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)
Raitt, Kenney, Mulroney? Names fly as Conservatives plan leadership race-By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - Charest, Raitt, Ford, Kenney ... Mulroney?-The names of potential leadership contenders began swirling around Conservative circles within hours of Justin Trudeau's Liberal win, including that of another man who grew up at 24 Sussex Drive — Mark Mulroney.Mulroney, son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is the head of equity capital markets at National Bank. Brother Ben is a well-known broadcaster with the CTV network.His name might be sheer speculation, but in these early days before the race crystallizes, party members will have fun blue-skying about possible contenders.The structure of the race itself hasn't taken shape yet. A conference call of the party's governing body will take place Tuesday night to appoint a committee tasked with organizing the leadership contest. The Conservative constitution lacks specifics on the rules for a leadership contest.Ontario MP and former cabinet minister Lisa Raitt isn't ruling out a run, but said there's analytical work to be done before anyone heads down that road."We need to understand what happened before we understand where we're going in the future," said Raitt, who is advocating for a meeting of all current and unseated caucus members."Until you know what the problems were, you can't put yourself forward being the solution."Early Tuesday, a group promoting former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford put out a press release supporting his potential candidacy. Ford delivered a 10-minute speech at a Harper rally just a few days ago."I can't answer that now," Ford told Toronto Sun reporter Don Peat on Tuesday when asked about the unfolding race.He was seen having lunch recently with another possible contender, MP and former cabinet minister Kellie Leitch. Leitch has been said to be kicking the tires for a possible run.Of all the names most often mentioned, MP Jason Kenney is the one believed to be the best organized and placed for a run. Party insiders say Kenney has been quietly putting together a base of support for many years, particularly through his contact with ethnic communities across the country. He is also likely to have the strongest support within the caucus itself, having lent his campaigning and fundraising assistance to so many of the MPs and candidates.MP Michael Chong, a politician who earned a reputation for defending the voice of individual MPs and calling for civility in the Commons, is another person who comes up in conversation. Former parliamentarians Peter MacKay and James Moore are two others.But the fact that the Liberals won such a decisive majority might dissuade some from considering a run, since the next Conservative leader would be in opposition for an indefinite amount of time.That could apply to former Quebec premier and ex-Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday to count him out."It's flattering when you hear people say that and it's humbling, it really is. But no, the answer is no," said Wall."I think I have the best political job in Canada. I'm grateful to have this job."Ditto for British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, whose party includes both federal Liberals and Conservatives."No, I have a big job here in British Columbia," Clark said. "I have always seen my role as to fight for B.C. I intend to keep giving this 100 per cent of my attention."
NDP left looking for answers after crushing collapse in support-CBC – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
After a heady spring and summer that saw New Democrats win power in Alberta and then surge to first place in national polls, Monday night's results are a bitter disappointment to the party.The NDP peaked early, then went into a steady decline, hemorrhaging support in the last few days as strategic voters who had been sitting on the fence flocked to the party that appeared best placed to beat Stephen Harper.And so each poll showing Liberal momentum became a self-fulfilling prophecy.But the Liberals didn't only win by luring defectors from the NDP. They also energized new voters. For every vote the NDP lost between 2011 and 2015, the Liberals gained four. And so the party must also ask itself: Why couldn't New Democrats inspire such a wave of first-time voters? In the end, the New Democrats were collateral damage, rather than prime targets, in the Canadian electorate's powerful rejection of Harper. But that is small consolation for the defeat of such high-profile MPs as deputy leader Megan Leslie, foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, defence critic Jack Harris and veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer, all experienced parliamentarians and good constituency MPs who were considered safe when the campaign began.Shawn Dearn, the party's director of communications, issued a statement on the loss: "We're disappointed, of course, but do congratulate Mr. Trudeau's campaign. As you know, we lost some great MPs, but this election was about defeating the Conservatives, so we are pleased with that. Bittersweet, I guess. But, now we get back to work."The first task must be to figure out what went wrong.Boldness pays off-In this campaign, bold and even reckless moves were consistently rewarded with success, while caution was punished.The NDP itself was the first to demonstrate that, by standing up to oppose the Harper government's anti-terrorism Bill C-51, which at first appeared popular with a Canadian public shocked and scared by the attacks of last October.No pollster or political consultant would have counselled the move at such a time. And yet as experts stepped forward to warn that the bill threatened basic freedoms, and public opinion began to shift, the NDP never had cause to regret its principled opposition. Instead, it was the Liberals who would find themselves trying to explain their support of C-51 on hundreds of thousands of doorsteps across Canada.But then the boldness dried up.Eager to show that New Democrats were not wild-eyed spenders, the party embraced small-bore proposals based on a commitment to balance the budget. The commitments lacked ambition compared with those of the Liberals, and also seemed to many to be unrealistic, since they were predicated on revenues that assumed a $63 barrel of oil.Outmanoeuvred on the left-"Ours is the most progressive platform in this election." That became one of Justin Trudeau's favourite lines during this campaign, as he pitched a tax hike on the top one per cent of income earners, an aggressive infrastructure plan financed by deficits, means-tested child benefits and the legalization of marijuana.By contrast, the NDP's balanced budget approach looked staid and conservative.Trudeau's core message, repeated over and over throughout this campaign was: "Stephen Harper won't help you, and Tom Mulcair can't help you, because he's signed on to Harper's budget."In the end that message proved more damaging to the New Democrats than even the niqab.It was Trudeau who correctly read the zeitgeist among change voters: They wanted their change big, and they wanted it now.The muting of 'Angry Tom'-The party was also too anxious to bottle up "Angry Tom," and repackage him as a more friendly and soft-spoken politician. The result was unnatural.At the first English-language debate, many viewers commented on his strange, frozen smile. Gone was the leader who had fiercely grilled Harper over the Duffy scandal in question period exchanges.Trudeau is a natural-born campaigner, and Mulcair would always have found it tough to work a crowd the way Trudeau does. Mulcair never really mastered the art of speaking to a crowd. His approach is: I talk — you applaud. I talk — you applaud, all delivered in the same flat tone.Trudeau speaks with a wide range of tone and emotion, talking over the applause, letting the crowd drown him out, then roaring back to the message, carrying his listeners with him.I watched Mulcair deliver a speech on Sept. 22 at the University of Ottawa, where students packed the atrium and hung over internal balconies and staircases on four storeys. It was a crowd that was there to be stirred, and ready to respond in kind.Instead, they got a laundry list of the NDP's platform from a man who seemed more prime ministerial than passionate. Mulcair shared their rejection of the Harper government on an intellectual level, but not a visceral one.Mulcair was never going to be able to shine the way Trudeau can. But in an election where seven out of 10 voters said they were hungry for change, a bit of righteous anger would have been a good substitute.Next steps-The NDP has a tradition of allowing leaders to remain after defeats, unlike the Liberals and Conservatives, whose leaders are expected to fall on their swords.And while he may not have been as good a campaigner as Jack Layton, Mulcair's undeniable skills as a parliamentarian could be vital in the short term as he tries to keep his reduced caucus relevant..Complicating that task is the fact that the government he is up against is no longer that of Harper, the bête noire of the left, but rather the friendly, progressive government of Trudeau.One issue where he can credibly challenge Trudeau is on Bill C-51, the surveillance law that the Liberals both condemned and voted for. Many Liberals were uncomfortable with their leader's support for the law, and the party's explanations for its posture have always seemed convoluted and unconvincing.It also wouldn't hurt to remind the voters of that principled stand, which was far more popular than the equally principled stand over the niqab.A turn to the left?-Mulcair need only look at the recent history of British Labour to see that a social democratic party can tack to the centre, and carry its supporters with it, only as long as that strategy produces electoral results.Once the strategy fails, the old left tends to return with a vengeance (see Jeremy Corbyn).Those voices in the NDP may be all the louder given that Trudeau appeared to pass the NDP on the left. If Mulcair now opposes Trudeau's plans to stimulate the economy with infrastructure spending, taking the same side as the Conservatives surely will, the rumbling will only grow.Already, there is unease in the party's grassroots about Mulcair's peremptory dismissal of candidates during this campaign for even fairly mild criticism of Israeli government policies.From now on, he will find it much harder to discipline and silence the critics within.
Trudeau promises stark policy departures, says he'll withdraw jets from IS bombing campaign-By Rob Gillies, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - With a host of policies that differ dramatically from his predecessor, Justin Trudeau's victory over the most conservative leader in Canada's history will reverberate beyond the country's borders.The first major shift came Tuesday when Trudeau announced he had spoken with President Barack Obama and told him he will remove Canada's six fighter jets from the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.Among the other areas in which Trudeau differs from Conservative Stephen Harper: climate change, immigration and whether relations with the U.S. should hinge on the future of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.Speaking at a rally in Ottawa, the 43-year-old Trudeau — son of one of the country's most dynamic politicians — underlined the sea change."I want to say this to this country's friends around the world: Many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past 10 years. Well, I have a simple message for you on behalf of 35 million Canadians. We're back," he declared.With Trudeau's decisive victory on Monday, Canadian voters reclaimed their country's liberal identity, giving the new prime minister a commanding majority in parliament that will allow him to govern without relying on other parties.That means change in Canadian policies on a broad spectrum of issues."Trudeau will return Canada to its traditional approach in foreign affairs which is characteristic of every single government but Harper's," said Robert Bothwell, a professor at the University of Toronto. "Canada will go back to multilateralism, back to strong support for the United Nations."There will be a "new way for Canada to be on the world stage," agreed Liberal lawmaker Marc Garneau, who won re-election Monday. The son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who swept to office in 1968 on a wave of support dubbed "Trudeaumania" and governed for most of the next two decades, the younger Trudeau channels the star power — if not quite the political heft — of his father.Tall and trim, he is a former school teacher and member of Parliament since 2008. He becomes the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history and has been likened to Obama.The White House said Obama called to congratulate Trudeau on Tuesday afternoon and said in a statement the two leaders "committed to strengthening the countries' joint efforts to promote trade, combat terrorism and mitigate climate change."Trudeau said he discussed his commitment to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the U.S.-led aerial bombing mission against Islamic State group radicals in Syria and Iraq. Trudeau believes Canada's military involvement should be restricted to training missions only."He understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat missions," Trudeau said.Trudeau's victory will likely improve ties with the United States, at least for the remainder of Obama's presidency. Harper was frustrated by Obama's reluctance to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas and clashed with the president on other issues, including the Iran nuclear deal. Although Trudeau supports the Keystone pipeline, he argues relations should not hinge on the project."Theoretically, Justin is for Keystone, but he can obviously jettison that," Bothwell said of the project, which Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently expressed opposition to. Republican contenders are for the project.Still, there are differences that could lead to friction with the U.S., including the decision to remove the jets from the campaign against the Islamic State group. Harper had said such a move would hurt relations with the U.S.Trudeau said Tuesday that the U.S. president understood his commitment to end Canada's involvement in the combat mission.Trudeau has also vowed to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Harper declined to resettle more Syrian refugees despite the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old's body washed up on a Turkish beach after his family's failed attempt to immigrate to Canada, and some analysts have questioned whether Trudeau's goal is realistic.Canada shifted to the centre-right under Harper, who lowered sales and corporate taxes, avoided climate change legislation, strongly supported the oil and gas extraction industry and backed the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Trudeau will have a more balanced approach to the conflict in the Middle East, analysts said."It certainly won't be the kind of blanket support for the Netanyahu regime that we saw from the Conservatives," Maioni said.Trudeau has also vowed to consult the premiers of Canada's provinces in an effort to come up with a plan ahead of the Paris climate talks in November. Under Harper, Canada pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, the emissions reduction program for rich countries, and the Conservative leader was perceived by environmentalists as more interested in protecting Canada's oil-rich region of Alberta — which has the third-largest oil reserves in the world — than efforts to stem the effects of climate change."Canada's days of being a less-than-enthusiastic actor on the climate-change file are behind us," Trudeau told the news conference in Ottawa.Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Canadian diplomats are delighted at Trudeau's election because Harper never let them speak without checking with the government first. "They've been totally marginalized. They've been told 'We don't care what you think,'" Wiseman said.Harper, whose nearly 10 years as prime minister makes him one of the longest-serving Western leaders, will step down as Conservative leader after the crushing defeat, his party said.During the campaign, Trudeau re-energized the Liberal Party, which suffered its worst electoral defeat four years ago, winning just 34 seats and finishing third behind the traditionally weaker New Democrat Party.
