NETANYAHU ISRAEL WILL BREAK HEZBOLLAH

1-Ariel Sharon's condition worsens. 2-Magnitude 5.8 Quake near Tongo. 3-New Typhoon warning for Taiwan. 4-Death toll at 22 after Japan mudslides,Storms. 5-Europe cooler but deadly heat wave to return with vengence. 6-Eu applies for SAARC observer status. 7-Bolton dismisses Syria Talks. 8-Netanyahu,we will break Hezbollah?

Ariel Sharon's condition worsens By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer Sun Jul 23, 1:43 PM ET

JERUSALEM - The condition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since suffering a stroke in January, has deteriorated though there was no immediate danger to his life, hospital officials and former aides said Sunday.

Sharon, 78, was having a problem with his kidneys at Sheba Medical Center in the Tel Aviv suburb of Tel Hashomer. Hospital officials also said brain checks had shown changes in Sharon's brain tissue, but gave no further details.Over the past two days, the condition of the former prime minister has deteriorated. His kidney function is worsening and he's amassing liquids in his body, the hospital said in a statement.Two of Sharon's former aides, who said they spoke to his son Gilad, said there was no immediate danger to the former leader's life. The former aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Hospital officials confirmed by phone that Sharon's kidney function was worsening, that his body was accumulating liquids and that his brain tissue had undergone changes. They said doctors were conducting additional checks to determine what caused the change in his condition and how to treat him.Israel's Army Radio cited medical experts as saying this type of deterioration is not uncommon for people who have been in a coma for such a long time.Sharon, Israel's most popular politician, had a small stroke in December and was put on blood thinners before he suffered a severe brain hemorrhage in January. The Israeli leader underwent several, extensive brain surgeries to stop the bleeding, and many independent experts doubted that he would ever recover.

The last surgery on Sharon, in April, was to reattach a part of his skull, removed during the emergency surgery to reduce pressure on his brain. The reattachment was described as a necessary step before transferring Sharon to a long-term care facility.Experts have said Sharon's chances of ever waking up after his massive stroke in January are not good.Sharon personified Israel's military might for decades, and Israelis were stunned to see him felled by illness.His stroke came after Sharon saw through his contentious plan to withdrawal Israel from the Gaza Strip after 38 years, and just two months after he shook up the Israeli political map by bolting his hard-line Likud Party to form the centrist Kadimafaction.
Sharon's successor as party leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, led Kadima to a slim victory in the March 28 election.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Magnitude-5.8 quake hits near Tonga 2 hours, ago

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck near the Pacific island of Tonga on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.The U.S. agency said the moderate quake struck at 7:50 a.m. New Zealand time about 325 miles northwest of the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa.The quake occurred 368 miles below the earth's surface. There were no immediate reports of the quake being felt in the Tongan islands and no tsunami warning was issued.

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.

New typhoon warning for Taiwan Sun Jul 23, 8:19 AM ET

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's central weather bureau issued a warning over approaching Typhoon Kaemi, just 10 days after a tropical storm left three people dead on the island. The bureau warned Sunday of torrential rains and strong winds in the days ahead from Kaemi, which was 580 kilometres (360 miles) away at 0930 GMT but whose fringe was due to hit Taiwan's northeast late Monday.

Residents in the north and northeast were urged to stay away from low-lying areas prone to flooding and to avoid beaches along the east coast.Kaemi had a radius of 200 kilometres with winds of up to 137 kilometres per hour at its centre, the bureau said.Tropical storm Bilis left three dead and two injured after pounding Taiwan July 13.

Death toll at 22 after heavy rains, mudslides in Japan Sun Jul 23, 7:36 AM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - Three more people have been found dead in southwestern Japan following floods and mudslides triggered by torrential rain, raising the death toll to at least 22. In Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu island, two men aged 45 and 57, along with a 65-year-old woman, were killed by mudslides, a local police officer said Sunday, adding that another person was still listed as missing.The rain is not as heavy as before for now, but police and rescuers are ready should more mudslides occur," he said, noting the national weather agency was forecasting more rainfall overnight and into Monday morning.The heavy rain, caused by a seasonal front, has washed out the country's southwest, with Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures recording 1.2 meters (four feet) of rain since the storms began last week, the agency said.

