Friday, July 01, 2016

QUARTET DEMANDS ISRAEL MUST STOP SETTLEMENT EXPANSION IMMEDIATELY.

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)

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

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

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

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

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

Quartet: Israel must urgently halt settlement expansion-Middle East diplomacy group’s new report says Palestinian incitement also ‘severely undermines hopes for peace’-By AFP and Times of Israel staff June 30, 2016, 7:56 pm

A much-awaited report by the diplomatic Quartet supporting the Middle East process demands that Israel take urgent steps to halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the UN envoy said Thursday.Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that ongoing Israeli construction in the West Bank was one of three “negative trends” that must be quickly reversed to keep the hope of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal alive.Palestinian incitement to violence and the Palestinian Authority’s lack of control over the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip also “severely undermine hopes for peace,” Mladenov said.“These negative trends can and must be urgently reversed in order to advance the two-state solution on the ground,” he said.The full report prepared by the Quartet — the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations — is expected to be released on Friday after months of delays, mostly over of the thorny issue of settlements, diplomats said. Its findings and recommendations are intended to serve as the basis for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been comatose since a US peace initiative collapsed in April 2014.Mladenov said the report outlined a “reasonable set of steps” that could set Israel and the Palestinians “firmly along a navigable course toward establishing a comprehensive peace with historic implications for the entire region.”But he warned that a final peace agreement can only be achieved through direct, bilateral negotiations.“It is time for both sides to rise to the challenge,” he said.French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the report could help advance plans for a Paris peace conference on the Middle East later this year.“The French initiative and the Quartet report mutually reinforce each other and have a common goal to put the peace process back on track,” Delattre said.The UN envoy asked the Security Council to endorse the recommendations of the report in a move that would turn the document into an internationally agreed roadmap for Israeli-Palestinian peace.As the council discussed the new peace plan, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed and killed a 13-year-old Israeli girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, in her home in a West Bank settlement.Since October, a spate of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks have killed 33 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.At the same time, over 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli police, soldiers or civilians, some two-thirds of them while carrying out attacks against Israelis and the remainder during clashes and demonstrations, according to Israel.

Egypt to Palestinians: We’ll work in UN against settlements-In first West Bank trip, Cairo’s foreign minister says Arab Peace Initiaitve must stand without alterations, undercuts Hamas-By Dov Lieber June 30, 2016, 7:56 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the Palestinians in a televised speech Wednesday night that his country opposes any changes to the Arab Peace Initiative, and would use its power in the United Nations Security Council to force Israel to halt settlement building.Earlier in June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be interested in an altered draft of the initiative, a 2002 proposal that would see all Arab and Muslim states establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel after the successful conclusion of the peace process with the Palestinians.Netanyahu rejected the clauses in the Saudi-drafted initiative that require a full Israeli withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Six Day War and that set out terms for a resolution of the issue of Palestinian refugees in return for normalized ties with the Arab world.Shoukry, in his first visit to the Palestinian territories, said that Egypt would not accept any changes to the plan.“The Arab initiative is stable and supported by the international community through multiple frameworks at the United Nations and other international organizations and it is referred to on a regular basis in documents and events related to the peace process,” he said.Shoukry pointed out that the initiative had been repeatedly reaffirmed by the Arab League as well.He attributed the initiative’s sound backing to its handling of all the elements needed for a solution to the conflict that “is consistent with international vision and thought.”Regarding plans to end Israeli settlement activity through the UN, Shoukry said that Egypt, “as a current member of the United Nations Security Council, is in constant discussion with the PA on what would be a good time and proper framework for moving through the UNSC” in order to compel Israel to cease settlement building.“Ideas are currently being fleshed out,” he said.The Egyptian foreign minister was in Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and deliver a message from Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.The message, according to a report by the official PA news agency Wafa, said that Sissi sent full “support to the president and the Palestinian people, and that Egypt will stand alongside their brothers the Palestinian people in order to achieve their legitimate rights and establish a state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”Shoukry stressed that all Egyptians sympathize “with their Palestinian brothers… sensing their destiny is united.”He also reiterated Egypt’s support for the French peace initiative — a new regional approach for a peace plan — and said his country is currently helping France prepare for a special conference on the Palestinian issue.Not content with relying on the French initiative, Shoukry said his country has been in constant consultation with the US and that he was in talks with Secretary of State John Kerry to search for other ways to advance the peace process.-Egypt snubs Hamas with unity bid-In what could be seen as a swipe at Hamas’s authority in the Gaza Strip, Shoukry said a national government must be formed in order to lift the blockade on the enclave and began rebuilding it. The national government, Shoukry added, would be a “legitimate authority” to provide services to citizens in both Gaza and the West Bank.The minister stressed that a unity government would be taken more seriously in negotiations by the international community as well as Israel.Israel often argues it cannot make peace with the Palestinians while Gaza and the West Bank are separated politically. However, Jerusalem also opposes reconciliation between Hamas, deemed a terror group, and the internationally backed Fatah.

India successfully tests missile defense system developed with Israel-New Delhi defense officials confirm test-firing of Barak 8 ‘met all the targets’ and dub it ‘a grand success’-By Times of Israel staff June 30, 2016, 8:45 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

The Indian military on Thursday successfully test fired the Barak 8, a surface-to-air missile defense system it developed jointly with Israel, reports in Indian media said.The system, made up of a radar array and missile launcher, successfully detected and downed an unmanned aerial vehicle, an official from India’s Defense Research and Development Organization said.“The test launch was a grand success and it met all the targets,” he told the local NDTV News.Developed jointly by the DRDL and Israel Aerospace Industries, the Barak 8 system can identify and destroy airborne threats like UAVs, jets, missiles and rockets, including projectiles launched simultaneously.Unlike other defense systems, Barak 8 can be installed on naval ships as well as on the ground, giving it a mobility advantage.Israel in November also carried out its first successful launch of the new maritime missile defense system, and has already been installed on one of its Sa’ar 5-class warships.Though senior Israeli officials have not revealed the maximum range of the Barak 8 system, an executive vice president of IAI revealed to Jane’s Defense News last year that some of its missiles could shoot down targets at a range of 150 kilometers (93 miles).The radar acquiring targets for the Barak 8 system is code-named Adir (Hebrew for “Tremendous”), or MF-STAR (Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar).This newest iteration (“8”) is intended to defend against advanced weaponry believed to be in the hands of Hezbollah, including the Russian-made Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missile.

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

GENESIS 12:1-3
1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3  And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

ISAIAH 41:11
11  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee (ISRAEL) shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing;(DESTROYED) and they that strive with thee shall perish.(ISRAEL HATERS WILL BE TOTALLY DESTROYED)

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

Two Israelis wounded in Netanya stabbing attack-Police say terrorist, a Palestinian man from Tulkarem, shot dead at the scene by an armed civilian-By Tamar Pileggi June 30, 2016, 8:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Two people were stabbed and wounded on Thursday evening in what police said was a terror attack outside a market in the coastal city of Netanya.The Magen David Adom emergency response service said a man described as being around 40 years old sustained serious injures from multiple stab wounds to the upper body. The other victim, a 62-year-old woman, was lightly injured in the attack.Both were taken to the city’s Laniado Hospital for treatment.The assailant, identified by Israel Police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld as a Palestinian man from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, was shot dead at the scene by an armed civilian.Reports named the stabber as 40-year-old Wael Abu Saleh.אברך חרדי נדקר בפיגוע בנתניה ליד השוק #פיגוע #טרור #נתניה pic.twitter.com/RHbjwmSmpg-— דסק חדשות און ליין (@yosefbadichi) June 30, 2016-Security forces were scouring the area for a possible accomplice after eyewitnesses told police the assailant was dropped off at the market moments before he began stabbing passersby, Channel 2 reported.Store owner Michael Tobiana told Ynet that a young boy who witnessed the stabbings began to shout “terrorist,” alerting the attention of a security guard at a nearby supermarket.Abu Saleh was shot by the guard as he began to flee the scene.“It’s a good thing we were able to stop him, because otherwise he would have gone in to where the stalls are, where lots of people were shopping.”Earlier in the day, a 13-year-old Israeli girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian teenager in her home in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba.

