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)
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
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
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)
Montrealers protest against racism and Quebec's religious neutrality bill-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
MONTREAL — Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Montreal on Sunday to denounce racism, the far right and the province's religious neutrality bill.Organizers said the main goal of the gathering was to fight what they called the rise of racism and hate.It was organized by a vast coalition of organizations that include women's groups, anti-globalization movements and student associations.Apart from a few skirmishes early on, the march was peaceful and featured demonstrators chanting and waving signs.Many protesters said they were there to protest Quebec's Bill 62, which requires anyone giving or receiving state services to do so with their faces uncovered.They argued the bill marginalizes Muslim women who wear niqabs and tacitly legitimizes Islamophobia."The government has never been able to present anything that proves that, up until now, we've had any security problems whatsoever," said Eve Torres, a feminist protester."Presently, we're putting the spotlight on a group of women who have never posed a major problem in our society. It liberates racist speech, and we don't need that in the context of the rise of the far right."The march occurred hours after a well-known statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Montreal's downtown was found covered in red paint.An anonymous group took credit for the vandalism online, describing Macdonald as a white supremacist.The organization, which described itself as a group of "anonymous local anti-colonialist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist activists," expressed support for Sunday's march but specified that its members weren't directly affiliated with it.The Canadian Press.
John A. Macdonald statue vandalized in downtown Montreal-[CBC]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
The John A. Macdonald monument at Place du Canada in downtown Montreal was vandalized with paint on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.The statue dedicated to Canada's first prime minister and a Father of Confederation is covered in red from his head to the base of the monument bearing his name.Montreal police say they are looking into the incident.Nicholas Clyde Griffith, who works as a security guard and caretaker for the park, said he noticed the vandalism just before noon Sunday."When I leave, any time between 5 p.m. to the next morning, they can do whatever," he said. "No one is here at two o'clock in the morning."Clyde Griffith said this isn't the first time the statue has been targeted."It's happened before," he said. "We used a special paint remover last time."The vandalism comes a day after a war memorial was defaced in Montreal on Remembrance Day. The memorial was promptly cleaned up and police have since launched an investigation.Group takes responsibility.An anonymous group has taken responsibility for painting John A. Macdonald's statue, claiming the defacing took place ahead of today's planned anti-racist demonstration — but say they are not affiliated with the protest.Protest organizers also told Radio-Canada they were not involved with the vandalism.The group posted a video online showing the act of vandalism along with a message stating that Macdonald was a "colonialist," and that he "contributed to the genocide of Indigenous peoples."The debate over Macdonald's contentious legacy resurfaced in Canada in recent months as groups in the United States have been protesting the presence of statues celebrating the Confederacy, saying they glorify the nation's history of racism.There have been calls to take statues of Macdonald down, as well as to rename Canadian schools bearing his epithet.Though Macdonald is known for his role in the creation of Canada as a country, he's been called an architect of the country's abusive residential school system and of other policies that sought to rip Indigenous peoples away from their language and culture.There has been a movement to include more of that dark past in Canadian history books.The anti-racism protest is set to end at Place du Canada, right in front of the newly vandalized monument.
US carries out 3 drone strikes against extremists in Somalia-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. forces say they have carried out three drone strikes within 24 hours in Somalia, stepping up their campaign against the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab and the Islamic State group.The strikes by unmanned drones killed several extremist fighters, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military command in Africa told The Associated Press Sunday. With these three attacks, the U.S. has now carried out 26 attacks in Somalia against extremist targets in 2017, she said.The latest U.S. strikes were carried out in co-ordination with Somalia's government, she said.The first strike happened Saturday at approximately 4:30 p.m. local Somalia time and it killed one fighter for the extremists group, al-Shabab, said a U.S. Africa command statement. The strike occurred near Gaduud, about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, it said.The U.S. strike came after al-Shabaab attacked a convoy of U.S. and Somali forces, it said."We assess no civilians were anywhere near the site," said the spokeswoman. "We take all measures during the targeting process to painstakingly ensure that civilian casualties and collateral damages are avoided and that we comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict."The second strike occurred Sunday at approximately 3 a.m. against al-Shabaab, in the Lower Shabelle region about 40 miles west of the capital Mogadishu.Al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, has been blamed for the massive truck bombing in Mogadishu last month that killed more than 350 people. It was Somalia's worst-ever attack and one of the world's deadliest in years.Al-Shabab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida "and is dedicated to providing safe haven for terrorist attacks throughout the world," said the spokeswoman, adding that al-Shabab "has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the U.S. and our partners in the region."The third strike was against the Islamic State group in Somalia's northern Puntland area, she said. It happened at about 9 a.m. Sunday. This is the second U.S. strike against the IS group in Somalia. The first was earlier this month. The IS group has emerged in Somalia over the past two years and many of its fighters have defected from al-Shabab."U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," said the spokeswoman. The U.S. forces are working with Somalia's security forces and the 22,000-strong African Union force of soldiers from neighbouring countries and they are "targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world," she said.The Trump administration earlier this year approved expanded military operations against extremists in this Horn of Africa nation.Somalia's president has vowed a "state of war" against the extremists but concern is growing about that when the African Union force leaves Somalia, the national army will not be able to cope. The AU this week announced the beginning of its withdrawal from the long-chaotic and still heavily fractured nation, saying it will cut 1,000 troops by the end of the year. The AU pullout is set to be complete by the end of 2020.Abdi Guled, The Associated Press.
