JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
In Bratislava, EU leaders try to bridge divisions By Eszter Zalan-sept 15,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 17:55-Cool heads will be needed in Bratislava on Friday (16 September) to find common ground among 27 European leaders in a union that EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker described as fragmented at a never before seen level.A divided EU at 27 will gather for a day in the Slovak capital to establish a “diagnosis” of the bloc after the Brexit vote, and agree on a road map of common interest to be followed up at later summits in the next months.The so-called Bratislava process to be launched on Friday will include another informal meeting in Malta in February and will culminating in Rome in March, when the EU celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Rome treaty.“Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little commonality in our Union,” Juncker said in his state of the union address on Wednesday.After the union just survived a bruising eurocrisis, June’s Brexit vote exposed simmering frustrations among the electorate with globalisation, the ruling political elite, and an EU that seems unable to deliver.With populist forces on the rise across Europe, leaders are pressed by time to give viable answers. Next year will see elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.EU Council chief Donald Tusk will have the task of focusing leaders on finding what unites them in a time that a senior EU official described as “dramatic moment in EU history”.In a letter to leaders on Tuesday, Tusk wrote: “People in Europe want to know if the political elites are capable of restoring control over events and processes which overwhelm, disorientate, and sometimes terrify them. Today many people, not only in the UK, think that being part of the European Union stands in the way of stability and security.”The 27 leaders will gather in the Bratislava castle. In their first discussion they will focus on agreeing on a common “diagnosis” on where the EU is at and why, and what should be improved. This could define the political agenda for months.The intention is to have an honest debate. Tusk believes “we cannot simply shut down reality with optimistic messages", said one EU official.During lunch, leaders will discuss communication and the working method, as the senior EU official put it. Brexit will not be on the table, but Tusk will brief leaders on his talks with UK prime minister Theresa May.-Bratislava process-In the afternoon, leaders will focus on a statement, and how to proceed with what the “Bratislava process".However, EU powers, the reoccurring core debate of whether there should be more or less integration to effectively tackle the multiple crises Europe is facing, will not be discussed.Tusk notes in his letter that “giving new powers to European institutions is not the desired recipe” by national leaders.Leaders will concentrate on finding common ground on migration, a deeper defense cooperation, a common trade policy, growth, better intelligence and resource-sharing to fight terrorism, and strengthening the EU’s external border frontier.But EU countries are deeply divided on policies, and Bratislava is meant to rebuild those bridges.A commission internal graphic laying out member states' positions on 29 different policy areas, seen by this website, shows that only three EU policies – single market, fight against terrorism, and the digital agenda – are backed a majority of leaders.While Tusk wants to avoid a blame game among the member states and the institutions, spats among eastern and western EU member states can flare up.Some eastern member states hold a grudge against the commission for pushing through a mandatory relocation quota to distribute refugees among member states.Earlier this week Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn called for the exclusion of Hungary from the EU for the way it is treating migrants. In return Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban called Asselborn a “communist”.“The risk of failure is not excluded. The summit will fail if there is total discord,” said another EU official.Leaders are expected to be pressed not to blame the EU for their countries’ vowes, when they take part in the decision-making.Concrete decisions are not expected in Bratislava, except for personnel and equipment to help Bulgaria protect its border with Turkey.And while officials attempt to play down expectations of a breakthrough, showing a united front in itself will be a challenge.
Tusk calls on EU leaders to seize chance of Brexit-[Reuters]-By Alastair Macdonald-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - European Council president Donald Tusk called on EU leaders to take a "brutally honest" look at the bloc's problems as they met in Bratislava to find a way forward after Britain's shock vote to leave."We must not let this crisis go to waste," Tusk told reporters on his arrival in the Slovak capital on Thursday.With British Prime Minister Theresa May absent, the other 27 leaders will gather on Friday to try and agree a diagnosis of why people across the bloc are increasingly voting for eurosceptic parties and on ways to regain trust in the EU."We haven't come to Bratislava to comfort each other or even worse to deny the real challenges we face in this particular moment in the history of our community after the vote in the UK," said Tusk, who will chair the summit."We can't start our discussion ... with this kind of blissful conviction that nothing is wrong, that everything was and is OK,” he added. “We have to assure ... our citizens that we have learned the lesson from Brexit and we are able to bring back stability and a sense of security and effective protection."With governments deeply divided, between east and west, north and south, over how to bolster the economy and the euro zone and respond to an influx of refugees, Tusk has highlighted three priorities for agreement -- on strengthening external border controls, combating terrorism and reassuring people of protection from adverse effects of economic globalisation.Leaders want the summit to begin a process of negotiations in the hope of agreeing further strategies when they meet in March in the Italian capital to mark the 60th anniversary of the Union's founding Treaty of Rome.However, with leading powers France and Germany holding national elections over the coming year, the bloc's immediate scope for agreeing substantive new policies, notably on reforming the euro currency area and asylum rules, is limited.
