PERES ENCOURAGES IRANIANS TO REVOLT

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

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(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUgVL9PdxM&list=UU4SH8rh0OjYV3zwqnIfqNbA&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPX59y4KxE&feature=related

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU OCTOBER 18,2012

09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM -13.13
10:30 AM -27.70
11:00 AM +2.35
11:30 AM -0.20
12:00 PM +11.41
12:30 PM +22.88
01:00 PM -1.49
01:30 PM -7.28
02:00 PM -15.47
02:30 PM -36.08
03:00 PM -21.52
03:30 PM -20.25
04:00 PM -8.06 13,548.94

S&P 500 1457.34 -3.57

NASDAQ 3072.87 -31.25

GOLD 1,742.90 -10.10

OIL 91.95 +0.17

TSE 300 12,466.12 +4.87

CDNX 1312.34 +8.34

S&P/TSX/60 712.79 +0.51

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -8 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -32 points at low today.
Dow +11 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,742.80.OIL opens at $90.99 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -36 points at low today so far.
Dow +22 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -36 points at low today.
Dow +22 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)

NATURAL GAS-THU +51 BCF

Discord simmers ahead of EU summit

17.10.12 @ 22:13 By Honor Mahony

BRUSSELS - Thursday's (18 October) gathering of EU leaders is being billed - by the Germans at least - as a "stepping stone" summit that should lead to firm decisions in December on how to deepen eurozone political integration. But others want answers on key issues now.The greatest potential flashpoint for the meeting - meant to be a "no decisions" summit - is trying to agree what was agreed in June last time leaders met.At the time eurozone leaders concluded that when an "effective single supervisory mechanism" is established, the permanent eurozone bailout fund (ESM) could then recapitalise banks directly.Spain, looking to keep bank debts off its state books, was euphoric. Ireland, which won specific wording on improving the sustainability of its debt, was too. They and others assumed a quick deal on a banking supervisor was imminent.Germany, Finland and the Netherlands then put on the brakes.They made it clear they think the ESM should only finance bank bailouts once the supervisory mechanism is set up and that it should not salvage old debt.Both sides claim the other is misinterpreting the text. Ahead of the summit there has been much grumbling.In a combative summit-eve interview with five European newspapers, French President Francois Hollande said Berlin should stop blocking what it agreed in June and that a banking union should be ready by the end of the year. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny at a meeting in Bucharest Thursday said much the same.But Germany is not backing down."Effective and established," these are the key words, said one German government source on Wednesday."Read the text from June again. It does not say anywhere that the Council has to agree something by the end of the year. Even less so does it say that on the first of January 2013 a new system will be in place and be effective."It is up to those interpreting the text to explain why they have such "illusions," added the official.

Stabilising the eurozone

Meanwhile, formally on the table is a discussion on what steps need to be taken to "stabilise" the eurozone. Decisions are to be taken only in December.To focus minds, there is a paper written by EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy containing rudimentary ideas for a eurozone budget line, a treasury, increased EU-level centralisation of budgetary and economic governance powers and a debt redemption fund.It is a direct response to a German push for fiscal union.But the paper, written after consultation with all member states, reflects deep division between Paris and Berlin.The two countries are the counterpoints in the discussion on how much fiscal discipline can be demanded from a member state before it is shown some fiscal solidarity. Germany wants more of the former and less of the latter.One issue in the Van Rompuy paper highlights the differences between the two camps - the idea for a fiscal capacity for the eurozone.To German eyes, this should be a limited pot of money, perhaps financed by a financial transactions tax, which would be used as "incentive" for countries to undertake structural reforms.The French and other southern states, who would like to call it a eurozone budget, interpret the idea much more expansively.Highlighting the tensions, Hollande called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to "put Europe's interests first" rather than being so conscious of the domestic scene.He also directly challenged Merkel's refusal to countenance eurobonds - the mutualisation of eurozone debt - saying: "I know the sensitivity of our German friends to the problem of supervision. Whoever pays should control, whoever pays should sanction. I agree. But budgetary union should be completed by a partial mutualisation of debts through eurobonds."Forming the backdrop to the summit, but not on the actual agenda, are Greece - desperately waiting for a further tranche of bailout money - and Spain, on the brink of asking for a bailout.Also at the back of everyone's mind is how to manage a union of 27 states, where 10 are not members of the single currency.Again France and Germany differ. "We want an open construction," says Berlin of any future deeper political integration. France is less so inclined.

