EU HIT BY CYBER ATTACK

Two magnitude 7.0 quakes hit Myanmar: USGS
MAR 24,11 12PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two strong quakes of magnitude 7.0 struck northeast Myanmar, close to the Thai and Laotian borders, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Thursday.It said the quakes struck seconds apart at 8:25 p.m. on Thursday (1355 GMT) and were centered 69 miles north of Chiang Rai in neighboring Thailand. The first one was very shallow, at a depth of 6.2 miles, while the second one was deeper at 142.5 miles.It is a sparsely populated, hilly area best known as the Golden Triangle, which is a traditional source of illicit opium.(Reporting by Sandra Maler and David Storey; Editing by Bill Trott)

Israel retaliates for deadly blast, rocket attacks By ARON HELLER and DAN PERRY, Associated Press - MAR 23,11

JERUSALEM – Israeli warplanes hit Hamas targets in Gaza early Thursday, retaliating for rocket attacks on Israeli cities, as tension peaked over the first deadly bombing targeting Israelis in Jerusalem in several years.A blast Israel quickly blamed on Palestinian militants ripped through a bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing a woman, wounding two dozen other people and intensifying fears that a period of relative calm could be ending as hopes for a negotiated peace fade.
Violence has been on the rise, with the knife slaying this month of a Jewish settler family as they slept and the deaths of civilians in Gaza by Israeli strikes Tuesday in retaliation for rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled strip.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned militants not to test Israel's iron will, and vowed a tough response to the bombing.Since this government was formed we had a clear security policy — an immediate and aggressive response to every attempt to harm Israeli citizens, he said after spending the evening huddled with his defense minister, military chief and other top security officials.We will act aggressively, responsibly and wisely in order to preserve the quiet and security that endured here the past two years.Retaliating, Israeli warplanes attacked several Hamas facilities and smuggling tunnels in Gaza, Hamas said. No one was hurt.The bombing — the first fatal attack in Jerusalem in several years — along with a rocket barrage Wednesday on the southern city of Beersheba, come at a delicate diplomatic moment and could have far-reaching consequences, especially if Israel retaliates or more attacks follow.

In December 2008, Israel responded to months of intense rocket fire with a fierce offensive in Gaza, killing some 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians. Hamas, which suffered heavy losses, has largely honored an unofficial truce since then, but in recent weeks the lull has begun to fray.The virulently anti-Israel Hamas had no comment on Wednesday's attack and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Hamas' Palestinian rival, the moderate Palestinian Authority, quickly condemned the bombing in the strongest terms.The blast went off just as rush hour was starting, around 3 p.m., at a crowded bus stop next to the main convention center, and blew out the windows of two crowded buses. Police said a 4-pound (2-kilogram) bomb went off in a small bag placed at the site.Rescuers removed bloodied people from the area on stretchers, as sirens from speeding ambulances wailed in the background.The bomb blew up next to a food stand called a blast of a kiosk, a name the owner said was to remember an earlier attack at the same site in 1993.A kiosk worker, David Amoyal, emerged as a hero after police released a recording of him calling authorities to warn them of flames erupting from a nearby phone booth. Listen there is a bag near the bus stop here, he is heard saying just before the explosion. Amoyal was among the wounded.The bombing was relatively minor by the standards of the Palestinian uprising of several years ago — when suicide bombers would routinely explode aboard crowded buses and in cafes, restaurants and clubs, killing dozens of people or more in the worst attacks.But even the specter of a renewal of such attacks — which deeply scarred the Israeli psyche and left the country's peace movement in tatters — was enough to bring calls for retaliation.

Arriving on the scene soon after the blast, Eli Yishai, Israel's hard-line interior minister, urged revenge. With these murderers, these terror organizations...we must act, or we will lose our deterrence, he said.Nearby, young Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men vented their anger, chanting death to Arabs.It's a very sad day, said one of them, Meny Friedman. Finally we have the ability to get out what we have to say about Palestinians.Israeli authorities said a 60-year-old woman was killed and about two dozen other people were wounded, several critically. The road was blocked off, creating a huge traffic jam on the highway from Tel Aviv at the entrance to the city. Police, accompanied by sniffer dogs, broke into cars near the site to search for evidence and possible additional explosives. None were found.Jerusalem's police chief, Aharon Franco, said there were no firm leads but authorities were investigating a possible link to a small bombing earlier this month that wounded a garbage collector as he removed the device from a trash can.

With peace talks stalled since September, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been on the rise. The Palestinian Authority appears set for a unilateral diplomatic push to get the world community to recognize a Palestinian state by fall, with or without a peace deal.Netanyahu, increasingly isolated internationally, has been under pressure to produce a peace offer that might break the deadlock. But a renewal of violence could change that.Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a stern warning Wednesday, saying he held Hamas responsible for the rockets that exploded in the southern city of Beersheba. One man was wounded by shrapnel.We will not tolerate the harming of Israeli citizens, not in the south and not in Jerusalem, he said. Hamas is responsible for the firing of rockets toward Beersheba today and this responsibility has a price.Israel's U.N. ambassador, Meron Reuben, send a letter of complaint over the bombing and rocket salvos to the secretary-general and Security Council. He called on the international community to condemn all of these attacks in very clear terms and send a firm message to these terrorists and their patrons.The bombing in Jerusalem brought back memories of the second Palestinian uprising last decade. More than 6,000 people were killed on the Palestinian side and more than 1,000 on the Israeli side in the violence.The last suicide bombing in Jerusalem was in 2004, and the last suicide bombing in Israel occurred in 2008 in the southern town of Dimona.Even so, Jerusalem has experienced other deadly violence. In early 2008, eight students at a Jerusalem seminary were killed when Palestinian gunmen entered the school and opened fire.Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said the city would rebound quickly, vowing that Jerusalem's first-ever marathon would take place as planned on Friday.Every once in a while we are reminded who we are dealing with, a bunch of cowardly terrorists that put bombs in the middle of pedestrians,he said. They will very soon find out that the city goes back to normal life and this is the best way to deal with terror — to show them that they have no gain from hurting innocent people.Associated Press writers Josh Lederman in Jerusalem and Edith M. Lederer at the U.N. contributed to this report.

Hamas Says It Wants Calm; 15 More Shells Hit Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu MAR 23,11

Hamas stated Wednesday evening that it wants to restore calm and indicated it is backing off from escalation in attacks as Israel makes it clear it will not tolerate terror.Gaza-based terrorists fired 15 mortar shells at western Negev farming areas during the day, causing property damage but no injuries. The IDF has not yet retaliated for the latest barrage.The de facto Hamas government in Gaza stated,We stress that our constant position in the government is to protect stability and to work in order to restore the conditions on ground that used to be dominant in previous weeks.The statement was milder than Hamas position two days ago, when it demanded that Israel declare a ceasefire in return for restoration of quiet. However, Islamic Jihad terrorists threatened to continue the escalation of attacks, which have struck Be’er Sheva and south of Ashdod, increasing the chance of another all-out retaliation similar to the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign two years ago.Amos Gilad, senior Defense Ministry adviser, said Wednesday night that Hamas will be making a dramatic mistake if it does not halt the rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.He also said that Hamas is inspired and encouraged by the recent uprisings in the Arab world.Gilad said, it is the responsibility of any government to protect civilians, and that Israel will continue to do so.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, prior to leaving Wednesday night for a meeting with top officials in Moscow, stated, We have set a clear policy on security, the essence of which is a vigorous response to any attempt to harm Israeli citizens, and systematic and assertive preventive measures against terrorism.He said that elements that have tried to violate the relative quiet since the end of Cast Lead. They are trying to test our resolve and the fortitude of our people,the Prime Minister continued. They will learn that the government, the IDF and the Israeli public have an iron will to defend the state and its citizens.Concerning his trip to Russia, he said he will discuss with them a series of bilateral and regional issues, as well as the search for a peace process with security and issues that are very important for Israel's security.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

EU institutions hit by major cyber attack ahead of summit
LEIGH PHILLIPS 23.03.2011 @ 16:38 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission and the External Action Service have been hit by a major cyber attack ahead of a key EU summit where crucial decisions on the future structure of the bloc, countries' economic strategies and the ongoing war in Libya are to be discussed.The commission will not comment on the nature of the attacks due to security concerns, but has confirmed the institutions are indeed the focus of a serious strike. Meanwhile officials are comparing the attack to an assault on the French finance ministry last year ahead of a G20 meeting.We're regularly hit by cyber attacks, but this one's a big one, said an EU source familiar with the matter that did not want to be named.An internal email seen by EUobserver and sent to all staff warned: We have found evidence that both the commission and EEAS are the subject of an ongoing widespread cyber attack.The commission is currently attempting to assess the scale of the threat underway and in order to prevent the disclosure of unauthorised information, and has shut down external access to email and the institutions' intranet.All staff have been asked to change their passwords and to send sensitive information via secure email.One EU source suggested the attack was similar to the massive assault which bombarded the French finance ministry last last year and was described by budget minister François Baroin as spectacular.