West shows $1bn of faith in Ukraine By Andrew Rettman and Aleksandra Eriksson-sept 15,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:18-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown faith in Ukraine’s reform efforts by disbursing new money. A new ceasefire deal has also given fresh hope of peace.The IMF on Wednesday (14 September) in Washington voted to unblock $1 billion in macro-financial assistance, coming on top of $6.7 billion in previous payments under a $17.5 billion bailout programme.Its decision, after a 13-month delay due largely to concerns on corruption, also frees the US to guarantee $1 billion of Ukrainian bonds to be sold on international markets and a €600 million EU loan.The IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, said in a statement that there had been “welcome signs of recovery” in the economy and “bold steps” on reform, for instance, making people pay normal prices for energy.She added that “much remains to be done, including combating corruption,” as well as recapitalising banks and filling a hole in pension funds.The Ukrainian economy had shrivelled by 16 percent in the past two years, but grew 0.7 percent in the first half of this year.Its finance minister, Oleksandr Danylyuk, said on Thursday the IMF cash would be used to repay debts and stabilise the hryvnia, calling it a sign of “confidence”.The European Commission will, at an event in Kiev on Friday, unveil a separate €16 million scheme to help tackle corruption.EU states are also preparing to grant Ukrainians visa-free travel, in a decision expected next month.-Cease-fire-The IMF news came the same day that the leaders of two Russia-occupied regions in east Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, announced a seven-day truce starting midnight.One day earlier, international monitors, the OSCE, had recorded 275 explosions in the Donetsk region alone, with media reports of six deaths.Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who met the French and German foreign ministers in Kiev on Wednesday, agreed to match the truce.Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “We came to Kiev with the pledge from Moscow that the separatists' weapons will fall silent at midnight”.“We are glad that Ukraine will also respect the ceasefire … It would be a big step forward, plus open a window of opportunity, if weapons stayed quiet for seven days”.The British and Polish foreign ministers, in separate initiatives, also visited Kiev on Wednesday.With EU leaders to shortly discuss whether to maintain Russia economic sanctions, the UK’s Boris Johnson said: “The crucial thing now is that we maintain sanctions”.“Brexit or not, it makes no difference to us … We continue to be a major player, as I've always said, in common foreign and security policy. It's inconceivable that the UK would not be involved in that kind of conversation about sanctions”, he said.-'Internal enemy'-For her part, Nadyia Savchenko, a Ukrainian MP and former soldier who had been, until recently, held captive by Russia, also urged the EU to uphold sanctions while visiting Brussels last week.She said the EU should organise a humanitarian mission of doctors and lawyers to visit prisoners being held by both sides.Amid a brewing controversy over the EU’s €16-million scheme, she told EUobserver: “We have a problem with corruption. We don’t hide it. We say it openly that it is our main internal enemy”.The EU scheme has come under fire because Johannes Hahn, an EU commissioner, is to launch it at the so-called Yes business conference, which is sponsored by Viktor Pinchuk, an oligarch.Daria Kaleniuk, a leading anti-corruption campaigner, told this website: “I wouldn't go [to Yes] even if I were invited because of Pinchuk”.A Ukrainian official dealing with corruption issues, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It’s not a good idea for an EU official [Hahn] to present an anti-corruption project during an event organised by an oligarch. Oligarchs are the leaders of Ukrainian corruption”.
Interview-Canada trade deal is 'wrong enemy' By Eszter Zalan-SEPT 15,16-EUOBSERVER
STRASBOURG, Today, 09:29-Europe risks its status as a global player if it fails to agree the CETA trade deal with Canada, the European Parliament's rapporteur for the issue told EUobserver.Artis Pabriks was speaking before EU 27 leaders meet in Bratislava on Friday (16 September) to find common ground after Brexit.One senior EU official said leaders “should be rebuilding consensus on trade policy” as heads of government attempt to provide protection from the negative effects of globalisation.While there is increasing opposition to the American trade deal, TTIP, “CETA is a very significant test for Europe”, the official said.The European Commission hopes EU countries will authorise it to sign the deal before October when Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau travels to Brussels.A provisional application of the deal after it is signed and before ratification by member states is still under discussion.In the European Parliament the socialists have been divided on the issue.The Latvian EPP politician told this website: “Canada is a country with which we have extremely similar values, similar interests. I really do wonder - if we can't make a smooth deal with them, then for God’s sake who can we do a deal with?"“I would say Canada for then EU is a closer partner, than some EU countries to other EU countries."Pabriks said he hoped socialist MEPs would come on board by December or at least by early next year. A vote on the idea in the plenary could take place in December or in the first two months of 2017.“If we want to show that European institutions and Europe are a serious global partner and a serious global player, then I don’t see hindrances to pass this deal still within this year in EP,” he argued.“It is a question of political will.”The rapporteur argues that provisional application of the deal should start as soon as the EP has voted on it.Addressing the issue of Canadian visa requirements for Romania and Bulgaria, which has put ratification into question in those two countries, Pabriks said he was confident Canada would make a “positive step” soon.Pabriks, a former defence and foreign affairs minister, added that players outside the EU, like Russia, are skilfully using these discussions “in order to blow up transatlantic connections”.-Controversial courts-Asked about the concerns surrounding the investment courts, which will give companies the right to sue governments, Pabriks said the courts set up in CETA would be an international system with independent judges, and that states were perfectly capable of winning cases.He said opponents of the agreement should study its 1,500 pages as it is available online.“Once we adopt it, people will see it is not endangering their lives," he said, adding that one should not overestimate its impact.Pabriks said there would be a €12 billion increase in trade, and the deal would open up Canada for European small and medium-size businesses.It would also help to set higher standards in international trade, making it possible for the EU to request higher standards from other partners, like China or India.-TTIP-effect-He acknowledged that increasing opposition to the US-EU trade deal, TTIP, with French president Francois Hollande adding his voice to chorus recently, has an effect on discussion over CETA.“Those who want to kill TTIP, also want to kill CETA,” Pabriks said.But he advised national politicians not to give into populism, and not promise voters an end to trade deals.“I know how difficult it is to go for elections. But I still would say, trying to fish for votes with such announcements, like TTIP is dead, will not be really appreciated by the end by voters,” he said.Pabriks said he understood the concerns over globalisation, but that EU countries would be wrong to choose protectionism and building fences and walls.“The problem is we are trying to figure out a way to protect ourselves within a changing world, but we are picking the wrong enemies. International trade is neither enemy, nor forbidding international trade will solve the global problems,” he said.
