KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
By Rina Tavi-First Publish: 7/3/2013, 6:27 PM-Israelnationalnews
A leading German daily newspaper sparked outrage after publishing a cartoon on Tuesday depicting Israel as a beast devouring German military weapons.The Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper for publishing the anti-Semitic cartoon."Let us be clear - like every other democracy, Israel is never above
reproach or criticism. However, the depiction of the Jewish state as a
ravenous monster deploys a
classic tool of dehumanization/animalization,” said Rabbi Abraham
Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center the Simon
Wiesenthal.“Such horrific stereotypes were all-too devastatingly deployed by the propaganda machines of both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union," he said.The caption reads: "Germany is serving. For decades now, Israel has
been given weapons, in parts for free. Israel's enemies think it is a
ravenous Moloch. Peter Beinart deplores this situation."Cooper continued by stating that, "the characterization of the
Jewish State as a ravenous Moloch - an idol to whom children were
sacrificed - is a blatant anti-Semitic canard. The attempt to mention a
Jewish critic of Israel is a failed fig leaf that neither justifies nor
covers up the hate masquerading as political commentary."The organization then called on the editors to apologize to their readers, the Jewish community and the State of Israel.“We also hope that German NGOs and personalities will publicly
denounce this slander," the Wiesenthal Center said in a statement.
By Elad Benari-First Publish: 7/3/2013, 6:16 AM-Israelnationalnews
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
ITS 11:00AM RIGHT NOW AND WE WILL SEE IF DICTATOR MURDERER OF CHRISTIANS MORSI RESIGNS OR IF THE ARMY DOES IN MORSI. ITS NOW 11:20AM AND NO MESSAGE FROM MURSI YET.
ITS 2:55PM AND ITS OFFICIAL MORSI IS NO LONGER IN POWER.THE ARMY HAS TOOK OVER FULL POWER IN A COUP.PROBABLY EL BARADEI WILL LEAD EGYPT TILL NEW ELECTIONS OCCURR.
By Maggie Fick
CAIRO (Reuters) - When President Mohamed Mursi swept aside the ageing commanders of Egypt's military a year ago and named a soft-spoken, deeply religious younger general to head the armed forces, it was a demonstration that the military was now subordinate to Egypt's first freely elected leader.Fast forward one year, and now it is the general, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who appears poised to sweep aside the president.
At the time of his appointment last August, the choice of Sisi, 58, seemed to suit both Mursi and the younger generation of army commanders seeking promotion after years under older generals, like 78-year-old Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for two decades.The army had produced the autocrats that had ruled Egypt for the previous 60 years. It had run the country itself during the tumultuous 16 months after the revolution that toppled the last general to serve as president, Hosni Mubarak.And it had seemed reluctant to hand power to Mursi until the new president briskly dispatched Tantawi and a host of other commanders into retirement.Egyptians wanted their soldiers back in barracks, and the charismatic, chisel-jawed Sisi spoke like a man who would keep them there. Over the course of the next year, Sisi warned of unrest and political divisions, but repeatedly held firm in asserting that the army should not return to politics."The armed forces' loyalty is to the people and the nation," Sisi said in November when Mursi's supporters and opponents clashed on the streets over plans to introduce a new constitution.Sisi finally ditched his refusal to pick sides on Monday, announcing a dramatic ultimatum that gave Mursi, the man who had chosen him, just 48 hours to agree on a power-sharing deal with his rivals.
ISLAM AND UNCLE SAM
A career military man, Sisi was groomed for a leadership role after serving in top roles in the command, intelligence and diplomatic branches of the armed forces.Among his previous postings were a stint as defense attaché in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and command positions in the Sinai Peninsula which borders Israel and in the Northern Military Region which includes the second city of Alexandria."He had been carefully prepared for a high command position," said Robert Springborg, an expert on the Egyptian military based at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.Apart from his comparative youth among top ranking commanders, two other attributes made him a good fit for the Islamist Mursi seeking a new generation of military leaders.In a military known for its secularism, Sisi is a devout Muslim, whose wife is said to wear the niqab full-body covering. And after a year at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania in 2005-2006, he was comfortable with the United States, which funds Egypt's military with $1.3 billion a year."Insiders in the U.S. government and military were aware of him. He was a name that was mentioned when people talked about next generations," said Springborg.He had a favorable reputation among those who worked with him in the American military, although his course work was described as showing Islamist leanings, Springborg said."Islamic ideology penetrates Sisi's thinking about political and security matters," he said, citing material Sisi produced while at the course.Steve Gerras, a retired Army colonel who was Sisi's faculty adviser at the college, described him to Reuters as a serious student and pious Muslim, open to the United States and passionate about Egypt's future."He was a serious guy. He is not a guy who would go to a standup comedy show. But at the same time he would stop by - I mean every week ... His eyes were always very warm. His tone was very warm."
