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)
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
UK's May reassures China after nuclear power plant delay-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May has attempted to allay disquiet about her surprise delay to a Chinese-backed nuclear power plant by reassuring China's leader that Britain wants strong relations with Beijing.Foreign Office Minister Alok Sharma delivered a letter from May to President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing.May's office did not publish the full letter, but said Tuesday it was about "reassuring the Chinese of our commitment to Anglo-Chinese relations."In it, May said Britain "looks forward to strengthening co-operation with China on trade and business and on global issues."China's ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, warned last week that relations were at a "crucial historical juncture" after the U.K. government's abruptly delayed a decision on the Hinkley Point power plant.May surprised the business world last month by announcing a review of the power project in southwest England, financed by a Chinese nuclear power provider and French energy giant EDF. She said the government would announce its decision later in the year.The delay threw into doubt the "golden era" of ties proclaimed by Xi during a visit to Britain last year.Some British politicians and diplomats are wary of the enthusiasm the previous government of Prime Minister David Cameron showed for boosting ties with Beijing.Britain rolled out the red carpet for Xi during a lavish state visit in October, complete with a stay at Buckingham Palace as the guest of Queen Elizabeth II.The two countries signed more than 30 billion pounds ($39 billion) in trade agreements during the trip, as Cameron said Britain would be China's "partner of choice" in the West.The Associated Press.
3 dead after explosion at South Korean naval base-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — An accidental explosion at a South Korean naval base on Tuesday left three soldiers dead and another injured, South Korea's Defence Ministry said.Military authorities are investigating the blast that occurred during repair work of a submarine at the base in the southeastern port town of Jinhae, but the possibility of an attack was considered very low.The explosion occurred when the soldiers opened the hatch of the docked submarine and was strong enough to blow one of the dead soldiers into the sea, said a ministry official, who didn't want to be named, citing official rules.The Associated Press.
U.S. lobbies China again on missile defense system-[Reuters]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - A decision by the United States and South Korea to deploy an advanced anti-missile defense system is aimed at defending against North Korea's missile threat and does not threaten China, a senior U.S. officer said in Beijing on Tuesday.The United States has repeatedly tried to rebuff anger from China about Seoul's move to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the U.S. military.Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, told his People's Liberation Army counterpart Li Zuocheng that THAAD was a defensive measure, the U.S. Army said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.THAAD "is a defensive measure to protect South Koreans and Americans from the North Korean ballistic missile threat and is not a threat in any way to China", the statement paraphrased Milley as saying.South Korea has said too that the move is purely to counter growing missile threats from the North and was not intended to target China, but Beijing has protested it would destabilize the regional security balance.North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed up with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.China and the United States have been at odds over the disputed South China Sea as well.China has been upset with U.S. freedom of navigation patrols in the waters there, and the United States has expressed concern about Chinese aircraft and ships operating in a dangerous manner close to U.S. forces.Milley said the U.S. wants to maintain open channels of communications with China's military to "reduce the risk of crisis or miscalculation and candidly address differences", the statement added. Milley "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to adhere to international rules and standards and encouraged the Chinese to do the same as a way to reduce regional tensions".China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Russia, Syria in 'disgraceful' use of incendiary arms: HRW-[AFP]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Beirut (AFP) - Syrian and Russian warplanes have repeatedly used incendiary weapons in "disgraceful" attacks on civilians in northern Syria, Human Rights Watch charged Tuesday.The rights group said it had documented the use of incendiary weapons at least 18 times since June that had resulted in more than a dozen injuries.There was "compelling evidence" that Russia was supporting Syrian government planes in those attacks, the New York-based watchdog said."The Syrian government and Russia should immediately stop attacking civilian areas with incendiary weapons," said HRW arms director Steve Goose."The disgraceful incendiary weapon attacks in Syria show an abject failure to adhere to international law restricting incendiary weapons," he said.When dropped from aircraft, incendiary weapons leave distinctive trails of explosives in the sky and trigger small, intense fires upon contact.They were used widely during the Vietnam war and are banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.HRW documented attacks with such weapons since early June, including two cases on August 7 that hit opposition-controlled parts of the cities of Aleppo and Idlib."I could clearly see the flames bursting," said Idlib resident Mohammad Taj Al-Din Othman, who supplied HRW with photos of the attack."Within 10 minutes, there were more strikes. The fire was unbelievable, it turned night into day."A civil defence volunteer told HRW: "The fire took over everything, houses, cars, oil tanks, and even grass."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said it too had documented the use of thermite -- a type of incendiary substance -- by Russian planes in Idlib, Aleppo and Deir Ezzor provinces, and Raqa.And earlier this month, activists in Daraya, a besieged rebel-held town near Damascus, accused the regime of using banned chemical agent napalm against residents there.All sides of Syria's complex war have exchanged accusations of attacks against civilians and use of unconventional weapons including chlorine and mustard gas.HRW said the use of incendiary weapons in Syria had "increased significantly" since Russia began its air war in support of Damascus on September 30, 2015.In a letter to HRW in November, Russia acknowledged that "improper use" of incendiary weapons had resulted in "significant humanitarian damage" in Syria.Since 2012, HRW has documented the use of four different incendiary weapons in Syria, all manufactured by the former Soviet Union.More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.
Separatists, Russians stage exercises again in Moldova-[Associated Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovan separatists say Russian troops have joined their troops in the breakaway republic of Trans-Dniester for joint military exercises for the second time this month.The official news agency Novostipmr.com said Tuesday that special units took part in anti-terror exercises south of the separatist capital, Tiraspol.The agency said local residents were warned about the simulations of real-life situations. It did not provide further details.Moldova criticized the first exercise this month, but had no immediate reaction to the second.Pro-Russian Trans-Dniester broke away from Moldova in 1990 fearing it would reunite with neighboring Romania. Separatists fought Moldovans in a war in 1992 leaving 1,500 dead.There are some 1,000 Russian peacekeepers stationed in Trans-Dniester.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Turkish prosecutors seek 2 life sentences for Gulen-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA, Turkey — Prosecutors in western Turkey have demanded a life sentence for U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed coup, the state-run news agency reported Tuesday.Concluding a yearlong investigation into his movement's financial dealings, prosecutors in the city of Usak demanded that Gulen be punished with two life sentences plus 1,900 years in prison, the Anadolu Agency reported.In the more than 2,500-page indictment accepted by the court in Usak on Tuesday, Gulen and 111 other suspects are accused of transferring funds obtained through charities or donations to the United States via "front" companies, Anadolu said. It said the indictment also makes reference to Gulen's alleged role in the July 15 coup.Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is already on trial in absentia in Turkish courts, facing life terms over accusations of plotting to overthrow the government and leading an armed group. He has also been indicted on a charge of leading a terror organization and faces another trial in absentia in November.On Tuesday, police in Istanbul launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies suspected of providing financial support to Gulen's movement while authorities issued warrants to detain 120 company executives, Anadolu reported. The private Dogan news agency said the companies searched included a supermarket chain.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to rule out bringing back the death penalty in order to punish the coup plotters — a move that would further jeopardize Turkey's faltering European Union membership bid. But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared to move away from reinstating capital punishment."Anyone who spilled the blood of our martyrs will be held to account. But, my valuable citizens, we won't act in the spirit of vengeance," Yildirim said during his weekly address to his ruling party's legislators. "Death penalty is death for one time. But there are worse ways of dying. This is through an objective and fair trial."Meanwhile, Turkey made a formal request to Greece for the extradition of eight Turkish officers who fled to the neighbouring country after last month's attempted coup, the state-run news agency reported Tuesday.A Justice Ministry file had been delivered to Greece requesting the officers' return over charges that include breaching the Constitution through the use of force, plotting to kill the president and crimes against the parliament and government, Anadolu reported.The six pilots and two engineers fled to Greece aboard a military helicopter after the July 15 attempt. Turkey wants them returned to stand trial on charges of participating in the violent attempt by renegade officers within the Turkish military that resulted in at least 270 deaths. Parliament was bombed, while Erdogan escaped an attack on his hotel at a seaside resort.The eight deny involvement in the coup and have applied for asylum, saying they fear for their safety amid widespread purges in the aftermath of the attempted overthrow of the government.The government says the coup was the work of followers of Gulen's religious movement, who allegedly have infiltrated the military over the years. The government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup, raising concerns among European nations and human rights organizations who have urged restraint.Some 35,000 people have been detained for questioning and more than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists. Tens of thousands more people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.Gulen has denied any prior knowledge or involvement in the coup.Suzan Fraser, The Associated Press.
Analysis-Turkey and the EU one month after the coup By Aleksandra Eriksson-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS, Today, 09:27-A month after the failed coup in Turkey, life in Istanbul is somewhere between back to normal and things will never be the same again.Hanging down from buildings, fluttering through rolled-down car windows, wrapped around people, Turkish flags paint the town red. The Bosphorus bridge connecting Asia and Europe has been renamed 15 July Martyrs in honour of those who died in fighting linked with last month's attempted coup.Even the air is different - massive loudspeakers fill it with music that could be heard kilometres away. The playlist was only two songs long, switching between Turkiyem, a 1970s Turk pop tune, and Dombra, a tribute to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.State-run news outlet Anadolu Agency estimated that 25 million people attended pro-democracy rallies that only ended three weeks after the coup.But while those joining the rallies were claiming to have saved democracy, EU leaders were lamenting an authoritarian crackdown.While many Turks rejoiced at the rooting out of supposed infiltrators, the West lamented the purge of judges, journalists and teachers.More than 23,000 people have been detained or arrested and 82,000 dismissed or suspended, accused of conspiring with an elderly cleric - Fethullah Gulen - who allegedly pulled the strings from exile in the US.”It does sound like a bad novel,” Turkey’s ambassador to the EU, Selim Yenel, told EUobserver in Brussels.Gulen has condemned the coup and protests his innocence. Last week, he even requested an international investigation to clear him from the accusations.-United against Gulen-But after a month of arrests and confessions, the lion’s share of Turks appear to hold him accountable. Erdogan’s approval ratings have soared by more than 20 points to almost 70 percent. The four parliamentary parties, including Erdogan’s arch-rivals CHP and HDP, also think Gulen pulled the strings of the botched putsch.Three parties - Erdogan’s conservative AKP, social democratic CHP, and nationalist MHP (but not leftist HDP) - made history on Sunday (7 August) when they appeared side by side at a “democracy and martyrs” demonstration.”It was the first time in our history that everyone stood together,” said Selim Yenel. “Everything changed with the coup. It’s a new Turkey.”But this new Turkey, however, has strained relations with the EU, with the Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu saying that the EU "failed the test" after the coup and accused the bloc of falling for anti-Turkey and anti-Erdogan sentiments.A war of words has played out in the media over Turkey's post-coup purge, which includes a threat to reintroduce the death penalty.Another source of tension is a visa liberalisation plan that would grant Turkish citizens short-term travel freedoms to the EU. With Turkey having so far failed to meet the agreed conditions, including overhauling its anti-terrorism legislation, the visa move may not happen. As a result, the migration deal concluded in March now hangs by a thread.Most recently, Turkey was also caught up in a diplomatic row with Austria and Sweden that accused the country of wanting to allow sex with children.Turkey's constitutional court last month scrapped an article in the penal code that defined all sexual acts against children as abuse. Rather, it said, cases should be reviewed individually so as to better balance crime and sanctions.Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday (15 August) that the Austrian and Swedish criticisms were a reflection of the "racism, anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish [trend] in Europe."Austria, currently Turkey's fiercest critic in the EU, has also said that Turkey's accession talks should be brought to a halt. Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said he would use his seat in the foreign ministers council to veto the opening of new negotiation chapters with Turkey.In response, Cavusoglu called Austria the "capital of radical racism". European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker also rebuked Kurz, saying the will of the member states was to go on with the talks.Turkish politicians, meanwhile, have traded barbs with the EU over its commitment to a visa liberalisation plan, which was due to enter into force in June but was postponed until October.The commission seems split on the matter. EU commissioner for digital economy Guenther Oettinger had said the possibility of giving Turks visa-free travel this year had fallen after the post-coup crackdown. But EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters a few days later the intention was to push on with the plan after summer recess.Selim Yenel, the Turkish ambassador, said it was unfortunate that EU-Turkish relations had suffered, but said they could be saved.”We understand that holidays are sacred,” said the ambassador, ”but we hope that EU leaders will come and visit Turkey in September, and see the situation first-hand”.The failure of senior EU officials to do so - while sending out critical noises - has drawn the ire of Turkish counterparts.A group of Turkish MPs even visited Brussels by ways of establishing contact, but found the EU capital deserted.Yenel was positive that understanding would grow once ministers and commissioners met.Turkey was ready to modify its anti-terror law, as the EU requested, if that didn’t hurt the fight against terrorism and if Turkish citizens were guaranteed visa-free travel in Europe, he said.And he added that threats of re-introducing the death penalty were only politicians scoring points.”It would never pass through parliament,” he insisted. ”That would mean we had broken our commitment to Europe.”-Mending relations-Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), painted a less rosy picture of the future but agreed the country had been thrust into a watershed moment by the coup attempt.”The Gulenists occupied the core of the state. We need to start from scratch rebuilding our institutions,” she said.She agreed there was a risk that innocent people would be caught in the net cast after Gulen loyalists.”People are rightly concerned that the crackdown is too vast. Many mistakes are taking place,” she said.”But I also think they don’t have any other option that to carry on with the investigation. The size of the threat is also real.”The EU could - in theory - nudge Turkey in a democratic direction.”But the EU has in the past been very supportive of Gulenists. Everyone knows this in Turkey, and that taints public support for the EU,” she said.And the bloc’s understanding of the situation in Turkey was clouded by anti-Erdogan feeling.“Let’s be honest, Erdogan had a terrible reputation in the West already before the coup,” Aydintasbas said. ”And this hasn’t helped.”Bahadir Kaleagasi, the EU representative Turkey's leading business organisation Tusiad, agreed that EU wariness might be influenced by anti-Erdogan feelings.”But that’s the opposite of the European spirit, to Jean Monnet’s union of nations,” Kaleagasi argued.“If the EU really wants to act for the sake of democracy, the best thing it can do is to engage itself - rather than to send criticism from abroad.”He said between 1995 and 2005, the possibility of EU membership talks had helped Turkey to evolve towards democracy.“Turkey is the most important external relations success in EU history,” he said.But the process came to a halt shortly after EU membership negotiations formally opened in 2005. Just one of 35 chapters has so far been concluded.The EU left Turkey out in the cold for years - until the bloc decided to rely on Turkey to stem the arrival of refugees to the EU, he said.“EU membership drove Turkey towards a democracy. Not seeing that perspective confirmed by the EU made the country lose its compass,” Kaleagasi said.
