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)
Israel supreme court strikes down landmark gas deal-AFP-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's top court on Sunday struck down a landmark deal regulating exploitation of Mediterranean gas reserves, in a major defeat for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called the ruling "mystifying".A panel of Supreme Court justices said in their ruling that a clause in the plan that prevented it from being changed for a decade was unacceptable."We have decided to cancel the gas deal because of the stability clause" that would have barred future governments from altering the deal, they said.The court however suspended the ruling for a year to enable the parliament to amend the agreement.Critics of the deal between the Israeli government and a consortium, including US firm Noble Energy, praised the ruling while Netanyahu said it threatened the development of Israel's gas reserves.Israel's development of its Mediterranean reserves hold serious implications for the country's efforts toward energy independence.It could also have an impact on regional diplomacy since Israel is expected to export some of its gas.Netanyahu, who pushed forward the deal and even appeared at the court to defend it, used an obscure clause to override the anti-trust authorities.That allowed it to move forward with the approval of the economy minister -- a portfolio he holds after the previous one resigned over the gas deal.-'Mystifying ruling'-The court ruling was praised by members of the opposition parties, some of whom were part of the petition against the deal.Opposition leader and Labour head Isaac Herzog called the court's decision "correct and courageous"."The government can't bind its hands and judgement," he said on Twitter of the so-called stability clause.Netanyahu disagreed, saying the decision posed a "severe threat to the development of Israel's gas reserves.""Israel is perceived as a country with exaggerated legal intervention, in which it is hard to do business," he said in a statement."Nobody has reason to celebrate the fact the gas might remain in the depth of the sea, and hundreds of billions of shekels won't reach Israeli citizens," he said."We'll find other ways to overcome the severe damage to Israel's economy following this mystifying ruling."Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the ruling a "crude and unnecessary intervention in a government decision"."It is unacceptable that the government holds the responsibility to the economy and prosperity of the state, but remains without the necessary authority to take action," she said in a statement.The deal would now have to return to parliament, where its supporters would face fierce opposition and a narrow majority that might not ensure its passing in a similar format.The Leviathan consortium, however, remained upbeat on the possibility of moving ahead with the planned development of the reservoir."The court in its ruling accepted the entire gas deal except for the stability clause," they said in a statement."The judges also realise the necessity of regulatory stability and creating conditions to enable the necessary investments to seek and develop gas reservoirs."We call upon the government to swiftly regulate the stability conditions so we can meet the deal's goals, first and foremost developing Leviathan by 2019," it said.The deal, signed in December with Noble and its Israeli partner Delek, would have regulated the development of the Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean, one of the biggest recent natural gas discoveries, in addition to other issues.The consortium is said to have agreed to invest $1.5 billion to develop the Leviathan field over the next two years.Failing to meet the requirement would have allowed the government to back out of a commitment not to alter fiscal and regulatory terms for the gas industry until 2025.Israel has been trying to extract offshore gas since the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan fields in 2009 and 2010.Production has begun in Tamar, but the far larger Leviathan has been hit by a series of delays.The size of the Leviathan field is estimated at 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic metres, or bcm) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.Noble and Delek also control Tamar, which holds 250 bcm of natural gas, and lies 80 kilometres (40 nautical miles) west of the Israeli port of Haifa.
THE MEDIA ARE COMPLETE LOONEY TUNES. THEY CLAIM SANDERS 70 PLUS DELEGATE CAN NEVER TOUCH CLINTON. AND ON THE OTHER SIDE THE LAME BRAIN MEDIA IS ALSO SAYING TRUMP HAS NO CHANCE OF GETTING TO 1,237 DELEGATES. SEE HOW THESE LOSER MEDIA SUCK HOLE UP TO THEIR PUPPETS CLINTON AND KASICK. AND JUST HOPE THAT SANDERS CAN NOT TOUCH THEIR PUPPET HITLER.OR HOPE TRUMP WILL NOT GET THE DELEGATES TO GO AGAINST THEIR PUPPET HITLER 2ND ROTTER LIAR CLINTON.I JUST PRAY TRUMP AND SANDERS MEET IN THE FINAL FOR PRESIDENT OF AMERICA. THE RICH MAGGOTS-LOBBYISTS AND ELITE PUPPETS WOULD BE CRYING AS THEY JUMP OFF THE NEAREST BUILDING.
