BAD DEBTS THREATEN CHINESE BANKING

Nigel Farage: The Worm has Turned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op25aMc590g&feature=player_embedded

Libertarian Party Asks Florida Sheriffs To Arrest TSA Agents-We turn to you, our Constitutional Sheriffs, to enforce the law in accordance with your sworn duty Steve Watson Infowars.com July 5, 2011

The Libertarian Party of Florida has written to the sheriff of every county in the state demanding that they arrest any TSA agent who conducts an enhanced pat-down on charges of sexual battery.We, The People of the State of Florida must turn to you as our last line of defense against a federal government that is usurping authority and ignoring the rule of law.the letter, signed by party chairman Adrian Wyllie, states.
The party cites electronic and bodily searches carried out on Florida citizens as egregious violations of the Fourth Amendment, as well as Article One, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits searches and seizures without probable cause.The letter, which was also emailed to 67 sheriffs across the state, points out that under Florida law searches carried out by TSA agents fall within the definition of felony sexual battery.

The letter states:it is a first degree felony when sexual battery is committed by a law enforcement agent in paragraph 4(g), which reads:When the offender is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer as defined by s. 943.10(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9), who is certified under the provisions of s. 943.1395 or is an elected official exempt from such certification by virtue of s. 943.253, or any other person in a position of control or authority in a probation, community control, controlled release, detention, custodial, or similar setting, and such officer, official, or person is acting in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe that the offender is in a position of control or authority as an agent or employee of government.Urging the sheriffs to remember the oath they have sworn to protect the Constitution, the party notes that
As Sheriff, you have the absolute duty to enforce the law uniformly and without prejudice. You are, at best, engaged in selective enforcement by choosing to further ignore these flagrant violations of federal and state law. At worst, you are complicit.The full text of the letter is included at the foot of this article.

In November we reported that current chief deputy DA and incoming DA of San Mateo County Steve Wagstaffe announced that his office will prosecute TSA employees who engage in lewd and lascivious behavior while conducting Homeland Security mandated pat downs at the San Francisco International Airport in San Mateo County.TSA agents are not law-enforcement officials with arrest powers, although they do wear uniforms and police style badges that suggest this is the case, a fact that has angered sworn officers who have expressed concerns that airline passengers will mistake screeners for police.Since the Texas bill to prohibit TSA groping failed to pass last week, there has been a renewed effort to bring further attention to the issue.As we reported yesterday, Congressman Ron Paul will re-introduce his American Traveler Dignity Act into the House this week in the hope that other lawmakers will support the effort to establish that airport security screeners are not immune from any US law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation emitting from machinery.They are not above laws the rest of us must obey. Paul urged.As we continue to see more and more outrageous stories of TSA abuses and failures, I hope that my colleagues within the House will listen to their constituents and join with me to support this legislation.The Congressman added.Full text of LIbertarian Party Of Florida’s letter:

Dear Sheriff,On this day in 1776, our forebears founded this Nation by declaring their independence from an oppressive government. This beautiful and timeless document expressed the self-evident truth that all people have certain inalienable rights, upon which no government can infringe. They asserted that governments are formed among men to secure these rights, not to impede or restrict them.The Libertarian Party of Florida is reaching out to you, and to all of Florida’s 67 Constitutional Sheriffs. We, The People of the State of Florida must turn to you as our last line of defense against a federal government that is usurping authority and ignoring the rule of law.I am referring specifically to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and their egregious violations of the United States Constitution, as well as the Florida Constitution and state law.Every single day, TSA employees conduct electronic and bodily searches upon tens of thousands of Florida citizens and visitors at airports, and more recently at bus terminals, rail stations, and highways. They are searching the persons and seizing the effects of travelers without warrant or probable cause. Specifically, they are in blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads as follows:The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.These TSA agents are also in clear violation of Article One, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, which reads as follows:Searches and seizures.— The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and against the unreasonable interception of private communications by any means, shall not be violated. No warrant shall be issued except upon probable cause, supported by affidavit, particularly describing the place or places to be searched, the person or persons, thing or things to be seized, the communication to be intercepted, and the nature of evidence to be obtained.

