EU CLIMATE CHANGE

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Moderate earthquake hits Aleutians. 3-Typhoon Muifa creating battering waves. 4-Another winter storm lurks for the weekend. 5-Firefighters face horror day. 6-Killer bees tracked near New Orleans. 7-Report: Hamas Boasts it Will Obtain US Funds and Arms. 8-Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and Hamas Are Gaining Strength. 9-Mideast quartet paralyzed, restart sought: Merkel. 10-Nato chief extends term. 11-New Year’s Bible Study in Communist Party School Raided in China. 12-Police in Vietnam Detain Members of Pastor’s Family. 13-Iran smog kills 3,600 in month. 14-EU: Climate change will transform the face of the continent.

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.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. (USGS)

Update time = Thu Jan 11 12:00 AM EDT

JAN 11,07
MAP 5.3 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 CASPIAN SEA

JAN 10,07
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.8 CENTRAL ALASKA

JAN 09,07
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 OWEN FRACTURE ZONE REGION
MAP 3.4 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.5 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.6 BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 WYOMING
MAP 5.3 MYANMAR
MAP 4.9 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Moderate earthquake hits Aleutians Wed Jan 10, 11:36 AM ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook Alaska's seismically active Aleutian Islands on Wednesday. No damage was reported in the island chain, which extend southwestward from Alaska into the northern Pacific. The quake was centered 39 miles west of Unalaska and likely was felt along the state's western coast, the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said.

On Tuesday, another moderate earthquake with a magnitude of about 5.7 jolted Southeast Alaska and was widely felt throughout the Panhandle. That tremor was centered 57 miles west of Haines, about 1,300 miles east of Unalaska.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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;(FIERCE WINDS)
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.

Typhoon Muifa creating battering waves Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Jan 10, 5:23 PM ET

What started Tuesday innocently enough as a moderate tropical storm has become a small, but potent, typhoon east of the Philippines. Typhoon Muifa (Moy-fa) became worthy of its prefix today when winds were estimated at near 105 mph. Muifa is at best meandering to the north while churning in the Philippine Sea just east of Manila. In fact, for all intents and purposes, the typhoon has stalled. Though forecast to move west over the islands, forward progression will be slow. Bad news for the island chain as flooding and mudslides will result from the copious amounts of rain expected to fall over the next 48 hours. There is no doubt that the large and powerful waves have been battering the eastern coast of the northern Philippines. The system is forecasted to weaken gradually over the next 5 days as it heads towards southern Vietnam. The Atlantic and eastern Pacific Basins remain quiet.

Another winter storm lurks for the weekend Jonathan Erdman, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Jan 10, 4:31 PM ET

West

Continuing a saga whose first chapter began just after the middle of December, another deep, cold storm system will congeal over the Rockies and Great Basin through the next few days. The result will be plentiful snow in the Rockies, and cold temperatures for most everybody else.

The initial cold invasion brought snow and colder air into the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies Wednesday. Light snow fell along much of the I-5 corridor from Puget Sound to Oregon's Willamette Valley. Even the coast joined in the act, as an inch of snow with pea-size hail was reported just west of Washington's Olympic National Park. Thursday's cold will be felt moist acutely in the northern Rockies and Great Basin. Highs along the Canadian border in far northern Montana may not rise above zero. Single digits and teens will be the rule elsewhere in the northern Rockies and adjacent High Plains. Twenties will dominate much of the northern Great Basin. California won't escape the cold either. Highs in the Bay area will struggle to reach 50#. Following Tuesday's record highs in the 80s in parts of Southern California, 50s or low 60s will be the rule Thursday, with some patchy drizzle or showers possible. Behind the cold front, snow levels could lower to 1000 feet in Southern California by Friday morning, bringing flakes to rather unfamiliar territory. Snow will continue in the northern Rockies Thursday, slowly shifting southward into the Wasatch and Colorado Rockies. A winter storm watch continues for the Salt Lake Valley, benches, and Wasatch. A second upper-level low that spread mainly high cloudiness into the Desert Southwest Wednesday, will become a bit more proficient precipitation generator tonight into Thursday. Showers, falling as snow in the higher terrain, are expected in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas' Big Bend. This northern and southern storm will combine into one lumbering storm Friday, lingering over the Four Corners through at least Saturday, perhaps Sunday. This will continue to manufacture snow, heavy at times, in the central and southern Rockies this weekend. Heavier snow will eventually spread out into the central High Plains this weekend, potentially including the beleaguered, snow-weary Colorado Front Range Urban Corridor (Denver metro). By Sunday, travel could again become difficult in the eastern Colorado, including the Front Range.