Turkey denies report of plan to kidnap cleric Gulen from US-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
ISTANBUL — Turkey has dismissed as "utterly false, ludicrous and groundless" a report that Turkish officials may have discussed paying millions of dollars to have a U.S.-based Muslim cleric kidnapped.The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating an alleged plot involving former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his son to hand Fethullah Gulen over to Ankara for as much as $15 million.Turkey blames the cleric and his supporters for a July 2016 military coup attempt that killed 250 people. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied being behind it.The Turkish Embassy in Washington reiterated demands late Saturday for the United States to extradite Gulen so he can stand trial. The embassy in a statement rejected "all allegations that Turkey would resort to means external to the rule of law" to get Gulen back on Turkish soil.Flynn's lawyers also have disputed the Journal report that Mueller was looking into a meeting where Flynn allegedly discussed a plan that would pay him and his son "to forcibly remove" Gulen.Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, did lobbying work for Turkey last year."Out of respect for the process of the various investigations regarding the 2016 campaign, we have intentionally avoided responding to every rumour or allegation," the lawyers said in a statement."But today's news cycle has brought allegations about General Flynn, ranging from kidnapping to bribery, that are so outrageous and prejudicial that we are making an exception to our usual rule: they are false," they said. .Michael Flynn Jr.'s attorney declined to comment on the allegations.Gulen has been living in the U.S. for nearly two decades. He is a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan until their 2013 public falling-out led the government to declare Gulen's network a terror group.Nearly 50,000 people are behind bars in Turkey and more than 100,000 civil servants have been dismissed from their jobs for alleged links to the cleric's network in the government's crackdown after the failed coup.Also behind bars in Turkey for alleged links to Gulen is U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for over 20 years. Erdogan said in September the U.S. was pressing Turkey to return a "cleric" while refusing to hand over another "cleric."The Turkish Embassy said the Turkish people find Gulen's continued refuge in the U.S. "perplexing and deeply frustrating."Complicating relations further is the case of a Turkish-Iranian businessman on trial in the U.S. for evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. A former Turkish economy minister and an executive of a state-owned Turkish bank have also been indicted.In a meeting last week, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and U.S. Vice-President Michael Pence discussed the cases among other sources of strain, including the U.S. backing of Syrian Kurdish militants in the war against the Islamic State group.Turkey has been infuriated by the U.S. support for a group it considers an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which has waged an insurgency within Turkey for more than 30 years.By Zeynep Bilginsoy, The Associated Press.
Papua New Guinea to begin forcible removal of asylum seekers from detention center-[Reuters]-By Colin Packham-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea Immigration Minister Petrus Thomas said authorities would take steps on Monday to forcibly remove around 450 men who remain in an abandoned Australian detention center without food or running water.Hundreds of men have barricaded themselves into the Manus Island center for more than 13 days without regular food or water supplies, defying attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the facility."We will be taking steps with relevant authorities to move the residents based on serious exposure to health risk for the food of everyone that is remaining," Thomas said in a statement issued late on Sunday.The timetable stokes fears of a potential clash between authorities and asylum seekers - drawn largely from Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria - who have refused to move to three transit centers. The United Nations has warned of a "looming humanitarian crisis."The standoff has cast Australia's immigration policies into the international spotlight, triggering a rare rebuke from New Zealand, Canberra's closest international ally.Australia has used the center, and a camp on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, to detain asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. It says boat arrivals will never enter Australia, even if found to be refugees, as that would encourage people smugglers in Asia.The asylum seekers on Manus fear reprisals if they move to the transit centers, pending possible resettlement in the United States. The main camp was closed on Oct. 31 and water and power have been cut off. Australia and Papua New Guinea both insist the transit centers are safe, offering the asylum seekers the same level of care they had received before the closure of the Manus Island camp.Papua New Guinea last week removed the fences of the camp, while authorities also dismantled rainwater collection bins and makeshift shelters built to ward off the tropical sun and rain, intensifying pressure on the detainees.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would seek a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam with her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, to discuss the situation."No matter what label you put on it, there is absolute need and there is harm being done," Arden told reporters.Turnbull earlier this month rejected an offer from New Zealand to resettle 150 asylum seekers as it prioritized an existing refugee swap deal he negotiated with former U.S. President Barack Obama last year.Under that deal, up to 1,250 asylum seekers could be sent to the United States and Australia will in turn accept refugees from Central America.(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Jane Wardell and Peter Cooney)
U.N. evacuates first group of refugees from Libya to Niger-[Reuters]-By Aidan Lewis-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
TUNIS (Reuters) - A group of 25 refugees have been evacuated from Libya to Niger to have resettlement claims processed, in the first operation of its kind from the North African country, the United Nations said on Sunday.The move is part of efforts to provide protection for refugees and other vulnerable migrants who travel to Libya, often intending to attempt the dangerous sea crossing to Italy.Many are trapped in smuggling networks or detention centers where they are exposed to a range of abuses including rape and torture that have been widely documented by human rights organizations and U.N. agencies.About 43,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered by U.N. refugee agency UNHCR are now in Libya. It is hard to resettle refugees directly from Libya partly because most countries closed their embassies in Tripoli after fighting escalated there in 2014.The initial group evacuated by air from Tripoli to Niamey on Saturday was made up of 15 women, six men and four children from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, according to the United Nations."Today's evacuation symbolizes hope in finding safe solutions for vulnerable refugees in Libya," Roberto Mignone, the UNHCR representative for Libya, said in a statement.The operation was the result of a joint initiative by UNHCR and the governments of Libya and Niger, and Niger has agreed to host the group until their claims to be resettled in third countries are dealt with, it said."We hope to be able to carry out more evacuations in the near future," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean. But he said the scheme would remain "limited in scale" as long as commitments to resettle refugees remained "insufficient"."These refugee evacuations can only be part of broader asylum-building and migration management efforts to address the complex movement of migrants and refugees who embark on perilous journeys across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea," he said.Most migrants traveling through Libya towards Europe come from sub-Saharan African countries. Many fleeing poverty, repression or conflict journey across the desert through Niger, Algeria or Sudan.The Libya to Italy crossing has become the main migrant route to Europe since an agreement between the EU and Turkey shut down smuggling through Greece last year. More than 600,000 have crossed by boat to Italy since 2014.European states have pledged tens of millions of euros to Libya, Niger and migrants' countries of origin in an effort to stem the flows. Departures from Libya have dropped since July due to changes in smuggling activity and increased activity by Libya's European-backed coastguard.European policy has drawn criticism from human rights groups that say it traps migrants in Libya, exposing them to further abuse there.UNHCR is seeking to open a refugee transit center in Tripoli early next year to shelter some of the most vulnerable refugees as they await evacuation or resettlement.The International Organization for Migration carries out voluntary repatriations of migrants from Libya, flying home more than 10,600 so far this year.(Editing by Peter Graff)
New mass graves found in Iraq could contain up to 400 bodies-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraqi security forces have found mass graves in an area recently retaken from the Islamic State group that could contain up to 400 bodies, an Iraqi official said Sunday.The bodies of civilians and security forces were found in an abandoned base near Hawija, a northern town retaken in early October, Kirkuk governor Rakan Saed said. He didn't say when authorities will start exhuming the bodies from the mass graves.Khalaf Luhaibi, a local shepherd who led troops to the site, said IS used to bring captives to the area and shoot them dead or pour oil over them and light them on fire. The area was strewn with torn clothing and what appeared to be human bones and skulls.Iraqi forces have driven IS from nearly all the territory it once controlled. Authorities have already uncovered several mass graves in other newly liberated areas.U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have driven the extremists from nearly all the territory they once controlled, with some fighting still underway near the western border with Syria.On Saturday, Iraq's Prime Minister announced an operation to capture a patch of territory on the western edge of the country near the border with Syria. Hours later, Iraqi Defence Ministry announced capturing Romana area, saying the troops will head to nearby town of Rawa.According to Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the Shiite-majority paramilitary forces, Rawa is the last Iraqi town held by IS who still control some scattered small villages in mainly desert areas.The Associated Press.
