Monday, February 04, 2019

PUTIN-RUSSIA TO DESIGN NEW MISSLES AFTER US WITHDRAWL FROM NUCLEAR PACT.

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)

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

Belarusian model: I gave info on Trump to Russian tycoon-Anastasia Vashukevich has said she had 16 hours of audio and video proving ties between Kremlin officials and the US president’s campaign in 2016-By NATALIYA VASILYEVA-TOI-3 February 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — A Belarusian model who claims to have information on ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s election campaign told The Associated Press on Friday that she has turned that material over to Russian billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska.Anastasia Vashukevich fueled speculation around possible ties between Trump and the Kremlin last year when she posted a video from a police van, saying she had 16 hours of audio and video proving ties between Russian officials and the Trump campaign that influenced the 2016 US elections.Deripaska denied the allegations and even went to court to seek to remove the video Vashukevich posted in which he discusses US-Russia ties with a senior Russian government official.Vashukevich, who is also known as Nastya Rybka, returned to Russia last month almost a year after she was detained in Thailand on charges of soliciting sex, in what some believe was an attempt to silence her.Vashukevich, 28, told the AP in an interview Friday that, contrary to earlier reports that she had destroyed the recordings, she had given them to Deripaska because it “relates to him” and that she “did not want any more trouble.”Vashukevich rose to prominence in February last year when Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny published an investigation detailing dealings between Deripaska and Sergei Prikhodko, then-Russian deputy prime minister who played a prominent role in shaping Russia’s foreign policy.Navalny drew on Vashukevich’s video from summer 2016 when Deripaska was hosting Prikhodko on his yacht and was caught on tape saying that relations between Russia and the US were bad because of then-Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.Deripaska is close to Putin and also had a working relationship with Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager. Manafort was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the probe into the 2016 election and was convicted last year of tax and bank fraud.Deripaska’s representative at the time dismissed the reports as “scandalous and mendacious assumptions.” He promptly filed and won a lawsuit against Vashukevich for breach of privacy and secured a court ruling to delete the videos of him and Prikhodko.Vashukevich and her teacher, self-styled sex guru Alexander Kirillov, were in Thailand shortly after Navalny’s investigation came out, conducting a sex training seminar when they were arrested for working without a permit. Vashukevich, Kirillov and several others ended up being charged with soliciting sex and spent 11 months in a Thai jail.In January, Vashukevich and others were sentenced by the court in Pattaya to three-year prison terms before a new ruling gave them suspended 18-month prison terms and deported them to Russia.In the early stages of their detention, the sex training group sent a note to the US Embassy via an intermediary seeking help and political asylum. Vashukevich indicated she would turn over the recordings she claimed to have if the US could help secure her release, but later withdrew the offer, suggesting that she and Deripaska had reached an agreement.Vashukevich and Kirillov initially blamed Russia for their incarceration and said they were fearful for their lives. In April, however, Vashukevich changed her tune and said it was the US government that was persecuting her, not Russia.Vashukevich later told reporters outside a Thai courtroom that she had promised Deripaska not to speak about the US election interference anymore.Vashukevich and Kirillov were briefly detained upon their arrival in Moscow late last month on suspicion of soliciting sex in Russia but were promptly released.When pressed Friday by the AP about her previous claims, Vashukevich said she had emailed “everything I had” to Deripaska and dodged a question of whether she kept a copy for herself.“Oleg (Deripaska) has it all. If he wants to make any of it public, if he thinks that it’s a good idea, he can do it himself,” she said.A spokeswoman for Deripaska had no immediate comment Friday on Vashukevich’s new allegations.The Belarusian native who penned two books about seducing rich, powerful men explained to the AP how she changed her mind about who was to blame for her plight in Thailand.She said he received multiple visits from Americans with FBI IDs who were seeking information about her claims of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. She said they offered her safety in the US or threatened her with a lengthy prison term if she refused to cooperate.Around the time when she first publicly supported Russia, Vashukevich received a visit from Vladimir Pronin, Russia’s newly appointed consul in Pattaya, who she said helped to improve prison conditions for her and the other inmates. She credited Pronin for securing her release from the Thai prison and her deportation in January.Russian publications The Bell and Proyekt last year pointed to another high-profile visitor who Vashukevich caught on tape spending time with Deripaska.One video posted on her YouTube account showed a meeting between Deripaska and Adam Waldman, a US lobbyist who has been working for Deripaska and who has had repeated meetings with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The reported January 2017 meeting was several days before Waldman’s visit to Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.The Democratic National Committee last year sued Trump’s campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks, saying they conspired to cheat Democrats in the 2016 election.When asked Friday if the reports proving the Russian interference in the US elections included recordings of Waldman, Prikhodko and Deripaska, the Belarusian woman said: “I didn’t tell you that.”Vashukevich has kept a low profile since her release, a stark contrast to the racy photos that she used to post on Instagram.On Friday, she would not respond to a question on whether she was currently collaborating with Russian authorities. Her remarks, however, indicated that she may have traded her silence for security.“Things are so good right now, I don’t want this to change,” she said. “I don’t want to have to have to compare the Russian prison to the Thai prison. I don’t want any more trouble.”In her old Instagram posts, Vashukevich used to take pride in manipulating rich, powerful men.Asked Friday if she was now the one being manipulated, she swore in English and asked “What do you do?”

PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)

ISAIAH 66:15-16
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 4 BILLION).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.

MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Trump blames Russia as US pulls out of nuclear arms treaty-Americans say Moscow has long been violating the INF, signed in 1987, that has been a centerpiece of superpower weapons control since the Cold War-By Deb Riechmann, Robert Burns and Matthew Lee-TOI-3 February 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it is freeing itself from the constraints of a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia and will begin withdrawing from the pact on Saturday.US President Donald Trump blamed the Russians for the demise of the Cold War-era pact, known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.“For too long,” Trump said in a written statement issued by the White House, Russia has violated the treaty “with impunity, covertly developing and fielding a prohibited missile system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad.”The INF treaty, signed in 1987, has been a centerpiece of superpower arms control since the Cold War. Some analysts worry its demise could fuel a new arms race.Trump said that on Saturday the US will “suspend its obligations” under the treaty, meaning it will be freed from its constraints, including the testing and deployment of missiles banned by the pact. At the same time, the US will begin withdrawing from the treaty, which will be effective in six months, he said.He said the US “has fully adhered” to the treaty for more than 30 years, “but we will not remain constrained by its terms while Russia misrepresents its actions. We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other.”NATO said that if Moscow failed to destroy all new missile systems that Washington insists violate the treaty, “Russia will bear sole responsibility for the end of the treaty.”Trump said his administration “will move forward with developing our own military response options and will work with NATO and our other allies and partners to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct.”An American withdrawal had been expected for months, after years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the pact. It was the first arms control measure to ban an entire class of weapons: ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 500 kilometers (310 miles) and 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles). Russia denies that it has been in violation.US officials also have expressed worry that China, which is not party to the treaty, is gaining a significant military advantage in Asia by deploying large numbers of missiles with ranges beyond the treaty’s limit. Leaving the treaty would allow the Trump administration to counter the Chinese, but it’s unclear how it would do that.“The strategic rationale for leaving the INF seriously involves China,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a defense expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in an interview.He noted the quality and quantity of Chinese ground-based missiles and growing prospects for Chinese and American conflict in the Asia-Pacific.“This is one medium by which China can contest American influence in the Asia-Pacific,” he said. “And it’s unfair for the US to voluntarily restrict itself in a bilateral treaty when one side of that partnership (Russia) is failing to live by its obligations. The US … is voluntarily fighting with one hand tied behind its back.”Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in early December that Washington would give Moscow 60 days to return to compliance before it gave formal notice of withdrawal, with withdrawal taking place six months later. The 60-day deadline expires on Saturday.Technically, a US withdrawal would take effect six months after this week’s notification, leaving a small window for saving the treaty. However, in talks this week in Beijing, the US and Russia reported no breakthrough in their dispute, leaving little reason to think either side would change its stance on whether a Russian cruise missile violates the pact.“We have raised Russia’s noncompliance with Russian officials — including at the highest levels of government — more than 30 times,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. “We have provided Russia an ample window of time to mend its way. Tomorrow that time runs out.”A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying after the Beijing talks Thursday, “Unfortunately, there is no progress. The position of the American side is very tough and like an ultimatum.” He said he expected Washington to suspend its obligations under the treaty, although he added that Moscow remains ready to “search for solutions” that could keep the treaty in force.US withdrawal raises the prospect of further deterioration in US-Russian relations, which already are arguably at the lowest point in decades, and debate among US allies in Europe over whether Russia’s alleged violations warrant a countermeasure such as deployment of an equivalent American missile in Europe. The US has no nuclear-capable missiles based in Europe; the last of that type and range were withdrawn in line with the INF treaty.Nuclear weapons experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a statement this week that while Russia’s violation of the INF treaty is a serious problem, US withdrawal under current circumstances would be counterproductive.“Leaving the INF treaty will unleash a new missile competition between the United States and Russia,” they said.Kingston Reif, director for disarmament at the Arms Control Association, said Thursday that the US had failed to exhaust diplomatic options to save the treaty. Reif said the period between now and August, when the US withdrawal would take effect, offers a last chance to save the treaty, but he sees little prospect of that happening.