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)
Storm Julia weakens into a depression, meandering off of U.S. coast-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Julia weakened into a depression and is expected to meander off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina for the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.Julia is located about 60 miles (95 km) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said."A slow and erratic motion is expected over the next couple of days, and the track forecast keeps Julia meandering offshore of the Georgia and southern South Carolina coastlines into Saturday," the NHC said.Julia, the 10th named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, was moving northeast at 2 mph just off the U.S. coast, as little change TO its strength was expected during next two days, it said.Heavy rain combined with high tides raised concerns of flooding in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, and other coastal parts of the state into Thursday morning, forecasters said.Some residents in coastal communities were offered sandbags to prepare for flooding in low-lying areas.Since late Tuesday, Julia has dumped heavy rains and toppled trees in the region, but has not caused significant damage, the National Weather Service said.On Thursday morning, the hurricane center also was tracking a tropical depression that was expected to bring heavy rains to the Cape Verde islands off West Africa. On its forecasted track, the system would remain far away from the coastal United States through early next week.(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Alison Williams)
NHC sees 20 percent chance of cyclone in Gulf of Mexico-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
(Reuters) - A broad low pressure system over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico has a 20 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday."Some additional slow development could occur before the low moves inland over the Texas coast on Friday or Friday night," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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)
Syria ceasefire deal in balance as Aleppo aid plan stalls-[By Tom Perry and Tom Miles]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia said the Syrian army had begun to withdraw from a road into Aleppo on Thursday, a prerequisite for pressing ahead with international peacemaking efforts as the government and rebels accused each other of violating a truce.An organisation that monitors the war also said the Syrian army had begun moving away, but insurgent groups in Aleppo said they had not seen the army withdrawing from the Castello Road, needed to allow aid deliveries into the city, and would not pull back from their own positions near the road until they did.The Pentagon said it could not confirm reports of a withdrawal but U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the ceasefire was holding "by and large", adding both Washington and Moscow believed it was worth continuing.But there were growing accusations of violations by each side, with a Syrian military source saying the rebels were responsible for dozens of breaches including gun, rocket and mortar fire in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Latakia. The rebels said Syrian army jets had struck in Hama and Idlib, and used artillery near Damascus.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said it had documented attacks by both sides, and that despite widespread calm between rebels and the army, the first civilians had been killed since the truce began on Monday.Two civilians killed on Thursday were children in government-held areas, one in Aleppo and the other in Syria's southwest, it said. In addition, air strikes against Islamic State militants in the town of al-Mayadin near Deir al-Zor had killed at least 23 civilians, it said.Control of the Castello Road is divided between the government and rebels who have been battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad for more than five years. It has been a major frontline in the war."The Syrian army ... began the staged withdrawal of vehicles and personnel from the Castello Road to ensure the unimpeded delivery of aid to eastern Aleppo," said Lieutenant-General Vladimir Savchenko, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria in remarks broadcast on state television.The Observatory said the army had started to withdraw from positions on the road, but that Russian troops, whose air force has helped Damascus blockade rebel-held Aleppo, had replaced it.An official in an Aleppo-based Syrian rebel group said late on Thursday the army had not pulled back. "There is no withdrawal by the regime from the Castello Road," Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters.-U.N. WAITS FOR PERMITS-The U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the United States and Russia were expected to manage the disengagement of forces from the road, but criticised Damascus for failing to provide permits needed to make aid deliveries to other areas.The U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said both the rebels and the government were responsible for delaying aid deliveries into Aleppo."The reason we're not in eastern Aleppo has again been a combination of very difficult and detailed discussions around security monitoring and passage of roadblocks, which is both opposition and government," he said.In other areas, de Mistura was categorical about blaming the Syrian government, saying it had not yet provided the proper permits. The Syrian government has said all aid deliveries must be conducted in coordination with it.France, which backs the opposition, became the first U.S. ally to publicly question the deal with Moscow, urging Washington to share details of the agreement and saying without aid for Aleppo, it was not credible.About 300,000 people are thought to be living in eastern Aleppo, while more than one million live in the government-controlled western half of the city.Two convoys of aid for Aleppo have been waiting in no-man's land to proceed to Aleppo after crossing the Turkish border.If a green light was given, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the first 20 trucks would move to Aleppo and if they reached the city safely, the second convoy would then leave. The two convoys were carrying enough food for 80,000 people for a month, he said.The United States and Russia have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced 11 million from their homes, and created the world's worst refugee crisis since World War 2.Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war, has been a focal point of the conflict this year. Government forces backed by militias from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon have recently achieved their long-held objective of encircling the rebel-held east.-MOSCOW CRITICISES WASHINGTON-Russia's intervention a year ago in support of Assad has given it critical leverage over the diplomatic process.Its ally, Assad, appears as uncompromising as ever. He vowed again on Monday to win back the entire country, which has been splintered into areas controlled by the state, an array of rebel factions, the Islamic State group, and the Kurdish YPG militia.Washington hopes the pact will pave the way to a resumption of political talks. But a similar agreement unravelled earlier this year, and this one also faces enormous challenges.Russia's deputy foreign minister Gannady Gatilov said talks could resume at the end of September, but this was rejected by George Sabra, an opposition negotiator, who said conditions on the ground were not yet good enough.The United States and Russia are due to start coordinating military strikes against Islamic State and a group formerly known as the Nusra Front if all goes to plan under the deal.But Russia said on Thursday the United States was using "a verbal smokescreen" to hide its reluctance to fulfil its part of the agreement, including separating what it called moderate opposition units from terrorist groups.The defence ministry said only government forces were observing the truce and opposition units "controlled by the U.S." had stepped up shelling of civilian residential areas.Rebels say Damascus has carried out numerous violations.While the general lines of the agreement have been made public, other parts have yet to be revealed, raising concerns among U.S. allies such as France, which is part of the coalition attacking Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.The State Department said it was not ready to publish the pact but would discuss it in detail with partners on the sidelines of next week's U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.Separately, a U.S. official said its detailed provisions include establishing two checkpoints on the Castello Road to be operated by the Syrian Red Crescent and allowing all Syrians to leave Aleppo on the road, including opposition forces with weapons.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was confirming details first reported by the Associated Press.(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Angus McDowall, Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis in Beirut, Maria Kiselyova and Jack Stubbs in Moscow and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence and James Dalgleish)