France frets over internal threat two years after Paris attacks-[Reuters]-By Marine Pennetier-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Two years after militants killed 130 people in coordinated attacks across Paris, French officials say there remains an unprecedented level of "internal" threat from both within and outside the country.With Islamic State losing ground in Iraq and Syria, hundreds of French citizens - and in some cases their children - have started to return to France, leaving the government in a quandary over how to deal with them.For the first time as president, Emmanuel Macron will pay tribute on Monday to the victims of the mass shootings and suicide bombing that took place across Paris and in the city's northern suburb of Saint-Denis on Nov. 13, 2015.The attacks, the deadliest on French soil since World War Two, prompted the country to strike back, joining international military operations targeting IS and other Islamist militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Libya and elsewhere.There has also been the passage of more stringent French legislation, with the most recent law, effective this month, giving police extended powers to search properties, conduct electronic eavesdropping and shut mosques or other locations suspected of preaching hatred.Conservative politicians say the regulations don't go far enough, while human rights groups express alarm, saying security forces are being given too much freedom to curtail rights.Macron - often parodied for his 'on the one hand, on the other hand' policy pronouncements - has emphasized the need to balance security and liberty. While he has ended the state of emergency brought in after the attacks, heavily armed soldiers still patrol the streets of Paris daily, and barely a week goes by without a police operation to round up suspects."MORE DISAPPOINTED THAN SORRY"-According to the interior ministry, extraordinary measures have helped intelligence agencies thwart more than 30 attacks in the last two years. Last week, the police arrested nine people and another was apprehended in Switzerland in a coordinated counter-terrorism operation."What worries us are plans for terrorist attacks prepared by teams that are still operating in fighting zones in Syria and Iraq," Laurent Nunez, head of France's internal intelligence agency DGSI told French daily Le Figaro in a rare interview.The risk of a home-grown attack also remains strong, with a risk of more attacks from isolated individuals using "low-cost" methods such as cars or knives to kill, he said.The hypothesis of a car bomb attack or suicide bomber cannot be excluded either although his services had not uncovered any such plan, he said.Of particular concern is what to do about hundreds of French citizens who went to fight with IS and may now seek to return home, now that the militant group has lost nearly all the territory its self-proclaimed caliphate ruled in Syria and Iraq."We know that the will of the jihadists to take action is intact," Nunez said.Visiting Abu Dhabi last week, Macron said those returning would be studied on "a case-by-case" basis."Some of them will be coming back (by their own means), others will be repatriated and some, in specific circumstances, will be facing trial with their families in the countries where they are currently, Iraq in particular," he said."A majority doesn't want to come back to France given the legal proceedings they face upon their return. But some women, widows, with their children, are inclined to travel back," French prosecutor Francois Molins said. "We should not be naive. We are dealing with people who are more 'disappointed' than 'sorry.'"(This version of the story adds dropped words in first paragraph)(Writing by Matthias Blamont, additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Luke Baker, Peter Graff and Richard Balmforth)
Israel signals free hand in Syria as U.S., Russia expand truce-[Reuters]-By Dan Williams-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel signaled on Sunday that it would keep up military strikes across its frontier with Syria to prevent any encroachment by Iranian-allied forces, even as the United States and Russia try to build up a ceasefire in the area.U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday affirmed joint efforts to stabilize Syria as its civil war wanes, including with the expansion of a July 7 truce in the southwestern triangle bordering Israel and Jordan.A U.S. State Department official said Russia had agreed "to work with the Syrian regime to remove Iranian-backed forces a defined distance" from the Golan Heights frontier with Israel, which captured the plateau in the 1967 Middle East war.The move, according to one Israeli official briefed on the arrangement, is meant to keep rival factions inside Syria away from each other, but it would effectively keep Iranian-linked forces at various distances from the Israel-held Golan as well.Those distances would range from as little as 5-7 kms and up to around 30 kms, depending on current rebel positions on the Syrian Golan, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.Moscow did not immediately provide details on the deal.Israel has been lobbying both big powers to deny Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah and other Shi'ite militias any permanent bases in Syria, and to keep them away from the Golan, as they gain ground while helping Damascus beat back Sunni-led rebels.In televised remarks opening Israel's weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not speak about the new U.S.-Russian arrangement for Syria.His regional cooperation minister, Tzachi Hanegbi, sounded circumspect about the deal, telling reporters that it "does not meet Israel's unequivocal demand the there will not be developments that bring the forces of Hezbollah or Iran to the Israel-Syria border in the north"."RED LINES"-"There's reflection here of the understanding that Israel has set red lines, and will stand firm on this," Hanegbi said.That was an allusion to Israeli military strikes in Syria, carried out against suspected Hezbollah or Iranian arms depots or in retaliation for attacks from the Syrian-held Golan.In the latest incident, the Israeli military said it shot down a spy drone on Saturday as it overflew the Golan. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman blamed the drone on the Syrian government. Damascus did not immediately respond.Repeating Israel's warnings to Iran and Hezbollah, Lieberman said: "We will not allow the Shi'ite axis to establish Syria as its forefront base".Russia, which has a long-term military garrison in Syria, has said it wants foreign forces to quit the country eventually.The U.S. State Department official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity on Saturday, said that goal could be served by Russia's pledge to remove Iranian-linked fighters from the truce zone in southwestern Syria."If this works, this is an auspicious signal, would be an auspicious signal, that our policy objective - the objective that I think so many of us share, of getting these guys out of Syria ultimately - that there's a path in that direction," the official said.(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Spain rescues 276 migrants crossing perilous Mediterranean-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
MADRID — Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved 276 migrants from seven different boats attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.The service says all the boats were intercepted by rescue craft Saturday in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar after they had set sail from North African shores. The service said there were no confirmed causalities.Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants each year try to cross the Mediterranean to seek a better life in Europe. Thousands drown each year in the attempt.The German paper Der Tagesspiegel on Thursday published a list of 33,293 people who died from 1993 to May 29, 2017 while trying to migrate to Europe. The list ran 46 pages.The Associated Press.