LIBERALS WARY
Some liberals were initially wary of Sisi, especially after remarks he made defending the army's practice - later disavowed - of conducting "virginity tests" on female protesters who complained of abuse.Nevertheless, the army under Sisi has continued to enjoy widespread support in the country, arguably the only institution that has such favor.According to a Zogby poll published last month, the army as an institution scored a 94-percent confidence level. About 60 percent of non-Islamists favored a temporary return to army rule, while almost all Islamists opposed that.Sisi has carefully nurtured public support for the army in recent days, sending aircraft to drop thousands of Egyptian flags on crowds of cheering protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square.The army's dramatic re-entry into politics was not inevitable, said Michael Wahid Hanna of the New York-based Century Foundation.The army was not angling to get back in and rule, and Sisi in particular was not among the minority of hawks within the army leadership keen on reasserting such a role, Hanna said.
Egyptian military sources say Mursi's call last month for foreign intervention in Syria was a turning point. Mursi's Brotherhood went further, backing calls for holy war, rhetoric that alarmed a military that had spent decades hunting down radical militants."This doesn't mean that Sisi gives up on the idea that Islam should be a very important consideration in Egyptian national security policy, but this is not the way it's done," said Springborg said."It means he looks at the world from an Islamist framework so he would not want the whole project of Islamism to be destroyed and that's what is now in the offing because the Brotherhood has so mishandled things - Sisi probably feels to some extent betrayed by Mursi and the Brothers who have mishandled things so badly."(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Graff)
CAIRO (Reuters) - The Suez Canal waterway is completely
secure and the rate of ships passing through is normal, the head of the
Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The average number of passing ships in term of quantity and cargo is in the normal range and has not been affected by any events," he said.Egypt has been facing mass demonstrations since June 30 by opposition calling for the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and his supporters which resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.In the last two days, 80 ships passed through the canal, the authority said, close to the daily average of 40 to 50 vessels.(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Paul Taylor)
By Tom Perry and Maggie Fick-JULY 3,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army commander and Islamist President Mohamed Mursi each pledged to die for his cause as a deadline loomed on Wednesday that will trigger a military takeover backed by protesters.
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by demonstrations over Mursi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours". They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Mursi refused to give up his elected office.Less than three hours before an ultimatum was due to expire for Mursi to agree to share power or make way for an army-imposed solution, the president's spokesman said it was better that he die in defense of democracy than be blamed by history.
"It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree," spokesman Ayman Ali said, "Rather than be condemned by history and future generations for throwing away the hopes of Egyptians for establishing a democratic life."In an emotional, rambling midnight television address, Mursi said he was democratically elected and would stay in office to uphold the constitutional order, declaring: "The price of preserving legitimacy is my life."Liberal opponents said it showed he had "lost his mind".The Arab world's most populous nation has remained in turmoil since the fall of Hosni Mubarak as Arab Spring uprisings took hold in early 2011, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.Armored vehicles patrolled around the state broadcasting headquarters on the Nile River bank and non-essential staff were evacuated, security sources said. Members of the Republican Guard have been in the building for several days.The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood movement said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Mursi."There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," Gehad El-Haddad told Reuters at the movement's protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace."We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine."
CONSULTATIONS
Armed forces commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met the main liberal opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, the top Muslim and Christian religious authorities and leaders of smaller Islamist parties and of the youth protest movement that led the anti-Mursi protests, the military said. It said a statement would be issued afterwards.
The Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, refused an invitation to meet Sisi, saying it only recognized the elected president.The Egypt25 television station owned and run by the Brotherhood was continuing to broadcast live split-screen coverage of pro-Mursi demonstrations.The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Mursi was expected to either step down or be removed from office and the army would set up a three-member presidential council to be chaired by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
A military source said he expected the army to first call political, social and economic figures and youth activists for talks on its draft roadmap for the country's future.A mass of revelers on Cairo's Tahrir Square feted the army overnight for, in their eyes, saving the revolutionary democracy won there two years ago when an uprising centered on the same square toppled Mubarak. Large crowds gathered in the square again on Wednesday afternoon.Mursi's backers denounced the army's action as a coup. At least 16 people, mostly supporters of the president, were killed and about 200 wounded when gunmen opened fire overnight on pro-Mursi demonstrators at Cairo University campus.The Muslim Brotherhood accused uniformed police of the shooting. The Interior Ministry said it was investigating and the governor of Giza province, where the clash occurred, submitted his resignation.
