rice said. We cannot return to the status-quo ante. French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy lamented the failure to agree on an immediate ceasefire. Meanwhile, at least 13 Israeli soldiers were killed as fighting intensified.