Israel warns Gaza militants against carrying out attacks-[The Canadian Press]-November 12, 2017
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Gaza militants against attacks as the Islamic Jihad group vowed revenge for the demolition of one of its attack tunnels that crossed into Israel.The Iranian-backed group has threatened to carry out attacks after the tunnel was demolished last month, killing a dozen militants. It was a rare flare-up along the tense border, which has remained mostly quiet since a 2014 Israel-Hamas war.Gunmen from Gaza on several occasions infiltrated Israel through a tunnel network during the fighting that year.Israel "will respond with a heavy hand to anyone who tries to attack us, or does attack us, from any front," Netanyahu said at a weekly Cabinet meeting. Israel holds Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, responsible for any attacks launched from the territory, he added.Earlier, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads COGAT, the defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian matters, also issued a warning saying the militants "are playing with fire at the expense of the Gaza residents, Palestinian reconciliation efforts and the stability of the entire region."Toward the end of the 2014 war, Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels that Hamas had dug under the border. Gaza militants had used the tunnels to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks. Although they did not manage to reach civilian areas, the infiltrations by heavily armed Palestinian gunmen caught Israel off guard and terrified the local population.Since then Israel has made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority, and several cross-border tunnels have been discovered and demolished since the war.Daoud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman, called the comments by Netanyahu and Mordechai "a declaration of war." He told The Associated Press that his group "made a decision to respond" with "a response that Israel is not used to." He did not elaborate but said it would not be with rocket fire, hinting at possible attacks from the West Bank.Israel has indicated it will keep the bodies of five of the militants killed in the tunnel until Hamas agrees to return the remains of two soldiers killed in 2014 as well as two live Israeli civilians believed held in the Gaza Strip.Hamas is trying to reach a reconciliation agreement with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority through Egyptian mediation, and is widely believed to want to preserve the calm for now.___Associated Press writer Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.Ian Deitch, The Associated Press.
EU agreed no sum needed to move talks forward: British Brexit minister-[Reuters]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union agreed that Britain would not have to come up with a figure for a financial deal to leave the bloc before moving talks on to discuss a trade deal, Brexit minister David Davis said on Sunday.Speaking to Sky News, Davis said Britain agreed to the sequencing of talks demanded by the EU but had told the bloc's negotiators it would not come up with a figure to push them beyond 'phase one'."We said: alright. we'll do this sequencing, but don't imagine you will have a number or a formula (for the financial settlement) at the end of it. We'll get towards that process but you won't have a number or a formula before we move on to the next stage. They accepted that," he said.(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Spanish PM, in Catalonia, calls for big turnout at December election-[Reuters]-By Sam Edwards-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
BARCELONA - Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged Catalans to turn out in force in a December election to "restore normality" to a region buffeted by attempts to split from Spain.In his first visit to Barcelona since Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia and sacked its separatist leaders, Rajoy said the Dec. 21 election would safeguard the economy and stop companies moving out of the economically important region."We want a massive turnout to begin a new political era of tranquillity, normality, coexistence and respect," Rajoy told the Catalan wing of his conservative People’s Party (PP).“We must urgently bring back normality to Catalonia ... to reduce social tension and stop damage to the economy.”Despite opposition to the early election imposed by Madrid as a way to resolve the impasse, the two leading pro-independence parties, PDeCAT of deposed leader Carles Puigdemont, and the ERC, have said they will participate.However, they failed to agree to run on a united ticket, potentially harming the separatist camp’s chances of winning a majority in the regional parliament.The far-left pro-independence CUP party, whose support was key to Puigdemont’s government, decided on Sunday to run in the-upcoming election.Madrid’s imposition of direct rule on Catalonia has widened a rift between political parties both in regional politics and at the municipal level.On Sunday, the party of Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau voted to break its pact to govern with the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), citing the latter’s support for the application of direct rule.Some 54 percent of Spaniards evaluate positively Madrid’s handling of the Catalan crisis, but only 28 percent of Catalans share this view, according to a poll for newspaper El Pais.On Saturday, 750,000 people marched in Barcelona to call for the release of separatist leaders from pre-trial detention.(Editing by Robin Pomeroy/Richard Balmforth)
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
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
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)
Montrealers protest against racism and Quebec's religious neutrality bill-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
MONTREAL — Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Montreal on Sunday to denounce racism, the far right and the province's religious neutrality bill.Organizers said the main goal of the gathering was to fight what they called the rise of racism and hate.It was organized by a vast coalition of organizations that include women's groups, anti-globalization movements and student associations.Apart from a few skirmishes early on, the march was peaceful and featured demonstrators chanting and waving signs.Many protesters said they were there to protest Quebec's Bill 62, which requires anyone giving or receiving state services to do so with their faces uncovered.They argued the bill marginalizes Muslim women who wear niqabs and tacitly legitimizes Islamophobia."The government has never been able to present anything that proves that, up until now, we've had any security problems whatsoever," said Eve Torres, a feminist protester."Presently, we're putting the spotlight on a group of women who have never posed a major problem in our society. It liberates racist speech, and we don't need that in the context of the rise of the far right."The march occurred hours after a well-known statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Montreal's downtown was found covered in red paint.An anonymous group took credit for the vandalism online, describing Macdonald as a white supremacist.The organization, which described itself as a group of "anonymous local anti-colonialist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist activists," expressed support for Sunday's march but specified that its members weren't directly affiliated with it.The Canadian Press.