POLICE BACK
Central Cairo was quiet by day. Many stores were shuttered and traffic unusually light. The stock market index recovered losses to close just 0.3 percent lower on hopes of a rapid solution to the crisis.
The Egyptian pound weakened against the dollar at a currency auction, and banks closed early, before the army deadline.For the first time in many months, uniformed police were back patrolling the streets, and the Interior Ministry said in a statement it would "confront all forms of violence"."I could tell that the police are back with their full power on the streets like the old days before the January 25 revolution," said Amir Aly, 25, a protester outside the presidential palace.Military sources told Reuters the army had drafted a plan to sideline Mursi, suspend the constitution and dissolve the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament after the 5 p.m. (11:00 a.m. EDT) deadline passes.Coordinated with political leaders, an interim council would rule pending changes to the Islamist-tinged constitution and new presidential elections, the military sources said.They would not say what was planned for the uncooperative president, whose office refused to disclose his whereabouts.The Dustour (constitution) party led by ElBaradei, a former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, appealed for military intervention to save Egyptian lives, saying Mursi's speech showed he had "lost his mind" and incited bloodshed.The opposition National Salvation Front, an umbrella group of liberal, secular and leftist parties, and the "Tamarud - Rebel!" youth movement leading the protests nominated ElBaradei to negotiate with army leaders on a transition.
"PEOPLE'S COUP"
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government aircraft scattered leaflets
over the northern province of Idlib on Wednesday, calling on rebels to
hand themselves over and urging foreign fighters to return to their
homelands, as regime troops pressed on with the battle to retake areas
they had lost to the opposition.
The call came after another bloody day in Syria. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground, said 40 civilians and 70 fighters — both regime troops and rebels — were killed in clashes nationwide on Tuesday.President Bashar Assad's regime has called on opposition fighters in the past to lay down their arms, and it was unlikely Wednesday's call would be heeded, either by Syrians or foreign fighters battling in the province."Abandon your weapons and return to your family," said one leaflet, aimed at the foreigner fighters. "You have been tricked," it read, according to a photograph of the leaflet obtained by the Observatory. An Idlib-based activist corroborated the leaflets.
Another leaflet gave instructions to rebels — foreign and local — to approach Syrian government checkpoints slowly and wave the paper in the air in a sign of surrender.Syria's conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad's rule but escalated into a civil war in response to a brutal government crackdown. Foreign fighters, many of them hardline Islamists seeking to impose their deeply conservative version of Islam, have also swelled the ranks of rebels. The U.N. estimates that some 93,000 people have been killed so far in the civil war.The battle for the Idlib province is just one of a series of clashes flaring lately as a concerted push by government forces seeks to dislodge rebels who have seized control of large swaths of the country.The Observatory also reported clashes Wednesday in the northern province of Aleppo, which abuts the Turkish border and serves as a rebel gateway for bringing in weapons and supplies.There was also fighting in towns on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, and the southern province of Daraa. Syrian troops, alongside fighters from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group, were encircling the neighborhoods of Khaldiyeh and Bab Houd in the central city of Homs, which rebels have held for the past year."The war here is now from building to building. They are trying to take the area a block at a time," said activist Tariq Badrakhan, speaking via Skype from the city. He said Syrian forces were "cleaning" the area of rebel fighters by firing mortar shells at buildings, with the heaviest shelling occurring at dawn.In Idlib province, rebels have besieged the provincial capital, also called Idlib, over the past two weeks, causing food shortages and price hikes, an activist based in the city, Mohammad Kanaan, said via Skype.Kanaan said rebels had set up checkpoints, blocking some roads with large rocks and destroying others, and preventing food and other basic supplies from entering, in an effort to force the civilians to leave so they could storm the city.There have been fuel shortages and prices for basic goods have been rising across Syria, but Kanaan said it was worse in Idlib because of the rebel siege."Residents are pleading with the Free Syria Army to loosen their grip, but they are trying to pressure people to leave Idlib," Kanaan said. He said there were few places the civilians could go as the city was already swelled with people who had fled from violence elsewhere, and that government troops often shell nearby rebel-held areas.Hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians have been internally displaced because of the fighting, and the U.N. counts another 1.7 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon, many of them children.On Tuesday, the U.N. Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos warned on a visit to Lebanon that Syrian refugees there could double in number to one million by the year's end if the uprising does not abate."By the end of the year, refugees could make up 20 per cent of Lebanon's population," Amos said in a statement. Lebanon has some 4.5 million citizens.The international community has so far been sluggish in its response to aiding Syrian refuges. Amos said they had only received 15 percent of a $1.7 billion appeal to assist refugees and the communities aiding them."If you have thousands of refugees crossing the border every day, it's a huge burden not just on the country but also on the people who are hosting the refugees," Amos said.___Follow Hadid on twitter.com/diaahadid