Netanyahu vows to fight inciters and sponsors of terrorism-At US Independence Day event, PM, president hail ties with Washington, call for speedy conclusion of military aid deal-By Raphael Ahren July 1, 2016, 1:51 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Thursday to fight not only terrorists, but those who support them and incite to violence against Israelis.“We will always fight the terrorists. We will fight their dispatchers; we will fight the inciters; we will fight the sponsors. You do battle with terrorism by fighting the terrorists and those who back them,” he said at a Fourth of July event at the residence of US Ambassador Daniel Shapiro.Netanyahu’s speech came hours after two bloody terror attacks, including one in Netanya in which two Israelis were wounded by a knife-wielding Palestinian and an earlier attack in Kiryat Arba in which 13-year-old Hallel Yaffe Ariel was brutally stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist while in her bed.“This night of celebrations comes after a day of tragedy,” Netanyahu said. “What makes someone slit the throat of a child? It’s not the quest for peace. It’s the mind flooded with hate and incitement, an ideology that says this child is not a human being.”Addressing hundreds of guests gathered at Shapiro’s Herzliya residence, the prime minister thanks US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry for the administration’s support for Israel.“We have an increasing number of friends around the world. We do, and it’s heartening,” Netanyahu said. “But we never forget that the one true partnership is between the State of Israel and the United States.”The US-Israel alliance has “weathered every storm and every difficulty and will continue to do so” because Americans and Israelis are so close to each other, the prime minister continued. The two nations’ “foundational ethos” is “nearly identical,” he said.“I think Washington and Herzl would get along quite well; Ben Gurion and Jefferson would have a lot to talk about; unquestionably so would Madison and Begin, for sure.”Since Americans and Israelis share the same values, they also have the same enemies, the prime minister went on. “The values we hold most dear are anathema to terrorist groups like ISIS, Hezbollah, Hamas, and regimes like Iran. The last thing they want is our pluralism, our diversity, our belief in choice. They cannot stand the sight of men and women mingling together, of minorities enjoying full rights, of gays and lesbians marching proudly, of free people electing their leaders.”Netanyahu said he was grateful for the political and military support Washington has given Jerusalem over the years. “I hope that we’ll conclude a new memorandum of understanding for the invaluable American support for Israel’s defenses for the next decade.”President Reuven Rivlin also spoke at the event, expressing hope for a quick end to the negotiations over the military aid agreement.“I want to thank the American people — on both sides of the aisle — for years of financial, diplomatic, and military support, and for helping us carry the burden of defense,” he said. “Looking to the future, I hope that an agreement on this important issue will be reached as soon as possible.”The US-Israel relationship will remain strong regardless of who wins the upcoming US presidential elections, the president said. “From time to time, the obvious should be said, and even written: Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America. The United States is Israel’s most important and strongest ally… We in Israel are very committed and we will stay committed to this special relationship.”

Netanyahu: ‘You don’t murder a sleeping child for peace’-Full text: In video message after terrorist kills Hallel Ariel, 13, PM slams brainwashing by ‘warped ideology,’ vows not to let ‘barbarism defeat humanity’-July 1, 2016, 12:27 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Full text of a video message by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of the killing of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 13, by a Palestinian terrorist on June 30, 2016:-“This morning a terrorist sneaked into the bedroom of a 13-year-old girl, Hallel-Yaffa Ariel. He murdered young Hallel in cold blood. A picture of her blood stained room is almost too hard to see. There’s a teddy bear still on her bed, a red beanbag chair, some pictures on the wall, shoes tightly packed in a bin next to her bunk bed.“Why would any person do this?-“You don’t murder a sleeping child for peace. You don’t slit a little girl’s throat to protest a policy you don’t like.“You do this because you’ve been brainwashed. You’ve been brainwashed by a warped ideology that teaches you that this child isn’t human.“We will not let barbarism defeat humanity.“There’s no middle ground between beautiful Hallel and her unspeakably evil murderer.“Today, each of us is going to fight back.“I ask you to walk into your child’s bedroom before they go to sleep. I ask you to hug them. I ask you to kiss them.“Teach them that the values that Hallel’s murderer most detested – freedom, diversity, pluralism – will never die; we’ll always hold them dear. Tell them that we will never let fear, evil and terror triumph; that we will always stand for justice. And this is how we will fight back.“We fight back first by fighting back, fighting the terrorists, fighting their backers, fighting those who incite for such murder, whether in Hebron or in Orlando, or in Berlin, or in Ankara, or in Belgium, anywhere.“We fight back by making sure that our collective moral compass doesn’t waver even a millimeter.“Today we will cherish Hallel’s memory. We will defend and honor her dignity by redoubling our efforts around the world to defeat the scourge of radical Islamist terror.“May Hallel’s memory forever be a blessing.”

Hezbollah scraps ‘Al-Quds Day’ event amid security fears-Lebanon on high alert since nine bombs exploded Monday in eastern border village of Qaa, killing five-By AP July 1, 2016, 12:33 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah group cancelled an annual event on Thursday in Beirut’s southern suburbs amid security concerns gripping the country in the wake of deadly suicide bombings earlier this week in a Christian village along the Syrian border.In a statement, the Iran-backed Shiite group said it was scrapping the commemorations of Al-Quds Day, citing the prevailing “security situation.”It was the first time the group, which also participates as a political party in Lebanon’s government, cancelled the annual commemoration established by Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution.Al-Quds is Arabic for Jerusalem. Al-Quds Day falls on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and is meant to be a day of solidarity with the Palestinians.The Lebanese army, meanwhile, announced it had foiled two terror plots by the Islamic State group targeting residential and tourist sites in the country. The army said it had arrested five suspects linked to the plots, among them the alleged mastermind. It did not say where or when the suspects were arrested.Lebanon has been on high alert since nine bombs exploded in the eastern border village of Qaa on Monday, killing five residents. Eight were detonated by suicide bombers. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.Violence from neighboring Syria’s devastating civil war has on occasion spilled into Lebanon’s border regions. The Islamic State and al-Qaeda militants briefly seized the Lebanese border town of Arsal in 2014, before security forces pushed them back across the frontier.

THE CANADIAN MARKETS ARE CLOSED FRIDAY-TODAY-THE USA MARKETS ARE CLOSED MONDAY BOTH FOR HOLIDAYS.

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)

HERES TWO FOR THE END OF THE WORLD CROWD TO SET A DATE FOR OVER THIS WEEKEND HOLIDAY SEASON.

Rosetta, Philae to reunite on comet for Sept 30 mission end-[AFP]-Mariëtte Le Roux-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Paris (AFP) - After nearly two years apart, Europe's Rosetta spacecraft will join stranded robot probe Philae on September 30 on the icy surface of a comet hurtling through space, their eternal resting place, mission control said Thursday.In orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which is speeding further and further away from the Sun and its battery-charging rays, the trailblazing space laboratory is starting to run low on energy."Rosetta is reaching the end of its natural life," said the European Space Agency (ESA), announcing the swansong on a captivating 12-year quest."The time has come for the orbiter to join its companion Philae on Churyumov-Gerasimenko," added France's CNES space agency.After its crashlanding, communications with Rosetta will be severed once and for all, closing the historic mission to unravel the secrets of comets -- believed to be time capsules from the birth of the Solar System."This announcement may at first sight appear a little sad, given how people all over the world identified with this remarkable mission," said CNES president Jean-Yves Le Gall."But for Rosetta and Philae it will be a fitting end and the chance to obtain new measurements and close-up pictures of the comet that will yield new data for the world's scientific community."The data obtained from Rosetta and Philae will continue to be analysed for months and years to come, with many more discoveries thought possible.The 1.3-billion-euro ($1.4-billion) mission, approved in 1993, saw Rosetta launched into space in March 2004, with a comet lander dubbed Philae riding piggyback.- Space age triumph -The pair travelled some 6.5 billion kilometres (four billion miles) -- aided by gravity boosts from Earth and Mars -- before entering the comet's orbit in August 2014.Three months later, Rosetta sent the 100-kilogramme (220-pound) Philae probe down to the comet surface, starting a deep-space saga closely watched around the world via cartoon recreations of the pioneering pair.Philae's nail-biting exploits earned it a loyal Twitter following.The washing machine-sized robot, with 10 instruments for sniffing and prodding, bounced several times after its harpoons failed to fire into the comet surface.It ended up in a ditch shadowed from the Sun's battery-replenishing rays, but still managed to run about 60 hours of experiments and send home reams of valuable data before entering standby mode.As 67P neared the Sun on its elongated orbit, Philae emerged from hibernation in June 2015 and sent a two-minute message via Rosetta, eliciting great excitement on Earth.But after eight intermittent communications, the lander went permanently silent on July 2015.Rosetta has continued to probe the comet from a distance, without catching sight of its long-lost charge.But now, as 67P heads towards the orbit of Jupiter in the outer reaches of our Solar System, the craft has "significantly reduced" solar power for operating its instruments, and reduced bandwidth for sending science data back to Earth.Ground controllers will start changing Rosetta's orbit in August, bringing it progressively nearer the surface."The last six weeks will be particularly challenging as we fly eccentric orbits around the comet -- in many ways this will be even riskier than the final descent itself," said ESA spacecraft operations manager Sylvain Lodiot.Rosetta had been in hibernation for 31 months of its decade-long journey towards 67P.But this time, the craft will reach a point so far from the Sun at 850 million km that it would likely not survive another 6.5-year comet orbit for a battery recharge later.It was thus decided to land the craft, allowing closer-than-ever science observations on its final approach."And what better way for Rosetta to bow out than with a final, parting kiss!" said Le Gall.Rosetta had taken unprecedented images of the comet surface, analysed gases coming off its surface and scanned its insides.From the mission we have learnt that comets contain organic molecules, the building blocks of life.

