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)
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
AMOS 1:5
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.(I belive ISIS-DAMASCUS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL)
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
Opposition activists report airstrikes in northern Syria-Local group says attacks carried out by Moscow, while Russian military reports artillery fire on border town from Turkey-By Bassem Mroue February 28, 2016, 7:24 pm-the times of israel
BEIRUT (AP) — Warplanes carried out air raids on two villages in northern Syria on Sunday, the second day of a broad ceasefire, as Russia said a northern town held by a predominantly Kurdish militia came under fire from the Turkish side of the border.Sunday’s air raids came on day two of the truce brokered by Russia and the US, the most ambitious effort yet to curb the violence of the country’s five-year civil war. The truce has been holding since it went into effect at midnight Friday, despite accusations by both sides of violations.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes hit the villages of Daret Azzeh and Qobtan al-Jabal. The group did not say whether the warplanes were Russian or Syrian.The Local Coordination Committees said the warplanes were Russian.It was not immediately clear if the warplanes struck areas controlled by al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, known as al-Nusra Front. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State group are excluded from the truce.Opposition activists and state media also reported clashes between troops and members of the Islamic State group mostly in the northern province of Aleppo.Meanwhile, the Russian military operating in Syria said it has information about an attack on the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad from Turkish territories with the use of large-caliber artillery and has asked the United States for an explanation.Russia has set up a center for monitoring the truce at the Hemeimim air base in Syria, where Russian warplanes are based.On Saturday, members of the Islamic State group attacked the border town of Tal Abyad and the nearby village of Suluk that were captured months ago by Kurdish fighters, according to a Syrian rebel official.Hours-long battles between Kurdish fighters and IS militants forced them out of Tal Abyad and other areas despite some presence of the extremists on the outskirts of the border town.The Observatory said the battle of Tal Abyad lasted a full day and left 70 IS fighters, 20 Kurdish fighters and 10 civilians dead.The head of the center. Lt. Gen Sergei Kuralenko, said Sunday that the suspected violation took place overnight and his center has turned to the corresponding US center in Amman for an explanation, since Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition, Russian news agencies reported.In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cease-fire aiming to reduce the violence in Syria is only being partially implemented.Erdogan expressed hope that “today or tomorrow this cease-fire will be secured and calm prevails in Syria” after noting that it is only being adhered to “in about one-third” of Syrian territories.Erdogan made the remarks at a news conference in Istanbul prior to embarking on a trip to Africa.The Syrian conflict has killed 250,000 people, displaced half the country’s population and triggered one of the worst refugee crises since World War II.
US urges warring Syria groups to give peace a chance-‘Setbacks are inevitable,’ Obama administration says after reports of violations on second day of fragile cease-fire-By AFP February 28, 2016, 8:08 pm-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — Participants in a fragile cease-fire in Syria need to give peace a chance, US officials said Sunday, following reports of truce violations on its second day.“Setbacks are inevitable,” the senior administration official said. “Even under the best of circumstances, we don’t expect the violence to end immediately. In fact, we are certain that there will continue to be fighting, in part because of organizations like ISIL [Islamic State] and [al-Qaeda-allied] al-Nusra.”The cease-fire deal brokered by Moscow and Washington excludes territory held by the jihadist groups the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, and the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra. The two groups together control more than half of Syria.The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that the cease-fire had been breached nine times over the past 24 hours, including by Turkey.The violations were committed by moderate rebels as well as “terrorist organizations,” the ministry said.Others pointed the finger at Moscow.Saudi Arabia on Sunday accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and its ally Russia of cease-fire violations.Syria’s main opposition grouping also said on Sunday that it had recorded 15 violations by government troops and allied forces.The senior administration official said “a lot of issues” involving the deal’s various sides can only be addressed as the situation develops.“This will be a difficult deal to implement, and we know that obstacles abound,” the official said. “But it is in all of our interests, and especially the interests of the Syrian people, to give this process a chance. This is a real opportunity to reduce the violence the Syrian people have endured for far too long.”A State Department official said: “We are closely monitoring reports of violations to the cessation of hostilities. We are treating allegations seriously and urge all parties to continue to practice restraint.The Russian military accused armed groups of attacking a Syrian town from Turkish territory overnight, adding that Moscow had demanded an explanation from the United States, which leads an anti-Islamic State coalition that includes Turkey.Turkey has said it is not bound by the cease-fire deal — which took effect from 22:00 GMT Friday — if its national security was threatened.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that several air strikes hit central and northern Syria on Sunday.Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, the monitor said.