Putin: Russia to design new missiles after US withdrawal from nuclear pact-Russian leader says Moscow also pulling out of INF Treaty, but won’t put intermediate-range weapons in Europe unless US does-By AFP-TOI-FEB 3,19

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said Russia was suspending its participation in a key Cold War-era missile treaty in a mirror response to a US move the day before.“Our American partners have announced they are suspending their participation in the deal, and we are also suspending our participation,” he said of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.Putin said during a televised meeting with foreign and defense ministers Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu that Russia would no longer initiate talks with the US on disarmament.“We will wait until our partners have matured enough to conduct an equal, meaningful dialogue with us on this important topic,” Putin said.US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington was suspending its obligations under the INF treaty and starting a process to withdraw in six months.Washington says a Russian medium-range missile system breaches the INF deal.But Moscow has long insisted it does not violate the agreement, and last month invited reporters and foreign military attaches to a briefing on the disputed weapons system.Lavrov on Saturday repeated Russian accusations that Washington itself has been in violation of the deal for many years.At the meeting, Putin said Russia would seek to develop medium-range missiles in response to what he said were similar projects in the US.But he told the ministers that Russia would “not be drawn into a costly new arms race.”Russia would only deploy intermediate- and short-range missiles in Europe or elsewhere in answer to similar moves from the US, he added.Putin has previously threatened to develop nuclear missiles banned under the INF treaty if it is scrapped.European leaders have voiced fears over the consequences of the treaty’s demise and called on Russia to address concerns before the United States formally leaves in August.Signed towards the end of the Cold War by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty bans ground-launched missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.The deal resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China.

Iran scaling up uranium production and mining, atomic chief says-Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Islamic Republic’s Atomic Energy Organization, says country is set to produce 300 tons of yellowcake per year-By TOI staff-3 February 2019

Iran announced that it is producing large amounts of yellowcake, a precursor to enriched uranium, and has shipped two batches of the material to a uranium conversion facility.Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the Islamic Republic was ready to increase its production of yellowcake to 300 tons per year over the next five to six years, and had shipped 30 tons on yellowcake from the Shahid Rezaeinzhad Industrial Complex in the central province of Yazd to a conversion facility in Isfahan province, according to Iranian media reports on Wednesday.Salehi delivered the message to Iran’s Channel 2 news from the production complex.“Today, we are witnessing the completion of an important link: uranium production,” Salehi said, according to a translation by the Washington-based non-profit Middle East Media Research Institute. “This is our first plant of a large scale, and we are using the latest technologies.”Salehi said that the new facility was at full capacity, that Iran was extracting uranium from a mine in Yazd province and other still-unidentified mines, and had discovered large amounts of the material in the country through aerial surveys.He said they were planning on building additional plants similar to the Shahid Rezaeinzhad Industrial Complex in the same province.Yellowcake is a uranium concentrate in powder form and an early step in uranium processing. It is produced by mining uranium ore from rocks and separating the uranium from the rocks by bathing them in acid. The yellowcake can then be converted, enriched to raise its purity, and then used for weapons or energy production.Last month, Salehi said that Iran had deceived nuclear inspectors by quietly purchasing replacement parts for its Arak nuclear reactor while it was conducting negotiations for an international agreement under which it knew it would be required to destroy the original components.Salehi recalled that during talks for the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for it dismantling the weapons-capable parts of its nuclear program, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned his country’s negotiators that he expected Western parties to renege on the agreement.“When our team was in the midst of the negotiations, we knew that [the Westerners] would ultimately renege on their promises,” Salehi said. “The leader [Khamenei] warned us that they were violators of agreements. We had to act wisely. Not only did we avoid destroying the bridges that we had built, but we also built new bridges that would enable us to go back faster if needed.”Salehi insisted that such subterfuge did not indicate that Iran was or is seeking nuclear weapons, as the Trump administration and Israel insist. Iran’s plan was to modernize the Arak reactor, which was based on an old Russian design, and use the new facility to produce reduced quantities of plutonium that would be used for nuclear fuel, but not weapons, he said.US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in May last year but the other signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran have all agreed to try to keep the pact alive on their own. Trump insists the original agreement did not go far enough in curbing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and wants to renegotiate the JCPOA with stricter terms. In the meantime Washington has imposed heavy sanctions on Iran that could weaken the ability of the remaining parties to maintain the deal.Last week Salehi said Iran has begun “preliminary activities for designing” a modern process for 20-percent uranium enrichment. Restarting enrichment at that level would mean Iran had withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear deal.Tehran has in the past warned that if the remaining parties are not able to keep up the trade and financial benefits the deal provided, it will also pull out and restart controversial parts of its nuclear program.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Iran says new cruise missile successfully fired on revolution’s 40th anniversary-Video shows test of ‘Hoveyzeh,’ allegedly a high-precision weapon capable of carrying a large payload for up to 1,200 kilometers-By TOI staff-FEB 3,19

