IRAN SYRIA PRAISE MURDERERS

1-Magnitude 6.1 quake rocks southern Tonga. 2-Quake off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami warning. 3-Residents flee flooding in N.M. 4-Death toll in China typhoon hits 319. 5-EU will help make Lebanon force 'robust', says Solana. 6-EU countries lead way as composition of expanded UNIFIL starts to take shape. 7-Israel joins NATO cataloguing system. 8-Iran, Syria praise Hezbollah, mock U.S. 9-Mediterranean oil spill prompts crisis meeting.

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.

Magnitude 6.1 quake rocks southern Tonga 2 hours, 16 minutes ago

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A strong earthquake shook the Pacific island nation of Tonga on Wednesday, rocking the capital for several seconds but causing no injuries or damage, police said. The magnitude 6.1 quake was centered 65 miles west of the capital and about 100 miles below the earth's surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no reports of a tsunami warning being issued, It was felt all over Nuku'alofa,said journalist Pesi Fonua, adding the tremblor shook buildings in the city's downtown area.

Tonga has been rocked by scores of quakes recently, including a 7.8-magnitude temblor on May 4 that damaged some buildings. Tonga, located halfway between Australia and Tahiti — has a population of around 108,000 and an economy dependent on pumpkin and vanilla exports, fishing, foreign aid and remittances from Tongans abroad.

Quake off eastern Indonesia, no tsunami warning Tue Aug 15, 1:10 AM ET

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia in the Banda sea area on Tuesday, an official at the national earthquake center said, but there were no reports of damage or a tsunami.

There was a quake in Banda sea at 10:05 a.m. Jakarta time (0305 GMT), said Fauzi at the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (MGA). There is no potential tsunami and also no damage.The U.S. Geological Survey put the earthquake's magnitude at a strong 6.1 and at a depth of 39 km (24 miles). It said the quake struck 188 km southwest of Ambon in Indonesia's Moluccas. The MGA official said the quake could be felt in Ambon.

There was no immediate tsunami warning posted on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's Web site (www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc)Earthquakes occur frequently near Indonesia, which lies on a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.In May this year, a strong earthquake also hit the city of Yogyakarta in Java killing at least 5,000 and a tsunami after a quake on July 17 off the south coast of Java killed at least 600.A 9.15 magnitude earthquake on December 26, 2004 in the sea off the Aceh province triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed more than 220,000 people in the region.

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.

Residents flee flooding in N.M. 32 minutes ago

HATCH, N.M. - Residents fled their homes Tuesday after another day of heavy rain breached an arroyo, causing waist-deep flooding in this southern New Mexico town famous for its chile peppers. Authorities ordered residents living in areas from Hatch to Rincon, about five miles south, to evacuate. Many were soaked when they arrived at an evacuation center set up at Hatch Valley High School.State police closed all highways and feeder roads into Hatch, though nearby Interstate 25 remained open. A command center was moved out of town to nearby Las Cruces because of the high water, and schools were ordered closed through Thursday.

Police and rescue workers helped people navigate the high water as they waded from their homes Tuesday evening. No injuries were reported.Hatch, home to about 1,700 residents, is one of the nation's leading chili producers and proclaims itself the Chili Capital of the World. An annual chili festival over Labor Day draws tens of thousands of tourists.

It wasn't immediately known what effect the flooding would have on this year's crop, which had been expected to be a strong one. Chili farmer Joe Paul Lack said heavy rain has hurt his crops in Rincon.There is definitely going to be a (chili) shortage if this rain keeps up, but I'm more concerned about the town — our churches and our schools — than the crops, said.He tried to work his way around the flooded area in his pickup truck to find his workers and family members who might need a place to stay, but found all roads into the village closed.Tuesday's rain was the latest in a series of storms that have rolled throughout New Mexico in recent weeks, damaging roads, homes, canals and other infrastructure.To the north in Socorro County, residents also were asked to evacuate due to flooding brought on by Tuesday's heavy rains.More flooding was possible east of the Hatch Valley along the Rio Grande, which was expected to rise at least a foot overnight due to runoff.Residents who live along or near the river were urged to be prepared for evacuation on short notice, said Dona Ana County spokesman Jess Williams.

Death toll in China typhoon hits 319 54 minutes ago

BEIJING - China's death toll from Typhoon Saomai rose to 319 after dozens more bodies were found in a hard-hit southern city, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.Rescuers found another 24 bodies in Fuding, a city in coastal Fujian province, where Saomai killed the most number of people after it roared ashore last week, Xinhua said.By Tuesday, 202 people were confirmed dead in Fuding, with another 94 missing, it said.Neighboring Zhejiang province reported 87 deaths, while two people were killed in the inland province of Jiangxi, Xinhua said.Saomai was China's strongest typhoon in five decades.

The storm sank more than 1,000 ships and wrecked more than 50,000 houses when it slammed into China's southeast on Thursday with winds of up to 170 mph.China has mobilized thousands of soldiers to help rebuild damaged roads, power lines and water
supplies.