Sanders wins 3 states; Clinton retains big delegate lead-Bernie Sanders scored three wins in Western caucus contests Saturday, giving a powerful psychological boost to his supporters but doing little to move him closer to securing the Democratic nomination-Associated Press By Lisa Lerer, Associated Press-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bernie Sanders scored three wins in Western caucus contests Saturday, giving a powerful psychological boost to his supporters but doing little to move him closer to securing the Democratic nomination.While results in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii barely dented Hillary Clinton's significant delegate lead, Sanders' wins underscored her persistent vulnerabilities within her own party, particularly with young voters and liberal activists who have been inspired by her rival's unapologetically liberal message.In an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders cast his performance as part of a Western comeback, saying he expects to close the delegate gap with Clinton as the contest moves to the more liberal northeastern states, including her home state of New York. He also said his campaign is increasing its outreach to superdelegates, the party insiders who can pick either candidate, and are overwhelmingly with Clinton."The Deep South is a very conservative part of the country," he said. "Now that we're heading into a progressive part of the country, we expect to do much better."He added: "There is a path to victory." With Clinton far in front, however, it is a difficult path.Clinton anticipated the losses: She barely campaigned in the three states, making just one day of stops in Washington state, and was spending the Easter weekend with her family.She is turning her focus to the April 19 contest in New York, seeking to win a large share of the delegates at stake and to avoid the blow of losing to Sanders in a state she represented in the Senate. She is trying to lock up an even larger share of delegates in five Northeastern contests a week later, hoping to deliver a big enough haul to unify the Democratic Party and relegate Sanders to little more than a protest candidate.Sanders, who's found some success in the industrial Midwest, wants to leverage his working-class support and fiery arguments against free trade into an April 5 victory in delegate-rich Wisconsin. He also plans to compete fiercely in New York and is pushing for the party to schedule a debate in the state, saying in the interview that it would be "really absurd" if one did not take place.After Sanders' two early wins in Washington and Alaska on Saturday, Clinton held a delegate lead of 1,234 to 956 over Sanders, according to an Associated Press analysis, an advantage that expands to 1,703-985 once the superdelegates are included. It takes 2,383 delegates to win.Based on the AP count, Sanders needs to win more than 57 percent of the remaining delegates from primaries and caucuses to have a majority of those delegates by June's end.His bar is even higher when the party officials are considered. He needs to win more than 67 percent of the remaining delegates overall — from primaries, caucuses and the ranks of uncommitted superdelegates — to prevail.He was unlikely to emerge from his Saturday sweep with significantly more delegates, winning at least 36 delegates to Clinton's 11 for the day after his victories in Alaska and Washington. More are likely to be allocated to Sanders in several weeks, when Washington state Democratic party releases vote shares by district. Sixty-seven delegates are awarded based on results in the state's congressional districts.But there's little question that Sanders has tapped into a powerful frustration within the party. He continues to attract tens of thousands to his rallies and has collected more than $140 million from 4.7 million donations.Most of his 14 primary-season wins have been in states with largely white populations and in caucus contests, which tend to attract the most active liberal Democrats. He's heavily favored by younger voters, who were a key part of the coalition that boosted Barack Obama to victory twice. Clinton's ability to win the White House, should she capture the nomination, will hinge on how well she can motivate his passionate - and politically active - supporters.In Spokane, Washington, a huge line of caucus attendees — largely Sanders backers — snaked around a high school parking lot Saturday morning."I think one of the biggest things is free tuition for students," said Savannah Dills, 24, a college student who supports Sanders. "And getting big money out of politics. He's not paid for by billionaires."Retiree Dan McLay, 64, attended the caucus in a hard-hat, which he joked he needed because he was one of the relatively few Clinton supporters in the big crowd."Look at this thing in Brussels," McLay said, referring to the deadly attack in Belgium this week. "We need a real experienced leader."It was strong support for Sanders that brought Kirsa Hughes-Skandijs out to her first caucus in Juneau, Alaska."This is the first time I've ever felt that kind of belief in a candidate, that they mean what they say and that they are not saying what they think people want to hear," she said.____Associated Press writers Nicholas K. Geranios, Walker Orenstein and Rachel La Corte in Washington state, Bryna Godar in Madison, Wisconsin, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.
Trump would consider halting U.S. oil purchases from Saudi Arabia unless it provides troops to fight ISIS-Dylan Stableford-Senior editor-March 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Donald Trump says if elected president, he would consider a freeze on buying oil from Saudi Arabia unless the Saudi government provides ground troops in the fight against the Islamic State.“The answer is, probably yes,” Trump said when asked by the New York Times if he would halt U.S. oil purchases from the Middle East without military support from Arab countries in the region. “We protect countries, and take tremendous monetary hits on protecting countries. That would include Saudi Arabia, but it would include many other countries, as you know. We have, there’s a whole big list of them. We lose, everywhere. We lose monetarily, everywhere.“And yet, without us, Saudi Arabia wouldn’t exist for very long,” the Republican frontrunner continued. “It would be, you know, a catastrophic failure without our protection.”The real estate mogul insisted he isn’t an isolationist when it comes to his foreign policy — rather, he is “America first.”“We have been disrespected, mocked, and ripped off for many, many years by people that were smarter, shrewder, tougher,” Trump told the newspaper. “We were the big bully, but we were not smartly led. And we were the big bully who was the big, stupid bully, and we were systematically ripped off by everybody.”The former “Celebrity Apprentice” star, whose lack of foreign policy chops have come under fire as he inches closer to the GOP nomination, named three additional military advisers — retired Maj. Gen. Gary Harrell, Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa and retired Rear Adm. Charles Kubic — to his foreign policy team.Later in the interview, Trump suggested NATO is ineffective when it comes to countering terror.“Right now we don’t have somebody looking at terror, and we should be looking at terror,” Trump said. “It has to be changed. It has to be changed to include terror.”In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Trump defended his position.“I think NATO is obsolete,” he said. “NATO was done at a time you had the Soviet Union, which was obviously larger — much larger than Russia is today. I’m not saying Russia is not a threat. But we have other threats. We have the threat of terrorism. And NATO doesn’t discuss terrorism. NATO’s not meant for terrorism. NATO doesn’t have the right countries in it for terrorism.”Nobody will protect our Nation like Donald J. Trump. Our military will be greatly strengthened and our borders will be strong. Illegals out!- — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)- March 26, 2016 -The brash billionaire, who is quick to respond to his Republican rivals and their wives via tweets, was asked if he would engage in similar Twitter wars with world leaders.“It’s a new way of communicating,” Trump replied. “It’s very effective. I’ve been very effective with it. I have, between that and Facebook, I have like 15 or 16 million followers. It’s a great way of communicating. Now, other people don’t like it, because they have 15 followers.”But if he makes it to the White House, don’t expect the same volume of late-night tweets Trump’s been known to fire off on the campaign trail.“It’s a great way of communicating, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “But I’m not going to be doing it very much as president.”
