TEPCO PUTS FIRE OUT AT FUKUSHIMA

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE 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.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) 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 KINGS OR NATIONS).

MAYBE ITALY WILL BE 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES TO GET BOOTED FROM THE EU.

Italian minister questions value of EU membership
VALENTINA POP 11.04.2011 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / LUXEMBOURG - A dozen EU states rallied behind France on Monday (11 April) in a dispute with Italy over Rome's granting of temporary residence permits to Tunisian immigrants, warning of the collapse of the Schengen area and the re-introduction of borders.Speaking after a meeting of interior ministers in Luxembourg, Italian minister Roberto Maroni from the anti-immigrant Lega Nord party, said his country had to consider if it is still worth being part of the EU,since nobody wanted to help shoulder the immigration burden.It's fine when Italy contributes to euro bail-outs, to wars, but on this very specific issue of helping us out, EU states are absolutely not willing to show solidarity,he said on his way out of the ministers' meeting.The Italian government last Thursday issued a decree granting temporary residence to the roughly 23,000 Tunisian migrants who arrived via the tiny island of Lampedusa. But the permits are seen as a free pass to France, with the French authorities having already sent back hundreds of Tunisians at the Italian border.Germany, France and Austria, along with other countries such as the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium and Slovakia, view Schengen as a matter of trust among member states. Italy is undermining this basic principle, one diplomat present at the heated debate said.Austria, which shares a land border with Italy, threatened to re-impose borders. Interior minister Maria Fekter warned of the collapse of the Schengen system if Italy's behaviour is tolerated.

What Italy is doing is using a national emergency law for temporary protection in order to politicise the whole Tunisian immigration issue so that everyone in the EU is affected by it. They've succeeded in doing that, but now we expect that they stick to the rules,German interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said during a press briefing in Luxembourg, at the end of a long debate over Mediterranean migration.The issuing of mass permits is a violation of the Schengen spirit. If tens of thousands were to be granted these permits, then it would not be only France, Germany and Austria to re-instate borders, but also countries further away. Then we would lose what we have achieved with Schengen,Friedrich said.The only country supporting Italy in the call for solidarity from other EU countries was Malta, in a similar situation with more than 800 refugees from Libya arriving to the island in the past week. Both Malta and Italy asked the European commission to trigger the activation of a special refugee directive - an EU 2001 law set up after the Kosovo war but never used - for people fleeing the war zone in Libya. The application of the directive would automatically give everyone escaping such an area refugee status right across the EU.

But they were isolated in their call.There was a very strong majority in favour of the fact that this directive can be used, but it is too premature at the moment. There would have to be a massive influx of refugees, home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said during a press briefing. Later on, she insisted that nobody wants Italy to leave the EU, it is a founding member and a great asset.Ministers did agree to alleviate Malta's strained asylum capacities by prolonging a resettlement programme. Several member states offered to relocate some of the mostly sub-Saharan refugees who managed to escape Libya and cross the Mediterranean. Germany offered to take 100 people, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Portugal, Spain and Norway also expressed willingness to help.Ministers were very clear in separating the two issues. Malta's plight with refugees from Libya is one thing - the island is tiny and for them, 800 people is a lot, said one EU diplomat.But they did not agree with Italy, a country of 60 million, to claim that it needs the special protection directive to deal with economic migrants, not refugees,the source added.Maroni was the only one mixing up the two issues - irregular migration, for people with no right to claim asylum and who have to be returned to their home country - and refugees from Somalia, Eritrea and so one, who were stuck in Libya and have managed to escape, but cannot be sent to their home countries.

EU denies energy tax reform will boost diesel prices
ANDREW WILLIS 11.04.2011 @ 17:42 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has said imminent proposals to overhaul EU energy taxation will not automatically result in higher diesel prices for consumers.The plans, to be published on Wednesday (13 April), will call for fuels to be taxed on their energy content and CO2 emissions in future, rather than the volume-based system currently used.The aim is not to increase rates for diesel,commission spokesman David Boublil told journalists on Monday.The plan is that we should put all fuels on the same footing ... It will mean an adjustment to make sure they are taxed in the same way.Informal discussions on overhauling the EU's energy taxation directive have been ongoing since the original document was approved in 2003, with diesel users currently enjoying lower taxation rates than petrol.As a result, much of Europe's commercial transport industry has opted to use the cheaper fuel, including the vast majority of overland haulers.Experts say the minimum diesel tax will rise under the new proposals however, reaching a similar rate to petrol by 2018. Since diesel contains more energy and carbon than petrol, minimum tax rates per litre for diesel are expected to eventually surpass their petrol equivalents.Recent statements suggest EU member states are increasingly in favour of greater taxation on heavily polluting fossil fuels as a means of boosting renewable energy use.The potential for higher diesel prices may prove unpopular with voters however, while questions of European taxation have traditionally raised hackles in Britain and Ireland.But the commission argues that big prices changes are unlikely as many national governments already set diesel taxes which are above the EU minimum.