John A. Macdonald statue vandalized in downtown Montreal-[CBC]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
The John A. Macdonald monument at Place du Canada in downtown Montreal was vandalized with paint on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.The statue dedicated to Canada's first prime minister and a Father of Confederation is covered in red from his head to the base of the monument bearing his name.Montreal police say they are looking into the incident.Nicholas Clyde Griffith, who works as a security guard and caretaker for the park, said he noticed the vandalism just before noon Sunday."When I leave, any time between 5 p.m. to the next morning, they can do whatever," he said. "No one is here at two o'clock in the morning."Clyde Griffith said this isn't the first time the statue has been targeted."It's happened before," he said. "We used a special paint remover last time."The vandalism comes a day after a war memorial was defaced in Montreal on Remembrance Day. The memorial was promptly cleaned up and police have since launched an investigation.Group takes responsibility.An anonymous group has taken responsibility for painting John A. Macdonald's statue, claiming the defacing took place ahead of today's planned anti-racist demonstration — but say they are not affiliated with the protest.Protest organizers also told Radio-Canada they were not involved with the vandalism.The group posted a video online showing the act of vandalism along with a message stating that Macdonald was a "colonialist," and that he "contributed to the genocide of Indigenous peoples."The debate over Macdonald's contentious legacy resurfaced in Canada in recent months as groups in the United States have been protesting the presence of statues celebrating the Confederacy, saying they glorify the nation's history of racism.There have been calls to take statues of Macdonald down, as well as to rename Canadian schools bearing his epithet.Though Macdonald is known for his role in the creation of Canada as a country, he's been called an architect of the country's abusive residential school system and of other policies that sought to rip Indigenous peoples away from their language and culture.There has been a movement to include more of that dark past in Canadian history books.The anti-racism protest is set to end at Place du Canada, right in front of the newly vandalized monument.
US carries out 3 drone strikes against extremists in Somalia-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
MOGADISHU, Somalia — U.S. forces say they have carried out three drone strikes within 24 hours in Somalia, stepping up their campaign against the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab and the Islamic State group.The strikes by unmanned drones killed several extremist fighters, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military command in Africa told The Associated Press Sunday. With these three attacks, the U.S. has now carried out 26 attacks in Somalia against extremist targets in 2017, she said.The latest U.S. strikes were carried out in co-ordination with Somalia's government, she said.The first strike happened Saturday at approximately 4:30 p.m. local Somalia time and it killed one fighter for the extremists group, al-Shabab, said a U.S. Africa command statement. The strike occurred near Gaduud, about 250 miles southwest of the capital, Mogadishu, it said.The U.S. strike came after al-Shabaab attacked a convoy of U.S. and Somali forces, it said."We assess no civilians were anywhere near the site," said the spokeswoman. "We take all measures during the targeting process to painstakingly ensure that civilian casualties and collateral damages are avoided and that we comply with the principles of the Law of Armed Conflict."The second strike occurred Sunday at approximately 3 a.m. against al-Shabaab, in the Lower Shabelle region about 40 miles west of the capital Mogadishu.Al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, has been blamed for the massive truck bombing in Mogadishu last month that killed more than 350 people. It was Somalia's worst-ever attack and one of the world's deadliest in years.Al-Shabab has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida "and is dedicated to providing safe haven for terrorist attacks throughout the world," said the spokeswoman, adding that al-Shabab "has publicly committed to planning and conducting attacks against the U.S. and our partners in the region."The third strike was against the Islamic State group in Somalia's northern Puntland area, she said. It happened at about 9 a.m. Sunday. This is the second U.S. strike against the IS group in Somalia. The first was earlier this month. The IS group has emerged in Somalia over the past two years and many of its fighters have defected from al-Shabab."U.S. forces will continue to use all authorized and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats," said the spokeswoman. The U.S. forces are working with Somalia's security forces and the 22,000-strong African Union force of soldiers from neighbouring countries and they are "targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world," she said.The Trump administration earlier this year approved expanded military operations against extremists in this Horn of Africa nation.Somalia's president has vowed a "state of war" against the extremists but concern is growing about that when the African Union force leaves Somalia, the national army will not be able to cope. The AU this week announced the beginning of its withdrawal from the long-chaotic and still heavily fractured nation, saying it will cut 1,000 troops by the end of the year. The AU pullout is set to be complete by the end of 2020.Abdi Guled, The Associated Press.