The authors of the attack had been particularly interested in files on the G20 summit held in Paris in February.At the time, Patrick Pailloux, the head of France's National Agency for Information Systems Security described the attack as pure espionage ... one of the most important attacks, if not the most important, ever to target the public administration.Some 150 computers were affected. French officials also suggested that some of the information was redirected to Chinese sites.An EU source suggested that in this case too, China may be among the suspects.This is an important summit in many ways. There are people who want to know what the different positions are in what's being discussed.In the attack on Brussels officials are publicly refusing to discuss the scale of the attack or its source.We are not speculating on the origin, EU institutional affairs spokesman Anthony Gravali told EUobserver.It is thought to be the first such attack on the External Action Service, although Gravali was keen to downplay this record.It's difficult to say whether this is the first one. So much of the EAS is still technically DG Relex [the external relations department of the commission, the precursor of the EAS],he said.

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU MAR 24,2011

09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +33.38
10:30 AM +31.98
11:00 AM +63.35
11:30 AM +65.54
12:00 PM +71.41
12:30 PM +91.09
01:00 PM +74.47
01:30 PM +67.67
02:00 PM +72.20
02:30 PM +76.86
03:00 PM +77.54
03:30 PM +92.68
04:00 PM +84.54 12,170.56

S&P 500 1309.66 +12.12

NASDAQ 2746.32 +38.12

GOLD 1,429.20 -8.80

OIL 105.40 -0.35

TSE 300 14,029.40 -57.80

CDNX 2304.58 -13.43

S&P/TSX/60 805.90 -3.78

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +56 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +92 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,438.00.OIL opens at $105.75 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today so far.
Dow +104 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +104 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,444.00 (NOT AT CLOSE)

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

PESTILENCES (CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)

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

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

NUCLEAR LEVEL METER
7-MAJOR ACCIDENT
6-SERIOUS ACCIDENT - JAPAN AT THIS LEVEL CURRENTLY
5-ACCIDENT WITH WIDER CONSEQUENCES
4-ACCIDENT WITH LOCAL CONSEQUENCES
3-SERIOUS INCEDENT
2-INCIDENT
1-ANOMALY

RADIATION NETWORK
http://www.radiationnetwork.com/
LOW LEVEL RADIATION CAMPAIGN-Christopher Busby
http://llrc.org/
WEATHER MODEL-WINDSTREAM
http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=npac_250

Japan says must review nuclear power policy as crisis persists
By Linda Sieg and Sumio Ito MAR 24,11 12PM

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will have to review its nuclear power policy, its top government spokesman said on Thursday as radiation from a damaged nuclear complex briefly made Tokyo's tap water unsafe for babies and led to people emptying supermarket shelves of bottled water.Engineers are trying to stabilize the six-reactor nuclear plant in Fukushima, 250 km (150 miles) north of the capital, nearly two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami battered the plant and devastated northeastern Japan, leaving nearly 26,000 people dead or missing.It is certain that public confidence in nuclear power plants has greatly changed, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yuki Edano told Reuters.In light of that, we must first end this situation and then study from a zero base.Before last week, Japan's 55 nuclear reactors had provided about 30 percent of the nation's electric power. The percentage had been expected to rise to 50 percent by 2030, among the highest in the world.There were no fresh incidents of smoke or steam at the plant on Thursday, but four of the plant's reactors are still considered volatile, although on the way to stability.It's still a bit early to make an exact time prognosis, but my guess is in a couple of weeks the reactors will be cool enough to say the crisis is over, said Peter Hosemann, a nuclear expert at the University of California, Berkeley.It will still be important to supply sufficient cooling to the reactors and the spent fuel pools for a longer period of time. But as long as this is ensured and we don't see any additional large amount of radioactivity released, I am confident the situation is under control.Tokyo's 13 million residents were told not to give tap water to babies under 1 year old after contamination hit twice the safety level this week. But it dropped back to allowable amounts on Thursday.Despite government appeals against panic, many supermarkets and stores sold out of bottled water.Customers ask us for water. But there's nothing we can do," said Masayoshi Kasahara, a store clerk at a supermarket in a residential area of eastern Tokyo. We are asking for more deliveries but we don't know when the next shipment will come.Radiation above safety levels has also been found in milk and vegetables from Fukushima and the Kyodo news agency said radioactive cesium 1.8 times higher than the standard level was found in a leafy vegetable grown in a Tokyo research facility.

Singapore said it had found radioactive contaminants in four samples of vegetables from Japan.Earlier, it and Australia joined the United States and Hong Kong in restricting food and milk imports from the zone, while Canada became the latest of many nations to tighten screening after the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.A shipping industry official, meanwhile, said some merchant vessels may be avoiding Tokyo port due to concern that crew members may be exposed to radiation.
Radiation particles have been found as far away as Iceland, and although Japan insists levels are not dangerous to adults, it is the nation's most testing time since world War Two.

DAMAGE

The estimated $300 billion damage from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami makes it the world's costliest natural disaster, dwarfing Japan's 1995 Kobe quake and Hurricane Katrina, which swept through New Orleans in 2005. In Japan's north, more than a quarter of a million people are in shelters. Some elderly displaced people have died from cold and lack of medicines.Exhausted and traumatized rescuers are still sifting through the mud and wreckage where towns and villages once stood.The official death toll from the disaster has risen to 9,523, but is bound to rise as 16,094 people are still missing.Amid the suffering, though, there was a sense that Japan was turning the corner in its humanitarian crisis. Aid flowed to refugees, and phone, electricity, postal and bank services began returning to the north, sometimes by makeshift means.Things are getting much better, said 57-year-old Tsutomu Hirayama, staying with his family at an evacuation center in Ofunato town. For the first two or three days, we had only one rice ball and water for each meal. I thought, how long is this going to go on? Now we get lots of food, it's almost like luxury.Aftershocks are still jolting the country. Several shook Tokyo on Thursday.

