JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.
Kerry races against deadlines for Mideast peace
By MATTHEW LEE and LARA JAKES - MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
ROME (AP) — Hoping to salvage foundering Mideast peace negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is interrupting a trip to Europe with President Barack Obama to press Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stick with the talks beyond an April deadline.The meetings come at a critical time in the peace talks and against a looming April 30 deadline for a settlement. But the Palestinians have threatened to walk away before then unless Israel releases a batch of prisoners as it agreed to by March 29.The State Department announced Tuesday that Kerry will travel to Amman, Jordan, to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Kerry also will talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, likely either by telephone or videoconference, in the next few days, said deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf. Kerry is currently in Rome to join Obama at a meeting Thursday with Pope Francis.Israel previously has released three groups of prisoners during the negotiations, moves that have been deeply unpopular with the Israeli public because the inmates were convicted of bloody crimes. But Israel has not said whether it will carry out the final release, which includes 14 Israeli Arabs, and is seeking assurances that the Palestinians will extend talks beyond April before doing so.The Palestinians say Israel already pledged to carry out the release and are seeking additional gestures, such as the release of high-profile prisoners or a settlement freeze before extending the talks. The U.S. has said it supports the prisoner release since it previously was agreed to between the two sides.Harf said she did not immediately know Tuesday whether the U.S. believes the Israeli Arabs should be released, as the Palestinians have demanded. Asked if the peace talks could fail if the prisoners are not released, she noted that both Israel and Palestinian officials agreed at the outset to negotiate through April."I think we're still certainly operating under that basis, and they're still negotiating in good faith under that basis," Harf told reporters. "Obviously we've said both parties have had to make courageous decisions throughout this process to keep the negotiations going, and we certainly hope that will continue."It's all but certain that no resolution will be reached in the peace process by the deadline that was set last July. Beyond the dispute over the prisoner release, both sides are still trying to settle sharp differences at the heart of their decades-long conflict, including disputes over territorial borders, security, refugees, the fate of east Jerusalem and whether Palestinians will recognize Israel as a Jewish state.The Arab League, meeting in Kuwait, is expected on Wednesday to reject Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, according to a draft of the statement obtained by The Associated Press.___Jakes reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.___Follow Matt Lee on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APDiploWriter-Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at https://twitter.com/larajakesAP
Seoul: NKorea fires 2 ballistic missiles
By JUNG-YOON CHOI and FOSTER KLUG - MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday test-fired what appeared to be two mid-range ballistic missiles, South Korea said, hours after Pyongyang rivals South Korea, Japan and the United States met in the Netherlands to discuss the country.Such a launch would be a violation of U.N. resolutions and a big step up from a series of shorter-range rocket launches the North has staged in recent weeks in apparent protest of ongoing annual military drills by Washington and Seoul that the North claims are invasion preparation.It also comes on the fourth anniversary of the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul and other nations blame on a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang denies involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 sailors.A South Korean military official said two likely Rodong missiles flew about 650 kilometers (403 miles) off North Korea's east coast early Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear where the missiles splashed down. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules.The launch followed a meeting on Tuesday of U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. It was Park and Abe's first face-to-face meeting since they both took office more than a year ago. Many in Asia are angry over Japan's treatment of historical issues related to Tokyo's 20th century colonization of the Korean Peninsula and World War II.Addressing the media before the meeting, the leaders focused on the security threat posed by North Korea.Since pulling out of six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear program in exchange for financial assistance in 2009, North Korea has conducted long-range rocket and nuclear tests.A North Korean diplomat on Monday criticized the U.S. for conducting military exercises near its borders and accused the U.S. of undermining prospects for undermining the prospect of improved relations with South Korea.Last year, North Korea responded to the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills by threatening nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the impoverished North chafes against the drills because it has to spend precious resources responding with its own exercises.The Korean Peninsula remains officially at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Arms for Syria war dominate Arab summit debate
