Friday, January 11, 2013

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL HAD DRILL WHILE SHOOTER SHOT

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

Melting ‘resistance’ on Temple Mount

Cold-hearted sculptors eschew snowpeople, build replica Gaza rocket on site holy to Jews and Muslims


January 10, 2013, 6:51 pm 1-The Times of Israel
Eschewing the traditional snowman, sculptors utilized Jerusalem’s snowfall to fashion a replica M-75 rocket on the Temple Mount, causing a flurry of activity on the social media network Facebook on Thursday.
The large replica of the missile, of the sort fired by Hamas at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the November 2012 mini-war Operation Pillar of Defense, was photographed standing prominently on the contested site, holy to Jews and Muslims.The melting M-75 is only the latest homage to the rocket, which has become something of a cultural fad among Palestinians after terrorists in Gaza indiscriminately fired several of the missiles as far as Tel Aviv at the end of last year, among the 1,500 rockets they launched in total. Israel carried out a similar number of air attacks on terrorist targets in Gaza during the eight days of conflict.
Any cheery Gazan event can apparently be made brighter now by including a reference to the locally produced missiles, which are reportedly produced using Iranian technology.When Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal visited the coastal enclave for the first time in December, for instance, he arrived on stage by popping out of a model of the rocket. At the time Hamas was celebrating 25 years since its founding and did so with a cake covered with frosting depicting, yes, an M-75 rocket.There is even an M-75 perfume available in Gaza that was described by one vendor as having a fragrance that “is pleasant and attractive, like the missiles of the Palestinian resistance.”

CONSPIRACY THEORIES WATCHOUT FOR
ISAIAH 8:11-12
11  For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12  Say ye not, A confederacy,(CONSPIRACY) to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy;(CONSPIRACY) neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
False flag-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and can be used in peace-time.(NOTICE EVERY TIME THERES A REAL TERRORIST ATTACK,THE GOVERNMENT ALWAYS IS DOING A FAKE DRILL WHICH MEANS THEY CAN SAY IT WAS ONLY A DRILL IF THE ATTACK DOES NOT GO OVER WITH THE PUBLIC OR IF THE GOVERNMENT MUFFED UP THEIR OWN FALSE FLAG CONTROL FREAK,GET MORE CONTROL OF PEOPLES RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS.)

ITS BEEN CONFIRMED THE SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA WERE THIS SHOOTING OCCURED YESTERDAY.JUST HAD A SHOOTER DRILL GOING ON IN PROGRESS.I SMELL A PLOT BY SOMEONE TO GRAB GUNS.OBAMA ANYBODY WANT GUNS GRABBED FROM THE CITIZENS.

Student opens fire at California high school, wounding one


By | The Lookout – 14 hrs ago JAN 10,13
UPDATED, 12:37 p.m. PT: At least one student was shot when a classmate opened fire at a high school in California on Thursday.The shooting occurred in the science building at Taft Union High School in Taft, Calif., at approximately 9 a.m. local time, a Kern County Sheriff's official told Yahoo News.The suspected shooter—a 16-year-old male student at the school—did not show up for the start of first period, police say. He entered the school with a 12-gauge shotgun and interrupted his first-period class, shooting one student police say he was targeting.The victim, also 16, was airlifted to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, Calif., with a shotgun wound to the upper right chest. He's in critical but stable condition.The gunman then called a second student's name in the 28-person class and fired again, but missed, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said. A teacher and a campus supervisor engaged the shooter in conversation inside the classroom, school officials said, and were able to persuade him to put down the shotgun. The shooter was then taken into police custody.The teacher was treated at the scene for a pellet wound to the head. (It's unclear whether the wound was from birdshot, Youngblood said.) Another student who was near the shotgun when it was fired was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated for hearing loss.