Chibok girls: 'bargaining chip' of Boko Haram insurgency-[AFP]-Sophie Bouillon-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Lagos (AFP) - Boko Haram's list of victims -- dead, displaced or abducted -- grows longer by the day.The jihadist group has claimed more than 20,000 deaths, displaced 2.6 million people from their homes, and kidnapped thousands of children since it started fighting in 2009 for an independent Islamist state in Nigeria.But the kidnapped Chibok girls continue to define the Boko Haram insurgency.More than two years after their capture in April 2014, the girls remain the symbol of the insurgency -- and a political embarrassment to the two Nigerian administrations that have failed to secure their return.On Sunday, the Chibok girls were back in the spotlight after a Boko Haram video purportedly showing some of them was released, following months of silence and speculation about their fates.Although it is unclear when the video was shot and if the girls are all from Chibok, experts say its release date is not a coincidence.Boko Haram is going through a leadership crisis after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in March 2015, with IS appearing earlier this month to have appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi chief of the group.Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's leader since 2009, could be using the new video to show his control over the Chibok girls, arguably Boko Haram's biggest asset, said Kyle Shideler of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy."The video serves as a message to the Nigerian government that despite being replaced, Shekau still has bargaining chips and will have to be dealt with," Shideler told AFP."It is also a reminder that the group's largest propaganda success, the Chibok girls kidnapping, occurred under Shekau's leadership."- 'Blessing and curse' -Of the 276 girls kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in the northeastern town of Chibok, 218 are still missing.Dozens managed to escape in the early hours of the abduction, and one of them was found in May.The audacity of the mass kidnapping -- and the failure of the Nigerian government to find the girls -- shocked the world.Boko Haram catapulted from an obscure regional threat to a high-profile terror group, as politicians and celebrities around the globe posted the #bringbackourgirls hashtag on social media.The response was "unique", said Yan St-Pierre, head of the Modern Security Consulting Group in Berlin."While other hostages held by terrorists have also caused some media interest -- the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Palestine or the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, for example -- it was rather localised," he said."But in the case of the Chibok girls, the media reaction was international."The interest in the Chibok girls transformed them into a valuable asset for Boko Haram."It is both a blessing, because they were protected a little, and a curse, because they have become Boko Haram's bargaining chip," St-Pierre said.In the new video, Boko Haram demands a prisoner swap of its fighters in exchange for the Chibok girls.- 'Only part of the tragedy' -However, the seizure of the Chibok girls is not unique in Nigeria.On April 14 this year, the two-year anniversary of the kidnapping, UNICEF said that "up to 7000 women and girls might be living in abduction and sex slavery", often forcibly married or used as suicide bombers."These are only estimates, the number is probably much higher," Toby Fricker of UNICEF Nigeria told AFP."Chibok is only part of the tragedy."Human Rights Watch revealed in early August that over the past three years 10,000 young boys had been kidnapped, with some of them being trained as soldiers.The Chibok girls were not even the largest group of children who were kidnapped.The largest abduction took place in November 2014, when 300 children were taken from the town of Damasak in Borno State, according to Human Rights Watch."The girls of Chibok are a symbol," said Munir Safieldin, a UN humanitarian coordinator.He said they represent tens of thousands of victims and that in many ways their saga encapsulates the entire conflict.While the Nigerian army has won many military victories, the northeast of the country is ravaged after years of fighting Boko Haram.With tens of thousands of children at risk of dying from starvation, it will take more to end the war than just bringing the Chibok girls back home.
Egypt FM: We want to help Lebanese politicians reconcile-[Associated Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIRUT (AP) — Egypt's foreign minister says he is visiting Lebanon to help rival Lebanese political groups find common ground.Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 and parliament has been unable to elect a head of state because of deep disagreements.After meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Tuesday, Sameh Shoukry tells reporters that Egypt doesn't favor any side. He says that "our role is that of a facilitator."Asked about the prospects for reconciliation between Egypt and Turkey, Shoukry says that "it is not up to Egypt to approach this issue, but it is up to those who continue to advocate policies that are detrimental to Egypt."Egypt's 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was harshly condemned by Turkey. The two countries have had tense relations since.
Europol to send terror experts to Greek migrant camps By Aleksandra Eriksson-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 15. Aug, 09:26-The EU joint police body, Europol, will deploy a team of anti-terror experts to Greece in an attempt to single out potential jihadis among the 60,000 people stuck in the country.The team of 30 European experts will land in Athens by 20 August and travel on to the refugee camps, France24 reports .In its 2015 terrorism situation report published last month Europol said there was no evidence that terrorists systematically use refugee routes to enter the EU, although there have been single cases of this happening.Some members of the terrorist group behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels, in November 2015 and March 2016, were EU nationals who travelled to Syria to receive training by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). They slipped back into Europe afterwards by passing themselves off as refugees.Europol noted in its report that the bigger threat was that Syrian refugees would fall prey to extremist recruiters once in Europe.EU experts will work to identify individuals who risk being radicalised after being stuck in Greece’s camps, Europol spokesperson Alexandru Niculae told France24.Earlier this year, Europol sent teams to Greece's “hotspots”, the special detention camps where migrants are supposed to be processed.Greece has vowed to close down some of its most depressing camps and replace them with better functioning ones.Greek migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas told the Kathimerini newspaper that there was only around 80-100 people arriving in the country each day, compared with many thousands at the height of the crisis last year.
Opinion-A Marriage of Convenience-By Leopold Traugott-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 12. Aug, 09:30-Relations between Turkey and the European Union have become increasingly tense in the aftermath of July's failed coup against Erdogan.Hence, when Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed his Turkish counterpart in St. Petersburg this week, Western observers intently followed the meeting, fearing the two leaders’ first meeting in nearly a year could lead to a dangerous partnership of anti-Western autocrats.Yet, the emergence of such a partnership is highly unlikely.Relations between both countries are fraught, anti-EU and anti-Western sentiments cannot unite them in any meaningful or threatening way. One just needs to revisit their opposing stances on Syria to understand their intractable differences.Last November, Turkey shot down a Russian airplane on the Turkish-Syrian border for violating Turkish airspace. In retaliation, Russia imposed sanctions on Turkey, hitting the country's economy hard.The sanctions were lifted a month ago, following a half-hearted apology from Erdogan and an apparent rapprochement between the two countries.The tensions that led to the downing of the Russian jet remain, Moscow and Ankara have positioned themselves on opposite sides of the region’s crucial geopolitical question: the future of Syria.In the conflict that has become more blood stained since its start in 2011, Russia has consistently backed the Assad regime, going so far as to support it through direct military action.Turkey, on the other hand, would prefer to see Assad deposed, even supporting not-so-moderate rebels to achieve that. Some claim that the Russian bombing of Turkish-backed rebels was the actual reason for downing the jet.Moscow has also pledged its political support to the Kurdish PYD party in Northern Syria, seen to be the Syrian version of the banned Kurdish-Turkish PKK party, and has been declared a terrorist organisation and enemy of the state by Ankara.The recent news that Russia is supplying ammunition and technical support to the PYD makes tensions between the two even more pronounced.-Turkey and Russia - differences too great-This makes their cooperation only a marriage of convenience. They have neither a history of partnership nor real reasons to seek closer ties. They are mainly driven by a lack of other, perhaps more natural, allies.Russia continues to be isolated from the EU and China has been reluctant to work with Moscow in Central Asia.Putin’s own brainchild, the Eurasian Union, still lags behind expectations both in terms of political influence and economic rewards.Turkey, despite being less isolated, is moving in a similar direction. Angered by European calls to uphold democracy and respect human rights after the failed coup, Erdogan announced that the West was on the side of the putschists and threatened to denounce the refugee deal.While Turkey still enjoys the benevolence of the European Union - partly because it is needed to safeguard European borders - Erdogan is harming relations and his own credibility even further.The West has nothing to fear from Erdogan’s meeting with Putin. Both countries are strictly following their strategic national interests, which sometimes clash heavily - as can be seen in Syria.Their recent meeting is little more than a symbolic attempt at showing defiant strength to the West. It is a superficial friendship, nothing significant will come from it.The West should refrain from overestimating the partnership or reacting to it - in the end there is little to worry about.Leopold Traugott is a Young Voices Advocate and the director of Campus Europe.