Study: Greek euro-exit could start €17tn 'wildfire'

Today @ 09:24 OCT 18,12 By Andrew Rettman

BRUSSELS - The nightmare scenario of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain leaving the euro could cost the world economy €17 trillion, a new study says.The figure - totted up by German consultancy Prognos for the Berlin-based Bertelsmann foundation - would amount to "a lengthy worldwide recession" stretching from the US to China and to "major strains on the social fabric and political stability" in the euro-departing countries.
The study admits the consequences of a Greek exit - until recently mooted as a real option by top German policymakers - are a "mystery."But it notes that a "domino" effect in which "capital market speculation and other untoward responses ... provoke sovereign default on the part of Portugal, Spain and ultimately Italy" is possible.The EU treaty has no mechanism for expelling countries from the eurozone.But if creditors stop shovelling bailout money into Greek coffers, Athens would have nothing with which to pay for healthcare, police or pensions, forcing it to introduce its own currency and to rely exclusively on internal tax income.
The Prognos scenario posits that a return of the drachma in 2013 would force Greece to write off another 60 percent of its debt.The write-down would cause huge losses for private banks and sovereign creditors, creating a spiral in which lenders such as France, Germany and EU bailout funds, the ESM and EFSF, see their credit ratings go down and their borrowing costs go up.The new drachma would also be worth 50 percent less than the euro.The devaluation would mean that Greece's extant 40 percent euro-denominated debt would cost twice as much to service.It would also ossify economic growth by destroying the confidence of business investors and average people's appetite for mortgages and spending.Prognos said a Greek exit would cost the world economy €674 billion between 2013 and 2020. Greece would lose €164 billion and Germany €73 billion.If Portugal goes as well, it would cost the world €2.4 trillion. Portugal would suffer an €84 billion loss and Germany €225 billion.The Greece-Portugal shock would send ripples around the world - US GDP would fall by €365 billion and the Chinese economy would lose €275 billion.Adding Spain, the world would lose €7.9 trillion, with costs escalating for France (€1.2 trillion), Germany (€805 billion) and the US (€1.2 trillion).If Italy goes too, the figures balloon to €17.2 trillion worldwide, €2.9 trillion for France, €1.7 trillion for Germany, €2.8 trillion for the US and €1.9 trillion for China."In the current situation we have to make sure that the crisis in Europe does not turn into a wildfire," Bertelsmann chairman Aart De Geus said in a note accompanying the report.

JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37  For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)

Peres encourages Iranian people to revolt

President says that everyone would be happy to bring the Tehran regime ‘down off its high and dangerous limb’

By Asher Zeiger and Times of Israel staff October 18, 2012, 3:07 pm 1 -THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

President Shimon Peres said Thursday that the people of Iran should be encouraged to overthrow their government.Following a visit to a high school in the northern Druze village of Yarka, the president told reporters that “sanctions are beginning to work and to make a difference.”“We must support the Iranian people… I believe we would all be happy to bring the Iranian government down from its high and dangerous limb,” he said.Referring to Hezbollah’s launch of a drone into Israel two weeks ago, Peres said the terror group was more of a threat to Lebanon than to Israel.In early October, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Israel had a deep interest in supporting those calling for a regime change in Iran and should press the international community to aid dissenters. Liberman made the comment a day after protesters clashed with police in the streets of Tehran over increasing economic hardships and the steep drop in the country’s currency value.“The Foreign Ministry has long pointed out that we are on the way from the Arab Spring to the Persian Spring. What we are seeing now is just the first buds,” said Liberman in an interview with Army Radio. “As we approach presidential elections in Iran, in June 2013, we will see much more of this.”

