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.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (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.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
Poland to trade UK welfare for Nato bases By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER-JAN 4,16
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:27-Poland has said it is willing to trade British welfare rights for UK support for Nato bases, as the country edges closer to pariah status in the EU over domestic reforms.Its foreign minister, Witold Waszczykowski, put forward the UK bargain in an interview with the Reuters news agency in Warsaw on Sunday (3 January).Asked if there was anything Britain could do to soften Polish opposition to its idea of freezing EU migrant welfare benefits - part of the British demands ahead of an In/Out EU referendum - Waszczykowski said: “Of course. Britain could offer something to Poland in terms of international security.”“We still consider ourselves a second-class Nato member state, because in central Europe ... there aren't, aside from a token presence, any significant allied forces or defence installations, which gives the Russians an excuse to play in this region.”He said the Polish government, elected in October, is to increase welfare and salaries at home to offset potential UK restrictions.But he added: “It would be very difficult for us to accept any discrimination [against Polish workers] … unless Britain helped us really effectively with regard to the Polish defence ambitions at the summit in Warsaw.”Poland is to host a meeting of Nato leaders in its capital city in July.Nato is already creating new facilities in the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania as part of a rapid reaction force to deter Russian aggression.The facilities are to act as “command and control” centres. Separate facilities are to warehouse heavy armour, including US tanks, so they can be deployed more quickly. Nato states are also posting extra troops to the region on a temporary or “rotational” basis.Previous Polish governments have called for permanent bases which host between 3,000 and 5,000 troops each, on the model of Cold War-era US facilities in Western Germany.But Russia says it would violate a 1997 treaty on Nato’s presence in former Iron Curtain countries.Russian leader Vladimir Putin, on 31 December, also signed a new National Security Strategy which names the US and Nato as “threats to national security” because they’re “moving military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders.”-EU angst-Poland’s UK bargain augurs a rift in eastern Europe.Poland has previously joined the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia - the so-called Visegrad club - in opposing “discriminatory” welfare restrictions.But Waszczykowski’s government has bigger fish to fry in terms of EU problems.Speaking to the FAZ daily in Germany also on Sunday, the German EU commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, said Poland should face special scrutiny, leading to potential suspension of its EU Council voting rights.“Many reasons exist for us to activate the ‘rule of law mechanism' and for us to place Warsaw under monitoring,” he said.He singled out a new media law, adopted by Polish MPs last week, which would let the treasury minister fire directors of state TV and radio broadcasters, extending political control over media.“A director cannot be dismissed without cause. It would be arbitrary,” Oettinger said.-13 January showdown-The media law comes after Poland, also in December, adopted reforms to its highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, allowing the government to install loyalist judges and making it harder for the court to block new laws.The European Commission has, in letters to Warsaw, criticised the media and constitutional changes and plans to hold a debate on the situation at its first New Year meeting, on 13 January.Oettinger’s threat refers to article 7 in the EU treaty, which says Council voting rights can be suspended if there’s a “serious and persistent breach” of common values and rule of law.The threat was previously invoked when a far-right party joined a coalition government in Austria 15 years ago.Left-leaning and liberal MEPs have also called for an article 7 procedure against Hungary, due to judicial and media curbs by the government of PM Viktor Orban.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror(ISM), consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Denmark introduces German border-control-By EUOBSERVER-JAN 4,16
Today, 14:58-Denmark's PM Lars Loekke Rasmussen on Monday announced temporary border-controls at the Danish border with Germany. Rasmussen said the controls are being stepped up in response to Sweden's new ID-controls, which could lead to more traffic and more refugees being stranded in Denmark.
Arabic language options lacking in Manitoba schools, organizer says-[CBC]-January 3, 2016- YAHOONEWS
Hundreds of Winnipeggers came together Sunday in a push to get Arabic language classes included as an option for students in Manitoba schools.Adults and children filled the Winnipeg Grand Mosque on Waverley Street to get more information on how to get Arabic into the school curriculum. "It is the first step in a long process to know what the options [are]," Ibrahim Eldessouky said.The crowd heard advice from a consultant from Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning. He explained that the likelihood of getting Arabic classes into the public school system is dependent not only on demand, but on the volume of students from Arabic-speaking families in different parts of the province."If we have large volume in one school it could be implemented easy," said Eldessouky, who helped organize the meeting. "If we are scattered ... we don't think it will be accepted."Eldessouky said the fast-growing Muslim and Arabic-speaking community is growing in Manitoba, thanks in part to the arrival of Syrian refugees.If German, Ukrainian and Spanish languages are able to be taught in schools across the province, Eldessouky said Arabic should be as well."Arabic language is very important for not only Arab but for all Muslims," he said.According to Statistics Canada, there were almost 12,500 people who identified as Muslim in 2011. Eldessouky said that number has grown to about 15,000 since then."We need the 15,000 people, at least their children and next generation, to speak Arabic," he said.Unlike areas like Montreal, Toronto and British Columbia, Manitoba is still behind the curve when it comes to offering Arabic language courses in school, Eldessouky added."We are struggling here," he said. "It's very important."Eldessouky said currently, families who want their children to learn Arabic have to enrol them in weekend language classes.