Syria truce takes hold despite limited violations-AFP By Maher al-Mounes with Karam al-Masri in Aleppo-feb 27,16-yahoonews
Damascus (AFP) - Fighting subsided across much of Syria Saturday as the first major ceasefire of the devastating, five-year war appeared to broadly hold despite sporadic breaches in parts of the battle-scarred country.The truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial step towards ending a conflict that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.It faces formidable challenges including the exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which control large parts of the country."Honestly, I was surprised that the calm lasted through the night," said Ammar al-Rai, a 22-year-old medical student in Damascus."I think this is the first time we've woken up without the sound of shelling."United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume on March 7 if the ceasefire prevails and more aid is delivered -- a key sticking point in negotiations.A special international task force, co-chaired by Moscow and Washington, was due to meet behind closed doors in Geneva on Saturday to monitor the truce.De Mistura said it was important that any incidents are "quickly brought under control" and a military response should be the "last resort".Russia, which has waged nearly five months of intense air strikes against rebels in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said it had halted bombing in all areas covered by the truce.Moscow has vowed to keep striking IS, Al-Nusra and other "terrorist groups", but said it would ground all its warplanes in the Syria campaign on the first day of the truce to avoid potential "mistakes".- 'First chance' for peace -EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the lull in fighting was "the first chance to put an end to violence on the ground and should not be missed"."If it holds, it will create the conditions for full, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Syria," she added.Among the limited ceasefire breaches, state media said "terrorist groups" fired a number of shells on Damascus but caused no casualties.Rebels also accused the government of intermittent "truce violations" in parts of the country.In Aleppo, Syria's second city, two people were killed and four wounded when shells hit the majority-Kurdish neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsud, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.Syrian state media said one person was killed by sniper fire in the same district.Aleppo city is now almost completely encircled by pro-regime troops after a massive Russian-backed offensive that has caused tens of thousands to flee in recent weeks.But on Saturday, children played in parks."I hope the truce continues even for a limited time so we can get back part of our old lives from before the war," said Abu Nadim, a father of four.- Scepticism remains -Jihadists attacked the border town of Tal Abyad in Raqa province, sparking clashes that killed at least 45 IS members, 20 Kurdish militia fighters and two civilians, the Observatory said.US-led coalition warplanes launched at least 10 air strikes to try to drive back the jihadists, the monitor reported.Twin suicide bombings meanwhile killed six people outside the town of Salamiyeh in Hama province, where IS is present, state news agency SANA said.The complexities of a conflict which escalated from anti-government protests into a full-blown war drawing in rival world powers make brokering a lasting halt to the fighting a huge challenge.Assad has been bolstered by the support of Russia and Iran while the West, Turkey and Gulf states back rebel groups."The pressure being placed by Russia and the US on regional actors is such that many of these regional actors can't reject the political process entirely," said Firas Abi Ali, an analyst for IHS Country Risk in London."This is putting them in a bind where they're compelled to behave as if they're part of the process regardless of what they actually want from it."Syria's top opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said Friday that 97 opposition factions had agreed to respect the truce, for two weeks initially.In a particularly encouraging sign, a commander in the hardline Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham said his group -- allied with Al-Nusra -- had not conducted any military operations since the truce started."But the ceasefire is stillborn, because it began with violations from the regime. It will be very difficult for the ceasefire to hold," Hussam Salameh warned.
