US BEEFS UP WARSHIP PRESENCE IN THE MIDEAST.

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)

US BEEFS UP WARSHIP PRESENCE IN THE MIDEAST.

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements (NUKES) shall melt with fervent heat,(BLAST) the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.(BUT ITS NO END OF THE WORLD HOGWASH)
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,(BY NUKES INCLUDING 3 BILLION PEOPLE) what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15  So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17  So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
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.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

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 - 3 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.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30

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.

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.

REVELATION 9:18
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.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

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

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.

NAHUM 3:13
13 Behold, your troops are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars.

Fatah urges Hamas to cede power in Gaza to safeguard ‘Palestinians’ existence’-Hamas spokesman says terrorist organization has ‘no aspiration to govern Gaza’; group’s control of enclave remains major obstacle in negotiations over permanent ceasefire-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 6:48 pm-MAR 22,25

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement on Saturday called on its Islamist rivals in the Hamas terror group to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the coastal enclave.“Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said.He called on Hamas to “step aside from governing and fully recognize that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence” if the group remains in power in Gaza.A spokesman from Hamas responded to al-Hayek’s comments, saying that the terror group “is prepared to accept any arrangement regarding the administration of Gaza that garners agreement.”He added that Hamas has “no aspiration to govern Gaza” and is instead concerned with “national consensus.”Hamas’s refusal so far to relinquish its control of the Strip and to disarm has been the main sticking point in negotiations with Israel over a permanent ceasefire.The terror group seized power in Gaza in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority after a violent coup, and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.The territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which saw terrorists kill some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 251.After talks to extend the January ceasefire failed, Israel resumed airstrikes against Gaza terror targets on Tuesday, followed by ground operations the day after. Hamas responded with rocket fire toward Israel on consecutive days.On Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas frees the remaining Israeli hostages seized during the October 7 massacre.Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.In mid-January, Israel and Hamas agreed to a hostage-ceasefire deal that officially lasted 42 days and saw the terror group release 30 living hostages and the bodies of eight slain captives, while Israel released almost 2,000 terrorists and other prisoners, before the expiration of the deal’s first phase.The deal had originally envisioned a potential second phase that would see a permanent end to the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages and many more Palestinian security prisoners, but Israel has refused to allow any long-term settlement that would keep Hamas as the governing power in the Strip.Netanyahu ordered the resumption of fighting in Gaza overnight Monday-Tuesday, saying talks moving forward would be held under fire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend phase one of the ceasefire.Hamas has insisted on sticking to the terms of the deal signed by Netanyahu in January, which required the sides to begin holding talks on phase two in early February. Israel largely refused to do so.Phase two envisions the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoner releases, a permanent end to the war, and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Netanyahu signed on to a framework that included these stipulations but has also insisted that Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled.

IDF bombs pair of airbases in central Syria, reportedly wounding 2 defense personnel-Military sources describe the strikes at Palmyra and T-4 as ‘extensive’; attacks come after air force intel recently monitored weapons and other strategic capabilities at the sites-By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies Today, 2:47 am-MAR 22,25

The Israel Defense Forces said it bombed a pair of airbases in central Syria on Friday night, the latest strikes targeting military sites linked to the former Assad regime since it was toppled by Islamist-led rebels.According to the IDF, the airstrikes targeted “remaining strategic military capabilities” at the Palmyra military airport and the nearby T-4 airbase.Two Syrian defense personnel were wounded in the strike at Palmyra, local media reported.The airstrikes were launched after the Israeli Air Intelligence Group — the Israeli Air Force’s intel unit — had been monitoring weapons and other strategic capabilities at the two military sites in central Syria over the recent period.The strikes carried out by IAF fighter jets at both Palmyra and T-4 were described by military sources as “extensive,” taking out capabilities that would ensure the preservation of Israel’s aerial superiority in the region.Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, Israel has vowed to destroy weapons in Syria it fears could fall into the hands of “hostile forces” that may seek to attack Israel.While Assad’s fall brought an end to the country’s more than decade-long civil war, a renewed wave of sectarian violence sparked fears that the new government would not be able to effectively keep the peace in Syria.Israeli leaders have consistently stated that they do not trust the country’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, whom Defense Minister Israel Katz has called an “extreme Islamic leader.” Sharaa, who previously used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani, headed the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which began as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda though he has since sought to distance himself from the jihadist terror group.Sharaa has dismissed Israel’s threats and Katz’s comments as “nonsense,” and his government has denounced Israel’s continued strikes in the country, as well as the IDF’s presence in a buffer zone in southern Syria.The IDF describes its presence in the buffer zone, which was manned by UN peacekeepers until the Assad regime’s ouster in December, as a temporary and defensive measure, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that troops would remain there for “an unlimited period of time” to maintain Israel’s security.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Missile from Yemen triggers sirens across central Israel, Jerusalem; none hurt-Projectile shot down outside Israeli borders, IDF says; Houthis claim Ben Gurion Airport now ‘unsafe’ for travel * US said to carry out more strikes on Iran-backed group’s stronghold-By Emanuel Fabian-and ToI Staff 21 March 2025, 11:35 pM

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel on Friday evening, the fourth such launch since Israel renewed strikes on the Gaza Strip.The Israel Defense Forces said the missile was successfully intercepted by air defenses and shot down before crossing Israel’s borders. There were no reports of injuries or damage in the attack, which triggered sirens in Central Israel, Jerusalem and surrounding towns and West Bank settlements.The Houthis later put out a statement taking responsibility for the missile fire, again claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport, which they said “has become unsafe for air traffic and will remain so until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.”The Houthis also said they launched more drones at US warships in the Red Sea that have been involved in strikes against them.The missile launch came after Houthi media in Yemen reported strikes on the Iran-backed rebels’ homeland of Saada, blaming “American aggression.”The group’s Al-Masirah TV cited its correspondent in Saada, in Yemen’s north, for the latest claim of airstrikes since the United States on Saturday said it carried out attacks that killed several Houthi leaders after the rebels said they would resume targeting Israeli shipping.Washington began the new military offensive last weekend, promising to use overwhelming force until the Iran-backed group stops firing on vessels in the key shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.In return, the Houthis claim that they have repeatedly attacked a US aircraft carrier battle group.Citing an Israeli official, the Ynet news site reported on Thursday that Washington had asked Israel not to respond to the Houthis’ latest missile attacks. According to the report, the US told Israel to “let them deal with it.”The strikes on the Houthis are the largest American military operation in the Middle East since US President Donald Trump took office. Trump has said he would hold Iran responsible for the Houthi strikes.The Houthis began attacking the vital maritime route in November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.While the Houthis have said they were attacking Israeli-linked shipping in support of Gaza, they have also targeted vessels with no known Israeli connections.The Houthis — whose slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews” — halted their attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal in January. The Yemeni rebels pledged to resume attacks after the deal’s 42-day first phase expired on March 2, and Israel, which sought to extend phase one of the deal, and Hamas refused, blocked the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.It began launching missiles in response to Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza on Tuesday.Agencies contributed to this report.

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 533-Northern mayors fume: 'Government normalizing rocket fire' 6 rockets fired from Lebanon at Metula; IDF airstrikes hit dozens of Hezbollah sites-3 rockets intercepted, 3 fall short in Lebanon; Hezbollah denies it fired; some Metula residents leave town; several killed in Israeli strikes; IDF: It’s Lebanon’s job to uphold ceasefire-By Emanuel Fabian-and Agencies Today, 11:12 am-MAR 22,25