Reacting to German news reports that the country's diesel prices would rise, Boublil said: The current minimum at the EU level for diesel is €330 per 1000 litres ... [whereas] in Germany the current minimum is €470 per 1,000 litres.The future minimum [based on Wednesday's proposals] will be closer to the current minimum than to what is applied in Germany now.

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 TUE APR 12,2011

09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM -88.40
10:30 AM -120.26
11:00 AM -144.74
11:30 AM -137.55
12:00 PM -123.10
12:30 PM -133.24
01:00 PM -114.89
01:30 PM -126.56
02:00 PM -106.41
02:30 PM -91.01
03:00 PM -110.53
03:30 PM -129.27
04:00 PM -117.53 12,263.58

S&P 500 1314.16 -10.30

NASDAQ 2744.79 -26.72

GOLD 1,453.60 -15.40

OIL 106.11 -3.81

TSE 300 13,801.40 -195.50

CDNX 2303.77 -42.73

S&P/TSX/60 789.66 -10.73

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -77 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -146 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,465.10.OIL opens at $108.29 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -146 points at low today so far.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -146 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,475.30 (NOT AT CLOSE)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143501

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.

UN Recognizes Organization which Supports Hamas
by Elad Benari APR 12,11

The UN has given special recognition to an organization which supports the Hamas terrorist groups and which has been involved in organizing flotillas to Gaza, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) has reported.The organization in question is the Free Palestine Movement (FPM), a California-based leftist organization whose stated mission, according to its website, is to challenge Israeli policies and actions that deny Palestinians their human rights, and in particular the right of unfettered access to all of Palestine. We adhere to the principles of non-violence in direct actions that exercise Palestinian rights in defiance of restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities. We partner with other organizations in projects that are consistent with our mission statement and points of unity.FPM is headed by Dr. Paul Larudee, an activist who in 2006 was arrested and deported from Israel after he entered the country under a false identity to work with Hamas and then went to Lebanon to assist Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War.Larudee broke the naval blockade on Gaza and entered the region in 2008, and also took part in the 2010 flotilla as well, having been on board the Sfendoni 8000 boat.In 2009, Larudee received an award for his work from Hamas’ Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh.

According to the report by ITIC, Larudee received a letter from a United Nations committee which deals with the realization of Palestinian rights. The letter stated that his request for recognition (accreditation) had been granted. The letter also stated that FPM was recognized as an NGO acting as a civil society organization to promote the Palestinian cause.ITIC added that following the UN recognition, FPM changed its logo, adding the sentence A United Nations Accredited NGO. ITIC assessed the UN recognition as giving legitimacy to the projects carried out by FPM, especially the flotillas it organizes. The report added that the UN’s recognition letter ended with offering congratulations on the organization’s activities, which the letter claims are for the purpose of achieving a just solution to the Palestinian problem.ITIC also notes that Larudee has previously written an article in which he expressed support and understanding of the motives of suicide bombers. The report adds that Larudee spent large amounts of time in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria between 2002 and 2003, as part of the activities of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), another extremist anti-Israel group which seeks to destroy Israel and with which Larudee works. The award from Hamas PM Haniyeh was given to Larudee in 2009 when he stayed in Gaza, notes the report.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Samaria Woman Survives Road Ambush
by Gil Ronen APR 11,11

Malkah Mahon of Maaleh Levona in Samaria was the victim of an apparent attempt to murder her Sunday afternoon.She had just driven out of Maaleh Levona and began heading toward Ariel, to see her son, when she encountered a vehicle with Palestinian Authority license plates apparently trying to carry out a U-turn in a bend in the road. Two Arabs were standing outside the vehicle. They motioned to her, inviting her to drive past them.Something seemed wrong, however, and Malkah decided to wait for the vehicle to complete its U-turn.At that point the two Arabs approached her vehicle and tried to clamber onto it.I started driving and they started pelting me with rocks and at the same time, the Palestinian car started ramming me several times and tried to knock me off the road,she told Arutz Sheva.

Mahon managed to drive away and to press the distress button in her car. The IDF contacted her and asked her to drive to Eli, where she underwent initial IDF questioning about the event. A representative of the Judea and Samaria police was also present.The attackers apparently fled to the nearby village of Sinjel.Mahon's late son, Evyatar, escaped an attempted abduction at Eli Junction on 2007, and his presence of mind and courage helped security forces arrest the three Hamas terrorists who attacked him. He was killed in a traffic accident a short time later, at age 17.5, on his way back from a trip in the Golan Heights.Residents of Maaleh Levona noted that this is not the first time that Arabs attempted an ambush against the community's inhabitants. Not long ago, a terrorist dressed as a haredi Jew tried to abduct a woman but a malfunction in his car foiled the attempt.Judea and Samaria Police spokesman Gil Elhadad told Arutz Sheva that the attack was very grave and that serious efforts are being made to locate the suspects.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

IHH Organizing Another Flotilla - This Time with an Airplane
by Hillel Fendel APR 11,11

