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)
Trudeau, Harper, Chretien to attend Shimon Peres funeral-[The Canadian Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on his way to Jerusalem with a Canadian delegation to attend the funeral of former Israeli prime minister and president Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday at age of 93.Trudeau, who left Ottawa early this morning, is accompanied by former prime minister Jean Chretien along with interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion. Former prime minister Stephen Harper is not flying with Trudeau, but taking a commercial flight instead.Just before taking off, Chretien called Peres a friend, "a great guy" and "a great public servant.""When I quit, he gave me hell, said winners never quit and he never quit," Chretien said.Dion said Trudeau wanted the Canadian delegation to be non-partisan."The whole country of Canada is supporting the whole country of Israel and the prime minister wanted that to be very clear," Dion said.Ambrose echoed Dion's message of unity ahead of the trip overseas."When we look at Israel it's really a beacon of pluralism and democracy in a very difficult part of the world," she said."All the more important for all of us no matter what political party we come from to attend these kind of events and honour a legacy like Shimon Peres."NDP Leader Tom Mulcair couldn't attend due to a family commitment.Peres served two terms as Israeli prime minister and was also the country's president. He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for negotiating the short lived Oslo Accords peace deal.Other world figures planning to attend the funeral include U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Prince Charles and the presidents of France, Germany and Poland.The Canadian Press
Some hydro customers say billing change punishes them for conserving energy-[CBC]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Lately, Ottawa resident Johan Hamels has been working hard to cut his electricity consumption. He hangs his clothes to up to dry instead of using a dryer, bought a furnace with a high-efficiency fan system and changed his halogen bulbs to LEDs.Now he's learned that all his efforts may be for naught: come the new year, on the distribution portion of the Hydro Ottawa bill, those who use more electricity will be getting a break, while he will probably be paying more.Even though the change will be minimal, Hamels believes an important principle is at stake."I think an electricity company should not favour people who use a lot, in fact as a society together we should use less electricity because producing electricity costs a lot of effort and money and resources from the planet," Hamel said.-Fixed rate set for distribution costs-The change is the result of the Ontario Energy Board's decision to start charging customers for distribution costs at a fixed rate across the province. By way of example, a customer who uses a lot of electricity, say 1,500 kilowatt hours a month, will pay 6.3 per cent less on that portion of their bill.Those who use 800 kilowatts will pay one per cent more and the biggest energy savers — who use, as an example, 232 killowatts — will pay 2.6 per cent more.Because transmission costs make up only 20 per cent of the bill, the changes won't make much of a difference in a hydro bill: perhaps a few pennies up to a dollar or two a month.-Change meant to address inequity between rural, urban customers-Karen Evans with the Ontario Energy Board says it's all about fairness and equity between rural and urban customers.Many rural customers need to use more electricity to heat and run their homes and farms, and she says the OEB believes customers should pay a fixed cost for something that is a fixed asset: the electricity distribution system.About 60 per cent of customers in Ontario will see little or no effect on their bill, while 20 per cent will see their bills go down and 20 per cent will see them go up, Evans said.Johan Hamels expects that with all his energy conservation efforts, the distribution portion of his bill may be higher next year. But that hasn't deterred him."It has been proven that saving electricity by replacing old machinery or different kinds of lamps saves money for our family in the long term," adding that he soon plans to buy a new energy-efficient refrigerator.
Trudeau defends LNG project approval as splitting differences among critics-[The Canadian Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a Goldilocks defence Wednesday in an effort to position the federal Liberals in the sweet spot of a boiling debate over energy development and environmental protection.Less than 24 hours after the government gave conditional approval to a massive liquefied natural gas project in northern British Columbia, Trudeau was in the House of Commons defending the decision, which clears a path for the production of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and billions of dollars in foreign investment."Unfortunately the members opposite either think we're not going fast enough or we're going too fast," Trudeau said after fielding questions from Conservatives and New Democrats on opposing sides of the LNG divide."Canadians know we need to grow the economy and protect the environment right now and do it right."Critics are accusing the Trudeau government of policy incoherence as it simultaneously promises to repair relations with indigenous communities, ratchet down carbon emissions and boost economic development by ensuring natural resources get to market.The decision to conditionally approve the $36-billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, B.C., was seen by some as a litmus test of the Liberal pledge to get serious on climate change. Others viewed it as the crucible for testing whether Trudeau was credible about expanding Canada's energy resource exports.The liquefied natural gas processing plant, whose principal owner is Malaysia's Petronas, is designed to ship 19 million tonnes a year of frozen, liquefied gas to markets in Asia over the next 25 years.Among the 190 conditions for approval is a cap on annual CO2 emissions of 4.3 million tonnes, not including the emissions that will result from fracking natural gas to feed the project.Conservative environment critic Ed Fast said the Liberals are "all over the map in terms of their policies going forward," while NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said Trudeau had "pirouetted" on his promise to keep pipelines out of the Great Bear Rain Forest less than 48 hours after visiting the area with the royal tour of Prince William and Kate.The Pacific NorthWest LNG plan includes a natural gas pipeline through the forest.Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who announced the approval Tuesday night in Richmond, B.C., met reporters Wednesday after their whirlwind trip.Their message, in a nutshell: trust us.LeBlanc said the approval includes a first-of-its kind environmental monitoring committee that will include local First Nations representatives to watch critical salmon habitat during the project's construction.McKenna issued bland assurances that the massive increase in GHG emissions would be encompassed in the pan-Canadian climate plan she hopes to begin finalizing Monday in Montreal with her provincial and territorial counterparts.And Carr beamed his approval, noting that during trips abroad "the message was loud and clear that there is a thirst for Canadian natural resources internationally. And what this decision shows is that we are being responsive to that need."In Edmonton, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the NorthWest project strikes the right balance."We're encouraged that the federal government appears to be rolling up its sleeves to try and navigate a path towards what we have always believed is an important combination of sustainable economic growth while ensuring that you address environmental issues."Geoff Morrison, manager of B.C. operations for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, called it a "positive signal" for the energy investment community."There were questions about anxiety, I guess, among international investors as to whether Canada was an appropriate or desirable place to invest," he said in an interview."Undeniably this will be an encouraging sign to those individuals and those agencies and institutions that look to bring energy to their countries."On the other side of the ledger, Green party Leader Elizabeth May called the Liberal decision an outrage. And Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada turned the Liberals' sunny catchphase from last December's international climate conference in Paris into a cudgel."If this is what Trudeau meant when he said, 'Canada is back on climate,'"said the group's news release, "then we and the planet are in big trouble."— Follow @BCheadle on Twitter-Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press
Scientists bid farewell to comet probe, eye more discoveries-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BERLIN (AP) — Scientists are saying their final farewells to the Rosetta space probe ahead of its planned crash-landing on a comet.The probe was launched in 2004 and took a decade to reach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it released a lander in November 2014.Both Rosetta and its lander Philae have gathered a wealth of data about 67P that have already given scientists significant new insights into the origins and nature of comets.The European Space Agency plans to steer the probe toward the comet as slowly as possible Friday so it can take unprecedented close-up images before colliding with the icy surface.Scientists involved in the project said Thursday that — even after Rosetta goes silent — they have decades of work ahead of them analyzing all the data collected during the mission .
Pope urges greater efforts for peace in the Middle East-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging the world not to look the other way from war and suffering in the Middle East and appealed to leaders "for greater and renewed efforts to achieve peace throughout the Middle East."The pope made the remarks Thursday during an audience with Catholic charity workers helping to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Iraq and neighboring countries. Also present was the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura.The pope remarked that despite great efforts in the last year "the logic of arms and oppression, hidden interests and violence continues to wreak devastation."Francis has kept the war in Syria at the center of his attention, condemning on Wednesday airstrikes in Aleppo that have followed the collapse of a cease-fire deal.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
UK releases legal arguments on Article 50 By Eszter Zalan-sept 29,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 13:25-The British government was forced by a judge to release its legal arguments for refusing to let the parliament decide when and how the UK should trigger the article 50 procedure to withdraw from the EU.The legal arguments released on Wednesday (29 September) argue that it is “constitutionally impermissible” for parliament to be given the authority to launch the exit procedure.In a court challenge by a group of UK citizens, the British government argued it is the prime minister's prerogative to trigger the exit process, as the parliamentary act establishing the 23 June referendum did not foresee any further action for the parliament after the vote."It was clearly understood that the government would give effect to the result of the referendum for which the 2015 Act provided, and that was the basis on which the electorate vote in the referendum," the legal defence says."The 2015 Act did not prescribe steps which the government was required tot make in the event of a leave vote," it added."It [the government] cannot be prevented from doing so [launching article 50] by the absence of primary legislation authorising that step," the government argues.It also adds that “treaty-making and withdrawal from treaties is not generally subject to Parliamentary control”.“The appropriate point at which the UK should begin the procedure required by Article 50 to give effect to [the notification] is a matter of high, if not the highest policy,” the government’s lawyers argue in the document.A two-year negotiating period will start once the UK triggers the exit procedure, which prime minister Theresa May is expected to launch early next year.The EU has so far refused any preliminary negotiations until article 50 is officially triggered.-Challenge-The release of the documents came after the crowd-funded People’s Challenge initiative questioned Theresa May’s authority to trigger Brexit in court without parliamentary authorisation, and last week called for the government's legal defence to be made public.The judge, Justice Cranston, who ordered the release on Tuesday, said: “Against the background of the principle of open justice, it is difficult to see a justification for restricting publication of documents which are generally available under the rules.”In its legal defence however, the government says the parliament will have "the role in ensuring that the Government achieves the best outcome for the UK through negotiations".But the government's legal defence also makes it clear that the local legislations in other parts of the UK will not be able to override the triggering of the exit procedure.They dismiss the idea that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will have a say in the divorce procedure.The government's layers argue that “devolved legislatures” have no competencies over foreign relations issues, including relations with the EU and its institutions.British prime minister Theresa May earlier assured Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the Remain camp won the Brexit vote, that she would not trigger Article 50 until there is a UK “approach and objectives”.-'Constitutional vandalism'-The People’s Challenge to the Government on Article 50, a crowd-funded initiative that argues for that it is up to the parliament to trigger the exit procedure, was set up by Grahame Pigney.On the campaign’s website he argues that his goal is not to ignore the Leave voters who opted for Brexit, but to “ensure that parliamentary Sovereignty is maintained and is respected by the Government”, and that the "rights of 65 million UK citizens are protected”.The campaign calls the government’s actions “constitutional vandalism”."By using the Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon this Government will be sweeping away rights at a stroke of a pen without the proper scrutiny of and a final decision being made by our Sovereign Parliament,” they argue.A hearing for a test case will start on 13 October.