In addition, one of the methods by which the TSA agents conduct these searches, referred to as the “Enhanced Pat Down, is clearly within the definition of felony sexual battery, as codified in Florida Statute 794.011.I would like to point out that this statute clearly defines that it is a first degree felony when sexual battery is committed by a law enforcement agent in paragraph 4(g), which reads:
When the offender is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional probation officer as defined by s. 943.10(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9), who is certified under the provisions of s. 943.1395 or is an elected official exempt from such certification by virtue of s. 943.253, or any other person in a position of control or authority in a probation, community control, controlled release, detention, custodial, or similar setting, and such officer, official, or person is acting in such a manner as to lead the victim to reasonably believe that the offender is in a position of control or authority as an agent or employee of government.As Sheriff, you have the absolute duty to enforce the law uniformly and without prejudice. You are, at best, engaged in selective enforcement by choosing to further ignore these flagrant violations of federal and state law. At worst, you are complicit.If you have TSA agents within your county that are violating the law, then you must act. Warn the TSA agents that they are subject to arrest if they continue to violate the law. Should they continue, then you must begin making arrests.We urge you to remember the oath you took to support, protect and defend the Constitution of both the State of Florida and the United States of America. On behalf of all Floridians, the Libertarian Party of Florida calls on you to do exactly that.We turn to you, our Constitutional Sheriffs, to enforce the law in accordance with your sworn duty.Sincerely,Adrian Wyllie, Chairman Libertarian Party of Florida
1334 Tampa Road, Suite 2-Palm Harbor, Florida 34683-Toll Free: 1-855-FLA-FREE (1-855-372-3733)Direct: 727-403-7735 http://www.lpf.org
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-violates-its-own-policy-to-stem-tide-of-pat-down-abuse-footage/

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 WED JULY 06,2011

09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM +15.28
10:30 AM -4.32
11:00 AM +8.25
11:30 AM +36.36
12:00 PM +50.25
12:30 PM +60.70
01:00 PM +71.14
01:30 PM +42.72
02:00 PM +53.69
02:30 PM +54.90
03:00 PM +57.40
03:30 PM +49.04
04:00 PM +56.15 12,626.02

S&P 500 1339.22 +1.34

NASDAQ 2834.02 +8.25

GOLD 1,529.60 +16.60

OIL 96.65 -0.26

TSE 300 13,403.10 -22.22

CDNX 1954.15 +22.22

S&P/TSX/60 767.22-2.06

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -5 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -23 points at low today.
Dow +71 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,526.50.OIL opens at $96.73 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -23 points at low today so far.
Dow +81 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -23 points at low today.
Dow +81 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,573.50 (NOT AT CLOSE)

Bad Debts Threaten Chinese Banking Stability
by Amiel Ungar JULY 5,11

Moody's lobbed a financial hand grenade into the global markets by predicting that between 8% to 12% of the loans extended by Chinese banks would eventually be nonperforming. This means that the borrower would not be able to repay back the loan.
According to the investment service the amount on loan to local governments exceeds the official audit figure by $540 billion. In response to the negative assessment, share prices for Chinese banks declined, but that is the minor part of the story.As both the United States and Western Europe flounder amidst debt crises, China was considered a pillar of stability. If the Chinese banks are exposed to local government borrowers China's banks could face a debt crisis. These loans would ultimately have to be assumed by the central government precisely when the Chinese government is attempting to rein in inflation.Additionally, the banks have extended loans to infrastructure companies for costly projects such as the Yunnan highway extending thousands of kilometers in mountainous terrain to the border with Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Some of these companies are having problems making repayments because the profit expectations have not panned out or the costs have far exceeded initial estimates.China's 1100 universities have racked up nearly $41 billion in debt.

Some analysts in the government-controlled press are trying to sound a reassuring note, as in the Standard:It's the first time the estimate has been published, giving an idea of how deep the problem is. Once a problem is understood, it would be possible to solve… The message is clear. The central government is on top of the situation.It would be worrisome if all debts incurred by local governments are invested in the property bubble. However, a lot of the money is invested in important infrastructure such as the high-speed railway.The word infrastructure is occasionally employed as a cost immune to economic fluctuations and reverses. The assumption is that an investment in infrastructure will always pay for itself.That proposition is debatable, as one can see from the opposition to the Obama administration's proposal for the high-speed rail. The best example is Japan. Japan invested billions in high-speed bullet trains and massive road networks to connect the remotest parts of the country to the center. While this undoubtedly helped the periphery as well as politicians and construction companies, it saddled Japan to this day within an enormous internal debt that has drained resources from more needed projects.If the Chinese government is going to have to absorb the losses from white dragons, it will not have the available resources to invest in projects that it considers crucial. such as low-cost housing.China's colossal economic achievements since it emerged from self-imposed isolation in the late 1970s have sometimes created the impression that the Chinese can do no wrong economically.
China's Western admirers sometimes fall into the same trap as the Maoists who believed that sheer size and political willpower could overcome economic reality.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Lagarde takes up IMF post replacing Strauss-Kahn
AFPBy Win McNamee | AFP – Tue, Jul 5, 2011

