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)
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF THE WEST
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
MEPs fear further 'Putinisation' of Turkey By Eszter Zalan-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 19. Jul, 20:41-"We have seen that from a coup you can get to a counter-coup," conservative German MEP Elmar Brok summed up the mood at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday (19 July) to discuss events in Turkey.MEPs and EU neighbourhood commissioner Johannes Hahn criticised the Turkish government for the harsh crackdown launched after last Friday's failed military overthrow."I was suprised that in a few days, in a few hours you can come up with a list of thousands of prosecutors and lawyers held responsible for the coup," Brok said."It is an incredible administrative effort," he quipped.Brok added that there was a danger that with the ongoing crackdown, Turkey could move further away from Europe.More than 9,000 people have been detained since Saturday and over 10,000 civil servants have been suspended.On Tuesday, 1,577 university deans were urged to resign, and 24,000 teachers and interior ministry employees across the country were fired.Kari Piri, the parliament's rapporteur for Turkey, said the Ankara government has the right and obligation to bring the people involved in the coup to justice.But the Dutch social-democrat MEP also asked for restraint from the Turkish authorities."The first reactions by the Turkish authorities raise the fear that the government of president Erdogan is pursuing a witch-hunt as thousands of military, police, judges and governors have been arrested or put on non-active," Piri said."I hope recent events will not be used to further 'Putinise' Turkey," she said, referring to Russian president Vladimir Putin's autocratic rule.Piri recalled that there have been concerns for several years over silencing critics in Turkey and curtailing the media.She also said it was high time that the EU's external service appoints a new ambassador to Turkey, after the previous one left last month after making critical comments about the Turkish government.Hahn reiterated that he was concerned by the fact that Turkish authorities came up with a list of people to arrest in a matter of hours. He added that he was surprised that his earlier similar comments caused a stir."To come up with a list in a few hours, is something most administrations aren’t able to do," he said."With 20 percent of judges suspended or replaced, that will have a direct impact on judicial rulings," the Austrian commissioner said."Even in a state of emergency, clear rules have to be respected," he warned Ankara.His comments were criticised by Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said Hahn's statements were unacceptable. He also added that no-one should prejudge the end of the judicial process.MEPs also reiterated that introducing the death penalty in Turkey would end EU accession talks.Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German Green MEP, said what was happening in Turkey was president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's doing, and could not be blamed on the EU."What is just happening is that president Erdogan is changing fundamental values and rule of law principles, and it is EU not doing that, we are not threatening anybody when we say introducing the death penalty ends the accession procedure," he said.
EU states saw 211 terrorist attacks last year-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 13:49-EU states were victims of 211 terrorist attacks in 2015 compared to 201 in 2014 and 152 in 2013, a fresh report by Europol, the EU's joint policy agency said Wednesday. The majority were separatist attacks, but all but one of the 151 fatalities were caused by jihadist assaults. Europol noted women are joining the Islamic State group in larger numbers and raising children as the "next generation" of fighters.
New UK government abandons migration pledge-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 09:27-New UK home and foreign affairs secretaries Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson have abandoned Tory promises to bring net immigration below 100,000 people a year. The government will instead aim to reduce migration to “sustainable levels”, Rudd said. Johnson added it was wrong to commit to numbers, because "one didn't want to disappoint people". Former PM David Cameron came under fire after net migration soared to 335,000 last year.
Germany: Afghan teenage ax attacker acted alone-Authorities say 17-year-old asylum seeker who stabbed Chinese family was radicalized by Islamic State propaganda online-By David Rising July 20, 2016, 4:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
BERLIN (AP) — A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who went on a rampage on a Bavarian train with an ax and a knife appears to have acted alone, goaded on by online Islamic extremist propaganda, Germany’s top security official said Wednesday.Five people were injured in the Monday evening attack and two remain in critical condition, “and it is not yet clear if they will all survive,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin.The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack and though German authorities have said that they have found no direct link to the extremists, an IS flag was found among the suspect’s possessions and he refers to himself as a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a video that was posted by the group.De Maiziere said it was not yet clear when the video was made, but confirmed that investigators had determined it was authentic. It shows the young man waving a knife as he talks into the camera.“It appears to be a classic farewell video of a suicide attacker,” de Maiziere said.In the video, the suspect, whose name has not been released, urges others to commit attacks, saying “if you can’t come to Iraq and Syria the least you can do is kill these infidels in the countries that you live in.”In the video the suspect speaks in Pashto, one of Afghanistan’s main languages, with an accent that suggests he is from the eastern part of the country. The accent is also similar to that of Pakistanis who speak Pashto, leading to speculation that he may have lied about his country of origin when he came to Germany last year as an unaccompanied minor asylum-seeker, to increase his chances of being allowed to stay.De Maiziere said authorities were looking into the possibility that he might actually have been from Pakistan, but that other evidence speaks to his being from Afghanistan, including comments he made about a friend in Afghanistan having recently been killed — something authorities think may have prompted him to plan his attack.German authorities also have statements about family from Afghanistan on immigration documents, de Maiziere said.“There needs to be further investigation,” he added.
Germany fears more 'lone wolf' attacks after train rampage-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is likely to face more Islamist attacks, its interior minister said on Wednesday, but played down any link between the government's open-door refugee policy and Monday's ax assault on a train in Bavaria.Anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has seized on the train attack to criticize Chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy, under which some 1.1 million people entered Germany in 2015, many fleeing war in Syria, North Africa and Asia."You cannot say there is no connection between refugees and terrorism, but the danger was high before and remains high, regardless of questions about refugees," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said.A 17-year-old who had sought asylum in Germany was shot dead by police after wounding four people from Hong Kong, some of them severely, on the train and injuring a local resident while fleeing the scene near the city of Wuerzburg.The perpetrator was initially thought to be Afghan but de Maiziere said on Wednesday there were indications he was from Pakistan. Officials have said the attacker came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor and registered as a refugee in June 2015 at Passau on the Austrian border.The train attack came four days after a Tunisian delivery man drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people. Militant group Islamic State has claimed both attacks.De Maiziere said the government had introduced measures to improve security in the last year but warned: "Like several EU countries, like the whole EU, Germany is also in the target area of international terrorism ... the situation is serious."Investigations pointed to the train attacker being a "lone wolf" who had been spurred into action by Islamic State propaganda, said de Maiziere.VIDEO-Police found a hand-painted Islamic State flag in his room and a letter he appeared to have written to his father which officials said read: "And now pray for me that I can get revenge on these non-believers, pray for me that I go to heaven".Islamic State posted a video, described by de Maiziere as authentic, in which a man whom it identifies as the refugee vows to carry out a suicide mission and urges others to do the same.De Maiziere said it was unclear when the film was made, adding it was "a classic farewell video by a suicide attacker".Germany's federal prosecutor said on Wednesday an investigation had been opened into the case and it was necessary to clarify whether other people were involved in the attack or helping behind the scenes. It launched an investigation against persons unknown on suspicion of belonging to a "foreign terrorist association" and attempted murder. It did not provide further details.It is unclear how the youth became radicalized. He was living with a foster family and had a part-time job at a bakery.De Maiziere said Germans would have to get used to more video surveillance and police officers on the streets."We need the active cooperation of Muslims living here, including the mosque communities working here. They, too, must make a contribution to integration, to prevention and to spotting the radicalization process early on," he said.Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the German government, warned against harboring general suspicion toward the refugees in the wake of the train attack, saying: "A cruel attack carried out by an individual can't discredit a group of many thousands."