No support for EU army in ministers' talks By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 09:22-There will be no joint EU force and no EU military HQ for a long time to come, defence ministers’ talks in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September) indicated.The informal meeting came after Italy had proposed the creation of a "permanent" EU force as a political response to Brexit and to popular fears that Europe was becoming more vulnerable .France and Germany had also proposed an EU command centre for overseas crisis missions and EU funding for “battlegroups” - temporary, battalion-sized forces created by subsets of member states.Coming out of the talks, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said there was “common ground” on the principle of closer defence cooperation.But she mentioned smaller initiatives, such as joint investments in Europe’s arms industry, a joint R&D budget, and better planning of overseas missions, as examples of the kind of projects that had won support.Finland, which had, prior to the meeting, called for a “pragmatic” approach to EU defence, also offered to host an EU cyber-defence academy.“This is not about a European army, this is about stronger defence cooperation”, Mogherini told press in Slovakia.Referring to British threats to veto any projects that might compete with Nato, she added: “Let me tell you very clearly: Today, in my three hours’ discussion with ministers, I never once heard the word ‘veto’, I never once heard the word ‘blocking’, and I never once heard the word ‘army’.”“This was not an ideological or abstract debate, it was about what we can do together … to respond to our citizens, who demand that we invest in their security”, she said.The British defence chief, Michael Fallon, earlier in the day repeated the UK’s threat."We agree Europe needs to step up to the challenges of terrorism and of migration, but we are going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato”, he said.The German minister, Ursula Von der Leyen, on Tuesday said Berlin and Paris believed the EU would “make significant progress before the end of the year” on certain projects, but also mentioned joint spending instead of the military HQ idea.“It’s not about a European army”, she said.“It is about bundling the various strengths of European countries to be ready to act together quickly .If you look at how much personnel and money is available for defence in the 28 states in Europe but how little this is coordinated, there is significant space for improvement”.Political will-An EU source who attended the Bratislava event told EUobserver that Italy’s EU force idea was not even discussed, but that “everybody mentioned the HQ issue”.The source said that a small group of states, including Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK spoke out against the idea.He said that a mixed group of about 10 others, including the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, and Spain, were “open to discussions” on the HQ, but not in the short term.He also said that France and Germany were “way ahead of the others” in their initial proposals.The source added that even if the EU decided to fund battlegroups out of its joint budget they would still be unlikely to see action because member states “lacked the political will to go into theatre”.“All the discussions start with talk of greater efficiency, but quickly become ideological”, he said.