Bulgaria to extradite to France relative of Charlie Hebdo attacker-[Reuters]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is to extradite to France a relative of one of the Islamist militants who attacked satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last year, following a Bulgarian court ruling on Tuesday.Mourad Hamyd, who is French and brother-in-law of assailant Cherif Kouachi, was detained in Bulgaria last month after a Paris court issued a European arrest warrant against him. He is suspected of wanting to join Islamic State."The court decided to hand over Hamyd to the relevant court authorities of France," Sofia City Court said in a statement.During a court hearing last week, Hamyd, 20, denied the accusations and said he wanted to be extradited immediately to France, complaining about the way he was treated in Bulgarian custody. Prosecutors denied any wrongdoing and said he had been treated as every other detainee.Hamyd arrived alone in Bulgaria via Serbia by train on July 26, declaring that he was travelling on holiday. He was detained two days later after being turned back at the Turkish border due to a five-year ban on entering Turkey.Hamyd was questioned by French police following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015, in which Cherif Kouachi and his brother Said shot dead 12 people before being killed by police, but was cleared of any involvement.(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
Brexit unlikely before 2019 By Lisbeth Kirk-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 15. Aug, 09:29-When Theresa May launched her campaign in Birmingham last month (11 July) to become the next leader of the UK's Conservative party, she made the now famous promise that "Brexit means Brexit", adding that she would "make a success of it".However, she never said when it would actually happen.UK ministers have now privately warned senior figures in the City of London that Britain could remain in the EU until late 2019, UK weekly The Sunday Times and other British media reported over the weekend.The government was set to trigger article 50 - which starts the formal process for quitting the Brussels club - at the beginning of 2017, the media reports said. This would mean leaving the EU could follow early 2019 after two years of negotiations.May's government is facing several difficulties with the Brexit process.One problem is that two leading EU countries, France and Germany, will soon focus on internal affairs due to elections making them unlikely to strike major international agreements for some time.The next French presidential election is to be held in April and May 2017. The latest date for the German federal election is 22 October next year.-New teams take time-Another problem is the hiring of experts to lead the negotiations with Brussels.David Davis, the Brexit secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, are making slow progress on assembling their new teams.Together with Boris Johnson, former mayor of London, the trio has been tasked by May to lead the Brexit negotiations with Brussels.The three ministers all campaigned to leave the EU ahead of the 23 June referendum, when some 52 percent voted for a Brexit.But Davis has so far hired fewer than half of his 250 required staff members. Fox is putting together a team of 1,000 people, but has so fare hired just 100, according to UK media.The prospect of a Brexit delay has prompted some hardcore anti-EU campaigners to rattle sabres.Eurosceptic Tories, who fear that the UK is heading for Brexit Lite, plan to create at least two cross-party groups to pressure May into announcing a strict timetable for leaving the EU.Nigel Farage, the former leader of the anti-EU Ukip party, reportedly warned that failure to deliver on June’s EU referendum and curb immigration could lead to mass demonstrations on the streets.-Tusk on tour-EU council president Donald Tusk announced last week that he would hold talks with all EU leaders, including May, ahead of an informal Bratislava Brexit summit on 16 September.EU member states - apart from Britain - will discuss in Bratislava how to respond to the Brexit vote in terms of EU reforms.A Tusk working dinner with German chancellor Angela Merkel is planned already on 18 August.Meanwhile, the countries closest to the UK are thinking about the eventual consequences of Brexit for their own interests."Our objective is to make the best possible deal for Denmark," Danish foreign minister Kristian Jensen told Bloomberg when asked about future Brexit talks."We have about six months to get our wish list ready," said Jensen, who is expecting negotiations on Britain’s departure to start as soon as the end of this year."We need to find out where we should be aggressive in securing our interests and where we need to ensure that Britain doesn’t get any advantages that the rest of us aren’t getting."Last week, Norway’s European affairs minister Elisabeth Vik Aspirer also said UK attempts to eventually rejoin the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) may not be in Norway's interest.“It’s not certain that it would be a good idea to let a big country into this organisation. It would shift the balance, which is not necessarily in Norway’s interests," she told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.Iceland is taking a more welcoming approach in terms of British EFTA membership."When more countries join your club that usually means more influence on the international stage," Iceland's foreign minister Lilja Alfredsdottir said in an interview with the Norwegian online business newspaper E24 Naeringsliv.It is not yet clear if the UK - which was an EFTA member till 1973 - wants to rejoin the club, which also includes Switzerland.EFTA has agreed trade deals with 38 countries around the world.-Other headaches-The Brexit process is also haunted by the spectre of British divisions after Scotland, Northern Ireland and London voted in favour of remaining in the EU.England and Wales could do a “reverse Greenland” by seeking a territorial exemption from the continuing UK member state, allowing Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar to retain their EU membership, Denmark-based academic Ulrik Pram Gad suggested in an article for the London School of Economics.The idea was described as “interesting” by Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, reports the Scotsman daily.Following a referendum Greenland withdrew from the EEC in 1985 while the rest of the Kingdom of Denmark remained a member.In Northern Ireland private campaigner Raymond McCord last week (4 August) launched the first legal challenge in Northern Ireland to the UK leaving the European Union.His lawyers claim it would be unlawful to trigger article 50 without parliament voting on the move.
Calls for calm, curfew bring quieter night after Milwaukee riots-[Reuters]-By Brendan O'Brien-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Milwaukee's curfew on teenagers and community leaders' calls for restraint brought relative calm to the city overnight after two nights of riots sparked by the fatal shooting of a black man by a black police officer.Sylville Smith, 23, was killed on Saturday afternoon after he was stopped for acting suspiciously and then fled. Authorities said he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it when he was shot.Peaceful demonstrations in the Sherman Park area where Smith died turned into violent protests on Saturday and Sunday nights. Shots were fired, and some rioters torched businesses and police cars. Angry crowds pelted riot police with bottles and bricks.Eight officers were wounded, and dozens of people were arrested, police said. One person suffered a gunshot wound.But Monday night was much quieter after a citywide curfew for teenagers took effect at 10 p.m. (0300 GMT). Police said there were six arrests and no reports of major property damage."We think we are in, comparatively speaking, a positive place," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn told reporters as it became apparent the curfew was being respected. "We had folks from the community step forward to take a leadership role in reducing tensions."Milwaukee has become the latest U.S. city to be gripped by unrest after high-profile police killings of black men over the past two years. Many of the officers involved in the earlier shootings were white, however, and the victims were unarmed.The city will become a focus of the U.S. presidential race later on Tuesday. Republican nominee Donald Trump plans to visit and film a town hall meeting with Fox News host Sean Hannity, raising the possibility of protests similar to those that have taken place outside some of the candidate's campaign events elsewhere.Famed for its breweries, Milwaukee is one of the most racially divided U.S. cities, with a black population plagued with high levels of unemployment that are absent in the mostly white suburbs.Mayor Tom Barrett said on Monday that nightly curfews on teenagers would remain in place "for as long as necessary".Barrett has urged state officials to release a video of Smith's shooting as soon as possible in hopes that, by corroborating the police department's account, it would convince protesters that the use of deadly force was justified.Barrett said he had not seen the video. Wisconsin state law requires police shootings be investigated by an independent state agency, which controls such evidence.Flynn said on Sunday that the body camera video showed Smith was holding a gun and had turned toward the officer, and appeared to show that the officer acted within the law.Because the audio from the video was delayed, the police chief said, it was unclear when the officer fired his weapon.(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
Anti-corruption pact holds key to Spain deadlock By Sarah Morris-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
MADRID, Today, 15:43-Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy could secure a second mandate, ending months of political deadlock, if his party agrees, on Wednesday (17 August), to anti-corruption conditions set by the liberal newcomers in parliament.Ciudadanos (meaning “citizens”), the fourth-largest force in parliament, said last week it would negotiate on making Rajoy prime minister if his People’s Party (PP) - which lost its absolute majority largely because of corruption allegations – agrees to six measures to clean up Spanish politics.The proposals include creating a commission to investigate allegations that two former treasurers ran a slush-fund, and scrapping parliamentary privileges that prevent the ordinary criminal justice authorities from launching corruption investigations against MPs.The PP’s executive committee will decide on Wednesday whether to agree the conditions. It has 90 members, including Rita Barbera, a senator accused of money laundering in Valencia.The PP must also let the parliamentary speaker, who would be a PP member, set a date for the investiture vote.Rajoy had earlier accepted the king’s mandate to form a government, but he has yet to say when or if he will seek the confidence of parliament.The offer by Ciudadanos’ leader, Albert Rivera, whose party has 32 MPs in the 350-seat chamber, could help end the deadlock that arose after an inconclusive general election last December.It would give Rajoy 169 votes in an investiture vote - seven shy of a majority - and make it more palatable for other parties to agree to facilitate a PP government.“Rivera’s demands seem very acceptable and, in general right for the country’s necessary democratic renewal,” the right-leaning El Mundo newspaper said in an editorial. “Everything suggests the PP will accept them.”A PP-Ciudadanos deal would be welcomed by many investors since it would remove the uncertainty of yet another election in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, and would increase the likelihood of a business-friendly PP budget and reforms.Until now, the entrenched positions of the four largest parties made it look as if the PP could at best build a minority, short-term government.Ciudadanos had previously offered to abstain at a second investiture vote, but now the party leader, Rivera, is not ruling out entering a PP coalition if conditions are met.The most urgent task for the next government is to draw up a spending limit and budget to present to the European Commission by 15 October.-Slowing growth predicted-So far, the markets have been relatively sanguine about the political impasse. The economy is growing faster than the eurozone average, boosted by consumer demand, tourism and low interest rates.The PP government approved the 2016 budget last year when it had a majority.However, economists have sharpened their warnings in recent weeks.“Spain might remain without a functioning government for longer than expected,” warned risk management service Moody’s Analytics in a report released earlier this month.“As confidence sours, investment growth will decelerate to 3.9 percent in 2016 and further to 2.5 percent in 2017.”Companies are delaying the sort of investment decisions that could help cut Spain's unemployment, which is currently at 20 percent.They want to see what measures the next government will implement. Above all, it needs to make cuts worth 0.5 percent of GDP in 2017 and 2018 to bring its deficit down to a commission target of 2.2 percent, said a research note by Spanish bank BBVA.“The increase in the uncertainty of the economic measures that will be adopted over the next few years could take seven percentage points off the growth of private consumption in 2017,” said the note.The PP and Ciudadanos, a centrist party, may be able to find common ground on economic policy.However, if the two parties agree a pact, they will still need the Socialist Party to lend a few votes to reach a majority, since support from regional parties looks unlikely.Former Socialist prime minister Felipe Gonzalez has urged the Socialists to stand aside in order to let Rajoy govern. He said the Ciudadanos’ offer was “the first act of political responsibility since the elections”.The left-wing newspaper El Pais has also called for the Socialists to abstain from voting in a Rajoy investiture in order to allow him to form a government, writing in an editorial that the focus should be on making Spain governable again.In a sign of the public mood, even one of the Socialists’ media friends, actor Antonio Banderas, urged the party to abstain for the sake of the national interest."I don't think that by abstaining at a certain moment, that means you support the other [party’s] policies”, he said.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
30,000 rescued from deadly Louisiana floodwaters-[AFP]-Brendan SMIALOWSKI-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Baton Rouge (United States) (AFP) - As many as 30,000 people have been rescued following unprecedented floods in the southern US state of Louisiana, including a 78-year-old woman who spent a night stranded in a tree, police said late Monday.Residents awoke Tuesday to find their homes and businesses still surrounded by muddy water, without clear answers about when the epic flooding that has killed at least seven is expected to recede.Thousands were hunkering down in shelters after waterways in the southern part of the US state overflowed their banks following more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain between Thursday and Saturday."Our state is currently experiencing a historic flooding event that is breaking every record," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a statement late Monday."This event is ongoing, it is not over," he said. "We do not know when the floodwaters will recede, and they will continue to rise in some areas."Police said the Louisiana National Guard would assist evacuees in the massive shelters, which included a film studio complex in the state capital Baton Rouge and an entertainment center in the city's downtown area.Water covered roads, homes and commercial areas. Floodwaters even reached the rooflines of some homes in the worst-hit areas.Seven people were confirmed dead, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson said, noting the toll could rise in coming days."Once the water recedes, all these homes that are completely covered with water, we got to go to every single one of those and go inside of them and check for anybody who might be in those areas," he told CNN.Some 40,000 homes and business were reported to be without power.- Disaster areas -The White House declared four parishes -- equivalent to counties in other states -- major disaster areas."I fully expect that more parishes will be added to the declaration on a rolling basis," Edwards said.Floodwaters appeared to be receding in some areas, but were flowing into others. The National Weather Service (NWS) continued to issue flood warnings in effect through early Tuesday, saying water in many areas would not recede at least for another day.The Amite River, the source of flooding for many areas, had risen 14 feet (4.3 meters) above flood level in one reading, besting a previous record set during flooding in April 1983, the NWS said.The agency forecast the river would not fall below flood level until Wednesday morning.In some areas, clean-up work was already beginning, with members of the Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge dumping water-damaged pews on a growing pile of debris outside.Inside, a young boy rode his bicycle around the now-empty church.- Offers of aid -The White House declaration makes emergency federal funding available to support rescue crews and recovery efforts.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday began asking those affected by the floods to apply for assistance, and officials said 11,000 people had already registered early in the day.The American Red Cross called the flooding the worst since Superstorm Sandy hit coastal areas in New York and New Jersey in 2012.Many parishes in Louisiana were collecting donations for flood victims, including food, water, blankets, school uniforms, bedding and hygiene products.Louisiana was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and authorities learned from that disaster that many people are reluctant to leave their homes without their pets, even when conditions are life-threatening.Several shelters in the Baton Rouge area were accepting evacuees with four legs.Four-year-old Mariah McDowell, who was supposed to start preschool last Friday, was perched on the edge of a cot in a shelter, wearing rubber rain boots and cradling her turtle Zeus, The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge reported.Mariah and her family were set up next to another group that came with their five cats.- Dramatic rescues -The Louisiana National Guard reported that its soldiers rescued nearly 500 people and 61 pets by boat, helicopter and high-water (high-clearance) vehicles in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday."We've literally had hundreds of people who've brought boats in and have wanted to help," Edmonson said.The volunteer rescuers have been dubbed the "Cajun Navy".The NWS said other areas of the United States faced threats of flash floods this week -- from the Texas coast all the way up to the Ohio River Valley.The storms threatening Texas are part of the same system that deluged Louisiana, although it is now less potent, said NWS meteorologist Gavin Phillips.