Iran on Saturday said it had successful fired a new long-range cruise missile, amid events marking 40 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.The missile, dubbed Hoveyzeh, was described as a high-precision weapon capable of flying at low altitudes and able to carry a significant payload.“The test of the Hoveizeh cruise missile was carried out successfully at a range of 1,200 kilometers (840 miles) and accurately hit the set target,” Defense Minister Amir Hatami said, quoted on state television which broadcast footage of its launch.“It can be ready in the shortest possible time and flies at a very low altitude,” he said.Iran has been known to exaggerate the capabilities of its weaponry, and there was no independent confirmation of Tehran’s claims.#Iran unveiled surface-to-surface cruise missile dubbed #Hoveyzeh that is manufactured by Defense Ministry’s Aerospace Industries Organizationhttps://t.co/vVjOpRaviE pic.twitter.com/C1LpQuMgxy— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) February 2, 2019-Hatami described the Hoveizeh as the “long arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran” in defending itself.“The Hoveyzeh missile is the symbol of self-belief and an important defense achievement based on today’s technological progress in the world,” Hatami said.It shows “no obstacle can hinder the Iranian nation’s determination and will in the defense field,” he said, noting statements by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that the nation “will decisively respond to any kind of threat at the same level.”#Iran on Saturday unveiled ‘#Hoveizeh’ long-range cruise #missile which has been fully designed and manufactured by the country’s #military experts. pic.twitter.com/xkCurUVlEa— Ovain Ali (@AliiOvain) February 2, 2019-In the 37-second video, the launch was shown from different angles with the projectile finally hitting somewhere in the desert.Iran’s ballistic missiles program (cruise missiles are in a different category) has been met with mounting concern in the West. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently accused Iran of testing a medium-range ballistic missile capable of “carrying multiple warheads,” which he said could strike “anywhere” in the Middle East and even parts of Europe.The program was among the reasons cited by US President Donald Trump for leaving the 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposing crippling sanctions.The deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday his country has developed a “strategic capacity” to destroy Israel. On Tuesday, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, warned that terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah were prepared to unleash an “inferno” on the Jewish State.Speaking at a space tech conference, Shamkhani spoke of “hundreds of kilometers of tunnels dug underneath [Israelis’] feet, and the resistance forces in Gaza and Lebanon have missiles with pinpoint accuracy and are ready to respond to any foolish Israeli behavior with an inferno.”The comments followed a series of reciprocal taunts by Israeli and Iranian leaders in recent weeks amid rising tensions on the Israeli-Syrian border between IDF and Iranian forces.On Wednesday Iran announced that it is producing large amounts of yellowcake, a precursor to enriched uranium, and has shipped two batches of the material to a uranium conversion facility.Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the Islamic Republic was ready to increase its production of yellowcake to 300 tons per year over the next five to six years, and had shipped 30 tons of yellowcake from the Shahid Rezaeinzhad Industrial Complex in the central province of Yazd to a conversion facility in Isfahan province, according to Iranian media reports.Salehi said that the new facility was at full capacity, that Iran was extracting uranium from a mine in Yazd province and other still-unidentified mines, and had discovered large amounts of the material in the country through aerial surveys.Yellowcake is a uranium concentrate in powder form and an early step in uranium processing. It is produced by mining uranium ore from rocks and separating the uranium from the rocks by bathing them in acid. The yellowcake can then be converted, enriched to raise its purity, and then used for weapons or energy production.US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal in May last year but the other signatories — Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran — have all agreed to try to keep the pact alive on their own. Trump insists the original agreement did not go far enough in curbing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions and wants to renegotiate the JCPOA with stricter terms. In the meantime Washington has imposed heavy sanctions on Iran that could weaken the ability of the remaining parties to maintain the deal.Agencies contributed to this report.

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)

Muslim groups denounce Quebec Premier Legault's statements on Islamophobia-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 3, 2019

