Tuesday, March 29, 2016

CASTRO TO OBAMA-WE DO NOT NEED YOUR PRESENTS.

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)

Scores pay final respects as Rob Ford lies in repose at city hall-[The Canadian Press]-Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

TORONTO - Rob Ford lay in repose Monday at the city hall he dominated for years as mourners filed past his casket to pay their respects, the subdued mood on a dreary day a far cry from the wilder scenes that characterized his scandal-plagued mayoralty.Mayor John Tory, who gave permission for Ford to lie in repose, was first to pause quietly at his predecessor's casket, then shake hands with relatives, among them Ford's brother Doug, mother, wife and two children.The mourners, some with children in tow, included former high school football players Ford once coached."Everything that the media put on him was always so bad that no one ever got to see the good that he did for us as football players, as students, as a mentor," said Andre Laporte."He left all the political stuff at the office and focused on football when he came to the field."Some touched or kissed the casket, draped in the city's blue-and-white flag emblazoned with a red Maple Leaf. Some quietly shed tears. Some crossed themselves.Ford's death last week earned international headlines in light of his admitted crack cocaine use, alcohol abuse, lewd comments and at times outrageous behaviour that transformed his office into an unprecedented political and celebrity spectacle.The loved-or-loathed politician brazened through the often lurid headlines for reasons other than his purported taxpayer-friendly policies. But much of the mayhem seemed forgotten Monday.In its place was a dignified affair, as Ford was granted a rare honour not provided to a former mayor since Donald Summerville, 48, died of a heart attack in 1963 after a charity hockey game in which he played goalie against city hall's press gallery.Jack Layton, one-time federal NDP leader and longtime Toronto city councillor, also lay in repose at city hall in 2011.A city spokeswoman said Ford's family asked that his body be allowed to lie in repose and Tory gave his blessing.Also on hand Monday was George Smitherman, the odds-on favourite to win the mayoralty in 2010 but who nevertheless was trounced by Ford. Smitherman said he expected only tributes now for the former mayor."There will be a strong outpouring of love, which is appropriate for a politician who managed the rare feat of being open enough to generate genuine connection and love with constituents," Smitherman said.The sentiment was echoed by Vince Ross, who said Ford showed up at his wedding last year despite undergoing chemotherapy for the cancer that would eventually kill him last week."(He) was really gracious, took pictures, talked to everybody and really kick-started the party," Ross said.Doug Ford, who jumped into the 2014 mayoral race after his brother was forced to withdraw, spent hours at the front of the line greeting visitors and posing for pictures with them, a favorite pastime of his late sibling.Ford's casket will remain at city hall until Tuesday to allow the public to say goodbye.On Wednesday, a procession will head to nearby St. James cathedral for funeral services, followed by a private family ceremony. The funeral for Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty, a friend of the Fords, was also held at St. James.Ford served as mayor from 2010 to 2014 but his re-election bid was stymied by his cancer diagnosis. He dropped out of the race weeks before voting day but ran for his old city council seat instead, winning easily.———Follow @perkel on Twitter

Fidel Castro to Obama: We don't need your 'presents'-[The Canadian Press]-Michael Weissenstein, The Associated Press-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

HAVANA - Fidel Castro responded Monday to President Barack Obama's historic trip to Cuba with a long, bristling letter recounting the history of U.S. aggression against Cuba, writing that "we don't need the empire to give us any presents."The 1,500-word letter in state media titled "Brother Obama" was Castro's first response to the president's three-day visit last week, in which the American president said he had come to bury the two countries' history of Cold War hostility. Obama did not meet with the 89-year-old Fidel Castro on the trip but met several times with his 84-year-old brother Raul Castro, the current Cuban president.Obama's visit was intended to build irreversible momentum behind his opening with Cuba and to convince the Cuban people and the Cuban government that a half-century of U.S. attempts to overthrow the Communist government had ended, allowing Cuban to reform its economy and political system without the threat of U.S. interference.Fidel Castro writes of Obama: "My modest suggestion is that he reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics."Castro, who led Cuba for decades before handing power to his brother in 2008, was legendary for his hours-long, all-encompassing speeches. His letter reflects that style, presenting a sharp contrast with Obama's tightly focused speech in Havana. Castro's letter opens with descriptions of environmental abuse under the Spaniards and reviews the historical roles of Cuban independence heroes Jose Marti, Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez.Castro then goes over crucial sections of Obama's speech line by line, engaging in an ex-post-facto dialogue with the American president with pointed critiques of perceived slights and insults, including Obama's failure to give credit to indigenous Cubans and Castro's prohibition of racial segregation after coming to power in 1959.Quoting Obama's declaration that "it is time, now, for us to leave the past behind," the man who shaped Cuba during the second half of the 20th century writes that "I imagine that any one of us ran the risk of having a heart attack on hearing these words from the President of the United States."Castro then returns to a review of a half-century of U.S. aggression against Cuba. Those events include the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against the island; the 1961 Bay of Pigs attack and the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner backed by exiles who took refuge in the U.S.He ends with a dig at the Obama administration's drive to increase business ties with Cuba. The Obama administration says re-establishing economic ties with the U.S. will be a boon for Cuba, whose centrally planned economy has struggled to escape from over-dependence on imports and a chronic shortage of hard currency.The focus on U.S-Cuba business ties appears to have particularly rankled Castro, who nationalized U.S. companies after coming to power in 1959 and establishing the communist system into which his brother is now introducing gradual market-based reforms."No one should pretend that the people of this noble and selfless country will renounce its glory and its rights," Fidel Castro wrote. "We are capable of producing the food and material wealth that we need with with work and intelligence of our people."___Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