Former French finance minister Christine Lagarde took over as the new head of the International Monetary Fund Tuesday with fresh questions over Portugal's bailout posing an immediate challenge.The first woman to head the world's key crisis lender, Lagarde takes over in the wake of countryman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who quit in May to fight sexual assault charges.Although not an economist, the 55-year-old gained wide respect as France's point-woman during its leadership of the G20 as well as in European debt talks over the past three years.She spent her first day at the IMF's Washington headquarters in meetings with the Fund's management team, the executive board, department chiefs and other staff.But her debut was marred by a sharp downgrade of Portugal's sovereign debt to junk status by Moody's.The powerful rating agency warned that Lisbon could not meet the reform requirements of its first 78-billion-euro ($112 billion) IMF-European Union bailout and would need a second rescue package.That comes after weeks spent recasting the 110-billion-euro IMF-EU rescue of Greece -- including, tentatively, a restructuring of its debt held by banks -- in which Lagarde played a key role as French finance minister.Portugal's deterioration, following Greece's, could come to test the IMF's commitment to eurozone stability.A lawyer by training, Lagarde joined Baker & McKenzie in 1981 specializing in labor and anti-trust issues.The divorced mother of two quickly rose in the ranks and ultimately moved to the company's Chicago headquarters to oversee global operations.

In June 2005, she joined the French government as trade minister, and then in 2007 she became France's, and the G-8's, first ever female finance minister.She won the IMF job over Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens, maintaining Europe's 65-year lock on the position, the result of a pact with the United States dating back to the founding of the institution.The deal has drawn accusations that the Fund is overly aligned with European and US thinking and not sensitive to the situation of emerging and poor economies.Small countries should have an appropriate voice. Since the global crisis, small countries have faced particular challenges that require greater attention from the IMF, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said last week after Lagarde was chosen.Critics also said Lagarde was too close to the eurozone crises to be independent.She is committed to serve as IMF managing director for five years after three previous directors, all Europeans, left the job early, according to a statement of her terms of appointment.Lagarde was given a pay package of $467,940 in annual salary net of any taxes, and $83,760 in allowances for maintaining a scale of living appropriate to her position.The terms of appointment to Lagarde's new job require her to observe the highest standards of ethical conduct, consistent with the values of integrity, impartiality and discretion.You shall strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety in your conduct,they said.Such terms were not in the contract signed by her predecessor in 2007.

Strauss-Kahn resigned on May 18, five days after he was arrested in New York on allegations that he tried to rape a hotel chambermaid.He has denied the charges, and prosecutors have since admitted serious concerns over the accuser's credibility.
Media reports said prosecutors were moving toward dismissing the charges, with the New York Post citing defense sources as saying Strauss-Kahn had engaged in consensual sex with the maid, but then angered her by refusing to pay for it, prompting her accusations.

Shades of Bollywood: Temple Yields Treasure
by Aryeh Ben Hayim JULY 5,11

It wasn't Indiana Jones but an Indian lawyer concerned about the security of donations to the 16th-century Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum, India, prompted the discovery of a 22 billion dollar treasure trove of gold and jewels donated by believers over the years.Six of the temple's seven vaults have been opened and another behind doors of iron remains sealed and could push up the value of the treasure if it yields up similar contents.Appropriately, there are legends attached to the Temple and the remaining unopened vault, namely concerning the evils that will befall the person who opens the vault. Calamity has already befallen some who participated in opening the other vaults One committee member has suffered an injury in the leg while another member's ailing mom passed away Monday.The royal family that administered the temple (India had many royal states before it attained independence and abolished the separate royal states while compensating their rulers) added to the mood:Numerous stories are there, though no one knows their veracity. But not many are willing to ignore them either. The deity is believed to have immense powers and many who have done things not in tune with temple customs have suffered.

The unexpected treasure trove immediately touched off a debate about what to do with the contents with proposals ranging from transforming the collection into a museum, retaining the treasures in the Temple but with added security, or selling off the contents and using the proceeds for poverty relief.Those in favor of a museum are already envisioning the site as competition for New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre in Paris or the Vatican Museum and draw in tourists.Those favoring turning it over to the state of Kerala note that the state has acquired an enviable record in reducing infant mortality and promoting literacy and therefore money turned over to the state would not be wasted. Kerala had an important Jewish community in Cochin but most members of the community have since immigrated to Israel.Status quo adherents argue that the treasures were donated for religious purposes and the wishes of the donors should not be tampered with.(Israel National News.com)