(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Paul Carrel and Michelle Martin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Turkey suspends further 6,500 education ministry staff: Turkish official-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Around 6,500 employees of Turkey's education ministry have been suspended, a Turkish official said on Wednesday, as a probe launched after a failed coup into the military, civil service and schools gathers pace.The latest suspensions came a day after the same ministry suspended 15,200 personnel and also revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private institutions across Turkey.So far about 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or are under investigation following the military coup attempt last weekend.(Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Protesters fire at police in standoff over custody death near Paris-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PARIS (Reuters) - Ill Armed protesters fired at police, lightly wounding five, during overnight confrontations in an area north of Paris over the death of a young man in police custody, local officials said on Wednesday.Officials made no link to last week's militant attack in the coastal city of Nice, in which nearly 90 people were killed by a speeding truck, but France and its security forces remain on tenterhooks.The protests in the Val d'Oise area were sparked when a 24-year-old died after being arrested, deputy prosecutor François Capin-Dulhoste told Reuters.Capin-Dulhoste said the man had suffered a heart problem during transportation to the police station, but that the cause of death was being investigated.Family members said police hit the man as they detained him for trying to prevent the arrest of his brother on suspicion of violence and extortion."About a hundred individuals ... came looking for the law enforcement forces after a person died at the premises of the gendarmerie in Beaumont (town)," Jean-Simon Merandat, director of the Val d'Oise prefect's office, told France Info radio."Things are calm now and we have about 130 gendarmes and other police on the spot," he said.Capin-Dulhoste said five police sustained gunshot wounds from firearms, and a sixth was wounded in physical violence from a protester. Merandat said the firearms used by the protesters were probably hunting weapons.It was not clear if protesters were wounded in the standoff, but one arrest was made, the police said.Weeks of rioting erupted in Paris's often grim suburbs in 2005 after the death of youths electrocuted when they hid from police in a power hub.(Reporting By Brian Love and Chine Labbe; Editing by John Irish and Raissa Kasolowsky)
Authorities to provide details about Kansas officer's death-[The Canadian Press]-Bill Draper And Jim Suhr, The Associated Press-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas City, Kansas, police officer was shot and killed while searching for a suspect in a drive-by shooting, and two people are in custody, though no charges have been filed yet.Capt. Robert Melton was searching for the suspect when he drove up to someone who matched that person's description just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesman Tom Tomasic said. Before Melton could get out of his vehicle, the person opened fire, hitting the officer multiple times, Tomasic said. The alleged shooter was caught five minutes later about a block away, he said.A police spokeswoman said the suspect was questioned Tuesday evening, along with another person suspected in the initial drive-by shooting. Police weren't releasing the suspects' names because charges hadn't been filed. A news conference was planned for Wednesday morning.A third person who had been taken into custody was determined not to have been involved and was released, police said.It's the second time a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer has been shot and killed this year. In early May, detective Brad Lancaster was fatally shot near the Kansas Speedway, and Melton had served in the police honour guard at Lancaster's funeral. The shooting also comes as police departments across the country are on edge after ambush attacks left eight officers dead in Texas and Louisiana."There's a lot of pain and brokenness in our community and our nation right now, and we just want to ask everyone to be prayerful and thoughtful right now," Mayor Mark Holland of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County said.Ida Ford, 87, was watching television in her two-story brick home when gunfire erupted just outside. Ford said she thought someone was knocking on her air conditioner until her son rushed downstairs and told her the three loud noises she had heard were gunshots. Ford said she looked through her window and saw the officer sprawled and unresponsive on the asphalt road in front of her home. She watched for a few minutes as paramedics worked on the officer."I'm just so sorry for his family," she said.Melton was brought to the University of Kansas Hospital just before 2:30 p.m., but resuscitation efforts did not work, trauma surgeon James Howard said at a news conference.The shooting happened after police responded to a report around 1:30 p.m. from a person who said several people in a car were firing shots. The suspect vehicle took off as police arrived, but it crashed into a fence and the occupants bailed out at 1:36 p.m., Tomasic, the police spokesman, said. Two people were taken into custody within three minutes of the wreck, he said.Melton, 46, was driving around looking for a third person when he came upon someone who matched the suspect's description, Tomasic said.Melton was a 17-year veteran of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. According to his LinkedIn profile, he had also served in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan from September 2010 to March 2012.Outside the hospital where Melton died, local Baptist preacher Jimmie Banks — a friend of the city's mayor — sat dejected on a bench, head lowered, after attending the news conference announcing the officer's passing. He said it was painful to sit in that room and see the grief-stricken faces."The contributions that peace officers make to protect and serve — they deserve better," said Banks. "When they leave home, the family expects them to return. It's shameful this has happened."___Draper reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
Saudi revives fatwa on ‘Zionism-promoting’ Pokemon-New highly popular iteration of the game leads Saudi clerics to renew 2001 ban on game which they claim also encourages gambling-By Times of Israel staff July 20, 2016, 4:30 pm
Pokemon Go may be taking the world by storm but don’t try hunting for Pikachu, Pidgey or Rattata in Saudi Arabia, as clerics there have renewed a 15-year-old ban on the game.The General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars reaffirmed a 2001 ban on the game, according to Reuters, following the release of a new highly popular augmented reality version of the game, in which players use their smartphones to gather virtual Pokemon.While fatwa no. 21,758 makes no mention of the latest iteration of game, it does list many sinful aspects of Pokemon.Firstly, the game is seen as a form of gambling, which itself is forbidden. Secondly, it encourages belief in Darwin’s theory of evolution, and thirdly, the fatwa says, the symbols used in the game promote the Shinto religion of Japan, Christianity, Freemasonry and “global Zionism.”“The symbols and logos of devious religions and organizations are used [including] the six-pointed star: You rarely find a card that does not contain such a star. It is associated with Judaism, the logo and sign of the State of Israel, and the first symbol of the Masonry organizations in the world,” the ruling says.Other countries are also not in favor of Pokemon Go. In Egypt, Hamdi Bakheet, a member of the committee of defense and national security told parliament that the game was being used for espionage by the country’s enemies, Al-Jazeera reported.“Pokemon Go is the latest tool used by spy agencies in the intel war, a cunning despicable app that tries to infiltrate our communities in the most innocent way under the pretext of entertainment. But all they really want is to spy on people and the state,” he said. One of the busiest #Pokemon spots in #dubai The fountain Dubai mall #PokemonGO @PokemonGoDXB @PokemonUAE http://pic.twitter.com/gGGMIGLaUw— Nayef Khatib (@nayefk7) July 18, 2016-In United Arab Emirates, a fatwa was also issued in 2001 claiming that Pokemon promotes gambling, according to the BBC. However it seems that the rules are not so strictly enforced now, as users are tweeting their favorite hunting grounds.When #pokemongo meets #reallife #pokemon #israel #kotel #jerusalem #photooftheday #picofth… https://t.co/d54yu84892 http://pic.twitter.com/19GkTZJDua— Todd Rosenblatt (@RosenblattTodd) July 10, 2016-There are no such bans in Israel, where Pokemon have been spotted everywhere, from the Western Wall to the President’s Residence.
Pearson Airport unveils updated security measures for travel to the U.S.-[CBC]-July 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Officials with Toronto Pearson International Airport announced an updated screening process on Tuesday for passengers headed to the United States.The revamped Security in Advance (SIA) protocol requires travellers to first pass through Canadian security, then U.S. customs. Previously, travellers visited U.S. customs first."What we've done here is to put, if you like, the cart behind the horse, instead of in the reverse order," Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau said after the announcement. That adds more security for passengers and customs personnel, as baggage will be screened prior to entering the customs area, he said."This is something that our American neighbours felt strongly about. We agreed with it," he said. "It's the way it is in six of the eight airports where we do have pre-clearance and we've now corrected it here in Toronto."The switch also opens up travel to American destinations where local airports don't have a customs set-up, he said.The last phase of the switch was completed on May 17, when a new checkpoint and several pre-board screening lines opened in Terminal 1, but officials made the announcement Tuesday. The terminal 3 checkpoint has been functional since January.The switch was completed after a two-year collaboration between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and air carriers.Pearson airport is the fourth largest air entry point into the U.S., with 5.6 million passengers flying from Toronto to the U.S. each year.