By Omar Hasan 3 hours ago- MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
Kuwait City (AFP) - Syria's opposition called for "sophisticated" arms at an Arab summit in Kuwait Tuesday while Saudi Arabia said the military balance needed to change to "end the impasse" in Syria's civil war.But UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi insisted on the need for a "political solution" to the three-year conflict, urging an "end to the supply of arms to all parties."Opposition Syrian National Coalition chief Ahmed Jarba repeated calls on the international Community to supply rebels with "sophisticated weapons" as the two-day summit opened."I do not ask you for a declaration of war," said Jarba, urging Arab leaders to put pressure on world powers to fulfil pledges to supply arms.Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, whose country is a key backer of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, said the world was "betraying" rebels by failing to arm them and leaving them as "easy prey."A solution to the conflict, in which regime forces have recently made significant advances, requires a "change in the balance on the ground to end the impasse," he said.National Coalition spokesman Louay Safi said rebels urgently needed "anti-aircraft missiles" to defend against barrel bombs that regime forces have been raining down on fighters and civilians alike.The conflict in Syria, which entered a fourth year on March 15, has killed more than 146,000 people and displaced millions.Meanwhile, Jarba said a decision not to hand over Syria's seat in the Arab League to the opposition sends a wrong message to Assad, telling him to continue "to kill.""Let me say quite frankly that keeping Syria's seat empty... sends a clear message to Assad that he can kill and that the seat will wait for him," he said.The government's brutal repression of protests that erupted in March 2011, which led to the war, resulted in its suspension from the 22-member Cairo-based Arab League.- No military solution: Brahimi -Brahimi urged a revival of peace talks."I call upon Europe, the United Nations and the United States to take clear steps to reactivate the Geneva talks," which broke off on February 15.
"There is no military solution," he stressed.
On the humanitarian front, the president Lebanon, one of several Syrian neighbours dealing with refugees, told the evening session his country was overburdened by the influx and called for help.Michel Sleiman said Lebanon was no longer capable of accepting more Syrian refugees. who now make up 32 percent of the population.He warned without elaborating that, if Beirut does not receive help, "we may look into legal ways to stop their influx."Meanwhile, a regional rift over Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been kept off the summit agenda.But Egyptian President Adli Mansur called for interior and justice ministers meet before the end of June to activate the Arab counter-terrorism treaty.Mansour made no specific mention of the Muslim Brotherhood of his ousted predecessor Mohamed Morsi, which Cairo designated a terrorist organisation in December.But he told the summit it was vital that League members extradite and not give shelter to "terrorists" wanted by fellow member states. That was a veiled reference to Qatar, accused of harbouring fugitive Brotherhood leaders.Relations between Egypt and Qatar have nosedived since the army's overthrow of Morsi last July.And Qatar's support for the Brotherhood has strained ties with fellow Gulf states -- Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- who withdrew their ambassadors from Doha earlier this month.Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, told the summit these rifts are threatening Arab aspirations and insisted that "we are required to resolve these disputes... and achieve unity."But Kuwaiti foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said the dispute would "be resolved within the Gulf house," not at the summit.On the Palestinian issue, Arab leaders are expected to call for $100 million (72.5 million euros) in monthly aid for the Palestinian Authority and to reject demands by Israel that Palestinians recognise it as a Jewish state.Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, fresh from talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington last week, told the summit that Palestinians "reject even discussing the issue."He warned of Israeli plans to divide Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, highly revered by Muslims worldwide, between Jews and Muslims "which we totally reject."