Six rockets were fired from southern Lebanon at the northern Israeli border community Metula on Saturday morning, in the first rocket attack on the northern border since December.The Israel Defense Forces later responded with two waves of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah sites, including rocket launchers, across Lebanon.The IDF said air defenses intercepted three projectiles that crossed the border, while the other three rockets fell short in Lebanon.There were no reports of injuries or damage in the rocket attack.Metula Mayor David Azoulai said some of the eight percent of the town’s residents who have returned since the November ceasefire left after the attack. “The return of residents to Metula under the current conditions is unreasonable. Metula residents won’t be held hostage to a security compromise,” he said.A number of hours later, the Hezbollah terror group denied being responsible for the rocket fire on northern Israel.In a statement, Hezbollah said it “reiterates its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and stands behind the Lebanese state in addressing this dangerous Zionist escalation against Lebanon.”The IDF initially responded to the attack with artillery fire against the source of the rocket fire in south Lebanon.The official National News Agency in Lebanon reported Israeli artillery fire on the Nabatieh district in the south and the town of Khiam, which was hit by “three shells [fired by] Merkava tanks.”Troops also fired automatic weapons at the border villages of Hula, Markaba, and Kfar Kila, the news agency said.The IDF later launched a wave of airstrikes on dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers and a command center used by the terror group in southern Lebanon.It was unclear why Israel knew the location of the rocket launchers but had not previously targeted them.In the evening, the military carried out a second wave of strikes, saying it targeted Hezbollah command centers, infrastructure, operatives, rocket launchers, and a weapons depot.The second wave was carried out across Lebanon, with Lebanese media reporting strikes in the south of the country, in the coastal city of Tyre, in the eastern Beqaa Valley, and in the Hermel area in northern Lebanon.The rocket attack “is a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and a direct threat to Israeli citizens,” the military said, adding that “the State of Lebanon bears responsibility for upholding the agreement.”The IDF said that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a situation assessment and that Home Front Command directives were unchanged.Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced that five people were killed, including a child, and another 11 were injured in the strikes in south Lebanon. Another man was killed and seven others were injured in Tyre and five people were injured in another Israeli strike in the Hermel area.Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to respond to the rocket attack and also issued an apparent threat to strike Beirut.“We will not allow a reality of fire from Lebanon on the Galilee communities. We have promised security to the Galilee communities, and that is exactly what will happen,” he said in a statement.Katz said that “the fate of Metula is the same as Beirut,” in an apparent threat to the Lebanese capital.“The Lebanese government bears responsibility for any fire from its territory. I have instructed the IDF to respond accordingly,” he added.A number of hours after the attack, Lebanese army said it located three makeshift rocket launchers between the south Lebanon towns of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, which were used to fire the rockets at Metula.In a statement, the Lebanese Armed Forces said it dismantled the launchers.“Military units continue to take the necessary measures to control the situation in the south,” the LAF added.Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned his country was at risk of being drawn into a “new war.”“All security and military measures must be taken to show that Lebanon decides on matters of war and peace,” Salam said.“Salam warned of renewed military operations on the southern border, because of the risks they carry dragging the country into a new war, which will bring woes to Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” a statement read.Meanwhile, mayors of northern towns expressed their anger at the situation.Metula’s Azoulay accused the government and the IDF Northern Command of trying “to normalize” a situation of occasional rocket fire from the north.“We won’t allow them to normalize this. I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and of course IDF Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin to act offensively and make it so that not one bullet is fired ever again at northern communities,” he told the Ynet news site.“This is a failure, this is exactly the policy of containment of [before] October 7,” he said. “Instead of dealing with nonsense, start providing security to the country’s residents.”Azoulay has in the past described his town as “the most bombarded” along Israel’s border with Lebanon. According to assessments, some 60 percent of homes and other municipal buildings in the town have been totally destroyed by Hezbollah attacks.Kiryat Shmona mayor Avichai Stern issued a statement, asking the military’s Northern Command chief if he still believed it was safe for people to return to their homes near the border.“I have just one question for the head of the IDF’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, who said that nothing is preventing a return to the north. Do you still think that?” Stern said in a statement cited by Hebrew media outlets.A November 27, 2024, truce in Lebanon largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The fighting came after the terror group attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of its ally Hamas, which invaded, from Gaza, a day earlier. The persistent rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the truce agreement took effect, saying it is acting against Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire.Last month, Israel withdrew all its forces from southern Lebanon, except from five strategic points, saying it had received a green light from the US to remain at those posts and citing the need to prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area and threatening Israel.The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.Nurit Yohanan and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

US beefs up warship presence in Mideast, will have 2 aircraft carriers in region-Amid operations against Houthis and in apparent message of deterrence to Iran, USS Harry S. Truman will remain in Red Sea and USS Carl Vinson will head to region-By AP Today, 9:16 am-MAR 22,25

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a rare move, is beefing up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers to be there next month as the US increases strikes on the Yemen-based Houthis, according to a US official.It will be the second time in six months that the US has kept two carrier strike groups in that region, with generally only one there. Prior to that it had been years since the US had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.According to the official, Hegseth signed orders on Thursday to keep the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East for at least an additional month. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations.The ship has been conducting operations in the Red Sea against the Houthis and was scheduled to begin heading home to Norfolk, Virginia, at the end of March.And Hegseth has ordered the USS Carl Vinson, which has been operating in the Pacific, to begin steaming toward the Middle East, which will extend its scheduled deployment by three months.The Vinson is expected to arrive in the region early next month. It had been conducting exercises with Japanese and South Korean forces near the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan and was slated to head home to port in San Diego in three weeks.The presence of so much US naval power in the region not only gives commanders additional ships to patrol and launch strikes, but it also serves as a clear message of deterrence to Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor.The Houthis have been waging persistent attacks against commercial and military ships in the region. The Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year. Their leadership described the attacks as aiming to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7, 2023, attack. The Houthis have also launched direct missile and drone attacks on Israel.Hegseth’s move shifts the Vinson and its warships away from the Indo-Pacific region, which the Trump administration has touted as its main focus.Instead, this bolsters the latest US campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis. US ships and aircraft launched a new intensive assault against the group, including a barrage of attacks over the weekend that continued into this week.US President Donald Trump, in a marked departure from the previous administration, lowered the authorities needed for launching offensive strikes against the Yemen-based Houthis.He recently gave US Central Command the ability to take action when it deems appropriate.US President Joe Biden’s administration had required White House approval to conduct offensive strikes such as the ones over the weekend. It did allow US forces to launch defensive attacks whenever necessary, including the authority to take out weapons that appeared to be ready to fire.Biden went to two carriers in the region for several weeks last fall. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Roosevelt to extend its deployment for a short time and remain in the region as the USS Abraham Lincoln was pushed to get to the area more quickly.The Biden administration beefed up the US military presence there to help defend Israel from attacks by Iran and its proxies and to safeguard US troops.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Pro-Palestinian students, faculty sue UCLA over handling of anti-Israel demonstrations-35 students, faculty members, legal observers, journalists say school failed to protect activists at campus encampment amid clashes with counter-protesters-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 5:01 pm-MAR 22,25

A group of 35 pro-Palestinian students, faculty members, legal observers, journalists and activists filed a lawsuit Thursday against the University of California, Los Angeles, over its handling of last year’s anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrations.The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles came days after the Trump administration joined a separate lawsuit filed in June against the university by Jewish students and a Jewish professor, accusing it of failing to protect them.The demonstrations at UCLA became part of a movement last spring at campuses nationwide against the Israel-Hamas war, sparked by the terror group’s onslaught on October 7, 2023.Many Jewish students at the university said they were made to feel unsafe due to antisemitic statements and banners at the demonstrations.Last month, the Trump administration opened new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University.UCLA was repeatedly roiled by protests and the way administrators were handling the situation.The student encampments attracted particular scrutiny last April after campus police failed to promptly intervene when protesters erected physical barricades on campus, preventing pro-Israel students from crossing. School security instead instructed Jewish students to avoid the encampments.The tensions culminated the night of April 20 when a group of counterprotesters began dismantling an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian encampment.The lawsuit said UCLA failed to protect the demonstrators when dozens of people, some in white masks and some draped in Israeli flags and armed with fireworks, hammers, baseball bats and other weapons, attacked the encampment while the loud sound of crying babies played on the jumbotron.Several protesters were injured during the incident, which happened after private security had left and police had not yet arrived, the lawsuit said.“Encampment members witnessed the mob’s extreme violence, threats of violence, and UCLA’s failure to intervene,” it said. “They saw people get their heads split open, suffer from open wounds and concussions, scream in pain and fear, with fireworks and mayhem all around them.”The university did not immediately respond Friday to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.Los Angeles Police and California Highway Patrol officers arrested dozens of protesters on May 1 and 2 as the camp was cleared.The episode led to the reassignment of the campus police chief and the creation of a new campus safety office. A subsequent attempt to set up a new camp was also blocked.S-The lawsuit also named the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and 20 people it describes as members of a “mob.” It sought monetary damages for physical and psychological injuries suffered by the protesters.Last June, three Jewish students and a Jewish professor sued the university saying it allowed pro-Palestinian protesters to block them from accessing classes and other parts of campus. The students alleged they experienced discrimination on campus during the protests because of their faith and that UCLA failed to ensure access to campus for all Jewish students.A federal judge ruled in a preliminary injunction last year that the university cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to block Jewish students from accessing classes and other parts of campus.On Monday, the Trump administration filed a brief supporting the Jewish students and professor in their case against UCLA.“DOJ has thrown down the gauntlet: if university administrators aid and abet mistreatment of Jews, they will pay the price,” said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and an attorney for the students and professor.“This is a wake-up call for every university that allows antisemitic hatred to fester unchecked. No Jewish student or professor should ever again face this kind of terror on their own campus.”