Hubble captures aurora bigger than Earth swirling at Jupiter's north pole-Michael Franco June 30, 2016-GIZMAG

Last year might have belonged to Pluto, but by all accounts this is going to be the year of Jupiter. That's because the Juno spacecraft is completing its nearly five-year journey to reach the giant planet on July 4, where it will enter orbit to study the Jovian atmosphere. In preparation, astronomers have been training their telescopes on Jupiter to assist Juno in its mission – and the Hubble just caught a beautiful light show at the planet's north pole.Using the Hubble Space Telescope's ultraviolet sensing equipment, researchers were able to capture a Jovian aurora bigger than the size of the Earth. The image, seen here, was released by the European Space Agency (ESA) today and is actually a composite of two shots. The first is an optical shot taken by Hubble in spring 2014 and the second comes from its ultraviolet sensors and was taken this year."These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen", says Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester. "It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno." Nichols is the principal investigator on a study to use Hubble to map Jupiter in advance of Juno's arrival.The timing of the aurora observations is perfectly synced with Juno's position at the moment. The spacecraft is currently flying through and observing the solar wind that helps create the dramatic light show, just as it does here on Earth. The solar wind consists of a stream of charged particles flowing from the sun throughout the solar system. When those particles interact with a planet's atmosphere and magnetic field, a shifting glow — the aurora — is created as gas molecules release photons of light."While Hubble is observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe," says the ESA.In addition to the influence of the solar wind, Jupiter's aurorae are also aided by particles shed by neighboring moon Io. This makes the aurorae not only bigger than those on Earth, but also "hundreds of times more energetic," according to the ESA.This isn't the first time Hubble has turned its attention to Jupiter's aurorae while space probes approached the planet. It worked in conjunction with the Cassini spacecraft in 2000 to do the same and with New Horizon's flyby in 2007. Still, if you're a space fan, getting to gaze upon these spectacular light shows never gets old -- as you can do now, thanks to this NASA video.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Bright spot: Antarctica's ozone hole is starting to heal-[The Canadian Press]-Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press-JUNE 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

WASHINGTON - Antarctica's ozone hole finally is starting to heal, a new study finds.In a triumph of international co-operation over a man-made environmental problem, research from the United States and the United Kingdom shows that the September-October ozone hole is getting smaller and forming later in the year. And the study in Thursday's journal Science also shows other indications that the ozone layer is improving after it was being eaten away by chemicals in aerosols and refrigerants. Ozone is a combination of three oxygen atoms; high in the atmosphere, it shields Earth from ultraviolet rays.The hole has shrunk by about 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometres) in the key month of September since the year 2000 — a decline of about one-fifth, the study found. That difference is more than six times larger than the state of Texas. It also is taking about 10 days longer to reach its largest size, according to the study.The hole won't be completely closed until mid-century, but the healing is appearing earlier than scientists expected, said study lead author Susan Solomon of MIT."It isn't just that the patient is in remission," Solomon said. "He's actually starting to get better. The patient got very sick in the '80s when we were pumping all that chlorine" into the atmosphere."I think it's a tremendous cause for hope" for fixing other environment problems, such as man-made climate change, said Solomon, who led two U.S. Antarctic expeditions to measure the ozone layer in the 1980s and has also been a leader in studying global warming.In the 1970s, scientists suggested that Earth's ozone layer — about 6 to 30 miles high (10 to 50 kilometres) in the stratosphere — was thinning because of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons from aerosols and refrigerants.Those chemicals would break down into chlorine that attacked ozone, which at that level protects people from ultraviolet rays linked to skin cancer. Then in early 1980s, a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica started appearing in October — and then, September and October — making the problem more urgent. Ozone thinned elsewhere on Earth and already has begun healing in the middle section of the planet, but the Antarctic ozone hole was the gaping wound that grabbed the world's attention.The Montreal Protocol , a 1987 global treaty to phase out many of the ozone-depleting chemicals, led companies to develop new products that didn't eat away at the ozone layer. Still, scientists said it would take time before the problem would heal. Now it is actually getting better, not just stabilizing, based on new observations using different methods to measure the ozone layer, Solomon said."There is a sense of 'mission accomplished,'" emailed University of California San Diego's Mario Molina, who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for chemistry for his characterization of the ozone problem. He praised the study, in which he played no part.Last October threw a big scare into scientists who had been tracking the Antarctic. After years of slow decline, the ozone hole blew up to its biggest size ever."It was 'Oh my God, how could there be this record large ozone hole'?' Solomon said. "It was a huge setback."But the increase was sudden, which told Solomon something else was happening. She determined that small particles in the air from the Calbuco volcano eruption were mostly at fault."The paper is quite convincing. To me at least it resolves the mystery of the 2015 Antarctic ozone hole," University of Maryland atmospheric scientist Ross Salawitch, who wasn't part of the research, wrote in an email. "So, 28 years after the Montreal Protocol was agreed upon, we have strong evidence that the ozone hole is getting smaller. I'd say this is a remarkable achievement, particularly in the instant gratification world in which we live."___Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein

