SYRIA NEEDS PROXY PEACE TO REPLACE PROXY WAR SAYS EU FOREIGN MINISTER MOGHERINI.

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)

MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM

EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
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)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)

EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17  And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, 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 RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
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 shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
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 will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.

REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

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 39:1-8
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.

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. carrier joins South Korea drills, North Korea warns of 'merciless' strikes-[Reuters]-By Hongji Kim and Sang-gyu Lim-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON (Reuters) - As the USS Carl Vinson plowed through seas off South Korea on Tuesday, rival North Korea warned the United States of "merciless" attacks if the carrier infringes on its sovereignty or dignity during U.S.-South Korean drills.F-18 fighter jets took off from the flight deck of the nuclear-powered carrier in a dramatic display of U.S. firepower amid rising tension with the North, which has alarmed its neighbors with two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since last year."While this is a routine deployment for the Carl Vinson strike group, really the centerpiece for us ... is this exercise we're doing with the ROK navy called 'Foal Eagle'," Rear Admiral James W. Kilby, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 1, told reporters, referring to South Korea as the Republic of Korea.North Korea said the arrival of the U.S. strike group in the seas off the east of the Korean peninsula was part of a "reckless scheme" to attack it."If they infringe on the DPRK's sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater," the North's state news agency KCNA said.North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."On March 11 alone, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army," KCNA said.Last week, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan in response to annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, which the North sees as preparation for war.The murder in Malaysia last month of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother has added to a sense of urgency to efforts to handle North Korea.U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to South Korea on Friday.Last week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said President Donald Trump's administration was re-evaluating its North Korea strategy and "all options are on the table".-CHINESE OPPOSITION-Compounding regional tension, China is vehemently opposed to the deployment in South Korea of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system.The United States and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is for defense against North Korea, but China fears its powerful radar can probe deep into its territory and compromise its security.The United States began to deploy the system a week ago, a day after North Korea launched its latest four missile tests.South Korean and U.S. troops began the large-scale joint drills, which are billed as defensive in nature, on March 1.The exercise last year involved about 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans. South Korea has said this year's exercise would be of a similar scale.The United States has also started to deploy "Gray Eagle" attack drones to South Korea, a U.S. military spokesman said on Monday.China says the exercises do nothing to ease tension.Last week, it called on North Korea to stop its weapons tests and for South Korea and the United States to stop their drills."We hope the relevant side can respect the security concerns of countries in the region, can take a responsible attitude and do more to benefit the easing of tension, rather than irritating each other," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing, referring to the United States.(Additional reporting by Hyunyoung Yi, Ben Blanchrd in BEIJING; Writing by James Pearson; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)

Moscow apparently has forces at base in Egypt: US official-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

Washington (AFP) - Moscow has apparently deployed military forces to a base in western Egypt, a US official said Tuesday, a sign Russia could be increasing its involvement in nearby Libya.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Russia appears to have deployed special operations forces to an air base at Sid Barrani, which is located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the Libyan border.The official said the American military is monitoring the situation closely.A Western diplomat, who also requested anonymity, confirmed reports that Russian forces are now at a western Egypt army "facility."The move comes after forces of eastern Libya's military strongman Khalifa Haftar this month conceded the loss of a key oil export terminal they seized last year in ongoing fighting for the country's resource wealth.The capture of Ras Lanuf and the other three eastern oil ports in September enabled Haftar to keep up his challenge to the authority of the UN-backed government in Tripoli and demand a major role in a replacement administration.The Russian Defense Ministry denied special forces were in Sidi Barrani."There are no Russian special forces units in Sidi Barrani in Egypt," the ministry said in a statement."This is not the first time such leaks from anonymous sources in the Western media have excited the public."Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had "no information" on any Russian troops being sent to Egypt, and he also denied Moscow had interest in deepening its activity in Libya.Still, he added that Russia is interested in Libya's stabilization so the country "does not become a breeding ground for terrorist recruits."Following the ouster and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, an array of rivals has been vying for control of Libya.Adding to the chaos, the Islamic State group also established a presence in the North African country, though US-backed local forces expelled the jihadists from Sirte, the coastal city they once held.

In Russia, some long for the return of monarchy-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's czarist era, which ended a century ago, was marked by cruelty and oppression, and finished in a chaotic spasm of blood, anger and confusion.But there are those in the country today who believe the monarchist system should be restored. Some of them reflected on their views to The Associated Press before the March 15 centennial of the forced abdication of Emperor Nicholas II.In their words, it's not so much a matter of political science as of heart and soul — the belief that sprawling and dramatic Russia needs the control of an autocrat, that a purported national character yearns for a czar."I think this is a national trait of our people — the authority of the ruler, the worshipping of the ruler. Which is why I believe that the national mentality over the centuries was formed precisely as monarchist," says Pavel Isakov-Kundius, head of cultural programs at the Museum of the Imperial family."Monarchy has always been a guarantor of stability, especially an Orthodox monarch. We live in an Orthodox country and we profess Orthodox values and the monarch has always been the Anointed of the Lord," says Alexander Fomin of the All-Russian Monarchist Center.Nicholas II and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized them as saints for dying martyrs' deaths."Only the power sanctified by God can be lasting," in the words of Oleg Syropyadov, a psychiatry professor at the Military Medical Academy.