The people who brought you last year’s Turkish IHH ill-fated anti-Israel convoy to Gaza are organizing another one – this time with an airplane.Virulently anti-Israel Bulent Yaldrim, director of the Turkish terrorist-affiliated IHH group, said last week at a monthly event commemorating last year’s Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza that preparations are underway in full force for an even bigger one. We have just one problem, he said,and that is the virus called Zionism. The speech was reported by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC).Last year’s convoy was said to be intended to break Israel’s maritime blockade on Gaza and deliver supplies. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced afterwards that that there had been no humanitarian aid aboard the Mavi Marmara. Instead, terrorists armed with cold ammunition attacked the IDF soldiers who boarded the ship, abducted at least three of them, and attempted to stab and throw others into the sea. The Israeli forces were able to overcome them and killed nine of the attackers.The IHH, which organized the flotilla, is a member of a group of Muslim charities, the Union of Good, which was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorist organization and which was created by and strongly supports the Hamas terrorist organization.

The upcoming convoy, to be named Freedom Fleet II, was scheduled to take place around the anniversary of last year’s flotilla, near the end of May. However, Yaldrim said it will probably happen only around late June, partly because he is hoping to purchase an airplane to take part in the anti-Israel convoy campaign.Neither Israel nor the Oslo Accords sanction the landing of airplanes from abroad in Gaza.In his aggressive speech, Yaldrim said, We are not afraid to die as shahids [martyrs]. We won’t retreat until the blockade from Gaza is removed and until we complete the Al Aksa Mosque journey. He added that boats are expected from every country, so that Israel will understand that it does not rule the Mediterranean. The Mawi Marmara is expected to take part again.The previous flotilla was harmful to Israel in that most news reports highlighted the killing of nine supposed civil rights activists, and also worsened already bad relations between Israel and Turkey. In general, it forced Israel to play catch up and explain that its blockade was legal, that its soldiers were nearly lynched, and that the bid to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza was merely a ploy to put Israel on the defensive.

Israel's Blockade is Legal
According to international maritime law, Israel is within its rights in placing a maritime blockade upon an entity with which it is in a state of armed conflict, such as Hamas. When a maritime blockade is in effect, no vessels are permitted to enter the blockaded area, and any vessel that violates or attempts to violate the maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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.

Early warning prevented injuries in Iowa twister By MICHAEL J. CRUMB and GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press – Mon Apr 11, 5:50 pm ET

MAPLETON, Iowa – It seemed like a Mapleton Miracle. A tornado with winds exceeding 130 mph barreled through this small Iowa town, flattening whole blocks and destroying 100 homes.When the storm passed, more than half the town had been leveled. But the most serious injury was a broken leg.Storm spotters who tracked the approaching twister were being credited Monday with giving residents a crucial 15-minute warning, allowing most people to take shelter and preventing the kind of tornado disaster that killed four teens at a Boy Scout camp near here in 2008.Anytime a powerful tornado hits and you don't have any serious injuries or deaths, you're lucky, Monona County Sheriff Jeff Pratt said.We are just very fortunate.On Monday, volunteers from all over Iowa streamed into town to begin cleaning up downed trees and rubble.Tamara Adams, 37, was carrying tree branches to the curb outside her home Sunday when a stranger approached with a chain saw asking if she needed help. It was the closest thing to a magic wand she hoped to receive.Everybody's safe, Adams said. Yeah, people are suffering now. But you've just got to do what you've got to do.Damage-assessment teams began a street-by-street survey in Mapleton, a community of 1,200 about 45 miles southeast of Sioux City. The American Red Cross was offering health services, as well as food and water to emergency responders and volunteers.Townspeople were grateful for the abundant help — and for the extra time they had to escape the storm.Barbara Mayes, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Omaha, Neb., said scientists realized two to three days in advance that there was a strong chance of severe weather. That early notice, combined with the visual sightings and instant weather reports, created a best-case scenario when the twister drew near.This is a good example of the process working like we want it to, Mayes said.About 100 Mapleton homes were destroyed Saturday evening, displacing an estimated 600 people. At least 14 people suffered minor injuries.

The storm also uprooted the huge, centuries-old trees that give the town its name. The trees were wrapped around houses and tossed on top of cars.The weather service said the tornado was on the ground for 3 1/2 miles and measured three-quarters of a mile wide at one point. The twister was measured as an EF3 on the tornado-strength scale, which carries wind speeds of 136 to 165 mph.The limited injuries were especially remarkable considering a high school play was being performed when the storm struck. Sections of the building's roof were peeled off, and windows were shattered.As many as 400 people huddled in the school's basement until the winds died down, Superintendent Steve Oberg said.It's built like a bunker, he said.They were in there safe. Nobody was freaking out or anything. No one in the school was hurt.Classes were canceled Monday so repairs could begin. Students were to return Tuesday following an inspection by an engineer. The school's prom, scheduled for this weekend, will go on as planned, Oberg said. Monday's cleanup brought volunteers from far and wide, including Parkersburg, a northeast Iowa town that was leveled by a tornado in May 2008, the sheriff said.Eight people were killed by that storm, which had winds in excess of 200 mph. A month later, a tornado with winds of 145 mph struck the Little Sioux Boy Scout ranch, about 30 miles southwest of Mapleton. On Saturday, at least nine tornadoes touched down in Iowa, according to the weather service.The same storm that produced the Mapleton twister also spawned six others that touched down in Sac, Pocahontas and Kossuth counties as it moved to the northeast. Damage was reported to numerous homes, farm buildings and power lines. Two tornadoes were also reported in Ida County, including near Galva, where an ethanol plant was damaged.What was interesting about this is we had crossing (damage) paths, said Jeff Johnson, a meteorologist with the weather service in Johnston, Iowa. It was a very complex system. So many things moving in different directions.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