SitRep: Istanbul Attackers Named as Russian, Uzbek; U.S. Navy Releases Iran Report-[Foreign Policy Magazine]-Paul McLeary and Adam Rawnsley-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Attackers named. Turkish authorities announced Thursday they had arrested 22 people in connection with the bloody attack on the Istanbul airport earlier this week. A government official told CNN that “the attackers who carried out Tuesday’s shootings and suicide bombings were from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.”Guesswork. The Islamic State has previously jumped in to claim responsibility for slaughters like the killing of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, so why has the group stayed silent on the murder of 41 people in Istanbul? By avoiding any claim of responsibility, FP’s Elias Groll and Dan De Luce write in a smart new piece, ISIS forces Ankara to consider the possibility that its longtime Kurdish adversaries are responsible.“That could lead to Turkey’s ramping up its military campaign against the Kurds who are fighting — and making gains against — the Islamic State in northern Syria. The Islamic State seeks to exploit this fissure between Kurds and Turks to advance its agenda, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”Not guessing. CIA Director John Brennan says the attack in Istanbul “certainly bears the hallmarks of ISIL’s depravity,” however, and he would “be surprised if Daesh is not trying to carry out that kind of attack in the United States,” using an alternate name for the Islamic State.Punishment due. Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations will take the podium at the Pentagon Thursday at 9:45 a.m. to announce the findings of an investigation into how two U.S. Navy riverine craft drifted into Iranian territorial waters, only to have their crews detained by Iranian forces.  A redacted version of the investigation will also be released Thursday morning, and its findings confirm many details reported by FP’s Dan De Luce last month, according to U.S. officials. A Navy official confirms to De Luce that nine personnel will be disciplined for the screw-up, which includes the three boat crew members FP reported previously.A win for ISIS. The Islamic State just got its hands on more U.S. weapons. On Tuesday, fighters from the U.S.-backed New Syrian Army launched an assault on the Syrian town of al-Bukamal, near a critical border crossing with Iraq. By Wednesday, the U.S. allies had been beaten back, FP’s Henry Johnson and Paul McLeary report, and left behind some gear, including crates of American ammunition, M-16s, U.S. mortars, a Toyota Hilux pickup adapted to carry a heavy machine gun, and piles of new body armor.ISIS losing ground elsewhere. Spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS campaign, Col. Chris Garver, told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday that Syrian Arab fighters are establishing “footholds” around the northern Syrian city of Manbij, and have “seized more than 10,000 documents,” along with “cellphones, laptops, maps and digital storage devices.”He also said that at least 1,000 ISIS fighters had been killed in fighting with Iraqi government forces in Fallujah in recent weeks, and 1,000 others captured. Numbers are difficult to confirm, as some Shiite militias fighting alongside Iraqi government forces have been rounding up any military-age Sunni males they find fleeing the city, leading to claims of torture and murder. Other U.S. military officials are estimating that as many as 250 ISIS fighters were killed in American airstrikes near Fallujah on Wednesday. Those numbers, if true, would represent a huge blow for the terrorist group, since the U.S. intel community estimates the number of ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria to be between 19,000 and 25,000.Policy hold. The Pentagon was all set to unveil a new policy to allow transgender individuals to serve openly in the U.S. military, but concerns aired to Defense Secretary Ash Carter by senior military leaders may push the announcement back a bit. The military brass is concerned that the Pentagon is moving too fast to implement the huge changes to personnel policy, and have asked for more time to work through the issues.Good morning again from the Sitrep crew, thanks for clicking on through for the summer 2016 edition of SitRep. As always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national  security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley-South China Sea-China isn’t waiting for a decision from the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration on Beijing’s maritime territorial claims to talk trash about the international tribunal. The New York Times reports that Chinese officials are already rejecting the body’s authority to rule on a Philippine government claim that China’s assertions of ownership over the Scarborough Shoal are illegal under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The arbitration court says it will hand down a ruling on July 12, but China’s Foreign Ministry says it won’t listen, writing in a statement that it “does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China.” As usual, FP’s Dan De Luce and Keith Johnson laid it all out for you earlier this month.-North Korea-You can stop calling North Korea dynastic dictator “Kim Jong Un” because it’s now Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army to you, buddy. North Korea’s legislature offered Kim the new title this week when it named him chief of the State Affairs Commission after its predecessor, the National Defence Commission, was scrapped. Kim’s father, Kim Jong In, was known as the Dear Leader and grandpa Kim Il Sung had the title of “the Great Leader.”-NATO-NATO and Russia will hold formal talks for the second time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, Reuters reports. The talks will take place after the Atlantic alliance concludes its upcoming summit in Warsaw. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he wanted to wait until the summit had ended before meeting with NATO officials “to be able to examine the decisions that are taken there.” France has been pushing for a softer line towards Moscow and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said, “we don’t want the Warsaw summit to be a confrontational summit.”-Iran-Iran’s new top military officer is signaling that there won’t be any change of policy under his tenure. The Long War Journal reports that newly-crowned chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri pledged direct Iranian military intervention if “Baghdad, the sacred shrines, and the burial places of the pure Imams in Iraq” are threatened. He also reiterated that Iran intends to continue supporting its allies and taking on ethnic separatists at home. Bagheri took over the chief of staff position from recently-removed Major General Hassan Firouzabadi who had held the job since 1989.-ali-Mali, already the world’s most dangerous country for United Nations peacekeepers, is getting hit more frequently by al Qaeda-linked terrorist bombings, and the Security Council is responding by sending 2,500 more troops to the country. The move will bring the total number of U.N. troops to a little over 13,000. Islamist militants took over large parts of the country in 2013 but were pushed back by a French military intervention, which has since transitioned into a U.N. peacekeeping mission. Sporadic violence has continued, though, with attacks by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb as recently as May.-Bangladesh-Both al Qaeda and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Bangladesh that have killed over 30 people over the past year, but local officials aren’t convinced. They say say two local militant groups — Ansar-al-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen — are behind the killings. Between the two, Ansar, which pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, has proven to be the most organized and dangerous, they say, while Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, which claims allegiance to ISIS, is more loosely constructed.-Technology-Remotely-piloted locusts with hacked brains may be the future of bomb detection, PopSci reports. A research project at Washington University in St. Louis funded by the Office of Naval Research is looking at using the bugs’ keen sense of smell to sniff out dangerous explosives. The program would use electrodes in the locusts’ brains to radio back to a command center that they smell something. Pilots would be able to steer the insects via sensors tattooed on their wings that convert a laser beam’s light into heat signals to tell the bugs whether to bank left or right.-Marine Corps-Fifteen Marine drill instructors at Parris Island are facing an investigation into whether they hazed and assaulted recruits, the Wall Street Journal reports. The investigation began following the death of Muslim recruit Raheel Siddiqui, which found that a drill instructor was “improperly placed in charge of recruits while he was subject to an ongoing investigation.” One of Siddiqui’s instructors had used racist language towards another Muslim recruit and placed the Marine in a dryer.

Obama administration calls on private sector to assist refugees-[Reuters]-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday called on U.S. companies to assist refugees caught in a global refugee crisis in which 65 million people have been displaced, many of them by violent conflicts.The administration is seeking help from the private sector with education, employment and the enablement of refugees to be independent, the White House said in a statement.Fifteen founding companies have been recognised by the administration for taking on significant commitments to help refugees.They include Accenture, Airbnb, Chobani, Coursera, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, IBM, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and LinkedIn.The others are Microsoft, MasterCard, UPS, TripAdvisor, and Western Union.The United Nations Refugee Agency said that of the total number of displaced persons, 21 million have crossed international borders and have registered as refugees. The United States government plans to accept 85,000 this year, according to a White House fact sheet.Some prominent Republicans, including presidential candidate Donald Trump have criticized President Barack Obama's steps to bring refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan into the United States, citing security concerns.On Sept. 20, Obama is scheduled to host the Leader's Summit on Refugees at the UN for countries committed to making significant commitments to the UN's calls for humanitarian assistance.Examples of U.S. companies helping refugees include Airbnb partnering with aid organizations to provide their workers with travel credits to book accommodation as they respond to humanitarian crises.Social networking service LinkedIn launched an initiative in Sweden to help match employers with refugees seeking work in the country.And yogurt maker Chobani has been working with refugee centers in New York state to hire local refugees. Nearly 30 percent of the company's manufacturing workforce consists of resettled refugees, according to the firm.(Reporting by Kouichi Shirayanagi; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Iraq airstrikes kill scores of IS fighters fleeing Fallujah-[The Canadian Press]-Sinan Salaheddin, The Associated Press-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

BAGHDAD - Iraq's Defence Ministry has released footage showing airstrikes on dozens of vehicles described as a convoy of Islamic State fighters fleeing the western city of Fallujah following its recapture by the Iraqi military.Scores of militants are thought to have been killed in the airstrikes, which authorities lauded as an operation carried out exclusively by the Iraqi military."More than 20 helicopters took part in the mission and were able to destroy more than 138 vehicles," Iraqi army commander Lt. Gen. Hamid al-Maliki said.Al-Maliki, who is speaking in the footage released by the Defence Ministry late Wednesday night, said Iraqi helicopters carried out all of the strikes. "No other force took part in the operation," he said.The U.S.-led coalition said Thursday that they also conducted airstrikes on "two large concentrations of Daesh vehicles and fighters," according to spokesman Col. Christopher Garver. Daesh is an Arabic name for the Islamic State group.The strikes came in waves.Iraqi air force and coalition planes began attacking one convoy late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning and a second group of IS vehicles on Wednesday. Over the course of the two days, the coalition strikes were estimated to have destroyed 175 suspected IS vehicles, according to a statement from Garver. He said "we know the Iraqi security forces destroyed more" vehicles.Iraqi forces declared the city of Fallujah fully liberated on Sunday, after government troops pushed the remaining IS fighters out of the city's north and west under close cover of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.Hundreds of IS fighters were suspected to have escaped the city during the month-long operation, according to Iraqi commanders on the ground.IS has suffered a string of military defeats in Iraq over the past year. At the height of the group's power, in 2014, IS controlled nearly a third of Iraq, having blitzed across large swaths of the country's north and west and captured Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul. Now the group is estimated to control 14 per cent of Iraqi territory, according to the office of Iraq's prime minister.Following territorial losses, the Islamic State group often turns to increased militant attacks in and around Baghdad.On Thursday, police said separate attacks targeting commercial areas in the Iraqi capital killed at least 12 civilians. The deadliest was in the southwestern neighbourhood of Shurta al-Rabia where a suicide bomber blew himself up in an outdoor market, killing seven people and wounding at least 15.In Baghdad's western Ghazaliya neighbourhood, an explosion killed three civilians and wounded 11 in a commercial area. In a bombing in a commercial area in southeastern district of Zafaraniya, two civilians were killed and eight were wounded, police added.Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmarks of the IS group.Also Thursday the U.N. children's fund warned that the IS surge in Iraq and the military operation to route the extremist group from captured territory have had a "catastrophic impact," with some 4.7 million Iraqi children in need of humanitarian assistance.UNICEF warned that 3.6 million Iraqi children are at "serious risk" of death, injury, sexual violence, abduction and recruitment into armed groups, and called on warring parties in Iraq to protect their rights. It said that the number of children in Iraq at serious risk of death or wartime exploitation had increased by 1.3 million in the past 18 months."Children in Iraq are in the firing line and are being repeatedly and relentlessly targeted," said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's Iraq representative. "We appeal to all parties for restraint and to respect and protect children. We must help give children the support they need to recover from the horrors of war and contribute to a more peaceful and prosperous Iraq."___Associated Press writers Murtada Faraj and Ahmed Sami contributed to this report.