AP Interview: Montenegro leader: Russia wants to destroy EU-[Associated Press]-DUSAN STOJANOVIC-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro's former prime minister called on the European Union on Tuesday to stop Russia's "destructive" influence in the Balkans — including a disinformation campaign — following what prosecutors said was a thwarted attempt to overthrow its pro-Western government and kill the tiny country's most influential leader.Milo Djukanovic stepped down after the alleged pro-Russian plot in October to prevent the country from joining NATO.In an interview with The Associated Press, Djukanovic said that Moscow "is waging a kind of war against Europe and the West as a whole" and is threatening "the very existence of the European Union" by supporting right-wing groups which are against the 28-nation bloc."Montenegro has found itself in the line of fire," Djukanovic said. "But, I'm sure Montenegro is not the main target.""The Balkans appeared as a good terrain for the demonstration of force after Russia's campaigns in Ukraine and Syria," Djukanovic said. "With the example of Montenegro, (Russia) wanted to show that Europe and NATO cannot expand without its consent. I believe that this is the key message for the EU and NATO."In a gesture of support, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will raise concerns about reports of Russian interference in Montenegro when he visits Moscow in the next few weeks.Djukanovic, who has led Montenegro for over 20 years, has brought the picturesque Adriatic Sea state of 600,000 people to the threshold of NATO. Montenegro has also been the regional leader in in its bid for EU membership, leaving the other regional states — such as Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Albania — far behind.Montenegro's prosecutors have accused Russia and its secret service operatives of plotting the election-day coup attempt that included plans to take over parliament and arrest and kill Djukanovic in order to bring to power a pro-Russian leadership.The Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged plot. But it has openly supported and financed opposition nationalist parties opposed to the NATO bid.Djukanovic said he believes that Moscow will continue its bid to destabilize Montenegro with its "subversive" propaganda campaign."Hardly a week passes by without a message from Moscow that there is no place for us in NATO, that we have to reconsider that orientation and that it could lead to the political and security destabilization in Montenegro," Djukanovic said.The Kremlin has been warning against NATO expansion in Europe, especially the western Balkans, which Russia considers to be in its sphere of interest.Montenegro's NATO membership has been ratified by 25 of the Western military alliances' 28-member states. U.S. lawmakers still haven't approved it amid fears in Montenegro and the region that President Donald Trump's new administration is too lenient toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.Djukanovic said he believed that ratification in the U.S. Senate "is only a formality," but added that the consequences of unlikely rejection "would be much worse for NATO and Europe, then for Montenegro.""That would mean that NATO and Europe are succumbing to (Russian) pressure," Djukanovic said.In London, May told the House of Commons that "we're seeing increasingly brazen interference by Russia and others" in the western Balkans.She said that "in light of the alleged Montenegro coup plot," she asked the EU at a meeting last week "to do more to counter destabilizing Russian disinformation campaigns and to raise the visibility of the Western commitment to the region."May said Britain "we will provide strategic communications expertise to the EU institutions to counter disinformation campaigns in the region and we will host the 2018 Western Balkans summit."In the run-up to that summit we will enhance our security cooperation with our Western Balkan partners, including on serious and organized crime, anti-corruption and cybersecurity."___Jill Lawless contributed from London.

Kosovo's president seeks NATO support for creating army-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo's president has called on NATO to support the transformation of its security force into a regular army with heavy weaponry.President Hashim Thaci sent a draft law to parliament last week seeking approval to form a regular army. The move was immediately denounced by Serbian leaders, who refuse to recognize the independence its former province declared in 2008.Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been tense recently and the move is likely to make things worse.NATO and the U.S. have warned they could scale back cooperation with Kosovo's security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly armed security force into an army without amending the country's Constitution.The Western military alliance has helped train Kosovo's security force.The president regretted that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg mentioned potential consequences and asked him to clarify to NATO member countries they haven't put "into question our sovereign right" to create an army, but that they only question "the approach.""Kosovo is determined to complete this process gradually in a transparent and inclusive way," Thaci said.In a letter sent to Stoltenberg, Thaci says that securing the necessary parliamentary backing for constitutional amendments isn't viable since lawmakers representing the country's ethnic Serb minority are boycotting parliament. Constitutional amendments would require voting approval from ethnic minorities at Kosovo's parliament.Kosovo's independence has been recognized by 114 countries, but not by Serbia.The draft law sent by Thaci can be approved with a simple majority vote of lawmakers, not needing those of the Serb representatives.If Kosovo gradually establishes its defensive capabilities, it "becomes legally eligible to aspire for NATO membership," he said."Serbia, being backed strongly by Russia, does not share the same goal as Kosovo to become a NATO member," according to Thaci.

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)

Winter reboot - Late-season blizzard slams northeast U.S.[Reuters]-By Jonathan Allen and Scott Malone-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - A blizzard swept through the heavily populated northeastern United States on Tuesday, grounding flights, canceling classes and encasing Washington's famed cherry blossoms in ice.Some 50 million people from Pennsylvania to Maine faced a "rapidly intensifying nor'easter" that was unusual for striking so late in the winter, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Many heeded official advice to stay home.The NWS sharply dialed back forecasts for some areas, notably New York City, where residents had been warned to steel themselves for potentially record-breaking snow.Still, some in the region could expect up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow by early Wednesday, the weather service predicted, with the worst blizzard conditions forecast for parts of New England.Governors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia declared states of emergency. Above-ground parts of New York City's subway service were suspended, and Metro-North commuter service to the suburbs shut down at noon. Train services to Boston and Albany were also suspended.New York City was expected to escape the worst of the weather after the NWS withdrew its blizzard warning and roughly halved its snowfall forecast for the city to between 4 and 8 inches (10 and 20 cm)."Mother Nature is an unpredictable lady sometimes," the state's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said at a news conference. "She was unpredictable today." Areas upstate were already buried in more snow than forecast, he said, and up to 30 inches of snow was still expected in central parts of the state.Still, life was disrupted for many in the city."It's a ghost town," Ali Naji, 33, said as he sat listening to Mexican pop music amid the emptiness of his usually bustling convenience store in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood.His morning commute was easy enough since he lives upstairs. "I drop a rope and come down," Naji said, laughing, but added that he could see why others would be deterred. He gestured out the window, where an occasional pedestrian could be seen trudging in an umbrella-forward stoop against the wind and sleet.In Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Lisa Luna, 36, and a friend walked around, hungry for breakfast."We weren't prepared for the blizzard and didn't go shopping," she said. "I just needed a bagel."-AIR TRAFFIC SNARLED-Airlines canceled about 5,900 flights across the United States, according to tracking service FlightAware.com.American Airlines canceled all flights into New York's three airports - Newark, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport - and JetBlue Airways reported extensive cancellations.Delta Air Lines canceled 800 flights for Tuesday for New York, Boston and other northeast airports. United Airlines said it would have no operations at Newark or LaGuardia.New York City public schools - the largest U.S. school system - canceled classes on Tuesday as did schools in the Washington, D.C., area, Boston, Philadelphia and northern New Jersey. Electricity companies worked to restore power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses cut off by the storm.In Washington, federal agencies opened three hours later than normal.At the open-sided Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the ice-slick marble floor served as a skating rink for some of the 71 eighth graders visiting from St. Mary's Academy in Englewood, Colorado.Math teacher Michael Pattison, 65, ticked off all the monuments and museums the students would see that day."This weather is not going to stop us," he said, clapping his gloved hands."No, it's not," a couple of students shouted back.Nearby, scores of cherry trees in early bloom, a tourist attraction and an emblem of springtime in the capital, were encased in ice.The storm comes near the end of an unusually mild winter along much of the East Coast, with below-normal snowfalls.In Boston, Kelley Peace, a 26-year-old dog walker, was out with three of her charges in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where residents braced for up to a foot of snow."The dogs are more hyper in this weather," she said. "They want to play. Especially the big dogs. The only thing is the salt. It burns their paws. So I put booties on them."(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney and Gina Cherulus in New York, Ian Simpson in Washington and Valerie Vande Panne in Boston; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)

Winter Storm Stella hits US Northeast, NY dodges worst-[AFP]-Jennie MATTHEW-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