Detained anti-Israel activist Khalil appears in Louisiana court as deportation looms-Mahmoud Khalil accused by Trump administration of distributing pro-Hamas propaganda; lawyers are challenging seldom-used statute justifying his deportation-By AP and ToI Staff Today, 5:57 pm-MAR 22,25

JENA, Louisiana — Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appeared briefly Friday in immigration court at a remote Louisiana detention center as his lawyers fight in multiple venues to try to free him.Khalil, 30, a legal US resident with no criminal record, sat alone beside an empty chair through a brief court session that dealt only with scheduling. His lawyer participated via video.Khalil swayed back and forth in his chair while waiting for the proceeding to begin in a windowless courtroom inside an isolated, low-slung Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention complex. Ringed by two rows of tall barbed-wire fences and surrounded by pine forests, the facility is near the small town of Jena, roughly 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge.Khalil smiled at two observers as they entered the room, where just 13 people ultimately gathered, including the judge, attorneys and court staff. Two journalists and a total of four other observers attended.By video, lawyer Marc Van Der Hout said he had just started representing Khalil and needed more time to speak to him, get records, and delve into the case. An immigration judge set a fuller hearing for April 8.Khalil’s lawyers also have gone to federal court to challenge his detention and potential deportation, which looms as his wife, a US citizen, is expecting their first child. A federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Khalil can contest the legality of his detention but that the case should be moved to a New Jersey federal court.The Columbia University graduate student was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 as part of US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on what he calls antisemitic and “anti-American” campus protests. Khalil served as a spokesperson and negotiator last year for anti-Israel demonstrators who opposed the military campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.Protesters, some of them Jewish, say it’s not antisemitic or anti-American to criticize Israeli military actions and advocate for Palestinian human rights and territorial claims.However, some Jewish students have said the demonstrations did not just criticize Israel’s government but launched into rhetoric and behavior that made Jews feel unwelcome or outright unsafe on the Ivy League campus. A Columbia task force on antisemitism found “serious and pervasive” problems at the university.Anti-Israel protesters at Columbia have regularly been seen using rhetoric that condones actions by Hamas, which triggered the war through its October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251.The demonstrations, which frequently included open endorsements of violence and support for terror groups, resulted in waves of arrests as well as some suspensions and expulsions, which many pro-Palestinian groups have condemned as an attack on free speech.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has asserted that Khalil organized disruptive protests that harassed Jewish students and “distributed pro-Hamas propaganda.” Hamas is designated by the US as a terrorist organization.The US government is seeking to deport Khalil under a rarely used statute that allows for removing noncitizens who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”Khalil, an Algerian citizen who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention reflects “anti-Palestinian racism” in the US. Before his detention by the government, he said that a Columbia disciplinary investigation was scapegoating him for being an identifiable figure at the protests.Columbia is now contending with broader pressure to address the Trump administration’s assertions of antisemitism, including unprecedented government demands for changes at the private university if it wants to continue receiving federal grants for research and other purposes.The private university announced Friday that it was taking steps that reflect the government’s demands concerning protests, disciplinary procedures, the Middle Eastern studies department, and other matters.

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 533 'Qatar is criticized for not being well motivated. Preposterous' Witkoff: Hamas isn’t ideologically intractable, Gaza conflict can end through dialogue-In candid podcast interview, top Trump aide indicates renewed IDF strikes may be necessary after Hamas intransigence, says PM ‘going up against Israeli public opinion that wants hostages back’ By Jacob Magid-Today, 12:44 pm-MAR 22,25

