THE EUROPEAN UNIONS BIG 3 - THE EU WILL SURVIVE BREXIT.

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)

EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

EZEKIEL 39:1-23
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9  And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
10  So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)(EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye (MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL) shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.(RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS)
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I (GOD-JESUS) will set my glory among the heathen,(WORLD NATIONS) and all the heathen (WORLD NATIONS) shall see my judgment that I have executed,(AGAINST ISRAELS ENEMIES) and my (GODS) hand that I have laid upon them.(ISRAELS HATER ENEMIES)
22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
23  And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24  According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM THINKS THIS IS THE BIGGEST ISLAMIC GRAVE SITE IN THE WORLD. BUT THE BIGGEST WILL BE EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY VERY SOON NOW. ONCE ISRAEL TAKES CARE OF ISLAM WITH GODS HELP.

World's largest cemetery grows bigger as Shi'ite militias bury their dead-[Reuters]-By Alaa al-Marjani and Saif Hameed-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The world's largest cemetery, in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, is expanding at double its usual rate as the nation's death rate increased with the war on Islamic State.The Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley," has a special place in the hearts of Shi'ite Muslims as it surrounds the Mausoleum of their first imam, Ali Bin Abi Talib, a cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad.The pace of daily burials rose to 150-200 after Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group overran a third of the country in 2014, said Jihad Abu Saybi, a historian of the cemetery. The rate was 80-120 a day previously, he said.Shi'ite paramilitary often visit Ali's golden-domed shrine before heading to the frontlines to battle Islamic State, and request to be laid to rest in Wadi al-Salam should they be killed, as a reward for their sacrifice.As land becomes scarce, the cost of a standard 25 square meter family burial lot has risen to about 5 million Iraqi dinars ($4100) almost double the amount paid for the same lots before violence escalated as IS exerted control over large swathes of north and western Iraq in 2014.Millions of graves of different shapes lie in the roughly 10 square km (4 square miles) cemetery that attracts burials from Shiites all over the world. By nationality, Iraq's Iranian neighbors are thought to come second in number people interred near Ali's golden-domed shrine.Often built with baked bricks and plaster, decorated with Koranic calligraphy, some graves are above ground tombs, reflecting the wealth of those within.(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)

Water shortages hit West Bank Palestinians, provoking war of words-[Reuters]-By Sabreen Taha-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) - At the peak of a searing summer, Palestinians living in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank are suffering from severe water shortages, prompting a war of words between Palestinian and Israeli officials over who is responsible.The Palestinians say Israel is preventing them from accessing adequate water at an affordable price, and point out that nearby Israeli settlements have plentiful water supplies. Israel says the Palestinians have been allocated double the amount they were due under an interim 1995 agreement, and have refused to discuss solutions to the current problem.For Palestinian Nidal Younis, the head of the Masafer Yatta village council near Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, getting hold of water has become prohibitively expensive."The cost of a cubic meter for residents is 12 times higher than the normal price," he said, shaking his head. "When water is available, it normally costs four shekels (about $1) per cubic meter, but now it costs 50 shekels."Israeli settlements are scattered on hillsides all around Masafer Yatta, a low-stone village on dry, rocky land. The settlements, with gardens and greenery, receive water from the Israeli utility provider via dedicated pipelines.Younis said there was water in the ground near his village, home to around 1,600 people and many animals. But he said Israeli authorities prevented villagers from accessing the water by denying them permits to dig. Israel says unregulated digging of wells would do severe damage to the water table.The villagers have approached the Palestinian Water Authority, which said it had made appeals to the Israelis, but the requests were apparently unanswered.Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a branch of the military that administers Palestinian civil issues, said Israel provides 64 million cubic meters of water to the Palestinians annually, even though under the 1995 Oslo accords it is only obliged to provide 30 million.Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the Palestinians had consistently refused to meet to discuss water issues or work to resolve the long-standing problem."The Palestinian allegations... are simply a lie," he said. "Under the Oslo accords we agreed to establish together a joint working committee on water. Unfortunately, the Palestinian side has refused systematically to participate."He added that the water needs in the West Bank, which the Palestinians want for a state together with East Jerusalem and Gaza, are greater than the infrastructure can handle.Mazen Ghuneim, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the Palestinians had halted water negotiations with Israel five years ago because Israel had not frozen settlement building.-RURAL SHORTAGES-The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which is working with the Palestinian Authority and Italian aid agency GVC to provide water to impoverished areas, has warned that up to 35,000 Palestinians are at risk because of the shortages.Gregor von Medeazza, the head of UNICEF's water program, said Israel had prevented villagers from building water-retention facilities and that 33 such structures had been demolished this year because they were built without permits.Palestinians living furthest from urban areas have been the hardest hit, he said, often having to pay large sums to get private companies to truck water to their villages.Some Israeli settlers have grown concerned about the lack of water available for Palestinians."Israel has not... made an effort to plan a long-term program for the next 10, 20, 30 years that will take into consideration population growth," said Yochai Damari, head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council, a settlement body."Thank God Israel doesn't have a shortage of water -- there is desalinated water, there is water that is located elsewhere that needs to be drilled and extracted using pipelines and infrastructure that will provide water to the Arab community, and of course to the Jewish community."(Writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Luke Baker and Dominic Evans)