New York (AFP) - Winter Storm Stella dumped sleet and snow across the northeastern United States on Tuesday but spared New York from the worst after authorities cancelled thousands of flights and shut schools.Blizzard warnings were in effect in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and upstate New York, but were lifted for New York City, the US financial capital home to 8.4 million residents, where snow turned to sleet, hail and rain.Dire forecasts forced the postponement of the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington until Friday, but in the end snowfall in the US capital was light.The National Weather Service (NWS) revised down New York City's expected accumulation to four to eight inches (10 to 21 centimeters) but 10-13 inches was recorded in parts of New Jersey, upstate New York and Connecticut.The trajectory of the storm shifted west and north, meaning up to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow were still expected to fall in parts of New England and upstate New York with strong winds causing whiteout conditions."The storm is not delivering as much snow as forecasted at all and that is very good for the people of New York City, but the conditions are still very dangerous out there," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.He urged people to stay indoors as much as possible, warning that snow, sleet and freezing rain would continue throughout the afternoon combined with wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour).- 'We're stuck' -Temperatures would dip below freezing overnight, making roads and sidewalks dangerous and a city-wide state of emergency would remain in place until midnight (0400 GMT Wednesday), he said.Governor Andrew Cuomo said New York had been worst hit in the central part of the state where 30 inches were predicted and where some of the more than 5,000 plows mobilized would be moving to help respond.The NWS issued a coastal flood advisory for areas around New York, but while the subway and bus services were operating, much of the city remained quiet with schools, shops and businesses largely closed as workers shovelled snow.New York's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and Newark Liberty International Airport were largely shut, with the majority of flights cancelled, and trains heading north also suspended."We're stuck. We're completely at sea," said Andy McKinney, 71, on holiday from Arizona with his son after his train from New York to Boston was cancelled. "It's not the end of the world but it is inconvenient."The United Nations headquarters closed for the day, as did the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the busiest tourist attractions in the city, and the courts. De Blasio announced that schools would re-open Wednesday.Early trade on the New York financial markets was low in volume, though at least partly due to Wednesday's decision from the Federal Reserve on whether to raise interest rates.- 'Unpredictable lady' -More than 8,200 flights were canceled Monday through Wednesday, with airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia hit hardest, according to the tracking service FlightAware.US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, tweeted a picture of the snow saying "A great day to binge watch 'The Americans'" in reference to the thriller TV series about Russian spies embedded in US suburbia.Trump's administration is under fire in Washington over allegations that Russia interfered in last year's US election."Mother Nature is an unpredictable lady sometimes," Cuomo told reporters after meteorologists conceded it was no longer going to be the worst storm of the season on the US East Coast in what has been an unusually mild winter.In 2016, a record 27.3 inches fell in Central Park in 24 hours in a storm that paralyzed parts of the northeast and left 18 people dead."It has been less snowfall than we predicted, less disruption. We have no evidence of any coastal flooding along Long Island. We have no evidence of any power outages of any significance," the governor said.The NWS said winter storm warnings were in effect from Maine down to eastern West Virginia, but snowfall further south was minimal.A few inches of snow, sleet and ice covered the streets in the Washington area, where federal workers were allowed to arrive three hours late and the capital's subway system operated on a weekend schedule.

Madagascar vanilla producers say cyclone damaged 30 percent of crop-[Reuters]-By Lova Rabary-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Vanilla producers on the tropical island of Madagascar say a cyclone that killed 51 people has also damaged around 30 percent of the crop in the world's biggest producer.The valuable beans are often kept under armed guard after prices shot up from around $20 a kilo in 2010 to around $500 a kilo last year.A U.S. buyer supplying ingredients for supermarkets Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and coffee chain Starbucks said she expected prices to jump.The flavoring is used in products from ice cream to coffee. Madagascar produces nearly half the world's crop, according the U.N. Food and Agriculture Administration.In 2015, Madagascar was estimated to have produced 3,914 tonnes out of a global total of 8,294 tonnes, projected U.N. data showed. No more recent data was available because of the lag in harvesting time.Cyclone Enawo tore through the East African island last week, displacing 150,000 people and destroying vanilla fields."The destruction of uprooted fields and plants (means) losses are estimated at 30 percent," said Mamy Razakarivony, president of national vanilla exporter's group.He said he feared higher prices would drive away buyers and that locals would sell immature vanilla pods damaged by the storm, introducing poor quality vanilla to the market. The harvest will not be ready until July."High prices and poor quality vanilla: this announces a catastrophic season," he said. "People are already starting to pick up the immature vanilla that has been pulled out due to the cyclone."Reuters data shows the price for black non-split Madagascar vanilla is currently at $487.50 per kilo. Black non-split vanilla from India is $420 per kilo, and from Papua New Guinea it is only $210 per kilo."The market is so volatile that it jumps on any news," said Josephine Lochhead, the president of the 100-year-old U.S.-based Cook Flavoring Company, which supplies ingredients to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Starbucks.Producers in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia were negotiating prices of $500 per kilo for the spring/summer harvest, she said."They are feeling out an excited market but we don't know where it is going to land," she told Reuters.She said increased planting due to record profits, and consumers turning to artificial alternatives because prices were so high, could help dampen prices.Eddie Fernand, mayor of the Antalaha region, said years of spiraling profits meant many locals had poured all their resources into vanilla farms. Around 95 percent of his region's crop had been destroyed, he said. Now some families face ruin.(Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Writing by Katharine Houreld, editing by David Evans)

T-minus 1 year until rocket launch site construction starts in Nova Scotia-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