Midwest

As lake-effect snow winds down, attention then turns to a developing messy multi-faceted winter storm taking shape this weekend. The Arctic air will be a blunt reality check for the northern Plains Thursday. Highs won't get out of the single digits in parts of North Dakota, and teens may be the warmest parts of western South Dakota get. Keep in mind many locations from the Upper Midwest and Plains states haven't had a day colder than average in a month or more.

This front will plunge through the Plains and Upper Midwest Thursday, then stall out from the Great Lakes to the Southern Plains Friday. Warm, and increasingly moist air will intersect and override this front late Thursday into Friday. While most precipitation will fall as light rain in the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys Thursday, a thin area of light freezing rain is possible Thursday night into Friday from southern and eastern Nebraska into Lower Michigan. This would only be the opening act in this wintry play. A more significant snowstorm may emerge into the Plains states Saturday, spreading snow, possibly heavy over some of the same areas that are still recovering from a crippling blizzard or ice storm just before the New Year's holiday. Heavy snow may then spread into the Upper Midwest Sunday and Monday, possibly bringing some the first snow of the season (Des Moines, for example) and others their first significant snow in over a month (Wisconsin, northern Illinois, for example). A zone of icing is also possible as the main storm pulls out later this weekend. Not to be overshadowed, a zone of significant, persistent rainfall should set up near the sluggish frontal boundary from the Ozarks to the Ohio Valley. The first wave of moderate to, at times, heavy rainfall, can be expected Friday. A second enhancement to the rainfall could lift into the above areas Saturday night into Sunday. Flood watches have already been hoisted over parts of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, and western Kentucky. Some rivers remain near or even above flood stage Wednesday in Indiana, Illinois and western Kentucky. Rainfall amounts from 2-4" are possible, with locally higher amounts, through Monday.

Northeast

Following a brief reminder that this is indeed January, we'll continue to turn the calendar ahead to spring as we head into the upcoming weekend. This roughly month-long stretch of warm weather was briefly interrupted Wednesday in the wake of a cold front earlier this week. Heavy lake-effect snow fell in areas to the east of Lake Ontario, with up to 19 measured in Highmarket, N.Y. Eight inches blanketed Syracuse, N.Y. Daytime temperatures struggled in the 30s in New York City and Washington, D.C. These highs are par for the January course, but haven't been witnessed since early December! One rogue snow shower Wednesday brought the first flakes of the season to New York City. This was the latest first flakes of the season (defined as a trace of snow) at Central Park on record, besting the previous latest date by 6 days (Jan. 4, 1878). That said, Boston's significantly behind on snow as well, only measuring 0.8 so far this season at Logan International Airport. High pressure will rule the roost on Thursday. Only a shield of high clouds moving through Upstate New York and northern New England will blemish what's otherwise a pleasant January day. Much of the Middle Atlantic states should see highs at least in the low 40s, including New York City. Southern New England and Upstate New York should manage 30s. Twenties will hang on in northern New England. Light snow should spread into Upstate New York and northern New England Friday. There may be a zone of light sleet or freezing rain early Friday in parts of interior New York State into parts of southern New England. For the Big Apple, the Keystone State southward, this looks to be a rain event Friday, lingering into early next week.

