EUROPE SENDS 7000 TROOPS

1-Moderate quake strikes China; 2 dead. 2-Strong quake hits mountainous Argentina. 3-Chinese storms leave 15 million homeless. 4-Minn. tornadoes kill 1, damage homes. 5-Oil prices surge on tropical storm, Iran fears. 6-Italy says international force possible for Gaza. 7-French offer expected to spur other EU Lebanon commitments. 8-Robust or bust.


EARTHQUAKES

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.

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, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Moderate quake strikes China; 2 dead By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 25, 6:43 AM ET

BEIJING A moderate earthquake jolted southwest China on Friday, killing two people and destroying homes in an area still recovering from damage caused by a temblor last month, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The magnitude-5.1 quake struck Yanjin county in Yunnan province shortly before 2 p.m., Xinhua said.The quake was strongly felt,Cheng Lianyuan, a local official, was quoted as saying.Some big rocks from the mountains rolled down and destroyed many parts of the road.Provincial officials and earthquake experts have been dispatched to Yanjin to direct relief efforts, the report said.

Some 400 tents were being sent to the quake zone, the agency said, citing Yin Liyuan, vice director of the Yunnan Civil Affairs Bureau.Chen Tieniu, deputy director of Yunnan's seismological bureau, said one person died in the town of Zonghe after being hit by falling rocks. He said another 11 people in the town were injured.Several houses in the nearby town of Dousha also collapsed, he said.Yanjin county, which lies on an earthquake belt, was still recovering from a July 22 quake that killed 22 people and injured 106, Xinhua said. Railroad tracks, roads and thousands of houses — many built on hillsides — were damaged or destroyed. There were at least five aftershocks.Yanjin, which has a population of 350,000 people, is about 350 miles from the capital city of Kunming, Xinhua said.Tremors could be felt in towns 25 miles away and even in Chengdu, the capital of neighboring Sichuan province, it said.

Zhang Yan, another Yanjin official, said the streets in Dousha were littered with tiles and bricks.Many residents stayed outdoors for fear of the aftershocks,she was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

Strong quake hits mountainous Argentina Thu Aug 24, 10:57 PM ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - A strong quake rattled a remote, mountainous area of northern Argentina late Thursday and was felt in northern Chile, but no injuries or serious damages were immediately reported. The 6.4-magnitude quake was centered about 70 miles west of San Salvador de Jujuy, capital of the northernmost Argentine province of Jujuy, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., which monitor seismic activity worldwide.It said the quake occurred at 9:44 p.m. and the epicenter zone was about 850 miles northwest of Buenos Aires and near the mountainous border with northern Chile.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages reported by emergency services in either country.Chile's government-run National Emergency Bureau told The Associated Press the quake was felt across three northern regions, including such cities as Antofogasta, Calama, Iquique, Calama and Copiapo.

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;(MASS CONFUSION) 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.

Chinese storms leave 15 million homeless 2 hours, 4 minutes ago

SHANGHAI, China - Communities in southeastern China are straining to resettle more than 15 million people left homeless by four devastating typhoons in recent months, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. The storms caused $3.6 billion in direct damage, Xinhua said, citing provincial officials in Fujian, the province worst hit by the disasters. The most costly damage was to businesses, farms, communications networks and water conservation projects.It said the central government had allocated only $7.5 million in relief funds for Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang province.

The most recent storm, Saomai, hit Fujian in mid-August, killing 441 people. It was the worst storm since record-keeping began in 1949, according to the government.Each summer brings catastrophic weather to China, usually in the form of torrential rains and tropical storms. But this year, while coastal regions are rebuilding from floods and typhoons, many inland areas are enduring their worst drought in decades.

Minn. tornadoes kill 1, damage homes By BRIAN BAKST, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 37 minutes ago

NICOLLET, Minn. Tornadoes and hail struck several towns in southern Minnesota, killing one man, damaging cars and ripping roofs off at least a dozen homes. The man who died was trapped in a house near Kasota when a tornado hit Thursday, said Tom
Doherty, chief sheriff's deputy in Le Sueur County.

The most serious property damage was reported in adjacent Nicollet County, where a tornado bounced through Nicollet, a town of 800, then moved east toward St. Peter, tearing roofs from farm houses and downing trees and power lines.Many of the houses along the highway that links the two towns, 12 miles apart, were without roofs, and the fronts or sides were ripped off others, exposing interior rooms. Powerline poles lay alongside the road and some treetops were sheared off.