Fresh financial scandal hits EU parliament
VALENTINA POP 05.07.2011 @ 17:38 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A fresh row broke out on Monday as allegations of embezzlement to the tune of €40,000 by a Romanian far-right MEP came to light - just days after the working group on transparency finalised a code of conduct following a cash-for-amendments scandal in March.In a letter sent to the European Parliament's administrative services, Romanian MEP assistant Catalin Marin claims that he never received any payment from his boss Corneliu Vadim Tudor, for whom he worked as a locally employed assistant in Romania.From July 2009 until today I have not received any sum of money for the work I did as an a locally hired assistant to the parliamentary office of Tudor, the letter reads.Marin claims that he was stunned to find out in June, while trying to get a loan from a Romanian bank, that his signature was forged on three working contracts and that he was supposed to pay taxes for some €40,000 that he supposedly cashed in since 2009.After filing a criminal complaint with the Romanian police for forgery and embezzlement, the assistant is asking the European Parliament to send him any documents proving that he was hired or fired as a local assistant.Tudor retorted violently in a phoned-in tv intervention on Monday night, calling Marin a stupid moron whom he helped because his father used to be a decent spy.Romania's Communist intelligence service, the infamous Securitate, used to be one of the most dreaded repression tools behind the Iron Curtain.I would strangle him with this hand, which supposedly forged his signature,the far-right leader threatened, calling the whole case a politically motivated affair.

These fresh allegations come just as the European Parliament is trying to recover from the so-called cash-for-amendments scandal in March, when Sunday Times journalists posing as lobbyists videotaped three MEPs willing to take money for amendments.Two of them - Ernst Strasser from Austria and Zoran Thaler from Slovenia - resigned immediately.But Romanian MEP Adrian Severin who had invoiced the journalists for his extra work, kept his seat and has signed in this week during the plenary session in Strasbourg, despite having his immunity stripped and an ongoing criminal investigation by the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors.A new Code of Conduct for MEPs banning any side activities and pressing for more transparency in their expenses is to be adopted by the end of the year. But experts are sceptical that this paper will work, so long as there is no strong will to enforce and to sanction wrongdoings - a point where the EU Parliament so far has been dragging its feet.Natacha Cingotti from Friends of the Earth Europe - an NGO pressing for more transparency in EU institutions - told this website that is impossible to assume that all MEPs automatically behave in an ethical way, and this is why tight rules and related monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are needed.If the Tudor case proves to be true, Cingotti says, this will only widen even more the gap between citizens and the EU bodies. It's odd that these people who are elected directly by the citizens seem to care so little about their constituencies,she said, pointing to comments made by Severin that his behaviour was normal.

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-10 WORLD REGIONS) 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).

Greece faces massive loss of sovereignty
HONOR MAHONY 04.07.2011 @ 09:22 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Eurozone finance ministers over the weekend staved off looming bankruptcy in Greece by agreeing to release the next tranche of aid to the country, but Athens will pay with a massive loss of its sovereignty, the eurozone chief has said.In return for the €12 billion - the fifth payment from the €110 billion EU-IMF loan agreed last year - Greece will have to push through a swathe of privatisations reminiscent of the selling of East German firms in the 1990s after the fall of Communism.The sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited, Jean-Claude Juncker told Germany's Focus Magazin in an interview published on Sunday (3 July), just hours after the eurozone ministers reached agreement.For the upcoming wave of privatisation they need a solution modelled on the German Treuhandel, he said referring to an agency used by Germany to sell off some 14,000 former East German firms, at a huge job and profit loss.Greece has agreed to raise €50 billion by 2015 through a massive sell-off of state assets. This and austerity measures imposed by the government have been hugely unpopular, bringing Greeks to the streets in their thousands to protest.In order to make sure Athens follows through on its commitments, the plan will be supplemented by large-scale technical assistance from the European Commission and member states, finance ministers said Saturday.

Acknowledging the difficulty for Greece, the Luxembourg prime minister said that Greeks should not be insulted so much as supported and looked after. Still, he pointed out that the country had brought its fate upon itself.[The crisis was] largely self-made​​. Between 1999 and 2010, wages rose by 106.6 percent, even though the economy did not grow in equal measure. The wage policy went completely out of control, while productivity was not taken into consideration, said Juncker.Over the weekend the EU ministers agreed to pay €8.7 billion to Greece. The remaining €3 billion is expected to be signed off by the IMF by the end of this week.The agreement means that Greece will be able to meet its repayments due mid this month.
However, the ministers did not agree the terms of a whole new bailout noting that the precise modalities and scale of private sector involvement had yet to be determined. Agreement is now expected in September although the issue will be discussed again when ministers meet on 11 July.One of the sticking points is a Finnish demand that it can lend to Greece only if Athens provides collateral. There is also uncertainty over a German-led push to enlist private creditor participation.