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff said Friday that he doesn’t believe Hamas is “ideologically intractable,” while arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “well-motivated,” but operating against Israeli public opinion that prioritizes freeing the remaining hostages from Gaza over the destruction of Hamas.In a 90-minute interview chock-full of headlines, Witkoff discussed the motivations of Israel, Hamas and Qatar in the ongoing Gaza war, offered an assertive defense of Doha against critics questioning the Islamist country’s motivations, and acknowledged his concern about the Gaza war’s potential for destabilizing countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He also suggested that Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa could be a changed man since his days in Al-Qaeda, revealed new details about his successful January brokering of the now-defunct Gaza ceasefire’s first phase, and insisted that the Iranian nuclear threat can be solved diplomatically.Witkoff held the conversation with Tucker Carlson, a right-wing talk show host who has come under fire in American Jewish circles for hosting guests who have pushed antisemitic claims and Holocaust revisionism. He is also known to enjoy a very large fan base, particularly among Trump supporters.The filmed podcast interview began with Trump’s Mideast envoy explaining that his job requires him to understand the motivations of the various players with whom he engages.“What does Hamas want? I think they want to stay there till the end of time. They want to rule Gaza, and that’s unacceptable. We had to know that… What they want is unacceptable,” Witkoff said.“What’s acceptable to us is [that] they need to demilitarize. Then maybe they could stay there a little bit… be involved politically,” he continued.“But… we can’t have a terrorist organization running Gaza because that won’t be acceptable to Israel. Then we’ll just have the same exact experiences, that every five, 10, 15 years we’re going to have another October 7.”Pressed on what it’s like negotiating with Hamas, Witkoff acknowledged that he’s not talking to the terror group directly and that he uses Qatar as a mediator.The US envoy did sign off on Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler holding secret direct talks with Hamas officials earlier this year. However, Washington abandoned those talks after they were leaked by Israel, which learned about them after the fact and fumed over Boehler negotiating on its behalf, a senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel earlier this month.Hamas’s motivations-While he has worked to understand Hamas through the negotiations, Witkoff said he was also informed by the footage compilation of the terror group’s October 7 onslaught that Israeli authorities screened for him during his first visit to Israel upon taking the position.“It was horrific. It is about mass rapes. There were pictures of Hamas people cutting the head off of an Israeli soldier… It’s beyond what I’ve ever seen,” he recalled.“It can taint the way you’re going to feel about [Hamas]. Sometimes as a negotiator, you have to be dispassionate,” Witkoff continued. “It’s not easy to make decisions if you’re going to [watch the film], but I had to see [it]… We can’t ignore the reality of what happened on October 7. They would tell you that they’ve got justification, but there’s no justification… for what happened that day.”Still, Witkoff went back to the importance of understanding Hamas’s motivations.“You have to know what Hamas wants… and then you’ve got to figure out what you can give them that allows them to walk out because that’s what’s needed here,” he said.“What we heard in the beginning of this conflict is Hamas is ideological, that they’re prepared to die for a whole variety of reasons. I personally — and I talk to the president about this… I said to him, ‘I don’t think that they are as ideologically locked in.’ They’re not ideologically intractable… They strap the suicide vest onto young kids who don’t know what they’re doing… They tell them a story.”“What we heard in the beginning of this conflict is Hamas is ideological, that they’re prepared to die for a whole variety of reasons. I personally — and I talk to the president about this… I said to him, ‘I don’t think that they are as ideologically locked in’. They’re not ideologically intractable. I never believed that,” Witkoff maintained. “They strap the suicide vest onto young kids who don’t know what they’re doing… They tell them a story.“Once you understand that [Hamas] wanted to live, then you were able to talk to them in a more effective way,” he argued.Pressed on how he reached this conclusion about Hamas, Witkoff said he has read lots of US intelligence reports and also felt “the rhythm and the cadence of the negotiation.”“That’s when I came to the conclusion that they wanted alternatives,” he said.The comments rationalizing Hamas were somewhat similar to ones made by Boehler in a series of interviews with American and Israeli press on March 9 that infuriated Netanyahu and his inner circle. The premier’s top aide, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, went on to lobby Trump officials to sideline Boehler after those interviews, a US official told The Times of Israel earlier this month.Regardless, Hamas has yet to move from its stance in the negotiations as Witkoff had hoped.The terror group snubbed a bridge proposal he submitted last week that would have seen phase one of the ceasefire extended through next month’s Passover holiday, along with the release of five live hostages and a large number of Palestinian security prisoners.Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal Witkoff helped ink in January, which should have seen negotiations on a second phase begin some two weeks into the ceasefire. But Israel refused to proceed with such talks, as a second phase would obligate the IDF to fully withdraw its troops from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war.While Netanyahu signed on to these terms, he has also insisted that he will not agree to end the war before Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled. The US accepted the Israeli stance and worked to extend the first phase, rather than proceeding with the second.Hamas didn’t accept the approach and instead offered to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander along with the bodies of four other hostages with US citizenship — an offer that was based on the discussions that the terror group held with Boehler earlier this month, the senior Arab diplomat said. But the Trump administration had already moved on from those direct talks, and Witkoff on March 16 called the Hamas proposal a “non-starter.”Two days later, Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza for the first time in two months under orders from Netanyahu, who cited the terror group’s “repeated refusal” to release hostages.Ceasefire can still be restored-Still, Witkoff maintained Friday that he was hopeful the ceasefire could be restored. “There have been signs,” he said.“The Israelis going in [to Gaza] is in some respects unfortunate, and in some respects falls into the ‘had to be’ bucket..Witkoff recalled warning Arab leaders during a gathering in Doha last week that Hamas’s “completely inappropriate” response to the bridge proposal “was going to result in some sort of military action.”“I did not know before the Israelis went in,” he clarified, appearing to contradict claims by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier this week that Israel had consulted the US before ending the Gaza ceasefire.Nonetheless, Witkoff insisted that “We may be able to use this to get Hamas to be a whole lot more reasonable.”The Trump envoy later revealed that the sides “are talking again” since the Israeli strikes.“We’re in a negotiation right now to maybe stop some of these Israeli strikes and maybe finish this conflict with dialogue,” he said. If I don’t have a feeling that we can accomplish that, why would I waste my time?”For his part, the senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that the talks have been stuck since the IDF renewed airstrikes.Netanyahu vs. public opinion on the hostagesThe question that Witkoff appeared to have a harder time answering focused on the Israeli government’s plan for Gaza after the war.Carlson reflected on his conversations with officials throughout the region who were all equally perplexed as to what Israel views as its end game and he asked Witkoff if he understood it.“Well, I think that’s complicated,” the US envoy said before shifting his answer to praise Netanyahu for Israel’s military achievements against Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran.“That Iranian crescent… that everybody thought was going to be effective, it’s been largely eliminated.”The rap [Netanyahu] gets is that he’s more concerned about the fight than he is about the hostages… I understand how people make that assessment, but I don’t necessarily agree with itNetanyahu has “done an exceptional job with that. But the rap he gets is that he’s more concerned about the fight than he is about the hostages,” Witkoff explained.“I understand how people make that assessment, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. He does want to get hostages home — if he can — but he believes that pressuring Hamas is the only way to do it.”“I think Bibi feels that he’s doing the right thing. [But] I think he goes up against public opinion… because public opinion there wants those hostages home,” he said.Indeed, repeated polls over recent weeks indicate a sizable majority of the public backs ending the war in exchange for securing the release of the remaining 59 hostages.Witkoff recalled his visit to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square during his time in Israel. “It was spiritual.”Witkoff said that the loss of his son to a drug overdose has given him a “sensitivity or empathy” that has allowed him to relate to hostage families with whom he is in daily contact. “That’s been a big help for them, but interestingly enough, it’s been a big help for me.”The hostage crisis has “fractured Israel,” Witkoff maintained. “It’s like a seam cutting right through the soul of the country.”“We’ve got to get these people back. I talked to Bibi about it, I talked to [Strategic Affairs Minister Ron] Dermer about it, but they also have a view strategically about Hamas,” he continued.“There are times that we agree with each other, there are times we slightly disagree, but I think they’re well motivated,” Witkoff clarified.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) meets with US special envoy Steve Witkoff (3rd R) and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz (3rd L) , accompanied by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (2nd R), National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi (2nd L), Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (R), and Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman (L) and military secretary Roman Gofman (bottom C) in Washington on February 4, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)Does Israel have a plan? Pressed again on what Israel’s plan for Gaza, Witkoff seemed to avoid responding directly.“I understand that we have to be outcome-oriented,” he said before pivoting to how solving Iran’s destabilizing regional activities could lead to unprecedented regional cooperation-Carlson then tries to frame the question in terms of the map, asking how much territory Israel is looking to conquer after reaching deep into Lebanon and Syria. “What’s the goal?” he asks.“The goal begins with how do we deal with Iran. That’s the biggie,” Witkoff responded. “We can never allow someone to have a nuclear weapon and have outsized influence.”Carlson tried to steer the conversation back to Gaza, asking if the US could articulate Israel’s approach.“I think so,” Witkoff said.“First of all, President Trump’s approach to Gaza has engendered a lot of lively discussion about different ways to deal with Gaza,” he said, referring to Trump’s February proposal for the US to take over the Strip and relocate Palestinians elsewhere.“We’re now seeing an Egyptian plan, we’re seeing the Saudis put together a white paper,” Witkoff said in what appeared to be the first official mention of a separate Saudi plan for Gaza in the works.The Egyptian proposal was a counter to Trump’s call to relocate Gazans, instead envisioning Palestinians being able to remain in the enclave while it is being rebuilt and managed by a temporary committee of Palestinian technocrats who would hand over control over the Strip to the Palestinian Authority after six months.While it hinted at it, the plan didn’t explicitly address the demilitarization of Hamas, and Washington’s response has accordingly been lukewarm, at best.Wiktoff made no mention of Israel’s plan for Gaza, but insisted that “what we’re going to do with Gaza is going to become much more apparent over the next six to 12 months.”The lack of an Israeli plan for the post-war management of Gaza has long exposed Netanyahu to criticism. From the first weeks of the war, the previous US administration pleaded with the premier to put together a plan for the post-war management of Gaza, arguing that failure to advance a viable alternative to Hamas would lead to the IDF being bogged down in the Strip indefinitely.Netanyahu pushed back on those calls by arguing that such planning was futile so long as Hamas remains in the picture. Months later, he said his government was working on plans to wrestle control of humanitarian aid from Hamas but they have yet to be implemented.Finally, after Trump announced his Gaza takeover proposal, Netanyahu quickly adopted it as Israel’s new plan for the “day after” in Gaza. But while Jerusalem has engaged in talks with the Trump administration aimed at identifying countries that will take Gazans, no such volunteers have emerged.Carlson noted Friday that despite the mounting military victories Jerusalem has achieved over the past year, Israelis he engages with still give off the impression that they’re under threat.I don’t think anyone has a feeling that you can just kill off Hamas. It’s an idea… [but] we just can’t have an October 7 ever again. October 7 was like 9/11 in the United States“There’s a feeling with some of, ‘When does the violence end? At what point have we had enough of it? That’s the issue,” Witkoff responded.“I don’t think anyone has a feeling that you can just kill off Hamas. It’s an idea… [but] we just can’t have an October 7 ever again. October 7 was like 9/11 in the United States.”Israelis attend a rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, and calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) The meaning of ‘two-state’Witkoff argued that the key to getting the Abraham Accords normalization agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors back on track is “stability on Gaza.”“Stability on Gaza could mean some people come back, it could mean some people don’t come back,” he said of Palestinians.While Trump initially said that Gaza’s entire population would be permanently relocated, he clarified earlier this month that no Palestinians will be forcibly evicted.“We’re going to attempt to ascertain different development plans for Gaza. They could involve the word two-state (solution). [They] could not,” Witkoff revealed.“I use the word, [and] I could be attacked for it. To me, it’s just a word. What two-state to me means is how do we have a better living prescription for Palestinians who are living in Gaza?” he said.“But it’s not just about housing. Maybe it’s about AI coming there. Maybe it’s about hyper-scale data centers being seeded into that area… Maybe it’s about blockchain and robotics coming there. Maybe it’s about pharmaceutical manufacturing coming there,” Witkoff continued. “We can’t rebuild Gaza [for it to again become] a welfare system.”We need real elections in Gaza… We need a real security force there… If Israel thinks they’re going to have a problem in Gaza because Hamas is going to be there long-term, this is never going to end“We need real elections in Gaza… We need a real security force there… If Israel thinks they’re going to have a problem in Gaza because Hamas is going to be there long-term, this is never going to end,” he said.Potential for regional spill-over-Alongside his aspirations for Gaza are also concerns for regional destabilization if the war there drags on.“King Abdullah in Jordan has done an amazing job figuring out how to how to deal with that instability, but in some respects, he’s been lucky,” Witkoff said.He warned that the recent rollback of Iranian proxies in Syria and Lebanon “could all be reversed if we lose Egypt.”Pointing to Egypt’s high youth unemployment, Witkoff said, “A country can’t exist like that. They’re largely broke. They need a lot of help.”Notably, the Trump aide made no mention of Egypt’s role in mediating between Israel and Hamas — as he has in the past — focusing solely on Qatar.The concern even extends to Saudi Arabia, where “people are worried about [the] young population and how they’re looking at [the Gaza war], which is why we’ve got to solve Gaza,” the Trump envoy argued.“If we solve Gaza… then Saudi can normalize,” Wiktoff said.Riyadh has repeatedly insisted, though, that it will not normalize relations with Israel absent Jerusalem agreeing to a credible, irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu has long rejected.Still, Witkoff said, “We’re going to be announcing several new countries who are joining,” and separately claimed that Lebanon and Syria are potential candidates.People do change. You at 55 are completely different than how you were at 35… I’m a different person today at 68 years old. So maybe Jolani in Syria is a different guy“The indications are that Jolani is a different person than he once was,” he argued, referring to Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa by the nom de guerre he held as a senior al-Qaeda operative.“People do change. You at 55 are completely different than how you were at 35… I’m a different person today at 68 years old,” Witkoff said. “So maybe Jolani in Syria is a different guy. They’ve driven Iran out.”As for Turkey — which is currently rocked by its unrest following the regime’s arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and a prominent rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — Witkoff appeared similarly optimistic.Trump “had a great conversation with Erdogan a couple of days ago — really transformational,” he continued. “There’s a lot of positive news coming out of Turkey right now as a result of that conversation. You’ll see that in the reporting in the coming days.”In defense of Qatar-Witkoff was also given the opportunity to address criticism over his warm relations with Qatar, which began before he entered the Trump administration when he was a real estate investor.Qatar has been accused of supporting Hamas and other extremist factions in the region. Doha has countered that its hosting of Hamas officials was at the request of Israel and the US. Jerusalem and Washington also urged the Gulf kingdom to funnel large amounts of aid to Gaza, which has come under renewed scrutiny since October 7, with critics arguing that it allowed Hamas to amass its military arsenal.“The Qataris… are criticized for not being well motivated. It’s preposterous. They are well motivated,” Witkoff said, using the same term he used to characterize Israel’s leadership.The Qataris… are good, decent people… They’re a Muslim nation. In the past, they’ve had some views that are a little bit more radical from an Islamist standpoint than they are today, but they… moderated quite a bit. There’s no doubt that they’re an ally of the United States. They fund everything, [and] they don’t ask for much“They’re good, decent people. What they want is a mediation that’s effective [and] that gets to a peace goal… Because they’re a small nation, and they want to be acknowledged as a peacemaker,” he asserted. “If they had a different agenda, it would be fine, as long as we weren’t operating blind.”He dismissed as “preposterous” the criticism that the Qataris operate as agents of Iran.“They’re a Muslim nation. In the past, they’ve had some views that are a little bit more radical from an Islamist standpoint than they are today, but [Qatar] has moderated quite a bit. There’s no doubt that they’re an ally of the United States,” he said, highlighting the US military base that Doha hosts. “They fund everything, [and] they don’t ask for much.”Witkoff said he was initially criticized for being a “pro-Qatari sympathizer.”“They’re a mediator… No different than the Swiss and the Norwegians. They’ve mediated in Russia. They’ve mediated in Afghanistan… they’re good at it,” he continued. “If I’m not collaborating with the mediator, I’m bound to be ineffective.”Intimidating the parties-Carlson asked Witkoff about reports — including in The Times of Israel — that he managed to sway Netanyahu more in one fateful January meeting than Biden did in countless interactions aimed at wrapping up the war.“President Trump sets the table. This whole ‘Peace through strength’ thing — it’s not just a slogan. It actually works. When he dispatches you to go to the Middle East, people are almost a little bit intimidated before you get there,” Witkoff reflected.He said Israel, Hamas and Qatar all didn’t want to defy Trump by refusing to accept the ceasefire. “It was the president’s overarching personality, and letting everybody know that success was not an option. It had to be.”“The story was that you just kind of rolled in and said, ‘Here’s what we’re doing. Here’s what the president wants,” Carlson primed.“Well, that’s what [Trump] would do. So that’s what I did,” responded a smiling Witkoff. What was in Trump’s letter to Khamenei-Closing the interview on Iran, Witkoff argued that a diplomatic resolution to mounting US tensions with the Islamic Republic is possible.He revealed the general message in the letter Trump sent to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this month.“It roughly said, ‘I’m a president of peace. That’s what I want. There’s no reason for us to do this militarily. We should talk. We should we should clear up misconceptions. We should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material, and I’d like to get us to that place because the alternative is not a very good alternative,'” Witkoff said.He revealed that Tehran has since responded to the US through intermediaries, without going into specifics.“The president… doesn’t want to go to war, and he’ll use military action to stop a war. That’s when he actually wants to use military action. In this particular case, hopefully, it won’t be necessary,” Witkoff added, expressing his hope that he or another Trump aide would be able to travel to Tehran for talks aimed at a detente.