Several people were treated at hospitals for broken bones and other injuries that were not life-threatening.Gov. Tim Pawlenty planned to tour the storm-damaged area on Friday.Nicollet County Sheriff Dave Lange said a couple of homes were left uninhabitable after the tornado bounced up and down through town.Mary Rahm, 22, said she saw the tornado dip from the clouds, bounce back up, dip down and bounce up again. Then the third time it dipped it hit the ground. That's when she and her newborn headed for cover.I grabbed my son and went under the desk because I don't have a basement. My 5-week-old son just made it through his first tornado,Rahm said.This is wicked.The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes hit the region Thursday evening.

An earlier line of thunderstorms dropped hail as large as softballs in several communities.In New Prague, police chief Mark Vosejpka said hail smashed the windshield of a fire truck and dented many vehicles.Eleven squad cars from the Northfield Police Department were damaged, and police were borrowing squad cars from the Rice County Sheriff's Office.In Arizona, heavy rain caused flooding in the Phoenix area, turning normally dry riverbeds into raging rivers and trapping motorists.Firefighters waded into the Indian Bend Wash to help two people out of two cars and walk them out of the swift knee-deep water.Phoenix firefighters rescued a woman who drove through a flooded intersection and became trapped. Emergency personnel in other jurisdictions also reported calls to pull people from stranded vehicles.

Oil prices surge on tropical storm, Iran fears 2 hours, 36 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices jumped on supply concerns caused by the threat of a tropical storm and fears that Iran may disrupt exports if hit by economic sanctions over its disputed nuclear programme.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery climbed 1.14 dollars to 73.82 dollars per barrel in electronic deals Friday.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, advanced 1.27 dollars to 73.63 dollars per barrel in electronic deals before the official opening of the US market.

Crude futures were higher amid concerns that a storm in the Caribbean could cause disruption to US Gulf supplies, said Michael Davies, an analyst with the Sucden brokerage firm in London.

Meanwhile the Iranian saga continues to rumble along.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States, a tropical depression is threatening to become a tropical storm later Friday.The depression, which will be known as Ernesto should it turn into a storm, has grabbed the market's attention owing to its flight towards the Gulf of Mexico, where oil platforms produce between 25 and 30 percent of US crude.The NHC said the depression, currently north of Venezuela, was on course to hit the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday at the latest.Last year, energy facilities on the rig-heavy US Gulf Coast were ravaged by hurricanes, pushing oil prices to then-record high points.Elsewhere, the market continued to focus on Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer of crude. In line with a UN Security Council resolution, the United States and its European allies insist that Iran must stop enriching uranium by August 31 or face the threat of sanctions.

Analysts argue that sanctions could lead to Iran disrupting its vital oil supplies. Iran pumps about 4.0 million barrels of oil per day of which around 2.7 million barrels are exported.The market is positioning itself for UN sanctions,said Mark Pervan, an energy analyst for Daiwa Securities based in Melbourne.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that Iran's response to an international offer over its nuclear programme lacked important elements but that the door remained open to resolve the crisis.Speaking at a joint press conference with French President Jacques Chirac, Merkel said Tehran had to grasp the package of incentives it was being offered in return for suspending uranium enrichment.Iran, which has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, is the second biggest player in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after kingpin Saudi Arabia.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (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.(TRADING
BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

Italy says international force possible for Gaza By Ari Rabinovitch
Fri Aug 25, 6:16 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - International troops could be sent to the Gaza Strip in the future if the force being deployed in Lebanon proves successful, Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema said in remarks published on Friday. The idea of sending UN troops to the Gaza Strip is currently being aired. But I think that if things go well in Lebanon, a similar process could also begin in the Gaza Strip,D'Alema told Israel's left-leaning Haaretz newspaper.Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, Mark Regev, said the issue had not been raised with the Israeli government.He said the Jewish state had historically opposed international involvement in the Palestinian territories, but at the same time he did not rule it out.

Obviously if the international community acts decisively to bring about full implementation of U.N. resolution 1701, strengthening the Lebanese government and disarming the Hizbollah, that would be an important confidence-building measure and would definitely affect Israeli thinking on other matters,Regev said.Italy plans to send up to 3,000 troops to the international force in Lebanon following the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah.Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip a year ago, but launched a major ground offensive in the coastal territory after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid on June 25.

We have always called for an international force to be deployed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

It is the responsibility of the international community to offer protection for the Palestinian people,Erekat told Reuters.The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, aimed at recovering the captured soldier and stopping cross-border rocket fire, has killed more than 165 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians.(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)

French offer expected to spur other EU Lebanon commitments
25.08.2006 - 09:52 CET | By Honor Mahony (EU OBSERVER)

French president Jacques Chirac has said he will send 2000 troops to Lebanon paving the way for other EU member states to make firmer commitments at a foreign ministers meeting today (25 August) in Brussels.