Nova Scotia is familiar with launching ships, but never quite like this.The province will soon be the site of a $110-million rocket spaceport that will be used to launch commercial satellites into space as early as 2020. On Tuesday, U.S.-based Maritime Launch Services confirmed plans to build the facility near Canso, N.S., and begin construction within one year.The company hopes to launch eight rockets annually by 2022.Canso-Hazel Hill was selected from 14 different sites across North America for the Ukrainian Cyclone 4M medium-class rocket. Maritime Launch Services president Steve Matier said the company evaluated "access to polar/sun synchronous orbit, very low population density, proximity to multi-modal transportation, and interest from the community, province and government."The Ukrainian-built rockets will be able to carry up to 3,350 kilograms of payload and deliver satellites into orbit.The project is entirely private sector, said Matier, and doesn't plan to ask the government for any money."We believe there is a solid market," he said.-Why Canso-Hazel Hill? But why was this remote Nova Scotia community selected? Members of the community asked the same question at an open house the company hosted in February."They had much the same question, they also had the correct answer in that they described Canso as not at the end of the earth but you can see it there," Matier told CBC's Maritime Noon.Matier said the area is well suited to launching rockets with satellites on board. He said it has the right flight trajectory, a significant buffer from population centres and is close to infrastructure such as access to a port that can receive delivery of rocket components."We selected this location because it's a large area that has a really good buffer," he said."It's not a zero risk thing when you're launching a rocket. We've got probably the most reliable rocket in operation these days. With Yuzhnoye's background in developing rockets and Yuzhmash with manufacturing them — we feel like we've got the risks mitigated."-'A great tourist draw'-The company said it has received enthusiastic support from the community and multiple levels of government. It said it still has to work through the regulatory process, but remains optimistic it will break ground within one year."I think it's going to be a fantastic thing for the town," said Vernon Pitts, warden of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough."It's going to be a great tourist draw. Where's the closest destination you can go to actually watch rockets taking off? I think this is just fantastic as long as they keep the people informed."Matier agrees that the project will have great implications for the local tourism sector."You'll be able to see [a rocket launch] pretty far down the Eastern Shore," he said.-What this means for jobs-Employment in the area has historically been tied to the fishery and forestry sector. A downturn in the fishery in recent years left a lot of people in the community out of work."Unemployment is fairly high and I think this is a win-win situation," said Pitts."There's an opportunity here for jobs for local residents as well. It should be a significant boost to the local economy with people coming in from outside to work."Matier said the construction phase for the facility will be "quite significant." Once up and running, it will require 30 to 50 people working around the clock including scientists, engineers, technicians, as well as "wrench turners", security personnel and fire services.The number of people working on site will jump to about 150 in the weeks leading up to a launch.Not the first time N.S. considered for space hub-Nova Scotia has been considered previously as a site for rocket launches.In 2006, PlanetSpace — a partnership between an Ontario-based company and one in Chicago — wanted to set up a launch pad for NASA in Cape Breton.In 2010, the Canadian Space Agency was also looking at Cape Breton as a possible site to blast small satellites into orbit using a rocket launch system.There was even a Kickstarter campaign in 2014, started by a Halifax-based company called Open Space Orbital Incorporated, to raise money to develop a small prototype engine and market analysis with an aim to launch rockets from Nova Scotia.Maritime Launch Services Ltd. is registered as a company in the province, and is managed by a group of American aerospace experts.The chief executive officer and president each have decades of experience in the space industry, including time spent working at NASA.Funding for the project initially came from United Paradyne Corporation, a California-based company that specializes in creating and distributing rocket fuel.

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)

REVELATION 17:9-13
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-7 YEARS.THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Syria needs 'proxy peace' to replace proxy war, top EU diplomat says-[Reuters]-By Gabriela Baczynska-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Syria needs a "proxy peace" supported by the international community instead of the proxy war that has raged for six years and killed some 320,000 people, top European Union diplomat Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.The war has displaced millions and continues unabated, largely due to the international community's failure to agree on how to end it, with the United States and Russia and their respective regional allies backing rival sides.EU capital Brussels will host an international conference on Syria on April 5, hoping to create a new momentum. It has, however, long played only a marginal role in international efforts to resolve the conflict.Mogherini has for months been talking to eight regional players in the Middle East, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Lebanon, seeking to find any minimum common ground between them on what the future peace could look like."Our work with them will continue both in the present, in terms of supporting the Syrian refugees that they host... but also in terms of turning somehow a proxy war into a proxy peace," Mogherini told reporters."I believe there is some common ground that can be found within international players, with the regional actors that can facilitate this process."The 28-nation bloc, a leading aid donor, has threatened not to pay for reconstruction work should Russia and its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crush the Western-backed opposition entirely.EU officials say the Middle East states agreed they did not want a frozen conflict in Syria or have it break apart, as it would continue to feed instability on their doorstep for years.The EU has fed that to the U.N. Syria negotiator who opened in late February another round of talks in Geneva between Damascus and rebel and opposition groups seeking to oust Assad."I believe there can be a space for all international players and especially all regional actors... (to) see that it's far more convenient at this moment to turn this into a proxy peace and allow Syria to restart somehow," Mogherini said.She will present her thoughts to a meeting of EU's foreign ministers on April 3.A separate, Russia-led Syria talks were derailed on Tuesday over a boycott by rebels backed by Turkey.(Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Scottish independence ignites Brexit debate By Eszter Zalan-MAR 14,17-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 17:29-The war of words between British prime minister Theresa May and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon escalated further on Tuesday (14 March) following Scotland's call for an independence referendum before Brexit.In a speech to the House of Commons, May insisted that "the new relationship with the EU that we negotiate will work for the whole of the United Kingdom", suggesting that Scotland would have to exit the EU as well as the single market.She said she has been listening to the Scottish government's proposals, but once again accused the Scottish government of playing politics and creating "uncertainty and division".She claimed that most people in Scotland do not want a second referendum and argued that "the most important single market for Scotland is the single market of the United Kingdom".The ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) said in December that it was ready to choose independence from the UK to avoid the "devastating" consequences of leaving the single market.Sturgeon called on Monday for a second referendum in the autumn of 2018 or spring 2019, before Brexit negotiations end - in a move that caught Downing Street 10 off guard.May said on Tuesday that remaining a member of the single market would amount to staying in the EU, because then the UK would have to accept freedom of movement and the rule of the European Court of Justice.During a debate with MPs, May refused to say if she would allow Scotland to hold a second independence referendum, but referred to the one in 2014.Angus Robertson, the SNP leader in Westminster, said in the debate: "We are a European country, and we will stay a European country."-Indyref #2-After MPs and Lords in the UK parliament cleared all of the legal obstacles for May's government to pursue a hard Brexit, Sturgeon appears to be the only one who poses a challenge to May's EU exit strategy.For the British leader, the prospect of a Scottish referendum poses a real dilemma: if she follows through with the promise of a hard Brexit to please eurosceptics, she might lose Scotland.Just before May spoke in parliament on Tuesday, the Scottish government agreed to bring the referendum issue to the Scottish parliament next week, with a vote likely taking place next Wednesday (22 March).In a complex process, the parliament can mandate the Scottish government to begin talks with the British government on the terms of a so-called Section 30 order, enabling the Scottish parliament to legislate for the referendum.“It should be up to the Scottish Parliament to determine the referendum’s timing, franchise and the question," Sturgeon said on Tuesday, adding that the referendum must be "made in Scotland", and not be subject to any "Downing Street diktat"."The Scottish government has a cast-iron democratic mandate for an independence referendum, and the vote must take place within a time-frame to allow an informed choice to be made, when the terms of Brexit are clear but before the UK leaves the European Union or shortly afterwards," Sturgeon argued.-Trigger happy-May confirmed in her speech that she would invoke Article 50, the EU clause for the exit process, at the end of the month."I will return to this House before the end of this month to notify when I have formally triggered Article 50 and begun the process through which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union," she told MPs.The prime minister called triggering Article 50 a "defining moment" for the UK."We will be a strong, self-governing Global Britain with control once again over our borders and our laws," she added.During the debate May said she disliked the term "divorce", which is sometimes used for the exit talks. She argued that when people divorce, their relationship is often not good. She noted that she would like a good relationship with the EU after Britain leaves.