ADMIRATION FOR NUCLEAR WORKERS

At the Fukushima plant, technicians have successfully attached power cables to all six reactors and started a pump at one to cool overheating fuel rods.Nearly 300 engineers, fast becoming national heroes for braving danger inside an evacuation zone, are fighting to cool fuel rods at the reactors.They resumed work on Thursday at the No.3 reactor, considered the most critical, after a one-day suspension when black smoke was seen rising.Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is trying to re-start systems to keep the fuel cool and prevent further radiation leaks or a complete meltdown, the nightmare scenario.Three TEPCO employees who were working in water to connect a cable were injured by radiation on Thursday and two were taken to hospital with burns, the nuclear safety agency said.Japan has urged the world not to overreact, and plenty of experts appeared to back that up.Jim Smith, of Britain's University of Portsmouth, said the finding of 210 becquerels of radioactive iodine, twice the safety limit, at a Tokyo water purification plant on Wednesday should not be cause for panic. The safety level for adults is 300 becquerels.The recommendation that infants are not given tap water is a sensible precaution. But it should be emphasized that the limit is set at a low level to ensure that consumption at that level is safe over a fairly long period of time, he said.This means that consumption of small amounts of tap water -- a few liters, say-- at twice the recommended limit would not present a significant health risk.The crisis in the world's third-biggest economy -- and its key position in global supply chains, especially for the automobile and technology sectors -- has added to jitters in global financial markets, also worried by conflict in Libya and Middle East protests.Toyota Motor Corp, which has suspended production at all of its 12 assembly plants in Japan, said it would slow some North American production because of supply problems although it would try to minimize disruptions.(Additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi, Shinichi Saoshiro and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Yoko Nishikawa in Unosumai, Jon Herskovitz and Chisa Fujioka in Minamisanriku; Editing by John Chalmers)

European radiation levels normal, Brussels says
ANDREW WILLIS 23.03.2011 @ 15:35 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - There is no sign that radioactive particles from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station have reached the European Union, the European Commission has said. We have several thousand pieces of equipment all over the European Union in the member states, spokeswoman Marlene Holzner told journalists on Wednesday (3 March).In times like this where we have accidents in Japan, member states are obliged to measure every single hour and I have no indication from my experts that we have higher radiation levels in Europe at the moment,she added. On Monday the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) announced a nuclear cloud would pass over France and Belgium on Wednesday or Thursday, although scientists say radiation levels will be too weak to cause any risk to human health.The Belgian Royal Meteorological Institute has subsequently said the cloud is likely to miss the country which hosts the bulk of the EU institutions, reports the Le Soir daily.The European Commission has asked EU member states to carry out tests on food imports from Japan, with EU rules set up following Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster requiring governments to trigger an alert mechanism if radiation is detected.Japan's food exports to the EU were a modest €65 million last year, with products including vegetables and green tea. The US became the first country this week to place a ban on milk products, fruit and vegetables from areas near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

On Wednesday Japanese authorities said the level of radioactive iodine found in Tokyo's tap water was double the recommended limit for young children, advising against its use for mixing milk formula.Emergency work at the Fukushima station also ground to a halt after grey smoke was seen pouring from the plant's number three reactor, the second time in three days.A magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on Friday 11 March, cutting the electricity supply to the plants cooling systems. Overheated uranium has subsequently caused a series of fires and explosions.The latest figures from the Japanese government suggest the event could cause losses of up to $300 billion (€212 billion).

Anxiety in Tokyo over radiation in tap water By ELAINE KURTENBACH and SHINO YUASA, Associated Press - 10PM MAR 23,11

TOKYO – Anxiety over Japan's food and water supplies soared following warnings about radiation leaking from Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant into Tokyo's tap water at levels unsafe for babies over the long term.Residents cleared store shelves of bottled water after Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said that levels of radioactive iodine in tap water were more than twice what is considered safe for babies. Officials begged those in the city to buy only what they need, saying hoarding could hurt the thousands of people without any water in areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.I've never seen anything like this, clerk Toru Kikutaka said, surveying the downtown Tokyo supermarket where the entire stock of bottled water sold out almost immediately after the news broke Wednesday, despite a limit of two, two-liter bottles per customer.The unsettling new development affecting Japan's largest city, home to around 13 million people, added to growing fears over the nation's food supply.Radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has seeped into raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips, from areas around the plant.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was halting imports of Japanese dairy and produce from the region near the facility. Hong Kong said it would require that Japan perform safety checks on meat, eggs and seafood before accepting those products, and Canada said it would upgrade controls on imports of Japanese food products by requiring documents verifying their safety.Concerns also spread to Europe. In Iceland, officials said they measured trace amounts of radioactive iodine in the air but assured residents it was less than a millionth of what was found in European countries in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.The crisis already is emerging as the world's most expensive natural disaster on record, likely to cost up to $309 billion, according to a new government estimate. Police estimate that more than 18,000 people were killed.

The overall situation at the Fukushima plant 140 miles (220 kilometers) north of Tokyo remains of serious concern, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The deposition of radioactive iodine and cesium varies across 10 prefectures on a day to day basis but the trend is generally upward, said Graham Andrew, senior adviser to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano.The Fukushimi Dai-ichi plant has been leaking radiation since the tsunami engulfed its crucial cooling systems, leading to explosions and fires in four of the facility's six reactors in the ensuing days.Nuclear workers have struggled to stabilize and cool down the overheated plant.Unit 3 has stopped belching black smoke, an official at Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday, a day after a plume forced an evacuation of nuclear workers. However, white smoke was rising intermittently from two other units, spokesman Masateru Araki said.As a precaution, officials have evacuated residents within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the plant and advised those up to 19 miles (30 kilometers) away to stay indoors to minimize exposure.And for the first time, chief Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano suggested that those downwind of the plant should stay indoors with the windows shut tight — even if just outside the zone.In Tokyo, the municipal government planned Thursday to distribute 240,000 bottles of water to households with infants. They estimated 80,000 babies in the affected area, with each infant getting three bottles of 550 milliliters.Officials said tap water showed elevated radiation levels: 210 becquerels of iodine-131 per liter of water — more than twice the recommended limit of 100 becquerels per liter for infants. Another measurement taken later at a different site showed the level was 190 becquerels per liter. The recommended limit for adults is 300 becquerels.It is really scary. It is like a vicious negative spiral from the nuclear disaster, said Etsuko Nomura, a mother of two children ages 2 and 5. We have contaminated milk and vegetables, and now tap water in Tokyo, and I'm wondering what's next.Infants are particularly vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which can cause thyroid cancer, experts say. The limits refer to sustained consumption rates, and officials urged calm, saying parents should stop giving the tap water to babies, but that it was no problem if the infants already had consumed small amounts.They said the levels posed no immediate health risk for older children or adults.Dr. Harold Swartz, a professor of radiology and medicine at Dartmouth Medical School in the U.S., said the radiation amounts being reported in the water are too low to pose any real risk, even to infants who are being fed water-based formula or to breast-fed infants whose mothers drink tap water.Radioactive iodine is also short-lived, with a half-life of eight days — the length of time it takes for half of it to break down harmlessly.Richard Wakeford, a public health radiologist at the University of Manchester in Britain, blamed the spike in radiation on a shift in winds from the nuclear plant toward Tokyo. He predicted lower levels in coming days.

Edano pleaded with shoppers to restrict purchases of bottled water to the bare necessity, urging them to think of tsunami victims in need.We have to consider Miyagi, where there is no drinking water at all, he said, referring to a stricken region. Under these conditions, we would appreciate it if people would avoid buying more water than they need.The latest data showed sharp increases in radioactivity levels in a range of vegetables. In an area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of the nuclear plant, levels for one locally grown leafy green called kukitachina measured 82 times the government limit for radioactive cesium and 11 times the limit for iodine.With supplies of fuel and ice dwindling, officials have abandoned the traditional practice of cremation in favor of quick, simple burials. Some are interred in bare plywood caskets and others in blue plastic tarps, with no time to build proper coffins. The bodies will be dug up and cremated once crematoriums catch up with the glut, officials assured families.In Higashimatsushima in Miyagi prefecture, soldiers saluting as they lowered bodies into freshly dug graves. Two young girls wept inconsolably, hugged tightly by their father.I hope their spirits will rest in peace here at this temporary place, said mourner Katsuko Oguni, 42.

Masaru Yamagata, a Higashimatsushima official, said the crematorium cannot keep up with demand.Giving the grieving families coffins is the most we can do right now, Yamagata said. Every day, more dead bodies are found, and we need more coffins quickly.Hundreds of thousands remain homeless, squeezed into temporary shelters without heat, warm food or medicine and no idea what to call home after the colossal wave swallowed up communities along the coast.Associated Press writers Tomoko A. Hosaka and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo, Tim Sullivan in Higashimatsushima, Lindsey Tanner in Chicago and Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna contributed to this report.