Turkey denies report of plan to kidnap cleric Gulen from US-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 13, 2017
ISTANBUL — Turkey has dismissed as "utterly false, ludicrous and groundless" a report that Turkish officials may have discussed paying millions of dollars to have a U.S.-based Muslim cleric kidnapped.The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating an alleged plot involving former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his son to hand Fethullah Gulen over to Ankara for as much as $15 million.Turkey blames the cleric and his supporters for a July 2016 military coup attempt that killed 250 people. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, has denied being behind it.The Turkish Embassy in Washington reiterated demands late Saturday for the United States to extradite Gulen so he can stand trial. The embassy in a statement rejected "all allegations that Turkey would resort to means external to the rule of law" to get Gulen back on Turkish soil.Flynn's lawyers also have disputed the Journal report that Mueller was looking into a meeting where Flynn allegedly discussed a plan that would pay him and his son "to forcibly remove" Gulen.Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, did lobbying work for Turkey last year."Out of respect for the process of the various investigations regarding the 2016 campaign, we have intentionally avoided responding to every rumour or allegation," the lawyers said in a statement."But today's news cycle has brought allegations about General Flynn, ranging from kidnapping to bribery, that are so outrageous and prejudicial that we are making an exception to our usual rule: they are false," they said. .Michael Flynn Jr.'s attorney declined to comment on the allegations.Gulen has been living in the U.S. for nearly two decades. He is a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan until their 2013 public falling-out led the government to declare Gulen's network a terror group.Nearly 50,000 people are behind bars in Turkey and more than 100,000 civil servants have been dismissed from their jobs for alleged links to the cleric's network in the government's crackdown after the failed coup.Also behind bars in Turkey for alleged links to Gulen is U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for over 20 years. Erdogan said in September the U.S. was pressing Turkey to return a "cleric" while refusing to hand over another "cleric."The Turkish Embassy said the Turkish people find Gulen's continued refuge in the U.S. "perplexing and deeply frustrating."Complicating relations further is the case of a Turkish-Iranian businessman on trial in the U.S. for evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. A former Turkish economy minister and an executive of a state-owned Turkish bank have also been indicted.In a meeting last week, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and U.S. Vice-President Michael Pence discussed the cases among other sources of strain, including the U.S. backing of Syrian Kurdish militants in the war against the Islamic State group.Turkey has been infuriated by the U.S. support for a group it considers an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which has waged an insurgency within Turkey for more than 30 years.By Zeynep Bilginsoy, The Associated Press.
Papua New Guinea to begin forcible removal of asylum seekers from detention center-[Reuters]-By Colin Packham-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea Immigration Minister Petrus Thomas said authorities would take steps on Monday to forcibly remove around 450 men who remain in an abandoned Australian detention center without food or running water.Hundreds of men have barricaded themselves into the Manus Island center for more than 13 days without regular food or water supplies, defying attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the facility."We will be taking steps with relevant authorities to move the residents based on serious exposure to health risk for the food of everyone that is remaining," Thomas said in a statement issued late on Sunday.The timetable stokes fears of a potential clash between authorities and asylum seekers - drawn largely from Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria - who have refused to move to three transit centers. The United Nations has warned of a "looming humanitarian crisis."The standoff has cast Australia's immigration policies into the international spotlight, triggering a rare rebuke from New Zealand, Canberra's closest international ally.Australia has used the center, and a camp on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru, to detain asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. It says boat arrivals will never enter Australia, even if found to be refugees, as that would encourage people smugglers in Asia.The asylum seekers on Manus fear reprisals if they move to the transit centers, pending possible resettlement in the United States. The main camp was closed on Oct. 31 and water and power have been cut off. Australia and Papua New Guinea both insist the transit centers are safe, offering the asylum seekers the same level of care they had received before the closure of the Manus Island camp.Papua New Guinea last week removed the fences of the camp, while authorities also dismantled rainwater collection bins and makeshift shelters built to ward off the tropical sun and rain, intensifying pressure on the detainees.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would seek a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Vietnam with her Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, to discuss the situation."No matter what label you put on it, there is absolute need and there is harm being done," Arden told reporters.Turnbull earlier this month rejected an offer from New Zealand to resettle 150 asylum seekers as it prioritized an existing refugee swap deal he negotiated with former U.S. President Barack Obama last year.Under that deal, up to 1,250 asylum seekers could be sent to the United States and Australia will in turn accept refugees from Central America.(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Jane Wardell and Peter Cooney)
U.N. evacuates first group of refugees from Libya to Niger-[Reuters]-By Aidan Lewis-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
TUNIS (Reuters) - A group of 25 refugees have been evacuated from Libya to Niger to have resettlement claims processed, in the first operation of its kind from the North African country, the United Nations said on Sunday.The move is part of efforts to provide protection for refugees and other vulnerable migrants who travel to Libya, often intending to attempt the dangerous sea crossing to Italy.Many are trapped in smuggling networks or detention centers where they are exposed to a range of abuses including rape and torture that have been widely documented by human rights organizations and U.N. agencies.About 43,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered by U.N. refugee agency UNHCR are now in Libya. It is hard to resettle refugees directly from Libya partly because most countries closed their embassies in Tripoli after fighting escalated there in 2014.The initial group evacuated by air from Tripoli to Niamey on Saturday was made up of 15 women, six men and four children from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, according to the United Nations."Today's evacuation symbolizes hope in finding safe solutions for vulnerable refugees in Libya," Roberto Mignone, the UNHCR representative for Libya, said in a statement.The operation was the result of a joint initiative by UNHCR and the governments of Libya and Niger, and Niger has agreed to host the group until their claims to be resettled in third countries are dealt with, it said."We hope to be able to carry out more evacuations in the near future," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR's Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean. But he said the scheme would remain "limited in scale" as long as commitments to resettle refugees remained "insufficient"."These refugee evacuations can only be part of broader asylum-building and migration management efforts to address the complex movement of migrants and refugees who embark on perilous journeys across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea," he said.Most migrants traveling through Libya towards Europe come from sub-Saharan African countries. Many fleeing poverty, repression or conflict journey across the desert through Niger, Algeria or Sudan.The Libya to Italy crossing has become the main migrant route to Europe since an agreement between the EU and Turkey shut down smuggling through Greece last year. More than 600,000 have crossed by boat to Italy since 2014.European states have pledged tens of millions of euros to Libya, Niger and migrants' countries of origin in an effort to stem the flows. Departures from Libya have dropped since July due to changes in smuggling activity and increased activity by Libya's European-backed coastguard.European policy has drawn criticism from human rights groups that say it traps migrants in Libya, exposing them to further abuse there.UNHCR is seeking to open a refugee transit center in Tripoli early next year to shelter some of the most vulnerable refugees as they await evacuation or resettlement.The International Organization for Migration carries out voluntary repatriations of migrants from Libya, flying home more than 10,600 so far this year.(Editing by Peter Graff)
New mass graves found in Iraq could contain up to 400 bodies-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraqi security forces have found mass graves in an area recently retaken from the Islamic State group that could contain up to 400 bodies, an Iraqi official said Sunday.The bodies of civilians and security forces were found in an abandoned base near Hawija, a northern town retaken in early October, Kirkuk governor Rakan Saed said. He didn't say when authorities will start exhuming the bodies from the mass graves.Khalaf Luhaibi, a local shepherd who led troops to the site, said IS used to bring captives to the area and shoot them dead or pour oil over them and light them on fire. The area was strewn with torn clothing and what appeared to be human bones and skulls.Iraqi forces have driven IS from nearly all the territory it once controlled. Authorities have already uncovered several mass graves in other newly liberated areas.U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have driven the extremists from nearly all the territory they once controlled, with some fighting still underway near the western border with Syria.On Saturday, Iraq's Prime Minister announced an operation to capture a patch of territory on the western edge of the country near the border with Syria. Hours later, Iraqi Defence Ministry announced capturing Romana area, saying the troops will head to nearby town of Rawa.According to Ahmed al-Asadi, a spokesman for the Shiite-majority paramilitary forces, Rawa is the last Iraqi town held by IS who still control some scattered small villages in mainly desert areas.The Associated Press.