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The European Parliament has backed a rescue
plan for the world's biggest cap-and-trade system for emissions of
carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas from human activities.In
a 344-311 vote, European lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, approved
Wednesday a proposal to delay an auction of allowances in the EU's
emissions trading scheme.The delay was designed to boost the
carbon price, which has dropped below 5 euros ($6.5) per ton due to an
oversupply of allowances and Europe's economic slowdown.Introduced
in 2005 as a tool against climate change, the system allows power
plants and big factories to trade CO2 permits, providing an incentive to
cut emissions.The plan, an amended version of a proposal
rejected by the European Parliament in April, must also be approved by
EU governments.
ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST
1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
German Newspaper Depicts Israel as 'Ravenous Monster'
Leading
German daily newspaper sparks outrage after publishing cartoon
depicting Israel as a beast devouring German military weapons.
German newspaper stand-Flash 90
Abbas 'Optimistic' About Resumption of Talks
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had made "useful and constructive proposals", says PA Chairman.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas-Flash 90
Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry had made "useful and constructive proposals" during his four-day visit last week and said he was "optimistic" about the outcome, reported the AFP news agency.His remarks, at a
news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, came
in the wake of Kerry's latest attempt to coax Israel and the PA back
into direct peace talks."Kerry made
useful and constructive proposals and we are not saying they were bad,
but they need further clarification and explanation before we can return
to negotiations," Abbas said, according to AFP."We are
optimistic because Kerry is serious and determined to reach a solution.
We hope to go back to negotiations very soon in order to address the
core issues between us and the Israelis," he added.
Although Kerry flew out of the region on Sunday, he left behind several of his advisers and is expected to return to the region soon, Abbas said.Amin Maqbul, a
senior official in Abbas's ruling Fatah movement, said there had been
"progress" during Kerry's marathon talks and expressed appreciation for
his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the
borders that existed before the Six Day War in 1967.
"He has made it clear that this is U.S. policy," he told Voice of Palestine radio, adding that there had also been progress on the issue of Israel's release of terrorist prisoners."Settlements
remain the main obstacle to a resumption of negotiations," he said,
calling for added U.S. pressure on the Israeli government on all issues.
Abbas has
insisted that Israel recognize the 1949 Armistice Line as a designated
border for any future PA state. Israel refuses, as the pre-1967 borders
are indefensible and withdrawing back to these borders would guarantee
its destruction.The demand that
Israel recognize these indefensible borders as a designated border for a
Palestinian state is just one in a long line of preconditions that
Abbas has imposed on negotiations. He has also demanded that Israel release terrorists jailed before the 1993 Oslo Accords and that it freeze all Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.Under U.S. pressure, Israel froze construction for ten months in 2010 so that Abbas would agree to resume
negotiations. When the freeze ended, however, Abbas refused to talk,
demanding instead that Israel continue to freeze construction.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Monday
that he is “ready to go into the tent, the peace tent, and stay in the
tent until white smoke comes out.” He has consistently called on Abbas
to resume talks without preconditions, but Abbas has ignored the calls, saying instead that “the ball is in Israel’s court.”The optimism displayed by Abbas was not reflected on the ground, with a new Israel-PA survey
showing most people held little hope the talks would result in a
resumption of direct talks after a hiatus of nearly three years.According to a
poll jointly conducted by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the
Advancement of Peace at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and the
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, just over a quarter of PA Arabs -- 27 percent -- and only one in 10 Israelis, believe that talks will resume and violence will end, reported AFP.Just over two
thirds of both peoples -- 68 percent of Israelis and 69 percent of PA
Arabs -- view the likelihood of a Palestinian state emerging in the next
five years as low or non-existent.