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)

EU headscarf ban ruling sparks faith group backlash-[Reuters]-By Alastair Macdonald-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Companies may ban staff from wearing Islamic headscarves and other visible religious symbols under certain conditions, the European Union's top court ruled on Tuesday, setting off a storm of complaint from rights groups and religious leaders.In its first ruling on an issue that has become highly charged across Europe, the Court of Justice (ECJ) found a Belgian firm which had a rule that employees who dealt with customers should not wear visible religious or political symbols may not have discriminated against a Muslim receptionist it dismissed for wearing a headscarf.The judgment on that and a French case came on the eve of a Dutch election in which Muslim immigration is a key issue and weeks before a similarly charged presidential vote in France, where headscarves are banned in public service jobs.French conservative candidate Francois Fillon hailed the ECJ ruling as "an immense relief" to companies and workers that would contribute to "social peace".But a group backing the fired employees said the ruling may shut many Muslim women out of the workforce. European rabbis said the Court had added to rising incidences of hate crime to send a message that "faith communities are no longer welcome".The judges in Luxembourg concluded the dismissals of the two women may, depending on the view of national courts, have breached EU laws against religious discrimination.They determined that the case of the French engineer Asma Bougnaoui, fired by software company Micropole after a customer complaint, may well have been discriminatory.Reactions, however, focused on the findings that services firm G4S in Belgium was entitled to dismiss receptionist Samira Achbita in 2006 if, in pursuit of legitimate business interests, it fairly applied a broad dress code for all customer-facing staff to project an image of political and religious neutrality.-"BACKDOOR TO PREJUDICE"-The Open Society Justice Initiative, a group backed by the philanthropist George Soros, said the ruling "weakens the guarantee of equality" offered by EU laws: "In places where national law is weak, this ruling will exclude many Muslim women from the workplace," policy office Maryam Hmadoun said.Amnesty International welcomed the ruling on the French case that "employers are not at liberty to pander to the prejudices of their clients". But, it said, bans on religious symbols to show neutrality opened "a backdoor to precisely such prejudice".The president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, complained: "This decision sends a signal to all religious groups in Europe". National court cases across Europe have included questions on the wearing of Christian crosses, Sikh turbans and Jewish skullcaps.In the Belgian case, the ECJ said: "An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination."It was for Belgian judges to determine whether Achbita may have been a victim of indirect discrimination if the rule put people of a particular faith at a disadvantage.But the rule could still be justified if it was "genuinely pursued in a consistent and systematic manner" to project an "image of neutrality".(Additional reporting by Waverly Colville in Brussels and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Editing by Catherine Evans and Pritha Sarkar)

Islamic veil can be banned in workplace, says EU court By Eric Maurice-MAR 14,17-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 12:44-Banning Islamic headscarves in the workplace is not "direct discrimination" and can be "objectively justified", ruled the European Court of Justice on Tuesday (14 March).Judges said that the dismissal of a Muslim employee who insisted on wearing a headscarf - despite an internal company rule prohibiting any sign of political, philosophical or religious beliefs - did not constitute a breach of EU law.They followed the opinion of the court's advocate general, published last year.The Luxembourg-based court had been solicited by the Court of Cassation, Belgium's court of last resort, over the case of Samira Achbita, who was dismissed in 2006 by the service company G4S. G4S had told Achbita that wearing a veil was contrary to the company's policy of neutrality in its contact with customers.Achbita was hired in 2003 and started to wear a veil in 2006. G4S amended its internal rules to ban signs after Achbita started to wear the veil.EU judges said that the internal rule, which banned signs from all religions or political affiliations, did "not introduce a difference of treatment that is directly based on religion or belief" and that it was therefore in line with the EU directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation."It is not evident from the material in the file available to the Court that that internal rule was applied differently to Ms. Achbita as compared to other G4S employees," they said in their ruling.The EU court said however that an internal company rule could be discriminatory if it introduced "a difference of treatment that is indirectly based on religion or belief", putting people that are "adhering to a particular religion or belief … at a particular disadvantage".But it added that such indirect discrimination could be "objectively justified by a legitimate aim, such as the pursuit by the employer, in its relations with its customers, of a policy of political, philosophical and religious neutrality, provided that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary."In Achbita's case, the EU court said that the prohibition must cover "only G4S workers who interact with customers"."If that is the case, the prohibition must be considered strictly necessary for the purpose of achieving the aim pursued," it said, adding that it will be up to the Belgian Court of Cassation to check those conditions.In another case referred to it, the ECJ provided other criteria to determine whether banning veils at work was legitimate or not.Judges said that "wishes of a customer no longer to have the services" of a company where employees wear an Islamic headscarf could not be considered "genuine and determining occupational requirement".The court gave their opinion about the case of a design engineer, Asma Bougnaoui, who was dismissed in 2008 by a French company, Micropole, after a customer's complaint.Bougnaoui had been told before starting an internship at the company that wearing a headscarf would be problematic when coming into contact with customers. At first, she wore a bandana and then later switched to a veil.The ECJ did not give a ruling and instead asked the French Court of Cassation to check the conditions for discrimination set out in the case of Achbita vs G4S.Amnesty International said that the two decisions were "disappointing".They give "greater leeway to employers to discriminate against women - and men - on the grounds of religious belief," the NGO's Europe and Central Asia director, John Dalhuisen, said in a statement."At a time when identity and appearance has become a political battleground, people need more protection against prejudice, not less," he noted.