Resources and volunteers flood Louisiana in wake of 1,000-year deluge-[Christian Science Monitor]-Gretel Kauffman-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
The historic storm that took the lives of at least seven people in southern Louisiana has moved on to Texas and is now heading into the Midwest, as Louisianans work to reduce the damage done by flooding.Parts of southern Louisiana received as much as 25 inches of rain over the weekend, an unprecedented amount of rainfall. The chances of 25 inches of rain falling in any given location over the course of a year is .1 percent, according to meteorologists. In other words, it's likely to occur only once every 1,000 years.As of Monday, thousands of National Guard personnel had rescued nearly 3,400 people and 400 pets and distributed more than 600,000 sandbags, nearly 96,000 bottles of water, and 2,300 ready-to-eat meals, ABC News reported. More than 20,000 people had to be rescued in total, according to the Associated Press.The ongoing rescue efforts have been aided by a number of volunteers, including Sandra Sterling, the aunt of Alton B. Sterling, the man whose death at the hands of Baton Rouge police resulted in weeks of protests. "When my nephew got killed ... we had a lot of people come out to support him," Ms. Sterling told a reporter for Baton Rouge's KSLA News on Sunday as she boarded a rescue boat. "This is my giving back. I want to help as many people as I can get out." As some volunteers, such as Sterling, go out in boats in search of stranded people, others have been dropping off food and supplies at shelters. "I'm very proud of the effort that we're making. More than anything else, I'm proud that Louisianians are taking care of their own and people are being neighbors to one another," said Gov. John Bel Edwards, as reported by the Associated Press.Floodwaters crested and slowly began to recede late Monday night, though southern Louisiana still faces continued flood warnings Tuesday.Meanwhile, the storm system has moved west into Texas, with flood warnings throughout the southern and central areas of the state. The storm has also begun to make its way into the Midwest, with flash flood watches in parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.For residents of areas that may be affected by flooding, the American Red Cross recommends packing an emergency kit with three days worth of food and water, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, a First Aid kit, and other necessities. Keep track of weather reports on local radio and television stations, and be prepared to evacuate if necessary.If flooding does occur, head for higher ground and avoid floodwaters, whether on foot or in a vehicle.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Fire crews gain ground on stubborn California wildfire-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Fire crews gained ground on a massive Northern California wildfire that has destroyed 175 homes, businesses and other structures and charred nearly 7 square miles, fire officials said Tuesday.The fire in Lower Lake, about a two hour drive from San Francisco, was 20 per cent Monday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.The progress came as authorities arrested Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake, California, on 17 counts of arson Monday. Pashilk is suspected of sparking the blaze that exploded over the weekend. Officials say he is also suspected in several other fires over the past year in Lake County.Roughly 1,600 firefighters are battling the blaze Tuesday through warm temperatures and light winds.The flames earlier reached historic Main Street, where firefighters couldn't save an office of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that had been raising money to help rebuild homes in nearby communities torched a year ago."Mr. Pashilk committed a horrific crime and we will seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. My thoughts continue to be with the people of Lake County during this difficult time," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.Several thousand people fled the blaze, some after ensuring their goats and chickens were safe. No one was reported hurt.While firefighters worked in the surrounding countryside, in town crews swept up ash and worked to clear roads of fallen powerlines and telephone poles. Homes — some dating to the 1880s — were burned to their foundation. A wooden threshold in front of one home still carried the address but the house behind was gone. Other homes nearby were completely spared.Lower Lake seemed safe Sunday morning from flames that first rose the afternoon before.Like any other Sunday, Pastor John Pavoni spoke to his congregation and left after locking the front door to his small United Methodist church just off Main Street.On Monday, he stood in front of burned rubble.Previous fires in the area had not driven families away, he said."Those people have been through a lot," he said, "people will rebuild."Lower Lake is home to about 1,300 mostly working class people and retirees who are drawn by its rustic charm and housing prices that are lower than the San Francisco Bay Area.Last summer, during a devastating period from the end of July through September, three major blazes came within a few miles to the east and south of town.Between them, the four blazes have destroyed more than 1,400 of the 36,000 housing units in all Lake County.The Lake County blaze was one of 11 large wildfires in the state. In central California, a 2-day-old wildfire destroyed 12 structures, damaged others and threatened 200 homes. The wildfire near Lake Nacimiento, about 180 miles northwest of Los Angeles, grew to 10 square miles and forced authorities to evacuate some residents by boat. It was 10 per cent contained.Weather conditions bedeviled firefighters Monday and the forecast called for temperatures to reach the upper 90s in coming days, with no rain in sight. A heat wave and gusty winds also put Southern California on high fire alert. Underlying it all: A five-year drought that has sapped vegetation of moisture.Despite getting some rain last winter and spring, Lake County is tinder dry. Lawns in front of Lower Lake's modest, one-story homes are brown, matching the wildland grasses on the mountains outside town.In wetter times, the region was not visited by the kind of wildfires that now batter it.Other than a pair of large blazes in the 1960s, which destroyed far fewer homes in a county that had just one-quarter its current 64,000 residents, lifelong resident and county supervisor Jim Comstock can't remember anything approaching the past year.Residents have a new view of the wild beauty they've always admired. Comstock said when his wife sees tall grass, she wonders aloud when the property owner will cut it. After 1,500 acres burned last year on the 1,700-acre ranch where Comstock grew up and still lives, he has cleared out brush to make fire breaks — a ritual familiar to other Californians who live in areas traditionally associated with wildfires."Everybody is just on edge," he said. "The trees are beautiful, but when they catch fire, they carry fire."___Associated Press writers Kristin J. Bender in San Francisco, Haven Daley in Lower Lake and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.Sudhin Thanawala And Justin Pritchard, The Associated Press
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
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, 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).
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Yellow fever vaccination drive starts; global spread warned-[Associated Press]-CARLEY PETESCH-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children warned on Tuesday as the World Health Organization is set to launch one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa.The massive vaccination campaign begins this week in Congo and Angola, with the aim of vaccinating more than 14 million people in more than 8,000 locations to stem the disease's spread. WHO says more than 400 people have already died in this outbreak.But supplies of the vaccine are limited. The more than 18 million vaccines that have been sent to the continent are far short of the 40 million doses some experts think are needed to contain the outbreak, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.WHO says it must now use one-fifth the standard vaccine dose, which lasts about a year.?Protecting as many people as possible is at the heart of this strategy. With a limited supply, we need to use these vaccines very carefully," said William Perea, WHO's Coordinator for the Control of Epidemic Diseases Unit.Save The Children, which is sending a rapid reaction unit to support vaccinations in Congo, warned the epidemic could soon spread to the Americas, Asia and Europe and other cities in Africa."There is no known cure for yellow fever and it could go global," said Heather Kerr, Save the Children's country director for Congo.Yellow fever is not highly contagious and is easily prevented with vaccines. The mostly mosquito-spread virus was largely wiped out from the West following the development of two vaccines in the 1930s, but still sparks epidemics in Africa and Latin America.The virus is transmitted by the same species of mosquito that spreads Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Once infected, people often fall ill with fever and muscle pain, but many recover after several days. Others reach the more toxic phases, with possible bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, organ failure and the jaundice which originally gave the disease its name, according to Save the Children.WHO in February announced the outbreak of yellow fever in Angola's capital, Luanda.From Angola, the virus spread to Congo, with a total of 5,000 suspected cases. Only 2 million people in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, have been vaccinated so far, WHO said. It plans to vaccinate at least 8 million people there.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Melting glaciers pose threat beyond water scarcity: floods-[Associated Press]-MAURICIO MUNOZ-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PASTORURI GLACIER, Peru (AP) — The tropical glaciers of South America are dying from soot and rising temperatures, threatening water supplies to communities that have depended on them for centuries. But experts say that the slow process measured in inches of glacial retreat per year also can lead to a sudden, dramatic tragedy.The melting of glaciers like Peru's Pastoruri has put cities like Huaraz, located downslope from the glacier about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away, at risk from what scientists call a "glof" — glacial lake outburst flood.A glof occurs when the weak walls of a mountain valley collapse under the weight of meltwater from a glacier. Recent examples include the rapid draining in 2013 of a lake at Chile's Ventisquero glacier in the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, six years after another, nearby lake essentially disappeared there.Those sites are in remote, sparsely populated Patagonia. But if the glacial Palcacocha lake collapsed, it could cause a damaging flood, say experts in Peru, sort of like a smaller, modern cousin of the ancient glof that is thought to have carved the English Channel."As glaciers disappear around the world, there is less water available for use for hydroelectric power, as a renewable resource for agriculture, for human consumption," said Benjamin Orlove, a professor of international and public affairs at Colombia University in New York. "The glacier retreat also brings many disasters. Entire slopes are destabilized, creating landslides that travel many miles and have destroyed entire towns."Benjamin Morales Arnao, the head of Peru's National Institute for Glacier Research, said that while the country's glaciers "are a source of life, due to their water resources and biodiversity ... these glaciers are also a source of glacial catastrophes."The problem is that glacial lakes are often fragile structures, created when rocks and rubble carried by a glacier form a moraine that dams up its water outflow. The dam can also be created by chunks of a glacier's own ice. These inherently unstable structures can collapse quickly, especially in a place like Peru that is prone to frequent, violent earthquakes.At a conference last week on the glacier retreat in Peru, Morales Arnao said that Huaraz, a city of about 100,000 people, is particularly at risk from Palcacocha lake, just 12 miles (20 kilometers) up the mountain above the city, and called for resources to mitigate the risk. Dams, spillways and other waterworks have helped in other places.Massive glofs have occurred regularly in sparsely populated parts of Iceland and other nations.The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, a regional intergovernmental research center that serves the eight countries of the Himalayas, said that in Nepal — whose proximity to the highest and largest meltwater sources in the world makes it particularly vulnerable — "little attention was paid to the phenomenon until the sudden outburst of the Dig Tsho," a relatively small meltwater lake in the Mount Everest National Park.On Aug. 4, 1985, the lake's moraine dam collapsed, and all its water drained into a downstream valley in four hours, causing losses as far as 30 to 35 miles (50 to 60 kilometers) downstream.A large ice and rock avalanche had cascaded into the lake, creating a wave that spilled over the moraine and caused it to collapse, the center's report said. "It discharged an estimated 6 to 10 million cubic meters (as much as 2.6 billion gallons) of water into the valley below."Digging stone- or cement-lined channels through glacial dams is one solution to the threat. Many moraine dams collapse because meltwater erodes them by seepage or over-topping them. Stopping global warming that is increasingly causing glaciers to melt is another.Experts at the International Forum on Glaciers and Mountain Ecosystems held in Huaraz last week concluded that the world is going to have to plan on melting glaciers, at least for the time being."The processes of climate change and glacial melting are irreversible," the forum said in its conclusions. "We have to carry out actions to adapt, and mitigate the risks.""The long-term solution is for the world to shift to different energy sources, sources that are renewable, sources that do not emit gases that cause climate change," Orlove said. "In the short term we have to find adaptations, like installing early warning systems for disasters in the most sensitive areas."
Britain backs expansion of world’s largest wind farm-[Reuters]-By Susanna Twidale-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday approved plans to expand an offshore wind farm project that could ultimately have more than 600 turbines spread across an area of the North Sea more than twice the size of London.The Hornsea Two windfarm project, to be built by DONG Energy, is part of Britain's push to invest in new electricity generation capacity needed to overcome a squeeze on power supplies in the next decade.All but one of Britain's existing nuclear plants, which produce around a fifth of the country's electricity, are set to close by 2030 as they come to the end of their operational lifespans. And the government plans to close coal-fired plants by 2025 as a part of its efforts to meet climate targets.Plans for a new 18 billion pound nuclear power plant, Hinkley C, are currently under review amid spiraling costs and concerns over Chinese investment in the project.If built, Hornsea Two, some 89 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire, will have 300 turbines and is expected to generate around 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to power up to 1.6 million homes, DONG Energy said in a statement.The Danish company has already secured planning permission for the adjacent 1.2 GW Hornsea One development. Earlier this year, DONG Energy made a final decision to go ahead with this project, which it said could begin generating electricity in 2020 and would be the world's largest offshore wind farm."We have already invested 6 billion pounds ($7.79 billion) in the UK, and Hornsea Project Two provides us with another exciting development opportunity in offshore wind," Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy's UK Chairman said.The two sites together, at 3 GW, would also have a similar capacity to the Hinkley C nuclear project, which, if it goes ahead would be built by French company EDF with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company.The government said its next round of renewable funding will focus on offshore wind and has said around 10 GW of capacity could be installed by the end of the decade."The UK's offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years, and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system," Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said.Wind power (onshore and offshore) made up around 11 percent of Britain's electricity production in 2015, up from 9.5 percent the year before.DONG, which floated on the on the Copenhagen stock exchange earlier this year valued at $15 billion, also has plans for Hornsea Three. If all three Hornsea windfarms were to be built they could produce as much as 4 GW of electricity, DONG said in a promotional video on its website.(Editing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
UK's May reassures China after nuclear power plant delay-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May has attempted to allay disquiet about her surprise delay to a Chinese-backed nuclear power plant by reassuring China's leader that Britain wants strong relations with Beijing.Foreign Office Minister Alok Sharma delivered a letter from May to President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing.May's office did not publish the full letter, but said Tuesday it was about "reassuring the Chinese of our commitment to Anglo-Chinese relations."In it, May said Britain "looks forward to strengthening co-operation with China on trade and business and on global issues."China's ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, warned last week that relations were at a "crucial historical juncture" after the U.K. government's abruptly delayed a decision on the Hinkley Point power plant.May surprised the business world last month by announcing a review of the power project in southwest England, financed by a Chinese nuclear power provider and French energy giant EDF. She said the government would announce its decision later in the year.The delay threw into doubt the "golden era" of ties proclaimed by Xi during a visit to Britain last year.Some British politicians and diplomats are wary of the enthusiasm the previous government of Prime Minister David Cameron showed for boosting ties with Beijing.Britain rolled out the red carpet for Xi during a lavish state visit in October, complete with a stay at Buckingham Palace as the guest of Queen Elizabeth II.The two countries signed more than 30 billion pounds ($39 billion) in trade agreements during the trip, as Cameron said Britain would be China's "partner of choice" in the West.The Associated Press.