MONTREAL — Premier Francois Legault's statement that Islamophobia does not exist in Quebec was denounced by Muslim groups as "offensive and inexcusable," prompting Legault to clarify his statements on Friday.The National Council of Canadian Muslims called on Legault to retract the remarks made Thursday, two days after the second anniversary of a mosque shooting that killed six Muslim men in Quebec City.Ihsaan Gardee, the group's executive director, said in a statement late Thursday that Legault's comments "are an absolute insult to the families of the victims and to Muslim communities in Quebec and across Canada who continue to grieve this tragedy."Speaking to reporters at the end of a caucus meeting, Legault said there is no Islamophobia in Quebec and closed the door on the idea of designating a national day to combat the problem.But on Friday his office sought to clarify those comments, saying the premier meant to say that Islamophobia exists but it's not widespread."Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and hate exist, but not an Islamophobic current," an aide to Legault said. "Quebec is not Islamophobic or racist." In a second statement, the premier's office added: "Unfortunately, too many racist acts still occur today in our society, and we must do everything we can to fight hate and intolerance."When reached by phone Friday afternoon, Gardee said his group welcomed the premier's acknowledgment that Islamophobia exists in Quebec and hopes to work with the government to tackle the problem."In our view, taking the ostrich approach and putting your head in the sand is not going to solve a problem or make it go away," he said.In Ottawa, the Commons heritage committee recommended last year that Jan. 29 be declared a "national day of remembrance and action on Islamophobia and other forms of religious discrimination." Toronto Mayor John Tory announced this week that the city was proclaiming Jan. 29 a day of remembrance and action on Islamophobia.Legault's original statement drew a swift reaction from opposition parties and Muslim groups, including the mosque that was targeted in the 2017 shooting.In a scathing letter addressed to the premier, mosque president Boufeldja Benabdallah said he felt betrayed by the comments and expressed fear that they would encourage the fringe group of people who commit Islamophobic acts."I appeal to your generosity and your intelligence to remain the premier for all Quebecers, and not just those who elected you, to ensure this wound doesn't become an insurmountable fracture that your government will be responsible for and will be part of the history of our country," he wrote to Legault.Speaking in Ottawa, Quebec NDP MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach said Legault's initial comments "lacked sensitivity.""It's not very constructive to deny that there are acts of violence that stem from hate of Islam when we have families, women, mothers, children, who live this violence and are living witnesses to this violence," she said.The controversy came as Quebec provincial police reported the arrest of a man who allegedly appeared in a video published Tuesday praising Quebec City's mosque shooter and expressing hatred toward Muslims. Pierre Dion, 49, appeared in court in Laval Friday on two charges of inciting hatred against an identifiable group.Statistics Canada reported in November that the number of hate crimes reported to police rose sharply in 2017, fuelled by an increase in incidents targeting blacks, Jews, and Muslims.In his letter, Benabdallah noted that the Quebec City mosque has been the target of a long list of Islamophobic incidents, including swastikas painted on the walls, a pig's head left at its entrance during Ramadan, insulting pamphlets handed out in the neighbourhood and excrement flung at the door.In August 2017, a car belonging to the mosque's former president was torched. Two men were later arrested and charged in connection with the incident.-- With files from Terry Pedwell in Ottawa and Caroline Plante in Quebec City-Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press.

Scheer criticizes Trudeau on immigration, argues system's integrity damaged-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 3, 2019

SURREY, B.C. — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says the prime minister damaged the integrity of Canada's immigration system when he tweeted two years ago that Canadians will welcome all those fleeing persecution, terror and war."In terms of illegal immigration, we have seen this problem grow for the past few years. We all remember Justin Trudeau's famous tweet where he couldn't resist jumping in on Twitter and tweeting out all are welcome," Scheer said Friday at a town hall in suburban Vancouver held by the Surrey Board of Trade."Well, people have taken him up on his word. The problem is that that damages the integrity of our immigration system and people who are trying to come to Canada the right way are now having to wait longer," he said to applause from members of the audience.In January 2017, Trudeau posted on Twitter: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada."He made the post shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning entry of citizens from seven countries with majority-Muslim populations for 90 days.The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada says 34,854 refugee claims were made by irregular border crossers between February 2017 and September 2018 and of those 3,142 — or nine per cent — were accepted. Some 2,429 were denied and 28,314 are pending. It says there has been an "influx" of irregular border crossers. Trudeau recently warned people to be wary of fear-mongering about immigration, suggesting the issue will be a hot-button topic during the federal election campaign this fall.Scheer said he has met people who spent years in a refugee camp waiting to enter Canada and don't understand why someone can enter through upstate New York.The parliamentary budget officer recently reported that the influx of asylum seekers at the border is on course to cost Ottawa more than $1 billion, he added.NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan has criticized the Conservatives and Liberal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen for using the word illegal to describe people crossing the U.S. border seeking asylum. Hussen said he was using the word to describe the act of crossing the border outside of a normal point of entry, but he had never described asylum seekers themselves as "illegal."Asked by a reporter about his use of the word illegal, Scheer said there's a sign at the border that says it's illegal to cross into Canada outside of regular checkpoints.He said when he talks to new Canadians, they express frustration at how long it took them to be allowed into the country compared with people crossing the U.S. border."To see a government that allows people to come and jump the queue and skip the line, that frustrates them," Scheer said.The Conservatives were probably planning to highlight immigration policies in the election, but the new People's Party of Canada led by former Tory MP Maxime Bernier is likely causing them to double down on the issue, said political scientist Hamish Telford of the University of the Fraser Valley."It's going to be a wedge issue and it's going to place the Conservatives and the People's Party on one side and the Liberals and the NDP on the other side," Telford said in an interview.Asked whether the People's Party is pushing him farther right on immigration, Scheer replied: "It's not about left or right on this issue. It's about what's right for Canada. I'm going to continue standing up for principles and not be worried about the politics of it."Bernier's party has promised to reduce the total number of immigrants to 250,000 a year, increase border security and end reliance on the United Nations for refugee selection.Telford said Trudeau's 2017 tweet and welcoming stance toward Syrian refugees likely haven't lost the Liberals any supporters and may have actually gained them some progressive voters. But it has also produced an angry reaction among those who oppose the Liberal policies, he said.The electorate has become more polarized since 2015, he said, noting that in the last general election campaign the Conservatives floated the idea of a hotline to report immigrants bringing in "barbaric cultural practices" and it was poorly received."Since then, I think that people who are ... tough on immigrants or refugees have frankly been emboldened by the Trump administration in the United States and perhaps movements in Europe as well."— Follow @ellekane on Twitter.Laura Kane, The Canadian Press.