Canada Day traditions a mystery for some Syrian refugees-[The Canadian Press]-Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

TORONTO - Since arriving in Canada seven months ago, Abeer Al Hajj has learned a lot about her new country and how it differs from her native Syria.Abeer, who turned nine last week, came to Toronto with her parents and two brothers in November as privately sponsored refugees and was almost immediately enrolled in school as well as language classes to bolster her fledgling English.In many ways, the transition has been seamless — she has friends, throws herself into her school work and speaks English easily and enthusiastically.But some aspects of Canadian culture remain puzzling, the girl said on a recent afternoon."Here in Canada, they say too much 'thank you' — 'thank you' and 'welcome' and 'sorry' and 'excuse me,'" she said."My teacher, she gave me book to read, I gave it back and she said thank you," something that would never have happened in Syria, where teachers have a more authoritarian approach, she said.With Canada Day fast approaching, another mystery has emerged for Abeer and her family: how does their new home celebrate its national holiday? All the girl knows, she said, is that "there's no school."Celebrating their adoptive country is both a major milestone and a source of uncertainty for many Syrian newcomers, said Safwan Choudhry, spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, an organization that has helped several families settle in."I can tell a lot of them are anxious, they want to see what do Canadians do," he said."And I understand where they're coming from because typically, every country celebrates their national day very differently," in many cases with a strong emphasis on military glory, he said."So the majority are just curious to see what's going to happen...and I got the sense that a lot of them just want to stand back and watch and soak in how we celebrate Canada Day."Many Syrian families in the Toronto area are expected to attend the annual Canada Day celebration hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at, a massive event that typically draws thousands and is set to take place outside a mosque in Vaughan after afternoon prayers.Choudhry said the Friday sermon will centre on Canada Day and loyalty to one's country.The festivities will see a group of children sing the national anthem, Abeer among them. The girl said she has been practising on top of the daily singalong at school.But a key part of the celebration — the barbecue — will be off-limits for Muslims fasting for Ramadan. The month-long ritual precludes participants from eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset and its timing is set by the lunar calendar.The last Friday of Ramadan is particularly significant and turnout is expected to be even higher than usual since most people will have the day off because of the statutory holiday, Choudhry said.Next year, Canada Day will not fall during Ramadan, he said."The timing of it and the way that it's falling together, I think there is some significance, but I think particularly for Syrian refugees, I get the sense every time I talk to them, it's very emotional for them," he said.The knowledge that they can pay tribute to their new country while also maintaining their religious practices comes as great comfort to Abeer's family, her father Muhammad Al Hajj Abdullah, 40, said.Living in Canada has also offered Abdullah, who is in a wheelchair, another type of freedom, he said.After an explosion in the Syrian town of Aleppo left him paralyzed from the waist down, the father of three found himself unable to get around easily despite having a manual wheelchair, he said."In Syria and Turkey, it's so so hard, you can't ride the bus, you can't ride the subway," he said.On his arrival here, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at gave him an electric wheelchair which, along with accessible transit, have allowed him to regain his independence, he said.On a recent weekday evening, he played ping-pong with his youngest son, five-year-old Bashir, on a coffee table in the family's living room in north Toronto, while Abeer did her homework and the oldest child, Abdul Karim, bounced a soccer ball."New community, new society, new language, new weather," Abdullah said with a laugh. "Everything has changed."

Legalize brothels, stop punishing sex workers who solicit: UK parliamentary watchdog-[Reuters]-By Umberto Bacchi-June 30, 2016-YAHOONEWS

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sex workers in England and Wales should not face criminal charges for soliciting and brothels should be legalized, a British parliamentary group said on Friday, calling for local prostitution laws to be overhauled.Countries have been divided over the best way to deal with prostitution with some including Canada, Sweden and Norway introducing laws to punish the client without criminalizing those who have been driven into prostitution.Others like the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand have legalized or decriminalized prostitution."Treating soliciting as a criminal offense is having an adverse effect, and it is wrong that sex workers, who are predominantly women, should be penalized and stigmatized in this way," said the Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz.There are an estimated 72,800 sex workers in Britain, of which more than 40 percent operate in London, and up to 2.3 million clients, equal to 11 percent of British men aged between 16 and 74, the parliamentary committee said.It is legal to buy and sell sex in England and Wales, but related activities such as soliciting and kerb crawling whereby drivers cruise the streets for prostitutes, are illegal.Northern Ireland, which has the right to legislate separately on the matter, criminalized the purchase of sex last year in a move advocacy groups said would help stamp out sex trafficking.The Home Affairs Select Committee said it was not convinced by the effectiveness of the so-called "sex buyer law" in reducing demand and tackle crimes and exploitation associated with the sex industry - but would investigate the matter further.The committee also urged the government to legalize brothels saying sex workers would be better protected as a result of working together rather than alone.Vaz said the authorities should maintain a "zero tolerance" approach against forced prostitution and legal changes should not lessen their ability to prosecute criminal gangs involved in sexual exploitation.The report also called for previous convictions to be erased from sex workers' criminal records to improve their chances of leaving prostitution without the stigma attached to it.Pro-legalization campaigners welcomed the findings but urged further action."There should be an immediate moratorium on arrests, raids and prosecutions," said Laura Watson, a spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes.(Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Thursday, June 30, 2016

EUROPEAN SUPERSTATE TO BE UNVEILED - EU NATIONS TO BE MORPHED INTO ONE.

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)

OTHER EU OUT STORIES I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/06/uk-lawmaker-wants-parliament-to.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/06/the-other-27-eu-countries-want-britain.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/06/the-united-kingdom-leave-stay-vote-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/06/today-is-big-day-will-britain-remain-in.html

EU SPAIN #11 (POSSIBLY MIGHT PRODUCE THE WORLD LEADER)

HOW THE COMMON MARKET TO EUROPEAN UNION WAS BORN.

Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (1951)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:11951K/TXT
Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:11957E/TXT
Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (1957)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:11957A/TXT

01-BELGIUM-1958 *** (A BELGIAN WILL NEGOTIATE THE UK EXIT FROM EU) *
02-NETHERLANDS-1958 *
03-LUXUMBOURG-1958 *
04-ITALY (ROME)-1958
05-FRANCE-1958
06-GERMANY-1958

(THESE 6 SIGN THE TREATY OF ROME)(THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE)
07-IRELAND-1973
08-DENMARK-1973
*
09-UNITED KINGDOM (BRITAIN)-1973 ** (DROPPED OUT JUNE 23,16) *
10-GREECE-1981
Schengen Convention (1985)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties-other.html#new-2-26
11-SPAIN-1986 ******* (IMPORTANT SAY IN THE EU) *
12-PORTUGAL-1986
Treaty on European Union (1992)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:1992:191:TOC
13-AUSTRIA-1995
14-FINLAND-1995

15-SWEDEN-1995
*
Treaty of Nice (2001)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12001C/TXT
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12004V/TXT
16-CYPRUS-2004
17-CZECH REPUBLIC-2004
18-ESTONIA-2004
19-HUNGARY-2004
20-LATVIA-2004
21-LITHUANIA-2004
22-MALTA-2004
23-POLAND-2004
24-SLOVAKIA-2004
25-SLOVENIA-2004
26-BULGARIA-2007
27-ROMANIA-2007

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2007)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties-other.html#new-2-38
Treaty of Lisbon (2007)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12007L/TXT
28-CROATIA-2013

** DROPPING OUT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TRADE BLOC.
*** NEGOTIATOR WITH HOW UK EXITS THE UNION TRADE BLOC.
******* THESE COUNTRIES COULD HAVE A BIG SAY IN FUTURE EU HAPPENINGS.
* KINGS AND QUEENS IN EU COUNTRIES-MONARCHIES.