German bank woes prompt fear of EU crisis By Andrew Rettman-sept 29,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:28-Germany has denied reports that it was preparing to rescue its biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, amid concern of a new systemic crisis in Europe.“The German government is not preparing a rescue plan and there's no reason for such speculation”, Martin Jaeger, a German finance ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday (28 September).Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), also tried to reassure markets, telling US broadcaster CNBC: “I don’t see that particular institution as ... [being] at a stage where state intervention is absolutely called for at the moment.”The bank’s CEO, John Cryan, told German newspaper Bild one day earlier that “at no point did I ask the [German] chancellor for support” and that a rescue was “out of the question”.Their comments came amid reports to the contrary in German media.German newspaper Die Zeit said on Wednesday that Berlin had prepared a rescue package which involved either state guarantees for Deutsche Bank losses or taking a 25 percent stake.The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, also gave weight to the speculation.Reacting to accusations that low interest rates had reduced lenders’ incomes and undermined Deutsche Bank, he told German MPs on Wednesday: “If a bank represents a systemic threat for the eurozone, this cannot be because of low interest rates - it has to do with other reasons”.-Deutsche Bank's problems arise from its high level of debt and from US fines over allegations that it mis-sold mortgage bonds.The US has demanded $14 billion (€12.5bn), but analysts said that if the German lender paid more than $4 billion it could become unstable.It also faces other potential fines - over allegations that it manipulated exchange rates, that it helped Russia to evade sanctions, and over alleged money laundering.-Lehman 2.0?-The bank employs 100,000 people and has assets worth €1.4 trillion - half the size of the German economy.Its ill health means that its shares are worth just €14.5 billion in total - a 30-year low - however.Its so-called Tier 1 Ratio - the ratio of its best assets to its liabilities - is also far below that of major European lenders.The IMF described it in June as “the most important net contributor to systemic risks” in the global financial sector because its fall could cause the same domino effects as that of the Lehman Brothers bank in 2008.Norman Lamont, the former UK chancellor, told British newspaper The Times on Wednesday that: “The biggest threat to Europe is a banking crisis ... Italian banks are in a very serious situation. I think German banks are probably in a very serious situation too.”Tidjane Thiam, the CEO of Credit Suisse, told the Bloomberg news agency that EU banks were in a “very fragile situation” and that several large lenders were “not really investable”.But Axel Weber, the chairman of Swiss bank UBS and the former head of the German central bank, played down the concerns.“The system is much more stable now. I think we are very far in how solid banks are now, from where were in 2007 and 2008,” he told Bloomberg.-Political risk-If the German state was to intervene, under new EU rules, it would first have to let private bondholders take a hit of at least 8 percent of the bank's liabilities.Meanwhile, the fact that chancellor Angela Merkel is heading into elections next year has heightened the political stakes.Hans Michelbach, a senior MP in her CDU party, said on Wednesday that it would be “unimaginable” to use taxpayers’ money to pay US fines because there would be a “public outcry.”Sahra Wagenknecht, an MP from the far-left Die Linke party, said Deutsche Bank was "a ticking time bomb in the lap of the taxpayer".
OPEC deal shows cartel's resolve _ and desperation-[Associated Press]-AOMAR OUALI and PAN PYLAS-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — OPEC's unexpected agreement to trim production shows the cartel still has the resolve — and even desperation — to try to guide energy markets higher. But don't expect triple-digit oil prices anytime soon.Ministers from the oil cartel reached a preliminary deal Wednesday in Algeria to cut production for the first time since the global financial crisis eight years ago. The size of the cut was modest — to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day from just below current levels of around 33.2 million barrels per day.Though limited, the decision came as something of a surprise — expectations were that once again the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran would create a stalemate. Oil prices shot up by around 5 percent in the wake of the cut.On Thursday, markets stabilized, with the benchmark New York rate 23 cents lower at $46.82 a barrel and the international standard, Brent, 34 cents lower at $48.87.Any failure to enact the agreement could lead to a renewed drop. And that risk remains — the deal, after all, is not done yet.Output levels for individual countries will have to be finalized at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna in November. OPEC agreed that Nigeria, Iran, and Libya would be exempted from making big cuts as their economies are already stymied by conflicts or sanctions.The main concern ahead of the meeting centered on Iran, which has been resistant to cutting production, as it's trying to restore its oil industry since emerging from international sanctions over its nuclear program earlier this year."We see this more as an act of desperation," Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht said. "Saudi Arabia appears willing to bear the main brunt of the burden."Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest producer, played a key role in the OPEC policies that helped push oil prices sharply lower over the past couple of years.In the summer of 2014, oil prices were trading above $100 a barrel but increased output from non-OPEC countries, particularly the U.S., created an oversupply in the market. Instead of cutting production, OPEC opted to pump at high volumes to maintain market share and, seemingly, to drive U.S. shale oil and gas producers, who have higher operating costs, out of business.Crude prices plunged, and in January of this year fell below $30 for the first time in more than a decade. The lower prices have hit many oil-producing countries hard, particularly poorer OPEC members Venezuela and Nigeria, but also non-OPEC states Russia and Brazil. It's also taken a toll on Saudi Arabia — its public finances are not as strong as they were and the country's credit rating has been downgraded.Oversupply isn't the only reason oil prices have remained under pressure. Weaker economic growth in energy-hungry China, for example, has had a big impact. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency said growth in oil demand had slowed significantly during the third quarter.OPEC's hope now is that it will be able to get non-OPEC members, such as Russia, to get aboard its strategy to trim output."Good luck with that one!" quipped Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. Moscow is still smarting from economic sanctions and the period of low prices, which have caused a painful recession and blown a hole in its state budget.One potential impact of the understanding forged in Algiers is that any material increase in oil prices could encourage U.S. shale oil and gas producers back into the market, thereby offsetting any impact in prices — in the longer-term as it takes time to kick start production given financial constraints.As a result, analysts don't expect three-digit oil prices anytime soon.Once the OPEC deal is confirmed, Marino Valensise, Head of Multi Asset at Barings Asset Management, said oil prices will likely drift higher to between $55 and $60."At those levels, shale producers in the States will inevitably increase production and there will be no potential through that price level," he said.Whether or not the OPEC deal sticks and whether "cheating" can be controlled, analysts said this didn't herald a return to the era when OPEC could basically control the oil market through its production levels, not least because non-OPEC countries have a bigger stake than before. Four of the world's top 5 producers aren't even part of OPEC."It is just as impossible to restore the conditions that used to prevail on the oil market as it is to step twice into the same river," Commerzbank's Lambrecht said.___Pylas reported from London.