France frets over internal threat two years after Paris attacks-[Reuters]-By Marine Pennetier-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
PARIS (Reuters) - Two years after militants killed 130 people in coordinated attacks across Paris, French officials say there remains an unprecedented level of "internal" threat from both within and outside the country.With Islamic State losing ground in Iraq and Syria, hundreds of French citizens - and in some cases their children - have started to return to France, leaving the government in a quandary over how to deal with them.For the first time as president, Emmanuel Macron will pay tribute on Monday to the victims of the mass shootings and suicide bombing that took place across Paris and in the city's northern suburb of Saint-Denis on Nov. 13, 2015.The attacks, the deadliest on French soil since World War Two, prompted the country to strike back, joining international military operations targeting IS and other Islamist militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Libya and elsewhere.There has also been the passage of more stringent French legislation, with the most recent law, effective this month, giving police extended powers to search properties, conduct electronic eavesdropping and shut mosques or other locations suspected of preaching hatred.Conservative politicians say the regulations don't go far enough, while human rights groups express alarm, saying security forces are being given too much freedom to curtail rights.Macron - often parodied for his 'on the one hand, on the other hand' policy pronouncements - has emphasized the need to balance security and liberty. While he has ended the state of emergency brought in after the attacks, heavily armed soldiers still patrol the streets of Paris daily, and barely a week goes by without a police operation to round up suspects."MORE DISAPPOINTED THAN SORRY"-According to the interior ministry, extraordinary measures have helped intelligence agencies thwart more than 30 attacks in the last two years. Last week, the police arrested nine people and another was apprehended in Switzerland in a coordinated counter-terrorism operation."What worries us are plans for terrorist attacks prepared by teams that are still operating in fighting zones in Syria and Iraq," Laurent Nunez, head of France's internal intelligence agency DGSI told French daily Le Figaro in a rare interview.The risk of a home-grown attack also remains strong, with a risk of more attacks from isolated individuals using "low-cost" methods such as cars or knives to kill, he said.The hypothesis of a car bomb attack or suicide bomber cannot be excluded either although his services had not uncovered any such plan, he said.Of particular concern is what to do about hundreds of French citizens who went to fight with IS and may now seek to return home, now that the militant group has lost nearly all the territory its self-proclaimed caliphate ruled in Syria and Iraq."We know that the will of the jihadists to take action is intact," Nunez said.Visiting Abu Dhabi last week, Macron said those returning would be studied on "a case-by-case" basis."Some of them will be coming back (by their own means), others will be repatriated and some, in specific circumstances, will be facing trial with their families in the countries where they are currently, Iraq in particular," he said."A majority doesn't want to come back to France given the legal proceedings they face upon their return. But some women, widows, with their children, are inclined to travel back," French prosecutor Francois Molins said. "We should not be naive. We are dealing with people who are more 'disappointed' than 'sorry.'"(This version of the story adds dropped words in first paragraph)(Writing by Matthias Blamont, additional reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Luke Baker, Peter Graff and Richard Balmforth)
Israel signals free hand in Syria as U.S., Russia expand truce-[Reuters]-By Dan Williams-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel signaled on Sunday that it would keep up military strikes across its frontier with Syria to prevent any encroachment by Iranian-allied forces, even as the United States and Russia try to build up a ceasefire in the area.U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday affirmed joint efforts to stabilize Syria as its civil war wanes, including with the expansion of a July 7 truce in the southwestern triangle bordering Israel and Jordan.A U.S. State Department official said Russia had agreed "to work with the Syrian regime to remove Iranian-backed forces a defined distance" from the Golan Heights frontier with Israel, which captured the plateau in the 1967 Middle East war.The move, according to one Israeli official briefed on the arrangement, is meant to keep rival factions inside Syria away from each other, but it would effectively keep Iranian-linked forces at various distances from the Israel-held Golan as well.Those distances would range from as little as 5-7 kms and up to around 30 kms, depending on current rebel positions on the Syrian Golan, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.Moscow did not immediately provide details on the deal.Israel has been lobbying both big powers to deny Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah and other Shi'ite militias any permanent bases in Syria, and to keep them away from the Golan, as they gain ground while helping Damascus beat back Sunni-led rebels.In televised remarks opening Israel's weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not speak about the new U.S.-Russian arrangement for Syria.His regional cooperation minister, Tzachi Hanegbi, sounded circumspect about the deal, telling reporters that it "does not meet Israel's unequivocal demand the there will not be developments that bring the forces of Hezbollah or Iran to the Israel-Syria border in the north"."RED LINES"-"There's reflection here of the understanding that Israel has set red lines, and will stand firm on this," Hanegbi said.That was an allusion to Israeli military strikes in Syria, carried out against suspected Hezbollah or Iranian arms depots or in retaliation for attacks from the Syrian-held Golan.In the latest incident, the Israeli military said it shot down a spy drone on Saturday as it overflew the Golan. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman blamed the drone on the Syrian government. Damascus did not immediately respond.Repeating Israel's warnings to Iran and Hezbollah, Lieberman said: "We will not allow the Shi'ite axis to establish Syria as its forefront base".Russia, which has a long-term military garrison in Syria, has said it wants foreign forces to quit the country eventually.The U.S. State Department official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity on Saturday, said that goal could be served by Russia's pledge to remove Iranian-linked fighters from the truce zone in southwestern Syria."If this works, this is an auspicious signal, would be an auspicious signal, that our policy objective - the objective that I think so many of us share, of getting these guys out of Syria ultimately - that there's a path in that direction," the official said.(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Spain rescues 276 migrants crossing perilous Mediterranean-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
MADRID — Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved 276 migrants from seven different boats attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.The service says all the boats were intercepted by rescue craft Saturday in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar after they had set sail from North African shores. The service said there were no confirmed causalities.Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants each year try to cross the Mediterranean to seek a better life in Europe. Thousands drown each year in the attempt.The German paper Der Tagesspiegel on Thursday published a list of 33,293 people who died from 1993 to May 29, 2017 while trying to migrate to Europe. The list ran 46 pages.The Associated Press.