JOINING COUNTRIES TREATIES WITH THE EU-ACCESSION TREATIES
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties-accession.html
OTHER EU TREATIES AND PROTOCOLS
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties-other.html
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html

ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT BREAKDOWN BY THE BIBLE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2013/01/obama-close-to-iran-create-muslim-state.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/04/the-eu-or-european-union-is-test-run.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-world-government.html

DANIEL 7:8,24
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn,(WORLD DICTATOR) before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 ORIGINAL COUNTRIES FROM THE 6 FOUNDING MEMBERS OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(UNITED NATIONS TROOPS) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February 1950

Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in 1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man.

No one will enter the New World Order... unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he will take a Luciferian Initiation.- David Spangler Director of Planetary Initiative United Nations.

THE EU WORLD DICTATOR

REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(EU WORLD DICTATOR) and he that sat on him had a bow;(PEACE) and a crown was given unto him:(WORLD LEADER) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he (FALSE POPE) causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

European SUPERSTATE to be unveiled: EU nations 'to be morphed into one' post-Brexit-EUROPEAN political chiefs are to take advantage of Brexit by unveiling their long-held plan to morph the continent’s countries into one GIANT SUPERSTATE, it has emerged.By Nick Gutteridge- | UPDATED: 07:48, Wed, Jun 29, 2016

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an “ultimatum”. Under the radical proposals EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels. Controversially member states would also lose what few controls they have left over their own borders, including the procedure for admitting and relocating refugees. The plot has sparked fury and panic in Poland - a traditional ally of Britain in the fight against federalism - after being leaked to Polish news channel TVP Info. The public broadcaster reported the bombshell proposal would be presented to a meeting of the Visegrad group of countries - made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In the preamble to the text the two ministers write: "Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values ??that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens. We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe and invite the next Europeans to participate in this venture."The revelations come just days after Britain shook the Brussels establishment by voting to leave the European Union in a move some have predicted could leave to the break-up of the EU. A number of member states are deeply unhappy about the creeping federalism of the European project with anti-EU sentiments running high in eastern Europe, Scandinavia and France. Responding to the plot Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski raged: "This is not a good solution, of course, because from the time the EU was invented a lot has changed.“The mood in European societies is different. Europe and our voters do not want to give the Union over into the hands of technocrats.“Therefore, I want to talk about this, whether this really is the right recipe right now in the context of a Brexit."There are deep divides at the heart of the EU at the moment over how to proceed with the project in light of the Brexit vote.Some figures have cautioned against trying to force through further political integration, warning that to do so against the wishes of the European people will only fuel further Eurosceptic feeling. A few weeks before the Brexit vote European Council president Donald Tusk warned that European citizens did not share the enthusiasm of some of their leaders for “a utopia of Europe without conflicting interests and ambitions, a utopia of Europe imposing its own values on the external world, a utopia of Euro-Asian unity”. He added: “Increasingly louder are those who question the very principle of a united Europe. The spectre of a break-up is haunting Europe and a vision of a federation doesn’t seem to me to be the best answer to it.” His view was backed up by the leader of the eurozone countries, Dutch politician Jerome Dijsselbloem, who added: “In the eurozone some are pushing for a completion of the monetary union by creating a full political union, a euro area economic government or even a euro budget… to me it is obvious.“We need to strengthen what we have and finish it, but let’s not build more extensions to the European house while it is so unstable.”Meanwhile Lorenzo Condign, the former director general of Italy’s treasury, has said it is nearly impossible to see Europe opting for more integration at such a time of upheaval. He said: “It seems difficult to imagine that the rest of the EU will close ranks and move in the direction of greater integration quickly. Simply, there is no political will. “Indeed, the risk is exactly the opposite - namely that centrifugal forces will prevail and make integration even more difficult.”But others see the Brexit vote as an opportunity to push ahead with the European elite’s long-cherished dream of creating a United States of Europe.Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo has called for “more Europe” whilst Italy’s finance minister, Carlo Padoan, is advocating a common budget for the eurozone states.And Emmanuel Macron, France’s economy minister, wants to go even further and set up a common eurozone treasury which would oversee the permanent transfer of funds from wealthier northern Europe to shore up Mediterranean economies.

EU Officials To Unveil 'Ultimatum' Blueprint As Final Solution For European Super-State-by Tyler Durden-Jun 27, 2016 11:20 PM

It appears The Brits may have dodged more than a bullet in their decision to leave The EU. The foreign ministers of France and Germany are reportedly due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an "ultimatum." As The Express reports, the shockingly predictable final solution to Europe's Brexit-driven existential crisis is an apparently long-held plan to morph the continent’s countries into one giant superstate. The radical proposals mean EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels. According to the Daily Express, the nine-page report has "outraged" some EU leaders.The plans for 'a closer European Union' have been branded an attempt to create a 'European superstate', as The Daily Mail reports,Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault today presented a proposal for closer EU integration based on three key areas - internal and external security, the migrant crisis, and economic cooperation.But the plans have been described as an 'ultimatum' in Poland, with claims it would mean countries transfer their armies, economic systems and border controls to the EU.Controversially member states would also lose what few controls they have left over their own borders, including the procedure for admitting and relocating refugees.The Express reports that the plot has sparked fury and panic in Poland - a traditional ally of Britain in the fight against federalism - after being leaked to Polish news channel TVP Info.The public broadcaster reports that the bombshell proposal will be presented to a meeting of the Visegrad group of countries - made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier later today.Excerpts of the nine-page report were published today as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy met in Berlin for Brexit crisis talks.In the preamble to the text the two ministers write: "Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values ??that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens. We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe and invite the next Europeans to participate in this venture."Responding to the plot Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski raged: "This is not a good solution, of course, because from the time the EU was invented a lot has changed.“The mood in European societies is different. Europe and our voters do not want to give the Union over into the hands of technocrats.“Therefore, I want to talk about this, whether this really is the right recipe right now in the context of a Brexit."There are deep divides at the heart of the EU at the moment over how to proceed with the project in light of the Brexit vote.Some figures have cautioned against trying to force through further political integration, warning that to do so against the wishes of the European people will only fuel further Eurosceptic feeling.Czech minister Lubomír Zaorálek added that the four eastern members had reservations about the proposed common security policy.Meanwhile Lorenzo Condign, the former director general of Italy’s treasury, has said it is nearly impossible to see Europe opting for more integration at such a time of upheaval.He said: “It seems difficult to imagine that the rest of the EU will close ranks and move in the direction of greater integration quickly. Simply, there is no political will.“Indeed, the risk is exactly the opposite - namely that centrifugal forces will prevail and make integration even more difficult.”It seems the infamous phrase "never let a crisis go to waste" has not been lost on EU officialdom.

Leaders rule out treaty change to reform EU-By Eszter Zalan-june 29,16-euobserver