Most of those killed in Fuding died when the super strong typhoon broke the moorings on their ships which had sought shelter in the harbor, Xinhua said.Fuding suffered at least $312 million in damage, mainly due to lost fishing boats and catches of fish, Xinhua said.Parts of Fuding and five other cities in Fujian province suffered blackouts.

More than 1.6 million people fled their homes in Fujian and the neighboring coastal province of Zhejiang.

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)

EU will help make Lebanon force 'robust', says Solana
15.08.2006 - 09:57 CET | By Honor Mahony(Eu observer)

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said that he expects a quick deployment of troops to southern Lebanon and that troops from Europe will make the force robust.I've been speaking to several countries during the day and night and I think we will be able to guarantee that the force, as far as the Europeans are concerned, will be robust, Mr Solana said on Sunday (13 August) while in Jerusalem.

Mr Solana, who was in Lebanon on Saturday before travelling to meet Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert indicated Canada, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia may be non-EU countries prepared to take part in the international force.He went on to say that in a very, very short time at least 4,000 soldiers would be prepared to move into southern Lebanon.Later on Sunday, Mr Solana told Reuters news agency that deployment could start this week.

I would like to see people beginning to deploy by the end of the week, early next week - elements of the force, the headquarters, he said.France is expected to lead the force with Italy, Spain, Portugal and Finland all considering sending troops.On Sunday, the Israeli cabinet approved a UN resolution, passed unanimously in the UN on Friday, calling for an end to hostilities between the two sides with foreign minister Tzipi Livni calling it the the best that could be extracted from the Security Council.

The ceasefire resolution went into force at 8am local time this morning (14 August) and calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops after UN and Lebanese forces move into southern Lebanon. Mr Solana said he hoped the past month of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah would never be repeated.It's important for the Israelis . . . to make a reflection about the significance of what has happened this month. It is a month that we must do the utmost never to repeat,he said.The fighting was sparked off by Hezbollah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers on 12 July and seen over 1000 people killed – mainly civilians.

EU countries lead way as composition of expanded UNIFIL starts to take shape Compiled by Daily Star staff Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Turkey, Italy and Germany were engaged in talks with regional leaders on the make-up of a UN peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon on Tuesday, while Iran sent its foreign minister to Arab countries to discuss the crisis. A day after Hizbullah declared victory in its monthlong fight with Israel, the EU said the group must choose between being a responsible force in Lebanese politics or a beachhead for Iran.During a joint news conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said Italy may dispatch up to one brigade, or almost 3,000 men.

After giving the first specific number for the country's contribution to the planned reinforcement of the UNIFIL force, D'Alema said that he was unsure whether it would be necessary to send so many troops.He added that the war had shown the futility of military force, after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abou al-Gheit repeated his country's position that Egypt will not send participate in any forces separating between Israel and an Arab country. He refused to comment on the issue of Hizbullah's disarmament, saying it was an internal matter for Lebanon.German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet coalition party leaders on Wednesday to discuss a possible troop deployment, a source in the coalition told Reuters.

One option would be for Germany to send its navy to patrol the coast off Lebanon and Israel, said Eckart von Klaeden, foreign policy spokesman for Merkel's conservatives (CDU-CSU) in Parliament. The coalition source said another alternative would be to send German police to the Syrian-Lebanese border.http://www.dailystar.com.lb. In Amman, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier briefed King Abdullah II on efforts made by the European Union to secure a lasting cease-fire in Lebanon, a royal court statement said.Government spokesman Nasser Joudeh later said that his country would not contribute to the UN force.

In an interview with Spain's El Pais daily, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that the seven-fold buildup of UNIFIL should start by the beginning of next week at the latest. The deployment will be a question of weeks, he said.He said that he hoped the disarmament of Hizbullah would take place in the most political manner possible so that the group becomes a political force in the life of a normalized Lebanon. But the relations between Hizbullah and Iran will make this process difficult, he said. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was received by Saudi King Abdullah Tuesday, delivering a letter from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. SPA gave no details on what the letter said.The minister has been touring several Arab countries discussing cooperation over the situation in Lebanon.He also declared that Israel has suffered a defeat, when asked about the view in many parts of the Arab world that Hizbullah had emerged the victor. - Agencies

Israel joins NATO cataloguing system
The NATO cataloguing (codification) system is designed to create a uniform framework of inventory and equipment use in all NATO

member states.Amnon Barzilai 15 Aug 06 15:36

Israel joined the NATO cataloguing (codification) system. The IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate will implement the cataloguing procedures in the IDF ahead of the establishment of a national catalogue center. The agreement for Israel’s participation in the NATO cataloguing system was signed in June, after a year of negotiations. Israel is currently an associate member in the system and will obtain full membership within three years. The NATO cataloguing (codification) system is designed to create a uniform framework of inventory and equipment use in all NATO member states. Israel initiated negotiations to join the NATO cataloguing system two years ago, after an IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate committee studied the need to establish a uniform system of procurement procedures. The committee found that one of the greatest sources of waste in the defense establishment was the fact that there were about 100 independent procurement agencies.