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Belgian nuclear guard shot and security access badge stolen: media-Reuters-March 26, 2016 8:48 AM-YAHOONEWS
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two days after bomb attacks at Brussels airport and on a packed metro killed 31 people and injured hundreds, a security guard who worked at a Belgian nuclear plant was murdered and his pass was stolen, Belgian media reported on Saturday.The French language Derniere Heure (DH) newspaper reported the security guard's badge was de-activated as soon as it was discovered he had been shot dead in the Charleroi region of Belgium and his badge stolen.A police spokeswoman said she could not comment because an investigation was ongoing.In a nation on high alert following this week's attacks, the report stokes fears about the possibility militants are seeking to get hold of nuclear material or planning to attack a nuclear site.On Thursday, DH had reported the suicide bombers who blew themselves up on Tuesday originally considered targeting a nuclear site, but a series of arrests of suspect militants forced them to speed up their plans and instead switch focus to the Belgian capital.Late last year, investigators found a video tracking the movements of a man linked to the country's nuclear industry during a search of a flat as part of investigations into the Islamist militant attack on Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people.The video, lasting several hours, showed footage of the entrance to a home in northern Belgium and the arrival and departure of the director of Belgium's nuclear research program.(Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark Potter)
Saudi FM says Iran must change its 'behaviour'-AFP-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Sunday that Iran must change its "behaviour" towards his country if it wants normal ties with the oil-rich Sunni kingdom.Jubeir, speaking at a joint news conference with his South African counterpart, said Riyadh "wants to have peaceful relations" with Tehran and that it had tried to forge closer ties with Iran for more than three decades but "in exchange we received nothing".Instead of "relations and friendship" with Iran, Saudi Arabia has been "confronted with interferences in our domestic affairs... attacks against our embassy," he said.Saudi Arabia severed all links with the Islamic republic of Iran in January after crowds attacked the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and a consulate in second city Mashhad.Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations also accuse Iran of supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilise their own regimes.They also support rebels in Syria's five-year-old war while Tehran openly backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.Jubeir said Iran "knows what to do to have normal relations with Saudi Araba and the rest of the Islamic world and that is to change its behaviour... and the door will be open for normal relations."
Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials-Reuters By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin-March 26, 2016 9:54 AM-YAHOONEWS
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State will struggle to recover from the death of a top aide, reported this week in a U.S. air strike, whose overview of the group's finances, politics and administration was unmatched, Iraqi and U.S. sources said.Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Iman and Abu Alaa al-Afri, was a veteran jihadist with a bounty of $7 million on his head.That was second only to the $10 million offered for Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and accurately reflected his importance to the group."This is the heaviest blow to Islamic State in terms of assassinations because Qaduli was at the heart of (its) ...administrative structure," said Hisham al-Hashimi, an analyst who advises the Iraqi government on the militants."Baghdadi can't replace Haji Iman with a person of equivalent value. He will have to appoint three people to fill the vacuum... That reduces (Baghdadi's)... efficiency and leaves him more exposed to danger than before."As well as heading the Shura council that advises Baghdadi, Qaduli was governor of the Syrian provinces and the group's financial comptroller, Hashimi said.His death, and just before him that of war minister Abu Omar al-Shishani and the capture of an unidentified chemical weapons operative, "show that the United States has sources of information close to their top command level," the analyst added.U.S. officials say Islamic State is losing a battle to forces arrayed against it from many sides in the vast region it controls. The jihadist fighters were on the retreat this week in the strategic Syrian city of Palmyra.In Iraq, the group has been pulling back since December when it lost Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar. The Baghdad government is hoping this year to recapture Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, seized by the militants nearly two years ago."The loss of Haji Iman will be massive. Although (Islamic State) ... has a strong system in place to replace key leaders it still takes time to readjust," said Ranj Talabany, an official from the Kurdish Zanyari intelligence agency."He was fully aware of their finances, and key leadership decisions were made with Haji Iman being consulted."-AL QAEDA VETERAN-Unlike many Islamic State commanders, Qaduli came from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda rather than the dissolved Baath party of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.He was arrested several times under Saddam because of his extremist religions opinions and went to Afghanistan in 1998, where he met bin Laden, Hashimi said.Bin Laden wanted him to take over command of the group's Iraq franchise in 2010. But Baghdadi, already settled in as the local commander, turned against al Qaeda in 2013 and declared himself caliph a year later, winning the backing of Qaduli, Hashimi said."He is considered the group's top civilian administrator," he added, with duties under Baghdadi including the deportation of religious and ethnic minorities and the organized rape of Yazidi women.The commander expected to replace Qaduli as Syria governor is the group's spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who has a $5 million bounty on his head, Hashimi said.Its likely new financial comptroller is Iyad al-Obaidi, also known as Fadel Haifa, a security officer under Saddam who took over the role of war minister after Shishani was killed, according to Hashimi.Abdallah al-Khatouni, the group's head of justice, may become chairman of the Shura council, he added.U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Friday said Qaduli was likely killed this week in an offensive targeting Islamic State's financial operations.Carter said Qaduli had played a role in recruiting foreign fighters, but could not confirm he had anything to do with Tuesday's bombings in Brussels.U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, Baghdad-based spokesman for an international coalition battling Islamic State, said Qaduli was also providing finances and counsel on launching attacks in the West, adding: "He had been an international terrorist for more than a decade. His experience and knowledge will be missed by (IS)."(editing by John Stonestreet)