Georgia governor says he will veto religious exemption bill-[The Canadian Press]-Kathleen Foody, The Associated Press-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

ATLANTA - Georgia's term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal took a stand against his own party and averted threatened boycotts by major corporations on Monday by announcing his veto of a "religious freedom" bill passed exclusively by Republican lawmakers."I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia," Deal declared.The bill enumerated a list of actions that "people of faith" would not have to perform for other people. Clergy could refuse to perform gay marriages; churches and affiliated religious groups could have invoked their faith as a reason to refuse to serve or hire someone. People claiming their religious freedoms have been burdened by state or local laws also could force governments to prove there's a "compelling" state interest overriding their beliefs.All but 11 Republicans in the Georgia House and Senate voted in favour; all Democrats voted against it.Deal said he could "find no examples that any of the things this bill seeks to protect us against have ever occurred in Georgia."Opponents said virtually anyone could justify discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Georgia had the bill become law — a possibility that brought boycott threats from a list of corporate heavyweights. Coca-Cola and other big-name Georgia companies joined prominent Hollywood figures urging Deal to reject the proposal. The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios and Salesforce.com threatened to take their business elsewhere. The NFL said it would be a factor in choosing whether Atlanta hosts the 2019 or 2020 Super Bowl."I do not respond very well to insults or to threats" from either side, the governor said. Now 74 and with no plans to run again for office in Georgia, he was blunt in his criticism, saying the Founding Fathers made it clear that religious liberties "were given by God and not by man's government."State lawmakers, he said, had tried but failed to purge the bill of any possibility that it would allow or encourage discrimination, which "illustrates how difficult it is to legislate something that is best left to the broad protections of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."Lawmakers have already left the Capitol for the year, adjourning after midnight on Thursday. They would need a three-fifths majority of both houses to ask the governor to convene a special session, and even then, vote totals on the bill suggest they lack the two-thirds vote in both chambers to override his veto.House Speaker David Ralston said he respects Deal's "thoughtful consideration" but doesn't believe the bill permits discrimination.Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, another Republican, said the bill struck the "right balance," and blamed "hyperbole and criticism" for the raging debate."I've always advocated for Georgia's status as the No. 1 state to do business, but as we move forward I will never lose sight of the importance of an individual's right to practice their faith," Cagle said.Republican state Sen. Mike Crane of Newnan, now running for Congress, did call for a special session to override the veto. Another supporter, Republican Sen. Josh McKoon of Columbus, said he's disappointed, because "Gov. Deal ran for office as someone the faith community could rely on."National gay-rights organizations immediately hailed Deal's decision."We thank Governor Deal for doing the right thing," said Matt McTighe, who runs the Freedom for All Americans group. "The governor understands that while our freedom of religion is of critical importance, it doesn't mean there's a need for harmful exemptions that can lead to discrimination."___Associated Press writer Ryan Phillips contributed to this report.___This story has been corrected to say that one Republican senator voted against the religious exemptions bill. A previous version said that one House Republican voted no.