Refugee fears prompt Swedish border clampdown By Nikolaj Nielsen-JAN 4,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-Sweden on Monday (4 January) launched identity checks on its border with Denmark, in a move which unravels over 60 years of free travel between the two EU states.The drastic measure comes in response to the inflow of asylum seekers who cross over from Denmark to Sweden. ID checks are also being required on ferries from Germany to Sweden, with Denmark now mulling additional controls with Germany.An estimated 160,000 people seeking international protection arrived in Sweden last year. With a total population of just under 10 million, Sweden has the highest number of refugees per capita in the EU.Stockholm says it is unable to accommodate any more, although a senior government official told Swedish Radio that up 220 municipalities say they “can do more.”The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) told Swedish media authorities not to impose ID checks on people entitled to asylum.“There is a tremendous strain to be on the run and you can not expect that those who are entitled to asylum will also have the right documents with them from the beginning - it is quite impossible,” Mattias Axelsson, a spokesperson for UNHCR in northern Europe, told the Swedish news agency, TT.But Swedish authorities have come under intense political pressure at home to stem the flow of people.Anyone travelling from Denmark by train, bus or ferry, will now have to present photo identification before being allowed into Sweden.Those without the proper paperwork will be denied entry. Some 150 guards from Securitas, a private security firm, are verifying IDs.Direct rail from Kastrup to Sweden has also stopped in a move set to impact the thousands who commute daily across the Oresund bridge between the two countries.Denmark's rail company, DSB, says passengers should expect half-hour delays in a direct commute which normally takes around 40 minutes.DSB, along with other ferry and bus companies, will be required to pre-screen passengers for IDs or face possible fines by Swedish authorities.DSB expects the new checks will cost it €1.2 million, a fee it may pass on to customers.Sweden's state-owned train operator, SJ, said it would stop services to and from Denmark to avoid the identity checks."It's as if we are building a Berlin Wall here. We are going several steps back in time," the AFP quoted Michael Randropp, a spokesman for the local Kystbanen commuters' association, as saying.But for his part, Per-Arne Andersson, a senior official at the Swedish Association of Local and Municipal Governments, told Swedish radio that Sweden is able to take in more refugees."There are 40 to 50 municipalities that are facing a crisis, but the other 200 to 220 municipalities say they can do more," he said.Meanwhile, similar moves are being imposed elsewhere.Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in his New Year speech said Denmark is considering border controls with Germany, the main destination state for asylum seekers, following the Swedish decision.Finnish ship operator Finnlines is also requiring boarding passengers in Germany to present a valid passport, a photo ID card, visas, residence permits "or other equivalent documents", reports Finnish state media YLE."Finnlines will not carry on board its ships any person who does not have all the documents requested for entry,” noted the company in a statement before Christmas.Norway in late December introduced a draft law to tighten asylum rules, which include turning back asylum seekers who have no visas. The bill is aimed at cracking down on the inflow of refugees from Sweden.The Swedish border control with Denmark is the latest blow against the EU's cherished passport-free Schengen area, as member states scramble to manage unregulated asylum and refugee flows primarily from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.Germany in September also restored temporary border controls.The German clampdown prompted neighbouring countries to impose similar checks at their own borders.
Syria chemical arms probe found signs of sarin gas exposure - U.N.-[Reuters]-By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A fact-finding mission of the global anti-chemical weapons watchdog has found indications that some people in Syria were exposed to deadly sarin gas, or a compound like it, according to a report the United Nations released on Monday.The findings come in the latest monthly report on Syria from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) chief Ahmet Uzumcu. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attached it in a Dec. 29 letter to the 15-nation Security Council. Uzumcu's report said his agency's fact-finding mission in Syria was looking into charges by the Syrian government that chemical weapons were used in 11 instances. The report did not specify when the alleged toxic gas attacks occurred."In one instance, analysis of some blood samples indicates that individuals were at some point exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance," Uzumcu said. "Further investigation would be necessary to determine when or under what circumstances such exposure might have occurred."The Syrian government has long accused opposition fighters, who have been seeking for nearly five years to oust the country's president, of using chemical weapons. Western-backed rebels in Syria have repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.Western officials say it is unlikely rebels would have the capability to deploy sarin gas.Uzumcu said the source of the sarin or sarin-like compound was unclear, adding that the OPCW fact-finding mission "did not come across evidence that would shed more light on the specific nature or source of the exposure."Syria agreed in September 2013 to destroy its entire chemical weapons program under a deal negotiated with the United States and Russia after hundreds of people were killed in a sarin gas attack in the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.At the time, Washington was threatening the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with air strikes.The OPCW had previously determined that mustard gas was used in a Syrian town where Islamic State insurgents were battling another group.The last of 1,300 tons of chemical weapons declared to the OPCW was handed over in June 2014, but several Western governments have expressed doubt that Assad's government declared its entire arsenal.The OPCW has reported previously that chlorine has also been used illegally in systematic attacks against civilians in Syria.Several international investigations have determined that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, though none has so far assigned blame. A U.N.-OPCW joint investigative mission has been given the task of determining who was behind those attacks.(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Ukraine utility cyber attack wider than reported - experts-[Reuters]-By Eric Auchard and Jim Finkle-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - A central European security software firm said on Monday that a cyber attack last month in Ukraine was broader than initially reported last week when the nation's secret police blamed a power outage on Russia.Western Ukraine power company Prykarpattyaoblenergo reported an outage on Dec. 23, saying the area affected included regional capital Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraine's SBU state security service responded by blaming Russia and the energy ministry in Kiev set up a commission to investigate the matter.While Prykarpattyaoblenergo was the only Ukraine electric firm that reported an outage, similar malware was found in the networks of at least two other utilities, said Robert Lipovsky, senior malware researcher at Bratislava-based security company ESET. He said they were ESET customers, but declined to name them or elaborate."The reported case was not an isolated incident," he said.Prykarpattyaoblenergo publicly blamed its outage on "interference" in the working of its system. The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.Researchers with computer security firms Trend Micro and iSight Partners said ESET's assessment that the attackers sought to infect other utilities appeared credible, shedding new light on evidence that this is the first power outage proven to have been caused by a cyber attack. Experts have warned for years, with growing urgency, that electric utilities are vulnerable to cyber attacks that could cut power."This is the first time we have proof and can tie malware to a particular outage," said Trend Micro senior researcher Kyle Wilhoit. "It is pretty scary."Cyber firm iSight Partners said that ESET's report of multiple attacks is consistent with its own analysis."There is pretty strong consensus that there was a blackout caused by a computer network attack," said iSight's director of cyber espionage analysis, John Hultquist.Experts with ESET, iSight and Trend Micro told Reuters the attackers used a malicious software platform known as "BlackEnergy" to access utility networks, planting a related piece of malware, "KillDisk," on targeted systems.KillDisk can delete or overwrite data files.Researchers say they have yet to determine whether KillDisk's job was to knock out power or simply conceal the attack.Cyber criminals have been using versions of BlackEnergy since 2007. Over the past two years, there has been widespread reports that a Moscow-backed group, Sandworm, was using it for targeted attacks.(Reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt and Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Sandra Maler)
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL - THE ACTUAL START OF WW3
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