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.

Europe cooler but deadly heatwave set to return with a vengeance Sun Jul 23, 6:51 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - Much of Europe enjoyed a respite from the heatwave which has killed more than 30 people over recent days, but forecasters warned that scorching temperatures are set for a comeback in the week ahead. In France which has been the worst hit, accounting for 22 of Europe's 31 dead so far including 10 elderly people and a fifteen-month-old child most areas of the country experienced a slight cooling off on Sunday.However, close to half the country's departments were placed on high alert for the coming week.The heatwave was spreading slowly towards the centre, the Paris region and eastwards of the capital, and also in the south-west, and France's biggest cities like Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux were starting to wilt again.

French forecasters said the heat will be worst on Tuesday and Wednesday. No cooling-off is expected before Thursday. Peak temperatures will be up to 38 to 39 degrees Celsius (100 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southeast, and 36 to 37 in the southwest.Government officials were keen to be seen to be active, mobilising television and radio channels to warn people of the dangers, anxious not to see a repeat of 2003 when an inept government response was blamed for contributing to the deaths of 15,000, mostly elderly, people.In Spain the death of a builder on Saturday morning on the island of Minorca brought to seven the number of people killed by the heat this summer.

Six Spanish regions were on high alert over the weekend, with temperatures at their most oppressive in the south, reaching 40 degrees Celcius in Alicante, Valencia and Murcia, and 37 degrees in Malaga.The Spanish government has put into place measures to help the estimated four million Spaniards most at risk.The heat itself was not the only danger, with seven people injured in Germany overnight on Saturday when a tornado hit Karlsruhe in the southwest of the country and heavy summer storms lashed Bavaria.In Hambruecken, a man fell and broke his leg while trying to reinforce the roof of his home during the tornado, with the high winds damaging at least 50 roofs and uprooting trees, some of which landed on cars and electricity pylons.Four people were struck by lightning in Bavaria, while a woman was hit on the head by a branch that snapped off a tree and a man was hurt in the chest when he tried to cling to a tent pole in the storm.In Britain, which on Wednesday recorded its hottest July day ever, the weather was cooler, but again expected to heat up at the beginning of the week.

DANIEL 7:23
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

EU applies for SAARC observer status
Posted on 23 July, 2006 # IANS

Dhaka: The European Union (EU) has formally applied to the SAARC Secretariat in Dhaka for getting an observer status in the South Asian regional grouping, diplomatic sources have said.The European Commission delegation in Dhaka has sent a formal letter seeking an observer status to Bangladesh's ministry of foreign affairs, as Dhaka currently holds the chairmanship of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).The Bangladesh Observer quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the EU supported the SAARC process and was also monitoring developments with regard to the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Agreement in the region.

Major European nations bilaterally, and collectively as members of EU, have been prominent donors to the region's seven members. No longer called donors, they are supposed to be engaged in development assistance.There is immense scope for cooperation between SAARC and EU and steps would be initiated to deepen relations among member states of the two groupings once the EU was accorded the observer status,said an official.At its last summit in Dhaka in November 2005, SAARC had decided to make Afghanistan the eighth member of the grouping.China and Japan have been accorded the observer status in the association and the US and South Korea have also expressed their desire to be associated with SAARC.

The next SAARC Summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi in January 2007.Sources said the EU is convinced that SAARC could play a useful role in regional co-operation and dialogue.In 1996, the European Commission and the SAARC secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation. This MoU has notably provided the ground for technical assistance on trade related matters from the EC.In 1999, the EU and SAARC agreed to cooperate on improving market access for SAARC products into the EU, working towards the accumulation of rules of origin for SAARC products for exports to the EU, giving a technical support for the establishment of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement and supporting the harmonisation of SAARC standards.The Commission is currently designing a new, broader programme of cooperation with SAARC, which should notably seek to promote the harmonisation of standards, facilitate trade, raise awareness about the benefits of regional cooperation, and promote business networking in the SAARC area.