Israel army nets arms in West Bank factory raids-[AFP]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Jerusalem (AFP) - The Israeli army carried out a series of raids on weapons manufacturers in the occupied West Bank overnight in the largest such operation in years, the army said Tuesday.Soldiers raided seven sites in the Palestinian territory, finding a number of weapons manufacturing machines, a senior army official said without giving his name.An army video posted online showed a large number of confiscated rifles and ammunition."In six of the seven warehouses we found advanced weapons technology," the official said."This is not someone who has a weapon in their garage, these are people that make a living from it."By shutting down those factories, we believe that the price of weapons will go up and (fewer) people will be able to get their hands on weapons."It was the largest such operation in several years, he said, with two alleged weapons dealers arrested.Since the beginning of 2016, the Israeli forces have closed down 29 weapon manufacturing workshops in the West Bank, according to police.Palestinians living in the West Bank are not allowed to have guns unless part of the security services.The military official estimated there were still thousands of guns in the Palestinian territory.A wave of violence since October has killed 220 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP tally.Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say, with the majority of them from the West Bank.Separately the United Nations' body for Palestinian refugees said on Monday it was "gravely concerned" about the killing of a Palestinian refugee on August 16 during an Israeli military incursion into the Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron."A reportedly unarmed 19-year old Palestine refugee from Fawwar camp was killed after being shot in the chest by live ammunition rounds reportedly fired by an Israeli sniper stationed approximately 100 meters away," UNRWA said.

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.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

Big three' leaders say EU will survive Brexit By Eszter Zalan-AUG 23,16-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 08:51-The leaders of Germany, France and Italy vowed Monday (22 August) that the European Union would survive the UK's exit.They also urged more cooperation on security and job creation and help for young Europeans in an effort to lay the groundwork for an informal summit on the future of the EU without the UK, on 16 September in Bratislava.German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande and Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi met on Ventotene, an island off Naples where one of the documents that inspired European federalists was written.To reinforce the European spirit, they laid a wreath on the grave of Altiero Spinelli, one of the EU’s founding fathers and visionary for a federal Europe who wrote the "Ventotene Manifesto" in 1941."We respect Great Britain’s decision but we also want to make clear that the other 27 are banking on a safe and prospering Europe," Merkel said at a joint press conference held on the Garibaldi aircraft carrier, a vessel that takes part in Italy’s effort to combat people traffickers."Many people thought that after Brexit, Europe was finished. It's not like that," Renzi said."We respect the choice of Britain's citizens, but we want to write a page for the future," said the Italian PM, who sees Brexit as an opportunity to reinforce his country’s standing in Europe.The three leaders also warned that Europe needed to turn away from populism.“For many populists, Europe is to blame for everything that goes wrong,” Renzi noted. "Immigration? It's Europe's fault. The economy is bad? It's Europe's fault. But that is not the case."Hollande said the future of Europe could be "unity and cohesion", but only if EU and national leaders fight against "dislocation, egotism, folding in on ourselves".However, the leaders announced nothing substantial after the meeting.They will all face discontented voters soon – Renzi holds a crucial referendum in the autumn, Merkel and Hollande face general elections next year – leaving them with little room for manoeuvre.The leaders agreed the need to improve security and intelligence sharing was an "absolute priority" for confronting Islamic extremism in Europe.Hollande stressed in particular the need for common European defence efforts after a string of deadly attacks in France.The leaders also pledged reinforced external border protection.But cracks were already visible as Merkel has shown little enthusiasm for loosening economic rules to allow more economic flexibility for debt-stricken Italy and struggling France.Hollande called for the Juncker Plan, the EU’s investment fund, to be beefed up.Renzi said “we need strong measures to relaunch growth and fight youth unemployment”.Merkel praised Renzi's jobs reform but said the EU’s Stability Pact, designed to keep the euro economies in line, "has quite a lot of flexibility that we can use in a clever way".The German leader is not keen on major structural overhauls of the EU, and wants to focus on specific policies that could deliver results to voters swiftly.The meeting marked the beginning of a week of talks for Merkel.She will visit Estonia, the Czech Republic and Poland in the coming days and will meet with the leaders of Slovakia and Hungary in Warsaw. She also invited leaders from the Netherlands and Austria for informal meetings in Germany.

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.

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)

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)

Russia and China Agree Joint To Hold Military Drill in South China Sea-The drill's annual location often changes to reflect strategic priorities.By Damien Sharkov On 8/22/16 at 2:35 PM

Russia and China have agreed to hold a joint naval drill in the South China Sea in September.The decision was taken after a final meeting to discuss the preparation for the event in Zhangjiang, Russian state news agency Itar-Tass reported.Joint Sea 2016 will be the fifth annual drill held by the two countries, with the last one taking place in May 2015. The location of the exercise is different each time and often mirrors areas of increased military significance for at least one of the two navies. In 2015, in keeping with Russia’s air force operations in Syria, the drill took place in the Mediterranean Sea.Next month, the exercise will see Russia’s Pacific Fleet and the Naval Forces of China’s People’s Liberation Army practice all types of defensive maneuvers and amphibious landing of joint naval troops in the South China Sea.The drill will take place in the same month as Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the G20 summit in China, where the Chinese government has vowed to welcome him as the event’s main guest.Russia has pursued cultivating Sino-Russian relations in the wake of its fallout with the West over the Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, China is looking for international support for its territorial claims in the South China Sea, which are contested by virtually all other states with access to the waters.