South China Sea tensions surge as China lands plane on artificial island-[Reuters]-By Greg Torode and Michael Martina-Reuters-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said.China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defence zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas.Chinese foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday that a test flight by a civilian plane landed on an artificial island built in the Spratlys, the first time Beijing has used a runway in the area.Vietnam launched a formal diplomatic protest while Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was planning to do the same. Both have claims to the area that overlap with China."That's the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight," Jose told reporters.China has been building runways on the artificial islands for over a year, and the plane's landing was not a surprise, although it will almost certainly increase tensions.The runway at the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China was constructing on artificial islands built up from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago.The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport craft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving them a presence deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that they have lacked until now.Work is well underway to complete a range of port, storage and personnel facilities on the new islands, U.S. and regional officials have said.Fiery Cross is also expected to house advanced early warning radars and military communications facilities, they said.Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that the new islands would be mostly for civilian use, such as coast guard activity and fishing research.Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend that the test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards and fell "completely within China's sovereignty".Leszek Buszynski, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said he believed military landings on the islands were now "inevitable".An air defence zone, while unlikely soon, was feasible and possible in future once China's built up its air strength."The next step will be, once they've tested it with several flights, they will bring down some of their fighter air power - SU-27s and SU-33's - and they will station them there permanently. That's what they're likely to do."-DE FACTO DEFENCE ZONE-Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, said he expected tensions to worsen as China used its new facilities to project power deeper into the South China Sea.Even if China stopped short of formally declaring an Air Defence Identification Zone, known as an ADIZ, Beijing's need to protect its new airstrips and other facilities could see it effectively operating one."As these facilities become operational, Chinese warnings to both military and civilian aircraft will become routine," Storey said."These events are a precursor to an ADIZ, or an undeclared but de facto ADIZ, and one has to expect tensions to rise."Hua, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on Monday that there were no immediate plans for an ADIZ in the South China Sea."As for whether China will establish an ADIZ, the decision will be based on our judgment of the situation and our needs," she aid, adding that Beijing respected other nations' rights to international freedoms of navigation and overflight.China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade ships every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.The United States has no claim in the South China Sea, but has been highly critical of China's assertiveness and says it will protect freedom of navigation.China sparked condemnation from the United States and Japan in late 2013 when it declared an ADIZ over the East China Sea, covering uninhabited islands disputed with Tokyo.Chinese officials have reserved their right to do the same in the South China Sea but have said the conditions do not warrant one yet.However, regional military officials say they are logging increased warnings to aircraft from Chinese radio operators, including some from ground stations on Fiery Cross reef.(Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING, Manuel Mogato in MANILA and Matt Siegel in SYDNEY; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
North Korea to send delegation to WEF meeting in Davos-[Reuters]-January 4, 2016-YAHOO NEWS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will send a delegation to the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland this month, the organisation said, a sign the isolated country sees international engagement as a way to bolster its economy.South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Monday that North Korea's participation at the event in the town of Davos, which attracts heavyweights from the worlds of business and politics, would be its first in 18 years.A World Economic Forum official confirmed the North's participation in the conference, which takes place on Jan. 20-23, but did not have further details. A list of participants will be released on Jan. 13.Impoverished North Korea is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and struggles to attract investment. It last sent a delegation to the forum in 1998, Yonhap said.Yonhap said the North Korean delegation would be led by Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, who spent two decades in Switzerland as ambassador and representative at the United Nations in Geneva.Ri acted as surrogate father to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when Kim was a student at a Swiss school.Kim, believed to be in his early 30s, focused on development of the economy during a New Year's Day speech." We should concentrate all our efforts on building an economic giant to bring about a fresh turn in developing the country's economy and improving the people's standard of living," he said.(Reporting by Tony Munroe, Choonsik Yoo and Ju-min Park; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)
Oregon wildlife refuge occupiers denounce U.S. government-[Reuters]-By Jim Urquhart and Jonathan Allen-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PRINCETON, Ore. (Reuters) - The leaders of a group of self-styled militiamen who took over a remote U.S. wildlife refuge centre in Oregon over the weekend said on Monday they acted to protest the federal government's role in managing millions of acres of wild lands.The anti-government occupation, which began on Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 30 miles (50 km) south of the small town of Burns, was the latest skirmish over federal land management in large tracts of the West.A protest leader, Ammon Bundy, told reporters outside the occupied facility on Monday that his group had named itself "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom" and was trying to restore individual rights. Bundy and law enforcement officials declined to say how many people were occupying the centre.About half a dozen occupiers could be seen outside the facility on Monday, with some manning a watchtower and others standing around a vehicle they had used to block the road leading to the building. They chatted quietly among themselves. None was visibly armed.The FBI said it was seeking a "peaceful resolution to the situation." It declined to give details on how the U.S. government would deal with the occupiers. No significant law enforcement presence could be seen at the site.The occupation followed a demonstration in Burns over the imminent imprisonment of local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond, who were found guilty of setting a series of fires. Through an attorney, they have dissociated themselves from the occupiers.NBC News reported that the father and son turned themselves in as planned on Monday at a federal prison in California. Their lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The occupation is the latest wrinkle in decades of conflict between ranchers and the federal government over Washington's management of hundreds of thousands of acres of range land. Critics say the federal government often oversteps its authority and exercises arbitrary power without sufficient accountability.Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, whose ranch was the scene of an armed demonstration against federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials in 2014 that ended with the authorities backing down, citing safety concerns.That standoff had drawn hundreds of armed protesters after federal agents sought to seize Bundy's cattle because he refused to pay grazing fees.Jon Ritzheimer, a Marine Corps veteran who travelled from Phoenix to take part in the occupation, said the Constitution was under attack from the U.S. government, and that he and his companions were "trying to restore this land to the people."In Burns, home to 3,000 people, residents voiced sympathy for the Hammonds but also expressed frustration at the occupation, which some locals viewed as the work of outsiders."I agree they shouldn't have to go back to prison. I get why they're here," said Patrick Wright, a 33-year-old taxi driver, who said he knew the Hammonds. "Taking over the refuge and threatening gun violence is a little extreme, but it's getting them heard, that's for sure."The takeover drew criticism on social media, with some users asking if the occupiers would have been treated differently if they had been black or Muslim.-SERIES OF FIRES-The Hammonds were found guilty in 2012 of setting a string of fires, including a 2001 blaze that federal prosecutors said was intended to cover up evidence of deer poaching, that wound up burning 139 acres (56 hectares) of public lands.The younger Hammond was initially sentenced to 12 months in prison and the father three months, below the federal minimum for arson. But in October, a U.S. district judge increased the sentences to five years.The Hammond ranch borders on the southern edge of the Malheur refuge, a bird sanctuary in eastern Oregon's arid high desert, about 305 miles (490 km) southeast of Portland.Both father and son are members of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association (OCA). The group said on Monday that it would continue to assist and represent them "solely through avenues that are in accordance with the law.""OCA does not support illegal activity taken against the government. This includes militia takeover of government property, such as the Malheur Wildlife Refuge," the association's president, John O'Keeffe, said in a statement."Obviously we're aware of the situation and concerned about it," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. He said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the situation, adding: "This ultimately is a ... local law enforcement matter."Republican White House candidates Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida expressed sympathy for the protesters' concerns but urged the group to remain peaceful and follow the law, according to media reports.The refuge, which encompasses 292 square miles (75,630 hectares), was established in 1908 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as a breeding ground for greater sandhill cranes and other native birds.