3 dead after explosion at South Korean naval base-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — An accidental explosion at a South Korean naval base on Tuesday left three soldiers dead and another injured, South Korea's Defence Ministry said.Military authorities are investigating the blast that occurred during repair work of a submarine at the base in the southeastern port town of Jinhae, but the possibility of an attack was considered very low.The explosion occurred when the soldiers opened the hatch of the docked submarine and was strong enough to blow one of the dead soldiers into the sea, said a ministry official, who didn't want to be named, citing official rules.The Associated Press.
U.S. lobbies China again on missile defense system-[Reuters]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - A decision by the United States and South Korea to deploy an advanced anti-missile defense system is aimed at defending against North Korea's missile threat and does not threaten China, a senior U.S. officer said in Beijing on Tuesday.The United States has repeatedly tried to rebuff anger from China about Seoul's move to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the U.S. military.Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, told his People's Liberation Army counterpart Li Zuocheng that THAAD was a defensive measure, the U.S. Army said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.THAAD "is a defensive measure to protect South Koreans and Americans from the North Korean ballistic missile threat and is not a threat in any way to China", the statement paraphrased Milley as saying.South Korea has said too that the move is purely to counter growing missile threats from the North and was not intended to target China, but Beijing has protested it would destabilize the regional security balance.North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed up with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.China and the United States have been at odds over the disputed South China Sea as well.China has been upset with U.S. freedom of navigation patrols in the waters there, and the United States has expressed concern about Chinese aircraft and ships operating in a dangerous manner close to U.S. forces.Milley said the U.S. wants to maintain open channels of communications with China's military to "reduce the risk of crisis or miscalculation and candidly address differences", the statement added. Milley "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to adhere to international rules and standards and encouraged the Chinese to do the same as a way to reduce regional tensions".China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Russia, Syria in 'disgraceful' use of incendiary arms: HRW-[AFP]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Beirut (AFP) - Syrian and Russian warplanes have repeatedly used incendiary weapons in "disgraceful" attacks on civilians in northern Syria, Human Rights Watch charged Tuesday.The rights group said it had documented the use of incendiary weapons at least 18 times since June that had resulted in more than a dozen injuries.There was "compelling evidence" that Russia was supporting Syrian government planes in those attacks, the New York-based watchdog said."The Syrian government and Russia should immediately stop attacking civilian areas with incendiary weapons," said HRW arms director Steve Goose."The disgraceful incendiary weapon attacks in Syria show an abject failure to adhere to international law restricting incendiary weapons," he said.When dropped from aircraft, incendiary weapons leave distinctive trails of explosives in the sky and trigger small, intense fires upon contact.They were used widely during the Vietnam war and are banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.HRW documented attacks with such weapons since early June, including two cases on August 7 that hit opposition-controlled parts of the cities of Aleppo and Idlib."I could clearly see the flames bursting," said Idlib resident Mohammad Taj Al-Din Othman, who supplied HRW with photos of the attack."Within 10 minutes, there were more strikes. The fire was unbelievable, it turned night into day."A civil defence volunteer told HRW: "The fire took over everything, houses, cars, oil tanks, and even grass."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said it too had documented the use of thermite -- a type of incendiary substance -- by Russian planes in Idlib, Aleppo and Deir Ezzor provinces, and Raqa.And earlier this month, activists in Daraya, a besieged rebel-held town near Damascus, accused the regime of using banned chemical agent napalm against residents there.All sides of Syria's complex war have exchanged accusations of attacks against civilians and use of unconventional weapons including chlorine and mustard gas.HRW said the use of incendiary weapons in Syria had "increased significantly" since Russia began its air war in support of Damascus on September 30, 2015.In a letter to HRW in November, Russia acknowledged that "improper use" of incendiary weapons had resulted in "significant humanitarian damage" in Syria.Since 2012, HRW has documented the use of four different incendiary weapons in Syria, all manufactured by the former Soviet Union.More than 290,000 people have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.
Separatists, Russians stage exercises again in Moldova-[Associated Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovan separatists say Russian troops have joined their troops in the breakaway republic of Trans-Dniester for joint military exercises for the second time this month.The official news agency Novostipmr.com said Tuesday that special units took part in anti-terror exercises south of the separatist capital, Tiraspol.The agency said local residents were warned about the simulations of real-life situations. It did not provide further details.Moldova criticized the first exercise this month, but had no immediate reaction to the second.Pro-Russian Trans-Dniester broke away from Moldova in 1990 fearing it would reunite with neighboring Romania. Separatists fought Moldovans in a war in 1992 leaving 1,500 dead.There are some 1,000 Russian peacekeepers stationed in Trans-Dniester.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Turkish prosecutors seek 2 life sentences for Gulen-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA, Turkey — Prosecutors in western Turkey have demanded a life sentence for U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of masterminding the failed coup, the state-run news agency reported Tuesday.Concluding a yearlong investigation into his movement's financial dealings, prosecutors in the city of Usak demanded that Gulen be punished with two life sentences plus 1,900 years in prison, the Anadolu Agency reported.In the more than 2,500-page indictment accepted by the court in Usak on Tuesday, Gulen and 111 other suspects are accused of transferring funds obtained through charities or donations to the United States via "front" companies, Anadolu said. It said the indictment also makes reference to Gulen's alleged role in the July 15 coup.Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, is already on trial in absentia in Turkish courts, facing life terms over accusations of plotting to overthrow the government and leading an armed group. He has also been indicted on a charge of leading a terror organization and faces another trial in absentia in November.On Tuesday, police in Istanbul launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies suspected of providing financial support to Gulen's movement while authorities issued warrants to detain 120 company executives, Anadolu reported. The private Dogan news agency said the companies searched included a supermarket chain.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to rule out bringing back the death penalty in order to punish the coup plotters — a move that would further jeopardize Turkey's faltering European Union membership bid. But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared to move away from reinstating capital punishment."Anyone who spilled the blood of our martyrs will be held to account. But, my valuable citizens, we won't act in the spirit of vengeance," Yildirim said during his weekly address to his ruling party's legislators. "Death penalty is death for one time. But there are worse ways of dying. This is through an objective and fair trial."Meanwhile, Turkey made a formal request to Greece for the extradition of eight Turkish officers who fled to the neighbouring country after last month's attempted coup, the state-run news agency reported Tuesday.A Justice Ministry file had been delivered to Greece requesting the officers' return over charges that include breaching the Constitution through the use of force, plotting to kill the president and crimes against the parliament and government, Anadolu reported.The six pilots and two engineers fled to Greece aboard a military helicopter after the July 15 attempt. Turkey wants them returned to stand trial on charges of participating in the violent attempt by renegade officers within the Turkish military that resulted in at least 270 deaths. Parliament was bombed, while Erdogan escaped an attack on his hotel at a seaside resort.The eight deny involvement in the coup and have applied for asylum, saying they fear for their safety amid widespread purges in the aftermath of the attempted overthrow of the government.The government says the coup was the work of followers of Gulen's religious movement, who allegedly have infiltrated the military over the years. The government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen's supporters in the aftermath of the coup, raising concerns among European nations and human rights organizations who have urged restraint.Some 35,000 people have been detained for questioning and more than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists. Tens of thousands more people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.Gulen has denied any prior knowledge or involvement in the coup.Suzan Fraser, The Associated Press.
Analysis-Turkey and the EU one month after the coup By Aleksandra Eriksson-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
ISTANBUL/BRUSSELS, Today, 09:27-A month after the failed coup in Turkey, life in Istanbul is somewhere between back to normal and things will never be the same again.Hanging down from buildings, fluttering through rolled-down car windows, wrapped around people, Turkish flags paint the town red. The Bosphorus bridge connecting Asia and Europe has been renamed 15 July Martyrs in honour of those who died in fighting linked with last month's attempted coup.Even the air is different - massive loudspeakers fill it with music that could be heard kilometres away. The playlist was only two songs long, switching between Turkiyem, a 1970s Turk pop tune, and Dombra, a tribute to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.State-run news outlet Anadolu Agency estimated that 25 million people attended pro-democracy rallies that only ended three weeks after the coup.But while those joining the rallies were claiming to have saved democracy, EU leaders were lamenting an authoritarian crackdown.While many Turks rejoiced at the rooting out of supposed infiltrators, the West lamented the purge of judges, journalists and teachers.More than 23,000 people have been detained or arrested and 82,000 dismissed or suspended, accused of conspiring with an elderly cleric - Fethullah Gulen - who allegedly pulled the strings from exile in the US.”It does sound like a bad novel,” Turkey’s ambassador to the EU, Selim Yenel, told EUobserver in Brussels.Gulen has condemned the coup and protests his innocence. Last week, he even requested an international investigation to clear him from the accusations.-United against Gulen-But after a month of arrests and confessions, the lion’s share of Turks appear to hold him accountable. Erdogan’s approval ratings have soared by more than 20 points to almost 70 percent. The four parliamentary parties, including Erdogan’s arch-rivals CHP and HDP, also think Gulen pulled the strings of the botched putsch.Three parties - Erdogan’s conservative AKP, social democratic CHP, and nationalist MHP (but not leftist HDP) - made history on Sunday (7 August) when they appeared side by side at a “democracy and martyrs” demonstration.”It was the first time in our history that everyone stood together,” said Selim Yenel. “Everything changed with the coup. It’s a new Turkey.”But this new Turkey, however, has strained relations with the EU, with the Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu saying that the EU "failed the test" after the coup and accused the bloc of falling for anti-Turkey and anti-Erdogan sentiments.A war of words has played out in the media over Turkey's post-coup purge, which includes a threat to reintroduce the death penalty.Another source of tension is a visa liberalisation plan that would grant Turkish citizens short-term travel freedoms to the EU. With Turkey having so far failed to meet the agreed conditions, including overhauling its anti-terrorism legislation, the visa move may not happen. As a result, the migration deal concluded in March now hangs by a thread.Most recently, Turkey was also caught up in a diplomatic row with Austria and Sweden that accused the country of wanting to allow sex with children.Turkey's constitutional court last month scrapped an article in the penal code that defined all sexual acts against children as abuse. Rather, it said, cases should be reviewed individually so as to better balance crime and sanctions.Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday (15 August) that the Austrian and Swedish criticisms were a reflection of the "racism, anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish [trend] in Europe."Austria, currently Turkey's fiercest critic in the EU, has also said that Turkey's accession talks should be brought to a halt. Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said he would use his seat in the foreign ministers council to veto the opening of new negotiation chapters with Turkey.In response, Cavusoglu called Austria the "capital of radical racism". European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker also rebuked Kurz, saying the will of the member states was to go on with the talks.Turkish politicians, meanwhile, have traded barbs with the EU over its commitment to a visa liberalisation plan, which was due to enter into force in June but was postponed until October.The commission seems split on the matter. EU commissioner for digital economy Guenther Oettinger had said the possibility of giving Turks visa-free travel this year had fallen after the post-coup crackdown. But EU spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters a few days later the intention was to push on with the plan after summer recess.Selim Yenel, the Turkish ambassador, said it was unfortunate that EU-Turkish relations had suffered, but said they could be saved.”We understand that holidays are sacred,” said the ambassador, ”but we hope that EU leaders will come and visit Turkey in September, and see the situation first-hand”.The failure of senior EU officials to do so - while sending out critical noises - has drawn the ire of Turkish counterparts.A group of Turkish MPs even visited Brussels by ways of establishing contact, but found the EU capital deserted.Yenel was positive that understanding would grow once ministers and commissioners met.Turkey was ready to modify its anti-terror law, as the EU requested, if that didn’t hurt the fight against terrorism and if Turkish citizens were guaranteed visa-free travel in Europe, he said.And he added that threats of re-introducing the death penalty were only politicians scoring points.”It would never pass through parliament,” he insisted. ”That would mean we had broken our commitment to Europe.”-Mending relations-Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), painted a less rosy picture of the future but agreed the country had been thrust into a watershed moment by the coup attempt.”The Gulenists occupied the core of the state. We need to start from scratch rebuilding our institutions,” she said.She agreed there was a risk that innocent people would be caught in the net cast after Gulen loyalists.”People are rightly concerned that the crackdown is too vast. Many mistakes are taking place,” she said.”But I also think they don’t have any other option that to carry on with the investigation. The size of the threat is also real.”The EU could - in theory - nudge Turkey in a democratic direction.”But the EU has in the past been very supportive of Gulenists. Everyone knows this in Turkey, and that taints public support for the EU,” she said.And the bloc’s understanding of the situation in Turkey was clouded by anti-Erdogan feeling.“Let’s be honest, Erdogan had a terrible reputation in the West already before the coup,” Aydintasbas said. ”And this hasn’t helped.”Bahadir Kaleagasi, the EU representative Turkey's leading business organisation Tusiad, agreed that EU wariness might be influenced by anti-Erdogan feelings.”But that’s the opposite of the European spirit, to Jean Monnet’s union of nations,” Kaleagasi argued.“If the EU really wants to act for the sake of democracy, the best thing it can do is to engage itself - rather than to send criticism from abroad.”He said between 1995 and 2005, the possibility of EU membership talks had helped Turkey to evolve towards democracy.“Turkey is the most important external relations success in EU history,” he said.But the process came to a halt shortly after EU membership negotiations formally opened in 2005. Just one of 35 chapters has so far been concluded.The EU left Turkey out in the cold for years - until the bloc decided to rely on Turkey to stem the arrival of refugees to the EU, he said.“EU membership drove Turkey towards a democracy. Not seeing that perspective confirmed by the EU made the country lose its compass,” Kaleagasi said.