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
ITS 11:00AM RIGHT NOW AND WE WILL SEE IF DICTATOR MURDERER OF CHRISTIANS MORSI RESIGNS OR IF THE ARMY DOES IN MORSI. ITS NOW 11:20AM AND NO MESSAGE FROM MURSI YET.
ITS 2:55PM AND ITS OFFICIAL MORSI IS NO LONGER IN POWER.THE ARMY HAS TOOK OVER FULL POWER IN A COUP.PROBABLY EL BARADEI WILL LEAD EGYPT TILL NEW ELECTIONS OCCURR.
Egypt's army chief turns on the president who promoted him
CAIRO (Reuters) - When President Mohamed Mursi swept aside the ageing commanders of Egypt's military a year ago and named a soft-spoken, deeply religious younger general to head the armed forces, it was a demonstration that the military was now subordinate to Egypt's first freely elected leader.Fast forward one year, and now it is the general, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who appears poised to sweep aside the president.
At the time of his appointment last August, the choice of Sisi, 58, seemed to suit both Mursi and the younger generation of army commanders seeking promotion after years under older generals, like 78-year-old Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for two decades.The army had produced the autocrats that had ruled Egypt for the previous 60 years. It had run the country itself during the tumultuous 16 months after the revolution that toppled the last general to serve as president, Hosni Mubarak.And it had seemed reluctant to hand power to Mursi until the new president briskly dispatched Tantawi and a host of other commanders into retirement.Egyptians wanted their soldiers back in barracks, and the charismatic, chisel-jawed Sisi spoke like a man who would keep them there. Over the course of the next year, Sisi warned of unrest and political divisions, but repeatedly held firm in asserting that the army should not return to politics."The armed forces' loyalty is to the people and the nation," Sisi said in November when Mursi's supporters and opponents clashed on the streets over plans to introduce a new constitution.Sisi finally ditched his refusal to pick sides on Monday, announcing a dramatic ultimatum that gave Mursi, the man who had chosen him, just 48 hours to agree on a power-sharing deal with his rivals.
ISLAM AND UNCLE SAM
A career military man, Sisi was groomed for a leadership role after serving in top roles in the command, intelligence and diplomatic branches of the armed forces.Among his previous postings were a stint as defense attaché in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and command positions in the Sinai Peninsula which borders Israel and in the Northern Military Region which includes the second city of Alexandria."He had been carefully prepared for a high command position," said Robert Springborg, an expert on the Egyptian military based at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.Apart from his comparative youth among top ranking commanders, two other attributes made him a good fit for the Islamist Mursi seeking a new generation of military leaders.In a military known for its secularism, Sisi is a devout Muslim, whose wife is said to wear the niqab full-body covering. And after a year at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania in 2005-2006, he was comfortable with the United States, which funds Egypt's military with $1.3 billion a year."Insiders in the U.S. government and military were aware of him. He was a name that was mentioned when people talked about next generations," said Springborg.He had a favorable reputation among those who worked with him in the American military, although his course work was described as showing Islamist leanings, Springborg said."Islamic ideology penetrates Sisi's thinking about political and security matters," he said, citing material Sisi produced while at the course.Steve Gerras, a retired Army colonel who was Sisi's faculty adviser at the college, described him to Reuters as a serious student and pious Muslim, open to the United States and passionate about Egypt's future."He was a serious guy. He is not a guy who would go to a standup comedy show. But at the same time he would stop by - I mean every week ... His eyes were always very warm. His tone was very warm."
LIBERALS WARY
Some liberals were initially wary of Sisi, especially after remarks he made defending the army's practice - later disavowed - of conducting "virginity tests" on female protesters who complained of abuse.Nevertheless, the army under Sisi has continued to enjoy widespread support in the country, arguably the only institution that has such favor.According to a Zogby poll published last month, the army as an institution scored a 94-percent confidence level. About 60 percent of non-Islamists favored a temporary return to army rule, while almost all Islamists opposed that.Sisi has carefully nurtured public support for the army in recent days, sending aircraft to drop thousands of Egyptian flags on crowds of cheering protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square.The army's dramatic re-entry into politics was not inevitable, said Michael Wahid Hanna of the New York-based Century Foundation.The army was not angling to get back in and rule, and Sisi in particular was not among the minority of hawks within the army leadership keen on reasserting such a role, Hanna said.