Hamas said to agree to rein in border clashes for reopening of Egypt crossing-Offer reportedly relayed to terror group’s leader during meeting with Egyptian and UN officials, ahead of weekly ‘March of Return’ protests-By TOI staff-FEB 3,19

Egypt has reportedly agreed to permanently reopen its border crossing with the Gaza Strip if Hamas reins in clashes with Israeli troops.The Rafah crossing was shuttered in early January after the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority withdrew its employees there, though it was again opened in both directions on Tuesday.According to the Ynet news site, Egypt’s offer was relayed to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh during a Friday meeting in Gaza with Egyptian intelligence officials and Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s Middle East envoy.Quoting unnamed Palestinian sources, the report said the reopening of the crossing on a permanent basis was intended to give Hamas a concession significant enough to restrain violent protests along the border between Gaza and Egypt.Speaking at the opening of a mosque on Friday in Gaza City, Haniyeh did not comment on the reported offer but called the trilateral meeting “unprecedented.”“Gaza is… an area of political interest because what is happening in Gaza affects the general Palestinian scene and what happens, and what will happen, in Gaza affects our region,” he said before returning to talks with UN and Egyptian officials.For the past several months, Egypt, the UN and Qatar have worked to preserve calm in Gaza and prevent flareups between Israel and terror groups in the Strip.Since last March, the Gaza border has seen large-scale weekly clashes on Fridays, and smaller protests along the northern Gaza border on Tuesdays as well as periodic flareups between the Israeli military and Palestinian terror organizations.Gaza is controlled by Hamas, a terror group sworn to Israel’s destruction.On Friday, the IDF said some 10,000 Palestinians took part in violent protests along the border, burning tires and hurling rocks and explosive devices at Israeli soldiers. Troops responded to the demonstrators with tear gas and occasional live fire.The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 23 protesters were injured by live fire in the clashes and a female paramedic was hit in the face with a tear gas canister.

Countries behind Hebron observer force slam Israeli move to shut it down-6 European foreign ministers say decision to end work of TIPH in West Bank city violates Oslo Accords, deny organization acted against Israel-By TOI staff-3 February 2019