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)

Volcano erupts in southwest Alaska; sends ash 20,000 feet-[The Canadian Press]-The Associated Press-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An ash cloud from a remote Alaska volcano rose to 37,000 feet and stretched more than 400 miles wide over a rural part of the state Monday.The Pavlof Volcano erupted Sunday, causing tremors on the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The volcano is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands.Alaska State Troopers could not immediately say if any injuries were reported.The USGS has raised the volcano alert to its highest level, which warns of hazards both in the air and on the ground. An image of the volcano posted on the Alaska Volcano Observatory website showed a thick streak of light grey ash arcing out of the peak and streaming sideways across the sky.The closest community is Cold Bay, about 37 miles southwest of the volcano.The volcano, which is about 4.4 miles in diameter, has had 40 known eruptions and is one of the most consistently active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc, the agency said.During a previous eruption in 2013, ash plumes rose 27,000 feet, according to the USGS. Other eruptions have generated ash plumes as high as 49,000 feet.___This story has been corrected to show the volcano is on the Alaska Peninsula, not in the Aleutian Islands.

USGS revises seismic risk map to include quakes caused by humans-[Reuters]-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Earthquakes caused by human activity will now be included in the U.S. Geological Survey's seismic risk maps, the agency said on Monday after a sharp rise in temblors linked to wastewater disposal wells used by the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma.The seismic risk maps are used by emergency management officials as well as the country's major engineering and design associations to guide how strong to construct buildings."By including human-induced events, our assessment of earthquake hazards has significantly increased in parts of the U.S.," Mark Petersen, Chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, said in a statement.Some 7 million people in the Central and Eastern United States live or work in areas threatened by so-called induced seismicity, and in parts of these regions, the damage caused by earthquakes could be at parity with that seen in high-hazard regions of California, the USGS said.Oklahoma is at the greatest risk for hazards associated with induced seismicity, the USGS said, followed by Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas.Oklahoma in 2015 experienced 907 magnitude-3.0 or greater earthquakes, compared with just two of similar size in 2009. In February, a 5.1-magnitude temblor shook the area around Fairview, Oklahoma - the third strongest recorded in the state.The uptick in quakes has prompted serious concern among those near the oil storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, home to some 66 million barrels of oil and the delivery point for the West Texas Intermediate futures contract."We have had some earthquakes that were way to close to those tanks," said Michael Teague, Oklahoma's Secretary of Energy and Environment.The disposal of saltwater - a natural byproduct of oil and gas drilling - into wells has been tied to earthquakes. Oklahoma regulators have already ordered many disposal wells to curb operations."The good news is that we are already seeing a very positive response to those actions in the form of reduced seismic activity in the central and north central areas of Oklahoma," the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association said in a statement.Saltwater injections into disposal wells is down by roughly half from a peak of 1.8 million barrels per day in 2014, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said, with half the wells shutting due to low oil prices.The USGS said building code committees are still deciding whether to include induced earthquakes in their revisions, in part because they could be temporary.The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2016 guidelines do not take into account man-made earthquakes and it does not plan to update them until 2022."There is always a delay in design codes adapting the USGS Seismic Hazard Maps," said Muralee Muraleetharan, a civil engineering professor at the University of Oklahoma.(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Houston, Valerie Volcovici Washington and Jessica Resnick-Ault in New York; editing by Terry Wade, G Crosse and Diane Craft)

FAMINE

EZEKIEL 5:16
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Drought-hit Thailand sends up the Royal Rainmakers-[Agence France-Presse]-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Bangkok (AFP) - When drought strikes, Thailand turns to its Royal Rainmakers -- an airborne team which seeds the clouds over the kingdom.The country is the grip of its worst drought for decades, with 22 of its 76 provinces affected.So the Thai Department of Royal Rainmaking is sending up its planes to try to cajole the clouds into producing rain."The first step is making clouds by spraying salt-powder," according to Wiraphon Sudchada, a scientist who is part of the team."Then we mix calcium chloride and calcium oxide and spray it into clouds carrying humidity to make them bigger," he added."We also spray ice beneath the clouds so that it will rain faster."The current drought has hit northern Thailand hardest, raising fears of taps running dry as levels in reservoirs dip to record lows.Last year's rains came late and infrequently and desperate farmers hope the heavens will open come the arrival of the monsoon season in June.Rainmaking has a storied history in Thailand. People credit their revered current monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej with driving rainmaking projects back in the late 1960s.

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).