BRUSSELS, Today, 18:20-EU leaders will meet in Bratislava in September to rethink the future on the EU in the face of Britain's exit from the bloc and amid growing populism the threatens the foundations of the European project.“Many people express dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, be it at the European or national level. Europeans expect us to do better … We need to deliver on this, in a way that unites us,” they said in a joint statement after a meeting at the level of just 27 on Wednesday (29 June).The EU-27 earlier the same day held their first preliminary discussion on how to approach reform.Their meeting in Slovakia on 16 September will launch a discussion that some hope will re-energise the European project by next March, in time for the 60th anniversary of the Rome treaty that founded the European Community.The largest countries said it will not only be a “more or less” Europe debate, but on how to create a “better” Europe.German chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU needs to streamline, cut red tape, and create jobs.“We need to act now. We have to set a positive agenda,” she said, adding that the EU also has to get better at delivering results.“The objective has to be to convince citizens why we do certain things … The issue is not about more or less regulation, but to set objectives more precisely,” Merkel said.French president Francois Hollande agreed, saying that “nothing would be worse than the status quo.” “It would be the continuation of the populists' enterprise,” he said.Hollande faces elections next year and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who is calling for a referendum on EU membership, is a strong contender.In the coming weeks, countries will have to work out their ideas and priorities.Some countries, like Germany, France and Italy have already put forward papers with ideas on stronger cooperation on security and tackling youth unemployment.-The EU is not in Brussels'-Others see the process as an opportunity to scale back EU competences and to reinforce nation states.Fault lines will inevitably be exposed between those who think a more federalist EU would be more effective, and others who argue that member states should be more in control of union decision-making.“We have to return to the thesis that the member states and not EU institutions form the basis of the EU. The democratic features of the EU can only be strengthened through member states,” Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban said Wednesday.“The EU is not in Brussels, but in the 27, now still 28 capitals,” Orban said, in a reference to the fact that the UK remains a member of the EU until the end of its exit negotiations.He added that prior efforts to create democratic legitimacy for the EU institutions had failed.-Treaty change?-The Bratislava process could eventually lead to treaty change, although the majority of leaders agree that now is not time to open up the legal foundations of the bloc.“Of course the EU needs reforms, but not reforms that are complimentary or contradictory to what we’re doing now … It’s about speeding up reforms not adding reforms,” commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said after the meeting.He added that “the general view [among EU leaders] is that there would be no [EU] treaty change … it’s about implementation, not innovation.”Sources said the more eurosceptic Visegrad countries - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - would also prepare a common position for the meeting.“We’ll see what happens in Bratislava. Previous groups, previous divisions will change, new groups will emerge,” Orban said.The Hungarian PM said he understood that under the current circumstances treaty change is not timely and would only create uncertainty.“But when things calm down, we should examine what values and procedures to rethink in the current treaty,” he added.Beata Szydlo, the Polish prime minister, whose government advocates “radical” treaty change, said: “To speak about changing the treaty now prompts a certain resistance because everybody is concerned that talks on a new treaty in such an unstable situation could be a big problem ... maybe at the end of the discussions, of the deeper reflection, there will also be talk of the need for a new treaty”.Se warned against ideas of creating sub-sets of EU states each with different levels of integration.“If there’s talk among some states of building a Europe of variable speeds, that’s the end of the european project … leaders have to lay aside talk of clubs or groups that are more or less elite”, she said.Leaders will assess the outcome of the Bratislava talks in October and December and hope have tangible outcomes by next March.

Britain's departure will shift power dynamics in EU-[The Canadian Press]-Geir Moulson, The Associated Press-June 29, 2016-yahoonews

BRUSSELS - Britain's departure from the European Union will deprive the bloc of one of its few truly heavyweight members, a diplomatic, economic and military powerhouse. Britain accounts for more than 60 million of the EU's 500 million people, has the world's fifth-biggest economy and is a nuclear power. Its exit will shift the power dynamics of a bloc that has long relied on trade-offs and compromise between countries that have different ideas about what they want out of a united Europe.Here's a look at shifting powers in the 28-nation bloc:___GERMANY AND FRANCE MAY HAVE TO DO MORE-Germany and France have combined over the decades as the motor of European integration. The two countries often draw up joint proposals for major policy issues before summits of the full bloc — something smaller EU nations can view with suspicion. That frequently requires a balance between different political philosophies, with Germany tending toward a free-market approach while France favouring more state intervention in the economy."When we agree about everything, then the others are worried. When, which is seldom the case, we do not agree, then people are even more worried," French President Francois Hollande said Monday during a visit to Berlin. "So we have decided that we prefer to agree."Amid tensions over Europe's debt crisis, the French-German partnership hasn't been much of a romance over recent years. And it has looked increasingly unbalanced as German Chancellor Angela Merkel presides over a strong economy while the deeply unpopular Hollande struggles to reform France.Germany, France and Italy are the only three EU countries other than Britain with more than 60 million people. Merkel also invited Italian Premier Matteo Renzi to Berlin on Monday ahead of a summit where EU leaders pondered how to keep their union together.The big EU countries are keen not to be seen as dominating their smaller partners."The European Union has no directorate," Renzi said.___THE EUROZONE NOT LIKELY TO EXPAND ANYTIME SOON-Nineteen of the EU's 28 members use the shared euro currency. Britain never joined this inner circle, which brings together countries as diverse as Germany, Slovakia and Greece. Denmark also opted out of the euro and Swedish voters rejected the currency in a 2003 referendum.The club doesn't look likely to expand anytime soon — even though all the many eastern European countries that joined the EU starting in 2004 are on paper committed to joining the euro. Still, governments in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are paying lip service at most to that requirement. They're waiting to see how the currency zone resolves the debt problems that saw Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus bailed out.___THE EAST GETS MORE ASSERTIVE-Four independent-minded eastern European countries that have been increasingly assertive over the past year will demand to have their voice heard as the EU figures out how to move forward: Poland — the biggest of the EU's eastern members with 38 million people — along with Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.The four have already resisted calls by Merkel for all EU countries to share the burden of hosting the massive influx of refugees to the bloc. Nationalist governments in Poland and Hungary, in particular, have little appetite for further EU integration and have bristled at scrutiny from Brussels of their own domestic policy moves.Witold Waszczykowski, Poland's foreign minister, described officials at EU headquarters this week as out of touch with regular people, saying they should be "beating themselves on the chest" in remorse at the British referendum result.___EU HEADQUARTERS IN BRUSSELS MAY HAVE TO REIN IT IN-The European Union's Brussels-based executive Commission has acquired increased influence and confidence over recent years under the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, which governs the way the bloc is run and was meant to make it more effective and accountable.Yet there's a widespread perception in many European countries that the bloc's leaders are too willing to interfere on matters they don't need to. Britain's exit could make governments elsewhere in Europe more inclined to assert themselves against Brussels officials.Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday that the EU should keep in mind "the guiding principle — national solutions where possible, and European solutions where necessary."___Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Malta and Estonia could take over UK’s EU presidency By Eszter Zalan-JUNE 29,16-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 15:12-Two of the smallest EU nations could take over the UK’s job of holding the rotating presidency of the union next year.British prime minister David Cameron told fellow leaders on Tuesday (28 June) that they would have to wait for his successor to decide if the UK would still retain its role, sources familiar with talks said.The British chairmanship had been scheduled for the second half of 2017.Other leaders asked Cameron to let them know as soon as possible so that they could make alternative arrangements if need be.Malta takes over the presidency at the start of next year and Estonia was due to follow Britain in 2018.The Maltese leader said he would prefer Estonia’s chairmanship to be brought forward to cover the UK, a move that would also bring forward the rest of the EU presidency calendar.Malta, with a population of some 450,000, has already tripled the staff at its EU diplomatic mission, from around 45 to 150, to cope with the tasks.It also has made contractual and financial arrangements for the presidency, so it is less flexible to move its dates.But Malta’s prime minister Joseph Muscat has said he is open to discussion about splitting the UK’s six months with Estonia, or about Malta doing a one-year stint.There could be legal complications on splitting the six month-long period, however.According to the Lisbon Treaty, which introduced a new trio system in 2009, three member states are meant to share each 18-month presidency period in terms of closer cooperation.“It is simpler to change the rotation than the period,” an EU official said.Presiding over a longer presidency would also mean extra costs for the member state in charge. An EU official said other member states might offer financial assistance is the situation arose.Estonia, a Baltic country with a population of 1.3 million, has also started preparations for its presidency. They upped their staff from around 70 to 100, This will be doubled for the presidency period.“We need to be flexible, prepare different scenarios. It would not be easy, but we will manage,” said an EU source. The source said that advancing Estonia’s term also posed “difficult” legal questions.Estonian prime minister Taavi Roivas had on said Monday about the possible change of schedule: "We have thought about it. We’ve prepared for it and we'll cope with it."The order of the presidencies is decided by member states, so the EU Council will have to make the final decision.What is the council presidency?-The rotating presidency is in charge of pushing legislation or other decisions through the EU institutions.It no longer speaks for the EU on the world stage, as presidencies used to prior to Lisbon, which also introduced the new posts of EU Council president and EU foreign relations chief.It is also supposed to be a neutral broker.But presidencies still set the agenda for legislative talks in sectoral areas, giving the host state ample opportunity to promote national interests.The job usually requires years of preparation and the reshuffling of diplomatic staff in the country in charge. Malta, for instance, started its preparations in 2013 - four years before assuming the post.“It’s not the end of the world if we don’t find out until September what the UK wants to do, but the sooner would be the better of course,” an EU source said.