During a press briefing outside the school on Thursday afternoon, reporters asked police whether the suspected shooter had been suspended from school last year for carrying what parents told them was a "hit list." Police would not confirm those reports.According to the school's website, "two campus supervisors and a Kern County Sheriff monitor the campus before, during, and after school." But officials said the armed officer who is normally on campus was "snowed in" and not on duty at the time of the shooting. About 1,000 students attend the high school.ABC's Kero-Bakersfield affiliate said it received calls from students who were hiding in closets inside the school, located about 120 miles north of Los Angeles.The school was evacuated while sheriff and fire personnel conducted room-to-room searches. One student told the network that he was in another building participating in an "active shooter drill" when the shooting occurred.
The school was featured in the 1986 film "The Best of Times" starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. Friday's classes have been canceled.The shootings come less than a month after 26 people, including 20 children, were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. The massacre led to calls for reforms to the country's gun laws.On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden, appointed to lead a task force to reduce U.S. gun violence, was scheduled to meet with members of the National Rifle Association in Washington to discuss gun control.

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 FRI JANUARY 11,2013

09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM -21.73
10:30 AM -25.70
11:00 AM -6.73
11:30 AM -9.61
12:00 PM +11.96
12:30 PM +7.22
01:00 PM +8.18
01:30 PM -4.33
02:00 PM +9.10
02:30 PM +8.84
03:00 PM +5.98
03:30 PM +19.33
04:00 PM +17.21 13,488.43

S&P 500 1472.05 -0.07

NASDAQ 3125.63 +3.88

GOLD 1,661.50 -16.50

OIL 93.72 -0.10

TSE 300 12,602.18 +2.44

CDNX 1240.25 +0.17

S&P/TSX/60 722.70 +0.50

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -22 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -29 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,662.80.OIL opens at $93.01 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -29 points at low today so far.
Dow +19 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -29 points at low today.
Dow +19 points at high today.

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

ECB unveils new €5 note

Today @ 09:25 JAN 11,13 By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The European Central Bank (ECB) launched a new €5 note on Thursday (10 January) with a topical joke on the crisis and British euroscepticism.The note features a watermark and a hologram of Europa - a Phoenician princess who lent her name to Europe and whose portrait was taken from a 2,400-year-old wine jug in The Louvre museum in Paris.ECB chief Mario Draghi signed a model of the bill at the unveiling ceremony in the archaeological museum in Frankfurt.He said: "Over the years, euro banknotes have become the most visible symbol of European integration."He added: "Despite the challenges facing the euro area ... I am confident that 2013 will bring about a deepening of economic and monetary union and will strengthen European integration."His host, museum director Egon Warmes, noted that Emperor Charlemagne in the year 794 AD in Frankfurt launched the denarius - a silver coin that was used "from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the River Elbe in the east and from the northern seas to central Italy" and which was "the first, the primary euro."He said King Offa in England also minted denarii, which he called pennies and which remained valid for 400 years.With today's UK rejecting the euro and talking of leaving the EU, Warmes joked: "Thus, President Draghi, if you want to save the euro for more than 400 years, bring it to Britain."
The first Europa notes will arrive in banks and shops in May.The ECB will print new versions of €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500 notes in the "next few" years. The old ones will circulate alongside them, but will "eventually cease to be legal tender" on a date to be announced "well in advance."In Greek mythology, the god Zeus fell in love with Europa and then kidnapped and raped her."You see - nobility, divinity, beauty and love stood at the cradle of our continent, but also violence," Warmes said.Draghi opted for a cleaner version of the story, however."Let me thank you Professor Warmes for your kind words - you said that nobility, divinity, beauty and love [are] all to be found in our beautiful continent," he said.