South

Even as high pressure shifts into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, its influence will still be sufficient to keep the weather quiet for most in the Southeast Thursday. Only a few nuisance easterly-flow sprinkles or light showers along the Southeast coast will blot an otherwise tranquil day. Highs will be at or above seasonal averages. Fifties can be expected in much of the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley. Sixties will cover much of the Deep South.

Seventies will greet a lucky few along the Texas Coastal Bend and also in the Sunshine State. A developing storm system in the western U.S. will slowly trend the weather wetter by late Thursday into the weekend. Due to the sluggish, slow nature of the attendant frontal system, an area of heavy rainfall may set up Thursday night into Friday from northeast Texas and eastern Oklahoma into Arkansas, western Kentucky and western Tennessee. Rainfall of 2 inches or more may be measured as repeated impulses in the upper atmosphere sweep across this quasi-stationary boundary from late Thursday into the weekend. Flood watches are already hoisted for parts of western Kentucky in advance of this storm. A few t-storms Friday could become severe from northeast Texas into western Tennessee. This sluggish front doesn't appear to clear this rain-soaked region until Monday. On the brighter side of this storm, warm air ahead of the front should send temperatures back into the 60s and 70s from the Virginia Tidewater region to the Gulf Coast this weekend. Eighties will return to central and South Florida.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Firefighters face horror day
Email Print Normal font Large font January 11, 2007 - 6:57AM
Total fire ban statewide

A cool change moving slowly across Victoria could worsen bushfires raging in eastern Victoria.Temperatures around the state hovered near 30 celsius overnight, with the mercury tipped to reach the high 30s, with gusty north winds and extremely low humidity ahead of a cool change expected to reach Melbourne this morning and the Gippsland region by mid-afternoon.A total fire ban has been declared across Victoria today for the second consecutive day.More than 300 firefighters worked through the night to reinforce containment lines around a fire burning near Tambo Crossing, 30 km north of Bruthen, in East Gippsland to try and stop the fire advancing south and east.Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) crews spent yesterday backburning in the south and west edges of private property in Tambo Crossing to extend the control line.But DSE spokesman Pat Groenhaut said there was no rain with the change and erratic winds.There will some be some fairly unpredictable fire behaviour, so we are bracing ourselves for that a bit, he said.We're seeing the change coming through with a bit of lightning, moving fairly slowly through the west of the state, but there's no rain at all with it.You get a build-up of erratic conditions (ahead of the change) and that's what we're really worried about.The best thing we can hope for is cooler conditions.Lightning with the change could spark further bushfires, Mr Groenhaut said.

Residents in the Brookville, Doctors Flat, Ensay, Ensay North and Ensay South areas have been told to remain vigilant and activate their fire plans.The CFA has crews in those areas to help protect private property.The Red Cross opened a relief centre yesterday at the Swifts Creek Secondary School for residents who had left their homes in the Tambo Valley and Ensay.The Great Alpine Road has been closed north of Bruthen to Ensay, but Omeo Highway north of Ensay remained open.A 2000-hectare fire at Boulder Creek, near Orbost, has been contained but the CFA has warned residents and communities near Club Terrace, Goolengook, McKenzie River, Bemm River, Bellbird Creek and Cabbage Tree Creek to plan for possible fire outbreaks that could spread rapidly with the high winds.Fires are again threatening the alpine resort at Mt Buller, in the state's north-east, Mr Groenhaut said.Mt Buller has fires on three sides of it at the moment, which we're watching pretty closely. They have had a very nervous night because there is still a lot of activity up there, he said.Conditions in Victoria's south-west, which threatened to fan a blaze in the Framlingham Forest, east of Warrnambool, have eased, a CFA spokesman said.The 1000-hectare fire, which had burned 75 per cent of the forest, has moved on to private property.About 140 firefighters worked through the night, the spokesman said.The change reached the area about 2am and initially the fire flared up, but crews kept the fire from jumping a road and spreading, he said.AAP

Killer bees tracked near New Orleans Mon Jan 8, 6:01 PM ET

ARABI, La. - The residents of flood-damaged St. Bernard Parish, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, have a new concern: killer bees. Agriculturalists began setting traps around a half-mile radius of a storm-wrecked home Monday that authorities have confirmed was infested with aggressive Africanized honey bees.The hybrids first drove away contractors hired to tear the house down. Then they drove off beekeepers called in to catch them.Finally mosquito workers killed the bees. The state agriculture department confirmed in late December that they were hybrids with the aggressive African strain, Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Bob Odom said.The traps are to determine if more Africanized bees are lurking in the area. So far, this is an isolated find in the New Orleans area, Odom said.