FAMINE
EZEKIEL 5:16
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
UNICEF says 75,000 children could die in Nigeria hunger crisis-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LAGOS (Reuters) - Famine-like conditions in the former stronghold of Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria could kill 75,000 children over the next year if they do not receive aid, the United Nations children's agency said on Thursday.Some 15,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced during a seven-year insurgency by the Islamist militant group that has been pushed back to its stronghold in the northeast's vast Sambisa forest in the last few months.The U.N. has called for military escorts for aid workers trying to reach areas affected by the crisis, which has been exacerbated by soaring food prices and scarce reserves from the last harvest."The 75,000 is from the three states – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa," said UNICEF spokesman Patrick Rose, in an emailed response to questions, referring to the number of children in those areas who could die over the next year.The agency has said 400,000 children aged under five would suffer from severe acute malnutrition in those states, which have been worst hit by the insurgency, and more than four million people faced severe food shortages in the region.UNICEF also said it had increased the sum sought in its humanitarian appeal to help malnourished children in the region, where food supplies are close to running out, to $115 million - more than double the previous amount of $55 million.It said it had so far received just $28 million, which it said "presents a serious obstacle to UNICEF's scale up plan".(Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram, in Lagos, and Kieran Guilbert for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in Dakar; editing by Dominic Evans)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Southern Caribbean islands brace for Tropical Storm Matthew-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — The southern Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are bracing for a rare brush with a tropical storm.People across the three Dutch Caribbean islands were stocking up on fuel and other emergency supplies Thursday as Tropical Storm Matthew approached. Weather authorities say the storm is likely to become a hurricane and pass north of the islands.The so-called "ABC Islands" of the Southern Caribbean are outside of the hurricane belt and rarely get a direct hit from a storm. Aruba's weather service said the storm is expected to pass about 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the north.Matthew passed over the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, causing at least one death. Officials in St. Vincent say a 16-year-old boy died there as he tried to clear a blocked drain.
Indonesia evacuates hundreds of tourists after volcano erupts-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian rescuers on Wednesday evacuated hundreds of tourists from a volcano that erupted a day earlier and were searching for as many as 50 climbers.Authorities closed the gates to Mount Rinjani, one of Indonesia's most visited active volcanoes on the resort island of Lombok, next to Bali, and told visitors to keep at least three km away.The erupting cone is called Barujari, a volcano within Mount Rinjani.The Disaster Mitigation Agency said 1,023 tourists, including 639 foreigners, were in Mount Rinjani National Park when the volcano erupted on Tuesday afternoon, coating nearby vegetation with ash."Hundreds of tourists have exited Mount Rinjani and they are in good condition," spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Wednesday.Daniel Rosang, an official at the park, said he estimated there were up to 50 climbers still on the volcano and he believed they were safe.(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Nick Macfie)
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Hundreds flee as wildfire scorches California hillsides-[AFP]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Los Angeles (AFP) - A fierce wildfire south of San Francisco has forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as fast-moving flames fed by withering temperatures have consumed nearly 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares).The fire, which started on Monday in the Santa Cruz mountains, was threatening 300 structures and has destroyed one house and six outbuildings and damaged one residence, fire officials said.An AFP photographer also saw several mobile homes destroyed.Officials ordered residents in the area to evacuate as more than 1,000 firefighters battled the flames made worse by triple-digit temperatures in recent days and dry conditions.Several cannabis plantations are also threatened by the wildfire, with several already reduced to ashes, the AFP photographer said.Anthony Lopez, who grows cannabis, said he had only managed to save part of his crop but was happy his home had not been consumed by the flames.The AFP photographer described apocalyptic scenes with ash falling from the sky like rain and thick smoke blocking the sun amid the sound of firefighting helicopters and bulldozers.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Evidence mounts of Russia's role in MH17 By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 17:51-There is enough evidence to say that Russia supplied the rocket that killed 298 people on flight MH17 in July 2014 and that it was fired from a Russia-controlled area, investigators say.“We have concluded that flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile of the series 9M83 that came from the territory of the Russian Federation”, Wilbert Paulissen, a chief Dutch investigator with the JIT, the international taskforce looking into the incident, told press in The Hague on Wednesday (28 September).He said the Buk system was brought into east Ukraine from Russia, fired from a field near the Russia-occupied village of Pervomaiskiy, then taken back to Russia.He indicated that it happened at a time when Russian forces were trying to stop Ukrainian air force raids.He also said the probe had identified about 100 individuals who were involved in the Buk operation and that the next step would be to prepare criminal charges.The MH17 disaster was a turning point in the Ukraine conflict because it prompted the EU and US to impose economic sanctions on Russia.The JIT’s preliminary findings come ahead of EU talks, next month, on whether to prolong the sanctions beyond January.Russia has denied involvement, but cooperated to an extent with the JIT, which is made up of some 200 investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine.Russian media and politicians on Wednesday attacked the JIT report.The Russian foreign ministry said it was "politically motivated" and "biased" and that Ukraine had fabricated evidence.Leonid Slutsky, a prominent MP, said it was “provocative” and designed “to further marginalise the image of Russia in the global political and information space”.The JIT sleuths said that, ultimately, it would be up to courts to decide who is right, but took pains to show that their findings were based on a wealth of hard evidence.They listened to 150,000 intercepted phone conversations, spoke to over 200 witnesses, and collected forensic evidence, such as soil samples, from suspected launch sites in Ukraine.They also examined “thousands” of airplane wreckage parts, 20 different types of weapon systems, and over 500,000 videos and photos.In one exercise, they detonated a Buk missile next to MH17-type aluminium body panels at a test site.The Dutch intelligence service, the MIVD, and the Dutch public prosecutor were also given access to classified US information.The JIT said that, of the 100 suspects, some had played an “active role” in organising the transport of the Buk while others played a “facilitating” role, but that they did not know who masterminded the operation or who gave the order to fire.