Edmonton university student confirmed dead in truck attack in France-[The Canadian Press]-The Canadian Press-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
EDMONTON - An Edmonton university has confirmed that one of its students was killed in last week's truck attack in France.MacEwan University said in a release that Mykhaylo Bazelevskyy, who was 22 and also went by the first name Misha, was among those who died July 14 in Nice.The school said confirmation of his death came late Tuesday from French authorities and from his family."Few, if any of us, can comprehend the senselessness of what occurred in Nice," school president David Atkinson said is a statement. “There is no greater loss to a university than a student who has so much life and promise ahead of him."Bazelevskyy — who was in the School of Business — had permanent resident status in Canada, but was travelling on a Ukrainian passport. His parents still live in Ukraine, but his brother and sister-in-law live in Edmonton.He was one of five MacEwan students, who, along with a faculty member, were participating in a three-week entrepreneurship and innovation training program offered by the European Innovation Academy.On the night of the attack, the group of MacEwan students was heading to the Promenade des Anglais to enjoy Bastille Day fireworks, but inclement weather convinced three of them to turn back.Bazelevskyy and another student were on the promenade when the truck plowed into the crowd and chaos ensued.No one else in the MacEwan group was hurt.Bazelevskyy was active in student life at the school. He ran for student government, was a member of the men's cross-country team and was also a resident adviser."The nicest guy that anyone could meet," said fellow student and friend Amy Beard when Bazelevskyy was first reported missing last week. "Misha just always wanted to say hi to everybody in the hallway and he would always stop to talk to you. It didn't matter how busy he was. He's such a good-hearted person."Alberta Premier Rachel Notley expressed her condolences."This young man had every right to believe that he was safe. He was in a democratic country that is committed to peace," she said. "Tragically, that feeling of safety was shattered for this innocent student, and for everyone in Nice, and in France."Atkinson said the whole school feels the loss."I know that everyone joins me in expressing our profound sympathy to Misha’s family at this terrible time," Atkinson said. "Misha will be deeply missed by his friends and family."
Anti-IS coalition has killed 20 operators plotting external attacks - Carter-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday the coalition fighting Islamic State had killed more than 20 of the militant group's operatives who were conspiring to carry out external attacks.In prepared remarks before a gathering of coalition defense ministers near Washington, Carter said "we've killed over 20 of ISIL's external operators who were actively plotting to attack our homelands and personnel."(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
MMIW national inquiry to focus on violence prevention not police investigations-[CBC]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
The upcoming national inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women will focus on violence prevention, according to a draft document obtained by CBC News.A draft of the terms of reference says commissioners will be given the broad mandate to identify systemic causes of violence and recommend "concrete action" to help end violence against Indigenous women and girls.Five commissioners, including a chief commissioner, will be named, but the document does not identify them. The draft also does not include specifics about timing or length of inquiry. Similar to the recent Truth and Reconciliation commission, the inquiry — it's start date has yet to be specified — will aim to hear from the people directly affected.Commissioners will be given a mandate to support the inclusion of "any person having substantial interest" in the process.It will travel to Indigenous communities across the country to gather statements in what is described as an "informal" and "culturally sensitive" probe. Testimony from community members and families of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls appears to be central to process of identifying causes contributing to the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Aboriginal women in Canada.Probe into police conduct not specified-In the government's pre-inquiry consultations in 17 communities earlier this year, families of the more than 1,200 missing or murdered indigenous women were given the opportunity to share their opinions.Families urged the government to choose an Indigenous woman to lead the inquiry and to focus on identifying root causes.At every consultation, the ministers were urged to look into police conduct and practices during criminal investigations of missing or murdered women. Some families alleged discrimination or misconduct by police during pre-inquiry consultations. Many of the recommendations from families and stakeholders appear to have shaped the mandate of the inquiry.But while the role of police or police conduct was flagged as something that should be a priority for examination during the inquiry, in the draft document, there is no specific directive to look into that.The document also directs commissioners not to interfere with ongoing criminal investigations and discourages them from recommending civil or criminal liability of a person or organization.Commissioners are encouraged to give weight to previous studies such as the TRC final report, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, as well as five other reports specifically relating to violence against Indigenous women and girls.Inquiry details delayed-Details about the scope and mandate of the national inquiry has been long anticipated by families of victims.The Liberal government announced Phase 1 of a national inquiry shortly after it took office last December.In June, Status of Women Minister Patty Hadju told CBC News the government was "very close" to making an announcement about Phase 2 of the national inquiry."I think Canadians can be confident that, before the House rises, we'll have something to tell them about how this is going to look."Five weeks later, families of missing and murdered women are still waiting for official confirmation of next steps of the inquiry.Ottawa is in ongoing negotiations with the provinces and territories about terms of reference.The federal budget has committed $40 million over two years for the inquiry.
Court ruling puts Renzi bank plan in doubt By Andrew Rettman-JULY 20,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-An EU court ruling on bank bailouts has raised the likelihood of a political embarrassment for Italian leader Matteo Renzi, with the PM’s future and Italy’s eurozone membership on the line in an October referendum.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Tuesday (19 July) that Slovenia acted within EU law when it imposed a haircut of some €600 million on private-sector creditors as part of its bank rescue package in 2013.It also ruled that the European Commission was within its rights when it published guidelines in July of the same year that said member states should make private creditors pay for part of bank rescues instead of placing the entire burden on taxpayers via state aid.“Burden-sharing by shareholders and subordinated creditors as a prerequisite for the authorisation, by the commission, of state aid to a bank with a shortfall is not contrary to EU law,” the ECJ said.The Italian government is currently in talks with the EU on how to protect Italian banks from a pile of bad debts worth €360 billion.Renzi had wanted to fully protect private creditors from taking a hit. But the commission, as well as German chancellor Angela Merkel, has so far said his state-aid rescue would probably be illegal because it would distort competition.The ECJ ruling did give the commission the option to grant special exemptions.It said “the commission may authorise such proposed aid in exceptional circumstances” with “the objective of preventing a systemic risk and ensuring the stability of the [member state’s] financial system”.But a commission spokeswoman the same day indicated that Brussels was not happy to give way despite the potential political fallout.“The court has specifically confirmed that the commission is justified in introducing burden-sharing principles as a key condition to approve the [state] aid,” she told press in the EU capital.“Their application has in past cases saved European taxpayers a significant amount of money.”In a sign of how the markets see the situation unfolding, shares in Italy’s most indebted bank, the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, fell a further 6 percent on the back of the court ruling.-October referendum-The developments come a few months ahead of a referendum in Italy that risks questioning the country’s future eurozone membership and, with that, the stability of the EU project as a whole.On paper, the October vote, on constitutional reform of Italy’s Senate, has nothing to do with banks or the EU.But in the post-Brexit climate, and given Italy’s broader problems - it has a staggering debt-to-GDP ratio and mass unemployment - the referendum is expected to turn into a vote of confidence on Renzi and on the EU’s handling of the economic crisis.Renzi himself has promised to step down if he loses in a move likely to prompt snap elections before the original due date in early 2018.That chain of events, if it transpires, could sweep the eurosceptic Five Star Movement party into power in the eurozone’s third largest economy.According to an Ipsos poll out this week, Five Star is already Italy’s most popular party, with 30.6 percent of support compared to 29.8 percent for Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD). The figures represent a surge in popularity, after the PD led Five Star by 6 percent in polls in January.Five Star does not want Italy to leave the EU and parties that do, such as the far-right Northern League, have dropped in polls amid the post-Brexit turbulence in the UK.But in the European Parliament, Five Star is part of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group, with Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party and Alternative for Germany.And party leaders, such as the 30-year old Luigi Di Maio, the deputy speaker of the Italian parliament, have blamed the rigours of single currency membership for Italy’s woes and believe the country would be better off it was free to make its own fiscal decisions.-Bigger than Brexit?-Speaking to The Guardian, a British daily, on Tuesday, Di Maio said the EU “is not guilty of everything it has been blamed for”.But he said that EU-imposed austerity and elitism meant that it “has decided to abdicate from its role of protecting the internal market and protecting its citizens”.He said that if Five Star got into power, it would call “a referendum which asks citizens if they want to remain in the euro, if they want to go in another direction, renegotiate the euro, or return to the lira”.If the prospect of Italian voters saying that they want to quit the eurozone appears remote, it is considered a realistic threat in the financial sector.“The key way in which Brexit becomes a global and systemic shock, the transmission mechanism, is Europe - and it’s not trade with Europe, it’s financial linkages and political goings-on in Europe,” Paul Diggle, an economist at Aberdeen Asset Management, a Scottish firm, said in a briefing earlier this week, the Bloomberg news agency reported.“There are a whole series of potential [post-Brexit] flashpoints. The most immediate one is clearly the referendum in Italy”, Diggle said.Tina Fordham, an analyst at the US-based Citibank, said in a memo published on 3 July that Italy’s October vote posed a bigger risk to EU stability than even the UK’s decision to leave the Union.The upcoming Italian referendum “is probably the single biggest risk on the European political landscape this year” Fordham’s memo said.