Rehn rebuffs IMF criticism of austerity measures

Today @ 11:49 JAN 11,13 By Honor Mahony
BRUSSELS - Blanket criticism of austerity policy misses the positive effect it has on market confidence, EU economic affairs commissioner has said in the face of negative statements by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Referring to a report out last week in which IMF economists said the growth-dampening effects of spending cuts had been underestimated, Olli Rehn at a think-tank event in Brussels on Friday (11 January) said "one cannot draw, on the basis of this study, strong policy conclusions.""In the political debate, what has often been forgotten is that we have not only the quantifiable effect - which is something that the economist like to emphasize - we also have the confidence effect," he added.Taking Italy as an example, he asked "what would have happened" if Rome had decided to loosen fiscal policy in November 2011, when technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti took the reins and started introduced spending cuts? "From November onwards, we have seen more consistent and prudent fiscal consolidation by Italy and we are seeing much lower bond yield for Italy, which brings savings to Italian tax papyers and facilitates return to economic recovery," Rehn said.He noted that the European Commission, the IMF and European Central Bank - the so-called troika, which ovesees bailout programmes in Greece, Ireland and Portugal - are in the middle of an "ongoing trialogue" to find "common ground" on the effects of spending cuts on growth.
Rehn's spoke out amid increasing IMF disagreement on EU-imposed austerity on crisis-hit member states - a policy which puts heavy emphasis on slashing spending and increasing privatisation.An IMF official last spring criticised the pace and depth of the budget cuts demanded from Greece, while Christine Lagarde, who heads the Washington-based institution, late last year said Athens needs more time to get its house in order.Rehn refused to accept the criticism on austerity, but he acknowledged that "the coming months will see tough times and social tensions," because EU citizens will see improvements in their day-to-day lives "only with some delay."He urged EU countries not to "lapse into complacency."He also highlighted his native Finland and France as registering "worrying losses" in their shares in global markets.

ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

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)

JEREMIAH 47:1-7
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN/ARABS) before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,(NORTHERN TSUNAMI POSSIBLY) and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3  At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses,(ISRAELS ARMY) at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;(ISRAEL POSSIBLY NUKES GAZA)
4  Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN FAKE ARABS) and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5  Baldness is come upon Gaza;(NUKED POSSIBLY) Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6  O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7  How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? (MEDITTERANEAN SEA) there hath he appointed it.

Spain arrests 2 over suspected Iran nuclear export

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police have arrested two people and seized equipment they say was due to be shipped to Iran for use in Tehran's nuclear program.Officers stopped a trailer truck at a road toll in the northern town of Durango and after an inspection arrested two people and seized the cargo.The Interior Ministry said Friday that among objects seized were 44 valves made of an alloy "particularly suitable for use in the nuclear industry" as well as mounting accessories, export documents to Iran, bank statements, support accessories and computer information.The EU and the United States have imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and have gone after people dealing in so-called dual-use technology, which can have both civilian and military applications. Iran denies any interest in nuclear arms.