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

Strong earthquake hits Japan, no tsunami warning issued
– Mon Apr 11, 7:46 pm ET

(Reuters) – A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 hit eastern Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo.The epicenter of the earthquake was off the coast of Chiba prefecture, neighboring Tokyo, the agency said, adding that no tsunami warning had been issued.
(Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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.

Reports: Japan to raise alert level of nuke crisis
- APR 11,11

TOKYO – News reports say Japan has decided to raise the severity level of the crisis at its tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant to 7 — the highest level and equal to the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union.Quoting sources at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Kyodo News agency and public broadcaster NHK both said Tuesday that NISA would raise the severity level of the nuclear radiation disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant to 7 from the current 5.NISA spokesman Minoru Oogoda declined to confirm the reports.

Japan's TEPCO puts out fire at damaged nuke plant
– Mon Apr 11, 8:09 pm ET

TOKYO – The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear power plant says workers discovered a small fire near a reactor building at its tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi complex but it was extinguished quickly.Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the fire at a box that contains batteries in a building near the No. 4 reactor was discovered at about 6:38 a.m. Tuesday morning and was put out seven minutes later.It wasn't clear whether the fire was related to a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook the Tokyo area Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is being investigated.The plant was damaged in a massive tsunami that knocked out cooling systems and backup diesel generators on March 11, which led to explosions. Engineers have been able to pump water into several reactors to restore cooling functions.

Japan ups nuke crisis severity to match Chernobyl By YURI KAGEYAMA and RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press - APR 11,11

TOKYO – Japan's nuclear regulators raised the severity level of the crisis at a stricken nuclear plant Tuesday to rank it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.An official with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, speaking on national television, said the rating was being raised from 5 to 7 — the highest level on the international scale.The official, who was not named, said the amount of radiation leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was around 10 percent of the Chernobyl accident.The level 7 signifies a major accident with wider consequences than the previous level, according to the standards scale.We have upgraded the severity level to 7 as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean, said Minoru Oogoda of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.NISA officials said one of the factors behind the decision was that the total amount of radioactive particles released into the atmosphere since the incident had reached levels that apply to a Level 7 incident.The action lifts the rating to the highest on an international scale designed by an international group of experts in 1989 and is overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In Chernobyl, in the Ukraine, a reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radiation over much of the Northern Hemisphere. A zone about 19 miles (30 kilometers) around the plant was declared uninhabitable, although some plant workers still live there for short periods and a few hundred other people have returned despite government encouragement to stay away.Meanwhile, setbacks continued at Japan's tsunami-stricken nuclear power complex, with workers discovering a small fire near a reactor building Tuesday. The fire was extinguished quickly, the plant's operator said.Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said the fire at a box that contains batteries in a building near the No. 4 reactor was discovered at about 6:38 a.m. Tuesday and was put out seven minutes later.It wasn't clear whether the fire was related to a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook the Tokyo area Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is being investigated.The fire was extinguished immediately. It has no impact on Unit 4's cooling operations for the spent fuel rods, said TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda.The plant was damaged in a massive tsunami March 11 that knocked out cooling systems and backup diesel generators, leading to explosions at three reactors and a fire at a fourth that was undergoing regular maintenance and was empty of fuel.The magnitude-9.0 earthquake that caused the tsunami immediately stopped the three reactors, but overheated cores and a lack of cooling functions led to further damage.

Engineers have been able to pump water into the damaged reactors to cool them down, but leaks have resulted in the pooling of tons of contaminated, radioactive water that has prevented workers from conducting further repairs.Aftershocks on Monday briefly cut power to backup pumps, halting the injection of cooling water for about 50 minutes before power was restored.