Time for EU to face responsibilities on Syria By Alain Deletroz-euobserver
GENEVA, 26. Feb, 19:14-It is nearly five years since Syrians first took peacefully to the streets in hope of a better future. Since those protests were viciously put down by the regime and that country slid slowly and inexorably into war, there has rarely been cause for optimism on Syria.Although peace remains a distant prospect, the agreement reached in Munich this February is one of those rare yet fragile moments where optimism has a place. It is a moment though that needs to be grasped and held.We have seen before how fleeting such moments can be. A similar agreement was struck in Geneva way back in 2012, when the war was still a relatively local affair.Lacking in urgency, that agreement went largely ignored and was ultimately unenforced. Today the world - and Syria - are very different places.Europe is paralysed to act. The US wilfully declines to act. And Russia, currently the biggest bomber of civilians in Syria, acts mostly to obstruct constructive engagement towards any political solution that would mean the end of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s power.A deeply bitter and unimaginably complex war has taken hold.Countless UN resolutions, statements, ceasefires agreements and communiques have been issued: all ignored. All the while, warring parties bomb more hospitals and schools and have forced over ten million Syrians from their homes.It is little wonder that Syrians have little faith in the international community's resolve to end the crisis.They are understandably cynical about the agreement in Munich and will measure its success in simple terms: if the bombs stop falling and the sieges are lifted.Any scepticism they have is well founded. The day before the agreement was reached, four hospitals in Aleppo and Idlbib provinces were decimated by pro-Assad jets. In one attack, 25 people were killed when a Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Idlib province was bombed four times in minutes.Around the world, domestic concerns take precedence over this barbarism in the minds of leaders.In Russia, for example, public support for the country’s adventures in Syria is running high. When Russian jets bombed around 900 targets in Aleppo in early February, state broadcasters told the Russian public not of the suffering wrought but of the awesome might of Russian bombers and of the heroic feats of its pilots in the skies above Syria.On one hand, we hear from all corners that there is no military solution to the crisis. But warring parties and their backers in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia or Western countries, are doing their best to prove such assertions wrong. Each day of destruction and vengeance moves everyone further away from peace.Ongoing carnage serves only to crystallise one thing in the minds of many Syrians: they will never accept a peace deal that keeps a brutal dictator in power or elevates extremist thugs to positions of influence.If they see this fate coming they will fight on endlessly or flee the country in even higher numbers - and many, many more will arrive on the shores of Europe. European leaders must recognise this now.It is time for European countries - the same countries from where up to 60 million refugees fled during World War II - to stop bickering amongst each other about how to accommodate 1 million refugees into a vast union of 500 million inhabitants.It is time for their leaders to stop acting like selfish, short-termist populists that turn away in times of adversity.It is time for Europe to speak with one voice, to speak loud and clear to leaders and publics alike that now is the time for a ceasefire to start, a ceasefire that offer Syrians genuine protection and sets the stage not for more war but for an agreement that finally respects the hopes and dreams of those brave Syrians who took peacefully to the streets in 2011.Alain Deletroz is an executive in residence at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, a Swiss-based foundation, and a former vice-president of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Zika and Ebola: A taste of things to come?-By Dr Seth Berkley CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance-26 February 2016-bbcnews
Ebola. Zika. Both diseases that were unknown to many until recently. But there have been huge outbreaks of both - and each time scientists and global health experts were caught off guard.In this week's Scrubbing Up, Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance suggests Ebola and Zika may be followed by other public health emergencies fuelled by other lesser-known diseases.First it was Ebola and now Zika; two official World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Emergencies of International Concern within as many years.Both diseases have been known about for decades, and yet in both cases no vaccines or drugs were available when we most needed them. So what's going on? Is this just a terrible coincidence, being caught off-guard like this twice in such quick succession, or is it part of a worrying trend and a taste of things to come? At first