El Nino likely in 2014, says Australian Bureau of Meteorology-MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Climate models show an increased chance of a 2014 El Nino weather event, said Australia's bureau of meteorology, leading to possible droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in South America, which could hit key rice, wheat and sugar crops.The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said an El Nino could occur during the southern hemisphere winter, May-July, with Australian cattle and grain farmers already struggling with drought which has cut production.The last El Nino in 2009/10 was categorized weak to moderate. The most severe El Nino was in 1998 when freak weather killed more than 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia."The latest climate model survey by the shows that the tropical Pacific is very likely to warm in the coming months, with most models showing sea surface temperatures reaching El Nino thresholds during the southern hemisphere winter," the BOM said in an emailed statement.Australia's outlook echoes similar forecasts from other weather bureaus in Japan and the United States, which each said an El Nino was increasingly like.(Reporting by Colin Packham)
Kerry races against deadlines for Mideast peace
By MATTHEW LEE and LARA JAKES - MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
ROME (AP) — Hoping to salvage foundering Mideast peace negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is interrupting a trip to Europe with President Barack Obama to press Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stick with the talks beyond an April deadline.The meetings come at a critical time in the peace talks and against a looming April 30 deadline for a settlement. But the Palestinians have threatened to walk away before then unless Israel releases a batch of prisoners as it agreed to by March 29.The State Department announced Tuesday that Kerry will travel to Amman, Jordan, to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Kerry also will talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, likely either by telephone or videoconference, in the next few days, said deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf. Kerry is currently in Rome to join Obama at a meeting Thursday with Pope Francis.Israel previously has released three groups of prisoners during the negotiations, moves that have been deeply unpopular with the Israeli public because the inmates were convicted of bloody crimes. But Israel has not said whether it will carry out the final release, which includes 14 Israeli Arabs, and is seeking assurances that the Palestinians will extend talks beyond April before doing so.The Palestinians say Israel already pledged to carry out the release and are seeking additional gestures, such as the release of high-profile prisoners or a settlement freeze before extending the talks. The U.S. has said it supports the prisoner release since it previously was agreed to between the two sides.Harf said she did not immediately know Tuesday whether the U.S. believes the Israeli Arabs should be released, as the Palestinians have demanded. Asked if the peace talks could fail if the prisoners are not released, she noted that both Israel and Palestinian officials agreed at the outset to negotiate through April."I think we're still certainly operating under that basis, and they're still negotiating in good faith under that basis," Harf told reporters. "Obviously we've said both parties have had to make courageous decisions throughout this process to keep the negotiations going, and we certainly hope that will continue."It's all but certain that no resolution will be reached in the peace process by the deadline that was set last July. Beyond the dispute over the prisoner release, both sides are still trying to settle sharp differences at the heart of their decades-long conflict, including disputes over territorial borders, security, refugees, the fate of east Jerusalem and whether Palestinians will recognize Israel as a Jewish state.The Arab League, meeting in Kuwait, is expected on Wednesday to reject Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, according to a draft of the statement obtained by The Associated Press.___Jakes reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.___Follow Matt Lee on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APDiploWriter-Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at https://twitter.com/larajakesAP
Seoul: NKorea fires 2 ballistic missiles
By JUNG-YOON CHOI and FOSTER KLUG - MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday test-fired what appeared to be two mid-range ballistic missiles, South Korea said, hours after Pyongyang rivals South Korea, Japan and the United States met in the Netherlands to discuss the country.Such a launch would be a violation of U.N. resolutions and a big step up from a series of shorter-range rocket launches the North has staged in recent weeks in apparent protest of ongoing annual military drills by Washington and Seoul that the North claims are invasion preparation.It also comes on the fourth anniversary of the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul and other nations blame on a North Korean torpedo. Pyongyang denies involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 sailors.A South Korean military official said two likely Rodong missiles flew about 650 kilometers (403 miles) off North Korea's east coast early Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear where the missiles splashed down. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules.The launch followed a meeting on Tuesday of U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. It was Park and Abe's first face-to-face meeting since they both took office more than a year ago. Many in Asia are angry over Japan's treatment of historical issues related to Tokyo's 20th century colonization of the Korean Peninsula and World War II.Addressing the media before the meeting, the leaders focused on the security threat posed by North Korea.Since pulling out of six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear program in exchange for financial assistance in 2009, North Korea has conducted long-range rocket and nuclear tests.A North Korean diplomat on Monday criticized the U.S. for conducting military exercises near its borders and accused the U.S. of undermining prospects for undermining the prospect of improved relations with South Korea.Last year, North Korea responded to the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills by threatening nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the impoverished North chafes against the drills because it has to spend precious resources responding with its own exercises.The Korean Peninsula remains officially at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Arms for Syria war dominate Arab summit debate