Houthis study U.S. truce proposal for Yemen - negotiator-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
DUBAI/SANAA (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat has presented a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to the country's dominant Houthis at a meeting in Oman, a member of the Houthi negotiating team said on Thursday.Negotiators will return to Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday carrying the plan offered by U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in talks in Muscat, he said.Shannon met the Houthi team, officials of the allied General People's Congress (GPC) party and an Omani mediator in Muscat on Sept. 8 and 9 to discuss how to end a war that has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than 3 million.In Washington, U.S. officials said the plan was an "extension of the efforts Secretary (of State John) Kerry initiated in Jeddah."The Houthi negotiating team member did not disclose details of the proposal. Kerry said in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 25 he had agreed in talks with Gulf Arab states and the United Nations on a plan to restart peace talks on Yemen with a goal of forming a unity government.Yemen's crisis began in September 2014 when the Iran-allied Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in support of the country's internationally recognised government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. U.N.-sponsored negotiations to end the fighting collapsed last month.Peace talks foundered after the Houthis and the GPC announced the formation of a 10-member governing council on Aug 6., ignoring a U.N. warning that such a move would violate Security Council resolutions on how to solve the conflict.The Houthi negotiating team has been in Oman since the collapse of the peace talks, after Saudi authorities in control of Yemen's airspace refused to grant the Houthi team access to Sanaa, the Houthi source added.Saudi authorities have now agreed to allow the negotiating team to return to Yemen in a U.N. airplane, he said.In a statement on the Kerry proposal on Thursday, the governing council reiterated that its willingness to restart peace talks depended on implementation of a full ceasefire, including the lifting of the no-fly zone and siege imposed by the Saudi-led coalition.Forces allied to the Houthis attacked across the border into Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province on Thursday, with both sides claiming victory and giving conflicting casualty tolls.Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces at the Jabal Dukhan mountain repelled the attack by Yemeni Republican Guard troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing about 25 and wounding 30.In the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a Houthi official said the clash resulted in the Houthi capture of the mountain as well as a place called Al Romaih. The commander of a Saudi rapid intervention force was killed in the fighting, he added.(Reporting by William Maclean in Dubai, Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Katie Paul; Editing by Andrew Roche and Peter Cooney)
In Canada, all must help integrate immigrants: Trudeau-[AFP]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
Montreal (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the successful integration of immigrants into society requires efforts by all Canadians, as the country prepares for another wave of Syrian refugees."If we are going to have success stories of Syrians in Canada everyone has to be involved," Trudeau said during a talk with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at the Global Progress Summit in Montreal.During the panel discussion, Khan praised Canada as "beacon" among industrialized nations for its positive treatment of immigrants.He noted Canada's rush to welcome more than 30,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the country's civil war since last December.Over the coming months, Ottawa is hoping to bring in another 20,000 refugees from Middle East camps.Khan suggested that US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States only serves to bolster the position of the Islamic State group fighting to seize territory in Syria and Iraq."Donald Trump is playing into the ISIS narrative by saying Muslims can't fit into the US or the West," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.Joking during the panel discussion, the Muslim mayor of London, who heads to Chicago and New York next as part of a five-day tour, also said he decided to visit North America now in case Trump is elected and makes good on his Muslim ban pledge.Regarding the next leader of Canada's neighbor and biggest trading partner in January, Trudeau said: "I look forward to working with whomever the American people choose as their president.""Who can believe him (Trudeau)?," retorted Khan, provoking laughter from the audience.
Minister: Japan to increase activities in South China Sea-[Associated Press]-MATTHEW PENNINGTON-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan's defense minister says its forces will increase engagement in the South China Sea through training cruises with the U.S. Navy and multilateral exercises with regional navies.Newly appointed Defense Minister Tomomi Inada says Japan will also help build the capacity of coastal nations. She was speaking ahead her first meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter Thursday in Washington.Japan, a close U.S. ally, is not among the countries claiming territory in the disputed South China Sea but shares U.S. concern about China's assertive behavior there.Japan has a separate territorial dispute with China over unoccupied islands they both claim farther north in the East China Sea.Inada says she is open to constructive dialogue with China on preventing collisions between their forces at sea and in the air.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
In Bratislava, EU leaders try to bridge divisions By Eszter Zalan-sept 15,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 17:55-Cool heads will be needed in Bratislava on Friday (16 September) to find common ground among 27 European leaders in a union that EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker described as fragmented at a never before seen level.A divided EU at 27 will gather for a day in the Slovak capital to establish a “diagnosis” of the bloc after the Brexit vote, and agree on a road map of common interest to be followed up at later summits in the next months.The so-called Bratislava process to be launched on Friday will include another informal meeting in Malta in February and will culminating in Rome in March, when the EU celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Rome treaty.“Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little commonality in our Union,” Juncker said in his state of the union address on Wednesday.After the union just survived a bruising eurocrisis, June’s Brexit vote exposed simmering frustrations among the electorate with globalisation, the ruling political elite, and an EU that seems unable to deliver.With populist forces on the rise across Europe, leaders are pressed by time to give viable answers. Next year will see elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.EU Council chief Donald Tusk will have the task of focusing leaders on finding what unites them in a time that a senior EU official described as “dramatic moment in EU history”.In a letter to leaders on Tuesday, Tusk wrote: “People in Europe want to know if the political elites are capable of restoring control over events and processes which overwhelm, disorientate, and sometimes terrify them. Today many people, not only in the UK, think that being part of the European Union stands in the way of stability and security.”The 27 leaders will gather in the Bratislava castle. In their first discussion they will focus on agreeing on a common “diagnosis” on where the EU is at and why, and what should be improved. This could define the political agenda for months.The intention is to have an honest debate. Tusk believes “we cannot simply shut down reality with optimistic messages", said one EU official.During lunch, leaders will discuss communication and the working method, as the senior EU official put it. Brexit will not be on the table, but Tusk will brief leaders on his talks with UK prime minister Theresa May.