The bees probably were descendants of stowaways who arrived in New Orleans on a ship, said Jimmy Dunkley, the department's coordinator of nursery and apiary programs.Nine swarms have been intercepted at state ports since 1988, some in shipping containers, some in barges, and some in the ships themselves, Dunkley said.Africanized bees are the result of an experiment to increase honey production in Brazil. A swarm of the small, aggressive bees escaped the lab in 1957 and headed north. When they mated with native strains, the offspring turned out to be as aggressive as the African parents. They are sometimes called killer bees because their intense attacks can be fatal.

MUSLIM NATIONS

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(MOSCOW) 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,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Report: Hamas Boasts it Will Obtain US Funds and Arms (INN) JAN 10,07

According to a report by WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein, Hamas officials are expecting to receive a portion of the $86.4 million allocated by the US to bolster Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah organization.

Klein quotes a spokesman for Hamas, referred to as Abu Oubaida, as saying, I am sure that, like in the past, this $86 million from America will find its way to the Hamas resistance via the honorable persons in the Fatah security organizations, including in Force 17. I can confirm 100 percent that this money and purchased weapons will find its way to Hamas.The US last week pledged to provide the grant to those Fatah-affiliated militias loyal to Abbas, the current Palestinian Authority chairman, in order to strengthen his hand against the Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The monies are to be transferred despite the clear involvement of Fatah militias, such as Force 17 and the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, in ongoing anti-Israeli terrorism. A US government document quoted from in the WND article says that the US expects its generous funding of the Fatah forces to be used "to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza.In addition, the US and Egypt recently transferred rifles and ammunition to Fatah's Force 17.

A leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a multi-factional terrorist group, told WND, We vow to show the Israelis very soon [that] the weapons lately channeled to the Presidential Guards [Force 17] and to the Fatah security services will be directed against the occupation. In all the security services, including in Force 17, there are activists affiliated with all the Palestinian groups, including ours, and Hamas. We vow that there will be no use [of these arms] in a civil war, as we promise that should these arms reach us, we will use them against the occupation and the Zionist enemy.A terrorist from Hamas said of the US-supplied weapons, The US gives weapons to Fatah during internal Palestinian clashes, but one day, when we go back to carrying out operations together, these [weapons] will be shared. When the attacks occur, the PRC will announce that foreign weapons were used, Klein wrote. We will obtain the US weapons, the PRC leader said.Hamas and Fatah sources explained that members of Force 17 and other Fatah-affiliated militias are also joining Hamas in Gaza. A Hamas source told WND, When they join Hamas, they bring along their new weapons. Abu Yousuf, a senior member of Fatah's Force 17, which received Egyptian and American weapons, told WND, During our official service and during our job hours, we are soldiers [in Force 17]. What we do in our free time - it is our business.

Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and Hamas Are Gaining Strength
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz(INN) JAN 10,07

The international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda is boosting its presence in three Arab states bordering Israel, while Hizbullah and Hamas are also getting stronger, a Knesset committee is told. Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, commander of the IDF Intelligence Corps, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Lebanon, Syria and Egypt have all seen an increase in Al-Qaeda activity in recent months. The IDF assessment is that Ayman Al-Zawahiri, assumed to be Al-Qaeda's current second-in-command, has given the order for the organization's operatives to spread out in the three Arab countries. In addition, a small number of Al-Qaeda terrorists reached Gaza, Yadlin said. IDF forces were said to have arrested several Al-Qaeda members in the Shechem area in Samaria, as well. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Al-Qaeda men have reached Lebanon, said Yadlin. The men are trained and possess terrorist knowledge. Al-Qaeda in Lebanon poses a threat mostly to UNIFIL and Western interests, the IDF Intelligence Corps commander explained.

