ISRAEL APPROVES END OF FIGHTING

1-Moderate earthquake shakes Indonesia's Aceh. 2-Sharp earthquake rattles central New Zealand. 3-Moderate quake jolts northeast India. 4-Philippine volcano spews hot gas, debris. 5-Israel approves UN call to end fighting. 6-Egypt welcomes UN resolution on Lebanon, urging immediate ceasefire. 7-Iran says disarming Lebanese Hizbollah illogical.


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.

Moderate earthquake shakes Indonesia's Aceh Sun Aug 13, 6:42 AM ET

JAKARTA (AFP) - A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake jolted the Indonesian province of Aceh but caused no damage or casualties.The quake, centered 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) under the ocean floor and 73 kilometers northwest of Aceh capital Banda Aceh, struck at 03:46 pm (0846 GMT), said Fauzi from the meteorology agency's headquarters Sunday.The quake was moderately felt in Banda Aceh, he said.A resident told ElShinta radio that the quake was unusual as she heard loud thumping sounds, but it caused little panic among other residents.

Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity, was the nation worst hit by the December 2004 Asian tsunami.Some 168,000 people were killed in Aceh province when a 9.3-magnitude quake unleashed massive walls of water that reached 11 Indian Ocean nations, killing a total of 220,000 people.

Sharp earthquake rattles central New Zealand Sun Aug 13, 5:58 AM ET

NELSON, New Zealand (AFP) - A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale rattled central New Zealand, but there were no reports of damage or injury.The earthquake was centred 100 kilometres (62 miles) deep and about 80 kilometres southeast of Nelson in the upper south island, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said Sunday.The sparsely populated area is prone to earthquakes, and three people were killed in a 1968 tremor measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale.

Moderate quake jolts northeast India, no damage Sun Aug 13, 1:31 AM ET

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake shook areas along India's northeastern border with Bangladesh early on Sunday, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, the Indian Meteorological Department said. Officials said the 5.0 magnitude quake was recorded at 2:16 a.m. (2046 GMT), with the epicentre in Karimganj district -- 300 km (185 miles) south of Guwahati, the main city in the northeastern Indian state of Assam.(Additional reporting by Biswajyoti Das in GUWAHATI)

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Philippine volcano spews hot gas, debris By TERESA CEROJANO, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 26 minutes ago

LEGAZPI, Philippines - Searing gas and debris raced down the slope of the Mayon volcano in the Philippines this weekend, a development that showed the volcano has entered a much more threatening cycle, a scientist said. The burst of pyroclastic flow Saturday marked the first time Mayon shot out fast-moving hot gas and rock fragments after weeks of showing signs of a major eruption, volcanologist Ed Laguerta said Sunday.This is really the dangerous phase,said Laguerta. We're not worried much with lava flows because they're slow moving, but pyroclastic flows travel at such high velocity and could destroy almost everything in its path.

Blistering gas and volcanic debris can travel 40 mph or more per hour, he said.Mayon continued to show signs of restiveness Sunday, emitting abnormally high levels of sulfuric dioxide and puffing ash at least six times.Mayon, a popular tourist attraction because of its nearly perfect conical shape, is one of the Philippines' 22 active volcanos. It is located 210 miles southeast of Manila on Luzon island.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology predicted more pyroclastic flows in the next few days and urged villagers not to venture into an extended danger zone around the volcano. Volcanologists have been saying the 8,077-foot Mayon may be gearing up for an explosive eruption.Authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of people within the volcano's danger zone, and nearly 45,000 people have been moved to 27 temporary shelters, mostly school buildings in Albay province.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday visited villagers in shelters. She ordered officials to speed up efforts to improve conditions at overcrowded evacuation centers and ensure adequate food and medicine.The volcano's most violent eruption in 1814 killed more than 1,200 people, many of whom sought shelter in a church that was buried by lava.

Israel approves UN call to end fighting 2 hours, 15 minutes ago


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet on Sunday approved a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities with Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, a political source said. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had said the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon agreed the fighting would end on Monday at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT).

Olmert had urged the cabinet to accept the U.N. resolution.All but one of the cabinet voted for the resolution that was approved by the Security Council on Friday to end a month-old war that has killed over 1,060 people in Lebanon and 140 Israelis. Shaul Mofaz, the former defense minister, abstained.

The resolution envisages a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon when violence subsides and deployment of 15,000 Lebanese troops and 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers.Hostilities began on July 12 when Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid, then unleashed rocket fire at northern Israel after Israel launched an aerial offensive in Lebanon.Despite the resolution, Israel has expanded its offensive in south Lebanon, tripling its forces there on Saturday in a bid to wipe out Hizbollah rocket launch sites before the ceasefire takes effect.Nearly 30,000 troops were operating against Hizbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Leaders agree to UN truce timing

An estimated 30,000 Israeli troops are now in Lebanon A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah will come into force at 0500 GMT on Monday, the UN Secretary General has said. Kofi Annan announced the timing after discussions with the prime ministers of Lebanon and Israel. However, Israel is likely to continue operations in Lebanon on Sunday in an effort to clear the south of Hezbollah. Nineteen Israeli soldiers were killed on Saturday, and five on a helicopter downed by Hezbollah are feared dead.