(Reporting by Jim Urquhart; Editing by Jonathan Oatis; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton in Washington, Daniel Wallis in Denver and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) 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,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Communities in Illinois, Missouri assess flooding damage, cleanup as Mississippi River recedes- [The Canadian Press]-Jim Salter, The Associated Press-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ST. LOUIS - The Mississippi River floods more often than it used to, and at higher levels. Richard Knaup thinks he knows why.The veteran emergency management director for southeast Missouri's Cape Girardeau County is fighting floods again, just as he did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. "Prior to levee building, the river was a wild thing and it spread out between the river bluffs," Knaup said Monday. "Now we've tried to tame it. Mother Nature and Old Man River will fight back."The rains that caused this winter's flood, blamed already for 25 deaths and damage to hundreds of homes and businesses, ended a week ago, but the water was still rising Monday in southern Missouri and Illinois. The Illinois River, which joins the Mississippi above St. Louis, was expected to reach near-record crests this week between the Illinois towns of Havana and Valley City, creating "a very dangerous situation" as levees there become saturated, said Steve Buan, a National Weather Service hydrologist.Several other states along the Mississippi River were still bracing for the crest, which was flowing past Tiptonville, Tennessee, and expected to reach Memphis on Thursday at 6.5 feet above flood stage.For many in the flood-weary Midwest, fighting the river has become an almost annual event. In Cape Girardeau County, all but five of the 32 highest crests on record have occurred since the record-setting 1993 flood, and four of the top 10 have happened since 2011.So what's going on? Unusual weather patterns are a symptom of global warming, but experts also blame more immediate developments, including efforts to protect growing towns and cities from the rivers both that sustain and threaten them.Bob Holmes, a Missouri-based hydrologic engineer for the U.S. Geological Survey, says the Midwest has received far more rainfall than normal over the past quarter of a century, and more extreme rainstorms, such as the three-day downpour Dec. 26-28 that dumped 10 inches of rain over much of Missouri and Illinois and caused this latest mess. But urban sprawl also increases flood risk, he said."Farm fields will soak up water," Holmes said. "If you pave it with concrete or asphalt, all of a sudden that is a very efficient conduit right into the streams and you get increased flooding."Bob Criss, an earth and planetary science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, also blames urbanization, and says this latest spike of rain wouldn't have caused major flooding if the river wasn't constricted by levees and floodwalls."The Mississippi River behaved during this event like a small river, and it's acting like a small river because the water has no place to go," Criss said.Earthen mounds have held back the Mississippi in places since French settlers installed the river's first levees in Louisiana in 1717. They spread quickly as riverfront communities developed, but floods have continued to pose threats ever since.This was predicted as far back as 1852, when engineer Charles Ellet Jr. warned in a report to Congress that risks would only increase as "water that was formerly allowed to spread over many thousand square miles of low lands is becoming more and more confined to the immediate channel of the river."By 1926, the Mississippi River Commission declared its levee system to be complete, and able to "prevent the destructive effects of floods." The claim collapsed less than a year later, when the "Great Mississippi Flood of 1927" devastated much of the Midwest.That calamity led to still-higher barriers as the Flood Control Act of 1928 urged the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system of more levees, spillways and other controls.Flood control took on renewed urgency after flooding in 1993, which the Corps describes as "a hydro-meteorological event without precedent in modern times on the upper Mississippi." Damage totalled $15 billion as hundreds of levees failed; 50 people died and thousands were evacuated, some for months.The federal government bought out hundreds of homes and businesses, turning floodplains into greenspace throughout the Midwest. But locations deemed too valuable for buyouts are now protected by even-bigger and stronger levees. The Mississippi River now has an estimated 3,500 miles of levees, ranging from small barriers around farmland to Corps-built structures protecting towns and major cities.Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Rene Poche defends the federal system, saying it prevented an estimated $230 billion in damage in 2011, when the river south of St. Louis experienced its worst flooding since 1993.In Cape Girardeau County, Knaup knows that the same system he blames for increased flooding also protects homes and businesses."I appreciate every levee and floodwall we have," Knaup said. "I'm grateful for them."___AP reporter Caryn Rousseau reported from Chicago.
Mississippi River crest rolls toward Tennessee; singer's body found-[Reuters]-By Suzannah Gonzales and Tim Ghianni-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - Tennessee residents girded on Monday for the rapidly rising Mississippi River to crest within days as Oklahoma officials found the body of a country-rock singer whose boat capsized on a lake in late December.The swollen Mississippi and rivers that feed into it wreaked havoc in Missouri and Illinois after late December heavy rain and severe storms brought flooding across several central U.S. states, leaving at least 33 people dead.Officials on Monday found the body of Craig Strickland, 29, lead singer of the country-rock band Backroad Anthem, in an Oklahoma lake. Strickland and a friend, who also died, had been caught in a severe winter storm while duck hunting in late December.In northwestern Tennessee, the Mississippi River is expected to remain inside levees and moderate flooding is forecast in Memphis, where the river is expected to crest on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.The weather service initially expected major flooding at Tiptonville, Tennessee, but in recent days cut 3 feet (1 meter) from that forecast and said the river was near a crest on Monday with minor flooding at about 7 feet (2.1 meters) over flood stage."Things have settled down a little bit," Dewayne Haggard, a Tiptonville board manager, said in a telephone interview. "People are not as edgy."The rare winter flood is expected to bring major flooding to farther downstream from Memphis on the lower Mississippi - testing but not breaking levees as the wave pushes toward the Gulf of Mexico during the next two weeks.-RELYING ON LEVEES-In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the NWS on Monday cut its forecast for the projected river crest by 1-1/2 feet (45 centimeters) to 52.5 feet (16 meters) by Jan. 15. Officials were distributing sandbags to businesses that could be threatened by floodwaters.Although some homes and roads may become inaccessible as the water rises, no evacuations are expected, said Tracey Porter, deputy director for the Warren County emergency management agency where Vicksburg is located."The main concern is safety and protection of property," Porter said on Monday.The Mississippi is expected to reach a high of 44 feet (13.4 meters) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Jan. 18, about 9 feet (2.7 meters) above flood stage, said Jeff Graschel, a National Weather Service hydrologist.Graschel said such levels usually are not seen at Baton Rouge until late winter and early spring, when snow melts and there is heavy rainfall."All the levels we're expecting will be contained in the levee systems," Graschel said.Most of the deaths in the heavy flooding since late December have come after vehicles drove into flooded areas. Ten people have died in flooding in Illinois, where a dozen counties have been declared disaster areas.The toll nationally could rise. The St. Francis County Sheriff in Arkansas is searching for a man caught in flood waters on Sunday in an area about 100 miles east of Little Rock.The NWS said there was major flooding on the White River at Des Arc, Arkansas, about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock, and on the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, about 40 miles south of Little Rock. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Jon Herskovitz in Austin and Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Bill Trott)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (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.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
Poland to trade UK welfare for Nato bases By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER-JAN 4,16