Syria forces retake ancient Palmyra in major victory over IS-AFP By Maher Al Mounes-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
President Bashar al-Assad hailed the victory as an "important achievement" as his Russian counterpart and key backer Vladimir Putin congratulated Damascus for retaking the UNESCO world heritage site.An AFP correspondent inside Palmyra said monuments destroyed by the jihadists -- like the iconic Temple of Bel -- were in pieces but that much of the ancient city was intact.Residential neighbourhoods in the adjacent modern town were deserted and damage was widespread, the correspondent said.A group of regime fighters took time off to celebrate their win and kicked around a football in the middle of a street strewn with debris.The jihadists sparked a global outcry after seizing Palmyra in May 2015 and setting about destroying some of its treasured monuments.But Syria's antiquities chief on Sunday said the city's priceless artefacts were in much better shape than feared."We were expecting the worst. But the landscape, in general, is in good shape," Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP from Damascus."We could have completely lost Palmyra... The joy I feel is indescribable."The Syrian army said that Sunday's victory meant the city would now serve as a base to "broaden operations" against IS, including in its stronghold of Raqa and Deir Ezzor further east.Backed by a barrage of Russian air strikes, Syrian troops and allied militia launched a major offensive to retake Palmyra this month.The city is both a symbolic and strategic prize for Assad's forces, as it provides control of the surrounding desert extending all the way to the Iraqi border.At least 400 IS fighters were killed in the battle for the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. On the government side, 188 troops and militiamen were killed."That's the heaviest losses that IS has sustained in a single battle since its creation" in 2013, the director of the Britain-based monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.He said two cars packed with explosives blew up in the afternoon, one west of Palmyra and the other northeast of the city.- Jihadists under pressure After seizing Palmyra last year, IS blew up two of the site's treasured temples, its triumphal arch and a dozen tower tombs, in a campaign of destruction that UNESCO described as a war crime.The jihadists used Palmyra's ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and also murdered the city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.A military source told AFP on Sunday that IS militants had retreated towards the east as the army made its final push.Army sappers defused roadside mines in both the modern part of the city and in the old ruins.Syrian state television broadcast footage from inside Palmyra's famed museum, showing jagged pieces of sculptures on the ground and blanketed in dust.IS, behind a string of attacks in the West including last week's Brussels bombings, is under growing pressure from Syrian and Iraqi forces determined to retake bastions of its self-proclaimed "caliphate".On Thursday, the Iraqi army announced the launch of an offensive to eventually recapture second city Mosul, held by the jihadists since June 2014.United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon told reporters in neighbouring Jordan that he was "encouraged" by the recapture of Palmyra.- Palmyra 'will return' -Russian forces, which intervened in support of longtime ally Assad last September, were heavily involved in the Palmyra offensive despite a major drawdown last week.Russian warplanes carried out 40 combat sorties around Palmyra in the last 24 hours, striking 117 "terrorist targets" and killing 80 IS fighters, Moscow's defence ministry said Sunday.Putin telephoned Assad to congratulate the Syrian leader, adding that "successes such as the liberation of Palmyra would be impossible without Russia's support," a Kremlin spokesman said.Assad said the victory was "fresh proof of the efficiency of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism".IS and its jihadist rival, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, are not party to a landmark ceasefire in Syria since February 27.The month-long truce has brought relative quiet to many areas across Syria, where more than 270,000 have been killed and millions had fled their homes in the last five years.The Observatory said on Sunday that 363 civilians had been killed since the truce went into effect -- the lowest monthly toll in four years.The number represented a major drop from the previous month, when more than 1,100 civilians, including 234 children, were killed.Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, drew some 150,000 tourists a year before Syria's civil war and is known to Syrians as the "Pearl of the Desert".Syrian officials, including antiquities chief Abdulkarim, have vowed to rebuild the ancient monuments."Palmyra will return to the way it was," he said.
$100 million from World Bank to create 100,000 Jordan jobs-Associated Press By KARIN LAUB-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan will get a cheap $100 million loan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizens, the World Bank president said Sunday.The long-term loan, almost interest free, is part of an attempt by the international community to improve conditions for refugees in overburdened regional host countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.More than 4.8 million Syrians have fled their country since the start of the Syria conflict in 2011. Jordan hosts about 640,000 registered Syrian refugees and Lebanon more than 1 million.Cheap loans by the World Bank and other donors are among the new tools meant to help finance education and job creation for refugees in the region. Such support is also meant to slow the migration of refugees to Europe.World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have been visiting the region since last week, first stopping in Lebanon.Kim announced the $100 million loan for job creation in Jordan on Sunday, after Lebanon was also awarded $100 million to ensure universal school enrolment for Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by 2017.The bank president said the money for Jordan and Lebanon — both middle income countries — is from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries."We are taking money from that fund and giving it to a middle income country because Jordan has taken such extraordinary measures" in