Nasdaq, D.Boerse eye shareholders in NYSE battle By Paritosh Bansal and Jonathan Spicer – Mon Apr 11, 6:00 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Nasdaq OMX Group and Deutsche Boerse are wooing major NYSE Euronext shareholders, as both exchanges stand by their bids for the Big Board parent and dig in for a drawn-out battle.Nasdaq and partner IntercontinentalExchange Inc were unbowed on Monday after NYSE Euronext's board rejected their takeover offer in favor of a lower bid from Deutsche Boerse.Shareholders at the center of the increasingly bitter fight were bracing for a bidding war and weighing a stark choice: The short-term gain from Nasdaq's higher but probably riskier offer or leaving cash on the table for what could be a better long-term fit with Deutsche Boerse.While Nasdaq and ICE would carve NYSE Euronext in two, the Deutsche Boerse combination would create the world's top exchange operator. The rival plans face considerable antitrust hurdles in the United States or Europe, complicating things for shareholders.It is really early on in this contest. There's lots of time for mischief, said Thomas Caldwell, chairman and founder of Toronto-based Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.Nasdaq and ICE are not about to walk away from their $11.3 billion unsolicited offer, and they are working behind the scenes to persuade NYSE shareholders to pressure the exchange's directors, according to people familiar with the matter.Deutsche Boerse, which in February struck a $10 billion friendly deal to acquire NYSE Euronext, has no plans to raise its offer, two other sources said. On Sunday, NYSE's board rejected the Nasdaq-ICE bid as strategically unattractive, with unacceptable execution risk.

The maneuvering points to a lengthy and public fight for the parent company of the venerable New York Stock Exchange, which also runs stock and futures markets across Europe.Some shareholders suggested Nasdaq and ICE first need to counter the NYSE board's unanimous and harshly worded rejection of its offer, before they consider raising it.There is also a relatively steep 250 million euro ($361 million) termination fee attached to the Deutsche Boerse-NYSE Euronext plan.The NYSE has taken the first step, and that is casting doubt. Nasdaq has got to convince people that this combined NYSE-Nasdaq combo is going to be a real winner and a powerhouse, said Caldwell, who with the funds his firm manages holds more than $100 million in NYSE Euronext stock.NYSE Euronext is the biggest of the takeover targets now in play as many of the world's exchanges, including the London Stock Exchange and Canada's TMX Group, look to band together.

CIRCLE APRIL 28

After the rejection, Nasdaq and ICE reaffirmed their bid and chided NYSE for not discussing it further with them.They are now trying to influence an annual meeting on April 28 in which NYSE shareholders are set to vote on their directors, said one of the sources, who requested anonymity. They hope institutional shareholders can convince the NYSE board to talk to them about the offer.In response, NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer and his Deutsche Boerse counterpart, Reto Francioni, are set to meet key NYSE shareholders this week to promote their plan and to specify its expected cost savings, a person familiar with the plan said.The CEOs plan to emphasize problems with the bid from Nasdaq and ICE, including concerns over too much leverage, a listings monopoly and likely job cuts, said the source.Niederauer -- who has not talked to his counterparts at Nasdaq and ICE since they first informed him of their offer on April 1 -- on Sunday called the bid hollow and undefined.Though NYSE's board argued the all-share Deutsche Boerse tie-up jibes with the company's long-term plan, others argue the higher cash-and-stock bid from Nasdaq and ICE could sway shareholders focusing on a short-term gain.We don't think many investors will find the differences in strategic vision, financial leverage, employment targets, etc, as sufficient reasons to decline the nominally superior Nasdaq ICE offer, Macquarie analyst Edward Ditmire wrote in a note. That offer would give NYSE Euronext's stock, options and technology businesses to Nasdaq, while ICE would get its profitable derivatives operations centered in London.Amid the frenzy, Deutsche Boerse is preparing to file an offer document with regulator BaFin as early as Tuesday, said the two people familiar with the company's thinking.Deutsche Boerse shares rose on Monday as investors saw the chances of a bidding war between rival suitors diminish. The stock was up 0.9 percent in Frankfurt.NYSE Euronext shares fell 2.9 percent and Nasdaq OMX shares slipped 1.5 percent, handing back some of the big gains they made when Nasdaq announced its bid.(Additional reporting by Edward Taylor, Hakan Ersen, Harro Ten Wolde and Anika Ross in Frankfurt; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Steve Orlofsky and Tim Dobbyn)

IMF: Turmoil shouldn't derail economic recovery By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer – Mon Apr 11, 2:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The world is facing new threats from surging oil prices, Mideast turmoil, higher inflation in China and Europe's debt woes, but the troubles should not be severe enough to derail recovery from the worst global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund said Monday.In a new economic forecast, the IMF said the global economy should grow 4.4 percent this year. That compares with global growth of 5 percent last year.The IMF projects industrial countries will grow 2.4 percent while developing countries, a group that includes China, will grow more than twice as fast at 6.5 percent.The world economic recovery is gaining strength, but it is unbalanced, Olivier Blanchard, the IMF's chief economist, told reporters.

He said it would be critical for countries running large government deficits such as the United States to make progress in getting those deficits under control. At the same time, countries with large trade surpluses, such as China, will need to do more to boost domestic demand and not rely so heavily on exports to generate economic growth.The IMF's new growth forecast was prepared for spring meetings of the 185-nation IMF and its sister lending agency, the World Bank.Before those discussions Saturday, finance ministers and central bank presidents of the Group of 20 major industrial and developing nations will hold closed-door talks on Friday.The finance officials will try to assess how big a threat the rise in energy and food prices will be and also what they can do collectively in response to the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa.The United States is expected to keep pressing China to move more quickly to allow its currency to rise in value against the dollar as a way of making U.S. goods more competitive in China.China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, will be seeking assurances that Washington is moving to put in place a credible plan to deal with soaring federal budget deficits.