Chibok girls: 'bargaining chip' of Boko Haram insurgency-[AFP]-Sophie Bouillon-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Lagos (AFP) - Boko Haram's list of victims -- dead, displaced or abducted -- grows longer by the day.The jihadist group has claimed more than 20,000 deaths, displaced 2.6 million people from their homes, and kidnapped thousands of children since it started fighting in 2009 for an independent Islamist state in Nigeria.But the kidnapped Chibok girls continue to define the Boko Haram insurgency.More than two years after their capture in April 2014, the girls remain the symbol of the insurgency -- and a political embarrassment to the two Nigerian administrations that have failed to secure their return.On Sunday, the Chibok girls were back in the spotlight after a Boko Haram video purportedly showing some of them was released, following months of silence and speculation about their fates.Although it is unclear when the video was shot and if the girls are all from Chibok, experts say its release date is not a coincidence.Boko Haram is going through a leadership crisis after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in March 2015, with IS appearing earlier this month to have appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi chief of the group.Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram's leader since 2009, could be using the new video to show his control over the Chibok girls, arguably Boko Haram's biggest asset, said Kyle Shideler of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy."The video serves as a message to the Nigerian government that despite being replaced, Shekau still has bargaining chips and will have to be dealt with," Shideler told AFP."It is also a reminder that the group's largest propaganda success, the Chibok girls kidnapping, occurred under Shekau's leadership."- 'Blessing and curse' -Of the 276 girls kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in the northeastern town of Chibok, 218 are still missing.Dozens managed to escape in the early hours of the abduction, and one of them was found in May.The audacity of the mass kidnapping -- and the failure of the Nigerian government to find the girls -- shocked the world.Boko Haram catapulted from an obscure regional threat to a high-profile terror group, as politicians and celebrities around the globe posted the #bringbackourgirls hashtag on social media.The response was "unique", said Yan St-Pierre, head of the Modern Security Consulting Group in Berlin."While other hostages held by terrorists have also caused some media interest -- the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Palestine or the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, for example -- it was rather localised," he said."But in the case of the Chibok girls, the media reaction was international."The interest in the Chibok girls transformed them into a valuable asset for Boko Haram."It is both a blessing, because they were protected a little, and a curse, because they have become Boko Haram's bargaining chip," St-Pierre said.In the new video, Boko Haram demands a prisoner swap of its fighters in exchange for the Chibok girls.- 'Only part of the tragedy' -However, the seizure of the Chibok girls is not unique in Nigeria.On April 14 this year, the two-year anniversary of the kidnapping, UNICEF said that "up to 7000 women and girls might be living in abduction and sex slavery", often forcibly married or used as suicide bombers."These are only estimates, the number is probably much higher," Toby Fricker of UNICEF Nigeria told AFP."Chibok is only part of the tragedy."Human Rights Watch revealed in early August that over the past three years 10,000 young boys had been kidnapped, with some of them being trained as soldiers.The Chibok girls were not even the largest group of children who were kidnapped.The largest abduction took place in November 2014, when 300 children were taken from the town of Damasak in Borno State, according to Human Rights Watch."The girls of Chibok are a symbol," said Munir Safieldin, a UN humanitarian coordinator.He said they represent tens of thousands of victims and that in many ways their saga encapsulates the entire conflict.While the Nigerian army has won many military victories, the northeast of the country is ravaged after years of fighting Boko Haram.With tens of thousands of children at risk of dying from starvation, it will take more to end the war than just bringing the Chibok girls back home.
Egypt FM: We want to help Lebanese politicians reconcile-[Associated Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIRUT (AP) — Egypt's foreign minister says he is visiting Lebanon to help rival Lebanese political groups find common ground.Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 and parliament has been unable to elect a head of state because of deep disagreements.After meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Tuesday, Sameh Shoukry tells reporters that Egypt doesn't favor any side. He says that "our role is that of a facilitator."Asked about the prospects for reconciliation between Egypt and Turkey, Shoukry says that "it is not up to Egypt to approach this issue, but it is up to those who continue to advocate policies that are detrimental to Egypt."Egypt's 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was harshly condemned by Turkey. The two countries have had tense relations since.
Europol to send terror experts to Greek migrant camps By Aleksandra Eriksson-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 15. Aug, 09:26-The EU joint police body, Europol, will deploy a team of anti-terror experts to Greece in an attempt to single out potential jihadis among the 60,000 people stuck in the country.The team of 30 European experts will land in Athens by 20 August and travel on to the refugee camps, France24 reports .In its 2015 terrorism situation report published last month Europol said there was no evidence that terrorists systematically use refugee routes to enter the EU, although there have been single cases of this happening.Some members of the terrorist group behind the attacks in Paris and Brussels, in November 2015 and March 2016, were EU nationals who travelled to Syria to receive training by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). They slipped back into Europe afterwards by passing themselves off as refugees.Europol noted in its report that the bigger threat was that Syrian refugees would fall prey to extremist recruiters once in Europe.EU experts will work to identify individuals who risk being radicalised after being stuck in Greece’s camps, Europol spokesperson Alexandru Niculae told France24.Earlier this year, Europol sent teams to Greece's “hotspots”, the special detention camps where migrants are supposed to be processed.Greece has vowed to close down some of its most depressing camps and replace them with better functioning ones.Greek migration minister Ioannis Mouzalas told the Kathimerini newspaper that there was only around 80-100 people arriving in the country each day, compared with many thousands at the height of the crisis last year.
Opinion-A Marriage of Convenience-By Leopold Traugott-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 12. Aug, 09:30-Relations between Turkey and the European Union have become increasingly tense in the aftermath of July's failed coup against Erdogan.Hence, when Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed his Turkish counterpart in St. Petersburg this week, Western observers intently followed the meeting, fearing the two leaders’ first meeting in nearly a year could lead to a dangerous partnership of anti-Western autocrats.Yet, the emergence of such a partnership is highly unlikely.Relations between both countries are fraught, anti-EU and anti-Western sentiments cannot unite them in any meaningful or threatening way. One just needs to revisit their opposing stances on Syria to understand their intractable differences.Last November, Turkey shot down a Russian airplane on the Turkish-Syrian border for violating Turkish airspace. In retaliation, Russia imposed sanctions on Turkey, hitting the country's economy hard.The sanctions were lifted a month ago, following a half-hearted apology from Erdogan and an apparent rapprochement between the two countries.The tensions that led to the downing of the Russian jet remain, Moscow and Ankara have positioned themselves on opposite sides of the region’s crucial geopolitical question: the future of Syria.In the conflict that has become more blood stained since its start in 2011, Russia has consistently backed the Assad regime, going so far as to support it through direct military action.Turkey, on the other hand, would prefer to see Assad deposed, even supporting not-so-moderate rebels to achieve that. Some claim that the Russian bombing of Turkish-backed rebels was the actual reason for downing the jet.Moscow has also pledged its political support to the Kurdish PYD party in Northern Syria, seen to be the Syrian version of the banned Kurdish-Turkish PKK party, and has been declared a terrorist organisation and enemy of the state by Ankara.The recent news that Russia is supplying ammunition and technical support to the PYD makes tensions between the two even more pronounced.-Turkey and Russia - differences too great-This makes their cooperation only a marriage of convenience. They have neither a history of partnership nor real reasons to seek closer ties. They are mainly driven by a lack of other, perhaps more natural, allies.Russia continues to be isolated from the EU and China has been reluctant to work with Moscow in Central Asia.Putin’s own brainchild, the Eurasian Union, still lags behind expectations both in terms of political influence and economic rewards.Turkey, despite being less isolated, is moving in a similar direction. Angered by European calls to uphold democracy and respect human rights after the failed coup, Erdogan announced that the West was on the side of the putschists and threatened to denounce the refugee deal.While Turkey still enjoys the benevolence of the European Union - partly because it is needed to safeguard European borders - Erdogan is harming relations and his own credibility even further.The West has nothing to fear from Erdogan’s meeting with Putin. Both countries are strictly following their strategic national interests, which sometimes clash heavily - as can be seen in Syria.Their recent meeting is little more than a symbolic attempt at showing defiant strength to the West. It is a superficial friendship, nothing significant will come from it.The West should refrain from overestimating the partnership or reacting to it - in the end there is little to worry about.Leopold Traugott is a Young Voices Advocate and the director of Campus Europe.