-Bratislava process-In the afternoon, leaders will focus on a statement, and how to proceed with what the “Bratislava process".However, EU powers, the reoccurring core debate of whether there should be more or less integration to effectively tackle the multiple crises Europe is facing, will not be discussed.Tusk notes in his letter that “giving new powers to European institutions is not the desired recipe” by national leaders.Leaders will concentrate on finding common ground on migration, a deeper defense cooperation, a common trade policy, growth, better intelligence and resource-sharing to fight terrorism, and strengthening the EU’s external border frontier.But EU countries are deeply divided on policies, and Bratislava is meant to rebuild those bridges.A commission internal graphic laying out member states' positions on 29 different policy areas, seen by this website, shows that only three EU policies – single market, fight against terrorism, and the digital agenda – are backed a majority of leaders.While Tusk wants to avoid a blame game among the member states and the institutions, spats among eastern and western EU member states can flare up.Some eastern member states hold a grudge against the commission for pushing through a mandatory relocation quota to distribute refugees among member states.Earlier this week Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn called for the exclusion of Hungary from the EU for the way it is treating migrants. In return Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban called Asselborn a “communist”.“The risk of failure is not excluded. The summit will fail if there is total discord,” said another EU official.Leaders are expected to be pressed not to blame the EU for their countries’ vowes, when they take part in the decision-making.Concrete decisions are not expected in Bratislava, except for personnel and equipment to help Bulgaria protect its border with Turkey.And while officials attempt to play down expectations of a breakthrough, showing a united front in itself will be a challenge.
Tusk calls on EU leaders to seize chance of Brexit-[Reuters]-By Alastair Macdonald-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - European Council president Donald Tusk called on EU leaders to take a "brutally honest" look at the bloc's problems as they met in Bratislava to find a way forward after Britain's shock vote to leave."We must not let this crisis go to waste," Tusk told reporters on his arrival in the Slovak capital on Thursday.With British Prime Minister Theresa May absent, the other 27 leaders will gather on Friday to try and agree a diagnosis of why people across the bloc are increasingly voting for eurosceptic parties and on ways to regain trust in the EU."We haven't come to Bratislava to comfort each other or even worse to deny the real challenges we face in this particular moment in the history of our community after the vote in the UK," said Tusk, who will chair the summit."We can't start our discussion ... with this kind of blissful conviction that nothing is wrong, that everything was and is OK,” he added. “We have to assure ... our citizens that we have learned the lesson from Brexit and we are able to bring back stability and a sense of security and effective protection."With governments deeply divided, between east and west, north and south, over how to bolster the economy and the euro zone and respond to an influx of refugees, Tusk has highlighted three priorities for agreement -- on strengthening external border controls, combating terrorism and reassuring people of protection from adverse effects of economic globalisation.Leaders want the summit to begin a process of negotiations in the hope of agreeing further strategies when they meet in March in the Italian capital to mark the 60th anniversary of the Union's founding Treaty of Rome.However, with leading powers France and Germany holding national elections over the coming year, the bloc's immediate scope for agreeing substantive new policies, notably on reforming the euro currency area and asylum rules, is limited.
West shows $1bn of faith in Ukraine By Andrew Rettman and Aleksandra Eriksson-sept 15,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:18-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown faith in Ukraine’s reform efforts by disbursing new money. A new ceasefire deal has also given fresh hope of peace.The IMF on Wednesday (14 September) in Washington voted to unblock $1 billion in macro-financial assistance, coming on top of $6.7 billion in previous payments under a $17.5 billion bailout programme.Its decision, after a 13-month delay due largely to concerns on corruption, also frees the US to guarantee $1 billion of Ukrainian bonds to be sold on international markets and a €600 million EU loan.The IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, said in a statement that there had been “welcome signs of recovery” in the economy and “bold steps” on reform, for instance, making people pay normal prices for energy.She added that “much remains to be done, including combating corruption,” as well as recapitalising banks and filling a hole in pension funds.The Ukrainian economy had shrivelled by 16 percent in the past two years, but grew 0.7 percent in the first half of this year.Its finance minister, Oleksandr Danylyuk, said on Thursday the IMF cash would be used to repay debts and stabilise the hryvnia, calling it a sign of “confidence”.The European Commission will, at an event in Kiev on Friday, unveil a separate €16 million scheme to help tackle corruption.EU states are also preparing to grant Ukrainians visa-free travel, in a decision expected next month.-Cease-fire-The IMF news came the same day that the leaders of two Russia-occupied regions in east Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, announced a seven-day truce starting midnight.One day earlier, international monitors, the OSCE, had recorded 275 explosions in the Donetsk region alone, with media reports of six deaths.Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who met the French and German foreign ministers in Kiev on Wednesday, agreed to match the truce.Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “We came to Kiev with the pledge from Moscow that the separatists' weapons will fall silent at midnight”.“We are glad that Ukraine will also respect the ceasefire … It would be a big step forward, plus open a window of opportunity, if weapons stayed quiet for seven days”.The British and Polish foreign ministers, in separate initiatives, also visited Kiev on Wednesday.With EU leaders to shortly discuss whether to maintain Russia economic sanctions, the UK’s Boris Johnson said: “The crucial thing now is that we maintain sanctions”.“Brexit or not, it makes no difference to us … We continue to be a major player, as I've always said, in common foreign and security policy. It's inconceivable that the UK would not be involved in that kind of conversation about sanctions”, he said.-'Internal enemy'-For her part, Nadyia Savchenko, a Ukrainian MP and former soldier who had been, until recently, held captive by Russia, also urged the EU to uphold sanctions while visiting Brussels last week.She said the EU should organise a humanitarian mission of doctors and lawyers to visit prisoners being held by both sides.Amid a brewing controversy over the EU’s €16-million scheme, she told EUobserver: “We have a problem with corruption. We don’t hide it. We say it openly that it is our main internal enemy”.The EU scheme has come under fire because Johannes Hahn, an EU commissioner, is to launch it at the so-called Yes business conference, which is sponsored by Viktor Pinchuk, an oligarch.Daria Kaleniuk, a leading anti-corruption campaigner, told this website: “I wouldn't go [to Yes] even if I were invited because of Pinchuk”.A Ukrainian official dealing with corruption issues, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It’s not a good idea for an EU official [Hahn] to present an anti-corruption project during an event organised by an oligarch. Oligarchs are the leaders of Ukrainian corruption”.