Gaza flotilla boats preparing to confront Greek coastguard ANDREW RETTMAN 04.07.2011 @ 10:04 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Flotilla members are preparing to defy a Greek order not to sail to Gaza, as Athens says the project would threaten regional stability.Armed and masked Greek soldiers already stopped and detained the US boat, The Audacity of Hope, when it left the port of Perama on Friday (1 July) on grounds that the vessel was not seaworthy.The Greek authorities later the same day issued a blanket order for all nine flotilla boats not to sail and offered to deliver the humanitarian supplies to Gaza themselves together with Israeli help. The Quartet - the EU, Russia, the UN and the US - on Saturday also published a communique urging the boats to deliver their cargo through established channels.Greek foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras told EUobserver the sailing ban was made on the basis of maritime law, both national and international ... safety mainly, it has to do with the safety of people at sea.He noted that wider political considerations also played a part: All the countries in the region are of the view that this constitutes a threat to themselves and a potential escalation in the area which is going through a very sensitive time right now.He acknowledged that talks with Israel also had a role in the decision, after Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman over the weekend claimed the clampdown as a diplomatic victory. We have been in contact with everyone, we certainly know the Israeli position,Delavekouras said.Lieberman had told Israel's Army Radio things do not just happen on their own.He also made fun of flotilla organisers' claims that Israeli agents had sabotaged some of the vessels in the run-up to the weekend, saying: The activists are trying to blame someone for their failure – no doubt they have watched too many James Bond films.For their part, the flotilla campaigners remained defiant on Sunday.

They rejected the Greek offer to deliver aid saying this would not fulfill the political objective of the project, which is to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.A spokeswoman for the project said the boats will sail on Monday, rendezvous at sea on Tuesday and aim to reach Gaza by Thursday.Birgitta Jonsdottir, an Icelandic MP who is among the 300-or-so activists collected in Greece for the mission, said in a statement she will call upon the foreign affairs minister in Greece to show some courage, to stand up against foreign powers - in this case Israel.She added: It is hard to imagine that the Israel government has managed to get the Greek government do their dirty work for them in Greek waters.Eight of the 51 people due to sail on Audacity of Hope gave begun a hunger strike to protest against the Greek actions.
Some left-wing Greek MPs, such as Mihail Krisotakis, also criticised the government. The Greek government is obeying the orders of Israel and that is why the ship is anchored here. Were Greece a genuine democracy, the ship would have already set sail,he told Israeli daily Haaretz after visiting the moored boats.In a variation of the attempt to break the sea-blockade on Gaza, some 700 pro-Palestinian activists have said they plan to fly to Israel's Ben Gurion airport on 8 July. The move is designed to disrupt flights as a form of civil disobedience, with some participants to try to get to Gaza on foot afterward.Israeli commandos last year shot and killed nine flotilla members and briefly arrested all those on board.

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.

It’s Final: Barak Won’t Transfer Terrorist Bodies
by Elad Benari JULY 5,11

Defense Minister Ehud Barak made a final decision on Tuesday evening regarding the transfer of bodies of Hamas terrorists to the Palestinian Authority, and has ordered that no bodies of terrorists who committed attacks against Israeli citizens be transferred to the PA.Earlier, Barak had suspended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s instruction to transfer 84 bodies of terrorists to the Palestinian Authority, explaining the move might hurt efforts to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.Netanyahu’s announcement on Monday said the bodies would be handed over to the PA as a goodwill gesture towards the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in August.The terrorists whose bodies would have been transferred include some who have committed some of the most gruesome terror attacks against Israelis since 1967.

The list included, among others, the body of Hanadi Jaradat, the PA woman who blew herself up in Haifa’s Maxim restaurant in 2003, killing 21 people, as well as the bodies of Amar Ali Abdullah who carried out a suicide bombing operation in the Carmel market in Tel Aviv in 2004, and Abdullah Abdullah, who blew himself up in the Stage nightclub in Tel Aviv in 2005, killing four.Barak reportedly ordered not to negotiate with the PA about returning the bodies of those three terrorists. In addition, he also instructed not to include terrorists who were residents of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in future talks on handing over bodies of terrorists.
Barak’s decision was met with anger by the Palestinian Authority, which demanded that Israel return any terrorist bodies in its possession regardless of their affiliation,as senior PA official Hassan a-Sheikh was quoted as saying.(Israel NationalNews.com)

IAF Hits Terror Tunnel in Northern Gaza
by Elad Benari JULY 5,11

An IAF aircraft hit a tunnel used for terrorist activity in the northern Gaza Strip late Tuesday evening, the IDF Spokesperson’s office reported. A direct hit was confirmed. The tunnel was intended for infiltrating into Israel and executing terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.The IDF Spokesperson said the attack came in response to the firing of Kassam rockets at Israeli territory over the past few days. On Sunday, terrorists fired a rocket towards the western Negev. The missile exploded in an open area, causing no injuries or property damage.The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will continue to operate with strength and determination against anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel, the Spokesperson said in a statement.The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.The IAF hit on Tuesday one was the second time in one day the IDF targeted Gaza terrorists. Earlier in the day, IAF warplanes fired a missile at a group of terrorists who were preparing to launch a rocket into Israel.The latest terror attacks came on the heels of an Israel Security Agency report, according to which there was a decline in the number of terror attacks in June.(Israel National News.com)