Detained Istanbul mayor faces 2nd day of questioning as protests continue unabated-More than 340 people arrested for rallies across Turkey after popular opposition figure hauled in on corruption and pro-terror charges; Erdogan blames ‘opportunists’ for unrest-By AP Today, 8:03 pm-MAR 22,25

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before police for questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained in protests in major cities on Friday night, adding “There will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation.” The cities listed included Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Konya and Edirne.The mayor, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.Imamoglu is also under investigation for “bribery, extortion, corruption, aggravated fraud, and illegally obtaining personal data for profit as part of a criminal organization.”Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdogan in the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.On Saturday, police questioned Imamoglu for some five hours as part of an investigation into allegations of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, the Cumhuriyet newspaper reported. A day earlier he was questioned for four hours over the corruption accusations. The mayor rejected all charges during both interrogations.He was transferred to a courthouse on Saturday afternoon for questioning by prosecutors and to face possible charges.Several hours before his appearance, the authorities announced they were sealing off the main roads leading to the court.Growing protests-His arrest has ignited protests that have steadily increased in intensity.On Friday, police in Istanbul used pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters who tried to break through a barricade in front of the city’s historic aqueduct while hurling flares, stones and other objects at officers. Police also dispersed groups that had rallied outside of the city hall for a third night running, after the opposition Republican People’s Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, delivered a speech in support of the mayor.Simultaneously, police broke up demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at times, according to television images. Thousands marched in several other cities calling on the government to resign.Earlier, Erdogan said the government would not tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of links to corruption and terror organizations. Authorities in Ankara and Izmir, meanwhile, announced a five-day ban on demonstrations, following a similar measure imposed earlier in Istanbul.“An anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir unrest in our streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of opportunists to bring unrest to Turkey just to protect their plundering schemes,” Erdogan said.Despite the ban, protests were expected to continue for the fourth straight night on Saturday, having spread to more than 50 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.Diyarbakir, the main city in the Kurdish-majority southeast, was expected to join Saturday’s rallies as well.The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party, which has had 10 of its own elected mayors removed over the past year and replaced by government-appointed trustees has also thrown its support behind the protests.“There is no explanation for this action against (someone) elected by millions of Istanbulites… We want Ekrem İmamoglu.. and the other mayors returned to their posts and we will continue to struggle for this,” said DEM lawmaker Meral Danis Bestas.Imamoglu’s arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate in a primary on Sunday. Ozel has said that the primary, where around 1.5 million delegates can vote, will go ahead as planned.The opposition party has also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday — through improvised ballot boxes to be set up across Turkey — to show solidarity with Imamoglu.In a message posted on his social media account Saturday, Imamoglu described his arrest as a “coup” and accused the government of exploiting the judiciary and worsening the country’s troubled economy.“With your support, we will first defeat this coup, and then we will send packing those who caused this,” he wrote on the social media platform X.AFP contributed to this report.

Ukraine, Russia exchange blows; Gaza returns to total war as Israel repeatedly strikes-by Mike Heuer.