Hezbollah's leader has said his group would abide by the ceasefire plan agreed unanimously at the UN Security Council on Friday.
However, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said on TV that Hezbollah would continue fighting as long as Israeli soldiers remained in Lebanon.

Lebanon has now also approved the UN resolution, which calls for a full cessation of hostilities, although Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the government had some reservations. Lebanese officials said that after the truce only Lebanese forces would be authorised to carry weapons in southern Lebanon. Mr Siniora said the area south of the Litani River, beyond which Hezbollah is expected to withdraw under the terms of the agreement, should be demilitarised. There won't be any weapons in the country starting from the area which is the zone, which will be south of the Litani. There won't be any weapons other than the weapons of the central government.

Fighting goes on

Announcing the agreed terms of the ceasefire, Kofi Annan said he was very happy, but added that preferably, the fighting should stop now.He insisted that the UN would work with the Lebanese and Israeli governments to ensure the ceasefire held. The Security Council emphasises the need for an end of violence, but at the same time emphasises the need to address urgently the causes that have given rise to the current crisis Israel expanded its military operation on Saturday as the clock ticked towards the implementation of the agreement, tripling the number of troops in southern Lebanon. Some Israeli estimates put the number of Israeli troops now in southern Lebanon at 30,000. Some Israeli troops have reached the key target of the Litani River, the army says, but 19 Israeli soldiers were killed and more than 70 wounded in the fighting on Saturday. It was Israel's highest number of casualties in a single day since the conflict began.

Israeli jets hit a string of targets in Lebanon on Saturday, saying it killed some 40 Hezbollah fighters. There were heavy clashes elsewhere in the country, and reports from Lebanese sources that some 15 civilians were killed in an air strike. Israel also confirmed a helicopter had been shot down in southern Lebanon, the first such loss to hostile fire in the conflict. It says a crew of five were on board, and all are reported missing. Hezbollah fired more rockets into northern Israel, but Israeli sources said the number was fewer than in recent days.Israel's cabinet will discuss and take a formal vote on the UN ceasefire resolution on Sunday.

War not ended

On Hezbollah's al-Manar TV channel on Saturday, Sheikh Nasrallah said the UN resolution was unfair in holding his group responsible for the fighting. Sheikh Nasrallah said the UN resolution was unjust But he said: We will not be an obstacle to any decision taken by the Lebanese government,adding that Hezbollah would continue to resist Israel's presence in Lebanon.

Sheikh Nasrallah also said Hezbollah would co-operate with the deployment of UN and Lebanese troops in the south. More than 1,000 Lebanese and more than 120 Israelis have been killed in the conflict since Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers on 12 July in a cross-border raid. UN Security Council resolution 1701 says Hezbollah must end attacks on Israel while Israel must end offensive military operations in Lebanese territory. US President George W Bush praised the UN move, but once again criticised Hezbollah, saying the group shared the same totalitarian ideology as those arrested in a suspected plot to blow up US-bound jets from Britain.

Egypt welcomes UN resolution on Lebanon, urging immediate ceasefire

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Saturday that Egypt welcomed the newly-passed UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire in Lebanon, the official MENA news agency reported. Abul Gheit said that Israel must show full and absolute commitments to the resolution and immediately end all hostilities, adding that a complete ceasefire would set the stage for laying the groundwork for a future political settlement.The Egyptian official urged that the first condition for realizing such a settlement was Israel's commitment to a complete pullback from the Lebanese territories, which it had overran since July 12 when the Hezbollah-Israel fighting began. Such a withdrawal would pave the way for the return of control over the south and all parts of Lebanon to the Lebanese army and eventually allow for the return of the displaced and the resumption of international relief operations, said Abul Gheit.

He said that Israel's respect to Resolution 1701 would facilitate the start of a massive operation to rebuild the devastated country and heal the sufferings of the Lebanese. Abul Gheit called upon the international community to shoulder its full responsibility towards ending the humanitarian disaster in Lebanon as soon as possible. He also called for opening inquiries into the massacres and other crimes against humanity that were perpetrated by Israel in Lebanon, according to MENA. On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1701, calling for Israeli troops withdrawal and authorizing an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15, 000 troops to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws. France and the United States, co-sponsors of the draft resolution, came up with a compromise final version after days of hard wrangling. And the resolution has left out some key demands from both Israel and Lebanon in efforts to produce a workable arrangement.
Source: Xinhua

Iran says disarming Lebanese Hizbollah illogical Sun Aug 13, 6:42 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran welcomed on Sunday a planned ceasefire to halt the month-long war between Lebanon's Hizbollah and Israel but described the U.N. Security Council's call for disarming the Iranian-backed group as illogical. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday calling for a full cessation of hostilities and for the implementation of a previous U.N. resolution requiring the disarming of armed groups including Hizbollah.We are happy for the ceasefire in Lebanon. But the resolution is not balanced,Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference.It does not condemn the Zionist regime (Israel) and its crimes in Lebanon.Asked about the call for disarming Hizbollah, Asefi said: This is a totally unreasonable demand. It is illogical.

Let us not forget that as long as there is occupation there is resistance,he added.Israel accuses Iran of providing Hizbollah with missiles used against civilian and military targets. Although Iran armed and funded Hizbollah during the 1980s, Tehran now insists it provides only moral support to the group.Opposition to Israel was one of the founding principles of the Islamic Republic. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be wiped off the map.