Iranian general threatens ‘definite’ retaliation to any Israeli strike

15,000 paramilitary fighters take part in Tehran war games

October 18, 2012, 12:29 pm 1-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Israel will “definitely” face fierce retaliation if it attacks Iranian nuclear sites, the acting commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard warned Thursday.The remarks by Gen. Hossein Salami appear to be part of Iranian efforts to portray any strike against it as the trigger for a regional conflict that could draw in Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, on Israel’s borders.Iran’s suspect nuclear program has topped the international agenda and pressures on Tehran are mounting.Israel has threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran doesn’t stop uranium enrichment — a process that can be a pathway to nuclear arms. The West and its allies fear Iran’s ambitions mask a pursuit of atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies, saying its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes such as power generation and cancer treatment.Salami was quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency as saying Iran has prepared for “global battles.”“An attack by the Zionist regime would be an opportunity to destroy that regime,” he said, speaking of Israel. “Their defense mechanism is not planned for big and long wars. Their threats are only psychological and if they cross the limit or act upon those threats, (Israel) will definitely be destroyed.”Salami spoke on the sidelines of urban combat drills in Tehran by some 15,000 paramilitary fighters known as Basiji, who are controlled by the Revolutionary Guard.The exercises were dubbed “Ila Beit ol Moqaddas,” or Toward the Holy City, meaning Jerusalem. The war games include drills on defending against mock air raids and other threats.“We have prepared our security and defense infrastructures for global and big battles,” Salami said. “There is no failure in our defense system.”He also reiterated statements by other Iranian officials who this week insisted that Iran can ride out Western economic pressures aimed at reining in the uranium enrichment.“The Iranian nation will overcome the enemies’ threats in the economic field,” Salami said. “This is a battle. The Iranian nation will impose its will on its enemies.”The 27-member European Union on Monday banned imports of Iranian natural gas and imposed other restrictions on trade and financial dealings. The measures are in line with the West’s two-pronged strategy that includes a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to force a halt to Tehran’s uranium enrichment.Previous Western sanctions have targeted Iran’s critical oil exports and access to international banking networks.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.

Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

Final Approval' for 800 Jerusalem Homes

An NGO has announced that final approval was passed for 800 new housing units in Jerusalem.

By Chana Ya'ar First Publish: 10/18/2012, 4:09 PM

Construction-Flash 90

An NGO has announced that final approval was passed for 800 housing units in Jerusalem, the AFP news agency reported Thursday.Hagit Ofran, of the leftist group Peace Now, told the news agency that a plan to build west of the Gilo neighborhood had been published for validation in an Israeli newspaper in what is the last phase of the planning process. She added that tenders for construction are likely to be published within a few months.The Palestinian Authority has demanded that Israel divide its capital and give away nearly half of it so the PA can use it for a capital of an independent state of its own.However, the PA refuses to sit down and conduct direct final status negotiations with Israeli government officials. Instead, the entity last year went to the United Nations in a unilateral attempt to circumvent the Oslo Accords by declaring “independence” through obtaining membership as a new country in the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly. The attempt failed.

Preparing Security for the Anniversary of Rachel's Death

A Knesset delegation visited Rachel's Tomb on Wednesday to work out security details for the anniversary of the Biblical matriarch's death.By Hana Levi Julian First Publish: 10/18/2012, 3:28 PM

Tomb of Rachel-Israel news photo: Yoni Kempinski

A Knesset delegation visited Rachel's Tomb on Wednesday to work out security details for the protection of visitors to the site on the anniversary of the Biblical matriarch's death.The actual anniversary this year (according to the Hebrew calendar) falls on Shabbat, October 27. But due to the halachic (Jewish legal) prohibition against traveling on the Sabbath, observances will be held from October 25-28.