UK gives up EU presidency role-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 10:43-The British government has said the UK will give up its presidency of the EU Council, which had been scheduled for the second half of next year, due the Brexit vote, the BBC reported Wednesday. The decision means that Malta and Estonia might share the task when it comes up or that Estonia might bring forward its EU presidency, which had been due in the first half of 2018.
Estonia is likely to take over UK's EU presidency-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 16:12-Estonia is likely to take over the UK's EU presidency scheduled for the second half of 2017 after EU ambassadors discussed the issue Wednesday. A final decision is expected to be taken in the next couple of days, but the idea is to continue with the line-up, instead of having a new country take over, a source said. Estonia was due to follow Britain in 2018 at the EU presidency.
Hungary ready to take over UK's EU presidency-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 13:37-Hungary has indicated to the EU institutions it is ready to take over the rotating presidency of the union in the second half year of 2017 from the UK, which originally would have been at the helm, Hungary's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday. Hungary held the EU presidency in the begining of 2011. Malta and Estonia have also been tipped to divide the UK's six-month presidency among themselves.
May heads to Berlin and Paris for pre-Brexit talks By Eszter Zalan-JULY 20,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:22-The new British prime minister, Theresa May, is heading to Berlin on Wednesday (20 July) for "frank and open" discussions on Brexit.A week after taking office, May will have a working dinner with chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday evening, before going to Paris to discuss Britain's exit from the EU with president Francois Hollande on Thursday."I do not underestimate the challenge of negotiating our exit from the European Union and I firmly believe that being able to talk frankly and openly about the issues we face will be an important part of a successful negotiation," May said ahead of her trip.“I also want to deliver a very clear message about the importance we attach to our bilateral relationship with our European partners, not just now but also when we have left the European Union.”May has already talked to the two leaders over the phone, but it will be her first face-to-face discussions with key European figures on the terms of divorce from Europe.Formal negotiations will not start until May has launched the exit procedure laid out in article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.She has said before this happens, she first wants to have a common UK position that takes into account the interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.May is not expected to trigger article 50 before the end of the year.Merkel has argued that May should have enough time to form a clear negotiating position, but Hollande is expected to have less tolerance for British delays, and to push for a hard bargain.Both Merkel and Hollande face elections next year, where they might be pressed by voters not to give in to British demands.In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen is pushing for a French exit from the EU, and wants a referendum on the issue.EU leaders said there would be no cherry-picking from the bloc's policies, and that the access to the EU's single market required the UK to agree to freedom of movement of citizens.However, May's early talks are not expected to produce tangible results just yet.Hollande and May are also expected to talk about security cooperation in the wake of the recent attacks in France.Britain is likely to join the EU's military missions targeting pirates or people smugglers even after Brexit, the UK defence secretary has suggested.-No to a second vote-Meanwhile, Britons have no appetite for a second referendum or general election, a ComRes poll for the Independent suggested.It found that 57 percent of respondents opposed the idea of a second Brexit referendum, with 29 percent in favour of repeating the vote.Also, 46 percent agreed that the Conservative party was elected for a five-year term and that May does not need to call an early election. Some 38 percent wanted to head back to the polls.
French PM invokes special powers to pass contested labour law-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls invoked special constitutional powers on Wednesday to force a contested labour law through parliament in the face of opposition from left-wing lawmakers.The widely expected move leaves lawmakers in the lower house of parliament opposed to the bill with little chance to derail it before its final adoption.They have 24 hours to mount a censure motion against the government or otherwise it is considered as definitively adopted.The bill aimed at making hiring and firing easier sparked three months of street protests and waves of strikes by hardline trade unions.(Reporting by Emile Picy; writing by Leigh Thomas)
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
EU national climate goals test bloc's resolve amid Brexit-[Reuters]-By Alissa de Carbonnel-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators doled out bitterly disputed national emissions-reduction targets on Wednesday for spreading the burden of the bloc's climate goals by 2030, despite risks Britain's exit could unravel the effort to fight global warming.As the first major piece of legislation since Britons voted in June to leave, it is a test of the union's cohesion, as it seeks to keep to a pact agreed in Paris last year aimed at holding global warming "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.It assigns EU nations targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions ranging from zero to 40 percent to achieve the bloc's overall goal of at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.The European Commission has spent months in shuttle diplomacy with national governments to work out the politically sensitive targets, which will require an economic shift to low-carbon technology in big employment sectors such as transport, farming and building."All member states understand very well that if you want to alleviate the burden on one country, than someone else will have to carry it," European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic told Reuters. "I'm sure that the discussion will be intense."For now, the draft law sees Britain, the bloc's second-largest emitter after Germany, cutting pollution by 37 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, more than most other EU nations. But Brexit could upend the law, diplomats say."We cannot do nothing. If something happens, we will adapt," Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said. "We have to have a signal to industry and to stakeholders."Under the proposal, which covers sectors outside the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS), Germany's target is a cut of 38 percent and France's is 37 percent. Poland needs to reduce discharges by 7 percent."The big member states such as Germany, France and the U.K. agreed to carry the bigger burden in the name of solidarity," Sefcovic said.The strictest target of 40 percent cuts has been assigned to Luxembourg and Sweden. Finland and Denmark are projected to reduce emissions by 39 percent. These states will be allowed to use a limited amount of carbon permits to be auctioned as part of the ETS to meet their target.Bulgaria is the only EU nation asked to keep discharges unchanged.In a policy innovation, countries with high emissions from agriculture may offset these against a limited amount of credits from well-managed farmland or forests, which absorb carbon dioxide - a provision criticised as a loophole by green groups.-AMBITION WITHOUT BRITAIN?-Without Britain, the remaining 27 nations could either weaken climate goals, triggering international criticism, or step up ambitions already contested by states that rely on polluting sectors such as coal in Poland or farming in Ireland."It's one rich country less to take on some of the burden from the Poles," one EU diplomat said.Environmental campaigners warn the effort is too shallow to prevent the worst effects of climate change, blamed for calamitous weather. The Paris agreement set an aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius."Worse, loopholes risk ... allowing countries to cheat," Femke de Jong of Carbon Market Watch said.When EU environment ministers wrestle over the proposal later this year, Britain will still have a seat at the table. It remains bound by the bloc until its formal withdrawal - a two-year process yet to be launched by new Prime Minister Theresa May.But Britain's decision to leave the EU has diluted its say in the bloc's affairs, diplomats say, muting one of the loudest voices in favour of tough climate policy.The Commission also proposed on Wednesday limits for the first time on CO2 emissions from trucks and buses as well as new fuel-efficiency standards for cars and vans from 2020.(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Dale Hudson)
Wild horse birth control touted as humane solution to population growth-[CBC]-July 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
A pilot project in Alberta is using birth control vaccinations to help control the wild horse population.So far, 73 mares have been injected with Zona Stat-H, also known as PZP, a vaccine that helps to prevent fertilization with up to 90 per cent effectiveness.The effects of the contraceptive are reversible, can be delivered remotely using small darts and will not harm the fetus if a pregnant animal is vaccinated.Only use on an individual for five or more consecutive years will risk sterility.The project is part of a five-year agreement signed between the Alberta government and the Wild Horses of Alberta Society in November 2014.'Most humane' solution-"It's the most humane and a very effective method of controlling the numbers," said Bob Henderson, president of WHOAS.Henderson said his organization was motivated to find a better solution after being able to save just nine of more than 200 wild horses that were captured in 2012. Most of the remaining feral horses were destroyed, he said.The PZP vaccine is "used extensively" in the United States, particularly in Nevada and Wyoming, Henderson said.The province's most recent estimates count 851 wild horses in the Foothills area, compared to 880 in April 2014.The birth control project is being piloted in a 490-square-kilometre area of Sundre to test its effectiveness on slowing population growth.Depending on the study's success, contraceptives could be considered for other equine zones.