Wed Mar 23, 10:37 am ET Source of latest Gulf oil spill determined
By Brett Michael Dykes

Just hours after a new sizable oil slick was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, a Houston-based energy company came forward to claim responsibility for the latest round of crude tainting the area.Anglo-Suisse Offshore Partners issued a statement last night expressing surprise that what it claimed was a minor leak from a well that's been out of use for some time could have produced miles-long slicks that garnered national media attention. The company has been in the process of permanently plugging the well -- located in a shallow area about 30 miles southeast of Grand Isle, La. Anglo-Suisse owned a cluster of five platforms in that area that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.According to the Times-Picayune's David Hammer, Anglo-Suisse has filed three incident reports with the Coast Guard since last Friday. In those documents, Hammer reports, the company explained that as it used a remotely operated submarine to plug the well, some oil had been discharged into the Gulf.

However, the company claimed in those reports that it had spilled less than five gallons of crude -- an amount far too small to account for the scope of the spill shown in aerial photographs. Nor would five gallons of crude square with reports of oil washing up over a 30 mile stretch of Louisiana's shoreline.The confusion surrounding this latest Gulf spill points up a fatal flaw of America's oil pollution reporting system, which operates via a virtual honor code. Under present reporting protocols, polluters are tasked with the responsibility of turning themselves in when they're responsible for an accident -- knowing all the while that a federal inspector will probably never be dispatched to investigate.By apparently under-reporting the scale of the spill, Anglo-Suisse may have hoped to sidestep any government oversight -- along with the hefty fines that could potentially come with it -- of the latest incident. In any event, now that the company is on the record as the responsible party, it will be on the hook for the full cleanup expenses. The one bit of good news: Anglo-Suisse also announced last night that it had successfully plugged the damaged well.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded

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)

EVIL INVENTIONS ARE PREDICTED IN THE BIBLE.

ROMANS 1:29-32
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

REVELATION 9:7-8
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

Committee of foreign ministers set to run Libya campaign-Nato meeting room: talks in Brussels have reportedly seen tempers frayed and walkouts over the past two days (Photo: Nato)ANDREW RETTMAN 23.03.2011 @ 09:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Nato ambassadors are to vote on Wednesday (23 March) on a hybrid command structure for Libya that could see the alliance run day-to-day military operations while an ad hoc committee of foreign ministers makes political decisions.The complex set-up was agreed in telephone diplomacy between the White House, the Elysee and Downing Street on Tuesday following two days of fractious talks by Nato diplomats in Brussels.Speaking to press on a trip to Latin America, US President Barack Obama said: I have absolutely no doubt that we will be able to transfer control of this operation to an international coalition ... I would expect that over the next several days you will have clarity and a meeting of the minds of all those who are participating in the process.In an address to the French parliament the same day, French foreign minister Alain Juppe said: At the president's behest, I've proposed the agreement of our British colleagues that we set up a political structure to guide operations, involving foreign ministers from countries that are taking part and from the Arab League.For his part, Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen noted there is already agreement on the alliance's role in policing a maritime arms embargo on Colonel Gaddafi.Our top operational commander, Admiral Stavridis, is activating Nato ships and aircraft in the central Mediterranean, he explained.Nato has completed plans to help enforce the no-fly zone - to bring our contribution, if needed, in a clearly defined manner, to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya.Under the proposed British-French-US deal, the Nato command centre in Mons, Belgium, would make military decisions on the maritime and no-fly blockades while the new committee would have overall political control.Juppe said the committee would hold its first meeting in either Brussels, London or Paris this week.

If all 22 Arab League members (21 not counting Libya) as well as Canada, Norway, the US and the six EU countries (Denmark, Italy, France, Romania, Spain and the UK) taking part in the military campaign get a seat at the table, the committee would number over 30 people. If only the Arab League countries taking part in the campaign so far, Qatar and the UAE, take part, it would number 11.Nato members France, Germany and Turkey have opposed handover of command to Nato's political body, the North Atlantic Council.France earlier said that Arab countries do not want to see the Nato flag in the Maghreb following Afghanistan and Iraq.Turkish leader Recep Tayip Erdogan has pledged to support Nato humanitarian operations. But he told his AKP party in Ankara on Tuesday that: Turkey will never, never be the side pointing weapons at the Libyan people ... These kinds of operation brought no benefit in the past. They led to loss of life and turned into an occupation.Germany, which has flip-flopped on its support for the no-fly zone, on Tuesday said it would take back control of two frigates and over 600 German soldiers under the Nato flag in the Mediterranean in case they were ordered to fire on Gaddafi forces.The difficulties of co-ordinating the Libya action amid the political divisions were clear in Cyprus on Tuesday.Cyprus, which opposes the campaign, first declined permission for three Qatari planes to use its Larnaca airport to refuel on the way to Libya. It later granted permission on the basis of international aviation law when the planes said they had to make an emergency landing because they were running out of petrol.

A statement by a retired UAE air chief also highlighted the geo-political complexities of the anti-Gaddafi coalition.Speaking at a security seminar in the emirates on Tuesday, general Khaled al Bu-Ainnain said the UAE had originally planned to send 24 fighter jets to enforce the no-fly zone. But it will now limit itself to humanitarian support in revenge for Western powers failing to back the UAE line that unrest in Bahrain is down to Iran.The GCC [Gulf Co-operation Council] is supporting Bahrain, and they were not happy at all with the European and American attitude ... They think it's a matter of a civil movement, a matter of democracy. It is much beyond it,he said, according to local media.What's going on in Bahrain is beyond the understanding of our Western allies. It is a complete conspiracy of the Iranians.

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

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

BIBLES WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS

CHINA MILITARY PARADE(KING OF THE EAST)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9164005727480680563#docid=-8916004936135366443
RUSSIA ARMY PARADE(KING OF THE NORTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReGqS3TDYRM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWn3T5XIbNk&feature=related
EGYPT ARMY PARADE(KING OF THE SOUTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt_KT4irRTM&feature=related
EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY PARADE(KING OF THE WEST)(NOT THE USA)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NEyheTDyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzLjhsRrZYw&feature=fvw
ISRAEL MILITARY-GUARENTEED BY EU TO SECURE THEM THE BIBLE SAYS(2 MAIN ENDTIME PLAYERS)(NEXT TO GOD HIMSELF FUULFILLING THE PROPHECIES ON EARTH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04TDlvIRIMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhdalQdtzfY&feature=related
ANGEL 2 TO DR DOCTORIAN
The angel showed me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

French jets destroy Libyan plane, target arms flow By RYAN LUCAS and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press - MAR 24,11 12PM

BENGHAZI, Libya – French fighter jets struck an air base deep inside Libya and destroyed one of Moammar Gadhafi's planes Thursday, and NATO ships patrolled the coast to block the flow of arms and mercenaries. Other coalition bombers struck artillery, arms depots and parked helicopters.Libyan state television on Thursday showed blackened and mangled bodies that it said were victims of airstrikes in Tripoli, the capital. Rebels have accused Gadhafi's forces of taking bodies from the morgue and pretending they are civilian casualties.The international military operation against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces may last days or weeks — but not months, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said. But the rebels who largely control Libya's east remain outgunned and disorganized — instead of handing out weapons at a checkpoint, they were distributing sneakers to would-be fighters on Thursday.The French strikes overnight hit a base about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the Libyan coastline, French military spokesman Thierry Burkhard told reporters in Paris on Thursday without elaborating on the target or possible damage.

France's joint chiefs of staff, in a statement on their Web site, said French surveillance aircraft noticed a Libyan combat plane that was flying near Misrata in violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution. A French Rafale fighter jet fired a guided air-to-ground missile on the Libyan jet after it landed at the Misrata air base.In Tripoli, Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said that the military compound at Juffra was among the targets hit before dawn. Juffra is one of at least two air bases deep in Libya's interior, on main routes that lead from neighboring countries in the Sahara region that have been suppliers of arms and fighters for the Gadhafi regime.The town of Sabha, about 385 miles (620 kilometers) south of Tripoli, has another air base and international airport and is a major transit point for the ethnic Tuareg fighters from Mali and Niger who have fought for Gadhafi for the past two decades. Malian officials say hundreds of Tuareg men have left to fight in Libya in the recent uprising.Abdel Rahman Barkuli, a Libyan in exile originally from Sabha, said communications with his family there were abruptly cut on Wednesday night and heavy security is barring residents from moving in or out.He said he spoke to residents in Sabha who reported several airstrikes before dawn: two targeted radars and one targeted a military camp. One of the radars is next to a mountain in the city that he said was packed with ammunitions and heavy weaponry.Thank God they didn't bomb the mountain because it would be a disaster for the civilians living nearby, he said.My last contact with them, they said that the city is cordoned off by heavy security forces, of Faris Brigades. Snipers are on the rooftops, he said. My family told me that Sabha has turned into a barracks.