Liberals will name cabinet on Nov. 4-By Joan Bryden and Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau made a triumphant return to the nation's capital Tuesday and immediately began setting a new tone for the Canadian government, both at home and abroad.To those around the world who may have had difficulty recognizing the Canada of old during a decade of combative, militaristic Conservative rule under Stephen Harper, the Liberal prime minister-designate had a direct message."Many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past 10 years," Trudeau told a boisterous partisan rally in Ottawa."Well, I have a simple message for you. On behalf of 35 million Canadians, we're back."At a news conference later, he also had a reassuring message for civil servants, many of whom complained of being muzzled and ignored by the Harper regime. Trudeau promised to run "a government that listens to, works with and respects the public service."And he had another message for the parliamentary press gallery, which has been shunned and vilified by the Harper Conservatives, that he intends to run a more open, media-friendly shop.Fresh from his stunning victory in Monday's election, Trudeau held a formal news conference in the national press theatre — something Harper did only handful of times and not at all since late 2008. Trudeau said "it's important to underline the important role that the media fills in public discourse and public life" and, when the news conference was over, he vowed: "I'll be back. I promise."For now, though, tone is all Trudeau can set. He will not officially take office until Nov. 4, when he plans to swear in a new cabinet.He would not commit to recalling Parliament before Christmas, only to doing so "as quickly as is reasonable."His schedule for the next two months is anything but reasonable, with four back-to-back international summits scheduled starting in mid-November. Trudeau suggested he may not attend all of them.He said he's "committed" to attending the United Nations climate change conference with the premiers in Paris at the end of November. That leaves the Liberals just weeks to come up with a national position based on the party's promise to join with the provinces and territories to put a price on carbon and reduce carbon pollution.As for the G20 summit in Turkey and a meeting of leaders of Pacific Rim countries in the Philippines, Trudeau said only that he hopes to attend. He did not mention the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Malta, saying he'd have to see how many international trips he can squeeze in while trying to get his new government up and running at the same time.Nevertheless, Trudeau is already getting a quick introduction to international affairs, fielding congratulatory phone calls from U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Mexico and Italy.While he and Obama had a "warm conversation" in which the president teased him about his lack of gray hair, Trudeau said they also discussed his commitment to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the U.S.-led aerial bombing mission against Islamic radicals in Syria and Iraq. Trudeau believes Canada's military involvement should be restricted to training missions only."We talked about Canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against ISIL. And I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way," Trudeau said."But he understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat missions."At the rally earlier, Trudeau used the occasion to thank staff in party headquarters and the 80,000 volunteers whom he credited with making nearly 12 million phone calls and door knocks over the course of the longest campaign in modern Canadian history. But as gruelling as the campaign was, he acknowledged the hard part starts now."This afternoon we can celebrate, but our hard work is only beginning."Both at home and abroad, Trudeau faces several pressing priorities and a raft of longer-term promises.On the horizon domestically loom key promises from his party's successful campaign: lower taxes for the middle class, the legalization of marijuana, and a slate of democratic reforms including a new electoral system to replace the venerable first-past-the-post regime under which he won a majority of the seats with just under 40 per cent of the vote.He will also have to move quickly to institute the reforms he's promised to the disgraced Senate, where the Conservatives still hold sway and could prove a roadblock to Liberal legislation. Tory dominance of the chamber could be instantly diluted by filling the 22 vacancies left by Harper.Trudeau has kicked senators out of the Liberal caucus and has vowed to create a blue chip advisory body to recommend non-partisan Senate nominees in future, a move designed to return the institution to its intended role as an independent chamber of sober second thought.Trudeau has said the first piece of legislation his government would put forward is one to lower taxes for the middle class and raise taxes for the wealthiest Canadians.A Liberal government is also committed to revamping the recently enacted omnibus security bill, known as C-51, that gave Canada's spy agency substantial new powers and angered civil libertarians.Trudeau has also promised the largest new infrastructure investment in Canadian history. The plan would nearly double federal spending on public transit, affordable housing, recreational facilities and other items to almost $125 billion over the next decade.
Security lapses noted before Oct. 22 Parliament Hill attacks-CBC – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
Mounties received at least three warnings of potential terrorist attacks on uniformed officers before last year's shootings on Parliament Hill, yet the RCMP wound down extra patrols around the parliamentary precinct just days before the tragedy, newly disclosed documents show.The RCMP unit that patrols Parliament Hill, which shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, successfully stormed, was understaffed by at least 29 positions at the time of the attack.An inside glimpse of the RCMP's security posture on Oct. 22 is contained in a 1,000-page dossier obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act, following an 11-month delay in its release.The file reveals an Oct. 18, 2014, "security reminder" from the force's Criminal Intelligence Integrated Unit, widely distributed the weekend before the shootings.The one-page warning said ISIS "is actively encouraging jihadists in the West and encouraging newly sworn militants to launch attacks against members of law enforcement from countries fighting its troops.""ISIS threats against law enforcement in the West are real … Canada is not immune to such threats," read the document, which called on Mounties to take precautions, especially in their personal postings on social media.A day earlier, on Oct. 17, the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC), a multi-department unit hosted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned that a "violent act of terrorism could occur" and the centre increased the terror threat level that day to medium from low, where it had remained for four years.The RCMP dossier shows the ITAC warning was widely distributed among Parliament Hill officers, who were specially told "to remain alert and vigilant."3rd warning issued-Yet a third warning to RCMP officers was issued the day before the Ottawa shooting "outlining security/prevention measures for police officers with regard to recent threats made by the Islamic State group towards law enforcement." Details of the third warning, from the RCMP's National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre and which followed an Oct. 20 terror-linked attack in Quebec, were censored in the package released to CBC News.The Harper government's 2012 deficit-fighting budget cuts had already seriously eroded staffing levels for the RCMP's parliamentary force. An October 2014 human resources report shows at least 29 vacant positions, and as many 51 empty posts depending on the accounting method.There were a total of 177 positions authorized for the unit, but only 126 "members available," Supt. Luc Lemire reported to his bosses.An Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the Oct. 22 shootings also cited the resource-starved RCMP unit, although the exact staffing shortfall numbers were blacked out in the public version of the final report.The RCMP dossier shows that despite chronic staffing issues, the RCMP managed to increase its patrols in the parliamentary precinct and on Sussex Drive, near the residences of the prime minister and the Governor General, after two security incidents in mid-October.On Oct. 15, two men in a 2011 Ford Escape tried to force open the iron gates at Rideau Hall at 3:15 a.m. The next day, a man attempted to force his way into the Italian ambassador's limousine on Slater Street in downtown Ottawa.Investigations later showed the first two men were drunk and harmless, and the latter was "mentally disturbed" and not a genuine threat. Even so, the RCMP launched "enhanced patrols" after the incidents — but stopped them on Oct. 20, two days before Zehaf-Bibeau's attack. He was shot dead after opening fire inside Centre Block on Parliament Hill.The heavily censored public version of the OPP report from March 2015 does not refer to the terror warnings or increased patrols, but is highly critical of the minimal resources given to the RCMP.Balkanized security-"The approach to the security and protection of Parliament Hill is highly inadequate," it concluded. "The RCMP posture on Parliament Hill has been challenging due to the limited amount of resources available, which are reflective of budget cuts in 2012."The main solution, said the OPP report, was to unify the House of Commons and Senate security forces under the RCMP to provide seamless rather than balkanized security on the Hill. The government announced that very measure on Feb. 4 this year and the process of integration continues.RCMP officials did not immediately respond to CBC News requests for comment on the security lapses.Canadian Forces reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed as he performed sentry duty at the National War Memorial, and a House of Commons guard was wounded as he wrestled with Zehaf-Bibeau less than two minutes later inside Centre Block.A commemoration ceremony is planned at the war memorial Thursday at 11 a.m. ET to mark the one-year anniversary of the Ottawa attack, as well as the death of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent from another terror-linked attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Oct. 20, 2014.
Voting for House speaker set, right-wingers cool to Ryan-By By Susan Heavey and Richard Cowan | Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans will choose a new leader next week, under a plan announced on Wednesday by retiring House Speaker John Boehner, while right-wing hardliners gave a chilly reception to Paul Ryan's possible bid to become the next House speaker.Conservative party members were refusing to fall in line behind Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, after he said he would run under certain conditions to replace Boehner.After a closed meeting of House Republicans, Boehner told reporters he supported Ryan to be the next speaker.The struggle ensued as deadlines fast approached for Congress to act on critical debt and budget issues, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew saying he feared a fiscal policy "accident" on Capitol Hill.Boehner, who said last month that he would step down at the end of October, set a party vote for a new speaker on Oct. 28 and a vote by the full House of Representatives on Oct. 29.Ryan said on Tuesday he would consider becoming speaker if fractious Republicans united behind him, among other conditions. He gave his colleagues until week's end to decide.Much will depend on the attitude of the Freedom Caucus, a small but vocal group of Republican conservatives who played a key role in driving Boehner from his post, and in pushing No. 2 House Republican Kevin McCarthy to exit the succession race.Members of the faction still back their own contender for speaker, Representative Daniel Webster of Florida, said some members of the caucus on Wednesday.Representative Jim Jordan, head of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters his group would meet with Ryan later on Wednesday.Idaho Republican Representative Raul Labrador, a caucus member, praised Ryan, but told reporters he still has reservations: "He could be a good speaker of the House. My only concern right now is it appears he is asking for more power to be in office instead of less power."Lew said at a conference he is worried about brinkmanship in Congress on raising the nation's debt limit as the United States edges closer toward default.The United States is currently scraping just under its $18 trillion legal debt cap and the Treasury Department expects to exhaust its borrowing authority by Nov. 3. "What I am most worried about ... is an accident, and accidents can happen when you play this last-minute brinkmanship game," Lew said.Asked if the House will be organized in time to raise the debt ceiling, David Schweikert, an Arizona lawmaker, who belongs to the hard-right caucus, told National Public Radio: "Of course. The full faith and credit of the United States will be fine. It will be protected."Oklahoma Republican Representative Tom Cole said he expects Ryan to win most conservatives' support this week but what will happen on the House floor is less clear."What Paul's pointed out is that we just have to operate by regular order ... and work as a team," Cole told MSNBC.If Ryan decides against running, Republicans could face more chaos with no clear front-runner. "I am still supporting Dan Webster," Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas told reporters.(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Susan Cornwell and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jeffrey Benkoe)
South Africa could delay carbon tax implementation beyond 2016: Treasury-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa will publish a draft carbon tax bill for further comment next week, keeping the door open to delay its controversial implementation for the second time beyond 2016, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Wednesday.The carbon tax, part of government efforts to reduce harmful emissions in Africa’s worst polluter, was postponed two years ago to 2016 after alarming industry it would further erode profits amid a global commodities slump and higher electricity tariffs."On any tax proposals we take the trouble of engaging with industry before we can implement," Nene told reporters ahead of tabling his three-year budget outlook.“So whether it will be implemented in 2016 as we announced or later, will depend on discussions we are having,” he said.Former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in 2014 delayed the introduction of a carbon tax by one year to 2016, tweaking its policies to better protect industry from a proposed tax price of 120 rand per ton of carbon equivalent.The postponement was welcomed by mining and other carbon-intensive companies, such as steel giant ArcelorMittal and petrochemical group Sasol, who have said the new tax will erode profits against a backdrop of rising electricity tariffs and sluggish economic growth.The tax, expected to be phased in over time, was due to start on Jan 1, 2015 and is one of several green initiatives, including greater vehicles emission taxes South Africa wants to implement to reduce its carbon footprint.Should the new carbon tax bill, which was approved by cabinet, be sent for public comment, it is unlikely that it would be made law before Nene’s budget policy speech in February, given that the legislative process at parliament was winding down already.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF THE WEST
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