glance it wouldn't appear that the two diseases have much in common. One is difficult to catch but a ferocious killer, while the other spreads with ease but is relatively harmless to the vast majority of people infected.Yet, in both cases there is something novel, either in the way the virus has spread or in how it affected people which has made the outbreaks more of a threat.In global health security terms that is a real concern, because such sudden changes of modus operandi can not only make public health threats even more difficult to predict or anticipate than normal, but also make all the difference between a localised outbreak and global pandemic.Even more worrying is the fact that with changing trends in human and animal migration, increasing urbanisation, the density of mega cities, the rise in antimicrobial resistance and climate change, such threats could become increasingly more common.In the case of Ebola, what changed was its ability to spread.Historically Ebola's aggression has been its own worst enemy; the virus often immobilising and killing its hosts before they had the opportunity to infect others, limiting its spread mainly to contact with the deceased.Because of this, for decades it remained a relatively low impact disease, confined to small outbreaks in remote and relatively unpopulated rural regions.What changed in West Africa was that for the first time it was able to reach more densely populated urban areas, increasing its ability to spread almost exponentially.With Zika it was different. It had been believed to be a relatively benign disease, producing only mild flu-like symptoms - if any at all.Because of this there was little concern about the spread of this mosquito-borne disease as it crossed continents.But now with a Zika outbreak suspected as the most likely cause of a sudden spike in cases of microcephaly in Brazil - which can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads - we have another global health emergency on our hands, particularly if reports of sexual transmission prove valid and its spread is not limited to mosquitoes.If Zika is a factor with microcephaly, it is not entirely clear why. In the seven decades since Zika was first discovered, such horrific complications have never before been observed.A form of nerve damage, called Guillain-Barré syndrome, has been seen a small number of people, and in the case of pregnancies there were 17 cases of malformations of the central nervous system in foetuses following an outbreak in French Polynesia in 2014.However, even then Zika was not implicated until recently, and only after the alarm was sounded in Brazil.So, why now? It could simply be something we only see as a result of scale - 1.5m cases of Zika in Brazil, compared to just 30,000 in the worst previous outbreak.Or it could just be that surveillance in Brazil was good enough to detect it, picking up both increases of Zika and microcephaly immediately, compared to West Africa where poor health systems meant it took three months before Ebola was first confirmed.Or it could be that the virus has mutated to a more virulent strain.Regardless, the fact remains that it could take years before we establish a conclusive link with microcephaly, and possibly even longer before we understand the epidemiological factors leading to its sudden emergence now.What is clear is that in addition to mosquito control in affected countries what may also be needed is another new vaccine.But unlike Ebola, we don't have several candidate vaccines lined up, waiting in the wings which we can rapidly steer through clinical trials.Thanks to Ebola, industry has now been faster to react and commit to develop a vaccine or adapt existing ones, but it will still likely be years before one is ready.However, why does it take a global health emergency for us to even realise no vaccine exists in the first place? Part of the problem is that for some serious diseases there is simply no profit in prevention, which means that if we want to avoid epidemics we cannot expect industry to provide the solution.Instead governments, public funders and private donors need to share the costs, and they need to do so now, rather than waiting until the next epidemic.The good news is that we now already have an idea of where to focus our attention. In December the WHO brought together scientists and clinicians who came up with an "initial list" which reads like a most-wanted of the worst eight diseases, including Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers like Marburg and Lassa fever.They also flagged a sub-set of three other serious diseases that also needed urgent attention, which included Zika.And therein lies the point. None of the diseases on the list were particularly surprising.They are known threats, it's just that they are not big enough threats to have warranted the world to rally round and put in place the incentives to develop vaccines, at least not yet.What Zika and Ebola have both taught us is that we can't assume pathogens will continue to behave the same way.We need to stop waiting until we see evidence of a disease becoming a global threat before we treat it like one.