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Eitan: Blocs to be Annexed; Rest of Yesha to be Abandoned by David Lev JULY 5,11

For perhaps the first time, a minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government has admitted that the Prime Minister plans to give away most of Judea and Samaria to an incipient Arab state, with Israel retaining only the settlement blocs. During a tour of Gush Etzion, Michael Eitan, whose title is Minister for Improvement of Government Services, said that enacting the Prime Minister's policies will lead to the annexation of the settlement blocs, including Gush Etzion, with the intent of giving up other parts of Judea and Samaria for the benefit of a Palestinian state.Gush Etzion Council head Shaul Goldstein, who accompanied Eitan during the tour, said that he appreciated the minister's vote of confidence in the future of the Gush, even if he disagreed with Eitan on surrendering other parts of Yesha.In his comments, Eitan was referring to a speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the Knesset in mid-May. In the wake of that speech, several right-wing MKs expressed concern over the fact that Netanyahu stressed that Israel would keep the settlement blocs in any final-status settlement with the PA – but that painful concessions would need to be made. This was taken by many as a sign that Netanyahu was prepared to give them away to the PA for establishment of an Arab state in Judea and Samaria.

After the speech, government Minister Benny Begin said in several interviews that he knew for certain that Netanyahu had not intended to imply an Israeli withdrawal from non-bloc areas of Yesha. A report on Arutz 7 said that following the speech, Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely approached Netanyahu and said,The rule that you set implies the exception to the rule,meaning that his insistence on retaining the settlement blocs means that the other towns are expendable. Netanyahu responded, That is not the intention.Although Eitan seemed to imply that he was speaking for Netanyahu in his statement, he is considered to be one of the Likud's left-leaning MKs. Speaking at a Likud faction meeting earlier this year, for example, Eitan advised against an Israeli annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria, saying it would boomerang against Israel. All Likud Prime Ministers have been against such a move, which would further isolate Israel and cause great damage. It would act as a boomerang, and prevent further Israeli development in the settlement blocs, he said.If what Eitan says is accurate, tens of thousands of Jews could be evicted from their homes, says National Union Chairman MK Ya'akov Katz (Ketzaleh). In a recent interview with Arutz 7, Ketzaleh said that based on his analysis of the speech, the Prime Minister would likely seek the removal of over 120,000 Jews from their homes. In his analysis, Ketzaleh named dozens of towns that are outside the settlement blocs he believes Netanyahu is referring to – with large towns like Beit El, Karnei Shomron, Givat Ze'ev, Kedumim, Kiryat Arba, and many others on the chopping bloc, since they are outside the settlement blocs.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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.

Japan to conduct stress test on nuclear plants
AFP JULY 5,11

Japan will conduct a stress test on all its nuclear plants to check their resilience following the crisis at the tsunami-struck Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japanese media said Wednesday.Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda announced the plan as he pledged to secure enough electricity supplies for the peak usage summer months, Jiji Press said.A 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami on March 11 crippled cooling systems of the Fukushima Daiichi plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power on the nation's northeast coast, triggering reactor meltdowns.The plant spewed radioactive materials into the air, soil and sea in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.Utilities not directly affected by the March disaster have not restarted reactors that were undergoing maintenance at the time, due to objections from local governments amid a wave of anti-nuclear sentiment.Only 19 of Japan's 54 reactors are now operating, with more due to shut down for regular checks, forcing companies and citizens to save power.

Flood surge raises fears of Mont. oil spill spread
By MATTHEW BROWN - Associated Press | JULY 5,11

LAUREL, Mont. (AP) — Crews cleaning up an oil spill on the Yellowstone River faced difficult conditions Tuesday as the scenic waterway rose above flood stage and stoked fears that surging currents could push crude into undamaged areas and back channels vital to the river's prized fishery.Conditions on the swollen Yellowstone have hampered efforts to find the cause of Friday's break in the 12-inch pipeline that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil.The river has been flowing too swiftly for crews to reach some oiled areas, and forecasters said mountain snowmelt was adding to high water levels. Officials speculated that the surge may push oil into areas that haven't yet been damaged.Much of the riverbank also is covered with dense underbrush, making it difficult to walk the shoreline. Most observations have been made through aerial flights.Sweat-drenched workers in hazmat suits and life-preservers slogged through the riverside vegetation under a blistering sun. Some raked oily muck into trash bags; others dabbed at blackened grass with absorbent pads.Booms to collect the oil bobbed in water, and plastic kiddie pools were set up for workers to wash off their boots once they left the water.A few miles downriver from the broken pipe, homeowner Robert Castleberry said he had been out of his house since Saturday because of dangerous fumes from oil that the river pushed across his yard and into the crawlspace beneath his house.Castleberry's wife suffers from heart disease and the fumes gave her difficulty breathing, he said. While he appreciated the company promising to cover the couple's immediate expenses, the retired fuel truck driver was doubtful workers would be able to clean up the black, gooey film that laced through the underbrush along the river.