hosting refugees, he said.Kim did not say how soon the 100,000 jobs could be created and how many of them would go to refugees.Jordan has set aside special economic zones where it hopes improved trade arrangements with Europe will lead to greater investment and eventually more jobs. However, the trade arrangements have not yet been worked out, and the entire job creation scheme is expected to take several years.The idea of concessional loans was part of a package of support for refugees and their hosts announced at a Syria aid conference last month.Eventually, the World Bank and other donors hope to offer $3 billion to $4 billion in cheap loans to refugee host countries, with international donors buying down interest.Earlier Sunday, Ban held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman. The meeting had not been announced previously.Ban said he is concerned that "we cannot give any hope to these people, the Palestinian people" because of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and ongoing violence.Last week, video footage released by an Israeli rights group showed an Israeli soldier lethally shooting a Palestinian attacker who had already been shot and subdued. The incident fueled long-running complaints that Israeli forces are at times using excessive force in responding to Palestinian attacks.The shooting came amid six months of Palestinian stabbings and other attacks that killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. In this time, at least 188 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with Israeli security forces.Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have not held meaningful peace talks since Netanyahu took office in 2009. Gaps remain wide between them on the terms of Palestinian statehood.Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh said the Palestinian leader told Ban on Sunday that it's important to convene an international conference to revive peace talks. It's a French idea backed by the Palestinians.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's top court on Sunday struck down a landmark deal regulating exploitation of Mediterranean gas reserves, in a major defeat for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called the ruling "mystifying".A panel of Supreme Court justices said in their ruling that a clause in the plan that prevented it from being changed for a decade was unacceptable."We have decided to cancel the gas deal because of the stability clause" that would have barred future governments from altering the deal, they said.The court however suspended the ruling for a year to enable the parliament to amend the agreement.Critics of the deal between the Israeli government and a consortium, including US firm Noble Energy, praised the ruling while Netanyahu said it threatened the development of Israel's gas reserves.Israel's development of its Mediterranean reserves hold serious implications for the country's efforts toward energy independence.It could also have an impact on regional diplomacy since Israel is expected to export some of its gas.Netanyahu, who pushed forward the deal and even appeared at the court to defend it, used an obscure clause to override the anti-trust authorities.That allowed it to move forward with the approval of the economy minister -- a portfolio he holds after the previous one resigned over the gas deal.-'Mystifying ruling'-The court ruling was praised by members of the opposition parties, some of whom were part of the petition against the deal.Opposition leader and Labour head Isaac Herzog called the court's decision "correct and courageous"."The government can't bind its hands and judgement," he said on Twitter of the so-called stability clause.Netanyahu disagreed, saying the decision posed a "severe threat to the development of Israel's gas reserves.""Israel is perceived as a country with exaggerated legal intervention, in which it is hard to do business," he said in a statement."Nobody has reason to celebrate the fact the gas might remain in the depth of the sea, and hundreds of billions of shekels won't reach Israeli citizens," he said."We'll find other ways to overcome the severe damage to Israel's economy following this mystifying ruling."Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called the ruling a "crude and unnecessary intervention in a government decision"."It is unacceptable that the government holds the responsibility to the economy and prosperity of the state, but remains without the necessary authority to take action," she said in a statement.The deal would now have to return to parliament, where its supporters would face fierce opposition and a narrow majority that might not ensure its passing in a similar format.The Leviathan consortium, however, remained upbeat on the possibility of moving ahead with the planned development of the reservoir."The court in its ruling accepted the entire gas deal except for the stability clause," they said in a statement."The judges also realise the necessity of regulatory stability and creating conditions to enable the necessary investments to seek and develop gas reservoirs."We call upon the government to swiftly regulate the stability conditions so we can meet the deal's goals, first and foremost developing Leviathan by 2019," it said.The deal, signed in December with Noble and its Israeli partner Delek, would have regulated the development of the Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean, one of the biggest recent natural gas discoveries, in addition to other issues.The consortium is said to have agreed to invest $1.5 billion to develop the Leviathan field over the next two years.Failing to meet the requirement would have allowed the government to back out of a commitment not to alter fiscal and regulatory terms for the gas industry until 2025.Israel has been trying to extract offshore gas since the discovery of the Tamar and Leviathan fields in 2009 and 2010.Production has begun in Tamar, but the far larger Leviathan has been hit by a series of delays.The size of the Leviathan field is estimated at 18.9 trillion cubic feet (535 billion cubic metres, or bcm) of natural gas, along with 34.1 million barrels of condensate.Noble and Delek also control Tamar, which holds 250 bcm of natural gas, and lies 80 kilometres (40 nautical miles) west of the Israeli port of Haifa.
THE MEDIA ARE COMPLETE LOONEY TUNES. THEY CLAIM SANDERS 70 PLUS DELEGATE CAN NEVER TOUCH CLINTON. AND ON THE OTHER SIDE THE LAME BRAIN MEDIA IS ALSO SAYING TRUMP HAS NO CHANCE OF GETTING TO 1,237 DELEGATES. SEE HOW THESE LOSER MEDIA SUCK HOLE UP TO THEIR PUPPETS CLINTON AND KASICK. AND JUST HOPE THAT SANDERS CAN NOT TOUCH THEIR PUPPET HITLER.OR HOPE TRUMP WILL NOT GET THE DELEGATES TO GO AGAINST THEIR PUPPET HITLER 2ND ROTTER LIAR CLINTON.I JUST PRAY TRUMP AND SANDERS MEET IN THE FINAL FOR PRESIDENT OF AMERICA. THE RICH MAGGOTS-LOBBYISTS AND ELITE PUPPETS WOULD BE CRYING AS THEY JUMP OFF THE NEAREST BUILDING.