One year on, Russia's war in Syria is hardly a 'quagmire'-[Christian Science Monitor]-Howard LaFranchi-August 22, 2016-YAHOONEWS

When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his forces to the rescue of Syria's Bashar al-Assad a year ago, President Obama predicted that the Russians would end up trapped in a “quagmire.”Today, Russia hardly appears to be bogged down and instead has reestablished itself as a power in the Middle East.Russian bombers and special forces have solidified President Assad's hold on Syria, making it possible for him to retake parts of the country once considered irretrievably lost to opposition forces, including moderate rebels armed by the Central Intelligence Agency.Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia? Beyond that, Russia has consolidated its status in the region, gaining influence in Iran and Turkey – and even Saudi Arabia and Israel.“Everyone understands there’s been a significant adjustment in the Middle East, that the Russians once again are players and you have to take them into account,” says Nicolas Gvosdev, a Russia expert at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. “Putin aimed to put Russia back at the forefront of regional calculations, and at this point he’s achieved that.”Earlier this month, Iran granted Russia access to its Nojeh air base to carry out its air campaign in Syria. That access was suspended “for now,” Russian officials announced Monday, but it nevertheless constituted the first time the Islamic republic had ever accepted foreign forces on Iranian soil. It was a concession beyond anything the Shah ever granted the United States.As for Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently traveled to Moscow to meet with Mr. Putin and mend ties that had frayed over Russia’s support for Assad.“Without Russia’s contribution, there cannot be a permanent solution in Syria,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Russian Sputnik News Agency Thursday.-FILLING A VACUUM-Russia’s return to prominence in the Middle East corresponds with an intentional “rebalancing” under Mr. Obama, shifting American focus and assets away from the region and toward Asia. That rebalancing has opened the way for other powers – first among them Russia – to gain clout in an area where the US had reigned unchallenged for decades.With the use of Iranian air bases “the Russians now have strategic aircraft flying over the Persian Gulf,” Dr. Gvosdev says. “It’s no longer a zone of exclusive American operation.”Yet for all Russia and Putin appear to have gained from the Syria intervention, it has not been cost-free – and might yet prove more costly, some experts say. “What happens if [the Russians] can’t totally leave Syria?” says Paul Stronski, a senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. “If they find they can’t pick up and leave but have to stay engaged [in Syria] to keep what they’ve achieved, at what point does it become a quagmire?”And all the downsides are not hypothetical, Dr. Stronski adds.“The intervention put a target on Russia,” he says, pointing to the terrorist attack that downed a Russian commercial jet over Egypt’s Sinai last year, killing 224 people, mostly Russian tourists.He also cites the “horrific plight of the Syrian people that has certainly worsened over the year of the Russian bombing campaign.” Russian officials have been “very careful” with how (or whether) the humanitarian downsides of the intervention have been presented in Russia. -A LESSON FOR THE US?-Russia has been able to reassert itself in the region patly because it set out limited goals – something the US might consider taking a cue from, Gvosdev says.“Where the Americans might have gone in ... with the aim of ending the war followed by grandiose plans for nation-building, the Russians set a relatively low bar which was to prevent Assad from falling and to reestablish [the regime’s] positions in parts of the country,” he says. “The message is that when you set limited goals and achieve them, it’s a victory. But when you set lofty goals and offer an expansive vision of what you’re going to achieve,” he adds, “when you don’t do it all people say you failed.”The limited goals, however, are part of a much broader vision for Russia’s presence in the Middle East.Turkey and Iran are key elements of Russian plans to boost energy sales – west through Turkey to Europe without going through Ukraine, and east through Iran to India and other South Asian markets.The bombing runs from Iran allowed Russia to showcase its bombers and other armaments to a hungry regional arms market.“I have no doubt that’s part of it. We’re going to see the Russians use this campaign to try to entice other states in the Middle East to buy its arms,” Stronski says.Perhaps the biggest factor in Putin’s calculations has been how it all plays out at home, Stronski says.“A lot of this has to do with influencing the Russian domestic sphere,” he says.Russia will hold parliamentary elections next month, which will be crucial to Putin. The Russian leader is carefully tailoring the image Russians receive, Stronski adds.“The message is that Russia under Putin is a loyal ally,” he says. Rescuing Assad and renewing ties with regional powers presents the reassuring picture, Stronski says, “of a Russia that is a strong and effective support to friends.”