By Omar Hasan 3 hours ago- MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
Kuwait City (AFP) - Syria's opposition called for "sophisticated" arms at an Arab summit in Kuwait Tuesday while Saudi Arabia said the military balance needed to change to "end the impasse" in Syria's civil war.But UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi insisted on the need for a "political solution" to the three-year conflict, urging an "end to the supply of arms to all parties."Opposition Syrian National Coalition chief Ahmed Jarba repeated calls on the international Community to supply rebels with "sophisticated weapons" as the two-day summit opened."I do not ask you for a declaration of war," said Jarba, urging Arab leaders to put pressure on world powers to fulfil pledges to supply arms.Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, whose country is a key backer of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, said the world was "betraying" rebels by failing to arm them and leaving them as "easy prey."A solution to the conflict, in which regime forces have recently made significant advances, requires a "change in the balance on the ground to end the impasse," he said.National Coalition spokesman Louay Safi said rebels urgently needed "anti-aircraft missiles" to defend against barrel bombs that regime forces have been raining down on fighters and civilians alike.The conflict in Syria, which entered a fourth year on March 15, has killed more than 146,000 people and displaced millions.Meanwhile, Jarba said a decision not to hand over Syria's seat in the Arab League to the opposition sends a wrong message to Assad, telling him to continue "to kill.""Let me say quite frankly that keeping Syria's seat empty... sends a clear message to Assad that he can kill and that the seat will wait for him," he said.The government's brutal repression of protests that erupted in March 2011, which led to the war, resulted in its suspension from the 22-member Cairo-based Arab League.- No military solution: Brahimi -Brahimi urged a revival of peace talks."I call upon Europe, the United Nations and the United States to take clear steps to reactivate the Geneva talks," which broke off on February 15.
"There is no military solution," he stressed.
On the humanitarian front, the president Lebanon, one of several Syrian neighbours dealing with refugees, told the evening session his country was overburdened by the influx and called for help.Michel Sleiman said Lebanon was no longer capable of accepting more Syrian refugees. who now make up 32 percent of the population.He warned without elaborating that, if Beirut does not receive help, "we may look into legal ways to stop their influx."Meanwhile, a regional rift over Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been kept off the summit agenda.But Egyptian President Adli Mansur called for interior and justice ministers meet before the end of June to activate the Arab counter-terrorism treaty.Mansour made no specific mention of the Muslim Brotherhood of his ousted predecessor Mohamed Morsi, which Cairo designated a terrorist organisation in December.But he told the summit it was vital that League members extradite and not give shelter to "terrorists" wanted by fellow member states. That was a veiled reference to Qatar, accused of harbouring fugitive Brotherhood leaders.Relations between Egypt and Qatar have nosedived since the army's overthrow of Morsi last July.And Qatar's support for the Brotherhood has strained ties with fellow Gulf states -- Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- who withdrew their ambassadors from Doha earlier this month.Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, told the summit these rifts are threatening Arab aspirations and insisted that "we are required to resolve these disputes... and achieve unity."But Kuwaiti foreign ministry undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah said the dispute would "be resolved within the Gulf house," not at the summit.On the Palestinian issue, Arab leaders are expected to call for $100 million (72.5 million euros) in monthly aid for the Palestinian Authority and to reject demands by Israel that Palestinians recognise it as a Jewish state.Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, fresh from talks with US President Barack Obama in Washington last week, told the summit that Palestinians "reject even discussing the issue."He warned of Israeli plans to divide Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, highly revered by Muslims worldwide, between Jews and Muslims "which we totally reject."
El Nino likely in 2014, says Australian Bureau of Meteorology-MAR 25,14-Yahoonews
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Climate models show an increased chance of a 2014 El Nino weather event, said Australia's bureau of meteorology, leading to possible droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in South America, which could hit key rice, wheat and sugar crops.The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said an El Nino could occur during the southern hemisphere winter, May-July, with Australian cattle and grain farmers already struggling with drought which has cut production.The last El Nino in 2009/10 was categorized weak to moderate. The most severe El Nino was in 1998 when freak weather killed more than 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia."The latest climate model survey by the shows that the tropical Pacific is very likely to warm in the coming months, with most models showing sea surface temperatures reaching El Nino thresholds during the southern hemisphere winter," the BOM said in an emailed statement.Australia's outlook echoes similar forecasts from other weather bureaus in Japan and the United States, which each said an El Nino was increasingly like.(Reporting by Colin Packham)