At their last meeting in Paris in February, the G-20 officials struck a watered-down deal on a group of technical indicators to track global imbalances. But the G-20 left the tricky question of what to do if the balances become dangerous for later discussions.The IMF, in its new World Economic Outlook, left unchanged its January projection that the global economy will grow 4.4 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2012.In 2009, the global economy shrank by 0.5 percent, its worst downturn since World War II, with growth rebounding in 2010 to 5 percent.The 2.4 percent growth forecast for the advanced economies was down 0.1 percentage point from January. The IMF expects these countries to grow 2.6 percent in 2012.New downside risks are building on account of commodity prices, notably oil, and relatedly, geopolitical uncertainty as well as overheating and booming asset markets in emerging market economies, the IMF said.Growth in the United States was forecast to be 2.8 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from January, reflecting primarily the drag from higher oil prices. The IMF's forecast is in line with private economists.Japan, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, was forecast to grow 1.4 percent this year, down 0.2 percentage point from the January forecast. The expectation is that the world's third largest economy will be slowed at first by the natural disasters but then receive a boost from the reconstruction efforts.China, now the world's second largest economy, was projected to grow 9.6 percent this year, a forecast that was unchanged from January. Beijing is raising interest rates to deal with rising inflation risks. All emerging market economies, a group that includes China, India and Brazil, are expected to grow 6.5 percent this year and next year.Developing countries are doing better because they emerged from the recession in much better shape than many industrial countries.Economies that are running behind the global recovery typically suffered large financial shocks during the crisis, often related to housing booms and high external indebtedness, the IMF said.Economic growth in the 17 nations that use the euro including Germany, France and Italy was projected to be 1.6 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year, an anemic recovery that reflects continued worries that debt problems in Greece, Ireland and Portugal will spread to other nations.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2005/11/questions-ww3-whats-coming.html (WW3 COMPLETE HAPPENINGS)

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.

Libyan fighting goes on after peace bid fails
By Maria Golovnina - APR 12,11

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – An African Union plan to halt Libya's civil war collapsed, and rebels said the increasingly bloody siege of the city of Misrata by Muammar Gaddafi's troops made talk of a ceasefire meaningless.The Red Cross said it was opening a Tripoli office and would send a team to Misrata to help civilians trapped by fighting, but one of Gaddafi's ministers warned any aid operation involving foreign troops would be seen as a declaration of war.Rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said after talks with the AU delegation in Benghazi in the rebel-held east on Monday:The African Union initiative does not include the departure of Gaddafi and his sons from the Libyan political scene, therefore it is outdated. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif quickly dismissed the idea of his father stepping down.We want new blood, that's what we want for Libya's future. But to talk of (Gaddafi) leaving, that's truly ridiculous, he told French news channel BFM TV.If the West wants democracy, a new constitution, elections, well, we agree. We agree on this point but the West must help us to provide a propitious climate. But all these bombings, this support given to rebel groups, all that is counter-productive.

AIR STRIKES

Libyan television said the colonial and crusader aggressors hit military and civilian sites in Al Jufrah district in central Libya on Monday.Rebels in the coastal city of Misrata, under siege for six weeks, scorned reports that Gaddafi had accepted a ceasefire, saying they were fighting house-to-house battles with his forces, who fired rockets into the city.Western leaders also rejected any deal that did not include Gaddafi's removal, and NATO refused to suspend its bombing of his forces unless there was a credible ceasefire.NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a Brussels news briefing that Gaddafi's government had announced ceasefires in the past, but they did not keep their promises.Any future proposal that does not include this, we cannot accept, he said, accusing Gaddafi of bombing, shelling and shooting civilians.A resident of Misrata told Reuters there was heavy fighting on the eastern approaches and in the center.Rebels told Reuters that Gaddafi's forces had intensified the assault, for the first time firing truck-mounted, Russian-made Grad rockets into the city, where conditions for civilians are said to be desperate.Human Rights Watch accused Gaddafi's forces of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata which violated international law. It said about 250 people had died.At the front outside the eastern rebel-held town of Ajdabiyah, rebels buried the charred bodies of Gaddafi troops killed in air strikes and said they were advancing westwards.Pro-Gaddafi forces also fired rockets toward the town of Zintan on Monday, a resident called Abdulrahman said.Gaddafi's forces fired four rockets toward Zintan around 16:00 (10 a.m. EST) today. No one was wounded, he said.

Abdulrahman said NATO aircraft could be heard above Zintan on Monday evening, but there were no air strikes. Pro-Gaddafi forces have remained on the outskirts of Zintan, some 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Tripoli, from where they have launched attacks on the town. NATO airstrikes hit weapons depots belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces near Zintan, Abdulrahman said last Friday.