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:27-Poland has said it is willing to trade British welfare rights for UK support for Nato bases, as the country edges closer to pariah status in the EU over domestic reforms.Its foreign minister, Witold Waszczykowski, put forward the UK bargain in an interview with the Reuters news agency in Warsaw on Sunday (3 January).Asked if there was anything Britain could do to soften Polish opposition to its idea of freezing EU migrant welfare benefits - part of the British demands ahead of an In/Out EU referendum - Waszczykowski said: “Of course. Britain could offer something to Poland in terms of international security.”“We still consider ourselves a second-class Nato member state, because in central Europe ... there aren't, aside from a token presence, any significant allied forces or defence installations, which gives the Russians an excuse to play in this region.”He said the Polish government, elected in October, is to increase welfare and salaries at home to offset potential UK restrictions.But he added: “It would be very difficult for us to accept any discrimination [against Polish workers] … unless Britain helped us really effectively with regard to the Polish defence ambitions at the summit in Warsaw.”Poland is to host a meeting of Nato leaders in its capital city in July.Nato is already creating new facilities in the Baltic states, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania as part of a rapid reaction force to deter Russian aggression.The facilities are to act as “command and control” centres. Separate facilities are to warehouse heavy armour, including US tanks, so they can be deployed more quickly. Nato states are also posting extra troops to the region on a temporary or “rotational” basis.Previous Polish governments have called for permanent bases which host between 3,000 and 5,000 troops each, on the model of Cold War-era US facilities in Western Germany.But Russia says it would violate a 1997 treaty on Nato’s presence in former Iron Curtain countries.Russian leader Vladimir Putin, on 31 December, also signed a new National Security Strategy which names the US and Nato as “threats to national security” because they’re “moving military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders.”-EU angst-Poland’s UK bargain augurs a rift in eastern Europe.Poland has previously joined the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia - the so-called Visegrad club - in opposing “discriminatory” welfare restrictions.But Waszczykowski’s government has bigger fish to fry in terms of EU problems.Speaking to the FAZ daily in Germany also on Sunday, the German EU commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, said Poland should face special scrutiny, leading to potential suspension of its EU Council voting rights.“Many reasons exist for us to activate the ‘rule of law mechanism' and for us to place Warsaw under monitoring,” he said.He singled out a new media law, adopted by Polish MPs last week, which would let the treasury minister fire directors of state TV and radio broadcasters, extending political control over media.“A director cannot be dismissed without cause. It would be arbitrary,” Oettinger said.-13 January showdown-The media law comes after Poland, also in December, adopted reforms to its highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, allowing the government to install loyalist judges and making it harder for the court to block new laws.The European Commission has, in letters to Warsaw, criticised the media and constitutional changes and plans to hold a debate on the situation at its first New Year meeting, on 13 January.Oettinger’s threat refers to article 7 in the EU treaty, which says Council voting rights can be suspended if there’s a “serious and persistent breach” of common values and rule of law.The threat was previously invoked when a far-right party joined a coalition government in Austria 15 years ago.Left-leaning and liberal MEPs have also called for an article 7 procedure against Hungary, due to judicial and media curbs by the government of PM Viktor Orban.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror(ISM), consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Denmark introduces German border-control-By EUOBSERVER-JAN 4,16
Today, 14:58-Denmark's PM Lars Loekke Rasmussen on Monday announced temporary border-controls at the Danish border with Germany. Rasmussen said the controls are being stepped up in response to Sweden's new ID-controls, which could lead to more traffic and more refugees being stranded in Denmark.
Arabic language options lacking in Manitoba schools, organizer says-[CBC]-January 3, 2016- YAHOONEWS
Hundreds of Winnipeggers came together Sunday in a push to get Arabic language classes included as an option for students in Manitoba schools.Adults and children filled the Winnipeg Grand Mosque on Waverley Street to get more information on how to get Arabic into the school curriculum. "It is the first step in a long process to know what the options [are]," Ibrahim Eldessouky said.The crowd heard advice from a consultant from Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning. He explained that the likelihood of getting Arabic classes into the public school system is dependent not only on demand, but on the volume of students from Arabic-speaking families in different parts of the province."If we have large volume in one school it could be implemented easy," said Eldessouky, who helped organize the meeting. "If we are scattered ... we don't think it will be accepted."Eldessouky said the fast-growing Muslim and Arabic-speaking community is growing in Manitoba, thanks in part to the arrival of Syrian refugees.If German, Ukrainian and Spanish languages are able to be taught in schools across the province, Eldessouky said Arabic should be as well."Arabic language is very important for not only Arab but for all Muslims," he said.According to Statistics Canada, there were almost 12,500 people who identified as Muslim in 2011. Eldessouky said that number has grown to about 15,000 since then."We need the 15,000 people, at least their children and next generation, to speak Arabic," he said.Unlike areas like Montreal, Toronto and British Columbia, Manitoba is still behind the curve when it comes to offering Arabic language courses in school, Eldessouky added."We are struggling here," he said. "It's very important."Eldessouky said currently, families who want their children to learn Arabic have to enrol them in weekend language classes.
Refugee fears prompt Swedish border clampdown By Nikolaj Nielsen-JAN 4,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-Sweden on Monday (4 January) launched identity checks on its border with Denmark, in a move which unravels over 60 years of free travel between the two EU states.The drastic measure comes in response to the inflow of asylum seekers who cross over from Denmark to Sweden. ID checks are also being required on ferries from Germany to Sweden, with Denmark now mulling additional controls with Germany.An estimated 160,000 people seeking international protection arrived in Sweden last year. With a total population of just under 10 million, Sweden has the highest number of refugees per capita in the EU.Stockholm says it is unable to accommodate any more, although a senior government official told Swedish Radio that up 220 municipalities say they “can do more.”The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) told Swedish media authorities not to impose ID checks on people entitled to asylum.“There is a tremendous strain to be on the run and you can not expect that those who are entitled to asylum will also have the right documents with them from the beginning - it is quite impossible,” Mattias Axelsson, a spokesperson for UNHCR in northern Europe, told the Swedish news agency, TT.But Swedish authorities have come under intense political pressure at home to stem the flow of people.Anyone travelling from Denmark by train, bus or ferry, will now have to present photo identification before being allowed into Sweden.Those without the proper paperwork will be denied entry. Some 150 guards from Securitas, a private security firm, are verifying IDs.Direct rail from Kastrup to Sweden has also stopped in a move set to impact the thousands who commute daily across the Oresund bridge between the two countries.Denmark's rail company, DSB, says passengers should expect half-hour delays in a direct commute which normally takes around 40 minutes.DSB, along with other ferry and bus companies, will be required to pre-screen passengers for IDs or face possible fines by Swedish authorities.DSB expects the new checks will cost it €1.2 million, a fee it may pass on to customers.Sweden's state-owned train operator, SJ, said it would stop services to and from Denmark to avoid the identity checks."It's as if we are building a Berlin Wall here. We are going several steps back in time," the AFP quoted Michael Randropp, a spokesman for the local Kystbanen commuters' association, as saying.But for his part, Per-Arne Andersson, a senior official at the Swedish Association of Local and Municipal Governments, told Swedish radio that Sweden is able to take in more refugees."There are 40 to 50 municipalities that are facing a crisis, but the other 200 to 220 municipalities say they can do more," he said.Meanwhile, similar moves are being imposed elsewhere.Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in his New Year speech said Denmark is considering border controls with Germany, the main destination state for asylum seekers, following the Swedish decision.Finnish ship operator Finnlines is also requiring boarding passengers in Germany to present a valid passport, a photo ID card, visas, residence permits "or other equivalent documents", reports Finnish state media YLE."Finnlines will not carry on board its ships any person who does not have all the documents requested for entry,” noted the company in a statement before Christmas.Norway in late December introduced a draft law to tighten asylum rules, which include turning back asylum seekers who have no visas. The bill is aimed at cracking down on the inflow of refugees from Sweden.The Swedish border control with Denmark is the latest blow against the EU's cherished passport-free Schengen area, as member states scramble to manage unregulated asylum and refugee flows primarily from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.Germany in September also restored temporary border controls.The German clampdown prompted neighbouring countries to impose similar checks at their own borders.