Barkuli said members of two anti-Gadhafi tribes in the city were rounded up early in the protests that began Feb. 15. No one knows anything about their whereabouts, he said.NATO warships began patrolling Wednesday off Libya's Mediterranean coast in an effort the blockade's commander described as closing the main front door to weapons and mercenaries for Gadhafi.Vice Adm. Rinaldo Veri said the Mediterranean was the most efficient way to get weapons into Libya and that it was impossible to patrol its entire coast. He expected to have enough vessels in place in a few days for effective operations.Veri said NATO was prepared to board any suspect ships that don't voluntarily submit to inspections.If they should find resistance, the use of force is necessary, he said, noting that the Security Council had mandated all means necessary to enforce the embargo.Coalition bombers planes and ships continued to strike at Gadhafi positions, including artillery, tanks, an ammunition bunker and a small number of helicopters as they sat on an airfield along the coast, a U.S. defense official said Thursday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.More than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from U.S. and British ships in the Mediterranean Sea late Wednesday and early Thursday, their targets including Gadhafi's air defense missile sites in Tripoli and south of the capital. Other attacks were launched against an ammunition bunker near Misrata and forces south of Benghazi, the official said. The U.N. Security Council authorized the embargo and no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians after Gadhafi launched attacks against anti-government protesters who wanted him to leave after 42 years in power. But rebel advances have foundered, and the two sides have been at stalemate in key cities such as Misrata and Ajdabiya, the gateway to the opposition's eastern stronghold.Ajdabiya has been under siege for more than a week, with the rebels holding the city center but facing relentless shelling from government troops positioned on the outskirts.Residents fleeing the violence said the situation inside the city has deteriorated in recent days. Two airstrikes targeted the area early Thursday, said a rebel, Taha el-Hassadi.Mohammed Ali, 56, who fled with his family in a station wagon said, They've cut everything — the electricity, the water. It's getting worse and worse inside.Government troops also continued barraging the western city of Misrata on Thursday but were forced to roll back their tanks periodically amid coalition airstrikes.A 42-year-old doctor in the city said shelling had damaged a mosque and a hotel near the hospital.

When the allies' planes were seen flying in the sky, the shelling stopped and the tanks fled, he said. We still have to deal with snipers in the main street in Misrata and try to warn people to stay away from it.Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor, said he was 100 percent certain that his investigation into attacks on Libyan protesters will lead to crimes against humanity charges against the Gadhafi regime.The investigation was launched with unprecedented speed, which the prosecutor attributed to technology, which has brought images of Libyan violence to the world. Technology is reducing the distance between people in Libya and people in the (rest of the) world, the Argentine prosecutor said. Journalists showing the killing of civilians in Libya created this willingness to intervene.Michael and Associated Press writer Ben Hubbard reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Paris; Pauline Jelinek and Bob Burns in Washington; Nicole Winfield in Rome; and Martin Vogl in Bamako, Mali, contributed to this report.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoIxRin2yJw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143095
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143093
Qaddafi's Air Force Effectively Destroyed, says Britain
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 23,11

British Royal Air Force Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell has disclosed that coalition forces have all but wiped out the Libyan air force and were attacking ground troops wherever they threatened the civilian population.We are now applying sustained and unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces, he said from the RAF base at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy. Effectively, their air force no longer exists as a fighting force, and his integrated air defense system and command and control networks are severely degraded to the point that we can operate with near impunity across Libya.Prior to coalition strikes in the opening hours of Operation Odyssey Dawn, the Libyan Air Force had an inventory of 374 combat capable aircraft, predominantly Soviet era Mig 17/19/25 fighters and TU-22 bombers, which were housed at 13 air bases. The U.S. State Department estimates indicated 50 percent of Libya's air-force, including most of its Migs, were in storage.Following air-strikes by coalition planes enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, besieged rebels in Misurata say the odds have evened out in what has been, to date, an asymmetrical battle against Qaddafi loyalists, The New York Times reports.

Mohammed, a rebel spokesman in Misurata, said, We almost lost all hope, but the strikes came at a good time with good intensity and frequency. The strikes made such a difference, Qaddafi's forces are scared of them.While the withdrawal of many tanks from the streets of Misurata brings a much needed respite to Libya's third-largest city, there have been reports of renewed fighting in the eastern town of Ajdabiya and western town of Zintant. Witnesses in Misurata say loyalist snipers continue to target civilians.U.S. Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber said Qaddafi's forces are still attacking Misurata and Ajdabiya with tanks, artillery and rocket launchers, and making incursions into both cities. Our primary focus is to interdict those forces before they enter the city [and] ...cut their lines of communication and cut their command and control, Hueber said from aboard the U.S. command ship the USS Mount Whitney in the Meditteranean.Admiral Samuel Locklear, the head of the U.S. forces in Libya, said coalition aircraft would target the 10,000-strong 32nd Brigade commanded by Gaddafi's son Kamis, which Locklear described as a premier force for Colonel Gaddafi.The coalition insists it will not put boots on the ground,but U.S. ships in the Mediterranean, on standby to carry out relief operations, also carry Humvees, armored trucks and weaponry, and are capable of delivering hundreds of Marines to beach landings if need be.U.S. military officials said the wreckage of an F-15 that went down in eastern Libya had been bombed on Tuesday to prevent materials from getting into the wrong hands.A military source told The Daily Telegraph strafing runs had been conducted on a Libyan army convoy and that two Harriers had dropped two 500-pound bombs during the rescue of the pilot.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Gadhafi forces roll back as rebels try to organize By RYAN LUCAS and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press - 10PM MAR 23,11

BENGHAZI, Libya – NATO ships began patrolling off Libya's coast Wednesday as airstrikes, missiles and energized rebels forced Moammar Gadhafi's tanks to roll back from two key western cities, including one that was the hometown of army officers who tried to overthrow him in 1993.Libya's opposition took haphazard steps to form a government in the east, as they and the U.S.-led force protecting them girded for prolonged and costly fighting. Despite disorganization among the rebels — and confusion over who would ultimately run the international operation — coalition airstrikes and missiles seemed to thwart Gadhafi's efforts to rout his opponents, at least for now.Coalition aircraft hit a fuel depot in Tripoli, a senior government official told reporters in a late-night news conference. Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim at first denied reports that Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli was hit earlier, then bactracked and said he had no information about that. Other targets Wednesday were near Benghazi and Misrata, he said.U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged there is no clear end to the international military enforcement of the no-fly zone over Libya, but President Barack Obama said it absolutely will not lead to a U.S. land invasion.From Ajdabiya in the east to Misrata in the west, the coalition's targets included Libyan troops' mechanized forces, mobile surface-to-air missile sites and lines of communications that supply their beans and their bullets,said Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, a top U.S. officer in the campaign in Libya.