Interview-Canada trade deal is 'wrong enemy' By Eszter Zalan-SEPT 15,16-EUOBSERVER
STRASBOURG, Today, 09:29-Europe risks its status as a global player if it fails to agree the CETA trade deal with Canada, the European Parliament's rapporteur for the issue told EUobserver.Artis Pabriks was speaking before EU 27 leaders meet in Bratislava on Friday (16 September) to find common ground after Brexit.One senior EU official said leaders “should be rebuilding consensus on trade policy” as heads of government attempt to provide protection from the negative effects of globalisation.While there is increasing opposition to the American trade deal, TTIP, “CETA is a very significant test for Europe”, the official said.The European Commission hopes EU countries will authorise it to sign the deal before October when Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau travels to Brussels.A provisional application of the deal after it is signed and before ratification by member states is still under discussion.In the European Parliament the socialists have been divided on the issue.The Latvian EPP politician told this website: “Canada is a country with which we have extremely similar values, similar interests. I really do wonder - if we can't make a smooth deal with them, then for God’s sake who can we do a deal with?"“I would say Canada for then EU is a closer partner, than some EU countries to other EU countries."Pabriks said he hoped socialist MEPs would come on board by December or at least by early next year. A vote on the idea in the plenary could take place in December or in the first two months of 2017.“If we want to show that European institutions and Europe are a serious global partner and a serious global player, then I don’t see hindrances to pass this deal still within this year in EP,” he argued.“It is a question of political will.”The rapporteur argues that provisional application of the deal should start as soon as the EP has voted on it.Addressing the issue of Canadian visa requirements for Romania and Bulgaria, which has put ratification into question in those two countries, Pabriks said he was confident Canada would make a “positive step” soon.Pabriks, a former defence and foreign affairs minister, added that players outside the EU, like Russia, are skilfully using these discussions “in order to blow up transatlantic connections”.-Controversial courts-Asked about the concerns surrounding the investment courts, which will give companies the right to sue governments, Pabriks said the courts set up in CETA would be an international system with independent judges, and that states were perfectly capable of winning cases.He said opponents of the agreement should study its 1,500 pages as it is available online.“Once we adopt it, people will see it is not endangering their lives," he said, adding that one should not overestimate its impact.Pabriks said there would be a €12 billion increase in trade, and the deal would open up Canada for European small and medium-size businesses.It would also help to set higher standards in international trade, making it possible for the EU to request higher standards from other partners, like China or India.-TTIP-effect-He acknowledged that increasing opposition to the US-EU trade deal, TTIP, with French president Francois Hollande adding his voice to chorus recently, has an effect on discussion over CETA.“Those who want to kill TTIP, also want to kill CETA,” Pabriks said.But he advised national politicians not to give into populism, and not promise voters an end to trade deals.“I know how difficult it is to go for elections. But I still would say, trying to fish for votes with such announcements, like TTIP is dead, will not be really appreciated by the end by voters,” he said.Pabriks said he understood the concerns over globalisation, but that EU countries would be wrong to choose protectionism and building fences and walls.“The problem is we are trying to figure out a way to protect ourselves within a changing world, but we are picking the wrong enemies. International trade is neither enemy, nor forbidding international trade will solve the global problems,” he said.