The foreign ministers of the six contributing countries of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron on Friday condemned Israel’s axing of the observer force in the flashpoint West Bank city, and stressed that the move violated the Oslo Accords.“We regret the unilateral decision by the Israeli government not to renew the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) after 31 January 2019,” the ministers of the countries that provide observers to TIPH — Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey — wrote in a joint statement.“The Israeli decision to withdraw from the agreement with the PLO and thereby terminate the TIPH constitutes a departure from the Oslo II Accord of 1995.”The establishment of the TIPH was based on the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians, which called for an international observer force in the West Bank city.“Since the UN Security Council adopted resolution 904 in 1994, calling for a temporary international presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, the situation in Hebron remains tense and fragile,” the joint statement continued. “We are concerned that the Israeli government’s decision undermines one of the few established mechanisms for conflict resolution between Israelis and Palestinians and may therefore have a negative impact on the situation.”The ministers further wrote that: “In this regard, we stress Israel’s obligations under international law to protect the people in Hebron and in other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, and its duty to ensure accountability for violations thereof.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Monday it would not extend the mandate of the international observer group, following a number of incidents over the past year in which its members scrapped with settlers in the city.“We will not allow the continuation of an international force that acts against us,” Netanyahu said.The writers of the statement, however, insisted that TIPH had “diligently fulfilled its mandate as requested by both parties, and thus contributed to preventing violence and promoting a feeling of security for the population in Hebron, and that therefore, they “strongly object to any claim that the TIPH has acted against Israel,” adding that “such claims are unacceptable and ungrounded.”PLO secretary-general Saeb Erekat responded to Netanyahu’s announcement in a statement that the UN should “guarantee the safety and protection of the people of Palestine not only ensuring the continued presence of TIPH in Hebron but also to deploy permanent international presence in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, until the end of Israel’s belligerent occupation.”Erekat called Netanyahu’s announcement “an additional step towards Israel’s nullification of all signed treaties” and “further evidence that Israel is a rogue state that abhors international legitimacy and places itself above and beyond international order and the international community.”TIPH is an international civilian observer group that, according to its mandate, was tasked with “monitoring and reporting efforts to maintain normal life in the city of Hebron, thus creating a sense of security among the Palestinians in Hebron.”It also reported alleged human rights abuses and violations of accords in the city between Israel and Palestinians. TIPH had roughly a dozen staff operating locally and an additional 64 working abroad.The group had been operating since 1994, and had been ensuring compliance with the Hebron Agreement of 1997.Signed by Netanyahu and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, the protocol divided the West Bank’s most populous city into two sections: H1, which includes 80 percent of the city and lies under full Palestinian control, and H2, which is under Israeli military control, and where several hundred Israeli settlers live in heavily guarded compounds surrounded by 40,000 Palestinians whose movements are heavily limited.Because the group by definition is considered to be temporary, the Hebron Agreement required Israel to renew the mandate of the observers every six months. While TIPH has long been loathed by local settlers, the group has remained due to Israel’s willingness to maintain favorable relations with the participatory countries.But over the past year, pressure by settler leaders and right-wing lawmakers to end the observers’ mandate increased significantly.Last July, Hadashot TV news aired security camera footage that showed a uniformed member of TIPH slashing the tires of an Israeli settler in Hebron.Earlier that month, a separate video emerged of a TIPH staffer slapping a young Jewish boy across the face, sending his skullcap flying.The observer group expelled both of the members following internal probes into the filmed incidents.While no incidents as flagrant were recorded over the last six months, pressure to oust TIPH from Hebron continued to intensify. Last week, police issued a report claiming that TIPH members were “deliberately creating friction to justify their high salary.” The report also claimed that the group was disrupting IDF soldiers’ work vetting Palestinians at local checkpoints and regularly confronting troops.TIPH officials did not respond to The Times of Israel’s repeated requests for comment.Michael Bachner, Jacob Magid and AP contributed to this report.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

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.

HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22  The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

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)

THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

US thaws from Arctic deep freeze, as death toll hits 21-Two days of bitter cold with temperatures lower than Antarctica gripped the American Midwest, grounding flights, knocking out power and closing schools and businesses-By Nova SAFO-TOI-FEB 3,19