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
AMOS 1:5
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.(I belive ISIS-DAMASCUS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL)
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
Opposition activists report airstrikes in northern Syria-Local group says attacks carried out by Moscow, while Russian military reports artillery fire on border town from Turkey-By Bassem Mroue February 28, 2016, 7:24 pm-the times of israel
BEIRUT (AP) — Warplanes carried out air raids on two villages in northern Syria on Sunday, the second day of a broad ceasefire, as Russia said a northern town held by a predominantly Kurdish militia came under fire from the Turkish side of the border.Sunday’s air raids came on day two of the truce brokered by Russia and the US, the most ambitious effort yet to curb the violence of the country’s five-year civil war. The truce has been holding since it went into effect at midnight Friday, despite accusations by both sides of violations.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes hit the villages of Daret Azzeh and Qobtan al-Jabal. The group did not say whether the warplanes were Russian or Syrian.The Local Coordination Committees said the warplanes were Russian.It was not immediately clear if the warplanes struck areas controlled by al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, known as al-Nusra Front. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State group are excluded from the truce.Opposition activists and state media also reported clashes between troops and members of the Islamic State group mostly in the northern province of Aleppo.Meanwhile, the Russian military operating in Syria said it has information about an attack on the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad from Turkish territories with the use of large-caliber artillery and has asked the United States for an explanation.Russia has set up a center for monitoring the truce at the Hemeimim air base in Syria, where Russian warplanes are based.On Saturday, members of the Islamic State group attacked the border town of Tal Abyad and the nearby village of Suluk that were captured months ago by Kurdish fighters, according to a Syrian rebel official.Hours-long battles between Kurdish fighters and IS militants forced them out of Tal Abyad and other areas despite some presence of the extremists on the outskirts of the border town.The Observatory said the battle of Tal Abyad lasted a full day and left 70 IS fighters, 20 Kurdish fighters and 10 civilians dead.The head of the center. Lt. Gen Sergei Kuralenko, said Sunday that the suspected violation took place overnight and his center has turned to the corresponding US center in Amman for an explanation, since Turkey is a member of the US-led coalition, Russian news agencies reported.In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cease-fire aiming to reduce the violence in Syria is only being partially implemented.Erdogan expressed hope that “today or tomorrow this cease-fire will be secured and calm prevails in Syria” after noting that it is only being adhered to “in about one-third” of Syrian territories.Erdogan made the remarks at a news conference in Istanbul prior to embarking on a trip to Africa.The Syrian conflict has killed 250,000 people, displaced half the country’s population and triggered one of the worst refugee crises since World War II.
US urges warring Syria groups to give peace a chance-‘Setbacks are inevitable,’ Obama administration says after reports of violations on second day of fragile cease-fire-By AFP February 28, 2016, 8:08 pm-the times of israel
WASHINGTON — Participants in a fragile cease-fire in Syria need to give peace a chance, US officials said Sunday, following reports of truce violations on its second day.“Setbacks are inevitable,” the senior administration official said. “Even under the best of circumstances, we don’t expect the violence to end immediately. In fact, we are certain that there will continue to be fighting, in part because of organizations like ISIL [Islamic State] and [al-Qaeda-allied] al-Nusra.”The cease-fire deal brokered by Moscow and Washington excludes territory held by the jihadist groups the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, and the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra. The two groups together control more than half of Syria.The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that the cease-fire had been breached nine times over the past 24 hours, including by Turkey.The violations were committed by moderate rebels as well as “terrorist organizations,” the ministry said.Others pointed the finger at Moscow.Saudi Arabia on Sunday accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and its ally Russia of cease-fire violations.Syria’s main opposition grouping also said on Sunday that it had recorded 15 violations by government troops and allied forces.The senior administration official said “a lot of issues” involving the deal’s various sides can only be addressed as the situation develops.“This will be a difficult deal to implement, and we know that obstacles abound,” the official said. “But it is in all of our interests, and especially the interests of the Syrian people, to give this process a chance. This is a real opportunity to reduce the violence the Syrian people have endured for far too long.”A State Department official said: “We are closely monitoring reports of violations to the cessation of hostilities. We are treating allegations seriously and urge all parties to continue to practice restraint.The Russian military accused armed groups of attacking a Syrian town from Turkish territory overnight, adding that Moscow had demanded an explanation from the United States, which leads an anti-Islamic State coalition that includes Turkey.Turkey has said it is not bound by the cease-fire deal — which took effect from 22:00 GMT Friday — if its national security was threatened.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that several air strikes hit central and northern Syria on Sunday.Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, the monitor said.