U.S. scientists develop mouse model to test Zika vaccines, drugs-[Reuters]-By Julie Steenhuysen-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. scientists have identified a genetically modified strain of mice that develop Zika, an important tool needed for testing vaccines and medicines to treat the virus that is rapidly spreading across the Americas and the Caribbean.Early tests on the mice show the virus growing in the testes, offering clues about how a virus typically spread by mosquito bites can be transmitted sexually."We are going to do experiments to see if we can produce sexual transmission" in these mice, said Scott Weaver, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston who worked on the study published on Monday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.Weaver said the Zika mouse model will provide a critical tool to allow companies and scientists to test vaccines and antiviral drugs against Zika, which has been linked with thousands of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect marked by unusually small head size and possible developmental problems.Zika has not been proven to cause microcephaly, but strong evidence connecting Zika infections with microcephaly cases in Brazil prompted the World Health Organization to declare Zika a global health emergency on Feb. 1.Normally, creating this kind of mouse model would take several months. But the urgency of the Zika outbreak called for rapid response, and the team put together the results in just three weeks, said Shannan Rossi, a UTMB virologist who led the study.Normally, mice do not become sick from a Zika infection. The team tested the virus on several genetically altered mice that had weakened immune systems. The young mice quickly succumbed to the virus, becoming lethargic, losing weight and typically dying six days later.Testing on the mice showed virus particles in many major organs, including high concentrations in the spleen, brain and testes.While Weaver says there are limits to what mouse models can tell about human infections, they may at least provide some early clues that could be followed up in non-human primates, a more costly animal model that is a better predictor of human disease."The mouse will mainly be used to do the very earliest testing of vaccines or drugs where the mechanism of disease doesn't have to be a perfect model to what happens in humans," Weaver said.Brazil has confirmed more than 900 microcephaly cases and considers most related to Zika infections in the mothers. It is investigating nearly 4,300 additional suspected cases of microcephaly.(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Dan Grebler)

CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)

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.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
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)

Japan opens radar station close to disputed East China Sea islands-[Reuters]-By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo-March 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Monday will switch on a radar station in the East China Sea, giving it a permanent intelligence gathering post close to Taiwan and a group of disputed islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing.The new Self Defence Force base on Yonaguni is at the western extreme of a string of Japanese islands in the East China Sea, 150 km (93 miles) south of the disputed islands known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu in China."This radar station is going to irritate China," said Nozomu Yoshitomi, a professor at Nihon University and a former major general in the Self Defence Force.In addition to being a listening post, the facility could be used a base for military operations in the region, he added.The deployment fits into a wider military build up along the island chain, which stretches 1,400 km (870 miles) from the Japanese mainland.Policy makers last year told Reuters it was part of a strategy to keep China at bay in the Western Pacific as Beijing gains control of the neighboring South China Sea.Toshi Yoshihara, a U.S. Naval War College professor, said Yonaguni sits next to two potential flash points in Asia - Taiwan and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands."A network of overlapping radar sites along the island chain would boost Japan's ability to monitor the East China Sea," he added.Yonaguni is only around 100 km (62 miles) east of Taiwan, near the edge of a controversial air defense identification zone set up by China in 2013.Over the next five years, Japan will increase its Self-Defense Forces in the East China Sea by about a fifth to almost 10,000 personnel, including missile batteries that will help Japan draw a defensive curtain along the island chain.Chinese ships sailing from their eastern seaboard must pass through this barrier to reach the Western Pacific, access to which Beijing needs both as a supply line to the rest of the world's oceans and for naval power projection.To mark the start of operations, Japan's military will hold an opening ceremony on Monday. The 30 sq km (11 sq mile) outcrop is home to 1,500 people, who mostly raise cattle and grow sugar cane. The SDF contingent and their families will increase the population by a fifth.(Editing by Lincoln Feast)

Japan loses track of $273 mn black hole satellite-[Agence France-Presse]-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Tokyo (AFP) - Dozens of space scientists are desperately scouring the skies after losing track of a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar Japanese satellite that was sent to study black holes.The ultra-high-tech "Hitomi" -- or eye -- satellite was supposed to be busy communicating from orbit by now, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said, but no one can say exactly where it is.The device briefly made contact with ground crews but has since disappeared, with American researchers reporting that it could have broken into several pieces."We're taking the situation seriously," Saku Tsuneta, director of the agency's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, told a news conference on Sunday.JAXA has around 40 technicians on the case, trying to locate the spacecraft and establish some kind of communication with it, an agency spokesman told AFP on Monday."We know approximately where it is," the spokesman added, but scientists were still trying to work out its precise location.The satellite, developed in collaboration with NASA, the US space agency, and various other groups, was launched on February 17 and was designed to observe X-rays emanating from black holes and galaxy clusters.Black holes have never been directly observed, but scientists believe they are huge collapsed stars whose enormous gravitational pull is so strong that nothing can escape.The announcement last month that gravitational waves had been detected for the first time added to evidence of their existence after scientists found the waves had been caused by two enormous black holes colliding.The lost satellite, which cost 31 billion yen ($273 million), including the cost of launching it, was supposed to orbit at an altitude of about 580 kilometres (360 miles).The Japanese rocket carrying the satellite was launched by the country's mainstay H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.Japan has a massive space programme and the country has achieved successes in both scientific and commercial satellite launches. It has sent astronauts on space shuttle and International Space Station missions.