AFP — A brutal cold spell that paralyzed the US Midwest, freezing water mains, causing power outages and canceling flights, eased on Friday, with forecasts predicting a rapid thaw.The two days of intense cold from the so-called polar vortex that descended on the US Midwest and Northeast will go down in memory for its scenes of winter at its most bitter.Blocks of ice floated down the river that runs through downtown Chicago, the rushing waters of the Niagara Falls were frozen in some places, and half the Great Lakes were covered in ice.US media reported as many as 21 weather-related deaths since a snow storm hit the Midwest early in the week, followed by plunging temperatures Wednesday and Thursday.Temperature readings were nosing up on Friday and “will continue to moderate,” the National Weather Service said.The concern, though, turned to the threat of flooding and further stress on already strained infrastructure as the region thawed out.“In some areas of the Midwest, the coming wild temperature swing will be the most extreme warm-up from record winter cold ever seen in such a short time period,” Jeff Masters, meteorologist at Weather Underground, told AFP.Hundreds of new records-The Arctic air mass that veered off its normal polar route broke more than 340 records in communities across a cluster of states, according to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center.With wind chill factored in, temperatures dropped to as low as -64 degrees Fahrenheit (-53C) in Minnesota, -59F (-51C) in Wisconsin, -58F (-58C) in Iowa and -55F (-48C) in Illinois.By Monday, the weather was expected to be comparatively balmy — around 50F (10C) in Chicago and Detroit.“It’s important to remember that the rapid change in weather and snow melt could lead to dangerous flooding,” James Joseph, the regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said in a statement.In the region around Niagara Falls, officials worried that ice jams could raise water levels in the Upper Niagara River, according to local TV station WIVB.Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said they were also working “to avert possible creek flooding once thaw comes.”In Illinois, state officials said they were discharging warm water from a nuclear power station into a river in order to prevent ice jams and flash flooding.In Detroit and Chicago, which have already contended with dozens of broken water mains over the last several days, more pipes could burst as rapid warming puts pressure on aging systems.-Return to normalcy-Elements of normal life resumed in fits and starts, including transportation.Thousands of flights were scrapped this week, especially at Chicago’s two major airports, which experienced more than 1,500 cancellations a day.The city is a regional hub, and passengers were left stranded or looking for alternate routes.“The majority of our customers have already been rebooked,” American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein told AFP on Friday.Delta Airlines spokesman Drake Castaneda said the company had “fully recovered from the polar vortex and have operated normally today.”Children — some of whom have been at home for almost a week — returned to class in many school districts, while others were off for another day because frozen school buses would not start.Milwaukee schools in Wisconsin were open, but Chicago schools were not.In Minneapolis, students were back in class but food deliveries for school lunches were disrupted.-Death toll rises-Hypothermia and frostbite proved to be major dangers this week.Officials repeatedly warned the homeless to take advantage of increased shelter capacity, and for others in need, such as the elderly, to use the hundreds of warming centers opened throughout the region.They also warned residents to not spend more than a few minutes at a time outside.Despite those efforts, there were still reports of fatalities.A 69-year-old FedEx worker was found dead outside of an Illinois delivery hub, according to TV station WQAD.The University of Iowa confirmed that Gerald Belz, a pre-med student, had died Wednesday. Local media reported that the 18-year-old was found unconscious outside a university building when temperatures were in the negative double digits in Iowa City.In Wisconsin, a 38-year-old woman was found frozen Wednesday night in an unheated home, and a man froze to death in his back yard Thursday afternoon, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

In U.S. Midwest, 22F 'feels like spring' after days of brutal cold-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-By Michael Hirtzer and Gina Cherelus-February 3, 2019

CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bone-chilling cold that paralyzed a chunk of the United States this week and killed at least 18 people eased on Friday as an errant Arctic air mass retreated ahead of a warmer-than-normal weekend in areas of the Midwest and Northeast.In Chicago, where the mercury dipped as low as minus 22 Fahrenheit (minus 30 Celsius) this week, temperatures of 22F (minus 5.5C) by Friday afternoon felt balmy for some in the nation's third-largest city."It's got to be an almost 50 degree difference, it feels like spring," said one commuter heading home from Chicago's downtown financial district, wearing only a sweatshirt.Cable worker Brian Stachovic said he was up an electrical pole for only five minutes on Thursday before his fingers and toes went numb, and he had to go inside to avoid frostbite."Today, working outside it was like normal," said Stachovic, 40, wearing brown overalls and insulated gloves, as he worked in Chicago's downtown.Temperatures from southern New England to the upper Midwest should reach the mid-40s to low 50s Fahrenheit through the weekend and Monday, forecasters said, after a record-breaking cold snap that stopped mail deliveries in some parts of the Midwest and shuttered schools and businesses."The bitter cold air is going to be pushed up into Canada," said Bob Smerbeck, senior meteorologist for Accuweather.The Midwest's worst cold snap in two decades was created by the polar vortex, a reservoir of icy air that usually swirls over the North Pole. Shifting air currents caused it to slip down through Canada and into the U.S. Midwest this week.Temperatures on Friday afternoon ranged from the teens to the twenties, after cities like Chicago experienced sub-zero temperatures for two days and opened additional warming centers for the homeless.DEATH TOLL MAY RISE-At least 18 deaths have been linked to the deep freeze since Saturday, and the number was expected to climb as authorities identified more victims.On Friday, police in East Moline, Illinois, about 160 miles (260 km) west of Chicago, said the weather may have contributed to the death of a FedEx freight driver whose body was found between two trucks on Thursday outside a company distribution hub.A representative for FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Cook County's medical examiner's office said there were four confirmed cold-related deaths this week in the Chicago area.More than 40 cold-temperature records were broken on Thursday, the coldest morning since the polar vortex moved in late on Tuesday, clinging to a swath of the United States from Iowa and the Dakotas across the Great Lakes region and into Maine.Amtrak restored rail service to and from Chicago on Friday, and the U.S. Postal Services resumed mail delivery in six Midwest states.But while the U.S. Midwest and East Coast thawed out, a fierce winter storm headed towards California, carrying heavy rains and high winds that could touch off city flooding and mudslides.(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Gina Cherelus in New York; additional reporting by Peter Szekely and Gabriella Borter in New York, Michael Hirtzer in Chicago and Andrew Hay in New Mexico; editing by Jonathan Oatis, James Dalgleish and Sonya Hepinstall)

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