Syria truce takes hold despite limited violations-AFP By Maher al-Mounes with Karam al-Masri in Aleppo-feb 27,16-yahoonews
Damascus (AFP) - Fighting subsided across much of Syria Saturday as the first major ceasefire of the devastating, five-year war appeared to broadly hold despite sporadic breaches in parts of the battle-scarred country.The truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow, is seen as a crucial step towards ending a conflict that has claimed 270,000 lives and displaced more than half the population.It faces formidable challenges including the exclusion of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, which control large parts of the country."Honestly, I was surprised that the calm lasted through the night," said Ammar al-Rai, a 22-year-old medical student in Damascus."I think this is the first time we've woken up without the sound of shelling."United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura said peace talks would resume on March 7 if the ceasefire prevails and more aid is delivered -- a key sticking point in negotiations.A special international task force, co-chaired by Moscow and Washington, was due to meet behind closed doors in Geneva on Saturday to monitor the truce.De Mistura said it was important that any incidents are "quickly brought under control" and a military response should be the "last resort".Russia, which has waged nearly five months of intense air strikes against rebels in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said it had halted bombing in all areas covered by the truce.Moscow has vowed to keep striking IS, Al-Nusra and other "terrorist groups", but said it would ground all its warplanes in the Syria campaign on the first day of the truce to avoid potential "mistakes".- 'First chance' for peace -EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the lull in fighting was "the first chance to put an end to violence on the ground and should not be missed"."If it holds, it will create the conditions for full, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Syria," she added.Among the limited ceasefire breaches, state media said "terrorist groups" fired a number of shells on Damascus but caused no casualties.Rebels also accused the government of intermittent "truce violations" in parts of the country.In Aleppo, Syria's second city, two people were killed and four wounded when shells hit the majority-Kurdish neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsud, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.Syrian state media said one person was killed by sniper fire in the same district.Aleppo city is now almost completely encircled by pro-regime troops after a massive Russian-backed offensive that has caused tens of thousands to flee in recent weeks.But on Saturday, children played in parks."I hope the truce continues even for a limited time so we can get back part of our old lives from before the war," said Abu Nadim, a father of four.- Scepticism remains -Jihadists attacked the border town of Tal Abyad in Raqa province, sparking clashes that killed at least 45 IS members, 20 Kurdish militia fighters and two civilians, the Observatory said.US-led coalition warplanes launched at least 10 air strikes to try to drive back the jihadists, the monitor reported.Twin suicide bombings meanwhile killed six people outside the town of Salamiyeh in Hama province, where IS is present, state news agency SANA said.The complexities of a conflict which escalated from anti-government protests into a full-blown war drawing in rival world powers make brokering a lasting halt to the fighting a huge challenge.Assad has been bolstered by the support of Russia and Iran while the West, Turkey and Gulf states back rebel groups."The pressure being placed by Russia and the US on regional actors is such that many of these regional actors can't reject the political process entirely," said Firas Abi Ali, an analyst for IHS Country Risk in London."This is putting them in a bind where they're compelled to behave as if they're part of the process regardless of what they actually want from it."Syria's top opposition grouping, the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said Friday that 97 opposition factions had agreed to respect the truce, for two weeks initially.In a particularly encouraging sign, a commander in the hardline Islamist faction Ahrar al-Sham said his group -- allied with Al-Nusra -- had not conducted any military operations since the truce started."But the ceasefire is stillborn, because it began with violations from the regime. It will be very difficult for the ceasefire to hold," Hussam Salameh warned.