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)(NUKED BY SNEAK ATTACK FROM RUSSIA)

IN REVELATION 17 & 18 IS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL BABYLONS.IF YOU CAN NOT DECERN BETWEEN THE 2 BABYLONS IN REV 17 & 18.YOU WILL JUST THINK THEIR BOTH THE SAME.BUT NO-THERES A RELIGIOUS BABYLON (THE VATICAN IN REV 17)(AND THE POLITICAL BABYLON IN REV 18 (AMERICA OR NEW YORK TO BE EXACT)

ISAIAH 34:10
10  It (AMERICA-POLITICAL BABYLON) shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

JEREMIAH 51:29-32 (CYBER ATTACK 1ST)
29  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon,(AMERICA-NEW YORK) to make the land of Babylon (AMERICA) a desolation without an inhabitant.
30  The mighty men of Babylon (AMERICA) have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon (NEW YORK) that his city is taken at one end,
32  And that the passages are stopped,(THE WAR COMPUTERS HACKED OR EMP'D) and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.(DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO)

COMPLETE SILENCE AFTER AN EMP GOES OFF
REVELATION 8:1
1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north (RUSSIA) there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon,(AMERICA) and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK CYBER,EMP ATTACK,THEN NUKE ATTACK ON AMERICA)

REVELATION 18:3-6,19-21
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,(U.S.A) and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,(U.S.A) and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her,(AMERICA) my people,(CHRISTIANS,JEWS) that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her (AMERICA-NEW YORK) even as she rewarded you,(WITH FALSE FLAG TERRORISM) and double unto her double according to her works:(DOUBLE-EMP 1ST,THEN RUSSIA NUKE ATTACKS U.S.A) in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.(PROBABLY A RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACK WILL SET THE WHOLE SITUATION UP AS RUSSIA HACKS THE USA ARMY COMPUTERS.THEN THE EMP,THEN THE NUKE ATTACK)
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Biden: US committed to protecting Baltic states from Russia-[Associated Press]-PIETRO DECRISTOFARO-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday reaffirmed America's determination to defend the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia against any aggression from neighboring Russia.Biden told reporters that the U.S. remains committed to NATO's Article 5, the key principle of collective defense of all alliance members. He dismissed comments from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that, were he to win November's election, he might withdraw U.S. backing for the Baltics' defense."We mean what we say. We have never reneged on any commitment we have made. Our sacred honor is at stake," Biden said after a Riga Castle meeting with the three Baltic presidents: Raimonds Vejonis of Latvia, Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania and Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia.Biden said Trump's remarks were "nothing that should be taken seriously, because I don't think he understands what Article 5 is."In an interview last month with The New York Times, Trump said he would decide whether the Baltic states should enjoy continued NATO protection from Russia based on whether those countries "have fulfilled their obligations to us." This prompted a furious response in all three Baltic capitals.Biden said NATO forces would strengthen security along their shared eastern border with Russia. The former Soviet Union occupied all three nations from the final months of World War II to 1991.Biden is scheduled to visit Turkey on Wednesday and Sweden on Thursday.

Hollande voices 'concern' to Putin over Ukraine tension-[AFP]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Paris (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande voiced his "concern" over a spike in tensions in Ukraine, in a telephone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, his office said Tuesday.The call, which also included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, came after Putin earlier this month accused Kiev of plotting an armed incursion on Crimea, and Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned of a possible "full-scale" Russian invasion.Hollande "expressed his concern over a rise in tensions these past weeks and a growing number of ceasefire violations," it said in a statement after the call."He underlined the risk an escalation of violence posed to the (peace) process."Ukraine has been in the grip of a conflict between its army and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country for two years.Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine and deploying troops across the border -- claims which Moscow denies.More than 9,500 people have been killed since the conflict started in April 2014, and deadly clashes continue to occur despite several truces.Tensions between Russia and Ukraine soared earlier this month after Putin accused Kiev of attempting an armed incursion into Crimea -- the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.Putin on Tuesday told the French and German leaders of a "gross provocation by the Ukrainian side," the Kremlin said.He said that Kiev's "inclination to this kind of military action harms the Minsk process and cooperation" under the so-called Normandy format, which groups Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.Meanwhile as fighting increased in the east, Ukraine's President Poroshenko warned of a possible "full-scale" Russian invasion.Merkel, Hollande and Putin agreed to "continue personal contacts on the topic of Ukraine" on the sidelines of the G20 Summit to be held in China on September 4 and 5, the Kremlin said.Putin earlier this month said the alleged incidents in Crimea meant he would not hold a "senseless" meeting at the G20 with Poroshenko along with the French and German leaders.

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)

U.S. tracked North Korean submarine-launched missile: defense official-[Reuters]-August 23, 2016-yahoonews

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States detected and tracked a North Korean submarine-launched missile which flew about 300 miles (480 km) before splashing into the Sea of Japan, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday."This was likely a KN-11 ballistic missile," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Seoul: North Korea fires submarine-launched missile-[Associated Press]-HYUNG-JIN KIM-August 23, 2016-yahoonews

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday fired a ballistic missile from a submarine into the sea in an apparent protest against the start of annual South Korea-U.S. military drills, Seoul's military said.The missile fired from a submarine off the eastern coastal town of Sinpo flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest flight of a North Korean submarine-launched missile, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. U.S. Strategic Command said it had tracked the North Korean submarine launch of the presumed KN-11 missile over and into the Sea of Japan.North Korea fired two other missiles from submarines earlier this year but they were believed to have exploded in midair after flying several or 30 kilometers (18 miles), according to South Korean defense officials.The North's acquiring the ability to launch missiles from submarines would be an alarming development because missiles fired from submerged vessels are harder to detect in advance. The U.S. Strategic Command statement said the North Korean launch did not pose a threat to North America but that the U.S. military "remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations."North Korea's missile and nuclear programs are a source of regional security concerns. Outside experts say the North doesn't yet have a reliable long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. but they acknowledge the North has been making steady progress on its weapons programs and could one day acquire such a weapon.Some civilian experts said they believe the North already has the technology to put warheads on shorter-range missiles that can strike South Korea and Japan.Wednesday's launch comes two days after the U.S. and South Korea began their 12-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises, prompting North Korean threats of retaliation.The South Korean military statement said it considers the North Korean missile launch as an "armed protest" against the military drills and a challenge to peace on the Korean Peninsula. It also noted that the launch violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic missile activities by North Korea.The launch also comes at a time of intensified animosities between the rival Koreas over the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat in London and a U.S. plan to install a sophisticated missile defense system in South Korea.About 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.North Korea usually responds to the regular South Korea-U.S. military drills with weapons tests and fiery warlike rhetoric.