Sanders wins 3 states; Clinton retains big delegate lead-Bernie Sanders scored three wins in Western caucus contests Saturday, giving a powerful psychological boost to his supporters but doing little to move him closer to securing the Democratic nomination-Associated Press By Lisa Lerer, Associated Press-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bernie Sanders scored three wins in Western caucus contests Saturday, giving a powerful psychological boost to his supporters but doing little to move him closer to securing the Democratic nomination.While results in Washington, Alaska and Hawaii barely dented Hillary Clinton's significant delegate lead, Sanders' wins underscored her persistent vulnerabilities within her own party, particularly with young voters and liberal activists who have been inspired by her rival's unapologetically liberal message.In an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders cast his performance as part of a Western comeback, saying he expects to close the delegate gap with Clinton as the contest moves to the more liberal northeastern states, including her home state of New York. He also said his campaign is increasing its outreach to superdelegates, the party insiders who can pick either candidate, and are overwhelmingly with Clinton."The Deep South is a very conservative part of the country," he said. "Now that we're heading into a progressive part of the country, we expect to do much better."He added: "There is a path to victory." With Clinton far in front, however, it is a difficult path.Clinton anticipated the losses: She barely campaigned in the three states, making just one day of stops in Washington state, and was spending the Easter weekend with her family.She is turning her focus to the April 19 contest in New York, seeking to win a large share of the delegates at stake and to avoid the blow of losing to Sanders in a state she represented in the Senate. She is trying to lock up an even larger share of delegates in five Northeastern contests a week later, hoping to deliver a big enough haul to unify the Democratic Party and relegate Sanders to little more than a protest candidate.Sanders, who's found some success in the industrial Midwest, wants to leverage his working-class support and fiery arguments against free trade into an April 5 victory in delegate-rich Wisconsin. He also plans to compete fiercely in New York and is pushing for the party to schedule a debate in the state, saying in the interview that it would be "really absurd" if one did not take place.After Sanders' two early wins in Washington and Alaska on Saturday, Clinton held a delegate lead of 1,234 to 956 over Sanders, according to an Associated Press analysis, an advantage that expands to 1,703-985 once the superdelegates are included. It takes 2,383 delegates to win.Based on the AP count, Sanders needs to win more than 57 percent of the remaining delegates from primaries and caucuses to have a majority of those delegates by June's end.His bar is even higher when the party officials are considered. He needs to win more than 67 percent of the remaining delegates overall — from primaries, caucuses and the ranks of uncommitted superdelegates — to prevail.He was unlikely to emerge from his Saturday sweep with significantly more delegates, winning at least 36 delegates to Clinton's 11 for the day after his victories in Alaska and Washington. More are likely to be allocated to Sanders in several weeks, when Washington state Democratic party releases vote shares by district. Sixty-seven delegates are awarded based on results in the state's congressional districts.But there's little question that Sanders has tapped into a powerful frustration within the party. He continues to attract tens of thousands to his rallies and has collected more than $140 million from 4.7 million donations.Most of his 14 primary-season wins have been in states with largely white populations and in caucus contests, which tend to attract the most active liberal Democrats. He's heavily favored by younger voters, who were a key part of the coalition that boosted Barack Obama to victory twice. Clinton's ability to win the White House, should she capture the nomination, will hinge on how well she can motivate his passionate - and politically active - supporters.In Spokane, Washington, a huge line of caucus attendees — largely Sanders backers — snaked around a high school parking lot Saturday morning."I think one of the biggest things is free tuition for students," said Savannah Dills, 24, a college student who supports Sanders. "And getting big money out of politics. He's not paid for by billionaires."Retiree Dan McLay, 64, attended the caucus in a hard-hat, which he joked he needed because he was one of the relatively few Clinton supporters in the big crowd."Look at this thing in Brussels," McLay said, referring to the deadly attack in Belgium this week. "We need a real experienced leader."It was strong support for Sanders that brought Kirsa Hughes-Skandijs out to her first caucus in Juneau, Alaska."This is the first time I've ever felt that kind of belief in a candidate, that they mean what they say and that they are not saying what they think people want to hear," she said.____Associated Press writers Nicholas K. Geranios, Walker Orenstein and Rachel La Corte in Washington state, Bryna Godar in Madison, Wisconsin, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.
Trump would consider halting U.S. oil purchases from Saudi Arabia unless it provides troops to fight ISIS-Dylan Stableford-Senior editor-March 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Donald Trump says if elected president, he would consider a freeze on buying oil from Saudi Arabia unless the Saudi government provides ground troops in the fight against the Islamic State.“The answer is, probably yes,” Trump said when asked by the New York Times if he would halt U.S. oil purchases from the Middle East without military support from Arab countries in the region. “We protect countries, and take tremendous monetary hits on protecting countries. That would include Saudi Arabia, but it would include many other countries, as you know. We have, there’s a whole big list of them. We lose, everywhere. We lose monetarily, everywhere.“And yet, without us, Saudi Arabia wouldn’t exist for very long,” the Republican frontrunner continued. “It would be, you know, a catastrophic failure without our protection.”The real estate mogul insisted he isn’t an isolationist when it comes to his foreign policy — rather, he is “America first.”“We have been disrespected, mocked, and ripped off for many, many years by people that were smarter, shrewder, tougher,” Trump told the newspaper. “We were the big bully, but we were not smartly led. And we were the big bully who was the big, stupid bully, and we were systematically ripped off by everybody.”The former “Celebrity Apprentice” star, whose lack of foreign policy chops have come under fire as he inches closer to the GOP nomination, named three additional military advisers — retired Maj. Gen. Gary Harrell, Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa and retired Rear Adm. Charles Kubic — to his foreign policy team.Later in the interview, Trump suggested NATO is ineffective when it comes to countering terror.“Right now we don’t have somebody looking at terror, and we should be looking at terror,” Trump said. “It has to be changed. It has to be changed to include terror.”In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Trump defended his position.“I think NATO is obsolete,” he said. “NATO was done at a time you had the Soviet Union, which was obviously larger — much larger than Russia is today. I’m not saying Russia is not a threat. But we have other threats. We have the threat of terrorism. And NATO doesn’t discuss terrorism. NATO’s not meant for terrorism. NATO doesn’t have the right countries in it for terrorism.”Nobody will protect our Nation like Donald J. Trump. Our military will be greatly strengthened and our borders will be strong. Illegals out!- — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)- March 26, 2016 -The brash billionaire, who is quick to respond to his Republican rivals and their wives via tweets, was asked if he would engage in similar Twitter wars with world leaders.“It’s a new way of communicating,” Trump replied. “It’s very effective. I’ve been very effective with it. I have, between that and Facebook, I have like 15 or 16 million followers. It’s a great way of communicating. Now, other people don’t like it, because they have 15 followers.”But if he makes it to the White House, don’t expect the same volume of late-night tweets Trump’s been known to fire off on the campaign trail.“It’s a great way of communicating, as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “But I’m not going to be doing it very much as president.”