Time for EU to face responsibilities on Syria By Alain Deletroz-euobserver
GENEVA, 26. Feb, 19:14-It is nearly five years since Syrians first took peacefully to the streets in hope of a better future. Since those protests were viciously put down by the regime and that country slid slowly and inexorably into war, there has rarely been cause for optimism on Syria.Although peace remains a distant prospect, the agreement reached in Munich this February is one of those rare yet fragile moments where optimism has a place. It is a moment though that needs to be grasped and held.We have seen before how fleeting such moments can be. A similar agreement was struck in Geneva way back in 2012, when the war was still a relatively local affair.Lacking in urgency, that agreement went largely ignored and was ultimately unenforced. Today the world - and Syria - are very different places.Europe is paralysed to act. The US wilfully declines to act. And Russia, currently the biggest bomber of civilians in Syria, acts mostly to obstruct constructive engagement towards any political solution that would mean the end of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s power.A deeply bitter and unimaginably complex war has taken hold.Countless UN resolutions, statements, ceasefires agreements and communiques have been issued: all ignored. All the while, warring parties bomb more hospitals and schools and have forced over ten million Syrians from their homes.It is little wonder that Syrians have little faith in the international community's resolve to end the crisis.They are understandably cynical about the agreement in Munich and will measure its success in simple terms: if the bombs stop falling and the sieges are lifted.Any scepticism they have is well founded. The day before the agreement was reached, four hospitals in Aleppo and Idlbib provinces were decimated by pro-Assad jets. In one attack, 25 people were killed when a Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital in Idlib province was bombed four times in minutes.Around the world, domestic concerns take precedence over this barbarism in the minds of leaders.In Russia, for example, public support for the country’s adventures in Syria is running high. When Russian jets bombed around 900 targets in Aleppo in early February, state broadcasters told the Russian public not of the suffering wrought but of the awesome might of Russian bombers and of the heroic feats of its pilots in the skies above Syria.On one hand, we hear from all corners that there is no military solution to the crisis. But warring parties and their backers in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia or Western countries, are doing their best to prove such assertions wrong. Each day of destruction and vengeance moves everyone further away from peace.Ongoing carnage serves only to crystallise one thing in the minds of many Syrians: they will never accept a peace deal that keeps a brutal dictator in power or elevates extremist thugs to positions of influence.If they see this fate coming they will fight on endlessly or flee the country in even higher numbers - and many, many more will arrive on the shores of Europe. European leaders must recognise this now.It is time for European countries - the same countries from where up to 60 million refugees fled during World War II - to stop bickering amongst each other about how to accommodate 1 million refugees into a vast union of 500 million inhabitants.It is time for their leaders to stop acting like selfish, short-termist populists that turn away in times of adversity.It is time for Europe to speak with one voice, to speak loud and clear to leaders and publics alike that now is the time for a ceasefire to start, a ceasefire that offer Syrians genuine protection and sets the stage not for more war but for an agreement that finally respects the hopes and dreams of those brave Syrians who took peacefully to the streets in 2011.Alain Deletroz is an executive in residence at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, a Swiss-based foundation, and a former vice-president of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Zika and Ebola: A taste of things to come?-By Dr Seth Berkley CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance-26 February 2016-bbcnews
Ebola. Zika. Both diseases that were unknown to many until recently. But there have been huge outbreaks of both - and each time scientists and global health experts were caught off guard.In this week's Scrubbing Up, Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance suggests Ebola and Zika may be followed by other public health emergencies fuelled by other lesser-known diseases.First it was Ebola and now Zika; two official World Health Organization (WHO) Public Health Emergencies of International Concern within as many years.Both diseases have been known about for decades, and yet in both cases no vaccines or drugs were available when we most needed them. So what's going on? Is this just a terrible coincidence, being caught off-guard like this twice in such quick succession, or is it part of a worrying trend and a taste of things to come? At first