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)

Bolton dismisses Syria offer for dialogue Sun Jul 23, 11:44 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton rebuffed a Syrian offer for talks on the Lebanon crisis, while saying that the US would be willing to consider a NATO-led peacekeeping force for Lebanon. Syria doesn't need dialogue to know what they need to do,Bolton told the Fox News Sunday television program of the Damascus offer.They need to lean on Hezbollah to get them to release the two captured Israeli soldiers and stop the launch of rockets against innocent Israeli civilians, Bolton said.The ambassador was responding to Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mukdad's comments Saturday proposing to open a dialogue with the United States over the Lebanon conflict.Mukdad told Britain's Sky News that Damascus was ready to talk on the condition that Washington engages on the question of Israeli occupation of neighbouring lands.

It has been Syria's ongoing position that we are ready to have a dialogue with the United States, he said.But Bolton said the problem was Syrian and Iranian support for the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon which is battling Israeli forces on the Lebanese border.If the Syrians would do all the things they already know they are supposed to do, that would be a major step forward,Bolton said, citing UN Security Council resolution 1559 on Lebanon. The resolution requires the disarming of all militia in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, and for full respect of Lebanon's political independence.As for the Syrian suggestion for talks, Bolton said: I don't know what that adds necessarily, although I suppose it is better than nothing.Bolton meanwhile told CNN's Late Edition program that the US would consider possible proposals for a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force for Lebanon. Israel said Sunday it was prepared to support an international troop deployment to Lebanon under NATO auspices.

We'll certainly take it seriously if such a force is proposed, he said.I think we have been looking carefully at the possibility of a multinational force perhaps authorized by the (UN) Security Council, but not a UN-helmeted force.That might be analogous to the multinational force and observers in the Sinai between Egypt and Israel.But Bolton stressed any force would have to be part of "the larger, longer-term political solution in Lebanon that Washington is seeking.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading off to the Middle East and Italy Sunday for talks on how to resolve the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.Bolton emphasized the need to first disarm Hezbollah and strengthen the Lebanese government's authority throughout the country.

Asked on Fox News Sunday about Hezbollah's agreement that Beirut handle a proposed prisoner swap with Israel, Bolton said: It's nice that Hezbollah has finally acknowledged who the real government of Lebanon is. Perhaps that's a step forward.But he added: What we want to do is come out of this situation strengthening the legitimate government of Lebanon, the democratically elected government, not this state-within-a-state that Hezbollah constitutes.

Netanyahu Says Israel Will `Break' Hezbollah Ability to Attack

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of Israel's Likud party and leader of the parliamentary opposition, said the solution to the Lebanon conflict is to ``break'' Hezbollah militarily while putting international pressure on Syria and Iran.

There will have to be a division of labor, Netanyahu, 56, said in a televised interview with Bloomberg today. The international community will have to pressure the patrons of this militant Islamic organization, mainly Iran and Damascus, and Israel will break their ability to terrorize our population militarily.The U.S. is already working to put pressure on Iran and Syria, which sponsor Hezbollah, to ease the strife diplomatically, according to White House spokesman Tony Snow. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave today for meetings in the Middle East with Palestinian and Israeli officials, and will then convene with other nations in Rome to discuss the conflict in Lebanon.

Both Israel and Lebanon have vowed to continue the fighting that has left more than 350 Lebanese and 36 Israelis dead since it was set off by Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. Israel mobilized several thousand reserve troops July 21 for the first time since the conflict began. Netanyahu, the author of four books on fighting terrorism, said he doesn't expect the current fighting to spiral into a regional war. Netanyahu served as Israeli prime minister from 1996 to 1999.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@Bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 23, 2006 10:43 EDT