Egyptian military sources say Mursi's call last month for foreign intervention in Syria was a turning point. Mursi's Brotherhood went further, backing calls for holy war, rhetoric that alarmed a military that had spent decades hunting down radical militants."This doesn't mean that Sisi gives up on the idea that Islam should be a very important consideration in Egyptian national security policy, but this is not the way it's done," said Springborg said."It means he looks at the world from an Islamist framework so he would not want the whole project of Islamism to be destroyed and that's what is now in the offing because the Brotherhood has so mishandled things - Sisi probably feels to some extent betrayed by Mursi and the Brothers who have mishandled things so badly."(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Graff)
Suez Canal secured, unaffected by Egypt events: statement
"The average number of passing ships in term of quantity and cargo is in the normal range and has not been affected by any events," he said.Egypt has been facing mass demonstrations since June 30 by opposition calling for the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and his supporters which resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries.In the last two days, 80 ships passed through the canal, the authority said, close to the daily average of 40 to 50 vessels.(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Mursi, Egypt army ready to die in 'Final Hours' showdown
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army commander and Islamist President Mohamed Mursi each pledged to die for his cause as a deadline loomed on Wednesday that will trigger a military takeover backed by protesters.
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by demonstrations over Mursi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours". They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Mursi refused to give up his elected office.Less than three hours before an ultimatum was due to expire for Mursi to agree to share power or make way for an army-imposed solution, the president's spokesman said it was better that he die in defense of democracy than be blamed by history.
"It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree," spokesman Ayman Ali said, "Rather than be condemned by history and future generations for throwing away the hopes of Egyptians for establishing a democratic life."In an emotional, rambling midnight television address, Mursi said he was democratically elected and would stay in office to uphold the constitutional order, declaring: "The price of preserving legitimacy is my life."Liberal opponents said it showed he had "lost his mind".The Arab world's most populous nation has remained in turmoil since the fall of Hosni Mubarak as Arab Spring uprisings took hold in early 2011, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.Armored vehicles patrolled around the state broadcasting headquarters on the Nile River bank and non-essential staff were evacuated, security sources said. Members of the Republican Guard have been in the building for several days.The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood movement said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Mursi."There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," Gehad El-Haddad told Reuters at the movement's protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace."We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine."
CONSULTATIONS
Armed forces commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met the main liberal opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, the top Muslim and Christian religious authorities and leaders of smaller Islamist parties and of the youth protest movement that led the anti-Mursi protests, the military said. It said a statement would be issued afterwards.
The Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, refused an invitation to meet Sisi, saying it only recognized the elected president.The Egypt25 television station owned and run by the Brotherhood was continuing to broadcast live split-screen coverage of pro-Mursi demonstrations.The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Mursi was expected to either step down or be removed from office and the army would set up a three-member presidential council to be chaired by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
A military source said he expected the army to first call political, social and economic figures and youth activists for talks on its draft roadmap for the country's future.A mass of revelers on Cairo's Tahrir Square feted the army overnight for, in their eyes, saving the revolutionary democracy won there two years ago when an uprising centered on the same square toppled Mubarak. Large crowds gathered in the square again on Wednesday afternoon.Mursi's backers denounced the army's action as a coup. At least 16 people, mostly supporters of the president, were killed and about 200 wounded when gunmen opened fire overnight on pro-Mursi demonstrators at Cairo University campus.The Muslim Brotherhood accused uniformed police of the shooting. The Interior Ministry said it was investigating and the governor of Giza province, where the clash occurred, submitted his resignation.
POLICE BACK
Central Cairo was quiet by day. Many stores were shuttered and traffic unusually light. The stock market index recovered losses to close just 0.3 percent lower on hopes of a rapid solution to the crisis.
The Egyptian pound weakened against the dollar at a currency auction, and banks closed early, before the army deadline.For the first time in many months, uniformed police were back patrolling the streets, and the Interior Ministry said in a statement it would "confront all forms of violence"."I could tell that the police are back with their full power on the streets like the old days before the January 25 revolution," said Amir Aly, 25, a protester outside the presidential palace.Military sources told Reuters the army had drafted a plan to sideline Mursi, suspend the constitution and dissolve the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament after the 5 p.m. (11:00 a.m. EDT) deadline passes.Coordinated with political leaders, an interim council would rule pending changes to the Islamist-tinged constitution and new presidential elections, the military sources said.They would not say what was planned for the uncooperative president, whose office refused to disclose his whereabouts.The Dustour (constitution) party led by ElBaradei, a former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, appealed for military intervention to save Egyptian lives, saying Mursi's speech showed he had "lost his mind" and incited bloodshed.The opposition National Salvation Front, an umbrella group of liberal, secular and leftist parties, and the "Tamarud - Rebel!" youth movement leading the protests nominated ElBaradei to negotiate with army leaders on a transition.