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)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Russia considers providing $5 billion loan to Iran: ministry-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia considers providing a $5 billion loan to Iran for joint infrastructure projects, Moscow's energy ministry representative told Reuters on Wednesday."(Russia) is considering the possibility (to provide the loan). Iran asked for it," the representative, who asked not to be named, said.Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, currently visiting Iran, said earlier on Wednesday that Russia and Iran had agreed to $40 billion in projects in the last two years.(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova and Olesya Astakhova; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Lidia Kelly)
Iran's Khamenei conditionally approves nuclear deal with powers-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday approved the Iranian government's nuclear deal with world powers but said Tehran should not yield core elements of its nuclear program until allegations of past military dimensions had been settled.In a letter to President Hassan Rouhani published on Khamenei's official website, Iran's highest authority ordered the July 14 nuclear deal to be implemented, subject to certain conditions that the Iranian parliament stipulated in a law passed last week.He said Iran should delay sending its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad and reconfiguring a heavy water reactor to ensure it cannot make bomb-grade plutonium - central aspects of Iran's obligations under the deal -- until U.N. inspectors had settled the issue of whether Tehran had ever sought nuclear weapons."Any action regarding Arak (reactor) and dispatching uranium abroad ... will take place after the PMD (possible military dimensions) file is closed," Khamenei wrote in the letter.Iran has repeatedly denied engaging in research aimed at developing a nuclear weapon, though for years stonewalled a U.N. nuclear watchdog inquiry based on intelligence suggesting it had done so in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) finished collecting samples from Iran's military sites earlier this month and is expected to announce its conclusions on the PMD issue by Dec. 15.Khamenei also said U.S. President Barack Obama had sent him two letters promising America had no intention of toppling the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment, but added that U.S. actions had proved that "this was not true".This story has been refiled to restore missing word "not" in first paragraph)(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Sam Wilkin; Editing by William Maclean and Mark Heinrich)
Upstaged NATO searches for '360-degree' response to Russia-By Robin Emmott | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
TRAPANI, Italy (Reuters) - The brass band played, the flags waved and Western generals delivered speeches brimming with resolve as NATO began big war games in the central Mediterranean this week.But the military display seemed faintly unreal while Russian warplanes were bombing Syrian rebels a few hundred kilometers (miles) to the east in a coordinated action with President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces and Iran's Revolutionary Guards.NATO, which waged an air campaign to help Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi, then left that country to descend into anarchy, is not a player in Syria and is watching uncomfortably as its former Cold War adversary Russia widens its role there.The speed and scope of Moscow's intervention in Syria's four-year-old civil war, coming after Russia's seizure of Crimea and support for pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine last year, wrong-footed the U.S.-led alliance and has heightened soul-searching about its future."The West has been tactically surprised. I don't think they anticipated what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would get up to," said Nick Witney, a former European Defence Agency chief now at the European Council on Foreign Relations.NATO last year set in motion its biggest modernization since the Cold War. But the alliance's political and military elite now see the need for a broader plan that goes beyond deterring Russia in the east. They call it thinking "360 degrees"."We need to develop a strategy for all kinds of crises, at 360 degrees," said Gen. Denis Mercier, the Frenchman who heads NATO's command focused on future threats. "We need to react in the south, in the east, the north, all around."NATO's problem is that such a strategy is still embryonic while developments in Europe's neighborhood are moving faster than the ponderous approach of the 28-nation defense pact, created in 1949 to deter the Soviet threat.From the Baltics, where Russia has a naval base in Kaliningrad, through the Black Sea and annexed Crimea, to Syria, Moscow has stationed anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles able to cover huge areas.NATO officials see the emergence of a strategy of defensive zones of influence, with surface-to-air missile batteries and anti-ship missiles that could disrupt NATO moving across air, land and sea or deny it access to some areas.Unconventional warfare techniques are part of the equation, ranging from unidentified troops - the so-called "green men" without insignia on their uniforms seen in Crimea and eastern Ukraine - to disinformation operations and cyber attacks.OVERESTIMATING RUSSIA?-NATO also faces failing states, war, Islamist militancy and a refugee crisis at Europe's borders. That is partly a result of the European Union's inability to stabilize its neighborhood economically.But critics say it is also due to U.S. President Barack Obama's aversion to entanglement in Middle East wars in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. That has led to a decline in Washington's influence across the region.While NATO is drawing up a multi-layered deterrence plan, officials acknowledge a risk that Russia might again move faster to pre-empt Western action. For instance, it could move warships from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Libyan coast to hamper any possible NATO effort to support a government of national unity in the future.Still, some say NATO has been here before and any talk of a lack of preparedness is overblown. Past bouts of questioning of the alliance's relevance led to operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan - a significant departure from 40 years of Cold War deterrence in which NATO forces never operated "out of area".A NATO official rejected any suggestion the alliance was passively watching Russia's military build-up in Syria, noting that three allies – the United States, France and Turkey – were involved individually in the coalition waging air strikes against Islamic State rebels in Syria and Iraq.Some experts see a danger of overestimating Putin, who oversees an economy weakened by Western sanctions and lower oil prices and cannot match NATO military power over the long term."We should be under no illusions about Putin's hostility to the West but also be very careful not to over react to what a damaged Russian economy can produce in the way of military capability," said Witney, a former British defense planner.LOOKING TO AMAZON, DHL-NATO's public response is to test its new spearhead force of 5,000 troops, ready to move within a few days. Over the next five weeks, the alliance is carrying out its biggest military exercises since 2002, with 36,000 troops, 230 military units, 140 aircraft and more than 60 ships, to certify the force.Such measures, agreed at a NATO summit in Wales last year following Russia's annexation of Crimea, are aimed chiefly at reassuring eastern allies that Russia will not be able to invade them too. There is still debate about whether the spearhead force could be used in North Africa or beyond.Small command posts with NATO flags from Estonia to Bulgaria and the spearhead force are ready. But one NATO diplomat called such measures "the minimum necessary", and Gen. Mercier said the so-called Readiness Action Plan was "just a first step"."We have worked on reassuring our allies," said Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme commander in Europe. "We are not exactly sure what it will take to work in the future," he said when asked what NATO's modern deterrents might look like.The next NATO summit next July in Warsaw is the target date for proposals for more modern, agile deterrents.Such ideas include setting up NATO-flagged command posts on the southern flank and adapting the spearhead force for maritime and air operations.They could also feature a permanent naval force to patrol the Mediterranean and work more closely with the European Union and the United Nations in stabilizing fragile states.Another idea involves including a nuclear deterrent in training exercises, something Britain supports but others, such as Germany, worry would be seen as a provocation by Russia.NATO's Gen. Mercier even suggested looking to companies such as courier DHL Worldwide Express and online retailer Amazon.com to improve NATO's deployment speed."The question is how to have new ideas to make deployments easier. We should look at what the civilian world does, to DHL and Amazon. How do they improve their logistics?" Mercier said.(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Syria's Assad visits Putin in Moscow, strengthening his hand at home and in possible talks-By Albert Aji And Nataliya Vasilyeva, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
DAMASCUS, Syria - President Bashar Assad has travelled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally, Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria— in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition— must lead to a political process.The surprise visit Tuesday reflects renewed confidence from the embattled Syrian president after Russia and Iran, another staunch ally, dramatically escalated their support recently as Moscow began carrying out airstrikes on Syrian insurgents and Tehran sent hundreds of ground forces.A Syrian official confirmed Wednesday that Assad had returned to Damascus. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Putin said he had invited Assad, thanking him for "coming to Moscow despite a tragic situation in your country."Assad flashed wide smiles as he shook hands with Putin and other officials. "We thank you for standing by Syria's territorial integrity and its independence," Assad told Putin.Syria's conflict began in March 2011 after the government cracked down violently on largely peaceful protests against Assad's rule. The protests gradually became an armed insurgency and a civil war that has killed a quarter of a million people in the past five years.Moscow, a traditional ally of the Assad family, started an air campaign on Sept. 30 against what it said are terrorist groups threatening Syria and Assad's rule. It became the latest international power to deepen its involvement into the increasingly intractable conflict that saw a mushrooming of armed groups, including the militant Islamic State group and al-Qaida.Russia says it is targeting militants. But critics, including the U.S., say the Moscow military intervention helps props up Assad and is likely to fan the violence.Putin said that along with fighting militants, Moscow believes that "a long-term settlement can only be achieved as part of a political process with the participation of all political forces, ethnic and religious groups.""The Syrian people have been putting up a fight against international terrorism effectively on its own for several years, sustaining sizeable losses but it has achieved positive results recently," Putin said.A statement posted on the Syrian presidency's official Facebook page said the meetings discussed the continuation of the military operations against terrorism in Syria, calling it the "obstacle" to a political solution."Terrorism which we see spreading today could have been more widespread and more harmful if it weren't for your decisions and steps, not only in our region," Assad told Putin in remarks carried by Arab media.The statement said Assad had three separate meetings in Moscow: talks with Putin and his foreign and defence ministers, a closed-door meeting between the two leaders and a working dinner..Commentators on Syrian TV hailed the visit as endorsement of Assad's legitimacy, reinforcing the notion that he must be part of a future political solution to the crisis."This lightning trip is a slap" to Assad's opponents, Syrian analyst Bassam Abdullah told state television channel Ikhbariyah after the visit, adding that it highlights the need for political meetings not just military action. Abdullah described the meeting as "intimate" and reflecting a common vision and values between the two leaders. "There is a clear strategic shift in the region ... and it is happening fast," he said.Television footage showed footage of Putin and Russia's foreign and defence ministers meeting with Assad, with the two leaders exchanging warm handshakes and smiles. Syrian government officials didn't say if anyone travelled with Assad and photos from the meeting didn't show a delegation accompanying the Syrian leader.Assad said Russia's intervention was in line with international law and praised it as an effort to rid Syria and the region of terrorism.Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments carried by Russian news agencies, declined to comment on any specific outcome of the talks.Since June, Russia has played with the idea of a political transition that would envisage setting up some sort of interim government, and has discussed the issue with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the Syrian opposition and others. Moscow's diplomatic efforts have brought no visible results so far, but Putin has insisted that a political solution for Syria remains his top goal despite the military action. He recently met with Saudi officials, staunch critics of Assad and supporters of the rebels fighting against him.Moscow also has sought to alleviate the concerns of Turkey, a major economic partner and the second-biggest importer of Russian natural gas, which has been critical of Russia's intervention in Syria. Ankara also supports rebels fighting Assad.Answering questions about Assad's visit to Moscow, Turkey's prime minister took a jab at the Syrian leader, reiterating his country's position that Assad should not have a role in Syria's future."If only he could stay in Moscow longer, to give the people of Syria some relief; in fact he should stay there so the transition can begin," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters.Davutoglu insisted that efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis should focus "not on a transition with Assad, but on formulas for Assad's departure."Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was present at the talks and dinner with Assad on Tuesday, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow is not going to halt its military operation in Syria."With our support, Syrian government forces have turned from a retreat to an offensive, liberating a part of their territory from Islamic State militants," Shoigu said. "We are going to continue rendering the assistance to the legitimate Syrian authorities and create preconditions for a settlement of this conflict."A week after Russia launched its airstrikes, Syrian ground troops, aided by allied fighters from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, pushed their way into central and northern Syria in an attempt to drive out rebel and militant groups in control of territories there. So far, Syrian forces have seized a few villages but there has been no strategic victory. Many of the attacks have hit western-backed rebels and al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, but not the Islamic State group, with its stronghold in eastern Syria.The Russian airstrikes have allowed Syrian troops and their allies to launch multiple ground offensives in northern, central and southern Syria as well as in the rebel-held suburbs of the capital, Damascus.Dmitry Trenin of the Moscow Carnegie Center said that Putin's meeting with Assad signals Russia's willingness to seek a political solution in Syria — but on its own terms."By summoning Assad to Moscow, Putin seeks to convert an early military success into political capital, by launching a political transition on his terms," he said.___Vasilyeva reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Kate de Pury in Moscow contributed to this report.___This story has been corrected to show that the Syrian conflict began in 2011, not 2001.