Erdogan: German ‘Nazis’ also back ‘terrorists’By Andrew Rettman-MAR 14,17-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:16-The Turkish president has kept up his name-calling against Germany and the Netherlands despite EU and US appeals.He told the A-Haber broadcaster on Monday (13 March) that Germany had declined to help Turkey 4,500 times in its requests for action against Kurdish separatists."Mrs Merkel, you are supporting terrorists,” he said, referring to German chancellor Angela Merkel.Referring to the Austrian, Danish, Dutch, and German bans on Turkish ministers attending pro-Erdogan rallies in Turkish expat communities, he added: “Nazism, we can call this Neo-nazism. A new Nazism tendency," he said.Turkey’s EU affairs minister, Omer Celik, the same day said his country should once again let Syrian refugees go to Europe via Greece."Turkey should re-evaluate the issue of land crossings”, he told the Andalou news agency.Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmus, also said that the Dutch ambassador to Ankara, who was away from his post, would not be allowed back into the country."Until the Netherlands compensates for what it has done, high-level relations and planned meetings at a ministerial and higher level have been suspended," he added.The Turkish rallies are designed to whip up support for changing the constitution in a referendum on 16 April to give Erdogan absolutist power.His mass purges of alleged sympathisers with last year’s failed coup and of Kurdish separatists have the same end in mind, according to an EU intelligence assessment.Some experts, such as Soner Cagaptay, a scholar of Turkish affairs at The Washington Institute, a think tank in the US, believe that EU leaders are playing into his hands."By blocking [the rallies], they may have given Erdogan a lifeline to eke out a victory in the referendum," Cagaptay told the AFP news agency on Monday.But Merkel on Monday refused to back down and said the Netherlands was right to stand in Erdogan’s way.She said that Erdogan’s Nazi talk “banalises” the “suffering” caused in World War II.“These comparisons are completely misguided ... particularly in the Netherlands that endured so much agony through the National Socialists [Nazis]. That's why the Netherlands can count on my complete support and solidarity in this,” she said.Her spokesman added that Erdogan's accusations on terrorism were "absurd" and amounted to a "competition of provocations".Turkey has already threatened to scrap the EU deal on halting Syrian refugees several times.According to an investigative report in Die Welt, a German newspaper, out on Monday Merkel, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, and the then Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, also struck a secret deal on refugees alongside the EU pact.Die Welt said they agreed at a meeting on 6 March last year that Europe would take in between 150,000 and 200,000 refugees each year from Turkey and that they did not inform their EU colleagues about the accord.Meanwhile, Erdogan’s name-calling has continued to escalate despite EU, Nato, and US appeals for calm.“They're both strong partners and Nato allies. We'd just ask that they not escalate the situation any further and work together to resolve it,” a US state department official told the AFP agency on Monday.EU-Germany relations had already soured over its arrest of a German journalist last month.EU-Turkey accession talks have also stalled once again in a process which few diplomats on either side believe will ever lead to Turkey's membership.The EU rallies dispute comes amid Turkey's efforts to forge a new alliance with Russia, with Erdogan due to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

Residents gather for Toronto rally against anti-Semitism-Global News-YAHOONEWS-March 13, 2017

Mon, Mar 13: Acts of anti-Semitism have been on the rise, so in order to raise awareness people rallied outside the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre. The downtown Toronto centre was the site of a bomb threat last Tuesday. Ashley Carter reports.

Water reaches pumping station in Syrian city of Aleppo - state TV-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Water has reached a pumping station inside Aleppo and will "soon" go out to residential districts in the city, Syrian state media said on Tuesday.Aleppo's main water supply has been cut off for nearly two months, and residents have largely relied on ground wells or water bought from private vendors.The Syrian army last week captured the al-Khafsa area east of Aleppo, where treatment and pumping plants provide the city with water. The army and allied forces have made rapid gains against Islamic State in the Aleppo countryside, in a sweeping advance that has brought them to the bank of the Euphrates river.Citing Water Minister Nabil al-Hassan, state-run news agency SANA said water had now reached the Suleiman al-Halabi station inside Aleppo and will be pumped to the city's residents.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said the station had started pumping water to the main reservoirs across the city.Water sources have been repeatedly damaged during Syria's nearly six-year-old war. A U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said on Tuesday that Syria's air force had deliberately bombed water sources in December, cutting off water for 5.5 million people in and around the capital Damascus.(Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

South Sudan, African Union stalling on human rights court - U.N.[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

GENEVA (Reuters) - The African Union and South Sudan are failing in their joint responsibility to set up a court to prosecute atrocities in the central African country and are not cooperating with a United Nations inquiry, a U.N. investigator said on Tuesday."There is no reason to think that a robust hybrid court will be set up any time soon by the African Union, if ever. Indeed some senior officials have told us that it will never happen," Kenneth Scott, a member of the U.N. commission on human rights in South Sudan, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva."We’ve requested the draft documents that we understand exist – a draft statute, a draft memorandum of understanding – but they have declined to provide it to the commission."(Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Stephanie Nebehay)

Mexican official: 250 skulls found in clandestine graves-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The top prosecutor in Mexico's Gulf coast state of Veracruz confirmed Tuesday that more than 250 skulls have been found in what appears to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz.State Prosecutor Jorge Winckler said the clandestine burial pits appear to contain the victims of drug cartels killed years ago."For many years, the drug cartels disappeared people and the authorities were complacent," Winckler said, in apparent reference to the administration of fugitive former Gov. Javier Duarte and his predecessors.In an interview with the Televisa network, Winckler did not specify when the skulls were found or by whom. But they appear to have been found over the course of months.Victims' advocacy groups like Colectivo Solecito have excavated and pressed authorities to excavate such sites to find missing loved ones.The skulls and other bones were found in a wooded area known as Colinas de Santa Fe where activists have been exploring since at least mid-2016, sinking rods into the ground and withdrawing them to detect the telltale odor of decomposition. When they find what they believe are burial pits, they alert authorities, who carry out the final excavations.Winckler said excavations have covered only a third of the lot where the skulls were found, and more people may be buried there."I cannot imagine how many more people are illegally buried there," Winckler said, noting the state has reports of about 2,400 people who are still missing."Veracruz is an enormous mass grave," he said.The victims' advocacy groups have criticized authorities for doing little to try to find or identify the state's missing people, many of whom were kidnapped and never heard from again.The state had long been dominated by the ferocious Zetas cartel. But the Jalisco New Generation cartel began moving in around 2011, sparking bloody turf battles.Drug cartels in other parts of Mexico have deposited victims' bodies in mass graves before.In the northern state of Durango, authorities found more than 300 bodies in a clandestine mass grave in the state capital in excavations starting in April 2011.Those burial pits were excavated in part with the use of backhoes.More than 250 bodies were discovered in April 2011 in burial pits in the town of San Fernando, in Tamaulipas state, close to the U.S. border.Drug gangs in some places in Mexico have taken to burning or dissolving their victims' bodies in corrosive substances in order to avoid discovery.But the victims In Veracruz appear to have been buried relatively whole.