“We invite insider witnesses, who can tell us more about the role that different persons have played, to report to the JIT”, it said.It said that the “investigation into those responsible is a matter for the long haul and will take more time”, noting that they could have made public even more evidence, but that, “we would run the risk of playing into the perpetrators’ hands”.
Russia says U.S. Syria statement shows Washington supports terrorism-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is outraged by the threatening tone of the latest U.S. statement on Syria, viewing it as tantamount to supporting terrorism, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday, according to Russian news agencies.Ryabkov was referring to a statement made by U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby who said on Wednesday that Russia had an interest in stopping the violence in Syria because extremists could exploit the vacuum there and launch attacks "against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities.""We cannot interpret this as anything else apart from the current U.S. administration's de facto support for terrorism," Ryabkov was quoted as saying."These thinly disguised invitations to use terrorism as a weapon against Russia show the political depths the current U.S. administration has stooped to in its approach to the Middle East and specifically to Syria."U.S. officials said on Wednesday that Obama administration officials had begun considering tougher responses to the Russian-backed Syrian government assault on Aleppo, including military options, as rising tensions with Moscow diminish hopes for a diplomatic solution.Ryabkov was quoted as saying that Moscow saw no alternative to an original U.S.-Russia plan to try to get a ceasefire in Syria and that Washington should focus on implementing it.He said a seven-day ceasefire plan proposed by the United States was unacceptable however and that Moscow was proposing a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" in Aleppo instead. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Turkey denies protection to returning Syrians By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 15:47-A migrant swap deal with Ankara is progressing well despite returning Syrians being denied guaranteed protection status in Turkey, says the EU commission.EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters on Wednesday (28 September) that "adequate standards" were in place for those returned under the March deal.But earlier in the day, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said not a single Syrian returned from Greece has been granted any temporary protection status, despite the "formal guarantees" under the EU's deal with Ankara."As we speak today, none of the Syrians that have returned to Turkey have got temporary protection," Vincent Cochetal, UNHCR's Europe director, told this website.Turkey is also supposed to allow the UN agency access to facilities where the returning Syrians are temporarily sheltered.But access to the centre has been blocked since a failed military coup in July."We thought we had permission, we were not given access. For us that is an important aspect of the safeguards," he said.-Speed up returns-Instead, Avramopoulos said they intended to "speed up returns" when asked how the fate of returned Syrians in Turkey and the UN agency blockade complies with his definition of "adequate standards"."The situation within Turkey is exactly as it was before. Turkish authorities are providing Syrians with their support and help," he told Euobserver.But the UNHCR is sending out an entirely different message.Cochetal said the returnees were being forced through a security screening process that was taking too long."Those security screenings should take in principle one month but are taking a much longer period of time," he said.The issue poses larger questions over the EU legal claim that Turkey is a safe country for people returned from Greece.People that cross the Aegean sea to Greece are shuffled under the scheme's 'inadmissibility' category. Inadmissibility means the substance of a person's claim to asylum is not scrutinised by Greek authorities.Instead, the Greeks probe to see if Turkey is deemed a "safe third country", or a place that provides what Avramopoulos has described in vague terms as "adequate standards".Greek authorities will be even more hard pressed to return any Syrian if Turkey denies them temporary protection status as promised.Out of the 578 who have ended up back in Turkey under the scheme, only 51 are Syrians. And they volunteered to go back."It is possible that they [Syrians] gave up after months and weeks of waiting on the islands," Karl Kopp, director of the German-based NGO Pro Asyl, told this website earlier this month.The NGO represented nine Syrians in Greece facing deportation to Turkey in April. The Greek administrative appeals committee found that Turkey was not a "safe third country" for Syrian refugees.-Conditions dire on Greek islands-To add to the woes, thousands of people are stuck on the Greek islands with reports surfacing of suicides and fights. Strikes among aid workers are also reported given the poor conditions and insecurity.Less than five percent of asylum claims by Afghans and Iraqis on the islands have been processed, says the UN. And none have had their claims registered in the past six months.Another 47,000 are stranded on the Greek mainland. The vast majority are from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Around 7,500 of those are in apartments or in hotels. The rest are living in camps where women and girls risk violence."Women and girls are living in a constant state of insecurity and fear," said Iverna McGowan at Amnesty International's EU office. Basic measures like proper lighting, separate toilets and showers, are often absent.Yet, since last year, Greece has been granted some €352 million in emergency funds from the EU commission to address the short comings. But administrative complications and bottlenecks on the Greek side means €90 million has been awarded to the government.The bulk is going to aid agencies and NGOs.Greece has also been returning Moroccans to Turkey, mostly by bus through land border crossing points by hundreds, under a separate bilateral readmission agreement it has with Ankara.