Exxon's been nothing but 100 percent with us, he said.But when you get into brush that thick, that's going to be virtually impossible to clean.Company and federal officials said they have only seen oil about 25 miles downstream from the site of the break near Laurel. But Gov. Brian Schweitzer said he believes some has traveled hundreds of miles to North Dakota.At seven miles per hour, some oil is already in North Dakota. That's a given, Schweitzer said. I'm asking everyone to get out there and report what you see on the river.Representatives of Exxon Mobil and the Environmental Protection Agency said they had no reports of oil beyond the town of Huntley.Company officials said they were concentrating cleanup in that area, but have acknowledged the scope of the leak could extend beyond the 10-mile stretch that they initially said was the most affected area. Sherman Glass, Exxon's president of refining and supply, said crews have identified 10 places where oil has pooled in the heaviest amounts between Laurel and Huntley.Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. President Gary Pruessing has said the company is not limiting the scope of the cleanup to the immediate site. Exxon planned to test the river's conditions with a jet boat, with eight more on standby if the launch is successful, Glass said.Water-quality tests downstream of the spill site began Monday, with more planned, according to EPA spokesman David Ostrander.The Silvertip pipeline is buried just under the bottom of Yellowstone River, delivering 40,000 barrels of oil a day to a refinery in Billings. Pruessing said it took a half-hour to shut down and seal off the ruptured pipe after workers spotted a dip in pressure.

But documents released by the Department of Transportation showed the pipeline was not fully sealed for 49 minutes. The longer time was based on information provided to the federal agency by Exxon Mobil, company spokesman Alan Jeffers said.He added that the discrepancy may have resulted from Pruessing speaking without notes in front of him. Clearly our communication with the regulator (DOT) is the one that we've got precision on, Jeffers said.Federal regulators have ordered Exxon to make safety improvements to the 20-year-old pipeline. Among them was an order to re-bury the line to protect against external damage and assess risk where it crosses a waterway.Company officials said they were considering burying the line deeper when it is repaired.The company also will have to submit a restart plan to the Department of Transportation before crude can again flow through the line, which delivers oil to a refinery in Billings and other customers.When companies are not living up to our safety standards, we will take action, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.Schweitzer also ordered a review of pipelines that cross major and minor rivers in the state. Officials will look at the pipes' age, location of shutoff valves and whether they are similar to the ruptured pipe. He said the state has 88 such crossings.Modern pipelines can be buried as much as 25 feet beneath bodies of water; Exxon Mobil's Silvertip line was 5 to 8 feet below the bottom of the Yellowstone.The line was temporarily shut down in May after Laurel officials raised concerns that it could be at risk as the Yellowstone started to rise. The company restarted the line after a day, following a review of its safety record.

The cause of the rupture has not been determined, but company and government officials speculated that high waters in recent weeks may have scoured the river bottom and exposed the pipeline to damaging debris.The site is downstream of Yellowstone National Park, which is about away and not under threat. But the stretch of the river where the spill occurred is home to sauger, bass catfish, goldeye, trout and, farther downstream below Miles City, native pallid sturgeon.Schweitzer said he noticed that oil was pooling in areas near banks with slower-moving water, close to islands and cottonwood stands that support the microbes and insects that bring life to the river.Those riparian areas are a biological treasure trove. That's the health and wealth of the river,he said.

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.

THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.

Arizona fires essentially out; flood worries next
By BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press – Tue Jul 5, 5:03 pm ET

PHOENIX – The biggest forest fire in Arizona history is all but contained, and authorities are shifting their focus to preventing massive flood damage as summer storms begin to hit.The specialized firefighting management teams that had battled the blaze in eastern Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest pulled out Tuesday. Patrolling the completed fire lines and corralling the last 5 percent is now up to local forest officials and the White Mountain Apache Tribe.Officials say rains will be the next disaster to avert, since a substantial part of the fire area suffered severe soil damage. They say the worst runoff will happen where the fire burned the hottest and prevented the soil from absorbing rainfall.Two other major fires that burned in recent weeks will raise the same concerns.Apache County engineer Ferrin Crosby says a small thunderstorm Monday night quickly turned the Little Colorado River into a raging torrent. Such a storm normally wouldn't affect flows.

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.