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Belgian nuclear guard shot and security access badge stolen: media-Reuters-March 26, 2016 8:48 AM-YAHOONEWS
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two days after bomb attacks at Brussels airport and on a packed metro killed 31 people and injured hundreds, a security guard who worked at a Belgian nuclear plant was murdered and his pass was stolen, Belgian media reported on Saturday.The French language Derniere Heure (DH) newspaper reported the security guard's badge was de-activated as soon as it was discovered he had been shot dead in the Charleroi region of Belgium and his badge stolen.A police spokeswoman said she could not comment because an investigation was ongoing.In a nation on high alert following this week's attacks, the report stokes fears about the possibility militants are seeking to get hold of nuclear material or planning to attack a nuclear site.On Thursday, DH had reported the suicide bombers who blew themselves up on Tuesday originally considered targeting a nuclear site, but a series of arrests of suspect militants forced them to speed up their plans and instead switch focus to the Belgian capital.Late last year, investigators found a video tracking the movements of a man linked to the country's nuclear industry during a search of a flat as part of investigations into the Islamist militant attack on Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people.The video, lasting several hours, showed footage of the entrance to a home in northern Belgium and the arrival and departure of the director of Belgium's nuclear research program.(Reporting by Barbara Lewis and Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark Potter)
Saudi FM says Iran must change its 'behaviour'-AFP-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Sunday that Iran must change its "behaviour" towards his country if it wants normal ties with the oil-rich Sunni kingdom.Jubeir, speaking at a joint news conference with his South African counterpart, said Riyadh "wants to have peaceful relations" with Tehran and that it had tried to forge closer ties with Iran for more than three decades but "in exchange we received nothing".Instead of "relations and friendship" with Iran, Saudi Arabia has been "confronted with interferences in our domestic affairs... attacks against our embassy," he said.Saudi Arabia severed all links with the Islamic republic of Iran in January after crowds attacked the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and a consulate in second city Mashhad.Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations also accuse Iran of supporting Shiite rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilise their own regimes.They also support rebels in Syria's five-year-old war while Tehran openly backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.Jubeir said Iran "knows what to do to have normal relations with Saudi Araba and the rest of the Islamic world and that is to change its behaviour... and the door will be open for normal relations."
Islamic State dealt hefty body blow with death of top aide: officials-Reuters By Maher Chmaytelli, Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin-March 26, 2016 9:54 AM-YAHOONEWS
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State will struggle to recover from the death of a top aide, reported this week in a U.S. air strike, whose overview of the group's finances, politics and administration was unmatched, Iraqi and U.S. sources said.Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Iman and Abu Alaa al-Afri, was a veteran jihadist with a bounty of $7 million on his head.That was second only to the $10 million offered for Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and accurately reflected his importance to the group."This is the heaviest blow to Islamic State in terms of assassinations because Qaduli was at the heart of (its) ...administrative structure," said Hisham al-Hashimi, an analyst who advises the Iraqi government on the militants."Baghdadi can't replace Haji Iman with a person of equivalent value. He will have to appoint three people to fill the vacuum... That reduces (Baghdadi's)... efficiency and leaves him more exposed to danger than before."As well as heading the Shura council that advises Baghdadi, Qaduli was governor of the Syrian provinces and the group's financial comptroller, Hashimi said.His death, and just before him that of war minister Abu Omar al-Shishani and the capture of an unidentified chemical weapons operative, "show that the United States has sources of information close to their top command level," the analyst added.U.S. officials say Islamic State is losing a battle to forces arrayed against it from many sides in the vast region it controls. The jihadist fighters were on the retreat this week in the strategic Syrian city of Palmyra.In Iraq, the group has been pulling back since December when it lost Ramadi, the capital of the western province of Anbar. The Baghdad government is hoping this year to recapture Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, seized by the militants nearly two years ago."The loss of Haji Iman will be massive. Although (Islamic State) ... has a strong system in place to replace key leaders it still takes time to readjust," said Ranj Talabany, an official from the Kurdish Zanyari intelligence agency."He was fully aware of their finances, and key leadership decisions were made with Haji Iman being consulted."-AL QAEDA VETERAN-Unlike many Islamic State commanders, Qaduli came from Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda rather than the dissolved Baath party of Saddam Hussein, who was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.He was arrested several times under Saddam because of his extremist religions opinions and went to Afghanistan in 1998, where he met bin Laden, Hashimi said.Bin Laden wanted him to take over command of the group's Iraq franchise in 2010. But Baghdadi, already settled in as the local commander, turned against al Qaeda in 2013 and declared himself caliph a year later, winning the backing of Qaduli, Hashimi said."He is considered the group's top civilian administrator," he added, with duties under Baghdadi including the deportation of religious and ethnic minorities and the organized rape of Yazidi women.The commander expected to replace Qaduli as Syria governor is the group's spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who has a $5 million bounty on his head, Hashimi said.Its likely new financial comptroller is Iyad al-Obaidi, also known as Fadel Haifa, a security officer under Saddam who took over the role of war minister after Shishani was killed, according to Hashimi.Abdallah al-Khatouni, the group's head of justice, may become chairman of the Shura council, he added.U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Friday said Qaduli was likely killed this week in an offensive targeting Islamic State's financial operations.Carter said Qaduli had played a role in recruiting foreign fighters, but could not confirm he had anything to do with Tuesday's bombings in Brussels.U.S. Army Col. Steve Warren, Baghdad-based spokesman for an international coalition battling Islamic State, said Qaduli was also providing finances and counsel on launching attacks in the West, adding: "He had been an international terrorist for more than a decade. His experience and knowledge will be missed by (IS)."(editing by John Stonestreet)
Syria forces retake ancient Palmyra in major victory over IS-AFP By Maher Al Mounes-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