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 20, 2025-Ukrainian drones struck a Russian strategic bomber base in a "massive" attack, and Russia struck Ukraine's Kirovohrad region during the overnight hours Thursday.Russian officials reported a "massive" Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels airbase in Saratov Oblast and said air defenses downed 54 drones during the overnight attack."Saratov and Engels today suffered the most massive [unmanned aerial vehicle] attack of all time," Saratov Gov. Roman Busargin said in a Telegram post and reported by ABC News.Busargin said the airfield was on fire and about 30 houses were damaged by the drone attack.He said the attack blew out windows at a local hospital, which injured a woman. Two local kindergartens and a school also were damaged.Russia's Engels airbase is home to Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that are capable of launching long-range nuclear and conventional airstrikes, Newsweek reported.Engels is located about 500 miles southeast of Moscow and has been targeted several times by the Ukrainian military.Ukraine confirms aerial attackUkrainian defense officials acknowledged the attack in a post on X."Fires, explosions and secondary detonation of ammunition were recorded in the vicinity of the airfield," the Defense of Ukraine post says."The occupiers' aviation uses this military facility primarily for missile strikes on Ukrainian territory and terrorist attacks against civilians," the post said."Ukraine's Defense Forces possess detailed intelligence on the strategic sites of Russian occupiers, adhere to international humanitarian law and take measures to maximize civilian safety while working to put an end to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine."Russian airstrikes in Ukraine-Russia also attacked targets in Ukraine early Thursday morning, NBC News reported.Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted 10 images to his Telegram account that he says shows fires and damage caused by Russian airstrikes in Ukraine's central Kirovohrad region."Russia attacks on Ukraine, despite its propaganda statements, do not stop," Zelensky said.The photos showed Ukrainian firefighters battling fires and other evidence of damage caused by the Russian strike.Ukraine's State Emergency Service also posted images of buildings and vehicles on fire in Kropyvnytskyi.The Ukrainian Air Force reported it downed 75 Russian drones over 12 regions, including Kyiv."The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups," Ukrainian Air Force officials said.The attack occurred several hours after Zelensky in a phone call told President Donald Trump he agrees to a partial cease-fire with Russia.Russian energy facility targeted by Ukraine-The Russian air assault also occurred a day after Russia's Foreign Ministry reported Ukraine targeted an energy infrastructure facility in Kavkazskaya, Krasnodar Territory, on Wednesday.The attack caused the depressurization of an oil storage tank and caused a fire spanning 1,700 square meters."This facility plays a crucial role in the trans-shipment of oil from railway tankers into the pipeline system of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, an international oil transportation entity," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an online announcement.Despite the exchange of military blows, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday said plans were "coming together" to reach a secure cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, the Telegraph reported.Starmer said allied countries are working to create a plan to safeguard a potential cease-fire following a meeting of what he called a "coalition of the willing" in the United Kingdom.Israel expands Gaza ground operation as missiles intercepted-Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Mar 21, 2025 - Israel's military on Thursday expanded ground operations across Gaza, after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.The rocket fire from Hamas was its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel's resumption of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza this week.The offensive has drawn widespread condemnation and shattered a relative calm in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory where a ceasefire began on January 19. Talks on extending the truce reached an impasse, and Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on Tuesday.Early Friday, the head of Shin Bet -- Israel's domestic intelligence agency -- was sacked, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the conflict.Netanyahu on Sunday cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to dismiss Ronen Bar, who joined the agency in 1993.Late Thursday the military said troops had begun "conducting ground activity" in the Shabura area of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city near the Egyptian border."As part of the activity, the troops dismantled... terrorist infrastructure," the military said in a statement, adding that "troops are continuing ground activity in northern and central Gaza."Israel earlier said it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as part of expanding ground operations that resumed on Wednesday.Gaza's civil defence agency said 504 people had been killed since Tuesday, including more than 190 under the age of 18.The toll is among the highest since the war started more than 17 months ago with Hamas's attack on Israel.The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at Israel's commercial centre in response to "massacres" of Gaza civilians.The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels who say they act in support of the Palestinians, for the second time within a day.US President Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's renewed Gaza operations, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked if he was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track.Israel's military said an air strike had "in recent days" killed Rashid Jahjouh, the head of Hamas's internal security agency.In Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, Alaa Abu Nasr said 17 members of his family were killed in an air strike."They are targeting civilians, not fighters," he said among the rubble.- Fleeing south -Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that Israeli troops "have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts".Movement along Salaheddin Road between northern and southern Gaza is prohibited "for your safety", he said.Palestinians were seen fleeing south along a section of Salaheddin Road still open, near central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, atop donkey-drawn carts piled high with belongings.In Gaza's south, the army warned people to evacuate Bani Suheila before a strike on militants "firing rockets from populated areas".Government spokesman David Mencer said Israel controlled central and southern Gaza and was "expanding the security zone" and creating a buffer between the north and south.An official from Gaza's interior ministry said the Israeli army had closed what it calls Netzarim Junction, just south of Gaza City on Salaheddin Road.The official said Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction after the withdrawal of American private security contractors stationed there since the pullback of Israeli forces in February, under the ceasefire.The first stage of the ceasefire, under which Israeli hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, expired early this month.Israel rejected negotiations for a second stage, demanding the return of all remaining hostages under an extended first stage. Hamas insisted on engaging in talks for phase two.Under the agreed truce deal, as outlined by then-US president Joe Biden, negotiations towards phase two were to begin during the initial six-week phase.- 'Unthinkable' -Mkhaimar Abusada, an associate professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that if Netanyahu "was really interested in releasing all Israeli hostages, he could have gone with a second phase of the ceasefire. But he has never made any commitment to an end to the war".Speaking before the UN Security Council, former hostage Eli Sharabi called on the world to "bring them all home", referring to the dozens still held by Gaza militants.He said he was "chained, starved, beaten and humiliated" during his Hamas captivity.Resumption of fighting in Gaza has coincided with a reignited protest movement by Israelis who see Netanyahu's policies as a threat to democracy.On Thursday President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, spoke of "controversial initiatives that create deep rifts within our nation."He also called it "unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home."Hamas appealed to Arab and Islamic nations "to take urgent action" in the United Nations Security Council and other forums to halt the renewed fighting.Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel's latest strikes on Gaza a "catastrophic crime" and said the United States "shares responsiblity".Hamas's October attack on Israel that began the war resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war is 49,617, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

As Russia looms, EU defence plans fail to quell joint borrowing calls-By Max Delany.

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 20, 2025-EU leaders on Thursday broadly welcomed a blueprint from Brussels to help ramp up defence spending to face Russia -- but a raft of countries pressed to go further and deploy joint borrowing.US President Donald Trump has turbocharged calls for Europe to rearm by casting doubt on Washington's central role in NATO and making overtures towards Russia on Ukraine.Fears are rife that if Trump forces a bad deal on Kyiv it will leave Europe facing the menace of an emboldened Kremlin that could look to attack elsewhere in the coming years.In a bid to put the EU's 27 countries in a better position to defend themselves by 2030, Brussels on Wednesday detailed proposals it says could mobilise up to 800 billion euros ($875 billion).Those include relaxing budget rules to allow countries to spend more on defence and a 150-billion-euro programme of EU-backed loans.But the proposals have failed to quell long-standing calls led by France for the bloc to be more ambitious and rerun the sort of massive joint borrowing it used to fund the recovery from the Covid pandemic."I am convinced... that we will have to take on joint debt again," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after summit talks in Brussels -- though he conceded that "today, there is absolutely no consensus."Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina described the plan put on the table by Brussels as just a "first step"."We are open for more discussions how we can find even more finances," she said, speaking before the Brussels gathering.Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis was more explicit, pushing for the EU to move in a "more ambitious direction towards the provision of grants to European member states in order to make the important investments that they need".The debate roughly pitches eastern countries most worried about the threat of Russia and those struggling with high debt against fiscal purists unwilling to finance spending by others.Most trenchant against is the Netherlands -- with Prime Minister Dick Schoof once again reiterating his country's firm opposition."The Netherlands does have a few boundaries and they are very logical boundaries we have always had," Schoof told reporters in Brussels. "And there is nothing new under the sun."So far the Dutch have been joined by Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz dryly remarked Thursday that "Germany's position on this issue is well known".But with chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz pushing through plans for a mammoth defence splurge there is a sense Berlin could soften its stance."I'd say joint bonds are not off the table but for that conversation we need a new government in Germany," one EU diplomat said.- East vs south? -However, that push could be complicated by splits emerging within the group pressing for joint borrowing.Eastern countries such as Poland and the Baltics have already massively ramped up their military spending -- far outstripping NATO's two-percent target on defence.They are laser-focused on the menace posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and want to make sure that any funding goes towards making Europe stronger in the face of Moscow."We have to rearm ourselves, because otherwise we will be the next victim of Russian aggression," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.But nations further to the West -- such as Spain and Italy -- have long dragged their heels on defence and are less convinced that the Kremlin is an imminent threat."It is important to take into account that the challenges that we face in the southern neighbourhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank face," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.He pointed to broader needs to "strengthen border controls", fight terrorism and tackle cyber threats."These are the things that, of course, we have to take into account," he said.While the push for a Covid-style joint borrowing programme faces hurdles, others are floating new proposals.Italy has put forward a common guarantee scheme that would seek to raise some 200 billion euros in private finance without raising debt levels.

Kim oversees NKorea's new weapons ahead of Russian security chief visit-by AFP Staff Writers.