Addressing another Islamist threat to Israel from Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. Yadlin told the Knesset committee that the Hizbullah is steadily increasing its strength there, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers trying to implement UN Resolution 1701. While there are confrontations between UNIFIL and Hizbullah fighters, it doesn't prevent Hizbullah from revitalizing itself, Yadlin said.

On Saturday, French soldiers in Lebanon exchanged fire with members of Hizbullah. The clash ended only with the intervention of the Lebanese army.At the same time, Yadlin noted that the Hizbullah patron Syria has stepped down from its high level of military alert, instituted at the start of the war in Lebanon over the summer. Maj.-Gen. Yadlin admitted to the MKs that he was uncertain if Syrian President Bashar Assad was sincere in seeking a diplomatic agreement with Israel at this stage. Regarding the Iranian backers of Hizbullah, the IDF intelligence chief said that they may be able to produce a nuclear bomb by mid-2009, or earlier, if they can obtain enriched materials from outside Iran. As for now, Yadlin said, Iran is using the UN Security Council's ultimatum countdown for uranium enrichment. Iran is trying to convey the message that it is too late, he said.

Like Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda, the Hamas terrorist organization and its Palestinian Authority government is also gaining strength, Yadlin said. Thanks to massive smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border and other forms of money transfer, Yadlin explained, the Hamas government is stabilizing economically.

An additional factor in its stabilization is the international legitimacy Hamas leaders are given in many countries, including invitations extended to PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. On the other hand, last month, Al-Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as betrayers of Islam and collaborators with the United States and Israel. Referring to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and to a senior member of the Fatah organization, Al-Zawahiri asked: How is it possible for Mahmoud Abbas to be a brother of ours, or for Muhammad Dahlan to be a brother of ours, when they have grown fat on the bribes of the Jews and gifts of the Americans? ...Do not recognize their legitimacy... Don't sit with them... and do not sign with them the documents that will make you lose Palestine. Responding to the Al-Qaeda charges that the Fatah leadership consists of enemies to the Muslims, PA spokesman Jamal Nazal said that Al-Qaeda was trying to drive a wedge between Fatah and Hamas, whose militias clashed violently last month. Both Hamas and Fatah forces admit to collaboration in using foreign aid and weapons against Israeli and Jewish targets.

Mideast quartet paralyzed, restart sought: Merkel Wed Jan 10, 9:11 AM ET

MILAN (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will see if conditions are right for a meeting of four-party Mideast peace mediators, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Rice leaves for the Middle East and Europe on Friday to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and to seek Arab help in stabilizing Iraq. The Mideast peace quartet groups the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.Merkel told Italy's La Stampa newspaper in an interview that President Bush agrees with us on the fact that the quartet should take back its leading role.The quartet, as is known, is paralyzed in the face of recent developments, but it remains the most effective institutional possibility for coordinating international efforts in the region.

She added, We have agreed that Condoleezza Rice, in a trip this weekend, should check if the conditions are there for a new meeting of the quartet, because we cannot intervene as mediators if the region's protagonists do not show a clear will to put an end to conflicts.Germany assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union at the start of the year.In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament he hoped there would be a quartet meeting within the next few weeks.But I think what is very important now is to create the situation in which we build the capacity of the Palestinian Authority, that we ensure that the Palestinian people have their suffering alleviated and the proper money gets through to the Palestinians for the basic services they need, Blair said.