He asserted that Gadhafi's air force has essentially been defeated. He said no Libyan aircraft had attempted to fly over the previous 24 hours.Those aircraft have either been destroyed or rendered inoperable, Hueber told Pentagon reporters by phone from the U.S. command ship in the Mediterranean Sea.A doctor in Misrata said Gadhafi's tanks fled after the airstrikes, giving a much-needed reprieve to the besieged coastal city, which is inaccessible to human rights monitors or journalists. The airstrikes struck the aviation academy and a vacant lot outside the central hospital, the doctor said.Today, for the first time in a week, the bakeries opened their doors, the doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals if Gadhafi's forces take Libya's third-largest city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.Neither the rebels nor Gadhafi has mustered the force for an outright victory, raising concerns of a prolonged conflict.Gates said no one was ever under any illusion that the assault would last just two or three weeks. He had no answer when asked about a possible stalemate if Gadhafi hunkers down, and the coalition lacks U.N. authorization to target him.Obama, when asked about an exit strategy during an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision, didn't lay out a vision for ending the international action, but rather said: The exit strategy will be executed this week in the sense that we will be pulling back from our much more active efforts to shape the environment.The administration wants others to lead the way soon: Gates said the U.S. could relinquish control as soon as Saturday. Members of the coalition, however, were still divided over the details.In a compromise proposal, NATO would be guided by a political committee of foreign ministers from the West and the Arab world. But NATO nations remained deadlocked over the alliance's possible role in enforcing the U.N.-authorized no-fly zone.NATO warships, meanwhile, started patrolling Wednesday to enforce the U.N. arms embargo against Libya. Alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said the action was to cut off the flow of arms and mercenaries, activity that intelligence reports say is continuing.

Six vessels were involved the first day, and Canada's Brig. General Pierre St. Amand said 16 ships have been offered by NATO members. Five are from Turkey, the organization's sole Muslim member.Missiles fired from submarines in the Mediterranean, bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers and an array of airstrikes easily totaled hundreds of millions of dollars by the fifth day of the coalition campaign.Hueber said international forces were attacking government troops that have been storming population centers. On Wednesday evening, Libyan state television reported a Crusader colonialist bombing targeting certain civil and military locations in Tripoli's Tajoura district — scene of some of the heaviest past protests against Gadhafi. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Gadhafi can end the crisis quickly — by leaving power. She said the U.S. wants the Libyan government to make the right decision by instituting a cease-fire, withdrawing forces from cities and preparing for a transition that doesn't include the longtime dictator.Some attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces continued in Misrata, where the doctor and rebel leaders said pro-Gadhafi snipers were firing on civilians from rooftops. Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, a spokesman for the opposition forces, said 16 people were killed today, including five children.Ghoga said people are being treated in the hallways of buildings because they did not dare go outside.In Zintan, a city of 100,000 about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Tripoli, a resident said Gadhafi's forces were shelling from the foot of a nearby mountain, but rebels forced their retreat from all but one side of the city. After five days of fighting, Ali al-Azhari said, rebel fighters captured or destroyed several tanks and seized trucks loaded with 1,200 Grad missiles and fuel tanks. They captured five Gadhafi troops.

Al-Azhari, who spoke to The Associated Press by phone from the city, said one officer told rebels he was ordered to turn Zintan into a desert to be smashed and flattened. Resentment against Gadhafi runs high in Zintan because it was the hometown of many of the detained army officers who took part in a failed coup in 1993.Ghoga said 16 people died Tuesday and Wednesday in Zintan, which has no electricity or landlines.The withdrawal of the tanks from Misrata and Zintan was a rare success for the rebels, who are struggling daily against Gadhafi forces in the eastern gateway city of Ajdabiya. The disorganized opposition holds much of the east but has been unable to get back on the offensive despite the international air campaign that saved it from the brink of defeat.Iman Bughaigis, a spokeswoman for the rebel force, said the tentative beginnings of an interim administration on Wednesday reflected the realization that they must organize. She said the leader of the governing body would be Mahmoud Jibril, a U.S.-educated planning expert who defected from the Gadhafi regime as the uprising gained momentum. At the beginning, we thought it would just take a week or two weeks to depose Gadhafi, she said. Now we know it will take time. We need a government to liberate the eastern territories. It was just because there was a vacuum. We don't have political experience. We are learning as the days go by. Now there is an understanding that we need a structure.Details from the rebels were sketchy and sometimes contradictory. Ghoga said Jibril was appointed to lead the new body about a month ago, and that it cannot be called a government because rebels do not control the whole country. This is a working body for an emergency period only, he said.Gadhafi, meanwhile, was defiant in his first public appearance in a week late Tuesday.State TV said he spoke from his Bab Al-Aziziya residential compound, the same one hit by a cruise missile Sunday night. In the short term, we'll beat them, in the long term, we'll beat them, he said.Libyan state TV showed footage it labeled as the crusader imperialism bombs civilians — a house that was demolished and burning. Weeping women slapped their faces and heads in grief while men carried a barefoot girl covered in blood on a stretcher to an ambulance. A man screamed a whole family was killed.Gadhafi's regime has alleged that dozens of civilians have been killed in the international bombardment. The Pentagon on Wednesday said there was no evidence of that.Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tripoli, Libyam Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.

US pressures allies to take Libya mission now
By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA BALDOR, Associated Press -MAR 23,11 9:30PM

WASHINGTON – The United States turned up the pressure on quarreling NATO allies to take command of the air war in Libya on Wednesday, suggesting the U.S. could step away from its leadership role as soon as this weekend, even with the conflict's outcome in doubt.In Congress, meanwhile, the Republican speaker of the House demanded that President Barack Obama quickly spell out the nation's precise goals in Libya. White House officials said Obama would keep updating the American people and a formal address was possible. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said order could be resolved quickly — if Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi would just quit.The U.S. threat to give up its leadership of the military efforts rang somewhat hollow, since officials said there was no absolute deadline to hand over frontline control to other countries, or for an end to all U.S. participation. Still, the administration is eager to hand off the lead role in a conflict that some of Obama's closest advisers resisted and that is raising complaints in Congress.Defense Secretary Robert Gates, himself an early skeptic American military intervention in Libya, said Obama made clear from the start of the international air campaign last Saturday that the U.S. would run it for only about a week. The assault began with a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles fired by ships and submarines in the Mediterranean and with American Stealth bomber flights — the first war initiated by a president who inherited two others.In an exchange with reporters traveling with him in Cairo on Wednesday, Gates was asked whether his comments meant the U.S. had set a hard deadline of this Saturday for turning over command of the air operations.I don't want to be pinned down that closely, he replied.But what we've been saying is that we would expect this transition to the coalition, to a different command and control arrangement, to take place within a few days and I would still stand by that.

The U.S. and its partners are struggling to overcome a key dilemma of their mission: how to halt Gadhafi's ground forces, which are now attacking urban areas, without endangering the very civilians the allies are supposed to protect.As Obama returned to Washington from a three-nation tour of Latin America, Democrats lined up in support of his Libya approach. Congressional liberals and conservatives have criticized the president — some accusing him of acting too slowly, others saying he moved too quickly. Some have said he should have asked for Congress' approval before committing U.S. troops to combat.Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said that when Gadhafi started a violent crackdown on his people, Obama moved with unprecedented speed, and when Gadhafi remained defiant, Obama worked with allies and the Arab nations. He called it a prudent course of action for the president and for our nation.But Republican Boehner, in a letter to the White House, said Obama still must provide a clear and robust assessment of the mission and how it will be achieved. Boehner did not call for a vote in the House on the commitment of U.S. military resources, as some lawmakers have demanded.Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president that it would be a matter of days for the transition away from U.S. leadership.An American Army general now oversees the campaign from Europe, and an American Navy admiral is the day-to-day commander from a floating command post off the Libyan coast.There is an agreement that NATO is going to play a very important role on command and control, Rhodes said, adding that details on the structure and shaping of the transition were still under discussion.French and British officials said U.S., European, and Arab and African officials have been invited to London next week for political talks about Libya and how the NATO alliance will assume responsibility for a no-fly zone that has been established to keep Gadhafi's planes out of the air over his country.