glance it wouldn't appear that the two diseases have much in common. One is difficult to catch but a ferocious killer, while the other spreads with ease but is relatively harmless to the vast majority of people infected.Yet, in both cases there is something novel, either in the way the virus has spread or in how it affected people which has made the outbreaks more of a threat.In global health security terms that is a real concern, because such sudden changes of modus operandi can not only make public health threats even more difficult to predict or anticipate than normal, but also make all the difference between a localised outbreak and global pandemic.Even more worrying is the fact that with changing trends in human and animal migration, increasing urbanisation, the density of mega cities, the rise in antimicrobial resistance and climate change, such threats could become increasingly more common.In the case of Ebola, what changed was its ability to spread.Historically Ebola's aggression has been its own worst enemy; the virus often immobilising and killing its hosts before they had the opportunity to infect others, limiting its spread mainly to contact with the deceased.Because of this, for decades it remained a relatively low impact disease, confined to small outbreaks in remote and relatively unpopulated rural regions.What changed in West Africa was that for the first time it was able to reach more densely populated urban areas, increasing its ability to spread almost exponentially.With Zika it was different. It had been believed to be a relatively benign disease, producing only mild flu-like symptoms - if any at all.Because of this there was little concern about the spread of this mosquito-borne disease as it crossed continents.But now with a Zika outbreak suspected as the most likely cause of a sudden spike in cases of microcephaly in Brazil - which can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads - we have another global health emergency on our hands, particularly if reports of sexual transmission prove valid and its spread is not limited to mosquitoes.If Zika is a factor with microcephaly, it is not entirely clear why. In the seven decades since Zika was first discovered, such horrific complications have never before been observed.A form of nerve damage, called Guillain-Barré syndrome, has been seen a small number of people, and in the case of pregnancies there were 17 cases of malformations of the central nervous system in foetuses following an outbreak in French Polynesia in 2014.However, even then Zika was not implicated until recently, and only after the alarm was sounded in Brazil.So, why now? It could simply be something we only see as a result of scale - 1.5m cases of Zika in Brazil, compared to just 30,000 in the worst previous outbreak.Or it could just be that surveillance in Brazil was good enough to detect it, picking up both increases of Zika and microcephaly immediately, compared to West Africa where poor health systems meant it took three months before Ebola was first confirmed.Or it could be that the virus has mutated to a more virulent strain.Regardless, the fact remains that it could take years before we establish a conclusive link with microcephaly, and possibly even longer before we understand the epidemiological factors leading to its sudden emergence now.What is clear is that in addition to mosquito control in affected countries what may also be needed is another new vaccine.But unlike Ebola, we don't have several candidate vaccines lined up, waiting in the wings which we can rapidly steer through clinical trials.Thanks to Ebola, industry has now been faster to react and commit to develop a vaccine or adapt existing ones, but it will still likely be years before one is ready.However, why does it take a global health emergency for us to even realise no vaccine exists in the first place? Part of the problem is that for some serious diseases there is simply no profit in prevention, which means that if we want to avoid epidemics we cannot expect industry to provide the solution.Instead governments, public funders and private donors need to share the costs, and they need to do so now, rather than waiting until the next epidemic.The good news is that we now already have an idea of where to focus our attention. In December the WHO brought together scientists and clinicians who came up with an "initial list" which reads like a most-wanted of the worst eight diseases, including Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers like Marburg and Lassa fever.They also flagged a sub-set of three other serious diseases that also needed urgent attention, which included Zika.And therein lies the point. None of the diseases on the list were particularly surprising.They are known threats, it's just that they are not big enough threats to have warranted the world to rally round and put in place the incentives to develop vaccines, at least not yet.What Zika and Ebola have both taught us is that we can't assume pathogens will continue to behave the same way.We need to stop waiting until we see evidence of a disease becoming a global threat before we treat it like one.