Seoul (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-North Korea said Friday it had test-fired a new weapons system which would boost its combat readiness, as Russia's security chief arrived in Pyongyang for talks with leader Kim Jong Un.Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have drawn closer since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Seoul accusing Kim of sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help Moscow fight Kyiv.Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has officially confirmed the troop deployment, but the two countries last year signed a sweeping military deal, including a mutual defence clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to the nuclear-armed North.Moscow's top security official Sergei Shoigu has arrived in North Korea for a visit, Russian news agency TASS reported Friday, the latest in a recent series of high-level exchanges between North Korea and Russia.Shoigu is scheduled to meet with Kim and other North Korean officials, both TASS and RIA Novosti reported.Kim oversaw the test-fire of the country's latest anti-aircraft missile system, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Friday, without specifying when the test happened.Kim said it showed North Korea's army would be "equipped with another major defence weapon system with laudable combat performance," KCNA said.The announcement came a day after South Korea wrapped up a major annual joint military exercise with the United States, known as Freedom Shield, which Pyongyang separately denounced Friday as "a rehearsal of war of aggression".The North -- which attacked its neighbour in 1950, triggering the Korean War -- has long been infuriated by any military exercises between the United States and the South.Seoul said last week the North had fired "multiple unidentified ballistic missiles" after it began the joint drills, which involve US soldiers stationed in South Korea.Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off "counterattack capabilities".The most recent Freedom Shield exercise featured a collaborative drill focused on countering weapons of mass destruction, specifically targeting nuclear, chemical, biological, and radioactive threats.Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.- Tests for Russia? -Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP that the latest launch appears to be "the testing of weapons for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine".Pyongyang is using the US-South Korea joint exercises as an excuse to develop and export such weapons to Moscow, he added.South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that more than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive North were sent to Russia last year to help it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk border region.Seoul's spy agency said last month that the North has sent more soldiers and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk.Seoul has also accused the North of sending container loads of weapons to Russia, and a recent report by Seoul's defence ministry said the North was "continuing to provide weapons, ammunition and other military support to Russia following its troop deployment in the Ukraine war".North Korea's repeated weapons tests are aimed as "showcasing the development of strategically valuable weapons," Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP."If North Korea improves its missile interception and air defense capabilities through technological cooperation with Russia... it could significantly affect South Korea's 'kill chain'" defence plan, he said."In particular, North Korea may receive assistance for its vulnerable radar systems and field command vehicles from Russia," he added.

Top EU diplomat hails Trump offer to help Ukraine get air defences-by AFP Staff Writers.

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Mar 20, 2025-The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas on Thursday welcomed US President Donald Trump's agreement to help Kyiv obtain additional air defence systems, including in Europe, as its fights Russia's three-year invasion."I very much welcome the announcement by President Trump that the US is trying to find additional air defences for Ukraine," Kallas told reporters upon arrival for talks by EU leaders in Brussels."This is extremely important," said Kallas, who is pushing EU member states to meet a Ukrainian request for two million shells, worth five billon euros ($5.4 billion) -- having scaled back a more ambitious proposal that included air defences and missiles.Trump made the air defence commitment in a call with Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, in which the Ukrainian leader asked for help in sourcing "Patriot missile systems" in particular, according to a US readout."President Trump agreed to work with him to find what was available particularly in Europe," the readout said.The offer was a rare signal from Trump that he could help bolster Ukraine's defences as he pushes for a peace deal with Russia.Ukraine currently has seven US-made Patriot air defence systems, provided by the United States, Germany and Romania.Officials say the system is the only one Kyiv possesses that can counter Russia's ballistic missiles.In addition, for high-altitude interceptions, Ukraine has two European-made SAMP/T systems from Italy and France.It has some similar systems of its own and has been provided with others for shorter-range interceptions.Ukraine could also rely on fighter jets to intercept missiles: European allies have already given it F-16 and Mirage 2000-5 fighters.Further Patriot systems could theoretically be available from elsewhere in Europe, but the countries hosting them have been reluctant to part with them for national security reasons.

Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace, cooperation.

Tokyo, March 22 (AFP) Mar 22, 2025-Japan, South Korea and China agreed Saturday that peace on the Korean peninsula was a shared responsibility, Seoul's foreign minister said, in a meeting of the three countries' top diplomats in which they pledged to promote cooperation.The talks in Tokyo followed a rare summit in May in Seoul where the three neighbours -- riven by historical and territorial disputes -- agreed to deepen trade ties and restated their goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula.But they come as US tariffs loom over the region, and as concerns mount over North Korea's weapons tests and its deployment of troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine."We reaffirmed that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is a shared interest and responsibility of the three countries," South Korea's Cho Tae-yul told reporters after the trilateral meeting.Seoul and Tokyo typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which remains one of Pyongyang's most important allies and economic benefactors.Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he, Cho, and China's Wang Yi "had a frank exchange of views on trilateral cooperation and regional international affairs... and confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation"."The international situation has become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are at a turning point in history," Iwaya said at the start of Saturday's meeting.This makes it "more important than ever to make efforts to overcome division and confrontation", he added.Wang noted this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, saying "only by sincerely reflecting on history can we better build the future".At two-way talks between Iwaya and Wang on Saturday, the Japanese minister said he had "frankly conveyed our country's thoughts and concerns" on disputed islands, detained Japanese nationals and the situation in Taiwan and the South China Sea, among other contentious issues.- World 'full of uncertainty' -Ukraine was also on the agenda, with Iwaya warning "any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force will not be tolerated anywhere in the world".Climate change and ageing populations were among the broad topics officials had said would be discussed, as well as working together on disaster relief and science and technology.Iwaya said the trio had "agreed to accelerate coordination for the next summit" between the countries' leaders.China and to a lesser extent South Korea and Japan have been hit by tariffs put in place by US President Donald Trump in recent weeks.On Saturday afternoon, Japan and China held their first so-called "high-level economic dialogue" in six years."The global economy is facing serious changes. Unilateralism and protectionism are spreading", Wang told reporters, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK."China and Japan, as major economies, should pursue development and cooperation together with innovative thinking and bring stability to a world full of uncertainty," Wang said.Patricia M. Kim, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while "trilateral dialogues have been ongoing for over a decade", this round "carries heightened significance" due to the new US position.Beijing "has been working actively to improve relations with other major and middle powers amid growing frictions with the United States", she said.

War monitor says Israel strikes military airport near Palmyra, Syria.

Beirut, Lebanon, March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Israeli air strikes on Friday targeted the military airport near Palmyra in central Syria, a war monitor said, reporting the latest Israeli attack in the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad."Israeli warplanes targeted the Palmyra military airport," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.Since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad in December, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities whom it considers jihadists.The Syrian rebels included those who once formed Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, though the new government has sought to distance itself from that past.The Israeli military has also deployed to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, separating the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan from that still controlled by Syria.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria and said his country will not tolerate the presence of forces from the new authorities south of the capital Damascus.Syria's foreign ministry has accused Israel of waging a campaign against "the stability of the country".

Iran's Khamenei says US threats 'will get them nowhere'

Tehran, March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Iran's supreme leader said on Friday that US threats against his country "will get them nowhere", after President Donald Trump warned of possible military action against the Islamic republic."The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his live annual televised speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year.He said Americans "and others should know that if they do anything malign to the Iranian nation, they will get a hard slap".On March 7, Trump said he had written to Khamenei, urging negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme and warning of potential military action if it refuses.On Thursday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the letter was "more of a threat", but also said it appeared to offer opportunities.Araghchi added that Tehran is weighing its response which will be issued in the coming days.On Wednesday, US news website Axios, citing a US official and other sources, reported that Trump's letter set a "two-month deadline for reaching a new nuclear deal".It did not specify a start or end date of the two-month period.Khamenei has previously dismissed Trump's overtures for talks, accusing the US president of attempting to deceive global public opinion by portraying the United States as willing to negotiate and Iran as unwilling to engage.Trump, who began his second term in January, has reinstated his policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran.During his first term, he unilaterally withdrew the United States in 2018 from the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran.Iran initially adhered to the deal for a year after Trump's withdrawal but then started scaling back its own commitments, increasing uranium enrichment levels up to 60 percent.The current level far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set under the deal, and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have so far failed.Tehran accuses Trump of contradictory approaches, and has repeatedly ruled out direct talks with Washington under pressure.Iran "definitely will not negotiate directly while facing pressure, threats, and increased sanctions," Araghchi said on Thursday.

Robots to retrieve radioactive sandbags at Fukushima plant.

Tokyo, March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-Robots will begin moving sandbags that were used to absorb radiation-contaminated water after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster as soon as next week, a spokesman for the plant operator said Friday.TEPCO, the operator of the stricken Japanese power plant, says the bags on underground floors of two buildings have been left untouched following the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.Radiation levels on the sandbags' surface are as high as 4.4 sieverts per hour, which means "humans can die if they approach" them, TEPCO spokesman Tatsuya Matoba told AFP.Japanese media reports said there were 2,850 bags to be collected, a number which has not been confirmed by TEPCO, which says that they weigh 41.5 tonnes (91,500 pounds) in total.Two robots developed to collect the bags, one with a moving claw, were on Wednesday placed on the underground floors, Matoba said.Workers will use them to "carefully" bring the sandbags out in an operation that TEPCO aims to finish by the end of the 2027 fiscal year.The bags will then be placed inside containers for radioactive material and kept at a temporary storage site outside the buildings, the spokesman said.Three of Fukushima's six reactors went into meltdown 14 years ago after a huge tsunami swamped the facility.The tsunami, triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, left 18,500 people dead or missing.No one was recorded as having been directly killed by the nuclear accident, which forced evacuations and left parts of the surrounding area uninhabitable.In addition to contaminated sandbags, around 880 tonnes of radioactive debris remain in the plant.Removing this is seen as the most daunting challenge in the decades-long decommissioning project because of the dangerously high radiation levels involved.A trial removal of nuclear debris from the plant began last year.