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
MEPs fear further 'Putinisation' of Turkey By Eszter Zalan-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 19. Jul, 20:41-"We have seen that from a coup you can get to a counter-coup," conservative German MEP Elmar Brok summed up the mood at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday (19 July) to discuss events in Turkey.MEPs and EU neighbourhood commissioner Johannes Hahn criticised the Turkish government for the harsh crackdown launched after last Friday's failed military overthrow."I was suprised that in a few days, in a few hours you can come up with a list of thousands of prosecutors and lawyers held responsible for the coup," Brok said."It is an incredible administrative effort," he quipped.Brok added that there was a danger that with the ongoing crackdown, Turkey could move further away from Europe.More than 9,000 people have been detained since Saturday and over 10,000 civil servants have been suspended.On Tuesday, 1,577 university deans were urged to resign, and 24,000 teachers and interior ministry employees across the country were fired.Kari Piri, the parliament's rapporteur for Turkey, said the Ankara government has the right and obligation to bring the people involved in the coup to justice.But the Dutch social-democrat MEP also asked for restraint from the Turkish authorities."The first reactions by the Turkish authorities raise the fear that the government of president Erdogan is pursuing a witch-hunt as thousands of military, police, judges and governors have been arrested or put on non-active," Piri said."I hope recent events will not be used to further 'Putinise' Turkey," she said, referring to Russian president Vladimir Putin's autocratic rule.Piri recalled that there have been concerns for several years over silencing critics in Turkey and curtailing the media.She also said it was high time that the EU's external service appoints a new ambassador to Turkey, after the previous one left last month after making critical comments about the Turkish government.Hahn reiterated that he was concerned by the fact that Turkish authorities came up with a list of people to arrest in a matter of hours. He added that he was surprised that his earlier similar comments caused a stir."To come up with a list in a few hours, is something most administrations aren’t able to do," he said."With 20 percent of judges suspended or replaced, that will have a direct impact on judicial rulings," the Austrian commissioner said."Even in a state of emergency, clear rules have to be respected," he warned Ankara.His comments were criticised by Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said Hahn's statements were unacceptable. He also added that no-one should prejudge the end of the judicial process.MEPs also reiterated that introducing the death penalty in Turkey would end EU accession talks.Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German Green MEP, said what was happening in Turkey was president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's doing, and could not be blamed on the EU."What is just happening is that president Erdogan is changing fundamental values and rule of law principles, and it is EU not doing that, we are not threatening anybody when we say introducing the death penalty ends the accession procedure," he said.
EU states saw 211 terrorist attacks last year-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 13:49-EU states were victims of 211 terrorist attacks in 2015 compared to 201 in 2014 and 152 in 2013, a fresh report by Europol, the EU's joint policy agency said Wednesday. The majority were separatist attacks, but all but one of the 151 fatalities were caused by jihadist assaults. Europol noted women are joining the Islamic State group in larger numbers and raising children as the "next generation" of fighters.
New UK government abandons migration pledge-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 09:27-New UK home and foreign affairs secretaries Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson have abandoned Tory promises to bring net immigration below 100,000 people a year. The government will instead aim to reduce migration to “sustainable levels”, Rudd said. Johnson added it was wrong to commit to numbers, because "one didn't want to disappoint people". Former PM David Cameron came under fire after net migration soared to 335,000 last year.
Germany: Afghan teenage ax attacker acted alone-Authorities say 17-year-old asylum seeker who stabbed Chinese family was radicalized by Islamic State propaganda online-By David Rising July 20, 2016, 4:36 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
BERLIN (AP) — A 17-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who went on a rampage on a Bavarian train with an ax and a knife appears to have acted alone, goaded on by online Islamic extremist propaganda, Germany’s top security official said Wednesday.Five people were injured in the Monday evening attack and two remain in critical condition, “and it is not yet clear if they will all survive,” Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin.The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack and though German authorities have said that they have found no direct link to the extremists, an IS flag was found among the suspect’s possessions and he refers to himself as a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a video that was posted by the group.De Maiziere said it was not yet clear when the video was made, but confirmed that investigators had determined it was authentic. It shows the young man waving a knife as he talks into the camera.“It appears to be a classic farewell video of a suicide attacker,” de Maiziere said.In the video, the suspect, whose name has not been released, urges others to commit attacks, saying “if you can’t come to Iraq and Syria the least you can do is kill these infidels in the countries that you live in.”In the video the suspect speaks in Pashto, one of Afghanistan’s main languages, with an accent that suggests he is from the eastern part of the country. The accent is also similar to that of Pakistanis who speak Pashto, leading to speculation that he may have lied about his country of origin when he came to Germany last year as an unaccompanied minor asylum-seeker, to increase his chances of being allowed to stay.De Maiziere said authorities were looking into the possibility that he might actually have been from Pakistan, but that other evidence speaks to his being from Afghanistan, including comments he made about a friend in Afghanistan having recently been killed — something authorities think may have prompted him to plan his attack.German authorities also have statements about family from Afghanistan on immigration documents, de Maiziere said.“There needs to be further investigation,” he added.
Germany fears more 'lone wolf' attacks after train rampage-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is likely to face more Islamist attacks, its interior minister said on Wednesday, but played down any link between the government's open-door refugee policy and Monday's ax assault on a train in Bavaria.Anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has seized on the train attack to criticize Chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy, under which some 1.1 million people entered Germany in 2015, many fleeing war in Syria, North Africa and Asia."You cannot say there is no connection between refugees and terrorism, but the danger was high before and remains high, regardless of questions about refugees," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said.A 17-year-old who had sought asylum in Germany was shot dead by police after wounding four people from Hong Kong, some of them severely, on the train and injuring a local resident while fleeing the scene near the city of Wuerzburg.The perpetrator was initially thought to be Afghan but de Maiziere said on Wednesday there were indications he was from Pakistan. Officials have said the attacker came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor and registered as a refugee in June 2015 at Passau on the Austrian border.The train attack came four days after a Tunisian delivery man drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people. Militant group Islamic State has claimed both attacks.De Maiziere said the government had introduced measures to improve security in the last year but warned: "Like several EU countries, like the whole EU, Germany is also in the target area of international terrorism ... the situation is serious."Investigations pointed to the train attacker being a "lone wolf" who had been spurred into action by Islamic State propaganda, said de Maiziere.VIDEO-Police found a hand-painted Islamic State flag in his room and a letter he appeared to have written to his father which officials said read: "And now pray for me that I can get revenge on these non-believers, pray for me that I go to heaven".Islamic State posted a video, described by de Maiziere as authentic, in which a man whom it identifies as the refugee vows to carry out a suicide mission and urges others to do the same.De Maiziere said it was unclear when the film was made, adding it was "a classic farewell video by a suicide attacker".Germany's federal prosecutor said on Wednesday an investigation had been opened into the case and it was necessary to clarify whether other people were involved in the attack or helping behind the scenes. It launched an investigation against persons unknown on suspicion of belonging to a "foreign terrorist association" and attempted murder. It did not provide further details.It is unclear how the youth became radicalized. He was living with a foster family and had a part-time job at a bakery.De Maiziere said Germans would have to get used to more video surveillance and police officers on the streets."We need the active cooperation of Muslims living here, including the mosque communities working here. They, too, must make a contribution to integration, to prevention and to spotting the radicalization process early on," he said.Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the German government, warned against harboring general suspicion toward the refugees in the wake of the train attack, saying: "A cruel attack carried out by an individual can't discredit a group of many thousands."