HUMANITARIAN AID

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is already deployed in Libya's rebel-held eastern territory, where it has supplied hospitals, distributed food and visited government soldiers captured during the conflict.Speaking in Tripoli alongside a government spokesman, its regional head Jean-Michel Monod said his team had been officially invited to the capital.Now we will officially be here open for business, he told reporters. Of course it was high time as a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization that the ICRC would come here as well to conduct discussions with the authorities.Libyan Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Zarouk al-Sharif said some aid operations had been used as a cover to supply rebels.
If humanitarian aid is brought through humanitarian organizations who specialize in this kind of work then we would welcome it. But if it comes with a military face then we won't accept it, it's basically a declaration of war and might lead to a much bigger conflict.At talks in Luxembourg, Italy quarreled with other European Union governments on how to handle thousands of migrants fleeing the turmoil in Libya and elsewhere in north Africa, while the EU executive urged the bloc to do more for the refugees.NATO attacks outside Ajdabiyah on Sunday helped break the biggest assault by Gaddafi's forces on the eastern front for at least a week. The town is the gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi 150 km (90 miles) north up the Mediterranean coast.Opposition fighters have been overwhelmed by Gaddafi's firepower in western Libya, close to his base of Tripoli, but are increasingly using guerrilla tactics to weaken his hold.Tripoli residents said there had been several attacks on army checkpoints and a police station in the last week and gunfire can be heard at night.

Gaddafi's former foreign minister Moussa Koussa, speaking in Britain where he fled last month, called on everybody, all the parties, to work to avoid taking Libya into a civil war.This will lead to bloodshed and make Libya a new Somalia, he told the BBC. More than that we refuse to divide Libya. The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and any settlement in Libya.(Additional reporting by Alex Dziadosz in Ajdabiyah, Michael Georgy in Benghazi and Christian Lowe in Algiers; writing by Andrew Roche; editing by Michael Roddy)

Syrian opposition says 200 killed in protests
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis - APR 11,11

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syria's main human rights movement has said the death toll from less than a month of protests has reached 200 and called on the Arab league to impose sanctions on the ruling hierarchy.Syria's uprising is screaming with 200 martyrs, hundreds of injured and a similar number of arrests, the Damascus Declaration group said in a letter sent on Monday to the secretary general of the Arab League.The regime unleashes its forcers to besiege cities and terrorize civilians, while protesters across Syria thunder with the same chant peaceful peaceful,it added.We ask you to... impose political, diplomatic and economic sanctions on the Syrian regime, which continues to be the faithful guardian of Hafez al-Assad's legacy, the letter said, referring to the iron-fisted rule of President Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashar.Bashar, facing unprecedented protests against his 11-year-old rule, has responded with a blend of force -- his security forces have fired at unarmed protesters, according to witnesses -- and vague promises to relax bans on freedoms, such as replacing emergency law with anti-terrorism law.The protests, which erupted in the southern city of Deraa last month before spreading, have demanded freedom of expression and assembly and an end to corruption.The authorities said armed gangs and infiltrators were responsible for the violence and that soldiers and police also have been killed.President Assad has been only giving promises for the last 11 years. Instead of solutions he talks, as the regime usually does, about an outside conspiracy, the letter said.

The Damascus declaration is named for a document signed in 2005 by prominent civic, Islamist and liberal leaders calling for the end of 41 years of Assad family rule and its replacement with a democratic system.The document demanded the lifting of bans on freedom of speech and assembly and the abolition of emergency law, under which Syria has been governed since 1963 when the ruling Baath Party took power in a coup and banned all opposition.Most of its members have spent long periods as political prisoners, including leading opposition figure Raid al-Turk, who spent more than 17 years in solitary confinement under Hafez al-Assad.Fayez Sara, a journalist who was jailed for two-and-a-half years along with 11 Damascus Declaration members and released in 2010, was arrested again on Sunday, rights activists said.The secret police have been rounding up every outspoken figure they can get their hands on. They either call them in for interrogation and keep them, pick them up from the street or break into their homes, one of the rights defenders said.Assad has said the protests are part of a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife. His father used similar language when he crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule in the 1980s, killing thousands.Syrian security forces sealed off the coastal city of Banias on Monday following pro-democracy protests and killings by irregulars loyal to Assad, residents said.(Editing by Michael Roddy)

Latest developments in Arab world's unrest
By The Associated Press – Mon Apr 11, 5:00 pm ET

LIBYA-The rebel ruling council rejected African Union mediation efforts because they did not involve Moammar Gadhafi stepping down, while European leaders expressed their suspicion of the Libyan leader's promises of a ceasefire. The international air campaign, meanwhile broke up government assaults on Ajdabiya, allowing rebels to retake the city and move towards the oil terminal of Brega.