"PEOPLE'S COUP"
In his 45-minute address to the nation, Mursi acknowledged having made
mistakes and said he was still willing to form a national unity
government ahead of parliamentary elections and let a new parliament
amend the constitution.But he offered no new initiative and
rejected calls to step aside, saying it was his sacred duty to uphold
legitimacy - a word he repeated dozens of times.The president
accused remnants of Mubarak's former regime and corrupt big money
families of seeking to restore their privileges and lead the country
into a dark tunnel.Liberal opposition leaders, who have vowed
not to negotiate with Mursi since the ultimatum was issued, immediately
denounced his refusal to go as a declaration of "civil war"."We
ask the army to protect the souls of Egyptians after Mursi lost his mind
and incited bloodshed of Egyptians," the Dustour Party said in a
statement.(Reporting by Asma
Alsharif, Alexander Dziadosz, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair
Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Paul Taylor, Ahmed
Tolba and Patrick Werr in Cairo, Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria,
Yursi Mohamed in Ismailia and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by
Paul Taylor; Editing by Peter Millership and Giles Elgood)
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
Syrian troops battle to retake rebel-held areas
The call came after another bloody day in Syria. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground, said 40 civilians and 70 fighters — both regime troops and rebels — were killed in clashes nationwide on Tuesday.President Bashar Assad's regime has called on opposition fighters in the past to lay down their arms, and it was unlikely Wednesday's call would be heeded, either by Syrians or foreign fighters battling in the province."Abandon your weapons and return to your family," said one leaflet, aimed at the foreigner fighters. "You have been tricked," it read, according to a photograph of the leaflet obtained by the Observatory. An Idlib-based activist corroborated the leaflets.
Another leaflet gave instructions to rebels — foreign and local — to approach Syrian government checkpoints slowly and wave the paper in the air in a sign of surrender.Syria's conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad's rule but escalated into a civil war in response to a brutal government crackdown. Foreign fighters, many of them hardline Islamists seeking to impose their deeply conservative version of Islam, have also swelled the ranks of rebels. The U.N. estimates that some 93,000 people have been killed so far in the civil war.The battle for the Idlib province is just one of a series of clashes flaring lately as a concerted push by government forces seeks to dislodge rebels who have seized control of large swaths of the country.The Observatory also reported clashes Wednesday in the northern province of Aleppo, which abuts the Turkish border and serves as a rebel gateway for bringing in weapons and supplies.There was also fighting in towns on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, and the southern province of Daraa. Syrian troops, alongside fighters from the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah group, were encircling the neighborhoods of Khaldiyeh and Bab Houd in the central city of Homs, which rebels have held for the past year."The war here is now from building to building. They are trying to take the area a block at a time," said activist Tariq Badrakhan, speaking via Skype from the city. He said Syrian forces were "cleaning" the area of rebel fighters by firing mortar shells at buildings, with the heaviest shelling occurring at dawn.In Idlib province, rebels have besieged the provincial capital, also called Idlib, over the past two weeks, causing food shortages and price hikes, an activist based in the city, Mohammad Kanaan, said via Skype.Kanaan said rebels had set up checkpoints, blocking some roads with large rocks and destroying others, and preventing food and other basic supplies from entering, in an effort to force the civilians to leave so they could storm the city.There have been fuel shortages and prices for basic goods have been rising across Syria, but Kanaan said it was worse in Idlib because of the rebel siege."Residents are pleading with the Free Syria Army to loosen their grip, but they are trying to pressure people to leave Idlib," Kanaan said. He said there were few places the civilians could go as the city was already swelled with people who had fled from violence elsewhere, and that government troops often shell nearby rebel-held areas.Hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians have been internally displaced because of the fighting, and the U.N. counts another 1.7 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon, many of them children.On Tuesday, the U.N. Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos warned on a visit to Lebanon that Syrian refugees there could double in number to one million by the year's end if the uprising does not abate."By the end of the year, refugees could make up 20 per cent of Lebanon's population," Amos said in a statement. Lebanon has some 4.5 million citizens.The international community has so far been sluggish in its response to aiding Syrian refuges. Amos said they had only received 15 percent of a $1.7 billion appeal to assist refugees and the communities aiding them."If you have thousands of refugees crossing the border every day, it's a huge burden not just on the country but also on the people who are hosting the refugees," Amos said.___Follow Hadid on twitter.com/diaahadid