(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Paul Carrel and Michelle Martin; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Turkey suspends further 6,500 education ministry staff: Turkish official-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Around 6,500 employees of Turkey's education ministry have been suspended, a Turkish official said on Wednesday, as a probe launched after a failed coup into the military, civil service and schools gathers pace.The latest suspensions came a day after the same ministry suspended 15,200 personnel and also revoked the licenses of 21,000 teachers working in private institutions across Turkey.So far about 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or are under investigation following the military coup attempt last weekend.(Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Protesters fire at police in standoff over custody death near Paris-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PARIS (Reuters) - Ill Armed protesters fired at police, lightly wounding five, during overnight confrontations in an area north of Paris over the death of a young man in police custody, local officials said on Wednesday.Officials made no link to last week's militant attack in the coastal city of Nice, in which nearly 90 people were killed by a speeding truck, but France and its security forces remain on tenterhooks.The protests in the Val d'Oise area were sparked when a 24-year-old died after being arrested, deputy prosecutor François Capin-Dulhoste told Reuters.Capin-Dulhoste said the man had suffered a heart problem during transportation to the police station, but that the cause of death was being investigated.Family members said police hit the man as they detained him for trying to prevent the arrest of his brother on suspicion of violence and extortion."About a hundred individuals ... came looking for the law enforcement forces after a person died at the premises of the gendarmerie in Beaumont (town)," Jean-Simon Merandat, director of the Val d'Oise prefect's office, told France Info radio."Things are calm now and we have about 130 gendarmes and other police on the spot," he said.Capin-Dulhoste said five police sustained gunshot wounds from firearms, and a sixth was wounded in physical violence from a protester. Merandat said the firearms used by the protesters were probably hunting weapons.It was not clear if protesters were wounded in the standoff, but one arrest was made, the police said.Weeks of rioting erupted in Paris's often grim suburbs in 2005 after the death of youths electrocuted when they hid from police in a power hub.(Reporting By Brian Love and Chine Labbe; Editing by John Irish and Raissa Kasolowsky)
Authorities to provide details about Kansas officer's death-[The Canadian Press]-Bill Draper And Jim Suhr, The Associated Press-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A Kansas City, Kansas, police officer was shot and killed while searching for a suspect in a drive-by shooting, and two people are in custody, though no charges have been filed yet.Capt. Robert Melton was searching for the suspect when he drove up to someone who matched that person's description just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, police spokesman Tom Tomasic said. Before Melton could get out of his vehicle, the person opened fire, hitting the officer multiple times, Tomasic said. The alleged shooter was caught five minutes later about a block away, he said.A police spokeswoman said the suspect was questioned Tuesday evening, along with another person suspected in the initial drive-by shooting. Police weren't releasing the suspects' names because charges hadn't been filed. A news conference was planned for Wednesday morning.A third person who had been taken into custody was determined not to have been involved and was released, police said.It's the second time a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer has been shot and killed this year. In early May, detective Brad Lancaster was fatally shot near the Kansas Speedway, and Melton had served in the police honour guard at Lancaster's funeral. The shooting also comes as police departments across the country are on edge after ambush attacks left eight officers dead in Texas and Louisiana."There's a lot of pain and brokenness in our community and our nation right now, and we just want to ask everyone to be prayerful and thoughtful right now," Mayor Mark Holland of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County said.Ida Ford, 87, was watching television in her two-story brick home when gunfire erupted just outside. Ford said she thought someone was knocking on her air conditioner until her son rushed downstairs and told her the three loud noises she had heard were gunshots. Ford said she looked through her window and saw the officer sprawled and unresponsive on the asphalt road in front of her home. She watched for a few minutes as paramedics worked on the officer."I'm just so sorry for his family," she said.Melton was brought to the University of Kansas Hospital just before 2:30 p.m., but resuscitation efforts did not work, trauma surgeon James Howard said at a news conference.The shooting happened after police responded to a report around 1:30 p.m. from a person who said several people in a car were firing shots. The suspect vehicle took off as police arrived, but it crashed into a fence and the occupants bailed out at 1:36 p.m., Tomasic, the police spokesman, said. Two people were taken into custody within three minutes of the wreck, he said.Melton, 46, was driving around looking for a third person when he came upon someone who matched the suspect's description, Tomasic said.Melton was a 17-year veteran of the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. According to his LinkedIn profile, he had also served in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan from September 2010 to March 2012.Outside the hospital where Melton died, local Baptist preacher Jimmie Banks — a friend of the city's mayor — sat dejected on a bench, head lowered, after attending the news conference announcing the officer's passing. He said it was painful to sit in that room and see the grief-stricken faces."The contributions that peace officers make to protect and serve — they deserve better," said Banks. "When they leave home, the family expects them to return. It's shameful this has happened."___Draper reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
Saudi revives fatwa on ‘Zionism-promoting’ Pokemon-New highly popular iteration of the game leads Saudi clerics to renew 2001 ban on game which they claim also encourages gambling-By Times of Israel staff July 20, 2016, 4:30 pm
Pokemon Go may be taking the world by storm but don’t try hunting for Pikachu, Pidgey or Rattata in Saudi Arabia, as clerics there have renewed a 15-year-old ban on the game.The General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars reaffirmed a 2001 ban on the game, according to Reuters, following the release of a new highly popular augmented reality version of the game, in which players use their smartphones to gather virtual Pokemon.While fatwa no. 21,758 makes no mention of the latest iteration of game, it does list many sinful aspects of Pokemon.Firstly, the game is seen as a form of gambling, which itself is forbidden. Secondly, it encourages belief in Darwin’s theory of evolution, and thirdly, the fatwa says, the symbols used in the game promote the Shinto religion of Japan, Christianity, Freemasonry and “global Zionism.”“The symbols and logos of devious religions and organizations are used [including] the six-pointed star: You rarely find a card that does not contain such a star. It is associated with Judaism, the logo and sign of the State of Israel, and the first symbol of the Masonry organizations in the world,” the ruling says.Other countries are also not in favor of Pokemon Go. In Egypt, Hamdi Bakheet, a member of the committee of defense and national security told parliament that the game was being used for espionage by the country’s enemies, Al-Jazeera reported.“Pokemon Go is the latest tool used by spy agencies in the intel war, a cunning despicable app that tries to infiltrate our communities in the most innocent way under the pretext of entertainment. But all they really want is to spy on people and the state,” he said. One of the busiest #Pokemon spots in #dubai The fountain Dubai mall #PokemonGO @PokemonGoDXB @PokemonUAE http://pic.twitter.com/gGGMIGLaUw— Nayef Khatib (@nayefk7) July 18, 2016-In United Arab Emirates, a fatwa was also issued in 2001 claiming that Pokemon promotes gambling, according to the BBC. However it seems that the rules are not so strictly enforced now, as users are tweeting their favorite hunting grounds.When #pokemongo meets #reallife #pokemon #israel #kotel #jerusalem #photooftheday #picofth… https://t.co/d54yu84892 http://pic.twitter.com/19GkTZJDua— Todd Rosenblatt (@RosenblattTodd) July 10, 2016-There are no such bans in Israel, where Pokemon have been spotted everywhere, from the Western Wall to the President’s Residence.
Pearson Airport unveils updated security measures for travel to the U.S.-[CBC]-July 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Officials with Toronto Pearson International Airport announced an updated screening process on Tuesday for passengers headed to the United States.The revamped Security in Advance (SIA) protocol requires travellers to first pass through Canadian security, then U.S. customs. Previously, travellers visited U.S. customs first."What we've done here is to put, if you like, the cart behind the horse, instead of in the reverse order," Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau said after the announcement. That adds more security for passengers and customs personnel, as baggage will be screened prior to entering the customs area, he said."This is something that our American neighbours felt strongly about. We agreed with it," he said. "It's the way it is in six of the eight airports where we do have pre-clearance and we've now corrected it here in Toronto."The switch also opens up travel to American destinations where local airports don't have a customs set-up, he said.The last phase of the switch was completed on May 17, when a new checkpoint and several pre-board screening lines opened in Terminal 1, but officials made the announcement Tuesday. The terminal 3 checkpoint has been functional since January.The switch was completed after a two-year collaboration between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and air carriers.Pearson airport is the fourth largest air entry point into the U.S., with 5.6 million passengers flying from Toronto to the U.S. each year.