Tens of  thousands of visitors visit the tomb on the anniversary. This year at least 120,000 worshipers are expected to show up via public and private transportation to mark the date.MKs David Azoulay (Shas), Yulia Shaolov Berkovich (Kadima), Uri Maklev and Yisrael Eichler (UTJ) met with IDF and Border Police officials, as well as representatives from public transportation and emergency medical services.Shuttles to the Tomb will cost NIS 6.60 and be available from Teddy Stadium near the Malha Mall in Jerusalem. Runs will begin at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, October 25 and will continue until midnight. They will begin again Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 2:00 p.m., then start again one hour after the Sabbath on Saturday night and run until midnight, and run on Sunday, October 28 from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.In order to access the Tomb, located in Bethlehem, Jews must now travel down a winding road through high concrete walls which protect worshipers from potential terrorists. The Tomb itself is today protected by an IDF guard tower, and snarls of razor-sharp barbed wire.

Kuperwasser: Arabs Are Brainwashed, Terrorism Is Inevitable

Top security official Yossi Kuperwasser said that only foreign pressure on Hamas would end the current round of rocket attacks on Israel By David Lev First Publish: 10/18/2012, 12:14 PM

Coming soon to Tel Aviv?-Flash 90

At a press conference with foreign journalists Thursday, Director General of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs Yossi Kuperwasser said that he believed that only foreign pressure on Hamas would put an end to the current round of rocket attacks by Gaza Arab terrorists against Israel. A major IDF campaign against Gaza would do little, if anything, to halt the ongoing daily rocket attacks against Israel, he told the journalists.

In 2012, Kuperwasser said, some 800 Kassam rockets, Grad missiles, and mortar shells had been fired at Israel – most of them by Islamic Jihad and its affiliate terror groups. Currently, Islamic Jihad is the main “supplier” of terror rocket attacks against Israel, he added.When asked by a reporter what Israel whether he envisioned a new assault on Gaza to halt the attacks, Kuperwasser said that it was definitely an option, and the IDF could make a decision to attack if things got notably worse. However, he added, such a campaign would not really solve the problem, which had much deeper roots. “They are constantly being brainwashed to hate us, and this creates more and more terrorists.” Such brainwashing, he said, was unlikely to be reversed by military means. In that sense, Arab terror, under current circumstances, is essentially inevitable.

Meanwhile, he said, terror groups in Gaza were getting more and better weapons, thanks to the fall of Muammar Qaddafi. Smuggling tunnels were still active, and Gaza Arab terrorists were bringing more weapons in than ever. Advanced weapons were being smuggled in from Libya, among them Sidewinder missiles, one of which was fired at Israel last weekend.Hamas does not look favorably on the recent escalation, Kuperwasser said, fearing a major Israeli military response. “But they do not know how to stop Islamic Jihad,” he said. As radically Islamic as Hamas is, Islamic Jihad and other groups have now surpassed them, and Hamas fears being seen as the “moderate,” much as it sees Fatah in Judea and Samaria. “The radicals are getting stronger, and the atmosphere in Gaza is making the residents there even more radical.” Hamas, he added, does not believe it can afford to confront these groups, fearing that it will be swept away by an “Arab Spring” scenario in Gaza if it tries.

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them;(ATOMIC BOMB) 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.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Syria envoy says bloodshed could engulf Middle East