Bulgaria to extradite to France relative of Charlie Hebdo attacker-[Reuters]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is to extradite to France a relative of one of the Islamist militants who attacked satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last year, following a Bulgarian court ruling on Tuesday.Mourad Hamyd, who is French and brother-in-law of assailant Cherif Kouachi, was detained in Bulgaria last month after a Paris court issued a European arrest warrant against him. He is suspected of wanting to join Islamic State."The court decided to hand over Hamyd to the relevant court authorities of France," Sofia City Court said in a statement.During a court hearing last week, Hamyd, 20, denied the accusations and said he wanted to be extradited immediately to France, complaining about the way he was treated in Bulgarian custody. Prosecutors denied any wrongdoing and said he had been treated as every other detainee.Hamyd arrived alone in Bulgaria via Serbia by train on July 26, declaring that he was travelling on holiday. He was detained two days later after being turned back at the Turkish border due to a five-year ban on entering Turkey.Hamyd was questioned by French police following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015, in which Cherif Kouachi and his brother Said shot dead 12 people before being killed by police, but was cleared of any involvement.(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
Brexit unlikely before 2019 By Lisbeth Kirk-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 15. Aug, 09:29-When Theresa May launched her campaign in Birmingham last month (11 July) to become the next leader of the UK's Conservative party, she made the now famous promise that "Brexit means Brexit", adding that she would "make a success of it".However, she never said when it would actually happen.UK ministers have now privately warned senior figures in the City of London that Britain could remain in the EU until late 2019, UK weekly The Sunday Times and other British media reported over the weekend.The government was set to trigger article 50 - which starts the formal process for quitting the Brussels club - at the beginning of 2017, the media reports said. This would mean leaving the EU could follow early 2019 after two years of negotiations.May's government is facing several difficulties with the Brexit process.One problem is that two leading EU countries, France and Germany, will soon focus on internal affairs due to elections making them unlikely to strike major international agreements for some time.The next French presidential election is to be held in April and May 2017. The latest date for the German federal election is 22 October next year.-New teams take time-Another problem is the hiring of experts to lead the negotiations with Brussels.David Davis, the Brexit secretary, and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, are making slow progress on assembling their new teams.Together with Boris Johnson, former mayor of London, the trio has been tasked by May to lead the Brexit negotiations with Brussels.The three ministers all campaigned to leave the EU ahead of the 23 June referendum, when some 52 percent voted for a Brexit.But Davis has so far hired fewer than half of his 250 required staff members. Fox is putting together a team of 1,000 people, but has so fare hired just 100, according to UK media.The prospect of a Brexit delay has prompted some hardcore anti-EU campaigners to rattle sabres.Eurosceptic Tories, who fear that the UK is heading for Brexit Lite, plan to create at least two cross-party groups to pressure May into announcing a strict timetable for leaving the EU.Nigel Farage, the former leader of the anti-EU Ukip party, reportedly warned that failure to deliver on June’s EU referendum and curb immigration could lead to mass demonstrations on the streets.-Tusk on tour-EU council president Donald Tusk announced last week that he would hold talks with all EU leaders, including May, ahead of an informal Bratislava Brexit summit on 16 September.EU member states - apart from Britain - will discuss in Bratislava how to respond to the Brexit vote in terms of EU reforms.A Tusk working dinner with German chancellor Angela Merkel is planned already on 18 August.Meanwhile, the countries closest to the UK are thinking about the eventual consequences of Brexit for their own interests."Our objective is to make the best possible deal for Denmark," Danish foreign minister Kristian Jensen told Bloomberg when asked about future Brexit talks."We have about six months to get our wish list ready," said Jensen, who is expecting negotiations on Britain’s departure to start as soon as the end of this year."We need to find out where we should be aggressive in securing our interests and where we need to ensure that Britain doesn’t get any advantages that the rest of us aren’t getting."Last week, Norway’s European affairs minister Elisabeth Vik Aspirer also said UK attempts to eventually rejoin the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) may not be in Norway's interest.“It’s not certain that it would be a good idea to let a big country into this organisation. It would shift the balance, which is not necessarily in Norway’s interests," she told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.Iceland is taking a more welcoming approach in terms of British EFTA membership."When more countries join your club that usually means more influence on the international stage," Iceland's foreign minister Lilja Alfredsdottir said in an interview with the Norwegian online business newspaper E24 Naeringsliv.It is not yet clear if the UK - which was an EFTA member till 1973 - wants to rejoin the club, which also includes Switzerland.EFTA has agreed trade deals with 38 countries around the world.-Other headaches-The Brexit process is also haunted by the spectre of British divisions after Scotland, Northern Ireland and London voted in favour of remaining in the EU.England and Wales could do a “reverse Greenland” by seeking a territorial exemption from the continuing UK member state, allowing Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar to retain their EU membership, Denmark-based academic Ulrik Pram Gad suggested in an article for the London School of Economics.The idea was described as “interesting” by Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, reports the Scotsman daily.Following a referendum Greenland withdrew from the EEC in 1985 while the rest of the Kingdom of Denmark remained a member.In Northern Ireland private campaigner Raymond McCord last week (4 August) launched the first legal challenge in Northern Ireland to the UK leaving the European Union.His lawyers claim it would be unlawful to trigger article 50 without parliament voting on the move.
Calls for calm, curfew bring quieter night after Milwaukee riots-[Reuters]-By Brendan O'Brien-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Milwaukee's curfew on teenagers and community leaders' calls for restraint brought relative calm to the city overnight after two nights of riots sparked by the fatal shooting of a black man by a black police officer.Sylville Smith, 23, was killed on Saturday afternoon after he was stopped for acting suspiciously and then fled. Authorities said he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it when he was shot.Peaceful demonstrations in the Sherman Park area where Smith died turned into violent protests on Saturday and Sunday nights. Shots were fired, and some rioters torched businesses and police cars. Angry crowds pelted riot police with bottles and bricks.Eight officers were wounded, and dozens of people were arrested, police said. One person suffered a gunshot wound.But Monday night was much quieter after a citywide curfew for teenagers took effect at 10 p.m. (0300 GMT). Police said there were six arrests and no reports of major property damage."We think we are in, comparatively speaking, a positive place," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn told reporters as it became apparent the curfew was being respected. "We had folks from the community step forward to take a leadership role in reducing tensions."Milwaukee has become the latest U.S. city to be gripped by unrest after high-profile police killings of black men over the past two years. Many of the officers involved in the earlier shootings were white, however, and the victims were unarmed.The city will become a focus of the U.S. presidential race later on Tuesday. Republican nominee Donald Trump plans to visit and film a town hall meeting with Fox News host Sean Hannity, raising the possibility of protests similar to those that have taken place outside some of the candidate's campaign events elsewhere.Famed for its breweries, Milwaukee is one of the most racially divided U.S. cities, with a black population plagued with high levels of unemployment that are absent in the mostly white suburbs.Mayor Tom Barrett said on Monday that nightly curfews on teenagers would remain in place "for as long as necessary".Barrett has urged state officials to release a video of Smith's shooting as soon as possible in hopes that, by corroborating the police department's account, it would convince protesters that the use of deadly force was justified.Barrett said he had not seen the video. Wisconsin state law requires police shootings be investigated by an independent state agency, which controls such evidence.Flynn said on Sunday that the body camera video showed Smith was holding a gun and had turned toward the officer, and appeared to show that the officer acted within the law.Because the audio from the video was delayed, the police chief said, it was unclear when the officer fired his weapon.(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
Anti-corruption pact holds key to Spain deadlock By Sarah Morris-AUG 16,16-EUOBSERVER
MADRID, Today, 15:43-Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy could secure a second mandate, ending months of political deadlock, if his party agrees, on Wednesday (17 August), to anti-corruption conditions set by the liberal newcomers in parliament.Ciudadanos (meaning “citizens”), the fourth-largest force in parliament, said last week it would negotiate on making Rajoy prime minister if his People’s Party (PP) - which lost its absolute majority largely because of corruption allegations – agrees to six measures to clean up Spanish politics.The proposals include creating a commission to investigate allegations that two former treasurers ran a slush-fund, and scrapping parliamentary privileges that prevent the ordinary criminal justice authorities from launching corruption investigations against MPs.The PP’s executive committee will decide on Wednesday whether to agree the conditions. It has 90 members, including Rita Barbera, a senator accused of money laundering in Valencia.The PP must also let the parliamentary speaker, who would be a PP member, set a date for the investiture vote.Rajoy had earlier accepted the king’s mandate to form a government, but he has yet to say when or if he will seek the confidence of parliament.The offer by Ciudadanos’ leader, Albert Rivera, whose party has 32 MPs in the 350-seat chamber, could help end the deadlock that arose after an inconclusive general election last December.It would give Rajoy 169 votes in an investiture vote - seven shy of a majority - and make it more palatable for other parties to agree to facilitate a PP government.“Rivera’s demands seem very acceptable and, in general right for the country’s necessary democratic renewal,” the right-leaning El Mundo newspaper said in an editorial. “Everything suggests the PP will accept them.”A PP-Ciudadanos deal would be welcomed by many investors since it would remove the uncertainty of yet another election in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, and would increase the likelihood of a business-friendly PP budget and reforms.Until now, the entrenched positions of the four largest parties made it look as if the PP could at best build a minority, short-term government.Ciudadanos had previously offered to abstain at a second investiture vote, but now the party leader, Rivera, is not ruling out entering a PP coalition if conditions are met.The most urgent task for the next government is to draw up a spending limit and budget to present to the European Commission by 15 October.-Slowing growth predicted-So far, the markets have been relatively sanguine about the political impasse. The economy is growing faster than the eurozone average, boosted by consumer demand, tourism and low interest rates.The PP government approved the 2016 budget last year when it had a majority.However, economists have sharpened their warnings in recent weeks.“Spain might remain without a functioning government for longer than expected,” warned risk management service Moody’s Analytics in a report released earlier this month.“As confidence sours, investment growth will decelerate to 3.9 percent in 2016 and further to 2.5 percent in 2017.”Companies are delaying the sort of investment decisions that could help cut Spain's unemployment, which is currently at 20 percent.They want to see what measures the next government will implement. Above all, it needs to make cuts worth 0.5 percent of GDP in 2017 and 2018 to bring its deficit down to a commission target of 2.2 percent, said a research note by Spanish bank BBVA.“The increase in the uncertainty of the economic measures that will be adopted over the next few years could take seven percentage points off the growth of private consumption in 2017,” said the note.The PP and Ciudadanos, a centrist party, may be able to find common ground on economic policy.However, if the two parties agree a pact, they will still need the Socialist Party to lend a few votes to reach a majority, since support from regional parties looks unlikely.Former Socialist prime minister Felipe Gonzalez has urged the Socialists to stand aside in order to let Rajoy govern. He said the Ciudadanos’ offer was “the first act of political responsibility since the elections”.The left-wing newspaper El Pais has also called for the Socialists to abstain from voting in a Rajoy investiture in order to allow him to form a government, writing in an editorial that the focus should be on making Spain governable again.In a sign of the public mood, even one of the Socialists’ media friends, actor Antonio Banderas, urged the party to abstain for the sake of the national interest."I don't think that by abstaining at a certain moment, that means you support the other [party’s] policies”, he said.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
30,000 rescued from deadly Louisiana floodwaters-[AFP]-Brendan SMIALOWSKI-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Baton Rouge (United States) (AFP) - As many as 30,000 people have been rescued following unprecedented floods in the southern US state of Louisiana, including a 78-year-old woman who spent a night stranded in a tree, police said late Monday.Residents awoke Tuesday to find their homes and businesses still surrounded by muddy water, without clear answers about when the epic flooding that has killed at least seven is expected to recede.Thousands were hunkering down in shelters after waterways in the southern part of the US state overflowed their banks following more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain between Thursday and Saturday."Our state is currently experiencing a historic flooding event that is breaking every record," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said in a statement late Monday."This event is ongoing, it is not over," he said. "We do not know when the floodwaters will recede, and they will continue to rise in some areas."Police said the Louisiana National Guard would assist evacuees in the massive shelters, which included a film studio complex in the state capital Baton Rouge and an entertainment center in the city's downtown area.Water covered roads, homes and commercial areas. Floodwaters even reached the rooflines of some homes in the worst-hit areas.Seven people were confirmed dead, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson said, noting the toll could rise in coming days."Once the water recedes, all these homes that are completely covered with water, we got to go to every single one of those and go inside of them and check for anybody who might be in those areas," he told CNN.Some 40,000 homes and business were reported to be without power.- Disaster areas -The White House declared four parishes -- equivalent to counties in other states -- major disaster areas."I fully expect that more parishes will be added to the declaration on a rolling basis," Edwards said.Floodwaters appeared to be receding in some areas, but were flowing into others. The National Weather Service (NWS) continued to issue flood warnings in effect through early Tuesday, saying water in many areas would not recede at least for another day.The Amite River, the source of flooding for many areas, had risen 14 feet (4.3 meters) above flood level in one reading, besting a previous record set during flooding in April 1983, the NWS said.The agency forecast the river would not fall below flood level until Wednesday morning.In some areas, clean-up work was already beginning, with members of the Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge dumping water-damaged pews on a growing pile of debris outside.Inside, a young boy rode his bicycle around the now-empty church.- Offers of aid -The White House declaration makes emergency federal funding available to support rescue crews and recovery efforts.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Monday began asking those affected by the floods to apply for assistance, and officials said 11,000 people had already registered early in the day.The American Red Cross called the flooding the worst since Superstorm Sandy hit coastal areas in New York and New Jersey in 2012.Many parishes in Louisiana were collecting donations for flood victims, including food, water, blankets, school uniforms, bedding and hygiene products.Louisiana was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and authorities learned from that disaster that many people are reluctant to leave their homes without their pets, even when conditions are life-threatening.Several shelters in the Baton Rouge area were accepting evacuees with four legs.Four-year-old Mariah McDowell, who was supposed to start preschool last Friday, was perched on the edge of a cot in a shelter, wearing rubber rain boots and cradling her turtle Zeus, The Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge reported.Mariah and her family were set up next to another group that came with their five cats.- Dramatic rescues -The Louisiana National Guard reported that its soldiers rescued nearly 500 people and 61 pets by boat, helicopter and high-water (high-clearance) vehicles in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday."We've literally had hundreds of people who've brought boats in and have wanted to help," Edmonson said.The volunteer rescuers have been dubbed the "Cajun Navy".The NWS said other areas of the United States faced threats of flash floods this week -- from the Texas coast all the way up to the Ohio River Valley.The storms threatening Texas are part of the same system that deluged Louisiana, although it is now less potent, said NWS meteorologist Gavin Phillips.