Moderate 5.4 quake hits western Japan
– Tue Jul 5, 7:45 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – A moderate 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit western Japan on Tuesday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.The quake hit at 7:18 pm (1018 GMT) in Wakayama prefecture, some 450 kilometres (279 miles) southwest of Tokyo, with its epicentre a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) deep, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.A 9.0-magnitude quake that struck the country's northeast on March 11 and the tsunami that followed left 23,000 people dead or missing and triggered an atomic crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Libya denies Russian report Gaddafi seeking way out
By Lamine Chikhi | Reuters – JULY 5,11

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi is sounding out the possibility of handing over power, a Russian newspaper reported on Tuesday, but the Libyan government denied it was in talks about the veteran leader stepping down.Five months into a conflict that has embroiled NATO and become the bloodiest of the Arab Spring uprisings, there has been a flurry of reports about talks on Gaddafi ending his four decades in power in exchange for security guarantees.Russia's respected Kommersant newspaper based its story on a high-level source in Moscow. The report was denied in Tripoli, and Italy said it believed talk of a deal was a ruse by Gaddafi's administration to sow confusion.Information about negotiations about Gaddafi stepping down or seeking a safe refuge inside or outside the country is simply untrue, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters.Gaddafi is not negotiable, this is our position of principle, and the future of Libya will be decided by Libyans. Gaddafi is an historical symbol, and Libyans will die to defend him,said Ibrahim.The United States reiterated its position that Gaddafi should step down. We support whatever's going to get us to a place where Gaddafi knows it's time for him to go, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.Fighting between government forces and rebels continued, with rebels taking some of the heaviest shelling in recent weeks.

A Reuters reporter in Misrata, 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, said rebel positions in the Dafniya district on the city's western outskirts came under heavy artillery fire on Tuesday.The bodies of rebel fighters were taken to Misrata's al-Hekma hospital and a hospital source said the death toll from the shelling had risen to 11 with 42 fighters wounded.Many of them were in a critical condition, and some would need to have limbs amputated, staff at the hospital said.On Monday, Gaddafi's forces ambushed rebels south of Misrata, killing six and injuring 22, said Abdelsalam, a rebel spokesman in Misrata.The rebels said again they would not compromise on letting Gaddafi remain in the country as a free man.Any solution that doesn't include Gaddafi stepping down and facing trial or leaving Libya is unacceptable, Abdelsalam said.

SEEKING GUARANTEES

Some analysts say Gaddafi is starting to contemplate an exit as shortages of cash and fuel, the NATO bombing campaign and rebel military pressure shorten the odds on him being able to hold on to power.But Western diplomats caution it is in Gaddafi's interest to send out conflicting signals about possible deals, in the hope of sowing confusion among the rebels and the fragile Western alliance trying to push him out.
Kommersant newspaper reported Western powers, including France, were receptive to a deal with Gaddafi if he agreed to step down.The colonel (Gaddafi) is sending signals that he is prepared to relinquish power in exchange for security guarantees, the newspaper quoted what it called a high-level source in the Russian leadership as saying.The report came a day after Russia hosted South African President Jacob Zuma -- who has tried to broker a peace deal for Libya -- and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for talks which focused on Libya.After his return from Russia, Zuma's office issued a statement saying he had asked NATO to persuade the rebel National Transitional Council to come to the negotiating table.Turkey is hopeful that Western and Arab governments could help put in place the framework of a solution to the crisis by next month, its foreign minister said.We hope for significant progress toward a political solution before the month of Ramadan, Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference. The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is expected to start in early August.On Monday, the Libyan government had said it held talks in Italy, Norway and Egypt with senior figures in the opposition about finding a peaceful way out of the conflict.But the Italian government denied any talks had taken place on its soil and expressed skepticism that Gaddafi's administration was sincere about talks.The aim of Tripoli's people, Tripoli's regime, is to drive a wedge within the coalition, said Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari.

Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, Libyan government spokesman Ibrahim said the Italian government was mistaken but could not reveal the identity of the Italian government member who attended the talks for diplomatic reasons.A Libyan official based in Cairo said Libya's Health and Environment Minister Mohamed Mahmoud al-Hijazi had set off to Vienna where he was to have talks with members of the Libyan opposition on behalf of Gaddafi's government.There was no immediate confirmation of the trip.NATO launched its bombing campaign in March after the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of all necessary means to protect civilians who, inspired by revolutions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, rose up against Gaddafi.Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants. He has called the NATO operation an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libyan oil.Rebels control the eastern third of Libya, as well as pockets in the West, and NATO says its strikes are gradually eroding Gaddafi's hold on power. But the rebels have failed to make a breakthrough and advance on Tripoli.Aid agencies have warned of shortages of food and medicines in rebel areas.United Nations workers who visited the Western Mountains region, southwest of Tripoli, said farmers had been forced to sell or eat their livestock, leaving them without a livelihood.(Additional reporting by Tarek Amara in Tunis; Ali Shuaib in Tripoli; Hamuda Hassan in Misrata; Marius Bosch in Johannesburg; Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Deepa Babington in Rome; Andrew Quinn in Washington and Joseph Nasr in Berlin; writing by Christian Lowe and David Dolan; editing by Janet Lawrence)