Administration officials conceded there is no clear end to the fighting, although the Pentagon contended that Gadhafi's air force is essentially defeated and coalition planes are targeting more of his ground forces. U.S. officials said other countries are flying a larger share of the combat strikes alongside U.S. warplanes.
The Pentagon said that over the past day, the coalition flew 175 air missions, including noncombat flights. Of that total, 113 flights, or about 65 percent, were flown by U.S. planes, and 62 by other nations' aircraft. Three days earlier, the U.S. share was 87 percent, the Pentagon said.Obama was asked in an interview with the Spanish-language network Univision if a land invasion would be out of the question in the event air strikes failed to dislodge Gadhafi. Obama called it absolutely out of the question.Asked what the exit strategy is, Obama didn't lay out a vision for ending the international action, but rather said: The exit strategy will be executed this week in the sense that we will be pulling back from our much more active efforts to shape the environment.We'll still be in a support role, we'll still be providing jamming and intelligence and other assets that are unique to us, but this is an international effort that's designed to accomplish the goals that were set out in the Security Council resolution, Obama said.Gates said the allied mission in Libya was clear but the outcome was not.I think there are any number of possible outcomes here, and no one is in a position to predict them, Gates said. One possibility, he said, is that Gadhafi, who has ruled the North African nation for 42 years, could see more major defections from within his ruling circle or more divisions within his family.

Clinton sounded a similar note.Gadhafi has a decision to make, she told reporters at the State Department. And the people around him each have decisions to make. The quickest way for him to end this is to actually serve the Libyan people by leaving.
Gadhafi has remained defiant, however, vowing to resist to the end. Clinton had said on Tuesday that the U.S. had received reports — of possibly dubious veracity — that some in Gadhafi's inner circle were looking for a way out. In a telephone interview with reporters at the Pentagon from aboard his command ship, the USS Mount Whitney, in the Mediterranean, Navy Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber asserted that Gadhafi's air force had essentially been defeated. He said no Libyan aircraft had attempted to fly over the previous 24 hours.Those aircraft have either been destroyed or rendered inoperable, Hueber said.He said, There is widespread reporting indicating Libyan ground forces are engaged in fighting in a number of cities, including Ajdabiya and Misrata, and they are threatening a number of others, putting innocent civilians in grave danger.Lolita Baldor reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Anne Gearan, Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee contributed from Washington.

Politics to block debt crisis steps at EU summit
By Luke Baker - MAR 23,11

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Political turmoil in Portugal and looming elections in other countries are expected to prevent a summit of European Union leaders this week from taking tough decisions to address the region's debt crisis.For months, EU leaders have talked about using the summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to reach final agreement on a comprehensive package of steps that would stop the crisis from spreading further through the 17-country euro zone.But Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates submitted his resignation on Wednesday night after parliament rejected his government's latest austerity measures, which were designed to help Portugal avoid having to seek an international bailout.Socrates is now expected to attend the summit as the leader of a caretaker government which may last no longer than Friday. Major decisions affecting the euro zone have to be agreed by all members of the zone; Portugal may only be able to give its assent after it forms a new government, which could take two months.Finland has dissolved its parliament ahead of elections on April 17 and cannot take any formal decisions until it has a new government, which is only likely by May at the earliest. The new government may include the eurosceptic True Finns party, which opposes some of the EU's proposed crisis steps.

And an opinion poll published on Wednesday showed support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives dropping sharply across the country before an election this Sunday in the important state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.The approach of the election has contributed to a hardening of Germany's stance on new measures to aid indebted euro zone countries ahead of the summit.

FADING HOPES

Fading hopes for a breakthrough at the summit, combined with concern over the possibility of a bailout for Portugal, pushed the euro down moderately on Wednesday, while government bond yields for weaker euro zone states rose.Over the last few months, EU leaders have made considerable progress in putting together the crisis package. They have decided in principle to expand the lending capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility, the euro zone's bailout fund, from 250 billion euros to its full size of 440 billion.But they have so far been unable to agree on exactly how the EFSF's capacity will be increased. And although they have decided to create a permanent bailout fund to replace the EFSF in 2013, the 500 billion euro European Stability Mechanism, there are doubts about how to achieve this too.A German official said on Wednesday that Germany now wanted this week's summit to alter a timetable agreed by EU finance ministers on Monday for injecting cash into the ESM.While this is essentially a technical issue, it contributes to a sense in financial markets that EU member states are endlessly at odds over how best to handle the debt crisis, and that everything could unravel if deals are not respected.Draft conclusions prepared for the summit, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, suggested that final decisions on how to strengthen the EFSF and establish the ESM might only be taken by the EU shortly before a deadline at the end of June.

NO MOVE ON IRELAND

The summit also looks unlikely to make progress on reducing the interest rate on bailout loans which have been extended to Ireland.Dublin says the rate is so high that it cripples the Irish economy, but agreement on cutting it has been held up by Dublin's refusal to give in to German and French pressure for Ireland to raise its corporate tax rate in line with the rest of Europe.There is almost certainly not going to be a resolution of the Irish issues tomorrow or Friday, an EU diplomat said on Wednesday.The feeling is that the outstanding issues for Ireland, which are not just the interest rate but the banking question, that they are better dealt with as a package.Ireland and the EU are only expected to start detailed talks on how to rescue the Irish banking system after Dublin's central bank publishes its assessment of Irish commercial banks on March 31.(Reporting by Julien Toyer, Jan Strupczewski, John O'Donnell, and Luke Baker in Brussels, Stephen Brown in Berlin and Axel Bugge in Lisbon; Writing by Andrew Torchia; Editing by Jodie Ginsberg)

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

AMOS 9:10
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

WARS AND RUMURS OF WARS.

MATTHEW 24:6
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

MARK 13:7
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

S.Korea launches third Aegis destroyer
- 10:10PM MAR 23,11

SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea launched its third destroyer equipped with the high-tech Aegis radar and weapons control system as tension remains high on the Korean peninsula, its navy said.The 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyer, the Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong, will be put into service in March next year following a year of test operations, the navy said on Thursday.The 166-metre (548-feet)-long KDX III destroyer can carry about 120 missiles and torpedoes in its vertical launch system, Yonhap news agency said.With 300 crew members, it can also carry two mid-sized helicopters and sail at a top speed of 30 knots within a range of 1,000 kilometres (630 miles), it said.
South Korea launched its first and second Aegis destroyers in 2008 and 2010, respectively, as part of a navy buildup project.It also seeks to buy an unspecified number of unmanned Global Hawk surveillance planes from the United States, a Defence Acquisition Programme Administration spokesman said.Military tensions have risen sharply since the March 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North, and the North's deadly shelling of a border island last November.

Canada opposition to force confidence vote
Wed Mar 23, 12:31 pm ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The leader of Canada's main opposition Liberal Party said on Wednesday he will present a motion of nonconfidence in the minority Conservative government, setting the stage for an election.We have the responsibility to say clearly and unequivocally that this is a government that has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, it is a government that has lost the confidence of Canadians, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff told reporters.(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Peter Galloway)

Portugal's PM quits after debt-cutting plan nixed
By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press – Wed Mar 23, 6:25 pm ET

LISBON, Portugal – Debt-stressed Portugal's prime minister quit Wednesday after opposition parties rejected his latest austerity measures devised to avoid a bailout that looks increasingly likely.All opposition parties united to defeat Prime Minister Jose Socrates' proposals in a parliamentary vote, saying the belt-tightening went too far.The opposition (parties) took away the government's ability to continue running the country. As a consequence, I have tendered my resignation to the president, Socrates said in a televised statement.In accordance with constitutional procedure the prime minister presented his resignation to the head of state, who is mostly a ceremonial figurehead and has no executive powers, before announcing it publicly. His resignation also ended the center-left Socialist government's six-year period in power.The government's latest austerity package was its fourth set of measures in 11 months as Portugal has scrambled to avoid the embarrassment and financial consequences of asking for outside help. It has introduced tax hikes and pay cuts that have angered trade unions and prompted a wave of street demonstrations and strikes.Portugal's problems could thwart efforts by European leaders to persuade nervous investors that all is well in the eurozone, including Portugal. It could launch another spell of market turbulence for the bloc and doom Lisbon to accepting financial assistance like Greece and Ireland last year.

European leaders hope to soothe nervous international investors at a two-day summit starting Thursday. Socrates is scheduled to attend the meeting.This crisis comes ... at the worst possible time — ahead of a summit that's decisive for Portugal and decisive for Europe too, Socrates said.He said the political crisis would entail deeply negative consequences for Portugal, one of the 17-nation eurozone's smallest and frailest economies.The opposition's rejection of his plan increased the probability of Portugal asking for outside help which would entail much tougher measures than those he proposed and which had won the backing of European leaders, Socrates said.Foreign financial assistance comes with strings attached, including a role for the International Monetary Fund which strips away government control of key fiscal policies for years, making it a last resort for cash-strapped countries.