Hamilton church volunteers denied entry to U.S. so they wouldn't 'steal American jobs'-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-March 13, 2017

A group of church volunteers from Hamilton heading south to do relief work were denied entry to the U.S. for fear they would take American construction jobs, said a spokesperson for the church.The 12-person contingent from Hamilton's Rehoboth United Reformed Church was travelling by road on the morning of Saturday, March 11, to New Jersey. Erik Hoeksema, the church's outreach director who was travelling with the group, said they intended to spend March break cleaning up and rehabilitating neighbourhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy.U.S. border law says Canadians do not require a visa to enter the country for volunteer work, as long as they can provide proof that their work will not be compensated.Hoeksema says the group was told they had failed to have a letter sent from the host church "paroling" them into the country."So what ends up happening is the organization that you're going to work with sends a letter to border patrol saying this is what they're going to be doing. What our group did not do, is we did not send that ahead of time," he admitted.Hoeksema said the border patrol officer, who treated them cordially, told the group he would grant an exception and let them through if the host church managed to fax or email a letter right away.-'Stealing American construction jobs'-Hoeksema says he contacted Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, the pastor at the Reformed Church of Highland Park in central New Jersey, which would be hosting the group, so he could fax a letter to border patrol explaining their intended purpose.When the first letter was deemed "not specific enough" by a border patrol officer, Hoeksema said he texted Kaper-Dale to send another, being careful not to make any specific reference to construction."In general, mission teams do team-building, tour mercy ministries of the church (food pantries, re-entry programs, thrift shops, etc) and assist with neighbourhood cleanup projects," said the second letter.It was this last part that was interpreted as "work for hire," says Hoeksema. Officers denied them entry after they had been stopped for more than two hours."It's not a new thing that groups are going down there and helping out," said Hoeksema. "In the past, our groups would go down and help in impoverished neighbourhoods and maybe they would even do some light construction.""I think everybody knows that's what groups are doing down there when they're volunteering. Common sense has it that we're not going down there to steal American jobs. We're helping people."-'No pressing need'-Hoeksema says this was not the church's first relief work trip headed south of the border. Many individuals from the congregation have, in previous years, travelled to volunteer on their own or with a group down to other states such as Kentucky or Pennsylvania.On this occasion, however, the group was told that, as foreigners, they would be taking American jobs, and that there was no pressing need for relief work anyway this long after Hurricane Sandy hit the region in 2012."Hurricane Sandy happened five years ago ... but the unfortunate thing for people who live in poverty is that they don't get over these things as quickly as others," he explained."They obviously can't afford to remove the barriers that are in front of them on their own, so they rely on volunteers coming. And that's all we were trying to do, go help others."Kaper-Dale agreed, saying it takes an average of seven years to get an impoverished family back on its feet."We still have people living in their yards and in trailers while their houses are not completed because of financial shortcomings and the distribution of funding after Hurricane Sandy. Honestly, it just takes a long time to rebuild."A U.S. border spokesperson said the refusal came down to documentation. The official said groups doing humanitarian work need to provide documentation in advance from the municipality where the work is to be done stating what they will be doing."In this case, CBP attempted to assist the group, but ultimately the group was unable to obtain the proper documentation to support this visit," said the spokesperson.-Frustrated and shocked-Kaper-Dale, who said the group had been co-ordinating their stay at the New Jersey church for months, was frustrated and shocked by the incident."We've hosted other Canadian groups, and we've always been appreciative of their coming, and no Canadian group has ever had any issue at the border."He said he'd never had to send out a letter before, and believed that the changes were a reflection of political changes in the U.S."If you can't get a church van with 12 white folks through [the border], how much worse is it for any person of colour, any person born somewhere else, any person whose name sounds foreign to an [Immigration, Customs and Enforcement] officer, or any refugee?"Hoeksema said all members of the Hamilton group were carrying Canadian passports and had previously travelled to the U.S. with no incident."We probably would've gotten through if we'd just said we were visiting," he said.

Justice Dept. asks for more time on wiretapping evidence-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

WASHINGTON — Facing a Monday deadline, the Justice Department asked lawmakers for more time to provide evidence backing up President Donald Trump's unproven assertion that his predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper during the election. The request came as the White House appeared to soften Trump's explosive allegation.The House intelligence committee said it would give the Justice Department until March 20 to comply with the evidence request. That's the date of the committee's first open hearing on the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia.A spokesman for the committee's Republican chairman said that if the Justice Department doesn't meet the new deadline, the panel might use its subpoena power to gather information."If the committee does not receive a response by then, the committee will ask for this information during the March 20 hearing and may resort to a compulsory process if our questions continue to go unanswered," said Jack Langer, a spokesman for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.Trump's assertions have put his administration in a bind. Current and former administration officials have been unable to provide any evidence of the Obama administration wiretapping Trump Tower, yet the president's aides have been reluctant to publicly contradict their boss.White House spokesman Sean Spicer tried to clarify Trump's comments Monday, saying the president wasn't using the word wiretapping literally, noting that Trump had put the term in quotation marks."The president used the word wiretap in quotes to mean broadly surveillance and other activities," Spicer said. He also suggested Trump wasn't accusing former President Barack Obama specifically, but instead referring to the actions of the Obama administration.Trump himself has not commented on the matter since his March 4 tweets, in which he said he had "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory." He also wrote: "Is it legal for a sitting President to be 'wire tapping' a race for president?"In two other tweets, Trump described Obama tapping his phones, but did not put the phrases in quotation marks.The president's accusations against Obama came amid numerous political questions surrounding his associates' possible ties to Russia. The FBI is investigating Trump associates' contacts with Russia during the election, as are House and Senate intelligence committees.The White House has asked those committees to also investigate Trump's unverified wiretapping allegations against Obama. The House committee has turned the matter back on the Trump administration, setting the Monday deadline for the Justice Department to provide evidence.In a response Monday evening, the Justice Department said it needed extra time to "review the request in compliance with the governing legal authorities and to determine what if any responsive documents may exist."Other congressional committees are also pushing the administration to clarify Trump's claims.Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and FBI Director James Comey to produce the paper trail created when the Justice Department's criminal division secures warrants for wiretaps. The senators, who head the Senate Judiciary Committee's crime and terrorism subcommittee, are seeking warrant applications and court orders, which they said can be scrubbed to protect secret intelligence sources and methods.Trump's critics have slammed the president for making the wiretapping claim on his Twitter account without evidence. Wiretapping a U.S. citizen would require special permission from a court, and Trump as president would have the ability to declassify that information.Sen. John McCain, an influential Republican, said Sunday: "I think the president has one of two choices: either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve.""If his predecessor violated the law, President Obama violated the law, we have got a serious issue here, to say the least," McCain said.Comey has privately urged the Justice Department to dispute Trump's claim but has not come forward to do so himself. James Clapper, who was Obama's director of national intelligence, has said that nothing matching Trump's claims had taken place.White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway sidestepped questions about the lack of proof Monday, saying she was "not in the job of having evidence.""That's what investigations are for," Conway told CNN's "New Day." "The president is pleased that the House and Senate intelligence committees have agreed that this should be part of the investigation that already exists about Russia and the campaign, an investigation that apparently has gone nowhere so far."In a weekend interview with the Bergen Record, a newspaper in her home state of New Jersey, Conway appeared to point toward the recent WikiLeaks release of nearly 8,000 documents that purportedly reveal secrets about the CIA's tools for breaking into targeted computers, cellphones and even smart TVs."What I can say is there are many ways to surveil each other now, unfortunately," including "microwaves that turn into cameras, et cetera," Conway said. "So we know that that is just a fact of modern life."___Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.___Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Deb Riechmann at http://twitter.com/debriechmann Julie Pace And Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press.