President Bashar al-Assad hailed the victory as an "important achievement" as his Russian counterpart and key backer Vladimir Putin congratulated Damascus for retaking the UNESCO world heritage site.An AFP correspondent inside Palmyra said monuments destroyed by the jihadists -- like the iconic Temple of Bel -- were in pieces but that much of the ancient city was intact.Residential neighbourhoods in the adjacent modern town were deserted and damage was widespread, the correspondent said.A group of regime fighters took time off to celebrate their win and kicked around a football in the middle of a street strewn with debris.The jihadists sparked a global outcry after seizing Palmyra in May 2015 and setting about destroying some of its treasured monuments.But Syria's antiquities chief on Sunday said the city's priceless artefacts were in much better shape than feared."We were expecting the worst. But the landscape, in general, is in good shape," Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP from Damascus."We could have completely lost Palmyra... The joy I feel is indescribable."The Syrian army said that Sunday's victory meant the city would now serve as a base to "broaden operations" against IS, including in its stronghold of Raqa and Deir Ezzor further east.Backed by a barrage of Russian air strikes, Syrian troops and allied militia launched a major offensive to retake Palmyra this month.The city is both a symbolic and strategic prize for Assad's forces, as it provides control of the surrounding desert extending all the way to the Iraqi border.At least 400 IS fighters were killed in the battle for the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. On the government side, 188 troops and militiamen were killed."That's the heaviest losses that IS has sustained in a single battle since its creation" in 2013, the director of the Britain-based monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.He said two cars packed with explosives blew up in the afternoon, one west of Palmyra and the other northeast of the city.- Jihadists under pressure After seizing Palmyra last year, IS blew up two of the site's treasured temples, its triumphal arch and a dozen tower tombs, in a campaign of destruction that UNESCO described as a war crime.The jihadists used Palmyra's ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and also murdered the city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.A military source told AFP on Sunday that IS militants had retreated towards the east as the army made its final push.Army sappers defused roadside mines in both the modern part of the city and in the old ruins.Syrian state television broadcast footage from inside Palmyra's famed museum, showing jagged pieces of sculptures on the ground and blanketed in dust.IS, behind a string of attacks in the West including last week's Brussels bombings, is under growing pressure from Syrian and Iraqi forces determined to retake bastions of its self-proclaimed "caliphate".On Thursday, the Iraqi army announced the launch of an offensive to eventually recapture second city Mosul, held by the jihadists since June 2014.United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon told reporters in neighbouring Jordan that he was "encouraged" by the recapture of Palmyra.- Palmyra 'will return' -Russian forces, which intervened in support of longtime ally Assad last September, were heavily involved in the Palmyra offensive despite a major drawdown last week.Russian warplanes carried out 40 combat sorties around Palmyra in the last 24 hours, striking 117 "terrorist targets" and killing 80 IS fighters, Moscow's defence ministry said Sunday.Putin telephoned Assad to congratulate the Syrian leader, adding that "successes such as the liberation of Palmyra would be impossible without Russia's support," a Kremlin spokesman said.Assad said the victory was "fresh proof of the efficiency of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism".IS and its jihadist rival, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, are not party to a landmark ceasefire in Syria since February 27.The month-long truce has brought relative quiet to many areas across Syria, where more than 270,000 have been killed and millions had fled their homes in the last five years.The Observatory said on Sunday that 363 civilians had been killed since the truce went into effect -- the lowest monthly toll in four years.The number represented a major drop from the previous month, when more than 1,100 civilians, including 234 children, were killed.Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, drew some 150,000 tourists a year before Syria's civil war and is known to Syrians as the "Pearl of the Desert".Syrian officials, including antiquities chief Abdulkarim, have vowed to rebuild the ancient monuments."Palmyra will return to the way it was," he said.
$100 million from World Bank to create 100,000 Jordan jobs-Associated Press By KARIN LAUB-MAR 27,16-YAHOONEWS
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan will get a cheap $100 million loan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizens, the World Bank president said Sunday.The long-term loan, almost interest free, is part of an attempt by the international community to improve conditions for refugees in overburdened regional host countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.More than 4.8 million Syrians have fled their country since the start of the Syria conflict in 2011. Jordan hosts about 640,000 registered Syrian refugees and Lebanon more than 1 million.Cheap loans by the World Bank and other donors are among the new tools meant to help finance education and job creation for refugees in the region. Such support is also meant to slow the migration of refugees to Europe.World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have been visiting the region since last week, first stopping in Lebanon.Kim announced the $100 million loan for job creation in Jordan on Sunday, after Lebanon was also awarded $100 million to ensure universal school enrolment for Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by 2017.The bank president said the money for Jordan and Lebanon — both middle income countries — is from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries."We are taking money from that fund and giving it to a middle income country because Jordan has taken such extraordinary measures" in hosting refugees, he said.Kim did not say how soon the 100,000 jobs could be created and how many of them would go to refugees.Jordan has set aside special economic zones where it hopes improved trade arrangements with Europe will lead to greater investment and eventually more jobs. However, the trade arrangements have not yet been worked out, and the entire job creation scheme is expected to take several years.The idea of concessional loans was part of a package of support for refugees and their hosts announced at a Syria aid conference last month.Eventually, the World Bank and other donors hope to offer $3 billion to $4 billion in cheap loans to refugee host countries, with international donors buying down interest.Earlier Sunday, Ban held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman. The meeting had not been announced previously.Ban said he is concerned that "we cannot give any hope to these people, the Palestinian people" because of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and ongoing violence.Last week, video footage released by an Israeli rights group showed an Israeli soldier lethally shooting a Palestinian attacker who had already been shot and subdued. The incident fueled long-running complaints that Israeli forces are at times using excessive force in responding to Palestinian attacks.The shooting came amid six months of Palestinian stabbings and other attacks that killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. In this time, at least 188 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with Israeli security forces.Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have not held meaningful peace talks since Netanyahu took office in 2009. Gaps remain wide between them on the terms of Palestinian statehood.Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh said the Palestinian leader told Ban on Sunday that it's important to convene an international conference to revive peace talks. It's a French idea backed by the Palestinians.
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