Socrates said his government had done all it could to avert a bailout so we wouldn't end up in a situation like Greece or Ireland where fiscal measures imposed by the bailout terms have squeezed the finances of families and companies.A bailout would be deeply negative for the image, prestige and reputation of the country, Socrates said.Debt woes, and differences over how to tackle them, also brought down Ireland's government earlier this year after it accepted a bailout, forcing an election that was won by the main opposition party.The government's downfall set Portugal, a country of 10.6 million people, adrift just as it is trying to restore its fiscal health.President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a statement he will meet with all political parties on Friday to decide the way forward.A new election consigns Portugal to at least two months of unwelcome political paralysis.Many analysts expected the government's resignation to lead to elections in May or June. The outgoing administration will remain in power as a caretaker government. Socrates resignation, and by procedure that of the government, was expected after days of political tension but will likely re-ignite market anxiety about the financial soundness of the wider eurozone.

Opposition parties said the government's latest plan went too far because it would hurt the weaker sections of society, especially pensioners who would pay more tax. The package also introduces further hikes in personal income and corporate tax, broadens previous welfare cuts and raises public transport fares.Social Democratic lawmaker Luis Montenegro said his party had the patriotic duty ... to stop the Socialist government going down the wrong, dead-end path.The Socialist have only 97 lawmakers in the 230-member legislature and needed the consent of their rivals to enact policy.The recent political tension has fueled a rise in Portugal's borrowing rates, just as it is attempting to cut spending. The yield on the country's 10-year bond, for example, was up to 7.63 percent Tuesday — its euro-era record level.The interest rate has been above an unsustainable 7 percent for weeks despite the government's earlier austerity measures which, its political rivals say, failed to dispel investor fears about lending to Portugal.Darkening the outlook is a feeble national economy. The government predicts a double-dip recession this year, and unemployment stands at a record 11.2 percent. Moody's recently downgraded the country's credit rating, and Standard & Poor's has warned it may follow suit.The government says Portugal has enough cash in reserve to meet a euro4.5 billion ($6.4 billion) bond repayment next month, the first of two major redemptions this year, but the political problems won't make its fundraising any easier.Barclays Capital reckons that on current trends the public debt will keep growing and match annual gross domestic product by 2014, unless big changes are introduced.Without a strong structural reform agenda, in our view, it is very unlikely that Portugal can grow out of its indebtedness, Barclays Capital said Wednesday.

But the absence of an elected government will stall efforts to generate fresh growth even though the main opposition center-right Social Democratic Party, which recent opinion polls predict would win an election, backs continued measures to reduce debt and improve competitiveness.Portugal's head of state could invite all six parties represented in Parliament to form a coalition government, which would avoid the need for immediate elections, but given the depth of animosity between the party leaders it is an unlikely outcome.That would leave the Socialist Party in power until a ballot as a caretaker government which, under the Constitution, is confined to acts strictly necessary to ensure the management of public business. The scope of those powers has been widely debated by experts, but it is unlikely to grant the authority to request a bailout unless mandated by Parliament.The president must spend days following constitutional procedures — convening a series of meetings with all political parties and with the Council of State, an advisory panel — before fixing an election date at least 55 days away.The winner of the ballot then needs several days to pick members of government and announce a date for a swearing-in ceremony.(bh)

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.

Australia rescues scores stranded by floods
– Wed Mar 23, 4:47 am ET

MELBOURNE (AFP) – Scores of campers stranded by floods and landslides in Australia were rescued by helicopter on Wednesday after roads were washed out by freakish weather.Parts of Darby Bridge, leading to the Tidal River campsite on Wilsons Promontory in southeastern Victoria state, were washed away following torrential rain, stranding some 400 campers, including 200 schoolchildren.Ambulance Victoria group manager Eddie Wright said 167 people had been airlifted out by helicopter and that personnel would work to evacuate as many people as possible before nightfall Wednesday.If the weather holds, hopefully we'll move them all tonight, we may not be successful in that, he told Australian news agency AAP.Wright said campers judged to be in the best position in terms of location and supplies may be required to spend the evening in the park, which has been left with damage to walking tracks and bridges after the Tidal and Darby rivers both burst their banks.Everybody is safe and dry on high ground, it's just a matter now of moving the people that are least able to support themselves for another day and night, he said.Heavy rain and floods have inundated parts of Australia this year, with Queensland hit hard in January when more than 30 people were killed.

Tornado, strong winds and hail batter Ohio Valley
– MAR 24,11

NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) – Strong winds and hail battered a swath of states through the Ohio Valley overnight, damaging cars, homes, knocking over trees and power lines, and spawning at least one tornado.Tennessee and Pennsylvania appeared to bear the brunt of the bad weather, with reports of tornadoes in both states. But the storm hit portions of at least eight states, also including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, according to a National Weather Service map.The storm can be blamed on a competing mix of warm and cool temperatures across the Ohio Valley, said Paul Walker, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.There was cold air clashing with the warm air, causing the atmosphere to be very unstable, he said.A tornado touched down in southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, severely damaging dozens of homes and a high school auditorium where students were rehearsing a play, said Kurt Ferguson, manager of Westmoreland County's Hempfield Township.About 40 houses in the area have been deemed uninhabitable, based on an initial damage assessment, he said. Some were essentially blown apart, while others were badly damaged.No serious injuries have been reported due to the tornado, which touched down shortly before 6 p.m. local time, according to Ferguson. The Red Cross has set up shelters, and the township plans to send emergency workers into the tornado-hit areas with food.On one road, as many as 50 trees had been uprooted and power lines had fallen, Ferguson said.We couldn't even get to all the areas affected, he said.

About 100 students were rehearsing a play in an auditorium at Hempfield Area High School when the tornado struck, ripping off part of the roof, he said. They were evacuated from the building safely, Ferguson said.Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said the service had dispatched a team to the area to assess the damage.At this point it appears it was a tornado, he said, though details such as its intensity and path have not yet been determined.In Tennessee, there were reports of roof damage, broken car windows and a barn blown down east of Nashville.(Reporting and Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Additional reporting by Daniel Lovering in Pittsburgh and Tim Ghianni in Nashville; Editing by Greg McCune)

ANGEL 3 TO DR DOCTORIAN
And suddenly, in my spirit, I saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris crumbling falling down.

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat
By GREG KELLER, Associated Press – Wed Mar 23, 2:50 pm ET

PARIS – A bomb threat and the discovery of a suspicious package spurred French authorities to briefly evacuate nearly 4,000 tourists from the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday, tower officials and police said.No explosives were found, and the site in the French capital was reopened to visitors more than two hours after the original warning, said a Paris police official.Police officers cordoned off the sandy plaza beneath the tower and soldiers in camouflage gear patrolled the site after the evacuation. Onlooking crowds were kept at bay by red-and-white police tape which surrounded the Paris landmark.While officers checked for explosives, schoolchildren and tourists brandishing tickets also gathered on the banks of the Seine River. The 324-meter (1,063-foot) tower is one of the world's top tourist attractions, with millions of visitors a year.The police official said nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from the monument after an anonymous caller said it would be blown up at 1700 GMT.An official at SETE, the company that manages the tower, said a suspicious package was found on the plaza beneath the tower on Wednesday afternoon.Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying the situation is still being investigated.The link between the package and the call was not immediately clear, nor was the reason for the threat. The tower is occasionally evacuated because of such warnings — twice last September after French officials said they were on alert for possible terror attacks by al-Qaida's North African affiliate on crowded targets. No explosives were found.France is currently at the forefront of an international military operation against Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Libya. It has received general, unspecified threats from extremists in the past related to its troops in Afghanistan and a law banning Islamic face veils in public.France's terror alert has been on level red, the second-highest level on its alert system, since 2005.Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.