France says ready to halt any rebel offensive in Mali

PARIS/BAMAKO (Reuters) - France would intervene to stop any further drive southward by Islamist rebels in Mali, President Francois Hollande said on Friday, as Malian soldiers launched a counter-offensive to wrest back a key town captured by militants this week.Western powers are worried the alliance of al Qaeda-linked militants that seized the northern two-thirds of Mali in April will seek to use the vast desert zone as a launchpad for international attacks.Mali's government appealed for urgent military aid from France on Thursday after Islamist fighters encroached further south, seizing the town of Konna in the center of the country. The rebel advance sparked panic among residents in the nearby towns of Mopti and Sevare, home to a military base and airport."We are faced with a blatant aggression that is threatening Mali's very existence. France cannot accept this," Hollande said in a New Year speech to diplomats and journalists. "We will be ready to stop the terrorists' offensive if it continues."Hollande said that France, alongside African partners, would respond to Mali's request for military aid within the framework of U.N. Security Council resolutions. A French diplomatic source said existing U.N. resolutions would permit a French military intervention in Mali, if needed.The Security Council in December authorized the deployment of an African-led force supported by European states. However, an operation was not expected before September due to the difficulties of arranging funding, training Malian troops, and deploying during the mid-year rainy season in West Africa.However, military experts said that escalating military tensions in Mali could force the hand of former colonial power France, the most outspoken advocate of military intervention.
"The French believe that France, and Europe, face a real security threat from what is happening in the Sahel," said Jakkie Cilliers, executive director of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa.He noted, however, that any French military intervention could raise hackles among regional government's wary of meddling by Paris. "If the French decide to do this they would want to make it as short, sharp and contained as possible."
REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore, installed after a military coup in March, was due to meet with Hollande in Paris on Wednesday, a French diplomatic source said. Traore will address the Malian nation on Friday evening.French officials declined to comment on reports that military aircraft carrying Western soldiers landed late on Thursday at an airport at Sevare, some 60 km (36 miles) south of Konna.Residents in Sevare also reported the arrival of military helicopters and army reinforcements, which took part in the counter-attack to retake Konna overnight on Thursday in a bid to roll back the militant's southward drive.
"Helicopters have bombarded rebel positions. The operation will continue," a senior military source in Bamako said.A spokesman one of the main groups forming the Islamist rebel alliance said they remained in control of Konna.Asked whether the rebels intended to press ahead to capture Sevare and Mopti, the Ansar Dine spokesman, Sanda Ould Boumama, said: "We will make that clear in the coming days."He said any intervention by France would reveal an anti-Islam bias."What makes us different for them from the rebel movements in Central African Republic, or Congo. It is that we are Muslim?" he said, referring to insurgencies in other French-speaking African nations.(Additional reporting by Richard Valdmanis in Dakar, Pascal Fletcher in Johannesburg, Alexandria Sage, John Irish and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; writing by Daniel Flynn; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Israeli PM says Iran top priority if re-elected

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb will top his agenda if he wins the upcoming election.Netanyahu spoke at a meeting with visiting U.S senators Friday.He says "my priority, if I'm elected for a next term as prime minister, will be first to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons."Polls suggest Netanyahu and a hawkish bloc will likely form Israel's next government after the Jan. 22 election.Israel views Iran as an existential threat due to its nuclear program, frequent calls for Israel's destruction and support of violent militant groups in Lebanon and Gaza.The West widely suspects Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies that. Israel has hinted at a military strike if economic sanctions fail.