Police detained congressman who refused to leave ICE office-[Christian Science Monitor]-Amanda Hoover-YAHOONEWS-March 14, 2017

Police placed Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D) of Illinois in handcuffs briefly on Monday after he refused to leave a federal immigration office without getting answers about the fate of several detainees facing deportation.Mr. Gutiérrez says he met with the regional Immigration Customs Enforcement, or ICE, director at a Chicago immigration office. He hoped to obtain information about the new immigration policy under President Trump and to advocate for several detained immigrants he says are peaceful, local community members who he says pose no threat to society.But when ICE failed to provide Gutiérrez with the answers he was seeking, he refused to leave, staging a sit-in at the office along with several others. After receiving several warnings from officials, the congressman and other demonstrators were placed in plastic handcuffs and briefly detained. Officials released them later that day, and Gutiérrez called off the protest as business hours drew to a close."Their response was, 'We can't get you an answer today,' and if we don't leave, 'you will be arrested,' " Gutiérrez told reporters as he left the office. "We told them, 'Place the handcuffs (on us); we're ready to go to jail.' After they placed handcuffs on us, in moments, the bully kind of stopped being a bully and they took the handcuffs off of us."As the minority party in every branch of government, Democrats face an uphill battle to block Mr. Trump’s policy changes. While his cabinet appointees and reform of the Affordable Care Act have triggered backlash and protest, Trump’s tough stance on immigration via ICE procedural changes and immigration orders have sparked perhaps the greatest dissent, as Democrats argue that the stance counters American values and stems from bias against racial and religious minorities.Amid pressure from Democratic constituents, many legislators have spoken out against the administration or engaged in protest. Gutiérrez ramped up those efforts Monday, saying he was willing to be detained in order to send a message about the government’s treatment of undocumented immigrants.Later on Monday, Gutiérrez said he staged the protest because he believes immigration officials are enforcing poor policies by targeting peaceful, undocumented immigrants rather than seeking out dangerous murderers, drug dealers, and rapists who are in the country illegally.ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said ICE officials had agreed to an "informational meeting" but were unable to assure Gutiérrez and the group of protesters, which included clergy members, that their concerns would be addressed.This isn’t Gutiérrez's first arrest for protesting policies related to immigration. In an interview with CNN, he championed the act of civil disobedience and the need to resort to such methods during volatile times."We must as Americans confront our government when our government is wrong," he told Erin Burnett on “Out Front” Monday night. "Look, there's a lie, and the lie keeps repeating.  [The lie is that] they're going after criminals, they're going after the bad people in the immigrant community."Gutiérrez cited the case of Francisca Lino, a 50-year-old mother of US citizens, who lives outside Chicago and has spent two decades in the country. She was previously deported, but returned to the US upon marrying a citizen.Despite having no violent or criminal past apart from a visa violation, Ms. Lino is scheduled to be deported in July.It’s cases like hers, Gutiérrez says, that should ICE agents should view sensitively through a more nuanced lens when enforcing immigration policy."The government has an obligation and a responsibility to use discretion as it applies the law," he said.This report contains material from the Associated Press.

THE ONLY NEW INFO ON THIS RACE BAIT SCAM BY THE BRAINLESS LIBERAL MEDIA MIXED BAG OF NUTS IS-THAT NOW WE KNOW MIKE BROWN WAS NOT ONLY A THIEF, BUT A DRUG DEALER WHEELER BLACK THUG AS WELL. THIS VIDEO OF 12 HOURS BEFORE THE SHOOTING PROOVES. THE MEDIA HAD TO RACE BAIT SINCE IT WAS A SLOW NEWS DAYS. TO GET FERGUSON RIALED UP TO BURN THE CITY DOWN AGAIN. SINCE ITS BEEN 2 YEARS OF SO CALLED CALM THERE.

Video poses new questions about 2014 Ferguson police shooting-[Reuters]-By Lawrence Bryant-YAHOONEWS-March 13, 2017

FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) - Previously undisclosed video of Michael Brown, recorded hours before the unarmed black 18-year-old was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has raised new questions about a suspected robbery that police said he committed in his final hours.The footage unearthed by a documentary filmmaker shows the teenager visiting a convenience store the night before his 2014 killing, which prompted national protests and kindled a debate about how U.S. police treat minorities.Shortly after Brown's death, local police released security-camera video of Brown visiting the same store in the daytime, a few minutes before he was shot. That footage, which now appears to depict the second of two visits to the Ferguson Market and Liquor store by Brown within a span of a few hours, showed Brown pushing a worker before walking out with cigarillos in an apparent robbery.Brown's family and protesters had criticized the release of the video as an effort to demonize the teenager.Witnesses have given conflicting accounts of Brown's encounter a short time later with police officer Darren Wilson. Local and federal investigations cleared Wilson of criminal wrongdoing.The new video, which appears in the documentary "Stranger Fruit," shows Brown in an earlier, seemingly more amicable exchange.It shows him giving store employees what appears to be a small bag, the contents of which the staff pass around and sniff. One employee gives Brown two boxes of cigarillos in a carrier bag.Brown takes a few steps away before turning back and handing the bag back to an employee who appears to stash it behind the counter.Jason Pollock, the documentary filmmaker, said the video showed Brown exchanging marijuana for cigarillos and undermined the police account that Brown may have robbed the store."He left his items at the store and he went back the next day to pick them up," Pollock says in the documentary. "Mike did not rob the store."-'NO TRANSACTION'-Robert McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, dismissed Pollock's account as "pathetic.""There was no transaction. There was certainly an attempt to barter for these goods, but the store employees had no involvement at all in that," McCulloch told a news conference on Monday. The clerks did nothing wrong, he added, and were not safeguarding the cigarillos for Brown.McCulloch said he would release unedited video from the store showing that the clerks replaced the items returned by Brown, which he said undermined the idea there had been any trade.Jay Kanzler, a lawyer for the convenience store, also disputed the filmmaker's explanation."The reason he gave it back is he was walking out the door with unpaid merchandise and they wanted it back," Kanzler was quoted as saying by the New York Times. He did not respond to a request for comment.About 100 protesters, who saw the video as exonerating Brown, gathered on Sunday night at the store, which was protected by a couple of hundred police officers.The protest was largely peaceful, although police arrested at least two people, a Reuters witness said, and an unknown person fired about half a dozen bullets into the air toward the end of the demonstration.(Reporting by Lawrence Bryant in Ferguson, Mo., Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Peter Cooney)