UN: North Korea plants mines near Korean border village-[KIM TONG-HYUNG]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The American-led U.N. Command in South Korea on Tuesday accused North Korea of planting land mines near a truce village inside the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.Much of the border, one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints, is strewn with land mines and laced with barbed wire. But South Korean media said no land mines had been planted in the area of the truce village of Panmunjom until North Korea placed an unspecified number there last week.The U.N. Command said in a statement that it "strongly condemns" any North Korean action that jeopardizes the safety of personnel in the DMZ.It said it wouldn't speculate on why North Korea placed the mines there. Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said the North apparently planted the mines to prevent front-line North Korean soldiers from defecting to South Korea via Panmunjom.North Korea's state media didn't immediately respond to the U.N. Command statement.Panmunjom, jointly overseen by North Korea and the U.N. Command, is where an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War was signed and is now a popular tourist spot for visitors from both sides.Under the Korean War armistice, the two sides are barred from carrying out any hostile acts within or across the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) -wide DMZ. Still, they have accused each other of deploying machine guns and other heavy weapons and combat troops inside the zone.More than a million mines are also believed to be buried inside the DMZ. North Korean mines occasionally have washed down a swollen river into South Korea, killing or injuring civilians. In August 2015, land mine blasts maimed two South Korean soldiers and caused tensions between the two Koreas to flare.The U.N. Command statement came a day after U.S. and South Korean troops began annual drills despite North Korean threats to retaliate against the exercises, which it says are a rehearsal for an invasion. This year's drills come at a time of intensified animosity between the rivals over the defection of a senior North Korean diplomat in London and a U.S. plan to install a sophisticated missile defense system in South Korea.On Tuesday, South Korean officials said three North Koreans who were found on a boat off South Korea's western coast earlier this month have expressed a desire to resettle in the South. More than 1,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea each year between 2012 and 2015.

U.N. rights envoy says Chinese authorities interfered with his work-[Reuters]-By Ben Blanchard-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

BEIJING (Reuters) - A United Nations-appointed human rights envoy said on Tuesday that the Chinese government interfered with his work during a visit to China by blocking access to individuals whom he had hoped to meet.Philip Alston, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, told reporters at the end of a nine-day visit to China that he had notified the government in advance of academics he wanted to meet on his visit, a routine practice for a U.N. special rapporteur."None of those meetings were arranged, and the message I got from many of the people I contacted was that they had been advised that they should be on vacation at this time," said Alston, an Australian who is a law professor at the New York University School of Law.China's Foreign Ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment."The position that the United Nations has always followed and that I've followed in every other country that I've visited, and there are many, is that the rapporteur is entitled to meet with whomsoever he wants to meet with, that he's entitled to go wherever he wants to," Alston said.Since taking office more than three years ago, President Xi Jinping has cracked down on dissent, reining in the media and civil society and detaining dozens of rights activists.Rights groups say the government is trying to silence critics, and also argue that the country's ethnic minorities, particularly in places such as Tibet, Inner Mongolia and the western region of Xinjiang, face harsh discriminatory measures.The government routinely rejects criticism of its policies toward minority populations, and denies any abuse of human rights or freedom of expression, saying it is going after lawbreakers.Alston said he was taken on an "abysmal tour" of a model ethnic village near the southwestern city of Kunming, where officials presented minorities in terms of colorful dances but not in terms of education or meaningful protection of language and traditions."The problem with policies on ethnic minorities is that in a country like China they are highly assimilationist," he said, though he praised China for its progress on poverty alleviation.Special rapporteurs work on a voluntary basis, are not U.N. staff, and do not get paid for their work.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Writing by Michael Martina; Editing by Ryan Woo and Simon Cameron-Moore)

U.N. readies for refugee exodus from Iraq's Mosul-[Reuters]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