Edmonton university student confirmed dead in truck attack in France-[The Canadian Press]-The Canadian Press-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
EDMONTON - An Edmonton university has confirmed that one of its students was killed in last week's truck attack in France.MacEwan University said in a release that Mykhaylo Bazelevskyy, who was 22 and also went by the first name Misha, was among those who died July 14 in Nice.The school said confirmation of his death came late Tuesday from French authorities and from his family."Few, if any of us, can comprehend the senselessness of what occurred in Nice," school president David Atkinson said is a statement. “There is no greater loss to a university than a student who has so much life and promise ahead of him."Bazelevskyy — who was in the School of Business — had permanent resident status in Canada, but was travelling on a Ukrainian passport. His parents still live in Ukraine, but his brother and sister-in-law live in Edmonton.He was one of five MacEwan students, who, along with a faculty member, were participating in a three-week entrepreneurship and innovation training program offered by the European Innovation Academy.On the night of the attack, the group of MacEwan students was heading to the Promenade des Anglais to enjoy Bastille Day fireworks, but inclement weather convinced three of them to turn back.Bazelevskyy and another student were on the promenade when the truck plowed into the crowd and chaos ensued.No one else in the MacEwan group was hurt.Bazelevskyy was active in student life at the school. He ran for student government, was a member of the men's cross-country team and was also a resident adviser."The nicest guy that anyone could meet," said fellow student and friend Amy Beard when Bazelevskyy was first reported missing last week. "Misha just always wanted to say hi to everybody in the hallway and he would always stop to talk to you. It didn't matter how busy he was. He's such a good-hearted person."Alberta Premier Rachel Notley expressed her condolences."This young man had every right to believe that he was safe. He was in a democratic country that is committed to peace," she said. "Tragically, that feeling of safety was shattered for this innocent student, and for everyone in Nice, and in France."Atkinson said the whole school feels the loss."I know that everyone joins me in expressing our profound sympathy to Misha’s family at this terrible time," Atkinson said. "Misha will be deeply missed by his friends and family."
Anti-IS coalition has killed 20 operators plotting external attacks - Carter-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday the coalition fighting Islamic State had killed more than 20 of the militant group's operatives who were conspiring to carry out external attacks.In prepared remarks before a gathering of coalition defense ministers near Washington, Carter said "we've killed over 20 of ISIL's external operators who were actively plotting to attack our homelands and personnel."(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
MMIW national inquiry to focus on violence prevention not police investigations-[CBC]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
The upcoming national inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women will focus on violence prevention, according to a draft document obtained by CBC News.A draft of the terms of reference says commissioners will be given the broad mandate to identify systemic causes of violence and recommend "concrete action" to help end violence against Indigenous women and girls.Five commissioners, including a chief commissioner, will be named, but the document does not identify them. The draft also does not include specifics about timing or length of inquiry. Similar to the recent Truth and Reconciliation commission, the inquiry — it's start date has yet to be specified — will aim to hear from the people directly affected.Commissioners will be given a mandate to support the inclusion of "any person having substantial interest" in the process.It will travel to Indigenous communities across the country to gather statements in what is described as an "informal" and "culturally sensitive" probe. Testimony from community members and families of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls appears to be central to process of identifying causes contributing to the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by Aboriginal women in Canada.Probe into police conduct not specified-In the government's pre-inquiry consultations in 17 communities earlier this year, families of the more than 1,200 missing or murdered indigenous women were given the opportunity to share their opinions.Families urged the government to choose an Indigenous woman to lead the inquiry and to focus on identifying root causes.At every consultation, the ministers were urged to look into police conduct and practices during criminal investigations of missing or murdered women. Some families alleged discrimination or misconduct by police during pre-inquiry consultations. Many of the recommendations from families and stakeholders appear to have shaped the mandate of the inquiry.But while the role of police or police conduct was flagged as something that should be a priority for examination during the inquiry, in the draft document, there is no specific directive to look into that.The document also directs commissioners not to interfere with ongoing criminal investigations and discourages them from recommending civil or criminal liability of a person or organization.Commissioners are encouraged to give weight to previous studies such as the TRC final report, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, as well as five other reports specifically relating to violence against Indigenous women and girls.Inquiry details delayed-Details about the scope and mandate of the national inquiry has been long anticipated by families of victims.The Liberal government announced Phase 1 of a national inquiry shortly after it took office last December.In June, Status of Women Minister Patty Hadju told CBC News the government was "very close" to making an announcement about Phase 2 of the national inquiry."I think Canadians can be confident that, before the House rises, we'll have something to tell them about how this is going to look."Five weeks later, families of missing and murdered women are still waiting for official confirmation of next steps of the inquiry.Ottawa is in ongoing negotiations with the provinces and territories about terms of reference.The federal budget has committed $40 million over two years for the inquiry.
Court ruling puts Renzi bank plan in doubt By Andrew Rettman-JULY 20,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-An EU court ruling on bank bailouts has raised the likelihood of a political embarrassment for Italian leader Matteo Renzi, with the PM’s future and Italy’s eurozone membership on the line in an October referendum.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Tuesday (19 July) that Slovenia acted within EU law when it imposed a haircut of some €600 million on private-sector creditors as part of its bank rescue package in 2013.It also ruled that the European Commission was within its rights when it published guidelines in July of the same year that said member states should make private creditors pay for part of bank rescues instead of placing the entire burden on taxpayers via state aid.“Burden-sharing by shareholders and subordinated creditors as a prerequisite for the authorisation, by the commission, of state aid to a bank with a shortfall is not contrary to EU law,” the ECJ said.The Italian government is currently in talks with the EU on how to protect Italian banks from a pile of bad debts worth €360 billion.Renzi had wanted to fully protect private creditors from taking a hit. But the commission, as well as German chancellor Angela Merkel, has so far said his state-aid rescue would probably be illegal because it would distort competition.The ECJ ruling did give the commission the option to grant special exemptions.It said “the commission may authorise such proposed aid in exceptional circumstances” with “the objective of preventing a systemic risk and ensuring the stability of the [member state’s] financial system”.But a commission spokeswoman the same day indicated that Brussels was not happy to give way despite the potential political fallout.“The court has specifically confirmed that the commission is justified in introducing burden-sharing principles as a key condition to approve the [state] aid,” she told press in the EU capital.“Their application has in past cases saved European taxpayers a significant amount of money.”In a sign of how the markets see the situation unfolding, shares in Italy’s most indebted bank, the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, fell a further 6 percent on the back of the court ruling.-October referendum-The developments come a few months ahead of a referendum in Italy that risks questioning the country’s future eurozone membership and, with that, the stability of the EU project as a whole.On paper, the October vote, on constitutional reform of Italy’s Senate, has nothing to do with banks or the EU.But in the post-Brexit climate, and given Italy’s broader problems - it has a staggering debt-to-GDP ratio and mass unemployment - the referendum is expected to turn into a vote of confidence on Renzi and on the EU’s handling of the economic crisis.Renzi himself has promised to step down if he loses in a move likely to prompt snap elections before the original due date in early 2018.That chain of events, if it transpires, could sweep the eurosceptic Five Star Movement party into power in the eurozone’s third largest economy.According to an Ipsos poll out this week, Five Star is already Italy’s most popular party, with 30.6 percent of support compared to 29.8 percent for Renzi’s Democratic Party (PD). The figures represent a surge in popularity, after the PD led Five Star by 6 percent in polls in January.Five Star does not want Italy to leave the EU and parties that do, such as the far-right Northern League, have dropped in polls amid the post-Brexit turbulence in the UK.But in the European Parliament, Five Star is part of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group, with Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party and Alternative for Germany.And party leaders, such as the 30-year old Luigi Di Maio, the deputy speaker of the Italian parliament, have blamed the rigours of single currency membership for Italy’s woes and believe the country would be better off it was free to make its own fiscal decisions.-Bigger than Brexit?-Speaking to The Guardian, a British daily, on Tuesday, Di Maio said the EU “is not guilty of everything it has been blamed for”.But he said that EU-imposed austerity and elitism meant that it “has decided to abdicate from its role of protecting the internal market and protecting its citizens”.He said that if Five Star got into power, it would call “a referendum which asks citizens if they want to remain in the euro, if they want to go in another direction, renegotiate the euro, or return to the lira”.If the prospect of Italian voters saying that they want to quit the eurozone appears remote, it is considered a realistic threat in the financial sector.“The key way in which Brexit becomes a global and systemic shock, the transmission mechanism, is Europe - and it’s not trade with Europe, it’s financial linkages and political goings-on in Europe,” Paul Diggle, an economist at Aberdeen Asset Management, a Scottish firm, said in a briefing earlier this week, the Bloomberg news agency reported.“There are a whole series of potential [post-Brexit] flashpoints. The most immediate one is clearly the referendum in Italy”, Diggle said.Tina Fordham, an analyst at the US-based Citibank, said in a memo published on 3 July that Italy’s October vote posed a bigger risk to EU stability than even the UK’s decision to leave the Union.The upcoming Italian referendum “is probably the single biggest risk on the European political landscape this year” Fordham’s memo said.