Israel warns Gaza militants against carrying out attacks-[The Canadian Press]-November 12, 2017
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Gaza militants against attacks as the Islamic Jihad group vowed revenge for the demolition of one of its attack tunnels that crossed into Israel.The Iranian-backed group has threatened to carry out attacks after the tunnel was demolished last month, killing a dozen militants. It was a rare flare-up along the tense border, which has remained mostly quiet since a 2014 Israel-Hamas war.Gunmen from Gaza on several occasions infiltrated Israel through a tunnel network during the fighting that year.Israel "will respond with a heavy hand to anyone who tries to attack us, or does attack us, from any front," Netanyahu said at a weekly Cabinet meeting. Israel holds Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, responsible for any attacks launched from the territory, he added.Earlier, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, who heads COGAT, the defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian matters, also issued a warning saying the militants "are playing with fire at the expense of the Gaza residents, Palestinian reconciliation efforts and the stability of the entire region."Toward the end of the 2014 war, Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels that Hamas had dug under the border. Gaza militants had used the tunnels to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks. Although they did not manage to reach civilian areas, the infiltrations by heavily armed Palestinian gunmen caught Israel off guard and terrified the local population.Since then Israel has made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority, and several cross-border tunnels have been discovered and demolished since the war.Daoud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman, called the comments by Netanyahu and Mordechai "a declaration of war." He told The Associated Press that his group "made a decision to respond" with "a response that Israel is not used to." He did not elaborate but said it would not be with rocket fire, hinting at possible attacks from the West Bank.Israel has indicated it will keep the bodies of five of the militants killed in the tunnel until Hamas agrees to return the remains of two soldiers killed in 2014 as well as two live Israeli civilians believed held in the Gaza Strip.Hamas is trying to reach a reconciliation agreement with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority through Egyptian mediation, and is widely believed to want to preserve the calm for now.___Associated Press writer Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.Ian Deitch, The Associated Press.
EU agreed no sum needed to move talks forward: British Brexit minister-[Reuters]-yahoonews-November 12, 2017
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union agreed that Britain would not have to come up with a figure for a financial deal to leave the bloc before moving talks on to discuss a trade deal, Brexit minister David Davis said on Sunday.Speaking to Sky News, Davis said Britain agreed to the sequencing of talks demanded by the EU but had told the bloc's negotiators it would not come up with a figure to push them beyond 'phase one'."We said: alright. we'll do this sequencing, but don't imagine you will have a number or a formula (for the financial settlement) at the end of it. We'll get towards that process but you won't have a number or a formula before we move on to the next stage. They accepted that," he said.(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Spanish PM, in Catalonia, calls for big turnout at December election-[Reuters]-By Sam Edwards-YAHOONEWS-November 12, 2017
BARCELONA - Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged Catalans to turn out in force in a December election to "restore normality" to a region buffeted by attempts to split from Spain.In his first visit to Barcelona since Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia and sacked its separatist leaders, Rajoy said the Dec. 21 election would safeguard the economy and stop companies moving out of the economically important region."We want a massive turnout to begin a new political era of tranquillity, normality, coexistence and respect," Rajoy told the Catalan wing of his conservative People’s Party (PP).“We must urgently bring back normality to Catalonia ... to reduce social tension and stop damage to the economy.”Despite opposition to the early election imposed by Madrid as a way to resolve the impasse, the two leading pro-independence parties, PDeCAT of deposed leader Carles Puigdemont, and the ERC, have said they will participate.However, they failed to agree to run on a united ticket, potentially harming the separatist camp’s chances of winning a majority in the regional parliament.The far-left pro-independence CUP party, whose support was key to Puigdemont’s government, decided on Sunday to run in the-upcoming election.Madrid’s imposition of direct rule on Catalonia has widened a rift between political parties both in regional politics and at the municipal level.On Sunday, the party of Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau voted to break its pact to govern with the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), citing the latter’s support for the application of direct rule.Some 54 percent of Spaniards evaluate positively Madrid’s handling of the Catalan crisis, but only 28 percent of Catalans share this view, according to a poll for newspaper El Pais.On Saturday, 750,000 people marched in Barcelona to call for the release of separatist leaders from pre-trial detention.(Editing by Robin Pomeroy/Richard Balmforth)