GENEVA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in and around Mosul could be uprooted by the military assault to retake city from Islamic State, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday."In Mosul we believe the displacement situation may be about to dramatically worsen," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a briefing, saying the agency needed more land for camps."The humanitarian impact of the military offensive is expected to be enormous, up to 1.2 million people could be affected."About 3.4 million people have already been forced by conflict to leave their homes across Iraq, taking refuge in areas under control of the government or in the Kurdish region, east of Mosul, Islamic State's de facto capital.With a population at one time as large as 2 million, Mosul is the largest city under the group's control in either Iraq or Syria.Iraqi and Kurdish forces are gradually closing on the city 400 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad, with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition.Its fall would mark the effective defeat of the ultra-hardline militants in Iraq, according to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.The Iraqi army is battling its way up the Tigris river and has 60 km (40 miles) left to reach the outskirts of Mosul, while Kurdish Peshmerga forces are deployed 30 km east of the city.(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Greece says at least 41,000 asylum seekers on its territory-[AFP]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Athens (AFP) - Greece has at least 41,000 refugees and migrants who are seeking asylum, mostly Syrians eligible to relocate within the EU, the migration minister said on Tuesday.Yiannis Mouzalas told a news conference that Greek and UN services had recorded 54,000 refugees and migrants on Greek territory between June and the end of July.Over 41,000 of them on the mainland have expressed interest in asylum, or have made formal requests.Another 2,000 have agreed to be returned home.At the same time, there are another 11,000 people currently being processed on Greek islands after landing there from neighbouring Turkey.Mouzalas said the operation was designed to "begin to rein in the chaos", which overwhelmed Greek authorities after a succession of Eastern European and Balkan countries shut their borders to migrants starting in February.Before the closures, and an EU-Turkey deal designed to stem the flow came into effect in March, over a million people had passed through Greece in 2015, primarily Syrians fleeing their country's brutal civil war.The migration minister admitted that there are additionally "around 4,000" people who are avoiding follow-up registration as they hope to cross the border with the help of smugglers.But Mouzalas denied reports that hundreds of people were being allowed to sneak across the border to Macedonia and Bulgaria."This is a lie," he said. "If 700 were leaving every day (as is claimed) we'd have no refugees left (in Greece)."

Slander trial looms for Quebec author who criticized Muslim school-[The Canadian Press]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

MONTREAL — A slander trial is set to begin next month pitting a fiercely secular, feminist author against a private, Muslim school in Montreal she likened to militant Islamic training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Djemila Benhabib, an award-winning author and twice-failed Parti Quebecois candidate, is claiming freedom of expression, while the school wants $95,000 from her for "greatly tarnishing" its reputation.Julius Grey, a well-known human-rights and freedom-of-expression lawyer, is defending the school in this case and says he will argue Benhabib crossed the line and caused real harm to the institution."I regret nothing," Benhabib said in an interview Monday as she referred to the 2012 radio comments that have landed her in court.Benhabib told the Montreal host in 2012 she was concerned by the selection of Qur'anic verses published on the website of the Muslims Schools of Montreal, a private institution that teaches elementary and high school.The school is accredited by the provincial government and follows the curriculum outlined by the Education Department.During the 2012 interview, Benhabib said the verses, which have since been removed from the website, inappropriately referred to the need for young girls to stay pure. She also stated they criticized non-Muslims.Additionally, she was upset at a school pamphlet distributed in the community showing young girls wearing the hijab. And Benhabib took umbrage at the document stating that part of the institution's mission was to help students "establish a solid relationship with Allah.""(The school) resembles the kind of indoctrination similar to what goes on in a military camp in Afghanistan or Pakistan," she told the radio host.Moreover, she added the school "models itself on a society different than ours. It's a model where women have to lower their heads and walk behind men. Where kids are forced to learn Qur'anic verses and where, probably, men will commit honour crimes against their sisters."Benhabib was born in Ukraine to a Muslim-Algerian father and a Greek-Cypriot mother.She said she "suffered through an Islamic educational system" and has vowed to fight against what she calls "political Islam."Grey said in an interview the case isn't about freedom of expression but about slander."We are going to argue that the comparison made with terrorism is a particular dangerous one in our time," Grey said."It's used to create fear and discredit people without any basis and, because of the atmosphere, one has to be careful before one suggests that an organization — which is a perfectly normal and reasonable association — has anything to do with terrorism or training radicalization."Benhabib said she never used the word terrorism. She is hosting a fundraiser in early September to help pay her legal costs.The court case begins Sept. 26.Giuseppe Valiante, The Canadian Press.

Extremist literature common in mosques, Islamic school libraries, study says-[The Canadian Press]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

OTTAWA — Many mosques and Islamic schools in Canada are placing young people at risk by espousing — or at least not condemning — extremist teachings, a new study says.Co-authors Thomas Quiggin, a former intelligence analyst with the Privy Council Office and the RCMP, and Saied Shoaaib, a journalist originally from Egypt, base their findings on research conducted quietly in mosque libraries and Islamic schools.The study, titled "Lovers of the Death"? — Islamist Extremism in Mosques and Schools, says what worried them was not the presence of extremist literature, but that they found nothing but such writings in several libraries."Further research is required to determine the depth and breadth of this problem."The authors say openly available material and analysis of social media postings helped confirm their views that many Canadians, including leading politicians, are turning a blind eye to the dangers.They argue the issue is too important to ignore, given that a number of young Canadians have become radicalized to violence.Canadian Muslims with humanist and modernist outlooks are being drowned out by those with extreme views, the study says. "The struggle for the soul of Islam between Islamists and humanists goes on in Canada and the U.S.A., not just in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia."The Canadian Council of Imams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Liberal government plans to soon announce details of its plans for a national office of counter-radicalization to carry out research and co-ordinate activities across Canada.One year ago, the Senate defence and security committee issued a report saying some foreign-trained imams had been spreading extremist religious ideology and messages that are not in keeping with Canadian values, contributing to radicalization.It called on the government to work with the provinces and Muslim communities to "investigate the options that are available for the training and certification of imams in Canada."The report was not supported by Liberal senators on the committee. It was denounced by the National Council of Canadian Muslims as stigmatizing and failing to offer effective solutions to the challenge of violent extremism.Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard targets 450 social media users-[The Canadian Press]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