Palestinian armed factions have demanded Israel release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, held captive by Palestinian militants in Gaza.Blair said it was important that if at all possible we are able to get the release not just of Corporal Shalit but of the Palestinian prisoners likewise, and that in addition to that we are able to set out a framework for political negotiation leading to a negotiated solution between Israel and Palestine.I hope very much in the next few weeks we will be able to announce some progress on that issue, he said.(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in London)

Nato chief extends term JAN 10,07

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, second left, hopes to bring more Eastern European nations into Nato [AFP] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has agreed to a two-year extension of his term as Nato secretary-general into 2009, an alliance official has said.The official said the Dutch diplomat, who began his term in 2004, would stay on to prepare and preside over a series of high-profile events marking the 60th anniversary of the Western military alliance in 2009.He accepted today, the official said.

He also said that the exact run-down of the anniversary events - and therefore de Hoop Scheffer's new departure date - had not yet been fixed.He had been due to leave at the end of this year.The 26 ambassadors endorsed the extension of his mandate, which will end during 2009, at a weekly meeting of the North Atlantic Council held in his presence, the Nato official said.Scheffer, 58, has sought to transform the 26-nation alliance that was the Cold War role guarantor of Europe's security into a body able to launch operations worldwide at short notice.He oversaw the deployment of Nato troops into southern Afghanistan last year in what has become the alliance's toughest conflict so far.Source: Agencies

PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS

JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME

ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE FINAL JUDGEMENT).

WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

New Year’s Bible Study in Communist Party School Raided in China JAN 10,07 (Crosswalk.com)

The new year got off to a difficult start for some Christians in China, ASSIST News Service reports. According to China Aid Association (CAA), the local police in Baoding city attacked a Christian Bible Study held in a Communist Party School. On Jan. 1 a group of Christians had gotten together in an office in the Party School to celebrate New Year by studying the Bible. However, the meeting was raided by local law enforcement officials. According to CAA, more than 40 attendees were subsequently interrogated.

Most of them, CAA reported, were not released until 6 p.m. that night. Those questioned included Dr. Li Baiguang, a well known Christian legal activist from Beijing.

Police in Vietnam Detain Members of Pastor’s Family JAN 10,07 (Crosswalk.com)

Police burst into the Vietnam Mennonite church and residence of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang at 8:20 this morning, broke up a prayer meeting and arrested 17 people, including his son and elderly mother-in-law, Compass Direct News reports. They were all released at 5 p.m. – after officials had demolished part of the family’s church/residence. The 17 people had complied with authorities’ request to halt the prayer meeting and exited the building, but nevertheless they were taken into custody and detained at the police station of Binh Khanh Ward, District 2. While virtually all buildings in the area were constructed irregularly without proper building permits more than 20 years ago, ward authorities have long singled out the Mennonite church and residence for selective enforcement because of Pastor Quang’s advocacy activities.

Iran smog kills 3,600 in month JAN 10,07

Tehran is one of the world's most polluted cities Air pollution is estimated to have killed nearly 10,000 people in Tehran over a one-year period, including 3,600 in a month, Iranian officials say. Most of the deaths were caused by heart attacks and respiratory illnesses brought on by smog, they said. The scale of the problem led one senior official to say living in the Iranian capital was like collective suicide. Cheap fuel encourages car use in Iran, correspondents say, and many vehicles do not meet global emissions standards. It is a very serious and lethal crisis, a collective suicide, the director of Tehran's clean air committee, Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, told an Iranian newspaper. A real revolution is needed to resolve this problem. He said air quality had worsened and was linked to some 3,600 deaths in October. Many of the deaths were caused by heart attacks brought on by the air pollution.