Obama, Korea's Park, Japan's Abe to discuss North Korea on Thursday: White House-[Reuters]-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the White House said on Monday."This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement.(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bernard Orr)

The shadow election: How a 112-member committee could decide GOP nomination-[The Canadian Press]-Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press-March 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS

WASHINGTON - The United States is in the throes of a shadow campaign that could pick the next president — an election being fought far from the spectacle of prime-time leaders' debates and the glare of national news cameras.Republican party members at county and state-level meetings are electing the rules committee that will set the guidelines for the summer nominating convention in Cleveland.This election is also held every four years, but people don't usually pay much attention, because it generally doesn't matter. This time, though, it could determine whether Donald Trump becomes the nominee.There's a better-than-average chance that the Republican party will have its first contested convention in generations. Convention rules are written by a 112-member committee that decides: who can be on the ballot; whether the contest is only open to candidates who've won a certain number of primaries; whether a famous last-minute entrant like Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan might be eligible; and whether delegates allotted to a candidate must vote for him on a first, second or third ballot.Jeremy Blosser was among the few Americans who actually paid attention to this rules committee last time. He attended its meetings at the convention four years ago.Even with the lower stakes, he recalls the battle being intense. There was a messy scene on the convention floor as people's microphones were cut off, with party brass ignoring shouts and points of order.This was when the party imposed a rule designed to prevent a challenge from no-hope candidate Ron Paul. The party insisted candidates had to have won delegate majorities in eight states, effectively crowning Mitt Romney.Blosser can barely imagine what it'll be like this time."It's a complete mess," said Blosser, who was an alternate delegate from Texas in 2012."Anybody who wants to actually contest it needs legal people, and rules people, and they need a nationwide network into the delegates to talk to them and prep them for what's coming. It's a herculean task."It's already getting messy.Trump has warned of possible riots should he be stripped of the nomination, and threatened a lawsuit. He's unswayed by critics who say that if he gets out-organized, he's lost fair and square."It tells you what a crooked system we have and what a rotten political system we have," Trump told ABC this weekend."I have millions of votes more than 'Lying Ted' (Cruz)... What's going on in the Republican party is a disgrace."The broad issue stems from Trump's unique historical position.He's won by far the most primaries — but not enough to secure a first-ballot victory. He also faces a broad pocket of resistance within the party. Unless he starts winning by bigger margins, he'll fall short of 50-per-cent-plus-one on the first ballot, and start facing a challenge on the second ballot.That gives tremendous power to the committee writing the rules.The process of picking its 112 members (two per state and territory) is already underway. It's started with hundreds of meetings at the county level, where delegates are chosen for state conventions. State conventions then pick representatives who will set the rules as the national convention starts in July in Cleveland.Trump's rag-tag, rookie-heavy team faces a tall challenge.Media reports say his preferred candidates got wiped out in Louisiana's rules-committee race. And despite the fact that he won that state primary, he's even fallen behind in the delegate count there, as Cruz reportedly surpassed him by winning over some delegates who'd been Marco Rubio's before he dropped out.A similar dynamic could play out in South Carolina. Trump easily won that primary — but rules there don't allow first-time state-convention-goers as delegates. That means he can't bring in a team of Trump outsiders, and must rely on party establishment types in his delegation to stick with him beyond a first ballot.One high-ranking Republican says that's the way it works.Curly Haugland of the Republican National Committee issued a public letter this month saying convention delegates should be free to vote as they choose. He calls it a myth that voters in primaries pick party nominees. It's the delegates and, he says, at every convention except 1976 they've been allowed to choose whomever they want."Without the use of force to bind the votes of delegates ... primaries are nearly worthless 'beauty contests,'" Haugland wrote."That’s right. Every delegate ... is a completely free agent."But the veteran of the 2012 convention rules committee quoted by the website Politico offered a bleaker take.Said Tom Lundstrum of Arkansas: "It'll be a bloodbath."

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