Resources and volunteers flood Louisiana in wake of 1,000-year deluge-[Christian Science Monitor]-Gretel Kauffman-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
The historic storm that took the lives of at least seven people in southern Louisiana has moved on to Texas and is now heading into the Midwest, as Louisianans work to reduce the damage done by flooding.Parts of southern Louisiana received as much as 25 inches of rain over the weekend, an unprecedented amount of rainfall. The chances of 25 inches of rain falling in any given location over the course of a year is .1 percent, according to meteorologists. In other words, it's likely to occur only once every 1,000 years.As of Monday, thousands of National Guard personnel had rescued nearly 3,400 people and 400 pets and distributed more than 600,000 sandbags, nearly 96,000 bottles of water, and 2,300 ready-to-eat meals, ABC News reported. More than 20,000 people had to be rescued in total, according to the Associated Press.The ongoing rescue efforts have been aided by a number of volunteers, including Sandra Sterling, the aunt of Alton B. Sterling, the man whose death at the hands of Baton Rouge police resulted in weeks of protests. "When my nephew got killed ... we had a lot of people come out to support him," Ms. Sterling told a reporter for Baton Rouge's KSLA News on Sunday as she boarded a rescue boat. "This is my giving back. I want to help as many people as I can get out." As some volunteers, such as Sterling, go out in boats in search of stranded people, others have been dropping off food and supplies at shelters. "I'm very proud of the effort that we're making. More than anything else, I'm proud that Louisianians are taking care of their own and people are being neighbors to one another," said Gov. John Bel Edwards, as reported by the Associated Press.Floodwaters crested and slowly began to recede late Monday night, though southern Louisiana still faces continued flood warnings Tuesday.Meanwhile, the storm system has moved west into Texas, with flood warnings throughout the southern and central areas of the state. The storm has also begun to make its way into the Midwest, with flash flood watches in parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.For residents of areas that may be affected by flooding, the American Red Cross recommends packing an emergency kit with three days worth of food and water, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, a First Aid kit, and other necessities. Keep track of weather reports on local radio and television stations, and be prepared to evacuate if necessary.If flooding does occur, head for higher ground and avoid floodwaters, whether on foot or in a vehicle.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Fire crews gain ground on stubborn California wildfire-[The Canadian Press]-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LOWER LAKE, Calif. — Fire crews gained ground on a massive Northern California wildfire that has destroyed 175 homes, businesses and other structures and charred nearly 7 square miles, fire officials said Tuesday.The fire in Lower Lake, about a two hour drive from San Francisco, was 20 per cent Monday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.The progress came as authorities arrested Damin Anthony Pashilk, 40, of Clearlake, California, on 17 counts of arson Monday. Pashilk is suspected of sparking the blaze that exploded over the weekend. Officials say he is also suspected in several other fires over the past year in Lake County.Roughly 1,600 firefighters are battling the blaze Tuesday through warm temperatures and light winds.The flames earlier reached historic Main Street, where firefighters couldn't save an office of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that had been raising money to help rebuild homes in nearby communities torched a year ago."Mr. Pashilk committed a horrific crime and we will seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. My thoughts continue to be with the people of Lake County during this difficult time," said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.Several thousand people fled the blaze, some after ensuring their goats and chickens were safe. No one was reported hurt.While firefighters worked in the surrounding countryside, in town crews swept up ash and worked to clear roads of fallen powerlines and telephone poles. Homes — some dating to the 1880s — were burned to their foundation. A wooden threshold in front of one home still carried the address but the house behind was gone. Other homes nearby were completely spared.Lower Lake seemed safe Sunday morning from flames that first rose the afternoon before.Like any other Sunday, Pastor John Pavoni spoke to his congregation and left after locking the front door to his small United Methodist church just off Main Street.On Monday, he stood in front of burned rubble.Previous fires in the area had not driven families away, he said."Those people have been through a lot," he said, "people will rebuild."Lower Lake is home to about 1,300 mostly working class people and retirees who are drawn by its rustic charm and housing prices that are lower than the San Francisco Bay Area.Last summer, during a devastating period from the end of July through September, three major blazes came within a few miles to the east and south of town.Between them, the four blazes have destroyed more than 1,400 of the 36,000 housing units in all Lake County.The Lake County blaze was one of 11 large wildfires in the state. In central California, a 2-day-old wildfire destroyed 12 structures, damaged others and threatened 200 homes. The wildfire near Lake Nacimiento, about 180 miles northwest of Los Angeles, grew to 10 square miles and forced authorities to evacuate some residents by boat. It was 10 per cent contained.Weather conditions bedeviled firefighters Monday and the forecast called for temperatures to reach the upper 90s in coming days, with no rain in sight. A heat wave and gusty winds also put Southern California on high fire alert. Underlying it all: A five-year drought that has sapped vegetation of moisture.Despite getting some rain last winter and spring, Lake County is tinder dry. Lawns in front of Lower Lake's modest, one-story homes are brown, matching the wildland grasses on the mountains outside town.In wetter times, the region was not visited by the kind of wildfires that now batter it.Other than a pair of large blazes in the 1960s, which destroyed far fewer homes in a county that had just one-quarter its current 64,000 residents, lifelong resident and county supervisor Jim Comstock can't remember anything approaching the past year.Residents have a new view of the wild beauty they've always admired. Comstock said when his wife sees tall grass, she wonders aloud when the property owner will cut it. After 1,500 acres burned last year on the 1,700-acre ranch where Comstock grew up and still lives, he has cleared out brush to make fire breaks — a ritual familiar to other Californians who live in areas traditionally associated with wildfires."Everybody is just on edge," he said. "The trees are beautiful, but when they catch fire, they carry fire."___Associated Press writers Kristin J. Bender in San Francisco, Haven Daley in Lower Lake and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.Sudhin Thanawala And Justin Pritchard, The Associated Press
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
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, 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).
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Yellow fever vaccination drive starts; global spread warned-[Associated Press]-CARLEY PETESCH-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — One of the largest yellow fever outbreaks in decades could soon spread globally, aid group Save the Children warned on Tuesday as the World Health Organization is set to launch one of the largest emergency vaccination campaigns ever attempted in Africa.The massive vaccination campaign begins this week in Congo and Angola, with the aim of vaccinating more than 14 million people in more than 8,000 locations to stem the disease's spread. WHO says more than 400 people have already died in this outbreak.But supplies of the vaccine are limited. The more than 18 million vaccines that have been sent to the continent are far short of the 40 million doses some experts think are needed to contain the outbreak, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.WHO says it must now use one-fifth the standard vaccine dose, which lasts about a year.?Protecting as many people as possible is at the heart of this strategy. With a limited supply, we need to use these vaccines very carefully," said William Perea, WHO's Coordinator for the Control of Epidemic Diseases Unit.Save The Children, which is sending a rapid reaction unit to support vaccinations in Congo, warned the epidemic could soon spread to the Americas, Asia and Europe and other cities in Africa."There is no known cure for yellow fever and it could go global," said Heather Kerr, Save the Children's country director for Congo.Yellow fever is not highly contagious and is easily prevented with vaccines. The mostly mosquito-spread virus was largely wiped out from the West following the development of two vaccines in the 1930s, but still sparks epidemics in Africa and Latin America.The virus is transmitted by the same species of mosquito that spreads Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Once infected, people often fall ill with fever and muscle pain, but many recover after several days. Others reach the more toxic phases, with possible bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, organ failure and the jaundice which originally gave the disease its name, according to Save the Children.WHO in February announced the outbreak of yellow fever in Angola's capital, Luanda.From Angola, the virus spread to Congo, with a total of 5,000 suspected cases. Only 2 million people in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, have been vaccinated so far, WHO said. It plans to vaccinate at least 8 million people there.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Melting glaciers pose threat beyond water scarcity: floods-[Associated Press]-MAURICIO MUNOZ-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PASTORURI GLACIER, Peru (AP) — The tropical glaciers of South America are dying from soot and rising temperatures, threatening water supplies to communities that have depended on them for centuries. But experts say that the slow process measured in inches of glacial retreat per year also can lead to a sudden, dramatic tragedy.The melting of glaciers like Peru's Pastoruri has put cities like Huaraz, located downslope from the glacier about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away, at risk from what scientists call a "glof" — glacial lake outburst flood.A glof occurs when the weak walls of a mountain valley collapse under the weight of meltwater from a glacier. Recent examples include the rapid draining in 2013 of a lake at Chile's Ventisquero glacier in the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park, six years after another, nearby lake essentially disappeared there.Those sites are in remote, sparsely populated Patagonia. But if the glacial Palcacocha lake collapsed, it could cause a damaging flood, say experts in Peru, sort of like a smaller, modern cousin of the ancient glof that is thought to have carved the English Channel."As glaciers disappear around the world, there is less water available for use for hydroelectric power, as a renewable resource for agriculture, for human consumption," said Benjamin Orlove, a professor of international and public affairs at Colombia University in New York. "The glacier retreat also brings many disasters. Entire slopes are destabilized, creating landslides that travel many miles and have destroyed entire towns."Benjamin Morales Arnao, the head of Peru's National Institute for Glacier Research, said that while the country's glaciers "are a source of life, due to their water resources and biodiversity ... these glaciers are also a source of glacial catastrophes."The problem is that glacial lakes are often fragile structures, created when rocks and rubble carried by a glacier form a moraine that dams up its water outflow. The dam can also be created by chunks of a glacier's own ice. These inherently unstable structures can collapse quickly, especially in a place like Peru that is prone to frequent, violent earthquakes.At a conference last week on the glacier retreat in Peru, Morales Arnao said that Huaraz, a city of about 100,000 people, is particularly at risk from Palcacocha lake, just 12 miles (20 kilometers) up the mountain above the city, and called for resources to mitigate the risk. Dams, spillways and other waterworks have helped in other places.Massive glofs have occurred regularly in sparsely populated parts of Iceland and other nations.The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, a regional intergovernmental research center that serves the eight countries of the Himalayas, said that in Nepal — whose proximity to the highest and largest meltwater sources in the world makes it particularly vulnerable — "little attention was paid to the phenomenon until the sudden outburst of the Dig Tsho," a relatively small meltwater lake in the Mount Everest National Park.On Aug. 4, 1985, the lake's moraine dam collapsed, and all its water drained into a downstream valley in four hours, causing losses as far as 30 to 35 miles (50 to 60 kilometers) downstream.A large ice and rock avalanche had cascaded into the lake, creating a wave that spilled over the moraine and caused it to collapse, the center's report said. "It discharged an estimated 6 to 10 million cubic meters (as much as 2.6 billion gallons) of water into the valley below."Digging stone- or cement-lined channels through glacial dams is one solution to the threat. Many moraine dams collapse because meltwater erodes them by seepage or over-topping them. Stopping global warming that is increasingly causing glaciers to melt is another.Experts at the International Forum on Glaciers and Mountain Ecosystems held in Huaraz last week concluded that the world is going to have to plan on melting glaciers, at least for the time being."The processes of climate change and glacial melting are irreversible," the forum said in its conclusions. "We have to carry out actions to adapt, and mitigate the risks.""The long-term solution is for the world to shift to different energy sources, sources that are renewable, sources that do not emit gases that cause climate change," Orlove said. "In the short term we have to find adaptations, like installing early warning systems for disasters in the most sensitive areas."
Britain backs expansion of world’s largest wind farm-[Reuters]-By Susanna Twidale-August 16, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday approved plans to expand an offshore wind farm project that could ultimately have more than 600 turbines spread across an area of the North Sea more than twice the size of London.The Hornsea Two windfarm project, to be built by DONG Energy, is part of Britain's push to invest in new electricity generation capacity needed to overcome a squeeze on power supplies in the next decade.All but one of Britain's existing nuclear plants, which produce around a fifth of the country's electricity, are set to close by 2030 as they come to the end of their operational lifespans. And the government plans to close coal-fired plants by 2025 as a part of its efforts to meet climate targets.Plans for a new 18 billion pound nuclear power plant, Hinkley C, are currently under review amid spiraling costs and concerns over Chinese investment in the project.If built, Hornsea Two, some 89 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire, will have 300 turbines and is expected to generate around 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to power up to 1.6 million homes, DONG Energy said in a statement.The Danish company has already secured planning permission for the adjacent 1.2 GW Hornsea One development. Earlier this year, DONG Energy made a final decision to go ahead with this project, which it said could begin generating electricity in 2020 and would be the world's largest offshore wind farm."We have already invested 6 billion pounds ($7.79 billion) in the UK, and Hornsea Project Two provides us with another exciting development opportunity in offshore wind," Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy's UK Chairman said.The two sites together, at 3 GW, would also have a similar capacity to the Hinkley C nuclear project, which, if it goes ahead would be built by French company EDF with financial backing from a Chinese state-owned company.The government said its next round of renewable funding will focus on offshore wind and has said around 10 GW of capacity could be installed by the end of the decade."The UK's offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years, and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system," Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said.Wind power (onshore and offshore) made up around 11 percent of Britain's electricity production in 2015, up from 9.5 percent the year before.DONG, which floated on the on the Copenhagen stock exchange earlier this year valued at $15 billion, also has plans for Hornsea Three. If all three Hornsea windfarms were to be built they could produce as much as 4 GW of electricity, DONG said in a promotional video on its website.(Editing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman)