Up to 600 wounded in Syria's east Aleppo, evacuations needed - U.N.[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
GENEVA (Reuters) - Hundreds of wounded need evacuation from besieged eastern Aleppo, where medical supplies are running low and there are only rations for a quarter of the population, the United Nations deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy said on Thursday.Ramzy, speaking to reporters in Geneva after the weekly meeting of the humanitarian task force, called for Russia and the United States to "resurrect" their cessation of hostilities agreement of Sept 19 and "make it a reality once again"."I think this is the best way out of this very difficult humanitarian and military situation in which the Syrians find themselves in today," he said.The dramatic situation in rebel-held eastern Aleppo and "extremely heavy aerial bombardment" had "overshadowed" the meeting of the group which links major and regional powers."It is estimated that as many as 600 wounded cannot be provided with adequate treatment," Ramzy said, noting that the rebel-held sector of some 275,000 had just 35 doctors and scant medical supplies.Hundreds of medical evacuations are the "utmost priority at this point", he said. There were also "severe shortages" of water and electricity and many bakeries remain closed.(Reporting by Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alexandra Hudson)
Turkey to complete wall along Syrian border by next spring - defence minister-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will have completely sealed its 911-km (566-mile) border with Syria by next spring when it finishes the construction of a wall, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday."We want the 911-km border with Syria to be closed, we will have it completely closed by spring 2017," Isik told reporters in the border town of Karkamis, in comments broadcast live on Turkish television.Officials have said the wall aims to stop illegal migration from Syria into Turkey, which already hosts nearly 3 million Syrian refugees.(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
France's Ayrault says more bombing of Aleppo will fuel radicalization-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Thursday that the longer the bombardment of Aleppo continued in an ongoing Russian-backed offensive, the more it would fuel extremism in the partly-besieged Syrian city."The longer the bombardment of Aleppo goes on, the longer the massacre of the population continues, the more radicalization will occur on the ground," Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters in London.(Reporting by Helen Reid; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden)
South Africa's cabinet says nuclear power procurement delayed-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa is unlikely to issue a tender for a new nuclear power fleet by Sept. 30, as previously expected, because further consultations were needed, a cabinet spokesman said on Thursday.Africa's most industrialized country has earmarked nuclear expansion as a key part of increasing its power generation but the price tag of up to 1 trillion rand ($74 billion) has raised concerns over whether the plan is affordable.(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Joe Brock)
Amnesty accuses Sudan of using chemical weapons in Darfur-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan's government has carried out at least 30 likely chemical weapons attacks in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur since January using what two experts concluded was a probable blister agent, Amnesty International said on Thursday.The rights group estimated that up to 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents.The most recent attack occurred on Sept. 9 and Amnesty said its investigation was based on satellite imagery, more than 200 interviews and expert analysis of images showing injuries."The use of chemical weapons is a war crime. The evidence we have gathered is credible and portrays a regime that is intent on directing attacks against the civilian population in Darfur without any fear of international retribution," said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's director of Crisis Research.Sudanese U.N. Ambassador Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed said in a statement that the Amnesty report was "utterly unfounded" and that Sudan does not possess any type of chemical weapons."The allegations of use of chemical weapons by Sudanese Armed Forces is baseless and fabricated. The ultimate objective of such wild accusation, is to steer confusion in the on-going processes aimed at deepening peace and stability and enhancing economic development and social cohesion in Sudan," he said.Amnesty said it had presented its findings to two independent chemical weapons experts."Both concluded that the evidence strongly suggested exposure to vesicants, or blister agents, such as the chemical warfare agents sulfur mustard, lewisite or nitrogen mustard," Amnesty said in a statement.Sudan joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1999 under which members agree to never use toxic arms.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, which oversees adherence to the treaty, said in a reaction it would examine the Amnesty report "and all other available relevant information."The organization's executive council is due to meet Oct. 11-14.A joint African Union-United Nations force, known as UNAMID, has been stationed in Darfur since 2007. Security remains fragile in Darfur, where mainly non-Arab tribes have been fighting the Arab-led government in Khartoum, and the government is struggling to control rural areas.Some 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the conflict began in 2003, the U.N. says, while 4.4 million people need aid and over 2.5 million have been displaced.The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 on charges of war crimes and genocide in his drive to crush the Darfur revolt.(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Tom Brown)