By Dominic Evans | Reuters – 20 hrs ago OCT 18,12

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international mediator on Syria said on Wednesday its civil war risks spilling across borders to engulf the Middle East and appealed for a temporary truce he said could mark a small step towards defusing 19 months of conflict.Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, has proposed that both President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters seeking his overthrow hold fire during the Islamic feast holiday of Eid al-Adha that starts next week.Syrian authorities, who blame rebels for the failure of an April ceasefire plan, guardedly welcomed Brahimi's proposal but said any initiative must be respected by both sides. Turkey, one of Assad's harshest critics, and Iran, one of his strongest allies, both backed the plan, in rare agreement.Thirty thousand people have been killed in the uprising, which began with peaceful demonstrations and now pits mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against an Alawite president. There are fears of broader Middle East sectarian conflict between Sunni powers sympathetic to the rebels and Shi'ites who back Assad."This crisis cannot remain within Syrian borders indefinitely. Either it will be addressed or it will increase ... and be all-consuming," Brahimi told reporters in Beirut after talks with Lebanese leaders.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 90 people had been killed in Syria by late afternoon on Wednesday, after 150 people died the day before.The death toll has topped 1,000 a week for at least two months as divided world powers have condemned the bloodshed in what has become a largely stalemated conflict, but failed to agree on a political solution.On Sunday, Brahimi appealed to leaders in Iran - Assad's strongest regional ally - to support a proposal for a ceasefire to mark Eid al-Adha, expected to begin at dusk on October 25."For us, there isn't any sacrifice too great if the blood stops flowing in Syria even for a day, an hour," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara, saying he had discussed the plan with his Iranian counterpart."The Arab League, Turkey and Iran have declared their support for this proposal," he said, adding he expected those who backed the plan to make a statement on Friday.Iran's state news agency quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying Iran backed the temporary ceasefire plan and believed free elections were the right way forward.Syrian officials have questioned whether the disparate rebels, who agreed on a joint leadership on Tuesday [ID:nL5E8LGRQ5] to encourage supporters to provide them more powerful weapons, could commit to or honor any ceasefire deal.But Brahimi said opposition figures had told him any ceasefire by Assad's forces would be reciprocated immediately."We heard from everyone we met in the opposition, and everyone (else) we met that, if the government stops using violence, 'We will respond to this directly'," he said."We hope this will be a very small step that would save the Syrian people ... because they are burying hundreds of people every day."
HELICOPTER DOWNED
Anti-Assad activists posted videos on Wednesday of what they said was a Syrian military helicopter spiraling to the ground and exploding in flames.Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the helicopter had been downed near Maarat al-Numan. "Some rebels say they used anti-aircraft missiles," he told Reuters by telephone from Britain.Amateur footage of rebels using shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles have emerged in the past few days, and France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that heavy weapons acquired by the insurgents have forced Assad's air force to bomb rebel-held areas from high altitude."In a certain number of these zones, Bashar al-Assad is bombarding them with MiG fighter jets, and what is particularly horrible is that he is bombarding them with TNT," Fabius said."But at the same time there are now weapons that are forcing the planes to fly extremely high, and so the strikes are less accurate," he said before meeting civilian members of rebel councils that run areas outside government control.France began channeling money and humanitarian aid to rebel-held parts of Syria in August to support self-rule and try to create an alternative to the Damascus government.However, the French plan falls well short of the foreign-protected safe havens the opposition says it needs and offers little hope of relief to civilians fleeing the chaos.Russia, which sold Syria arms worth $1 billion last year, and China have vetoed three resolutions favored by Western powers condemning Syrian authorities and opening the way to U.N. sanctions on Damascus.Fabius said Moscow's stance would only cement chaos in Syria, adding that he had told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that: "If you continue to oppose a change of regime, then the extremists risk taking control."Russia denies trying to prop up Assad, who allows Russia to maintain a naval supply facility in the port of Tartus that is its only military base outside the former Soviet Union.But Moscow says Syria's crisis must be resolved without foreign interference, particularly military intervention.Turkey, which has led calls for international intervention, has bolstered its military presence along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria in recent weeks and has been responding in kind to gunfire and mortar shells flying over the border.It has warned of a more robust response if the spillover continues and its armed forces fired back on Wednesday after a shell landed 3 m (yards) inside its territory in the Hatay border province, the local governor's office said.Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Damascus hoped Brahimi's talks in the region, including with countries which back the rebels, could herald "something which leads to the success of a constructive initiative".Makdissi said Syria had previously committed to Arab and U.N. initiatives but that they had been thwarted by "armed groups and the countries that influence them".