KNOWLEGE INCREASED AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
EU's Juncker summons leaders over Balkan refugee crisis-By Tom Körkemeier and Paul Taylor | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called an extraordinary meeting of several European leaders on Sunday to tackle the migrant crisis in the western Balkans as thousands trying to reach Germany are trapped in deteriorating conditions.The Commission said in a statement on Wednesday that Juncker had invited the heads of state or government of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, plus key organizations involved."In view of the unfolding emergency in the countries along the western Balkans migratory route, there is a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action," the European Union executive said.The mini-summit's aim was to agree "common operational conclusions which could be immediately implemented", it said.It comes as crowds of refugees and other migrants camp by roads in western Balkan countries in worsening autumn weather after Hungary sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia, causing a chain reaction in other overwhelmed states.Slovenia passed legislation on Wednesday to give the army more power help police guarding the state border -- which forms the outer edge of the passport-free Schengen zone -- as refugees streamed in from Croatia on the way to Austria.EU diplomats said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, under mounting domestic pressure over an influx of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, was the driving force behind the latest meeting, just 10 days after the last full EU summit on migration.Some diplomats voiced concern that Berlin was deepening divisions in the 28-nation bloc by pressing for a permanent mechanism for relocating refugees among member states, which several governments saw as an open-ended commitment and were determined to resist, at least until the influx can be limited.DIVIDING LINE-A dividing line is emerging between governments that see the crisis primarily as a security issue requiring stronger action to control the EU's borders, stem the flow of migrants, send back those not entitled to asylum and pay other states if necessary to keep them at bay, and those that see it above all as a humanitarian integration challenge.Diplomats said Tusk reflected the security concerns more strongly, while Juncker saw the EU's humanitarian values at stake. Berlin and Commission officials are also skeptical of the chances of preventing desperate people fleeing war, persecution and poverty from reaching Europe.Last week's EU summit agreed on a range of measures to strengthen external border protection and offer financial incentives to Turkey and other nations to keep refugees on their soil and deter them from heading to Europe.The new meeting appeared to be an effort by Juncker and Merkel to raise pressure on central and southeast European states to cooperate among themselves in managing the migration flow in a more humane way and end a series of unilateral actions that have raised political tensions.The meeting will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a working dinner and will also involve United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, the European Asylum Support Office and EU border agency Frontex.The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and Luxembourg, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, were also invited.(Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Alastair Macdonald and Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
Bad weather, border closures add to plight of migrants in Balkans-By Maja Zuvela | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
RIGONCI, Slovenia (Reuters) - Refugees from Asian wars crossed into Croatia from Slovenia on Wednesday as border closures elsewhere forced them to find new routes to rich European countries and concern grew over the plight of those stranded in wet, freezing weather.On the Croatian-Serbian border, thousands of migrants spent the night camped out at the Berkasovo-Bapska crossing after Croatia closed the gates.And in an indication that refugees and migrants were still desperate to reach Europe before winter weather made sea crossings too perilous, two boatloads landed at a British military base on Cyprus - the first such arrivals on the island.With many now trapped in deteriorating conditions in the Balkans, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called an extraordinary meeting of several European leaders to take place on Sunday.Juncker invited the leaders of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia."In view of the unfolding emergency in the countries along the Western Balkans migratory route, there is a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action," the commission said in a statement.Europe's biggest refugee and migrant crisis since World War II has seen hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa this year, with hundreds losing their lives in risky voyages across the Mediterranean.Hungary sealed its border with Croatia last week, blocking entry with a steel fence and razor wire. Croatia began directing migrants west to Slovenia, which has tried to stem the flow as people looked for new routes and bottlenecks built up through the Balkans.Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of Europe's passport-free Schengen Area while Croatia is not. Most want to continue their journey on to Austria and Germany, the most popular destination.Hazem Al Mousa, a 30-year-old Syrian from Aleppo, crossed into Slovenia on Wednesday near the town of Rigonci with his three sisters, brother and 84-year-old grandmother in a wheelchair."It is most important that my grandmother gets medical assistance and my sisters go to school and I'll try to find some work," he said. "I am so afraid that Germany will close its borders. I hope we will make it. We keep fighting and let's hope for a miracle."Traveling with him was Homayoon Hoseini, 16, from Afghanistan, whose parents were killed by the Taliban."Some friends in Iran helped me pay for this trip. I want to go Amsterdam and find a school there." he said.He had spent the night under open skies at the Croatian-Slovenian border."It was so cold. We were trying to keep ourselves warm and lit fires but that didn't help. Thank God for the sun today," he said.SLOVENIA SEEKS HELP-Slovenia's parliament passed legislation on Wednesday to give the army more power to help police guarding the border, and Prime Minister Miro Cerar said he would ask the European Union for police reinforcements and financial help-More than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Slovenia since Saturday morning in order to pass through to Austria.On the Croatian-Serbian border, about 3,500 migrants spent the night in freezing cold at the Berkasovo-Bapska crossing, huddling in tents or under tarpaulins provided by aid groups and burning bonfires to keep warm.At first light, groups of them bypassed the official border gate and walked through orchards into Croatia.Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of migrants building in the Balkans, battered by autumn winds and rain as temperatures drop before winter."The keyword is - cold. It's been freezing, this was our busiest night this week," said Astrid Coyne-Jensen of the Danish People's Aid medical team.Mustafa, wrapped in a blanket, said his group of three families spent the night at the crossing under a piece of discarded tarpaulin as there were not enough tents for everyone."I am from Hama in Syria, I have family in Turkey, I will tell them not to come as this is not for people, this is for animals," Mustafa said.Hungary meanwhile said it had no intention of opening any corridor for migrants."Hungary has made it abundantly clear...that it does not support any proposal to open corridors on the border sections closed in the south or to provide means of transport for migrants within the Schengen zone," government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said after a meeting of Croatian, Slovenian, Austrian and Hungarian police chiefs in Vienna.A police spokesman in the Austrian province of Styria said about 1,500 migrants had been found walking on a road near the Slovenian border and had been transported back to migrant centers.Almost 6,000 migrants arrived at the port of Pireaus on the Greek mainland on Wednesday on three ferry boats from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, the first point of landfall for many refugees from Syria.Two boatloads carrying about 140 men, women and children came ashore at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, the first time since the crisis began that refugees have landed directly on what is considered British sovereign soil.(Additional reporting by Igor Ilic in Zagreb, Michele Kambas in Athens, Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade, Aleksandar Vasovic in Berkasova, Shadia Nasralla in Vienna, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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)
Mystery deaths in Sierra Leone spread fear of Ebola relapses-By Kemo Cham and Emma Farge | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
FREETOWN/DAKAR (Reuters) - A poster in Sierra Leone's crumbling coastal capital Freetown proclaims a message from an Ebola survivor called Sulliaman: "I feel 100 percent healthy!" Another beaming survivor Juliana says: "I am one of the safest people to be around!"Throughout the two-year Ebola epidemic, thousands of West African survivors have been shunned by their communities, prompting governments to sponsor messages stressing their complete recovery in a bid to counter fear and paranoia.But the case of Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey – the first known Ebola survivor to have an apparently life-threatening relapse – has revived concerns about the health of some 17,000 survivors in Sierra Leone, neighbouring Guinea and Liberia. [ID:nL8N12F1YU]-Doctors and health officials in Sierra Leone told Reuters that a handful of mystery deaths among discharged patients may also be types of Ebola relapses, stirring fear that the deadly virus may last far longer than previously thought in the body, causing other potentially lethal complications.Diagnoses have not been made, partly because of a lack of relevant medical training and insufficient equipment for detecting a virus that can hide in inaccessible corners of the body - such as the spinal fluid or eyeball. In Cafferkey's case, the virus in her brain caused meningitis. [ID:nL8N12L3RD]-Dr. Dan Kelly, founder of non-profit organisation Wellbody Alliance who has worked on Ebola in Sierra Leone, estimates that relapsing Ebola might affect 10 percent of all recovered patients.He said this was based on two cases, including Cafferkey's, where the live virus was detected among the roughly 20 survivors treated in Europe and the United States. Other experts have declined to give an estimate, saying it is too early to tell."One case reminds me of Pauline but we were unable to find a laboratory willing to test the patient before the patient died," he said. "In West Africa it (relapsing Ebola) is mostly undiagnosed, hardly treated and people are certainly dying of it."Confirmation of such relapses would prolong for a third year the struggle to defeat a virus that has killed nearly 11,300 people and ravaged the economies of some of the world's poorest countries.Guinea is the only nation in West Africa that still has new confirmed cases. Liberia has been declared Ebola-free while Sierra Leone has gone 25 days without a case. But Ebola survivors continue to die under mysterious circumstances, health officials say.Doctors at Freetown's 34 Military Hospital said they had seen two Ebola survivors return for treatment weeks after being discharged complaining of respiratory problems, including one this month. Both later died.Officials at King's Sierra Leone Partnership also confirmed one possible relapse case in a patient with a weakened immune system in Freetown a week after recovery. Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Centre said further research on such "anomalies" is underway.The findings may deepen the suffering of survivors, who are already fighting against stigma."Until there is a conclusive study, we can never be sure about this. And to be safe we must isolate them," said Freetown resident Alagie Kamara.SURVIVOR TRAUMA-Brima Amidu, a student who survived Ebola, said his landlord has doubled his rent, in a move he believes is intended to drive him out."They (Western medics) treated us and if this happens to them what does it mean for us?" he said, referring to Cafferkey's relapse ten months after recovery.Survivor Philip Koroma said counselling with a Christian group had helped him cope with ostracization. But one fellow survivor, Fatmata Conteh, was detained by police after she stoned a neighbour for calling her names, he said."All this is trauma. If they don't find a way to solve the problem, people could die of it," said Koroma.There are signs that stigmatisation is increasing amid evidence survivors can harbour the virus in semen for at least nine months. Liberia's last known case in June is thought to have been via sexual transmission. [ID:nL8N12E4Q2]-Oretha, a prostitute in the red light district of Liberia's capital Monrovia, said that reports of sexual transmission had left her and other girls afraid."Some of our friends died. That made us be careful and use condoms. Any man that talk 'flesh to flesh', I go from them," she said, in the local Creole dialect.In Sierra Leone's northern districts of Kambia and Bombali, new cases in recent weeks were immediately blamed on survivors."I'm deeply concerned by this. It is important that we all put aside fear and ignorance, and understand the facts about Ebola," said President Ernest Bai Koroma.PARIAH, LEPER AND OUTCAST-Derek Gatherer, a virus expert at Britain's Lancaster University who has closely tracked Ebola, noted that "many survivors will not recover their former lives anyway, because of the consequences of the disease - both medical and social."As well as stigma, many survivors complain of fatigue, joint pain and anxiety attacks.Some aid workers say that discussing findings on the persistence of the Ebola virus could put survivors in danger. Armand Sprecher, public health specialist at medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said a survivor already risked being treated "like a pariah, leper and an outcast"."We risk making their lives miserable if we miscommunicate the actual risk we are dealing with here," Sprecher said.Both Sierra Leone and Liberia are introducing programmes to help screen survivors to see if they harbour the virus. "Operation Shield" in Sierra Leone begins regularly testing the semen of willing survivors this month.In Guinea, where there are three known cases, government support for survivors is very basic.Unlike earlier in the epidemic, Ebola victims and their contacts now benefit from a trial vaccine.The World Health Organization is working with governments of the three countries to develop a survivor care plan."The Ebola response has already had to adapt to the extraordinary nature of this outbreak," said Adam Kucharski, an expert on infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine."The possibility of transmission long after apparent recovery poses yet another challenge."