New figures showed a sharp rise in pollution-related deaths in Iran, where 9,900 people died of pollution in the previous Iranian year (March 2005 to March 2006). The latest assessments were based on World Bank figures which extrapolate mortality rates according to certain levels of pollution.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

LUKE 21:11,25
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
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)

EU: Climate change will transform the face of the continent
By Michael McCarthy and Stephen Castle 10 January 2007

Europe, the richest and most fertile continent and the model for the modern world, will be devastated by climate change, the European Union predicts today. The ecosystems that have underpinned all European societies from Ancient Greece and Rome to present-day Britain and France, and which helped European civilisation gain global pre-eminence, will be disabled by remorselessly rising temperatures, EU scientists forecast in a remarkable report which is as ominous as it is detailed.Much of the continent's age-old fertility, which gave the world the vine and the olive and now produces mountains of grain and dairy products, will not survive the climate change forecast for the coming century, the scientists say, and its wildlife will be devastated.Europe's modern lifestyles, from summer package tours to winter skiing trips, will go the same way, they say, as the Mediterranean becomes too hot for holidays and snow and ice disappear from mountain ranges such as the Alps - with enormous economic consequences. The social consequences will also be felt as heat-related deaths rise and extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, become more violent.

The report, stark and uncompromising, marks a step change in Europe's own role in pushing for international action to combat climate change, as it will be used in a bid to commit the EU to ambitious new targets for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases.The European Commission wants to hold back the rise in global temperatures to 2C above the pre-industrial level (at present, the level is 0.6C). To do that, it wants member states to commit to cutting back emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as long as other developed countries agree to do the same.

Failing that, the EU would observe a unilateral target of a 20 per cent cut.The Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, gave US President George Bush a preview of the new policy during a visit to the White House this week.The force of today's report lies in its setting out of the scale of the continent-wide threat to Europe's ecosystem services.That is a relatively new but powerful concept, which recognises essential elements of civilised life - such as food, water, wood and fuel - which may generally be taken for granted, are all ultimately dependent on the proper functioning of ecosystems in the natural world. Historians have recognised that Europe was particularly lucky in this respect from the start, compared to Africa or pre-Columbian America - and this was a major reason for Europe's rise to global pre-eminence.

Climate change will alter the supply of European ecosystem services over the next century, the report says. While it will result in enhancement of some ecosystem services, a large portion will be adversely impacted because of drought, reduced soil fertility, fire, and other climate change-driven factors.Europe can expect a decline in arable land, a decline in Mediterranean forest areas, a decline in the terrestrial carbon sink and soil fertility, and an increase in the number of basins with water scarcity. It will increase the loss of biodiversity.The report predicts there will be some European winners from climate change, at least initially. In the north of the continent, agricultural yields will increase with a lengthened growing season and a longer frost-free period. Tourism may become more popular on the beaches of the North Sea and the Baltic as the Mediterranean becomes too hot, and deaths and diseases related to winter cold will fall.But the negative effects will far outweigh the advantages. Take tourism. The report says the zone with excellent weather conditions, currently located around the Mediterranean (in particular for beach tourism) will shift towards the north.

And it spells out the consequences.

The annual migration of northern Europeans to the countries of the Mediterranean in search of the traditional summer 'sun, sand and sea' holiday is the single largest flow of tourists across the globe, accounting for one-sixth of all tourist trips in 2000. This large group of tourists, totalling about 100 million per annum, spends an estimated €100bn (£67bn) per year. Any climate-induced change in these flows of tourists and money would have very large implications for the destinations involved.While they are losing their tourists, the countries of the Med may also be losing their agriculture. Crop yields may drop sharply as drought conditions,
exacerbated by more frequent forest fires, make farming ever more difficult. And that is not the only threat to Europe's food supplies. Some stocks of coldwater fish in areas such as the North Sea will move northwards as the water warms.There are many more direct threats, the report says. The cost of taking action to cope with sea-level rise will run into billions of euros. Furthermore, for the coming decades, it is predicted the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events will increase, and floods will likely be more frequent and severe in many areas across Europe.The number of people affected by severe flooding in the Upper Danube area is projected to increase by 242,000 in a more extreme 3C temperature rise scenario, and by 135,000 in the case of a 2.2C rise. The total cost of damage would rise from €47.5bn to €66bn in the event of a 3C increase.Although fewer people would die of cold in the north, that would be more than offset by increased mortality in the south. Under the more extreme scenario of a 3C increase in 2071-2100 relative to 1961-1990, there would be 86,000 additional deaths.