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)
Storm Julia weakens into a depression, meandering off of U.S. coast-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Julia weakened into a depression and is expected to meander off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina for the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday.Julia is located about 60 miles (95 km) south-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said."A slow and erratic motion is expected over the next couple of days, and the track forecast keeps Julia meandering offshore of the Georgia and southern South Carolina coastlines into Saturday," the NHC said.Julia, the 10th named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, was moving northeast at 2 mph just off the U.S. coast, as little change TO its strength was expected during next two days, it said.Heavy rain combined with high tides raised concerns of flooding in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, and other coastal parts of the state into Thursday morning, forecasters said.Some residents in coastal communities were offered sandbags to prepare for flooding in low-lying areas.Since late Tuesday, Julia has dumped heavy rains and toppled trees in the region, but has not caused significant damage, the National Weather Service said.On Thursday morning, the hurricane center also was tracking a tropical depression that was expected to bring heavy rains to the Cape Verde islands off West Africa. On its forecasted track, the system would remain far away from the coastal United States through early next week.(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Alison Williams)
NHC sees 20 percent chance of cyclone in Gulf of Mexico-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
(Reuters) - A broad low pressure system over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico has a 20 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Thursday."Some additional slow development could occur before the low moves inland over the Texas coast on Friday or Friday night," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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)
Syria ceasefire deal in balance as Aleppo aid plan stalls-[By Tom Perry and Tom Miles]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia said the Syrian army had begun to withdraw from a road into Aleppo on Thursday, a prerequisite for pressing ahead with international peacemaking efforts as the government and rebels accused each other of violating a truce.An organisation that monitors the war also said the Syrian army had begun moving away, but insurgent groups in Aleppo said they had not seen the army withdrawing from the Castello Road, needed to allow aid deliveries into the city, and would not pull back from their own positions near the road until they did.The Pentagon said it could not confirm reports of a withdrawal but U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the ceasefire was holding "by and large", adding both Washington and Moscow believed it was worth continuing.But there were growing accusations of violations by each side, with a Syrian military source saying the rebels were responsible for dozens of breaches including gun, rocket and mortar fire in Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Latakia. The rebels said Syrian army jets had struck in Hama and Idlib, and used artillery near Damascus.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said it had documented attacks by both sides, and that despite widespread calm between rebels and the army, the first civilians had been killed since the truce began on Monday.Two civilians killed on Thursday were children in government-held areas, one in Aleppo and the other in Syria's southwest, it said. In addition, air strikes against Islamic State militants in the town of al-Mayadin near Deir al-Zor had killed at least 23 civilians, it said.Control of the Castello Road is divided between the government and rebels who have been battling to topple President Bashar al-Assad for more than five years. It has been a major frontline in the war."The Syrian army ... began the staged withdrawal of vehicles and personnel from the Castello Road to ensure the unimpeded delivery of aid to eastern Aleppo," said Lieutenant-General Vladimir Savchenko, head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria in remarks broadcast on state television.The Observatory said the army had started to withdraw from positions on the road, but that Russian troops, whose air force has helped Damascus blockade rebel-held Aleppo, had replaced it.An official in an Aleppo-based Syrian rebel group said late on Thursday the army had not pulled back. "There is no withdrawal by the regime from the Castello Road," Zakaria Malahifji, of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters.-U.N. WAITS FOR PERMITS-The U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the United States and Russia were expected to manage the disengagement of forces from the road, but criticised Damascus for failing to provide permits needed to make aid deliveries to other areas.The U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said both the rebels and the government were responsible for delaying aid deliveries into Aleppo."The reason we're not in eastern Aleppo has again been a combination of very difficult and detailed discussions around security monitoring and passage of roadblocks, which is both opposition and government," he said.In other areas, de Mistura was categorical about blaming the Syrian government, saying it had not yet provided the proper permits. The Syrian government has said all aid deliveries must be conducted in coordination with it.France, which backs the opposition, became the first U.S. ally to publicly question the deal with Moscow, urging Washington to share details of the agreement and saying without aid for Aleppo, it was not credible.About 300,000 people are thought to be living in eastern Aleppo, while more than one million live in the government-controlled western half of the city.Two convoys of aid for Aleppo have been waiting in no-man's land to proceed to Aleppo after crossing the Turkish border.If a green light was given, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the first 20 trucks would move to Aleppo and if they reached the city safely, the second convoy would then leave. The two convoys were carrying enough food for 80,000 people for a month, he said.The United States and Russia have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, forced 11 million from their homes, and created the world's worst refugee crisis since World War 2.Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war, has been a focal point of the conflict this year. Government forces backed by militias from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon have recently achieved their long-held objective of encircling the rebel-held east.-MOSCOW CRITICISES WASHINGTON-Russia's intervention a year ago in support of Assad has given it critical leverage over the diplomatic process.Its ally, Assad, appears as uncompromising as ever. He vowed again on Monday to win back the entire country, which has been splintered into areas controlled by the state, an array of rebel factions, the Islamic State group, and the Kurdish YPG militia.Washington hopes the pact will pave the way to a resumption of political talks. But a similar agreement unravelled earlier this year, and this one also faces enormous challenges.Russia's deputy foreign minister Gannady Gatilov said talks could resume at the end of September, but this was rejected by George Sabra, an opposition negotiator, who said conditions on the ground were not yet good enough.The United States and Russia are due to start coordinating military strikes against Islamic State and a group formerly known as the Nusra Front if all goes to plan under the deal.But Russia said on Thursday the United States was using "a verbal smokescreen" to hide its reluctance to fulfil its part of the agreement, including separating what it called moderate opposition units from terrorist groups.The defence ministry said only government forces were observing the truce and opposition units "controlled by the U.S." had stepped up shelling of civilian residential areas.Rebels say Damascus has carried out numerous violations.While the general lines of the agreement have been made public, other parts have yet to be revealed, raising concerns among U.S. allies such as France, which is part of the coalition attacking Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.The State Department said it was not ready to publish the pact but would discuss it in detail with partners on the sidelines of next week's U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.Separately, a U.S. official said its detailed provisions include establishing two checkpoints on the Castello Road to be operated by the Syrian Red Crescent and allowing all Syrians to leave Aleppo on the road, including opposition forces with weapons.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was confirming details first reported by the Associated Press.(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Angus McDowall, Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis in Beirut, Maria Kiselyova and Jack Stubbs in Moscow and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence and James Dalgleish)
Houthis study U.S. truce proposal for Yemen - negotiator-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