TEHRAN, Iran — The cyber-arm of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says it has summoned, detained and warned some 450 administrators of social media groups in recent weeks.The announcement Tuesday, carried on a website affiliated with the Guard's cyber arm, says those detained used social media like the messaging app Telegram, which is popular in Iran.The announcement says those detained or summoned made posts that were considered immoral, were related to modeling, or which insulted religious beliefs. It says the Guard only took action after "judicial procedures" were completed, without elaborating.In May, authorities announced an operation targeting those involved in modeling on Instagram.The arrests are part of a larger cultural struggle in Iran between hard-liners and moderates over the country's future.The Associated Press.

Syria Kurds win battle with government, Turkey mobilizes against them-[By Rodi Said, Tom Perry and Suleiman Al-Khalidi]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

HASAKA, Syria/BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian Kurdish forces took near complete control of Hasaka city on Tuesday as a ceasefire ended a week of fighting with the government, consolidating the Kurds' grip on Syria's northeast as Turkey increased its efforts to check their influence.The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syria war in 2011.Their growing sway has alarmed Turkey, which is fighting an insurgency among its own Kurdish minority.Syrian rebels backed by Turkey said they were in the final stages of preparing an assault from Turkish territory on the Islamic State-held Syrian border town of Jarablus, aiming to preempt any YPG attempt to take it.The battle over Hasaka marked the most violent confrontation between the YPG and Damascus in more than five years of civil war, with the Syrian air force used against the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces for the first time last week.On Tuesday Hasaka's remaining government officials were confined to a few buildings known as the security quarter, while the rest of the city was under Kurdish control. The Kurds held around 70 percent of Hasaka prior to the latest fighting."Even if they (pro-government militias) keep a symbolic presence, it is a big defeat for the regime in Hasaka," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the war.The terms of the ceasefire that came into effect at 2 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Tuesday included the withdrawal of the Syrian army and allied militia from Hasaka city, Kurdish officials said.The YPG would hand over all seized areas to an affiliated Kurdish police force, the Asayish. Government policemen would be left to secure the one remaining area under state control.Details reported by state TV included a prisoner swap, handing over the wounded and bodies of the dead, and opening the roads to Syrian army positions inside and outside the city.Reuters could not immediately obtain a full text of the agreement. One of the Kurdish officials said the deal was concluded on Monday evening "via international parties".-REBELS READY ATTACK-YPG-controlled areas of northern Syria include an uninterrupted 400 km (250 mile) stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border from the eastern frontier with Iraq to the Euphrates river, and a pocket of territory in northwestern Syria.Turkey is currently focused on preventing the YPG or its allies building on recent advances against Islamic State by capturing the town of Jarablus. The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces alliance (SDF), including the YPG, captured the city of Manbij, just south of Jarablus, from Islamic State earlier this month.Turkey has been shelling Islamic State positions in Jarablus as part of an effort to help allied Syrian rebels secure it. Rebel sources say they have been mobilizing in Turkey, ready to cross into Jarablus.A Syrian rebel with one of the Turkey-backed groups said the fighters were waiting for the signal to enter Jarablus."The Turkish artillery has not stopped ... this is to create the right atmosphere to start the battle of liberating Jarablus," said the rebel, who declined to be identified.A second rebel familiar with the preparations said around 1,500 fighters were now gathered at a location in Turkey to take part. "The plan is to take Jarablus and expand south ... so as to abort any attempt by the Kurds to move north ... and so that Kurds don't take more villages," he said.The leader of the newly declared "Jarablus military council", set up with the aim of mounting its own campaign to seize Jarablus with SDF support, was assassinated on Monday, the Observatory said. A Kurdish official said two "agents of Turkey" had been detained over the killing.(Writing by Tom Perry; Additional reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul and Umit Ozdal in Karkamis, Turkey; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Dominic Evans)