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)
Death toll from storm that battered the Philippines' main island climbs to 39-By Bullit Marquez, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – oct 21,15-yahoonews
CABANATUAN, Philippines - The death toll from a storm that battered the Philippines' main island over the weekend has climbed to at least 39, officials said Wednesday.Tropical Storm Koppu, which barrelled ashore as a powerful typhoon in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday before weakening, forced more than 100,000 villagers into emergency shelters and destroyed rice fields ready for harvest.The storm blew away from the main island of Luzon on Tuesday and was over the Balintang Channel in the country's northern tip on Wednesday morning, with winds of 55 kilometres (34 miles) per hour near its centre, according to the government's weather bureau.At least 39 people were killed in the storm, mostly due to drowning, landslides, fallen trees and collapsed walls, said civilian defence officials. Several people were reported missing and more than 500,000 were affected by Koppu, including 107,000 who fled to evacuation centres.Disaster-response agencies said the rain dumped by the storm in the mountainous north flowed down rivers and flooded villages downstream in provinces including Pangasinan, where thousands of residents were evacuated Monday."We saw that there was lot of rain that fell in the mountains. There was a possibility of flash floods so residents were evacuated to safer grounds," said Melchito Castro of the regional Office of Civil Defence.An initial government estimate showed damage to agriculture and infrastructure amounted to at least 5.3 billion pesos ($115 million).Koppu, Japanese for "cup," was the 12th storm this year to batter the Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan levelled entire towns in the central Philippines, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
Raitt, Kenney, Mulroney? Names fly as Conservatives plan leadership race-By Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - Charest, Raitt, Ford, Kenney ... Mulroney?-The names of potential leadership contenders began swirling around Conservative circles within hours of Justin Trudeau's Liberal win, including that of another man who grew up at 24 Sussex Drive — Mark Mulroney.Mulroney, son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, is the head of equity capital markets at National Bank. Brother Ben is a well-known broadcaster with the CTV network.His name might be sheer speculation, but in these early days before the race crystallizes, party members will have fun blue-skying about possible contenders.The structure of the race itself hasn't taken shape yet. A conference call of the party's governing body will take place Tuesday night to appoint a committee tasked with organizing the leadership contest. The Conservative constitution lacks specifics on the rules for a leadership contest.Ontario MP and former cabinet minister Lisa Raitt isn't ruling out a run, but said there's analytical work to be done before anyone heads down that road."We need to understand what happened before we understand where we're going in the future," said Raitt, who is advocating for a meeting of all current and unseated caucus members."Until you know what the problems were, you can't put yourself forward being the solution."Early Tuesday, a group promoting former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford put out a press release supporting his potential candidacy. Ford delivered a 10-minute speech at a Harper rally just a few days ago."I can't answer that now," Ford told Toronto Sun reporter Don Peat on Tuesday when asked about the unfolding race.He was seen having lunch recently with another possible contender, MP and former cabinet minister Kellie Leitch. Leitch has been said to be kicking the tires for a possible run.Of all the names most often mentioned, MP Jason Kenney is the one believed to be the best organized and placed for a run. Party insiders say Kenney has been quietly putting together a base of support for many years, particularly through his contact with ethnic communities across the country. He is also likely to have the strongest support within the caucus itself, having lent his campaigning and fundraising assistance to so many of the MPs and candidates.MP Michael Chong, a politician who earned a reputation for defending the voice of individual MPs and calling for civility in the Commons, is another person who comes up in conversation. Former parliamentarians Peter MacKay and James Moore are two others.But the fact that the Liberals won such a decisive majority might dissuade some from considering a run, since the next Conservative leader would be in opposition for an indefinite amount of time.That could apply to former Quebec premier and ex-Progressive Conservative leader Jean Charest. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday to count him out."It's flattering when you hear people say that and it's humbling, it really is. But no, the answer is no," said Wall."I think I have the best political job in Canada. I'm grateful to have this job."Ditto for British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, whose party includes both federal Liberals and Conservatives."No, I have a big job here in British Columbia," Clark said. "I have always seen my role as to fight for B.C. I intend to keep giving this 100 per cent of my attention."
NDP left looking for answers after crushing collapse in support-CBC – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
After a heady spring and summer that saw New Democrats win power in Alberta and then surge to first place in national polls, Monday night's results are a bitter disappointment to the party.The NDP peaked early, then went into a steady decline, hemorrhaging support in the last few days as strategic voters who had been sitting on the fence flocked to the party that appeared best placed to beat Stephen Harper.And so each poll showing Liberal momentum became a self-fulfilling prophecy.But the Liberals didn't only win by luring defectors from the NDP. They also energized new voters. For every vote the NDP lost between 2011 and 2015, the Liberals gained four. And so the party must also ask itself: Why couldn't New Democrats inspire such a wave of first-time voters? In the end, the New Democrats were collateral damage, rather than prime targets, in the Canadian electorate's powerful rejection of Harper. But that is small consolation for the defeat of such high-profile MPs as deputy leader Megan Leslie, foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, defence critic Jack Harris and veterans affairs critic Peter Stoffer, all experienced parliamentarians and good constituency MPs who were considered safe when the campaign began.Shawn Dearn, the party's director of communications, issued a statement on the loss: "We're disappointed, of course, but do congratulate Mr. Trudeau's campaign. As you know, we lost some great MPs, but this election was about defeating the Conservatives, so we are pleased with that. Bittersweet, I guess. But, now we get back to work."The first task must be to figure out what went wrong.Boldness pays off-In this campaign, bold and even reckless moves were consistently rewarded with success, while caution was punished.The NDP itself was the first to demonstrate that, by standing up to oppose the Harper government's anti-terrorism Bill C-51, which at first appeared popular with a Canadian public shocked and scared by the attacks of last October.No pollster or political consultant would have counselled the move at such a time. And yet as experts stepped forward to warn that the bill threatened basic freedoms, and public opinion began to shift, the NDP never had cause to regret its principled opposition. Instead, it was the Liberals who would find themselves trying to explain their support of C-51 on hundreds of thousands of doorsteps across Canada.But then the boldness dried up.Eager to show that New Democrats were not wild-eyed spenders, the party embraced small-bore proposals based on a commitment to balance the budget. The commitments lacked ambition compared with those of the Liberals, and also seemed to many to be unrealistic, since they were predicated on revenues that assumed a $63 barrel of oil.Outmanoeuvred on the left-"Ours is the most progressive platform in this election." That became one of Justin Trudeau's favourite lines during this campaign, as he pitched a tax hike on the top one per cent of income earners, an aggressive infrastructure plan financed by deficits, means-tested child benefits and the legalization of marijuana.By contrast, the NDP's balanced budget approach looked staid and conservative.Trudeau's core message, repeated over and over throughout this campaign was: "Stephen Harper won't help you, and Tom Mulcair can't help you, because he's signed on to Harper's budget."In the end that message proved more damaging to the New Democrats than even the niqab.It was Trudeau who correctly read the zeitgeist among change voters: They wanted their change big, and they wanted it now.The muting of 'Angry Tom'-The party was also too anxious to bottle up "Angry Tom," and repackage him as a more friendly and soft-spoken politician. The result was unnatural.At the first English-language debate, many viewers commented on his strange, frozen smile. Gone was the leader who had fiercely grilled Harper over the Duffy scandal in question period exchanges.Trudeau is a natural-born campaigner, and Mulcair would always have found it tough to work a crowd the way Trudeau does. Mulcair never really mastered the art of speaking to a crowd. His approach is: I talk — you applaud. I talk — you applaud, all delivered in the same flat tone.Trudeau speaks with a wide range of tone and emotion, talking over the applause, letting the crowd drown him out, then roaring back to the message, carrying his listeners with him.I watched Mulcair deliver a speech on Sept. 22 at the University of Ottawa, where students packed the atrium and hung over internal balconies and staircases on four storeys. It was a crowd that was there to be stirred, and ready to respond in kind.Instead, they got a laundry list of the NDP's platform from a man who seemed more prime ministerial than passionate. Mulcair shared their rejection of the Harper government on an intellectual level, but not a visceral one.Mulcair was never going to be able to shine the way Trudeau can. But in an election where seven out of 10 voters said they were hungry for change, a bit of righteous anger would have been a good substitute.Next steps-The NDP has a tradition of allowing leaders to remain after defeats, unlike the Liberals and Conservatives, whose leaders are expected to fall on their swords.And while he may not have been as good a campaigner as Jack Layton, Mulcair's undeniable skills as a parliamentarian could be vital in the short term as he tries to keep his reduced caucus relevant..Complicating that task is the fact that the government he is up against is no longer that of Harper, the bête noire of the left, but rather the friendly, progressive government of Trudeau.One issue where he can credibly challenge Trudeau is on Bill C-51, the surveillance law that the Liberals both condemned and voted for. Many Liberals were uncomfortable with their leader's support for the law, and the party's explanations for its posture have always seemed convoluted and unconvincing.It also wouldn't hurt to remind the voters of that principled stand, which was far more popular than the equally principled stand over the niqab.A turn to the left?-Mulcair need only look at the recent history of British Labour to see that a social democratic party can tack to the centre, and carry its supporters with it, only as long as that strategy produces electoral results.Once the strategy fails, the old left tends to return with a vengeance (see Jeremy Corbyn).Those voices in the NDP may be all the louder given that Trudeau appeared to pass the NDP on the left. If Mulcair now opposes Trudeau's plans to stimulate the economy with infrastructure spending, taking the same side as the Conservatives surely will, the rumbling will only grow.Already, there is unease in the party's grassroots about Mulcair's peremptory dismissal of candidates during this campaign for even fairly mild criticism of Israeli government policies.From now on, he will find it much harder to discipline and silence the critics within.
Trudeau promises stark policy departures, says he'll withdraw jets from IS bombing campaign-By Rob Gillies, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
TORONTO - With a host of policies that differ dramatically from his predecessor, Justin Trudeau's victory over the most conservative leader in Canada's history will reverberate beyond the country's borders.The first major shift came Tuesday when Trudeau announced he had spoken with President Barack Obama and told him he will remove Canada's six fighter jets from the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.Among the other areas in which Trudeau differs from Conservative Stephen Harper: climate change, immigration and whether relations with the U.S. should hinge on the future of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.Speaking at a rally in Ottawa, the 43-year-old Trudeau — son of one of the country's most dynamic politicians — underlined the sea change."I want to say this to this country's friends around the world: Many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past 10 years. Well, I have a simple message for you on behalf of 35 million Canadians. We're back," he declared.With Trudeau's decisive victory on Monday, Canadian voters reclaimed their country's liberal identity, giving the new prime minister a commanding majority in parliament that will allow him to govern without relying on other parties.That means change in Canadian policies on a broad spectrum of issues."Trudeau will return Canada to its traditional approach in foreign affairs which is characteristic of every single government but Harper's," said Robert Bothwell, a professor at the University of Toronto. "Canada will go back to multilateralism, back to strong support for the United Nations."There will be a "new way for Canada to be on the world stage," agreed Liberal lawmaker Marc Garneau, who won re-election Monday. The son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who swept to office in 1968 on a wave of support dubbed "Trudeaumania" and governed for most of the next two decades, the younger Trudeau channels the star power — if not quite the political heft — of his father.Tall and trim, he is a former school teacher and member of Parliament since 2008. He becomes the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history and has been likened to Obama.The White House said Obama called to congratulate Trudeau on Tuesday afternoon and said in a statement the two leaders "committed to strengthening the countries' joint efforts to promote trade, combat terrorism and mitigate climate change."Trudeau said he discussed his commitment to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the U.S.-led aerial bombing mission against Islamic State group radicals in Syria and Iraq. Trudeau believes Canada's military involvement should be restricted to training missions only."He understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat missions," Trudeau said.Trudeau's victory will likely improve ties with the United States, at least for the remainder of Obama's presidency. Harper was frustrated by Obama's reluctance to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas and clashed with the president on other issues, including the Iran nuclear deal. Although Trudeau supports the Keystone pipeline, he argues relations should not hinge on the project."Theoretically, Justin is for Keystone, but he can obviously jettison that," Bothwell said of the project, which Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently expressed opposition to. Republican contenders are for the project.Still, there are differences that could lead to friction with the U.S., including the decision to remove the jets from the campaign against the Islamic State group. Harper had said such a move would hurt relations with the U.S.Trudeau said Tuesday that the U.S. president understood his commitment to end Canada's involvement in the combat mission.Trudeau has also vowed to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Harper declined to resettle more Syrian refugees despite the haunting image of a drowned 3-year-old's body washed up on a Turkish beach after his family's failed attempt to immigrate to Canada, and some analysts have questioned whether Trudeau's goal is realistic.Canada shifted to the centre-right under Harper, who lowered sales and corporate taxes, avoided climate change legislation, strongly supported the oil and gas extraction industry and backed the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Trudeau will have a more balanced approach to the conflict in the Middle East, analysts said."It certainly won't be the kind of blanket support for the Netanyahu regime that we saw from the Conservatives," Maioni said.Trudeau has also vowed to consult the premiers of Canada's provinces in an effort to come up with a plan ahead of the Paris climate talks in November. Under Harper, Canada pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, the emissions reduction program for rich countries, and the Conservative leader was perceived by environmentalists as more interested in protecting Canada's oil-rich region of Alberta — which has the third-largest oil reserves in the world — than efforts to stem the effects of climate change."Canada's days of being a less-than-enthusiastic actor on the climate-change file are behind us," Trudeau told the news conference in Ottawa.Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Canadian diplomats are delighted at Trudeau's election because Harper never let them speak without checking with the government first. "They've been totally marginalized. They've been told 'We don't care what you think,'" Wiseman said.Harper, whose nearly 10 years as prime minister makes him one of the longest-serving Western leaders, will step down as Conservative leader after the crushing defeat, his party said.During the campaign, Trudeau re-energized the Liberal Party, which suffered its worst electoral defeat four years ago, winning just 34 seats and finishing third behind the traditionally weaker New Democrat Party.