DUBAI/SANAA (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat has presented a proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to the country's dominant Houthis at a meeting in Oman, a member of the Houthi negotiating team said on Thursday.Negotiators will return to Houthi-controlled Sanaa on Friday carrying the plan offered by U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in talks in Muscat, he said.Shannon met the Houthi team, officials of the allied General People's Congress (GPC) party and an Omani mediator in Muscat on Sept. 8 and 9 to discuss how to end a war that has killed over 10,000 people and displaced more than 3 million.In Washington, U.S. officials said the plan was an "extension of the efforts Secretary (of State John) Kerry initiated in Jeddah."The Houthi negotiating team member did not disclose details of the proposal. Kerry said in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 25 he had agreed in talks with Gulf Arab states and the United Nations on a plan to restart peace talks on Yemen with a goal of forming a unity government.Yemen's crisis began in September 2014 when the Iran-allied Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in support of the country's internationally recognised government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. U.N.-sponsored negotiations to end the fighting collapsed last month.Peace talks foundered after the Houthis and the GPC announced the formation of a 10-member governing council on Aug 6., ignoring a U.N. warning that such a move would violate Security Council resolutions on how to solve the conflict.The Houthi negotiating team has been in Oman since the collapse of the peace talks, after Saudi authorities in control of Yemen's airspace refused to grant the Houthi team access to Sanaa, the Houthi source added.Saudi authorities have now agreed to allow the negotiating team to return to Yemen in a U.N. airplane, he said.In a statement on the Kerry proposal on Thursday, the governing council reiterated that its willingness to restart peace talks depended on implementation of a full ceasefire, including the lifting of the no-fly zone and siege imposed by the Saudi-led coalition.Forces allied to the Houthis attacked across the border into Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan province on Thursday, with both sides claiming victory and giving conflicting casualty tolls.Sources in the Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces at the Jabal Dukhan mountain repelled the attack by Yemeni Republican Guard troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing about 25 and wounding 30.In the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a Houthi official said the clash resulted in the Houthi capture of the mountain as well as a place called Al Romaih. The commander of a Saudi rapid intervention force was killed in the fighting, he added.(Reporting by William Maclean in Dubai, Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by Katie Paul; Editing by Andrew Roche and Peter Cooney)
In Canada, all must help integrate immigrants: Trudeau-[AFP]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
Montreal (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the successful integration of immigrants into society requires efforts by all Canadians, as the country prepares for another wave of Syrian refugees."If we are going to have success stories of Syrians in Canada everyone has to be involved," Trudeau said during a talk with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, at the Global Progress Summit in Montreal.During the panel discussion, Khan praised Canada as "beacon" among industrialized nations for its positive treatment of immigrants.He noted Canada's rush to welcome more than 30,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the country's civil war since last December.Over the coming months, Ottawa is hoping to bring in another 20,000 refugees from Middle East camps.Khan suggested that US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States only serves to bolster the position of the Islamic State group fighting to seize territory in Syria and Iraq."Donald Trump is playing into the ISIS narrative by saying Muslims can't fit into the US or the West," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.Joking during the panel discussion, the Muslim mayor of London, who heads to Chicago and New York next as part of a five-day tour, also said he decided to visit North America now in case Trump is elected and makes good on his Muslim ban pledge.Regarding the next leader of Canada's neighbor and biggest trading partner in January, Trudeau said: "I look forward to working with whomever the American people choose as their president.""Who can believe him (Trudeau)?," retorted Khan, provoking laughter from the audience.
Minister: Japan to increase activities in South China Sea-[Associated Press]-MATTHEW PENNINGTON-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
WASHINGTON (AP) — Japan's defense minister says its forces will increase engagement in the South China Sea through training cruises with the U.S. Navy and multilateral exercises with regional navies.Newly appointed Defense Minister Tomomi Inada says Japan will also help build the capacity of coastal nations. She was speaking ahead her first meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter Thursday in Washington.Japan, a close U.S. ally, is not among the countries claiming territory in the disputed South China Sea but shares U.S. concern about China's assertive behavior there.Japan has a separate territorial dispute with China over unoccupied islands they both claim farther north in the East China Sea.Inada says she is open to constructive dialogue with China on preventing collisions between their forces at sea and in the air.
Mulcair says Canadians will soon see Trudeau government's lack of substance-[The Canadian Press]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
MONTREAL — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Canadians will eventually tire of what he calls the Trudeau government's lack of substance.The party has several challenges to overcome, including declines in poll numbers, membership and financing.But Mulcair promises the NDP will continue to challenge the Liberals and hold them to account.Mulcair was attending a party caucus meeting in Montreal that ended today.Many party members are hoping an upcoming leadership race will boost the NDP's popularity.There are no official candidates with the vote more than a year away, although several members have expressed interest in the job.The Canadian Press
France's Sarkozy says population bigger threat than climate change-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
PARIS (Reuters) - World population growth is a bigger problem than climate change, French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday, pouring more fuel on a fire he ignited this week when he appeared to downplay man-made climate change.Sarkozy, acknowledging on a late night TV talk show that climate change was "a very serious challenge" said that: "the real challenge is that of demographic change."Earlier this week, the former head of state who is running for the centre right Les Republicains party nomination, was quoted in a weekly publication as saying "only man could be so arrogant to think that it is us who is changing the climate."His mainstream conservative rival, former prime minister Alain Juppe, went on the attack after Sarkozy's first comments, saying the former leader was in denial of reality."The first cause of environmental degradation... is the number of people on the planet," Sarkozy said.(Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Richard Lough)
MONTREAL — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Canadians will eventually tire of what he calls the Trudeau government's lack of substance.The party has several challenges to overcome, including declines in poll numbers, membership and financing.But Mulcair promises the NDP will continue to challenge the Liberals and hold them to account.Mulcair was attending a party caucus meeting in Montreal that ended today.Many party members are hoping an upcoming leadership race will boost the NDP's popularity.There are no official candidates with the vote more than a year away, although several members have expressed interest in the job.The Canadian Press
France's Sarkozy says population bigger threat than climate change-[Reuters]-September 15, 2016-yahoonews
PARIS (Reuters) - World population growth is a bigger problem than climate change, French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday, pouring more fuel on a fire he ignited this week when he appeared to downplay man-made climate change.Sarkozy, acknowledging on a late night TV talk show that climate change was "a very serious challenge" said that: "the real challenge is that of demographic change."Earlier this week, the former head of state who is running for the centre right Les Republicains party nomination, was quoted in a weekly publication as saying "only man could be so arrogant to think that it is us who is changing the climate."His mainstream conservative rival, former prime minister Alain Juppe, went on the attack after Sarkozy's first comments, saying the former leader was in denial of reality."The first cause of environmental degradation... is the number of people on the planet," Sarkozy said.(Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Richard Lough)