N. Korea's Kim oversees test of latest anti-aircraft missile system: state media.

Seoul, March 21 (AFP) Mar 21, 2025-North Korea test-fired its latest anti-aircraft missile system in a drill watched by leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Friday, as the nuclear-armed state lashed out at US-South Korea joint drills.The launch proved the system's "combat fast response", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, and came a day after South Korea wrapped up a major annual joint military exercise with the United States, known as Freedom Shield.The North -- which attacked its neighbour in 1950, triggering the Korean War -- has long been infuriated by any military exercises between the United States and the South, which it claims are rehearsals for invasion.Kim praised the latest anti-aircraft system, saying North Korea's army would be "equipped with another major defence weapon system with laudable combat performance," KCNA wrote.It did not specify where the test took place.Seoul said last week the North fired "multiple unidentified ballistic missiles" after it began the joint drills involving US soldiers stationed in South Korea.In a separate statement Thursday, an unnamed spokesperson for the North's defence ministry denounced the military exercise as "no more than a rehearsal of war of aggression".Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off "counterattack capabilities".The most recent Freedom Shield exercise featured a collaborative drill focused on countering weapons of mass destruction, specifically targeting nuclear, chemical, biological, and radioactive threats.Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.- Tests for Russia? -South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said that more than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive North were sent to Russia last year to help it fight a shock Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk border region.Seoul's spy agency said last month that the North has sent more soldiers to Russia and re-deployed several to the frontline in Kursk.A report by Seoul's defence ministry said the North was "continuing to provide weapons, ammunition and other military support to Russia following its troop deployment in the Ukraine war".Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP that the latest launch appears to be "the testing of weapons for export to Russia to be used in Ukraine".Pyongyang is using the US-South Korea joint exercises as an excuse to develop and export such weapons to Moscow, he added.Earlier this month, Pyongyang slammed the United States for "political and military provocations" over the visit of a US Navy aircraft carrier to the South Korean port of Busan.

Trump floats US takeover of Ukraine nuclear plants-By Danny Kemp with Khrystyna Zanyk in Kyiv.

Washington (AFP) Mar 20, 2025-Donald Trump has told Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States could own and run Ukraine's nuclear power plants as part of his latest bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia's invasion of its neighbor.The offer comes as some 30 military chiefs from countries keen to help protect an eventual ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine prepared for talks in Britain on Thursday to discuss planning for a peacekeeping force.Following the Wednesday call with Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Kyiv was "ready" to pause attacks on Russia's energy network and infrastructure, a day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to halt similar strikes on Ukraine.Zelensky also said he had discussed Trump's power plant takeover plan."We talked only about one power plant, which is under Russian occupation," Zelensky, who was on an official visit to Finland, said during an online briefing, referring to the plant in Zaporizhzhia.He added that he had "not felt any pressure" from Trump to make concessions to Russia.But a wider ceasefire remains elusive with the Kremlin leader insisting in his own call with Trump on Tuesday that the West first stop all military aid for Ukraine.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France's President Emmanuel Macron have said they are willing to put British and French troops on the ground in Ukraine.The UK government says a "significant number" of nations are prepared to do the same, but it is not clear exactly how many countries are keen.Trump's tone on Wednesday was markedly more positive after the Zelensky call, with the White House describing it as "fantastic" -- despite the fact that the two men had a blazing televised row in the Oval Office recently.Trump "discussed Ukraine's electrical supply and nuclear power plants" and said Washington could be "very helpful" in running them," National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a joint statement."American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure," it said.- 'Ending the war' -Trump also pledged to help Kyiv get more air defense equipment from Europe, and to find Ukrainian children "abducted" by Russia, the statement said.The US president earlier said on his Truth Social network that efforts to reach a full truce were "very much on track."Zelensky said Ukrainian and US officials could meet in coming days for fresh talks in Saudi Arabia, where Russian and American teams are also due to meet early next week.Russia and Ukraine exchanged 372 prisoners, Moscow said Wednesday, which was planned as a goodwill gesture following the Trump-Putin call.Kyiv and Moscow however have accused each other of continuing attacks.Russia said it destroyed 132 Ukrainian drones in overnight attacks in several regions throughout the country.Ukrainian emergency services said on Thursday that an overnight Russian drone attack struck residential buildings in Kropyvnytsky in central Ukraine wounding eight people, including a child.- 'Don't believe Putin' -The major sticking point remains Putin's resistance to a full ceasefire -- something that Kyiv and some Western allies say underscores how the Russian leader cannot be trusted.Putin insisted during his call with Trump on Tuesday that a full ceasefire was only possible if the West agree to Moscow's long-standing demand to halt its billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.The Kremlin chief also demanded Ukraine must not be allowed to re-arm and must halt mandatory mobilization.Moscow and Washington were even at odds on the results of the call.The Kremlin said they only discussed halting power plant attacks, but the White House insisted the talks covered both energy and other civilian infrastructure.Trump's overtures to Putin, and indications Washington will no longer guarantee European security, have also spooked Kyiv and the United States's NATO allies."I don't believe Putin at all, not a single word. He only understands force," said Kyiv resident Lev Sholoudko, 32.In Moscow, locals were more optimistic the talks could bring an end to the fighting -- to Russia's advantage."Definitely this is in our favor," said Moscow resident Larisa, 46."There is no other way. What happened in 1945 will happen now," she added, referring to the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.

Japan begins its first dismantling of a commercial nuclear reactor.by AFP Staff Writers.

Tokyo (AFP) Mar 18, 2025-A Japanese utility has started dismantling an old nuclear reactor with an eye toward building a new one, a spokesman said Tuesday, as the country drives for more clean energy.This is the first such attempt on a commercial unit in Japan, after Chubu Electric decided in 2008 to dismantle two reactors at its Hamaoka plant in the central Shizuoka region, to avoid paying for costly anti-earthquake measures for them.Only about 25 nuclear reactors worldwide have been fully dismantled, according to the World Nuclear Association.Japan, targeting net-zero emissions by 2050, is shifting back to nuclear power after shutting down all its 54 reactors after the tsunami-triggered 2011 Fukushima meltdown.Under its current plan, Japan aims for nuclear power to account for 20-22 percent of its electricity by 2030, up from well under 10 percent now.It is slowly bringing its still-operable units online, and also plans to extend their lifespan, while encouraging the development of next-generation atomic plants.On Monday, Chubu Electric began removing the top lid of its "Number Two" reactor at Hamaoka, before a similar exercise starts for another unit at the same plant, a company spokesman told AFP Tuesday.The complicated dismantling process is expected to continue until 2042, which means building a replacement reactor is still many years away.A total of 26 reactors in Japan, including the Hamaoka units and research units, are currently slated for dismantling, according to the Nuclear Regulation Authority.Japan scrapped a research reactor in the 1990s after it ended operations in 1976.Meanwhile Japan is also embroiled in a decades-long project to scrap the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was hit by a huge tsunami in 2011, triggering the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.hih/kaf/sn

A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:(VATICAN)
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS FACTORY).  
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)

Pope Francis to be discharged from hospital Sunday, continue recovery at the Vatican-Pontiff’s doctor says he will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he recovers from life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs-By Nicole Winfield Today, 8:19 pm-MAR 22,25

ROME, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis will be released from hospital on Sunday, after 38 days of battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs, his doctors said.Gemelli medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri said Saturday that Francis will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering at the Vatican.Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened. He later developed a life-threatening case of pneumonia.Pope Francis’s doctors provided their first in-person update on the pontiff’s condition in a month, a sign that he has made good and steady progress in his battle to recover.The Saturday evening briefing is the first since February 21, a week after the 88-year-old Francis was brought to Gemelli Hospital. He subsequently experienced several respiratory crises that landed him in critical condition, though he has since stabilized.In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless the faithful from his 10th-floor suite at the hospital. While Francis released an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him on March 16, Sunday’s blessing will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted on February 14 for what has become the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease, is prone to respiratory problems in winter and had part of one lung removed as a young man.Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.The most serious setbacks began on February 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring him to use a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises in the following days, which required doctors to manually aspirate the mucus, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.At no point did he lose consciousness, and doctors reported he was alert and cooperative.He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day.