Syrian rebels seize parts of strategic air base

BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of Islamic militants fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad seized parts of a strategic northwestern air base Thursday after weeks of battling government troops for control of the sprawling facility.At stake is the biggest field for helicopters used to bomb rebel-held areas in the north and deliver supplies for regime forces.Opposition fighters and activists said rebels broke into Taftanaz air base in the northern Idlib province Wednesday night and by Thursday had seized control of more than half of it. Intense battles were still raging, and one activist said rebels had suffered losses.On Thursday evening, an activist near Taftanaz said the government bombed the air base from warplanes in a desperate attempt to push back rebels who seized several helicopters. The account from the activist, who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals, could not immediately be confirmed.An amateur video posted by activists online showed smoke rising from behind helicopters parked at the Taftanaz tarmac, and a narrator said it was the result of an airstrike. The video appeared consistent with Associated Press reporting.Meanwhile, Iran's official IRNA news agency said 48 former captives held for more than five months returned on Thursday to Tehran after being freed by Syrian rebels in the first major prisoner swap of the civil war.The rebel attack on the Taftanaz base is part of a wider attempt to chip away at the Syrian regime's air supremacy, which poses the biggest obstacle to the opposition fighters' advances.As its control of large swaths of territory has slipped over the past year, the government has increasingly relied on its warplanes and helicopters to strike rebel-held areas.The rebels have been besieging Taftanaz for months and launched an offensive to take the base in early November.Its fall would be an embarrassing blow to the regime but not fully stop airstrikes by government jets, many of which come from bases farther south."If the fighters seize full control of Taftanaz air base and manage to keep it, it would be the first major military airport to fall into rebel hands," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Taftanaz lies near the highway between the capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo, a major front in a civil war that has locked rebels and government troops in a stalemate for months. Several past rebel attempts to capture the Taftanaz base have failed.Abdul-Rahman, who relies on a network of activists on the ground in Syria, said the rebels involved in the attack on Taftanaz were Islamic militants. He said estimated their number to be about 700 and said they included members of Jabhat al-Nusra, affiliated with al-Qaida, and groups with a similar Islamic ideology.Members of al-Nusra, which the U.S. has branded a terrorist organization, have been among the most effective fighters in the rebels' battle to oust Assad.The opposition has seized several other air defense bases in the north and Damascus suburbs, making off with weapons and ammunition but in most cases have not managed to retain the facilities.The conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against the Assad family dynasty, which has ruled Syria for four decades. But a ferocious crackdown on demonstrators led many to take up arms against the government, and the uprising soon transformed into a civil war.As the death toll mounted, Assad, a 47-year-old eye doctor by training, has become a global pariah. Russia, China and Iran are among his last remaining allies, and the Iranians who were held captive in Syria were a major bargaining chip for factions trying to bring down his regime.The former captives left Damascus on a special flight Thursday, a day after rebels freed the group in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 prisoners held by Syrian authorities.Iran's state TV broadcast images of the 48 Iranians walking down the steps at Mehrabad airport in Tehran. They were greeted by Foreign Ministry officials, lawmakers and about 300 relatives and friends.Some family members and the freed prisoners burst into tears and embraced each other as they saw their loved ones for the first time after more than five months in captivity. While relatives greeted them with flowers, others whistled as the 48 showed up one by one.The prisoner release was the result of a deal struck after rare negotiations involving regional powers Turkey, Qatar and Iran.Rebels claimed the captives were linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, but Tehran has denied that, saying the men were pilgrims visiting Shiite religious sites in Syria.Also Thursday, Syria accused the joint U.N.-Arab League peace envoy of "flagrant bias," further complicating diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed.In a strongly worded statement, Syria's Foreign Ministry criticized international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi for comments he made to the media, saying he has "diverted from the core of his mission" in favor of those who "conspire" against Syria.The statement was the strongest criticism of Brahimi since he took over the post last summer after veteran diplomat Kofi Annan stepped down in frustration.In a BBC interview, Brahimi called for real, not cosmetic change in Syria and accused Assad of resisting the aspirations of his people."The time of reforms granted magnanimously from above is past," Brahimi said."I think that what people (in Syria) are saying is that a family ruling for 40 years is a little bit too long so the change has to be real," he added. "I think that President Assad could take the lead in responding to the aspirations of his people rather than resisting it."Brahimi's comments during a visit to Cairo came a few days after Assad outlined his vision for a peace initiative that would keep him in power to oversee a national reconciliation conference, elections and a new government.In a speech Sunday, a defiant Assad ignored international demands to step down and said he was ready to talk — but only with those "who have not betrayed Syria."
The opposition rejected his offer, which also drew harsh international criticism.Thursday's statement from the Foreign Ministry expressed Syria's "astonishment" at Brahimi's remarks and said he "blatantly showed bias toward sides known for conspiring against Syria and the Syrian people.""We had expected Brahimi to read and analyze the contents of (Assad's proposed) political initiative, which is the only exit to the Syrian crisis," the ministry said.At least 60,000 people have been killed in the war, according to a recent U.N. estimate, and all international efforts so far to bring about a peaceful transition have failed.Despite significant rebel advances on the battlefield, the opposition remains outgunned by government forces and has been unable to break a stalemate on the ground.In Brussels, a NATO official said the alliance on Wednesday detected the launch of an unguided, short-range ballistic missile in the country.The official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity in line with the alliance's rules, also said Assad's forces fired ballistic missiles at opposition-held areas twice earlier this month. The official said all the missiles were fired from inside Syria at unconfirmed targets in the north.___AP writers Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Albert Aji in Damascus, Barbara Surk in Beirut and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.

ALLTIME