EGYPT-A military tribunal sentence a blogger to three years in prison for insulting the army in a blog posting publicizing the alleged abuses of the institution which took power in the country two months earlier. In a television interview, two generals justified the sentence because criticism of the military was only allowed if carried out in a respectful manner. Protesters continued to occupy parts of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding the resignation of the defense minister. The Justice Ministry also announced the 15 day detention of regime stalwart Safwat el-Sherif on corruption charges, pending investigations.

SYRIA-European countries condemned the deadly crackdown in Syria that has already claimed at least 170 lives after three weeks of protests calling for reform. Hundreds even protested at Damascus University, in a rare demonstration in the capital, which was dispersed by security forces, killing at least one person.

YEMEN-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has welcomed mediation efforts by the regional bloc of oil-rich Arab nations even as he rejected their calls for him to step down, in a blow to regional efforts to resolve the weeks of turmoil that have been wracking this impoverished Arab nation.

BAHRAIN-Three top editors for the island kingdom's biggest opposition daily, Al-Wasat, have been referred to trial on charges of allegedly publishing fabricated reports about the unrest wracking this Shiite majority country dominated by a Sunni ruling family. The editors have denied the charges, amid a widespread government crackdown in effort to quell the protests.

Iran to build new research reactors
– Mon Apr 11, 2:04 pm ET

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will need more enriched uranium to fuel the four or five new research reactors it is planning on building, the country's nuclear chief said on Monday.Fereidoun Abbasi told the semi-official ISNA news agency that Iran is planning to build the new research reactors in the next few years to produce medical radioisotopes for patients.To fuel these reactors, Iran needs to continue enriching uranium to 20 percent — something which alarms the West because the process could eventually be used to produce material for a nuclear weapon.Abbasi, a 52-year-old professor of nuclear isotopes at Tehran's Defense Ministry, was appointed Iran's nuclear chief in February after he survived an assassination attempt in November. He was wounded in the bomb attack.Tehran contends its nuclear program is intended only for a civilian power.The United States and its allies suspect is seeking to build nuclear weapons, and the United Nations has laid down four rounds of sanction to force Iran to stop its enrichment program.

In Israel's sights, Hamas charts careful course
by Selim Saheb Ettaba – Mon Apr 11, 6:45 pm ET

GAZA CITY (AFP) – As an uneasy truce with Israel takes hold, Hamas faces the twin pressures of protecting its status as a resistance movement without giving Israel an excuse for a new war.The firing of an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, which sparked a deadly showdown that saw 18 Palestinians killed and more than 150 rockets rain down on Israel, shows the risks that Hamas's armed wing is willing to take.Last month, a confrontation between Israel and Hamas's armed wing, which began when Israel killed two Hamas militants, ended with a truce on March 26.But this time the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades had no choice but to hit hard, says Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a political scientist at Gaza's Al-Azhar University.Hamas is trying to restore its image as a resistance movement by responding to a wave of Israeli attacks, he said.Hamas feels the pressure but it doesn't want to give Israel an excuse for a new war which could cost it the government in Gaza, he told AFP, suggesting Israel could be trying to force the Islamist movement out of Gaza.

The idea of toppling Hamas has been raised in Israel.On Monday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel should not settle for a truce with Hamas but should seek to topple the Islamist rulers of the coastal strip.The objective must be to force Hamas out of power, said Lieberman, who heads the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu.Over the past two months, Hamas's military capabilities appear to have been targeted in a number of operations attributed to Israel.In February, a Gaza engineer and alleged rocket-designer was snatched from Ukraine and is now on trial in Israel. Two weeks later, the Israeli navy seized a ship carrying 50 tonnes of weapons allegedly heading for Gaza.And last week, two people were killed in a mysterious air strike in Sudan, which targeted a Hamas military chief and has been blamed on Israel.

The Palestinian groups are only defending themselves and our people, said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.We do not intend to inflame the situation but we can not keep quiet when faced with aggression, he added.In a possible indicator of its anxiety about the confrontation spiralling out of control, Hamas announced steps to restore calm just hours after the start of hostilities on Thursday.Hamas's political leadership has also gone out of its way to distance itself from the attack by its military wing on a school bus -- whose yellow colour was a clear indication that it was carrying school children, Israel says.We didn't know that the bus was carrying children. It was driving on a road which is often used by Israeli military vehicles, which is often targeted by armed Palestinian groups, Abu Zuhri said.There is coordination with the political leadership over the bigger picture but on the ground, it is the armed wing which decides the appropriate time to respond to the Israeli aggressions, he said. We give general guidance about what stance to take in response to Israel's position, but the armed wing has freedom of action and decisions made in the field are not the responsibility of the political leadership, he said.But the orders to observe a new truce were likely to be respected, Abu Zuhri said.A truce will be met with a truce, he said, estimating that all Palestinian armed factions would follow Hamas in this regard.Hamas is going to impose the truce on all the Palestinian factions, even those who don't want to observe it, agreed Abu Saada.But a new round of violence is perfectly plausible, Abu Saada warned, given that the Israeli army has reserved the right to launch preventive operations and Palestinian groups have vowed to seek revenge when their members are targeted.