Syria chemical arms probe found signs of sarin gas exposure - U.N.-[Reuters]-By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A fact-finding mission of the global anti-chemical weapons watchdog has found indications that some people in Syria were exposed to deadly sarin gas, or a compound like it, according to a report the United Nations released on Monday.The findings come in the latest monthly report on Syria from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) chief Ahmet Uzumcu. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attached it in a Dec. 29 letter to the 15-nation Security Council. Uzumcu's report said his agency's fact-finding mission in Syria was looking into charges by the Syrian government that chemical weapons were used in 11 instances. The report did not specify when the alleged toxic gas attacks occurred."In one instance, analysis of some blood samples indicates that individuals were at some point exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance," Uzumcu said. "Further investigation would be necessary to determine when or under what circumstances such exposure might have occurred."The Syrian government has long accused opposition fighters, who have been seeking for nearly five years to oust the country's president, of using chemical weapons. Western-backed rebels in Syria have repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.Western officials say it is unlikely rebels would have the capability to deploy sarin gas.Uzumcu said the source of the sarin or sarin-like compound was unclear, adding that the OPCW fact-finding mission "did not come across evidence that would shed more light on the specific nature or source of the exposure."Syria agreed in September 2013 to destroy its entire chemical weapons program under a deal negotiated with the United States and Russia after hundreds of people were killed in a sarin gas attack in the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.At the time, Washington was threatening the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with air strikes.The OPCW had previously determined that mustard gas was used in a Syrian town where Islamic State insurgents were battling another group.The last of 1,300 tons of chemical weapons declared to the OPCW was handed over in June 2014, but several Western governments have expressed doubt that Assad's government declared its entire arsenal.The OPCW has reported previously that chlorine has also been used illegally in systematic attacks against civilians in Syria.Several international investigations have determined that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, though none has so far assigned blame. A U.N.-OPCW joint investigative mission has been given the task of determining who was behind those attacks.(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Ukraine utility cyber attack wider than reported - experts-[Reuters]-By Eric Auchard and Jim Finkle-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - A central European security software firm said on Monday that a cyber attack last month in Ukraine was broader than initially reported last week when the nation's secret police blamed a power outage on Russia.Western Ukraine power company Prykarpattyaoblenergo reported an outage on Dec. 23, saying the area affected included regional capital Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraine's SBU state security service responded by blaming Russia and the energy ministry in Kiev set up a commission to investigate the matter.While Prykarpattyaoblenergo was the only Ukraine electric firm that reported an outage, similar malware was found in the networks of at least two other utilities, said Robert Lipovsky, senior malware researcher at Bratislava-based security company ESET. He said they were ESET customers, but declined to name them or elaborate."The reported case was not an isolated incident," he said.Prykarpattyaoblenergo publicly blamed its outage on "interference" in the working of its system. The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.Researchers with computer security firms Trend Micro and iSight Partners said ESET's assessment that the attackers sought to infect other utilities appeared credible, shedding new light on evidence that this is the first power outage proven to have been caused by a cyber attack. Experts have warned for years, with growing urgency, that electric utilities are vulnerable to cyber attacks that could cut power."This is the first time we have proof and can tie malware to a particular outage," said Trend Micro senior researcher Kyle Wilhoit. "It is pretty scary."Cyber firm iSight Partners said that ESET's report of multiple attacks is consistent with its own analysis."There is pretty strong consensus that there was a blackout caused by a computer network attack," said iSight's director of cyber espionage analysis, John Hultquist.Experts with ESET, iSight and Trend Micro told Reuters the attackers used a malicious software platform known as "BlackEnergy" to access utility networks, planting a related piece of malware, "KillDisk," on targeted systems.KillDisk can delete or overwrite data files.Researchers say they have yet to determine whether KillDisk's job was to knock out power or simply conceal the attack.Cyber criminals have been using versions of BlackEnergy since 2007. Over the past two years, there has been widespread reports that a Moscow-backed group, Sandworm, was using it for targeted attacks.(Reporting by Eric Auchard in Frankfurt and Jim Finkle in Boston; Editing by Sandra Maler)
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL - THE ACTUAL START OF WW3
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
South China Sea tensions surge as China lands plane on artificial island-[Reuters]-By Greg Torode and Michael Martina-Reuters-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said.China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defence zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas.Chinese foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday that a test flight by a civilian plane landed on an artificial island built in the Spratlys, the first time Beijing has used a runway in the area.Vietnam launched a formal diplomatic protest while Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was planning to do the same. Both have claims to the area that overlap with China."That's the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight," Jose told reporters.China has been building runways on the artificial islands for over a year, and the plane's landing was not a surprise, although it will almost certainly increase tensions.The runway at the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China was constructing on artificial islands built up from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago.The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport craft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving them a presence deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that they have lacked until now.Work is well underway to complete a range of port, storage and personnel facilities on the new islands, U.S. and regional officials have said.Fiery Cross is also expected to house advanced early warning radars and military communications facilities, they said.Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed that the new islands would be mostly for civilian use, such as coast guard activity and fishing research.Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend that the test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards and fell "completely within China's sovereignty".Leszek Buszynski, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, said he believed military landings on the islands were now "inevitable".An air defence zone, while unlikely soon, was feasible and possible in future once China's built up its air strength."The next step will be, once they've tested it with several flights, they will bring down some of their fighter air power - SU-27s and SU-33's - and they will station them there permanently. That's what they're likely to do."