EU lawmakers back cap-and-trade fix
Barroso keen to start US trade talks despite spy affair
Today @ 09:17 JULY 3,13
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The European Commission has said EU-US free trade talks should start next week despite American snooping on EU institutions.It said in a memo on Tuesday (2 July) that: "Whilst the beginning of
EU-US trade negotiation should not be affected, the EU side will make it
clear that for such a comprehensive and ambitious negotiation to
succeed, there needs to be confidence, transparency and clarity among
the negotiating partners."EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht is to lead the European
delegation in the first round of talks, due in Washington next Thursday.His trip could still be disrupted if EU countries say No at a meeting
of EU ambassadors on the spy scandal in Brussels this Thursday.French President Francois Hollande said last week the negotiations cannot start until "trust is restored."But an EU official told EUobserver on Wednesday that "based on the
contacts we've had [with EU capitals], I don't think the French position
will be followed."He noted that commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso gave a verbal "assessment" of the situation to his commissioners on Tuesday.All of them, including France's Michel Barnier, endorsed De Gucht's trip.Britain's Catherine Ashton was not there because she was at an event
in Brunei. But both she and the UK are firm advocates of the trade pact.Asked if the EU is concerned that US negotiators might have access to
internal EU documents on the trade talks, the EU official noted that
the bloc's negotiating mandate was in any case leaked to European media "virtually as soon as it was agreed."
He added that the document is just one of many related to the talks, however. "It sets out a general framework only. It doesn't go into any details," he said.A former US statesman, Zbigniew Brzezinski, recently indicated that both Washington and EU capitals see the trade pact as being too big to fail.
He said at the Globsec seminar in Bratislava in April that it will counter the rise of Chinese power and firm up relations among Nato allies: "It can shape a new balance between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceanic regions, while at the same time generating in the West a new vitality, more security and greater cohesion."
Meanwhile, EU politicians on Tuesday continued hand-wringing in public over the spy revelations.French foreign minister Laurent Fabius told AFP he had spoken to US secretary of state John Kerry by phone.
He said: "France is not bugging the US embassy, that's for sure. France has an intelligence service which is active overseas in general, but more so on countries which are not our partners."Despite the furore, the snooping scandal is unlikely to have caused much surprise in EU intelligence circles.Speaking to EUobserver last year, Alain Winants, the head of the Belgian intelligence service, the VSSE, responsible for protecting EU institutions, said that when it comes to economic matters everybody spies on everybody else."There is one field where the difference between neutral, friendly and unfriendly services tends to disappear and that's when you are talking about the protection of economic and scientific potential. In this case, I think every service is in competition with the others," he noted.
He added that the document is just one of many related to the talks, however. "It sets out a general framework only. It doesn't go into any details," he said.A former US statesman, Zbigniew Brzezinski, recently indicated that both Washington and EU capitals see the trade pact as being too big to fail.
He said at the Globsec seminar in Bratislava in April that it will counter the rise of Chinese power and firm up relations among Nato allies: "It can shape a new balance between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceanic regions, while at the same time generating in the West a new vitality, more security and greater cohesion."
Meanwhile, EU politicians on Tuesday continued hand-wringing in public over the spy revelations.French foreign minister Laurent Fabius told AFP he had spoken to US secretary of state John Kerry by phone.
He said: "France is not bugging the US embassy, that's for sure. France has an intelligence service which is active overseas in general, but more so on countries which are not our partners."Despite the furore, the snooping scandal is unlikely to have caused much surprise in EU intelligence circles.Speaking to EUobserver last year, Alain Winants, the head of the Belgian intelligence service, the VSSE, responsible for protecting EU institutions, said that when it comes to economic matters everybody spies on everybody else."There is one field where the difference between neutral, friendly and unfriendly services tends to disappear and that's when you are talking about the protection of economic and scientific potential. In this case, I think every service is in competition with the others," he noted.