Liberals will name cabinet on Nov. 4-By Joan Bryden and Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA - Justin Trudeau made a triumphant return to the nation's capital Tuesday and immediately began setting a new tone for the Canadian government, both at home and abroad.To those around the world who may have had difficulty recognizing the Canada of old during a decade of combative, militaristic Conservative rule under Stephen Harper, the Liberal prime minister-designate had a direct message."Many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past 10 years," Trudeau told a boisterous partisan rally in Ottawa."Well, I have a simple message for you. On behalf of 35 million Canadians, we're back."At a news conference later, he also had a reassuring message for civil servants, many of whom complained of being muzzled and ignored by the Harper regime. Trudeau promised to run "a government that listens to, works with and respects the public service."And he had another message for the parliamentary press gallery, which has been shunned and vilified by the Harper Conservatives, that he intends to run a more open, media-friendly shop.Fresh from his stunning victory in Monday's election, Trudeau held a formal news conference in the national press theatre — something Harper did only handful of times and not at all since late 2008. Trudeau said "it's important to underline the important role that the media fills in public discourse and public life" and, when the news conference was over, he vowed: "I'll be back. I promise."For now, though, tone is all Trudeau can set. He will not officially take office until Nov. 4, when he plans to swear in a new cabinet.He would not commit to recalling Parliament before Christmas, only to doing so "as quickly as is reasonable."His schedule for the next two months is anything but reasonable, with four back-to-back international summits scheduled starting in mid-November. Trudeau suggested he may not attend all of them.He said he's "committed" to attending the United Nations climate change conference with the premiers in Paris at the end of November. That leaves the Liberals just weeks to come up with a national position based on the party's promise to join with the provinces and territories to put a price on carbon and reduce carbon pollution.As for the G20 summit in Turkey and a meeting of leaders of Pacific Rim countries in the Philippines, Trudeau said only that he hopes to attend. He did not mention the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Malta, saying he'd have to see how many international trips he can squeeze in while trying to get his new government up and running at the same time.Nevertheless, Trudeau is already getting a quick introduction to international affairs, fielding congratulatory phone calls from U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Mexico and Italy.While he and Obama had a "warm conversation" in which the president teased him about his lack of gray hair, Trudeau said they also discussed his commitment to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the U.S.-led aerial bombing mission against Islamic radicals in Syria and Iraq. Trudeau believes Canada's military involvement should be restricted to training missions only."We talked about Canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against ISIL. And I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way," Trudeau said."But he understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat missions."At the rally earlier, Trudeau used the occasion to thank staff in party headquarters and the 80,000 volunteers whom he credited with making nearly 12 million phone calls and door knocks over the course of the longest campaign in modern Canadian history. But as gruelling as the campaign was, he acknowledged the hard part starts now."This afternoon we can celebrate, but our hard work is only beginning."Both at home and abroad, Trudeau faces several pressing priorities and a raft of longer-term promises.On the horizon domestically loom key promises from his party's successful campaign: lower taxes for the middle class, the legalization of marijuana, and a slate of democratic reforms including a new electoral system to replace the venerable first-past-the-post regime under which he won a majority of the seats with just under 40 per cent of the vote.He will also have to move quickly to institute the reforms he's promised to the disgraced Senate, where the Conservatives still hold sway and could prove a roadblock to Liberal legislation. Tory dominance of the chamber could be instantly diluted by filling the 22 vacancies left by Harper.Trudeau has kicked senators out of the Liberal caucus and has vowed to create a blue chip advisory body to recommend non-partisan Senate nominees in future, a move designed to return the institution to its intended role as an independent chamber of sober second thought.Trudeau has said the first piece of legislation his government would put forward is one to lower taxes for the middle class and raise taxes for the wealthiest Canadians.A Liberal government is also committed to revamping the recently enacted omnibus security bill, known as C-51, that gave Canada's spy agency substantial new powers and angered civil libertarians.Trudeau has also promised the largest new infrastructure investment in Canadian history. The plan would nearly double federal spending on public transit, affordable housing, recreational facilities and other items to almost $125 billion over the next decade.
Security lapses noted before Oct. 22 Parliament Hill attacks-CBC – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
Mounties received at least three warnings of potential terrorist attacks on uniformed officers before last year's shootings on Parliament Hill, yet the RCMP wound down extra patrols around the parliamentary precinct just days before the tragedy, newly disclosed documents show.The RCMP unit that patrols Parliament Hill, which shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, successfully stormed, was understaffed by at least 29 positions at the time of the attack.An inside glimpse of the RCMP's security posture on Oct. 22 is contained in a 1,000-page dossier obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act, following an 11-month delay in its release.The file reveals an Oct. 18, 2014, "security reminder" from the force's Criminal Intelligence Integrated Unit, widely distributed the weekend before the shootings.The one-page warning said ISIS "is actively encouraging jihadists in the West and encouraging newly sworn militants to launch attacks against members of law enforcement from countries fighting its troops.""ISIS threats against law enforcement in the West are real … Canada is not immune to such threats," read the document, which called on Mounties to take precautions, especially in their personal postings on social media.A day earlier, on Oct. 17, the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC), a multi-department unit hosted by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned that a "violent act of terrorism could occur" and the centre increased the terror threat level that day to medium from low, where it had remained for four years.The RCMP dossier shows the ITAC warning was widely distributed among Parliament Hill officers, who were specially told "to remain alert and vigilant."3rd warning issued-Yet a third warning to RCMP officers was issued the day before the Ottawa shooting "outlining security/prevention measures for police officers with regard to recent threats made by the Islamic State group towards law enforcement." Details of the third warning, from the RCMP's National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre and which followed an Oct. 20 terror-linked attack in Quebec, were censored in the package released to CBC News.The Harper government's 2012 deficit-fighting budget cuts had already seriously eroded staffing levels for the RCMP's parliamentary force. An October 2014 human resources report shows at least 29 vacant positions, and as many 51 empty posts depending on the accounting method.There were a total of 177 positions authorized for the unit, but only 126 "members available," Supt. Luc Lemire reported to his bosses.An Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the Oct. 22 shootings also cited the resource-starved RCMP unit, although the exact staffing shortfall numbers were blacked out in the public version of the final report.The RCMP dossier shows that despite chronic staffing issues, the RCMP managed to increase its patrols in the parliamentary precinct and on Sussex Drive, near the residences of the prime minister and the Governor General, after two security incidents in mid-October.On Oct. 15, two men in a 2011 Ford Escape tried to force open the iron gates at Rideau Hall at 3:15 a.m. The next day, a man attempted to force his way into the Italian ambassador's limousine on Slater Street in downtown Ottawa.Investigations later showed the first two men were drunk and harmless, and the latter was "mentally disturbed" and not a genuine threat. Even so, the RCMP launched "enhanced patrols" after the incidents — but stopped them on Oct. 20, two days before Zehaf-Bibeau's attack. He was shot dead after opening fire inside Centre Block on Parliament Hill.The heavily censored public version of the OPP report from March 2015 does not refer to the terror warnings or increased patrols, but is highly critical of the minimal resources given to the RCMP.Balkanized security-"The approach to the security and protection of Parliament Hill is highly inadequate," it concluded. "The RCMP posture on Parliament Hill has been challenging due to the limited amount of resources available, which are reflective of budget cuts in 2012."The main solution, said the OPP report, was to unify the House of Commons and Senate security forces under the RCMP to provide seamless rather than balkanized security on the Hill. The government announced that very measure on Feb. 4 this year and the process of integration continues.RCMP officials did not immediately respond to CBC News requests for comment on the security lapses.Canadian Forces reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed as he performed sentry duty at the National War Memorial, and a House of Commons guard was wounded as he wrestled with Zehaf-Bibeau less than two minutes later inside Centre Block.A commemoration ceremony is planned at the war memorial Thursday at 11 a.m. ET to mark the one-year anniversary of the Ottawa attack, as well as the death of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent from another terror-linked attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., on Oct. 20, 2014.
Voting for House speaker set, right-wingers cool to Ryan-By By Susan Heavey and Richard Cowan | Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans will choose a new leader next week, under a plan announced on Wednesday by retiring House Speaker John Boehner, while right-wing hardliners gave a chilly reception to Paul Ryan's possible bid to become the next House speaker.Conservative party members were refusing to fall in line behind Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, after he said he would run under certain conditions to replace Boehner.After a closed meeting of House Republicans, Boehner told reporters he supported Ryan to be the next speaker.The struggle ensued as deadlines fast approached for Congress to act on critical debt and budget issues, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew saying he feared a fiscal policy "accident" on Capitol Hill.Boehner, who said last month that he would step down at the end of October, set a party vote for a new speaker on Oct. 28 and a vote by the full House of Representatives on Oct. 29.Ryan said on Tuesday he would consider becoming speaker if fractious Republicans united behind him, among other conditions. He gave his colleagues until week's end to decide.Much will depend on the attitude of the Freedom Caucus, a small but vocal group of Republican conservatives who played a key role in driving Boehner from his post, and in pushing No. 2 House Republican Kevin McCarthy to exit the succession race.Members of the faction still back their own contender for speaker, Representative Daniel Webster of Florida, said some members of the caucus on Wednesday.Representative Jim Jordan, head of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters his group would meet with Ryan later on Wednesday.Idaho Republican Representative Raul Labrador, a caucus member, praised Ryan, but told reporters he still has reservations: "He could be a good speaker of the House. My only concern right now is it appears he is asking for more power to be in office instead of less power."Lew said at a conference he is worried about brinkmanship in Congress on raising the nation's debt limit as the United States edges closer toward default.The United States is currently scraping just under its $18 trillion legal debt cap and the Treasury Department expects to exhaust its borrowing authority by Nov. 3. "What I am most worried about ... is an accident, and accidents can happen when you play this last-minute brinkmanship game," Lew said.Asked if the House will be organized in time to raise the debt ceiling, David Schweikert, an Arizona lawmaker, who belongs to the hard-right caucus, told National Public Radio: "Of course. The full faith and credit of the United States will be fine. It will be protected."Oklahoma Republican Representative Tom Cole said he expects Ryan to win most conservatives' support this week but what will happen on the House floor is less clear."What Paul's pointed out is that we just have to operate by regular order ... and work as a team," Cole told MSNBC.If Ryan decides against running, Republicans could face more chaos with no clear front-runner. "I am still supporting Dan Webster," Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas told reporters.(Additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Susan Cornwell and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Jeffrey Benkoe)
South Africa could delay carbon tax implementation beyond 2016: Treasury-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa will publish a draft carbon tax bill for further comment next week, keeping the door open to delay its controversial implementation for the second time beyond 2016, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Wednesday.The carbon tax, part of government efforts to reduce harmful emissions in Africa’s worst polluter, was postponed two years ago to 2016 after alarming industry it would further erode profits amid a global commodities slump and higher electricity tariffs."On any tax proposals we take the trouble of engaging with industry before we can implement," Nene told reporters ahead of tabling his three-year budget outlook.“So whether it will be implemented in 2016 as we announced or later, will depend on discussions we are having,” he said.Former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in 2014 delayed the introduction of a carbon tax by one year to 2016, tweaking its policies to better protect industry from a proposed tax price of 120 rand per ton of carbon equivalent.The postponement was welcomed by mining and other carbon-intensive companies, such as steel giant ArcelorMittal and petrochemical group Sasol, who have said the new tax will erode profits against a backdrop of rising electricity tariffs and sluggish economic growth.The tax, expected to be phased in over time, was due to start on Jan 1, 2015 and is one of several green initiatives, including greater vehicles emission taxes South Africa wants to implement to reduce its carbon footprint.Should the new carbon tax bill, which was approved by cabinet, be sent for public comment, it is unlikely that it would be made law before Nene’s budget policy speech in February, given that the legislative process at parliament was winding down already.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF THE WEST
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