EU divided on answer to Brexit 'wake up call' By Eszter Zalan-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, 28. Jun, 15:59-Twenty-seven EU leaders will meet on Wednesday (29 June) for the first time without their UK counterpart to discuss the British divorce and future EU reforms.Last UK vote to leave the EU rang “alarm bells” across the continent that EU structures are too detached from citizens, giving rise to populism and euroscepticsm.Diplomats and officials in Brussels said there is need for deep reflection on how to bring the union closer to the general public.“The [public’s] attachment to the European project is not enough to offset the negative forces of withdrawal and rejection that are being expressed everywhere in Europe,” one EU diplomat said.Another diplomat said: “We need to listen and understand that there is an alarm bell, we need to change things”. A third EU diplomat used the same terms, saying: “This [the Brexit vote] is a very serious wake up call”.The immediate reaction is expected to be a show of unity by the 27, leaving substantial talks for later.Sources said EU council chief Donald Tusk might draft an informal ideas paper for Wednesday morning to serve as a basis for the summit talks, but that there would be no conclusions on the way forward.They also said the EU self-reflection process would lack the grandeur of previous intergovernmental “conventions”.“We don’t expect conclusions on Wednesday, we do not expect another European convention, this process cannot be carried out by ‘wise-men’,” an EU source said.An EU official noted: “You don't need to be Einstein to understand that if you launch a debate on substance now there will be no unity. In the current context, we cannot … promise things we cannot guarantee”.-New big three-France, Germany and Italy, the EU’s post-Brexit big three, on Monday already called for deeper EU integration in areas of clear common interest.German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande and Italian PM Matteo Renzi said in a joint statement (27 June) in Berlin that they have a “strong commitment to European integration.”They said the EU should work more intensively in areas such as security, economic union, and social cohesion, but take a back seat on issues that capitals can better handle at home.Germany had wanted stronger economic union, while social cohesion is a priority for southern EU states, which need to create jobs for young people.The big three promised to start detailed talks in September and to agree a plan by December. They also spoke of reaffirming the European project in March 2017, the EU’s 60th birthday.In line with that idea, EU council chief Donald Tusk indicated on Tuesday (28 June) arriving to the summit of EU leaders that he would call an informalmeeting of the 27 in Spetember in Bratislava for talks on the EU's future.But Monday’s statement focused on listing joint policies instead of structural EU reform. It also did not mention how to tackle issues of immediate concern to average people, such as the migration crisis.-Reform, not integration-Meanwhile, other EU leaders think that further integration is not the solution.Poland said on Monday the EU should draft a new treaty that returns powers from the European Commission to the Council of the EU, where member states meet.It also called for commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and council head Donald Tusk to resign over Brexit.There is no appetite for treaty change elsewhere in Europe due to fears that it would open a Pandora’s Box of national demands for opt-ins and opt-outs.But some officials said the future role of the EU Commission and its president would have to come up for debate in the reform process.The mood inside the EU corridors was dim, sources said. They said it was necessary to restore trust between member states and the commission and for national leaders to stop scapegoating EU institutions.“It doesn’t work that the leaders blame the EU for everything. It sends the wrong message [to the general public],” one EU contact said.-Real world issues-Josef Janning, a scholar of EU affairs at the ECFR think tank in Berlin, said the statement issued on Monday by France, Germany and Italy “was careful and cautious” and designed to give the impression of “business as usual.”He told EUobserver that Merkel did want to rush the UK, but neither the EU, so it does not commit to something now it cannot deliver later.He said Merkel is herself in a tricky position because there is no consensus on deeper EU integration inside the German government.Janning advised leaders to quickly address issues of pressing public concern, such as migration and economic structural issues in southern member states, to regain trust.He said the EU needed a critical mass of member states that were ready to act, noting that the concerns of countries such as Poland or Hungary ought to be, and could be accommodated.“I would advise to rebuild the political centre in Europe and focus on delivering on the existing crises,” he said.

Brexit vote irreversible, say EU leaders By Eric Maurice-JUNE 29,16-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 08:45-Five days after the UK voted to leave the EU, the bloc's leaders decided at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (28 June) to wait before starting the legal process for Brexit, but they insisted there was no alternative to Brexit.There was no "clamour" to trigger Article 50, British prime minister David Cameron said, referring to the EU treaty clause that organises a country's exit."Leaders understand that some time is now needed to allow the dust to settle in the UK," European Council president Donald Tusk explained.The position had been agreed on Sunday because of the political crisis in the UK.But EU leaders "also expect the intentions of the UK government to be specified as soon as possible", Tusk added.As one official from a member state put it, the message to British officials was: "You have a referendum, you deal with it."That means Britain will have to trigger Article 50 before any discussion about its future relationship with the EU can start. Cameron, who will resign after the summer, said it would be for the next British government to decide.“As of this evening, I see no way back from the Brexit vote,” German chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists. “This is no time for wishful thinking, but rather to grasp reality.”The message was delivered to Cameron but was in reality addressed to his successor and to eurosceptic leaders in Europe.Many member states want to discourage British officials from trying to negotiate a new deal to stay in the EU as they fear this would give an incentive to other countries or anti-EU parties to threaten the EU with referendums.If talks were held outside the legal framework of Article 50, "what kind of message would you send to everybody else?" the member state official said.-UK 'cannot cherry-pick EU rules'-The mood at the working dinner, the first since last Thursday's referendum and the last for Cameron, was "emotional", sources said.Cameron himself told journalists how several leaders told stories of old links between the UK and their countries.He said that the discussions were "very constructive, positive, calm" and that there was "an understanding that Britain and the EU should seek the closest possible relations... over trade, cooperation, security".He added however that it would be "impossible to have all of the benefits of EU membership without some of the cost of membership"."That is something the next British government is going to have to think through very carefully," he added.Officials said that when the UK negotiates its new status with the EU, "there will be no cherry-picking" of EU rules.-'Face the consequences'-In particular, if it wants to get access to the EU single market, it will have to accept the freedom of movement for goods, capitals, services and above all for people."Freedom of movement is not subject to discussion, even if it has been portrayed in a cartoonesque way in the British press," a senior EU official said, adding that it was "a principle of the EU, we will not move from that".“This isn’t to punish the British people but they will have to face the consequences for some time,” French president Francois Hollande said.The issue is likely to be one of the most contentious ones in future talks.Cameron himself told his colleagues during the discussion that he lost the referendum because he did not get a deal to reduce migration further.“I think people recognised the strength of the economic case for staying, but there was a very strong concern about freedom of movement,” he told journalists.In their summit conclusions, EU leaders only mentioned that "the UK prime minister informed the European Council about the outcome of the referendum in the UK", thus keeping their hands free for the months to come.The Conservatives aim to choose a new leader, who will then become prime minister, by 9 September, party officials said on Tuesday.-'No need to speculate'-EU officials said Article 50 could be activated by the new prime minister in October, at the next EU summit, or later according to the domestic situation. But no time-frame was discussed by leaders, sources said.At the press conference following the meeting, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker surprised everyone by saying that a prime minister from the Remain camp would have two weeks to notify Article 50, while for a PM from the Leave camp "it should be done on the day after his appointment".An official told EUobserver that the remark was only made "in the heat" of the press conference.Speaking after Juncker, Tusk said that there was "no need to speculate"."If they [the future British cabinet] need more time we'll have to wait. It's not the best solution for the UK and for us but this is the only legal way we have today," he said.

Renzi seeks green light to help Italy's banks By Aleksandra Eriksson-JUNE 29,16-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:24-The European Commission and Italy are floating ideas on a possible bail-out of the country’s banks.Turmoil on global markets following Britain's vote to leave the EU hit hard against Italian banks, which are already struggling under the weight of €360 billion in bad loans, sluggish economic growth and record low interest rates.Euro and finance commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told Bloomberg on Tuesday (28 June) that the EU’s executive arm was closely monitoring the situation of Italian banks and is in contact with Italian authorities about possible measures.Rome is considering shoring up banks with up to €40 billion to save shareholders and junior creditors from taking the losses.But the bailout of bank creditors would be contrary to new EU legislation, which aims to avoid that tax payers bear the brunt of bad banking policies.Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker added later that day that his team would do everything to avoid a run on Italian banks.“This is not a danger for Italy for the time being,” Juncker told journalists, ”but we have to make sure given the uncomfortable global circumstances we are in that the banking sector in Italy and elsewhere will be protected in the best way possible”.Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi said the talks were not yet formal negotiations.He hopes to persuade the commission that Brexit opened up “exceptional circumstances” that would justify the measure.The Italian parliament is meanwhile clearing legal hurdles for the legislation.Dombrovskis declined to elaborate on the talks or the way the EU is leaning.

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