-DE FACTO DEFENCE ZONE-Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, said he expected tensions to worsen as China used its new facilities to project power deeper into the South China Sea.Even if China stopped short of formally declaring an Air Defence Identification Zone, known as an ADIZ, Beijing's need to protect its new airstrips and other facilities could see it effectively operating one."As these facilities become operational, Chinese warnings to both military and civilian aircraft will become routine," Storey said."These events are a precursor to an ADIZ, or an undeclared but de facto ADIZ, and one has to expect tensions to rise."Hua, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on Monday that there were no immediate plans for an ADIZ in the South China Sea."As for whether China will establish an ADIZ, the decision will be based on our judgment of the situation and our needs," she aid, adding that Beijing respected other nations' rights to international freedoms of navigation and overflight.China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade ships every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.The United States has no claim in the South China Sea, but has been highly critical of China's assertiveness and says it will protect freedom of navigation.China sparked condemnation from the United States and Japan in late 2013 when it declared an ADIZ over the East China Sea, covering uninhabited islands disputed with Tokyo.Chinese officials have reserved their right to do the same in the South China Sea but have said the conditions do not warrant one yet.However, regional military officials say they are logging increased warnings to aircraft from Chinese radio operators, including some from ground stations on Fiery Cross reef.(Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan in BEIJING, Manuel Mogato in MANILA and Matt Siegel in SYDNEY; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
North Korea to send delegation to WEF meeting in Davos-[Reuters]-January 4, 2016-YAHOO NEWS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will send a delegation to the World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland this month, the organisation said, a sign the isolated country sees international engagement as a way to bolster its economy.South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Monday that North Korea's participation at the event in the town of Davos, which attracts heavyweights from the worlds of business and politics, would be its first in 18 years.A World Economic Forum official confirmed the North's participation in the conference, which takes place on Jan. 20-23, but did not have further details. A list of participants will be released on Jan. 13.Impoverished North Korea is under U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile programmes, and struggles to attract investment. It last sent a delegation to the forum in 1998, Yonhap said.Yonhap said the North Korean delegation would be led by Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong, who spent two decades in Switzerland as ambassador and representative at the United Nations in Geneva.Ri acted as surrogate father to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when Kim was a student at a Swiss school.Kim, believed to be in his early 30s, focused on development of the economy during a New Year's Day speech." We should concentrate all our efforts on building an economic giant to bring about a fresh turn in developing the country's economy and improving the people's standard of living," he said.(Reporting by Tony Munroe, Choonsik Yoo and Ju-min Park; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)
Oregon wildlife refuge occupiers denounce U.S. government-[Reuters]-By Jim Urquhart and Jonathan Allen-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PRINCETON, Ore. (Reuters) - The leaders of a group of self-styled militiamen who took over a remote U.S. wildlife refuge centre in Oregon over the weekend said on Monday they acted to protest the federal government's role in managing millions of acres of wild lands.The anti-government occupation, which began on Saturday at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 30 miles (50 km) south of the small town of Burns, was the latest skirmish over federal land management in large tracts of the West.A protest leader, Ammon Bundy, told reporters outside the occupied facility on Monday that his group had named itself "Citizens for Constitutional Freedom" and was trying to restore individual rights. Bundy and law enforcement officials declined to say how many people were occupying the centre.About half a dozen occupiers could be seen outside the facility on Monday, with some manning a watchtower and others standing around a vehicle they had used to block the road leading to the building. They chatted quietly among themselves. None was visibly armed.The FBI said it was seeking a "peaceful resolution to the situation." It declined to give details on how the U.S. government would deal with the occupiers. No significant law enforcement presence could be seen at the site.The occupation followed a demonstration in Burns over the imminent imprisonment of local ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven Hammond, who were found guilty of setting a series of fires. Through an attorney, they have dissociated themselves from the occupiers.NBC News reported that the father and son turned themselves in as planned on Monday at a federal prison in California. Their lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The occupation is the latest wrinkle in decades of conflict between ranchers and the federal government over Washington's management of hundreds of thousands of acres of range land. Critics say the federal government often oversteps its authority and exercises arbitrary power without sufficient accountability.Bundy is the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, whose ranch was the scene of an armed demonstration against federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials in 2014 that ended with the authorities backing down, citing safety concerns.That standoff had drawn hundreds of armed protesters after federal agents sought to seize Bundy's cattle because he refused to pay grazing fees.Jon Ritzheimer, a Marine Corps veteran who travelled from Phoenix to take part in the occupation, said the Constitution was under attack from the U.S. government, and that he and his companions were "trying to restore this land to the people."In Burns, home to 3,000 people, residents voiced sympathy for the Hammonds but also expressed frustration at the occupation, which some locals viewed as the work of outsiders."I agree they shouldn't have to go back to prison. I get why they're here," said Patrick Wright, a 33-year-old taxi driver, who said he knew the Hammonds. "Taking over the refuge and threatening gun violence is a little extreme, but it's getting them heard, that's for sure."The takeover drew criticism on social media, with some users asking if the occupiers would have been treated differently if they had been black or Muslim.-SERIES OF FIRES-The Hammonds were found guilty in 2012 of setting a string of fires, including a 2001 blaze that federal prosecutors said was intended to cover up evidence of deer poaching, that wound up burning 139 acres (56 hectares) of public lands.The younger Hammond was initially sentenced to 12 months in prison and the father three months, below the federal minimum for arson. But in October, a U.S. district judge increased the sentences to five years.The Hammond ranch borders on the southern edge of the Malheur refuge, a bird sanctuary in eastern Oregon's arid high desert, about 305 miles (490 km) southeast of Portland.Both father and son are members of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association (OCA). The group said on Monday that it would continue to assist and represent them "solely through avenues that are in accordance with the law.""OCA does not support illegal activity taken against the government. This includes militia takeover of government property, such as the Malheur Wildlife Refuge," the association's president, John O'Keeffe, said in a statement."Obviously we're aware of the situation and concerned about it," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. He said President Barack Obama had been briefed on the situation, adding: "This ultimately is a ... local law enforcement matter."Republican White House candidates Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida expressed sympathy for the protesters' concerns but urged the group to remain peaceful and follow the law, according to media reports.The refuge, which encompasses 292 square miles (75,630 hectares), was established in 1908 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as a breeding ground for greater sandhill cranes and other native birds.