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)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Russia considers providing $5 billion loan to Iran: ministry-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia considers providing a $5 billion loan to Iran for joint infrastructure projects, Moscow's energy ministry representative told Reuters on Wednesday."(Russia) is considering the possibility (to provide the loan). Iran asked for it," the representative, who asked not to be named, said.Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, currently visiting Iran, said earlier on Wednesday that Russia and Iran had agreed to $40 billion in projects in the last two years.(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova and Olesya Astakhova; writing by Polina Devitt; editing by Lidia Kelly)
Iran's Khamenei conditionally approves nuclear deal with powers-Reuters – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday approved the Iranian government's nuclear deal with world powers but said Tehran should not yield core elements of its nuclear program until allegations of past military dimensions had been settled.In a letter to President Hassan Rouhani published on Khamenei's official website, Iran's highest authority ordered the July 14 nuclear deal to be implemented, subject to certain conditions that the Iranian parliament stipulated in a law passed last week.He said Iran should delay sending its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad and reconfiguring a heavy water reactor to ensure it cannot make bomb-grade plutonium - central aspects of Iran's obligations under the deal -- until U.N. inspectors had settled the issue of whether Tehran had ever sought nuclear weapons."Any action regarding Arak (reactor) and dispatching uranium abroad ... will take place after the PMD (possible military dimensions) file is closed," Khamenei wrote in the letter.Iran has repeatedly denied engaging in research aimed at developing a nuclear weapon, though for years stonewalled a U.N. nuclear watchdog inquiry based on intelligence suggesting it had done so in violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) finished collecting samples from Iran's military sites earlier this month and is expected to announce its conclusions on the PMD issue by Dec. 15.Khamenei also said U.S. President Barack Obama had sent him two letters promising America had no intention of toppling the Islamic Republic's clerical establishment, but added that U.S. actions had proved that "this was not true".This story has been refiled to restore missing word "not" in first paragraph)(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Sam Wilkin; Editing by William Maclean and Mark Heinrich)
Upstaged NATO searches for '360-degree' response to Russia-By Robin Emmott | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
TRAPANI, Italy (Reuters) - The brass band played, the flags waved and Western generals delivered speeches brimming with resolve as NATO began big war games in the central Mediterranean this week.But the military display seemed faintly unreal while Russian warplanes were bombing Syrian rebels a few hundred kilometers (miles) to the east in a coordinated action with President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces and Iran's Revolutionary Guards.NATO, which waged an air campaign to help Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi, then left that country to descend into anarchy, is not a player in Syria and is watching uncomfortably as its former Cold War adversary Russia widens its role there.The speed and scope of Moscow's intervention in Syria's four-year-old civil war, coming after Russia's seizure of Crimea and support for pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine last year, wrong-footed the U.S.-led alliance and has heightened soul-searching about its future."The West has been tactically surprised. I don't think they anticipated what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would get up to," said Nick Witney, a former European Defence Agency chief now at the European Council on Foreign Relations.NATO last year set in motion its biggest modernization since the Cold War. But the alliance's political and military elite now see the need for a broader plan that goes beyond deterring Russia in the east. They call it thinking "360 degrees"."We need to develop a strategy for all kinds of crises, at 360 degrees," said Gen. Denis Mercier, the Frenchman who heads NATO's command focused on future threats. "We need to react in the south, in the east, the north, all around."NATO's problem is that such a strategy is still embryonic while developments in Europe's neighborhood are moving faster than the ponderous approach of the 28-nation defense pact, created in 1949 to deter the Soviet threat.From the Baltics, where Russia has a naval base in Kaliningrad, through the Black Sea and annexed Crimea, to Syria, Moscow has stationed anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles able to cover huge areas.NATO officials see the emergence of a strategy of defensive zones of influence, with surface-to-air missile batteries and anti-ship missiles that could disrupt NATO moving across air, land and sea or deny it access to some areas.Unconventional warfare techniques are part of the equation, ranging from unidentified troops - the so-called "green men" without insignia on their uniforms seen in Crimea and eastern Ukraine - to disinformation operations and cyber attacks.OVERESTIMATING RUSSIA?-NATO also faces failing states, war, Islamist militancy and a refugee crisis at Europe's borders. That is partly a result of the European Union's inability to stabilize its neighborhood economically.But critics say it is also due to U.S. President Barack Obama's aversion to entanglement in Middle East wars in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. That has led to a decline in Washington's influence across the region.While NATO is drawing up a multi-layered deterrence plan, officials acknowledge a risk that Russia might again move faster to pre-empt Western action. For instance, it could move warships from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Libyan coast to hamper any possible NATO effort to support a government of national unity in the future.Still, some say NATO has been here before and any talk of a lack of preparedness is overblown. Past bouts of questioning of the alliance's relevance led to operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan - a significant departure from 40 years of Cold War deterrence in which NATO forces never operated "out of area".A NATO official rejected any suggestion the alliance was passively watching Russia's military build-up in Syria, noting that three allies – the United States, France and Turkey – were involved individually in the coalition waging air strikes against Islamic State rebels in Syria and Iraq.Some experts see a danger of overestimating Putin, who oversees an economy weakened by Western sanctions and lower oil prices and cannot match NATO military power over the long term."We should be under no illusions about Putin's hostility to the West but also be very careful not to over react to what a damaged Russian economy can produce in the way of military capability," said Witney, a former British defense planner.LOOKING TO AMAZON, DHL-NATO's public response is to test its new spearhead force of 5,000 troops, ready to move within a few days. Over the next five weeks, the alliance is carrying out its biggest military exercises since 2002, with 36,000 troops, 230 military units, 140 aircraft and more than 60 ships, to certify the force.Such measures, agreed at a NATO summit in Wales last year following Russia's annexation of Crimea, are aimed chiefly at reassuring eastern allies that Russia will not be able to invade them too. There is still debate about whether the spearhead force could be used in North Africa or beyond.Small command posts with NATO flags from Estonia to Bulgaria and the spearhead force are ready. But one NATO diplomat called such measures "the minimum necessary", and Gen. Mercier said the so-called Readiness Action Plan was "just a first step"."We have worked on reassuring our allies," said Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme commander in Europe. "We are not exactly sure what it will take to work in the future," he said when asked what NATO's modern deterrents might look like.The next NATO summit next July in Warsaw is the target date for proposals for more modern, agile deterrents.Such ideas include setting up NATO-flagged command posts on the southern flank and adapting the spearhead force for maritime and air operations.They could also feature a permanent naval force to patrol the Mediterranean and work more closely with the European Union and the United Nations in stabilizing fragile states.Another idea involves including a nuclear deterrent in training exercises, something Britain supports but others, such as Germany, worry would be seen as a provocation by Russia.NATO's Gen. Mercier even suggested looking to companies such as courier DHL Worldwide Express and online retailer Amazon.com to improve NATO's deployment speed."The question is how to have new ideas to make deployments easier. We should look at what the civilian world does, to DHL and Amazon. How do they improve their logistics?" Mercier said.(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Syria's Assad visits Putin in Moscow, strengthening his hand at home and in possible talks-By Albert Aji And Nataliya Vasilyeva, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – OCT 21,15-YAHOONEWS
DAMASCUS, Syria - President Bashar Assad has travelled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally, Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria— in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition— must lead to a political process.The surprise visit Tuesday reflects renewed confidence from the embattled Syrian president after Russia and Iran, another staunch ally, dramatically escalated their support recently as Moscow began carrying out airstrikes on Syrian insurgents and Tehran sent hundreds of ground forces.A Syrian official confirmed Wednesday that Assad had returned to Damascus. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Putin said he had invited Assad, thanking him for "coming to Moscow despite a tragic situation in your country."Assad flashed wide smiles as he shook hands with Putin and other officials. "We thank you for standing by Syria's territorial integrity and its independence," Assad told Putin.Syria's conflict began in March 2011 after the government cracked down violently on largely peaceful protests against Assad's rule. The protests gradually became an armed insurgency and a civil war that has killed a quarter of a million people in the past five years.Moscow, a traditional ally of the Assad family, started an air campaign on Sept. 30 against what it said are terrorist groups threatening Syria and Assad's rule. It became the latest international power to deepen its involvement into the increasingly intractable conflict that saw a mushrooming of armed groups, including the militant Islamic State group and al-Qaida.Russia says it is targeting militants. But critics, including the U.S., say the Moscow military intervention helps props up Assad and is likely to fan the violence.Putin said that along with fighting militants, Moscow believes that "a long-term settlement can only be achieved as part of a political process with the participation of all political forces, ethnic and religious groups.""The Syrian people have been putting up a fight against international terrorism effectively on its own for several years, sustaining sizeable losses but it has achieved positive results recently," Putin said.A statement posted on the Syrian presidency's official Facebook page said the meetings discussed the continuation of the military operations against terrorism in Syria, calling it the "obstacle" to a political solution."Terrorism which we see spreading today could have been more widespread and more harmful if it weren't for your decisions and steps, not only in our region," Assad told Putin in remarks carried by Arab media.The statement said Assad had three separate meetings in Moscow: talks with Putin and his foreign and defence ministers, a closed-door meeting between the two leaders and a working dinner..Commentators on Syrian TV hailed the visit as endorsement of Assad's legitimacy, reinforcing the notion that he must be part of a future political solution to the crisis."This lightning trip is a slap" to Assad's opponents, Syrian analyst Bassam Abdullah told state television channel Ikhbariyah after the visit, adding that it highlights the need for political meetings not just military action. Abdullah described the meeting as "intimate" and reflecting a common vision and values between the two leaders. "There is a clear strategic shift in the region ... and it is happening fast," he said.Television footage showed footage of Putin and Russia's foreign and defence ministers meeting with Assad, with the two leaders exchanging warm handshakes and smiles. Syrian government officials didn't say if anyone travelled with Assad and photos from the meeting didn't show a delegation accompanying the Syrian leader.Assad said Russia's intervention was in line with international law and praised it as an effort to rid Syria and the region of terrorism.Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments carried by Russian news agencies, declined to comment on any specific outcome of the talks.Since June, Russia has played with the idea of a political transition that would envisage setting up some sort of interim government, and has discussed the issue with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the Syrian opposition and others. Moscow's diplomatic efforts have brought no visible results so far, but Putin has insisted that a political solution for Syria remains his top goal despite the military action. He recently met with Saudi officials, staunch critics of Assad and supporters of the rebels fighting against him.Moscow also has sought to alleviate the concerns of Turkey, a major economic partner and the second-biggest importer of Russian natural gas, which has been critical of Russia's intervention in Syria. Ankara also supports rebels fighting Assad.Answering questions about Assad's visit to Moscow, Turkey's prime minister took a jab at the Syrian leader, reiterating his country's position that Assad should not have a role in Syria's future."If only he could stay in Moscow longer, to give the people of Syria some relief; in fact he should stay there so the transition can begin," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters.Davutoglu insisted that efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis should focus "not on a transition with Assad, but on formulas for Assad's departure."Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was present at the talks and dinner with Assad on Tuesday, said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow is not going to halt its military operation in Syria."With our support, Syrian government forces have turned from a retreat to an offensive, liberating a part of their territory from Islamic State militants," Shoigu said. "We are going to continue rendering the assistance to the legitimate Syrian authorities and create preconditions for a settlement of this conflict."A week after Russia launched its airstrikes, Syrian ground troops, aided by allied fighters from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, pushed their way into central and northern Syria in an attempt to drive out rebel and militant groups in control of territories there. So far, Syrian forces have seized a few villages but there has been no strategic victory. Many of the attacks have hit western-backed rebels and al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, but not the Islamic State group, with its stronghold in eastern Syria.The Russian airstrikes have allowed Syrian troops and their allies to launch multiple ground offensives in northern, central and southern Syria as well as in the rebel-held suburbs of the capital, Damascus.Dmitry Trenin of the Moscow Carnegie Center said that Putin's meeting with Assad signals Russia's willingness to seek a political solution in Syria — but on its own terms."By summoning Assad to Moscow, Putin seeks to convert an early military success into political capital, by launching a political transition on his terms," he said.___Vasilyeva reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Kate de Pury in Moscow contributed to this report.___This story has been corrected to show that the Syrian conflict began in 2011, not 2001.