UK gives up EU presidency role-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 10:43-The British government has said the UK will give up its presidency of the EU Council, which had been scheduled for the second half of next year, due the Brexit vote, the BBC reported Wednesday. The decision means that Malta and Estonia might share the task when it comes up or that Estonia might bring forward its EU presidency, which had been due in the first half of 2018.
Estonia is likely to take over UK's EU presidency-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 16:12-Estonia is likely to take over the UK's EU presidency scheduled for the second half of 2017 after EU ambassadors discussed the issue Wednesday. A final decision is expected to be taken in the next couple of days, but the idea is to continue with the line-up, instead of having a new country take over, a source said. Estonia was due to follow Britain in 2018 at the EU presidency.
Hungary ready to take over UK's EU presidency-By EUOBSERVER-JULY 20,16
Today, 13:37-Hungary has indicated to the EU institutions it is ready to take over the rotating presidency of the union in the second half year of 2017 from the UK, which originally would have been at the helm, Hungary's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday. Hungary held the EU presidency in the begining of 2011. Malta and Estonia have also been tipped to divide the UK's six-month presidency among themselves.
May heads to Berlin and Paris for pre-Brexit talks By Eszter Zalan-JULY 20,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:22-The new British prime minister, Theresa May, is heading to Berlin on Wednesday (20 July) for "frank and open" discussions on Brexit.A week after taking office, May will have a working dinner with chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday evening, before going to Paris to discuss Britain's exit from the EU with president Francois Hollande on Thursday."I do not underestimate the challenge of negotiating our exit from the European Union and I firmly believe that being able to talk frankly and openly about the issues we face will be an important part of a successful negotiation," May said ahead of her trip.“I also want to deliver a very clear message about the importance we attach to our bilateral relationship with our European partners, not just now but also when we have left the European Union.”May has already talked to the two leaders over the phone, but it will be her first face-to-face discussions with key European figures on the terms of divorce from Europe.Formal negotiations will not start until May has launched the exit procedure laid out in article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.She has said before this happens, she first wants to have a common UK position that takes into account the interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.May is not expected to trigger article 50 before the end of the year.Merkel has argued that May should have enough time to form a clear negotiating position, but Hollande is expected to have less tolerance for British delays, and to push for a hard bargain.Both Merkel and Hollande face elections next year, where they might be pressed by voters not to give in to British demands.In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen is pushing for a French exit from the EU, and wants a referendum on the issue.EU leaders said there would be no cherry-picking from the bloc's policies, and that the access to the EU's single market required the UK to agree to freedom of movement of citizens.However, May's early talks are not expected to produce tangible results just yet.Hollande and May are also expected to talk about security cooperation in the wake of the recent attacks in France.Britain is likely to join the EU's military missions targeting pirates or people smugglers even after Brexit, the UK defence secretary has suggested.-No to a second vote-Meanwhile, Britons have no appetite for a second referendum or general election, a ComRes poll for the Independent suggested.It found that 57 percent of respondents opposed the idea of a second Brexit referendum, with 29 percent in favour of repeating the vote.Also, 46 percent agreed that the Conservative party was elected for a five-year term and that May does not need to call an early election. Some 38 percent wanted to head back to the polls.
French PM invokes special powers to pass contested labour law-[Reuters]-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls invoked special constitutional powers on Wednesday to force a contested labour law through parliament in the face of opposition from left-wing lawmakers.The widely expected move leaves lawmakers in the lower house of parliament opposed to the bill with little chance to derail it before its final adoption.They have 24 hours to mount a censure motion against the government or otherwise it is considered as definitively adopted.The bill aimed at making hiring and firing easier sparked three months of street protests and waves of strikes by hardline trade unions.(Reporting by Emile Picy; writing by Leigh Thomas)
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
EU national climate goals test bloc's resolve amid Brexit-[Reuters]-By Alissa de Carbonnel-July 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU regulators doled out bitterly disputed national emissions-reduction targets on Wednesday for spreading the burden of the bloc's climate goals by 2030, despite risks Britain's exit could unravel the effort to fight global warming.As the first major piece of legislation since Britons voted in June to leave, it is a test of the union's cohesion, as it seeks to keep to a pact agreed in Paris last year aimed at holding global warming "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.It assigns EU nations targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions ranging from zero to 40 percent to achieve the bloc's overall goal of at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.The European Commission has spent months in shuttle diplomacy with national governments to work out the politically sensitive targets, which will require an economic shift to low-carbon technology in big employment sectors such as transport, farming and building."All member states understand very well that if you want to alleviate the burden on one country, than someone else will have to carry it," European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic told Reuters. "I'm sure that the discussion will be intense."For now, the draft law sees Britain, the bloc's second-largest emitter after Germany, cutting pollution by 37 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels, more than most other EU nations. But Brexit could upend the law, diplomats say."We cannot do nothing. If something happens, we will adapt," Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said. "We have to have a signal to industry and to stakeholders."Under the proposal, which covers sectors outside the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS), Germany's target is a cut of 38 percent and France's is 37 percent. Poland needs to reduce discharges by 7 percent."The big member states such as Germany, France and the U.K. agreed to carry the bigger burden in the name of solidarity," Sefcovic said.The strictest target of 40 percent cuts has been assigned to Luxembourg and Sweden. Finland and Denmark are projected to reduce emissions by 39 percent. These states will be allowed to use a limited amount of carbon permits to be auctioned as part of the ETS to meet their target.Bulgaria is the only EU nation asked to keep discharges unchanged.In a policy innovation, countries with high emissions from agriculture may offset these against a limited amount of credits from well-managed farmland or forests, which absorb carbon dioxide - a provision criticised as a loophole by green groups.-AMBITION WITHOUT BRITAIN?-Without Britain, the remaining 27 nations could either weaken climate goals, triggering international criticism, or step up ambitions already contested by states that rely on polluting sectors such as coal in Poland or farming in Ireland."It's one rich country less to take on some of the burden from the Poles," one EU diplomat said.Environmental campaigners warn the effort is too shallow to prevent the worst effects of climate change, blamed for calamitous weather. The Paris agreement set an aspirational goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius."Worse, loopholes risk ... allowing countries to cheat," Femke de Jong of Carbon Market Watch said.When EU environment ministers wrestle over the proposal later this year, Britain will still have a seat at the table. It remains bound by the bloc until its formal withdrawal - a two-year process yet to be launched by new Prime Minister Theresa May.But Britain's decision to leave the EU has diluted its say in the bloc's affairs, diplomats say, muting one of the loudest voices in favour of tough climate policy.The Commission also proposed on Wednesday limits for the first time on CO2 emissions from trucks and buses as well as new fuel-efficiency standards for cars and vans from 2020.(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Dale Hudson)
Wild horse birth control touted as humane solution to population growth-[CBC]-July 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
A pilot project in Alberta is using birth control vaccinations to help control the wild horse population.So far, 73 mares have been injected with Zona Stat-H, also known as PZP, a vaccine that helps to prevent fertilization with up to 90 per cent effectiveness.The effects of the contraceptive are reversible, can be delivered remotely using small darts and will not harm the fetus if a pregnant animal is vaccinated.Only use on an individual for five or more consecutive years will risk sterility.The project is part of a five-year agreement signed between the Alberta government and the Wild Horses of Alberta Society in November 2014.'Most humane' solution-"It's the most humane and a very effective method of controlling the numbers," said Bob Henderson, president of WHOAS.Henderson said his organization was motivated to find a better solution after being able to save just nine of more than 200 wild horses that were captured in 2012. Most of the remaining feral horses were destroyed, he said.The PZP vaccine is "used extensively" in the United States, particularly in Nevada and Wyoming, Henderson said.The province's most recent estimates count 851 wild horses in the Foothills area, compared to 880 in April 2014.The birth control project is being piloted in a 490-square-kilometre area of Sundre to test its effectiveness on slowing population growth.Depending on the study's success, contraceptives could be considered for other equine zones.
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