(Reporting by Jim Urquhart; Editing by Jonathan Oatis; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton in Washington, Daniel Wallis in Denver and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) 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,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Communities in Illinois, Missouri assess flooding damage, cleanup as Mississippi River recedes- [The Canadian Press]-Jim Salter, The Associated Press-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ST. LOUIS - The Mississippi River floods more often than it used to, and at higher levels. Richard Knaup thinks he knows why.The veteran emergency management director for southeast Missouri's Cape Girardeau County is fighting floods again, just as he did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. "Prior to levee building, the river was a wild thing and it spread out between the river bluffs," Knaup said Monday. "Now we've tried to tame it. Mother Nature and Old Man River will fight back."The rains that caused this winter's flood, blamed already for 25 deaths and damage to hundreds of homes and businesses, ended a week ago, but the water was still rising Monday in southern Missouri and Illinois. The Illinois River, which joins the Mississippi above St. Louis, was expected to reach near-record crests this week between the Illinois towns of Havana and Valley City, creating "a very dangerous situation" as levees there become saturated, said Steve Buan, a National Weather Service hydrologist.Several other states along the Mississippi River were still bracing for the crest, which was flowing past Tiptonville, Tennessee, and expected to reach Memphis on Thursday at 6.5 feet above flood stage.For many in the flood-weary Midwest, fighting the river has become an almost annual event. In Cape Girardeau County, all but five of the 32 highest crests on record have occurred since the record-setting 1993 flood, and four of the top 10 have happened since 2011.So what's going on? Unusual weather patterns are a symptom of global warming, but experts also blame more immediate developments, including efforts to protect growing towns and cities from the rivers both that sustain and threaten them.Bob Holmes, a Missouri-based hydrologic engineer for the U.S. Geological Survey, says the Midwest has received far more rainfall than normal over the past quarter of a century, and more extreme rainstorms, such as the three-day downpour Dec. 26-28 that dumped 10 inches of rain over much of Missouri and Illinois and caused this latest mess. But urban sprawl also increases flood risk, he said."Farm fields will soak up water," Holmes said. "If you pave it with concrete or asphalt, all of a sudden that is a very efficient conduit right into the streams and you get increased flooding."Bob Criss, an earth and planetary science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, also blames urbanization, and says this latest spike of rain wouldn't have caused major flooding if the river wasn't constricted by levees and floodwalls."The Mississippi River behaved during this event like a small river, and it's acting like a small river because the water has no place to go," Criss said.Earthen mounds have held back the Mississippi in places since French settlers installed the river's first levees in Louisiana in 1717. They spread quickly as riverfront communities developed, but floods have continued to pose threats ever since.This was predicted as far back as 1852, when engineer Charles Ellet Jr. warned in a report to Congress that risks would only increase as "water that was formerly allowed to spread over many thousand square miles of low lands is becoming more and more confined to the immediate channel of the river."By 1926, the Mississippi River Commission declared its levee system to be complete, and able to "prevent the destructive effects of floods." The claim collapsed less than a year later, when the "Great Mississippi Flood of 1927" devastated much of the Midwest.That calamity led to still-higher barriers as the Flood Control Act of 1928 urged the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system of more levees, spillways and other controls.Flood control took on renewed urgency after flooding in 1993, which the Corps describes as "a hydro-meteorological event without precedent in modern times on the upper Mississippi." Damage totalled $15 billion as hundreds of levees failed; 50 people died and thousands were evacuated, some for months.The federal government bought out hundreds of homes and businesses, turning floodplains into greenspace throughout the Midwest. But locations deemed too valuable for buyouts are now protected by even-bigger and stronger levees. The Mississippi River now has an estimated 3,500 miles of levees, ranging from small barriers around farmland to Corps-built structures protecting towns and major cities.Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Rene Poche defends the federal system, saying it prevented an estimated $230 billion in damage in 2011, when the river south of St. Louis experienced its worst flooding since 1993.In Cape Girardeau County, Knaup knows that the same system he blames for increased flooding also protects homes and businesses."I appreciate every levee and floodwall we have," Knaup said. "I'm grateful for them."___AP reporter Caryn Rousseau reported from Chicago.
Mississippi River crest rolls toward Tennessee; singer's body found-[Reuters]-By Suzannah Gonzales and Tim Ghianni-January 4, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - Tennessee residents girded on Monday for the rapidly rising Mississippi River to crest within days as Oklahoma officials found the body of a country-rock singer whose boat capsized on a lake in late December.The swollen Mississippi and rivers that feed into it wreaked havoc in Missouri and Illinois after late December heavy rain and severe storms brought flooding across several central U.S. states, leaving at least 33 people dead.Officials on Monday found the body of Craig Strickland, 29, lead singer of the country-rock band Backroad Anthem, in an Oklahoma lake. Strickland and a friend, who also died, had been caught in a severe winter storm while duck hunting in late December.In northwestern Tennessee, the Mississippi River is expected to remain inside levees and moderate flooding is forecast in Memphis, where the river is expected to crest on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.The weather service initially expected major flooding at Tiptonville, Tennessee, but in recent days cut 3 feet (1 meter) from that forecast and said the river was near a crest on Monday with minor flooding at about 7 feet (2.1 meters) over flood stage."Things have settled down a little bit," Dewayne Haggard, a Tiptonville board manager, said in a telephone interview. "People are not as edgy."The rare winter flood is expected to bring major flooding to farther downstream from Memphis on the lower Mississippi - testing but not breaking levees as the wave pushes toward the Gulf of Mexico during the next two weeks.-RELYING ON LEVEES-In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the NWS on Monday cut its forecast for the projected river crest by 1-1/2 feet (45 centimeters) to 52.5 feet (16 meters) by Jan. 15. Officials were distributing sandbags to businesses that could be threatened by floodwaters.Although some homes and roads may become inaccessible as the water rises, no evacuations are expected, said Tracey Porter, deputy director for the Warren County emergency management agency where Vicksburg is located."The main concern is safety and protection of property," Porter said on Monday.The Mississippi is expected to reach a high of 44 feet (13.4 meters) at Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Jan. 18, about 9 feet (2.7 meters) above flood stage, said Jeff Graschel, a National Weather Service hydrologist.Graschel said such levels usually are not seen at Baton Rouge until late winter and early spring, when snow melts and there is heavy rainfall."All the levels we're expecting will be contained in the levee systems," Graschel said.Most of the deaths in the heavy flooding since late December have come after vehicles drove into flooded areas. Ten people have died in flooding in Illinois, where a dozen counties have been declared disaster areas.The toll nationally could rise. The St. Francis County Sheriff in Arkansas is searching for a man caught in flood waters on Sunday in an area about 100 miles east of Little Rock.The NWS said there was major flooding on the White River at Des Arc, Arkansas, about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock, and on the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, about 40 miles south of Little Rock. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Jon Herskovitz in Austin and Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Bill Trott)