Mr Chirac made the announcement in a televised speech on Thursday (24 August) after facing weeks of criticism particularly from within the US - for a previous announcement that he would only send 200 troops.

France's initial small contribution - although it had been at the forefront of diplomatic efforts in the UN - was due to the lack of clarity about the exact rules of engagement.During his speech, Mr Chirac said that he had sought and gained guarantees and the necessary clarifications from the UN about the structure and the mandate.

But the issue of leadership of the UN force in southern Lebanon remains open with both Rome and Paris bristling about who will take command.Italy stepped into the leadership vacuum earlier this week by offering to head the international force and send up to 3000 troops - with France having been expected to lead force before it made its offer of 200 soldiers.The Italians received praise and support from Washington for their offer. But France sees itself in the role as it already heads the current UN force in Lebanon.France is ready to continue to assume the command of the force, if the UN wishes it, Mr Chirac said on Thursday.

Making good on promises?

France's about-face is likely to elicit firmer commitments from EU foreign ministers this afternoon.Along with France and Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Hungary are all considering partaking in the force.Yesterday, Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country currently has the EU presidency, said he hoped that the EU would be able to provide up to half of the 15,000 troops envisioned in the UN resolution governing the ceasefire.UN secretary general Kofi Annan will be present at the meeting to reassure governments in person that the mandate will be stronger than previous mandates and to encourage ministers to make good on their promises.[Today's] meeting will be very important for the credibility of the EU,said Mr Tuomioja.

Updated Aug. 26, 2006 1:05
Robust or bust (JERUSALEM POST)

Now, the hard and urgent work of implementation begins,said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It was August 11, and the United Nations Security Council had just passed Resolution 1701, calling for a cease-fire in Lebanon and promising to quickly send a large enough international force to the area to prevent Hizbullah from settling in again. Apparently, though, the work of implementation has been either much harder, or much less urgent, than the international community first assumed. A key element of the cease-fire - for both Lebanon and Israel - was the establishment of an international force in southern Lebanon many times larger than UNIFIL, and with a mandate strong enough to give those troops the means to effectively monitor the truce's conditions. It would be, according to the resolution, a United Nations force that is supplemented and enhanced in numbers, equipment, mandate and scope of operation.This new force would total 15,000 troops, adding 13,000 to the woefully inadequate UNIFIL mission deployed hitherto.

Following the failure of UN member states to commit to sending anywhere near these figures, however, foreign ministers from the European Union will meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss the crisis. But that crisis is actually largely one of their own making.

Hopefully, France's announcement on Thursday night that it would dispatch an additional 1,600 troops to the force is a step toward its resolution; it is certainly not the last word. As it is, France comprises the largest contingent of foreign troops in UNIFIL. We are today the most committed and most present country on the ground,Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin pointed out on Wednesday. But that was not saying much: Only 200 French soldiers were there to begin with, and Paris had sent just 200 others since the cease-fire. Italy, which has offered as many as 3,000 troops, has a mere 50 in Lebanon now.

After good talk about providing leadership, France and the rest of Europe have been hesitant to put muscle behind their words, and that hesitancy is dangerous. It may signal weakness of the foreign and security policy of the European Union if we, the Europeans, are not able to contribute in a larger scale to an international military force,Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen correctly said on Thursday. Such weakness has a price. Without a formidable international force in southern Lebanon ready to show Hizbullah that it means business, there is every probability of a return of the situation in Lebanon that, as Resolution 1701 states, constitutes a threat to international peace and security.The imposition of Lebanese sovereignty throughout the country would be impossible, and any hopes of a lasting cease-fire dashed.

But the likelihood of Israel consequently being forced to maintain its military presence in southern Lebanon and continue to engage Hizbullah fighters is only the immediate danger. For the long term, the EU and the UN risk destroying the integrity of the internationally-recognized border between Israel and Lebanon.

In fact, without a strong show of will here, they risk losing their credibility in Jerusalem altogether. The question of whether they can be trusted to support Israel in actions, not just in words for adhering to the conditions of internationally mediated agreements with our enemies will become moot. If Israeli withdrawal from
territory from which we have been attacked is not rewarded with a vigilant foreign commitment to keeping the peace, then the entire land-for-peace formula that has been so widely supported in Israel and that lies at the heart of international Middle East diplomacy will be debased.