KNOWLEGE INCREASED AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
EU's Juncker summons leaders over Balkan refugee crisis-By Tom Körkemeier and Paul Taylor | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called an extraordinary meeting of several European leaders on Sunday to tackle the migrant crisis in the western Balkans as thousands trying to reach Germany are trapped in deteriorating conditions.The Commission said in a statement on Wednesday that Juncker had invited the heads of state or government of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, plus key organizations involved."In view of the unfolding emergency in the countries along the western Balkans migratory route, there is a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action," the European Union executive said.The mini-summit's aim was to agree "common operational conclusions which could be immediately implemented", it said.It comes as crowds of refugees and other migrants camp by roads in western Balkan countries in worsening autumn weather after Hungary sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia, causing a chain reaction in other overwhelmed states.Slovenia passed legislation on Wednesday to give the army more power help police guarding the state border -- which forms the outer edge of the passport-free Schengen zone -- as refugees streamed in from Croatia on the way to Austria.EU diplomats said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, under mounting domestic pressure over an influx of hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers, was the driving force behind the latest meeting, just 10 days after the last full EU summit on migration.Some diplomats voiced concern that Berlin was deepening divisions in the 28-nation bloc by pressing for a permanent mechanism for relocating refugees among member states, which several governments saw as an open-ended commitment and were determined to resist, at least until the influx can be limited.DIVIDING LINE-A dividing line is emerging between governments that see the crisis primarily as a security issue requiring stronger action to control the EU's borders, stem the flow of migrants, send back those not entitled to asylum and pay other states if necessary to keep them at bay, and those that see it above all as a humanitarian integration challenge.Diplomats said Tusk reflected the security concerns more strongly, while Juncker saw the EU's humanitarian values at stake. Berlin and Commission officials are also skeptical of the chances of preventing desperate people fleeing war, persecution and poverty from reaching Europe.Last week's EU summit agreed on a range of measures to strengthen external border protection and offer financial incentives to Turkey and other nations to keep refugees on their soil and deter them from heading to Europe.The new meeting appeared to be an effort by Juncker and Merkel to raise pressure on central and southeast European states to cooperate among themselves in managing the migration flow in a more humane way and end a series of unilateral actions that have raised political tensions.The meeting will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a working dinner and will also involve United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, the European Asylum Support Office and EU border agency Frontex.The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and Luxembourg, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, were also invited.(Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Alastair Macdonald and Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
Bad weather, border closures add to plight of migrants in Balkans-By Maja Zuvela | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
RIGONCI, Slovenia (Reuters) - Refugees from Asian wars crossed into Croatia from Slovenia on Wednesday as border closures elsewhere forced them to find new routes to rich European countries and concern grew over the plight of those stranded in wet, freezing weather.On the Croatian-Serbian border, thousands of migrants spent the night camped out at the Berkasovo-Bapska crossing after Croatia closed the gates.And in an indication that refugees and migrants were still desperate to reach Europe before winter weather made sea crossings too perilous, two boatloads landed at a British military base on Cyprus - the first such arrivals on the island.With many now trapped in deteriorating conditions in the Balkans, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called an extraordinary meeting of several European leaders to take place on Sunday.Juncker invited the leaders of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia."In view of the unfolding emergency in the countries along the Western Balkans migratory route, there is a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action," the commission said in a statement.Europe's biggest refugee and migrant crisis since World War II has seen hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa this year, with hundreds losing their lives in risky voyages across the Mediterranean.Hungary sealed its border with Croatia last week, blocking entry with a steel fence and razor wire. Croatia began directing migrants west to Slovenia, which has tried to stem the flow as people looked for new routes and bottlenecks built up through the Balkans.Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of Europe's passport-free Schengen Area while Croatia is not. Most want to continue their journey on to Austria and Germany, the most popular destination.Hazem Al Mousa, a 30-year-old Syrian from Aleppo, crossed into Slovenia on Wednesday near the town of Rigonci with his three sisters, brother and 84-year-old grandmother in a wheelchair."It is most important that my grandmother gets medical assistance and my sisters go to school and I'll try to find some work," he said. "I am so afraid that Germany will close its borders. I hope we will make it. We keep fighting and let's hope for a miracle."Traveling with him was Homayoon Hoseini, 16, from Afghanistan, whose parents were killed by the Taliban."Some friends in Iran helped me pay for this trip. I want to go Amsterdam and find a school there." he said.He had spent the night under open skies at the Croatian-Slovenian border."It was so cold. We were trying to keep ourselves warm and lit fires but that didn't help. Thank God for the sun today," he said.SLOVENIA SEEKS HELP-Slovenia's parliament passed legislation on Wednesday to give the army more power to help police guarding the border, and Prime Minister Miro Cerar said he would ask the European Union for police reinforcements and financial help-More than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Slovenia since Saturday morning in order to pass through to Austria.On the Croatian-Serbian border, about 3,500 migrants spent the night in freezing cold at the Berkasovo-Bapska crossing, huddling in tents or under tarpaulins provided by aid groups and burning bonfires to keep warm.At first light, groups of them bypassed the official border gate and walked through orchards into Croatia.Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of migrants building in the Balkans, battered by autumn winds and rain as temperatures drop before winter."The keyword is - cold. It's been freezing, this was our busiest night this week," said Astrid Coyne-Jensen of the Danish People's Aid medical team.Mustafa, wrapped in a blanket, said his group of three families spent the night at the crossing under a piece of discarded tarpaulin as there were not enough tents for everyone."I am from Hama in Syria, I have family in Turkey, I will tell them not to come as this is not for people, this is for animals," Mustafa said.Hungary meanwhile said it had no intention of opening any corridor for migrants."Hungary has made it abundantly clear...that it does not support any proposal to open corridors on the border sections closed in the south or to provide means of transport for migrants within the Schengen zone," government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said after a meeting of Croatian, Slovenian, Austrian and Hungarian police chiefs in Vienna.A police spokesman in the Austrian province of Styria said about 1,500 migrants had been found walking on a road near the Slovenian border and had been transported back to migrant centers.Almost 6,000 migrants arrived at the port of Pireaus on the Greek mainland on Wednesday on three ferry boats from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, the first point of landfall for many refugees from Syria.Two boatloads carrying about 140 men, women and children came ashore at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, the first time since the crisis began that refugees have landed directly on what is considered British sovereign soil.(Additional reporting by Igor Ilic in Zagreb, Michele Kambas in Athens, Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade, Aleksandar Vasovic in Berkasova, Shadia Nasralla in Vienna, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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)
Mystery deaths in Sierra Leone spread fear of Ebola relapses-By Kemo Cham and Emma Farge | Reuters – oct 21,15-yahoonews
FREETOWN/DAKAR (Reuters) - A poster in Sierra Leone's crumbling coastal capital Freetown proclaims a message from an Ebola survivor called Sulliaman: "I feel 100 percent healthy!" Another beaming survivor Juliana says: "I am one of the safest people to be around!"Throughout the two-year Ebola epidemic, thousands of West African survivors have been shunned by their communities, prompting governments to sponsor messages stressing their complete recovery in a bid to counter fear and paranoia.But the case of Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey – the first known Ebola survivor to have an apparently life-threatening relapse – has revived concerns about the health of some 17,000 survivors in Sierra Leone, neighbouring Guinea and Liberia. [ID:nL8N12F1YU]-Doctors and health officials in Sierra Leone told Reuters that a handful of mystery deaths among discharged patients may also be types of Ebola relapses, stirring fear that the deadly virus may last far longer than previously thought in the body, causing other potentially lethal complications.Diagnoses have not been made, partly because of a lack of relevant medical training and insufficient equipment for detecting a virus that can hide in inaccessible corners of the body - such as the spinal fluid or eyeball. In Cafferkey's case, the virus in her brain caused meningitis. [ID:nL8N12L3RD]-Dr. Dan Kelly, founder of non-profit organisation Wellbody Alliance who has worked on Ebola in Sierra Leone, estimates that relapsing Ebola might affect 10 percent of all recovered patients.He said this was based on two cases, including Cafferkey's, where the live virus was detected among the roughly 20 survivors treated in Europe and the United States. Other experts have declined to give an estimate, saying it is too early to tell."One case reminds me of Pauline but we were unable to find a laboratory willing to test the patient before the patient died," he said. "In West Africa it (relapsing Ebola) is mostly undiagnosed, hardly treated and people are certainly dying of it."Confirmation of such relapses would prolong for a third year the struggle to defeat a virus that has killed nearly 11,300 people and ravaged the economies of some of the world's poorest countries.Guinea is the only nation in West Africa that still has new confirmed cases. Liberia has been declared Ebola-free while Sierra Leone has gone 25 days without a case. But Ebola survivors continue to die under mysterious circumstances, health officials say.Doctors at Freetown's 34 Military Hospital said they had seen two Ebola survivors return for treatment weeks after being discharged complaining of respiratory problems, including one this month. Both later died.Officials at King's Sierra Leone Partnership also confirmed one possible relapse case in a patient with a weakened immune system in Freetown a week after recovery. Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Centre said further research on such "anomalies" is underway.The findings may deepen the suffering of survivors, who are already fighting against stigma."Until there is a conclusive study, we can never be sure about this. And to be safe we must isolate them," said Freetown resident Alagie Kamara.SURVIVOR TRAUMA-Brima Amidu, a student who survived Ebola, said his landlord has doubled his rent, in a move he believes is intended to drive him out."They (Western medics) treated us and if this happens to them what does it mean for us?" he said, referring to Cafferkey's relapse ten months after recovery.Survivor Philip Koroma said counselling with a Christian group had helped him cope with ostracization. But one fellow survivor, Fatmata Conteh, was detained by police after she stoned a neighbour for calling her names, he said."All this is trauma. If they don't find a way to solve the problem, people could die of it," said Koroma.There are signs that stigmatisation is increasing amid evidence survivors can harbour the virus in semen for at least nine months. Liberia's last known case in June is thought to have been via sexual transmission. [ID:nL8N12E4Q2]-Oretha, a prostitute in the red light district of Liberia's capital Monrovia, said that reports of sexual transmission had left her and other girls afraid."Some of our friends died. That made us be careful and use condoms. Any man that talk 'flesh to flesh', I go from them," she said, in the local Creole dialect.In Sierra Leone's northern districts of Kambia and Bombali, new cases in recent weeks were immediately blamed on survivors."I'm deeply concerned by this. It is important that we all put aside fear and ignorance, and understand the facts about Ebola," said President Ernest Bai Koroma.PARIAH, LEPER AND OUTCAST-Derek Gatherer, a virus expert at Britain's Lancaster University who has closely tracked Ebola, noted that "many survivors will not recover their former lives anyway, because of the consequences of the disease - both medical and social."As well as stigma, many survivors complain of fatigue, joint pain and anxiety attacks.Some aid workers say that discussing findings on the persistence of the Ebola virus could put survivors in danger. Armand Sprecher, public health specialist at medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said a survivor already risked being treated "like a pariah, leper and an outcast"."We risk making their lives miserable if we miscommunicate the actual risk we are dealing with here," Sprecher said.Both Sierra Leone and Liberia are introducing programmes to help screen survivors to see if they harbour the virus. "Operation Shield" in Sierra Leone begins regularly testing the semen of willing survivors this month.In Guinea, where there are three known cases, government support for survivors is very basic.Unlike earlier in the epidemic, Ebola victims and their contacts now benefit from a trial vaccine.The World Health Organization is working with governments of the three countries to develop a survivor care plan."The Ebola response has already had to adapt to the extraordinary nature of this outbreak," said Adam Kucharski, an expert on infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine."The possibility of transmission long after apparent recovery poses yet another challenge."
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)
Death toll from storm that battered the Philippines' main island climbs to 39-By Bullit Marquez, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – oct 21,15-yahoonews
CABANATUAN, Philippines - The death toll from a storm that battered the Philippines' main island over the weekend has climbed to at least 39, officials said Wednesday.Tropical Storm Koppu, which barrelled ashore as a powerful typhoon in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday before weakening, forced more than 100,000 villagers into emergency shelters and destroyed rice fields ready for harvest.The storm blew away from the main island of Luzon on Tuesday and was over the Balintang Channel in the country's northern tip on Wednesday morning, with winds of 55 kilometres (34 miles) per hour near its centre, according to the government's weather bureau.At least 39 people were killed in the storm, mostly due to drowning, landslides, fallen trees and collapsed walls, said civilian defence officials. Several people were reported missing and more than 500,000 were affected by Koppu, including 107,000 who fled to evacuation centres.Disaster-response agencies said the rain dumped by the storm in the mountainous north flowed down rivers and flooded villages downstream in provinces including Pangasinan, where thousands of residents were evacuated Monday."We saw that there was lot of rain that fell in the mountains. There was a possibility of flash floods so residents were evacuated to safer grounds," said Melchito Castro of the regional Office of Civil Defence.An initial government estimate showed damage to agriculture and infrastructure amounted to at least 5.3 billion pesos ($115 million).Koppu, Japanese for "cup," was the 12th storm this year to batter the Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan levelled entire towns in the central Philippines, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
-