(Additional reporting by Ayat Basma and Oliver Holmes in Beirut, Nicolas Vinocur in Paris, Seltem Iyigun and Nick Tattersall in Istanbul, Marcus George in Dubai; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Peace envoy to visit Syria to work out Eid ceasefire

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | Reuters – 1 hr 51 mins ago OCT 18,12

AMMAN (Reuters) - The international mediator on Syria will go to Damascus in the next few days to try to broker a brief ceasefire in the war between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebels during the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival.Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, told reporters on Thursday after meeting Jordan's foreign minister that a respite in hostilities could build confidence and help bring about a longer truce in the 19-month-old conflict."Yes I am going to Syria. This appeal we made to our Syrian brothers, whether in the government or against the government, to stop fighting in the three or four days of the Eid next week," Brahimi said.A previous ceasefire in April collapsed after just a few days, with each side blaming the other. Mediator Kofi Annan resigned his post in frustration a few months later.Since then the war pitting Assad's troops against a loosely-organized rebel force trying to end his 12-year-old rule has intensified. The daily death toll usually tops 100 combatants and civilians and fighting rages in cities including Aleppo, the country's commercial centre, and even the capital Damascus.The truce would be self-imposed with no monitoring."This is an appeal to the Syrians themselves that they stop fighting and observe it themselves. This is not the political process or the solution required to the Syrian crisis," Brahimi added.
The Syrian government guardedly welcomed the proposal but said any initiative must be respected by both sides. Turkey, one of Assad's harshest critics, and Iran, one of his strongest allies, both backed the plan, in rare display of agreement.Brahimi will meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Saturday, an official in Damascus said.Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Damascus hoped his talks in the region, including with countries which back the rebels, could herald "something which leads to the success of a constructive initiative".Brahimi's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said the envoy, a veteran Algerian diplomat, was working on a new, comprehensive peace plan."It's difficult to put a timeline on it but it's all coming together. He has completed the circle with this tour of neighboring countries. He needs to go now to the outer circle, to Moscow and China, and look them in the eye and say this will not work unless you support it," Fawzi said.Russia, which sold Syria arms worth $1 billion last year, and China have vetoed three resolutions favored by Western powers condemning Syrian authorities and opening the way to U.N. sanctions on Damascus.The Kremlin denies trying to prop up Assad, who allows Russia to maintain a naval supply facility in the port of Tartus that is its only military base outside the former Soviet Union.Moscow says Syria's crisis must be resolved without foreign interference, particularly military intervention.
GUNS IN DAMASCUS
Violence wracked the country on Thursday, from the desert eastern city of Hassake, where five soldiers were killed when rebels ambushed a military truck, to Damascus, where government forces were bombarding outlying suburbs.The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people were wounded when warplanes bombed the northern town of Maarat al-Numan, which straddles the main north-south highway connecting Damascus with Aleppo and was captured by rebels last week.
More than 140 Syrians were killed on Wednesday, including 62 unarmed civilians, 12 of them children, the Observatory said.Syrian officials have questioned whether the rebels, who agreed on a joint leadership on Tuesday to encourage supporters to provide them with more powerful weapons, could commit to or honor any ceasefire deal.But Brahimi said on Wednesday opposition figures had told him any ceasefire by Assad's forces would be reciprocated immediately."We heard from everyone we met in the opposition, and everyone (else) we met that, if the government stops using violence, 'We will respond to this directly'," he said.

"We hope this will be a very small step that would save the Syrian people ... because they are burying hundreds of people every day."The total death toll now stands at more than 30,000 and international players fear that if unchecked, the war could expand into a wider regional conflict between Sunni powers sympathetic to the rebels and Shi'ites who back Assad.(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman and Oliver Holmes in Beirut; Writing by Angus MacSwan; Editing by Andrew Roche)