Philippines' Duterte says talks with China on sea dispute 'within the year'-[Reuters]-By Manuel Mogato-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he expects talks with China on their South China Sea dispute within a year and he would not raise an international ruling rejecting China's claims there when he attends a regional summit next month.An arbitration court in the Hague infuriated China in July when it ruled that China had no historical title over the South China Sea and it had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with various actions there.Raising the issue at a summit in Laos of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with its "dialogue partners" including China, the United States and Japan, would inevitably compound China's anger.Duterte, speaking to reporters at the presidential palace in Manila, said it was "better to continually engage China in a diplomatic dialogue rather than anger officials there".Asked about a date for bilateral talks, he said: "Within the year".China claims almost the entire South China Sea through which about $5 trillion worth of sea-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the sea believed to be rich in oil and gas.Duterte said the Philippines had no intention of raising the arbitration ruling during the summit, though adding: "But, if somebody dwells on it, we will discuss, but for the Philippines, we have talks."If formal negotiations with China were to fall through, "where do we go?" he asked.A former Philippine president, Fidel Ramos, traveled to the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong this month in an effort to rekindle damaged ties with Beijing.While there, Ramos said the Philippines wanted talks with China to explore a path to peace and cooperation.Duterte said his government wanted to talk to China so Philippine fishermen could return to the disputed Scarborough Shoal fishing ground.In 2012, China seized the shoal, denying Philippine fishermen access and prompting Manila to file the arbitration case.China has ignored the court's ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.Chinese construction on some of the reefs it controls in the South China Sea has alarmed other claimants as well as countries further afield such as Philippine allies the United States and Japan.China says its aims are peaceful and it has the right to do what it wants on its territory.(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Sudan, South Sudan agree to extend oil deal-[AFP]-August 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan and South Sudan agreed Tuesday to extend an oil deal between the two countries, officials said, but they failed to settle the exact terms.When they split in 2011 after decades of war, the two nations agreed that the South would pay a fixed fee for the use of export pipelines and facilities located in Sudan.But a fall in global oil prices meant that the fee exceeded Juba's earnings from oil sales, so the impoverished South lost money on every barrel sold.The existing agreement had been due to expire in October.The countries' oil ministers began talks in Khartoum on Sunday as South Sudan's new Vice President Taban Deng Gai began a two-day visit aimed at addressing issues outstanding from the 2011 split."Both sides broadly agreed on extending the existing oil agreement which expires before the end of this year," a joint statement said on Tuesday.It did not specify the duration of the extended agreement.During the discussions held this week, South Sudan agreed to increase its oil production and revive oilfields in the country's Unity state.The two sides, however, failed to decide on the financial terms of the deal, an official close to the negotiations told AFP, adding that they were expected to meet again within a month to work out those details.South Sudan is estimated to produce around 150,000 barrels of oil a day -- down from 350,000 at independence in 2011.Many oil fields ceased operating after the South plunged into civil war less than two years after its secession, with tens of thousands killed and more than 2.3 million driven from their homes.

PM, ministers wrap cabinet retreat focused on challenging fall agenda-[The Canadian Press]-August 22, 2016-YAHOONEWS

SUDBURY, Ont. — Justin Trudeau is acknowledging that his government faces a tough year ahead full of hard choices that won't please everyone.And he already seems to be trying to dampen expectations, at least when it comes to one of his most ambitious promises — to establish a new nation-to-nation relationship with Canada's indigenous people.The prime minister wrapped up a two-day cabinet retreat Monday, praising his government's accomplishments thus far but conceding there's more work ahead of it than behind."There are going to be difficult decisions and challenges ahead of us on everything from natural resources to investments to trade deals," Trudeau told a closing news conference, his ministers arrayed behind him on the bank of a picturesque northern Ontario lake.Trudeau's comment echoed a warning issued at the retreat Sunday by Sir Michael Barber, a British guru on "deliverology" — the art of ensuring governments deliver on their promises — who's been advising the Liberal administration.Having spent the first 10 months of their mandate enjoying a prolonged honeymoon and consulting with Canadians on dozens of different issues, Barber effectively told ministers it's time to fish or cut bait."If you want to generate results ... then in Year 2 you really need a focus on relentless implementation, on taking some difficult decisions where you can't please all of the people all the time," Barber said outside the retreat.Trudeau continued Monday to use soaring rhetoric to describe his ambition to fix the historic wrongs suffered by Canada's Aboriginal Peoples and set the country on a new path of reconciliation."Canadians are telling us that in the same way that women's issues are Canada's issues, indigenous issues are Canada's issues," he said. "So, know this. Our government will not rest until we make life better for indigenous people right across this country."Still, Trudeau took pains to warn that it will be "a long process ... and a complex one."Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie used the band's last concert Saturday, watched by millions on television, to give a high-profile endorsement of Trudeau's ability to get the job done.While the prime minister said Downie's "vote of confidence" was "extremely touching," he again stressed that "we have an awful lot of work to do and it's not going to happen overnight."One of hard choices the government must make soon is how to square the circle of Trudeau's promise to combat climate change while promoting natural resource development and exports.But Trudeau dodged Monday when asked whether he favours the Pacific NorthWest LNG (liquified natural gas) project, the fate of which his government must determine this fall and which is opposed by some British Columbia aboriginal leaders and environmentalists.Trudeau continued to straddle the fence, saying his government is committed to building "a strong economy while protecting and preserving our natural environment."It will wait for an imminent report from the Canadian Environmental Review Agency, which conducted a "more robust" review of the project as mandated by the Trudeau government, before deciding whether it should go ahead, he added."We know that in terms of emissions that coal is worse than oil, which is worse than LNGm but we certainly need to make sure we're looking at the whole range of challenges and opportunities to improve our development of these resources, our exporting of these resources and our use of these resources," he said.While such hard choices may inevitably sour some segments of the population against the Trudeau government, the prime minister continued to bask Monday in his post-election honeymoon.He was mobbed by excited Sudburians at a community barbecue hosted by the area's local Liberal MPs. RCMP had expected as many as 2,500 to attend but the massive crowd may well have swelled beyond that.The cabinet retreat was held at Laurentian University, where the ministers bunked together in student dorms. Trudeau also stayed in the dorm but didn't have to share a room."Being prime minister has its advantages. I think I got a floor monitor's room," he said."This was a great opportunity for collegiality. We had a bit of a floor party last night as we swapped what-I-did-on-my-summer-vacation stories."Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press.