The committee also found that the IDF, land, sea, air and intelligence arms simultaneously used dozens of uncoordinated cataloguing systems. The result was redundant procurements and a lack of coordination between different IDF branches, which caused inefficiencies and waste. The committee recommended streamlining the logistics units in the IDF branches by establishing a catalogue center at the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate. This center will establish a single tag for all IDF items, which will act as a kind of ID number. The commander of the catalogue center said Israel’s joining the NATO cataloging system had immediate results. The NATO cataloging system includes 16 million items, and regularly publishes lists of equipment and supply items for sale. When the equipment is catalogued with the same uniform system, Israeli defense contractors can be included in the NATO database, and present their capabilities to all NATO states. www.globes.co.il - on August 15, 2006.

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

Iran, Syria praise Hezbollah, mock U.S. By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Tue Aug 15, 12:35 PM ET

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Hezbollah has hoisted the banner of victory over Israel and toppled U.S.-led plans for the Middle East. Hezbollah's main backers Iran and Syria struck nearly identical tones a day
after a cease-fire took effect in Lebanon: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.

God's promises have come true, Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran. On one side, it's corrupt powers of the criminal U.S. and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God.In Damascus, Syrian President Syrian President Bashar Assad said Washington's plans for the Middle East were turned into an illusion by Hezbollah's resistance to the Israeli military during the 34-day conflict.

Israel was defeated and Hezbollah hoisted the banner of victory, Ahmadinejad told the crowd, including many people waving yellow Hezbollah banners and Iranian flags.Ahmadinejad drew cheers when he said Hezbollah foiled what he called the plans of Washington and its allies to create the so-called new Middle East.The people of the region are also after the new Middle East, but a Middle East that is free from U.S. and British domination,he said.

After the war broke out July 12, Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders repeatedly denounced the U.N. Security Council for moving slowly toward a cease-fire. They also sharply criticized other Muslim nations for what Iran considered a failure to rally around Hezbollah and Lebanese civilians.Ahmadinejad said the United Nations should force war reparations from Israel and its allies, led by the United States.Those who were involved in inflicting damage to the Lebanese nation are responsible,he said.Ahmadinejad has drawn worldwide condemnation for calling for Israel's destruction and describing the Holocaust as a myth.Earlier Tuesday, a hard-line Iranian cleric warned Israel that Iran's new long-range missiles will land in Tel Aviv if the Jewish state should attack Iran, state-run television said.

Ahmad Khatami, a mid-ranking cleric, declared that Israel would face dire consequences if it makes an iota of aggression against Iran.They must fear the day 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile)range missiles land in the heart of Tel Aviv,he said.Khatami is a Friday prayer leader in Tehran and a member of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical panel that has the power to choose or dismiss Iran's top leader, but he is not considered a government official.In his address, Ahmadinejad also said his government would stick by its plans to reply on Aug. 22 to a package of Western economic and technology incentives offered in exchange for a suspension of Iranian uranium enrichment.The U.N. Security Council has told Iran it must halt enrichment by Aug. 31 or face possible sanctions.

Western nations, led by the United States, claim Iran is using its nuclear program as a cover for developing atomic weapons in violation of its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.Iran denies the allegations, saying its program has the peaceful goal of generating electricity with nuclear reactors.

Mediterranean oil spill prompts crisis meeting Tue Aug 15, 10:59 AM ET

ATHENS (AFP) - Officials from the United Nations, European Union and a maritime organization are set to meet in Greece Thursday to map out a strategy for containing a massive Mediterranean oil spill caused by the conflict in Lebanon. Nearly 15,000 tons of leaked oil from the Jiyyeh electric plant, bombed by Israel last month, has polluted some 140 kilometers (87 miles) of the Lebanese coast and spread north into Syrian waters, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

If all the oil from the damaged facility, 30 miles south of Beruit, were to seep into the sea, officials said, the environmental fallout could rival the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill that devastated Alaska's Prince William Sound.The objective of the meeting is to coordinate a common strategy to confront the pollution and to devise actions to prevent the possible expansion of the oil spill,said a communique released by the UNEP and the International Maritime Organization, which are jointly hosting the meeting in Piraeus.

UNEP head Achim Steiner and IMO secretary general Efthymios Mitropoulos will chair the meeting, also to be attended by EU Commissioner for the environment Stavros Dimas. Representatives from Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey will also participate, the Greek Merchant Marine said.Environmental officials and inspectors have said that the spill poses a direct threat to marine life and could also be hazardous to human health, including a heightened risk of cancer.

More oil has already spilled from the Jiyyeh plant than leaked from the Erika oil tanker into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of France in 1999.In the worst-case scenario, if all the oil contained in the bombed power plant at Jiyyeh leaked into the Mediterranean Sea the Lebanese oil spill could well rival the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989,the UNEP said.The Exxon Valdez spilled 37,000 tons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound after running aground on a reef on March 24, 1989, causing massive damage from which some scientists argue the area has yet to completely recover.UNEP said two environmental experts had arrived in Syria to begin assessing the impact of the Jiyyeh spill, which it said it feared had already affected marine life, particularly tuna and turtles, in the Mediterranean.