Why Obama refuses to say 'radical Islamic terrorism'-[Christian Science Monitor]-Ellen Powell-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
What’s in a phrase? When it comes to terrorism, more than you think, says President Obama.In a town hall at Fort Lee, Va., on Wednesday, the president was asked about his choice not to use the phrase “Islamic terrorist” to describe ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. Gold Star mother Tina Houchins wanted to know why Obama wouldn’t use the term, if he believed that terrorist groups themselves considered their activities grounded in Islam.The decision to use the term – or not – has gained in political significance over the course of the 2016 election campaign. Donald Trump and other Republicans have said avoiding the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism” is equivalent to avoiding the problem. Yet neither Obama or former president George W. Bush has used the term, describing it as counterproductive to efforts to combat terrorist groups.“When you start calling these organizations Islamic terrorists, the way it’s heard, the way it’s received by our friends and allies around the world is that somehow Islam is terroristic. And that then makes them feel as if they’re under attack. In some cases, it makes it harder for us to get their cooperation in fighting terrorism,” Obama told the town hall meeting on Wednesday.Avoiding the term “radical Islam” has therefore been US policy for more than a decade. Elliot Abrams, deputy National Security Advisor under President Bush, told Bloomberg, “We were invading two Muslim countries, and we were being accused of being at war with Islam. So the administration wanted to make it very clear that we are not at war with Islam and every Muslim in the world.”That attitude is clear in the way both Mr. Bush and Obama have described terrorist groups and their relation to Islam as a religion. On Wednesday Obama said terrorists have “tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse,” while Bush described them as having “hijacked a great religion.”That distinction, they say, prevents sowing dissent among Muslims and recognizes the contribution of Muslims in America and around the world to a more peaceful society. Obama explained that he wants to “make sure that we do not lump these murderers into the billion Muslims [around the world] who are peaceful, who are responsible, who in this country, are our fellow troops and police officers and firefighters and teachers and neighbors and friends.”But others have expressed concern that by refusing to describe the actions of Al Qaeda and ISIS as “radical Islamic terrorism,” the US risks misunderstanding what's fueling terrorism and being unable to effectively combat it. Some Republicans suggest that using the term would make Americans safer.Mr. Trump has been outspoken in calling for use of the term. At a campaign rally this spring, he told his supporters, “Unless you’re going to talk about it, you’re not going to solve [the problem].” Following the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, he suggested that Obama should resign if he was not willing to describe the attack as ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’“I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack,” he said in a statement. “We can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.”The terrorism fight would probably not be more successful if it was framed as “radical Islamism,” according to Daniel Serwer, director of the Conflict Management Program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He told CNN that the label could alienate moderate Muslims and hinder coordination efforts.“Anything that stands in the way of Muslims joining the fight against ISIS is not a good thing,” he added.Though she has in the past expressed concern about the term, Hillary Clinton told CNN’s New Day in June that actions are ultimately more important than words.“From my perspective, it matters what we do more than what we say. And it mattered we got bin Laden, not what name we called him…Whether you call it radical jihadism or radical Islamism, I’m happy to say either. I think they mean the same thing.”
Egypt court suspends annulment of Red Sea island deal with Saudi Arabia-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Court of Urgent Matters has ordered the suspension of an earlier court ruling that annulled a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, judicial sources said on Thursday.Egypt announced in April a maritime border accord with Saudi Arabia, which could see it lose control of two Red Sea islands. The accord caused a public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians, many of whom said they were taught at school that Tiran and Sanafir were Egyptian.An administrative court voided the accord in June after a lawsuit was filed against it, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands held and could not be given up.Egyptian authorities lodged a formal appeal with the Higher Administrative Court, part of the Council of State, a high-level judicial body that gives legal advice to the government, drafts laws and oversees legal cases involving public entities.That appeal is still pending.The Court of Urgent Matters ruled on Thursday on a separate appeal filed by Ashraf Farahat, a lawyer. But legal experts dismissed that court's ruling, saying it was not qualified to pronounce on matters related to public administration."This verdict is unconstitutional and void. If the government were to refer the treaty to parliament for ratification based on this verdict then it is announcing to everyone that it does not care about the constitution," constitutional expert Mohamed Nour Farahat said.The Court of Urgent Matters' original brief was to tackle cases that needed quick resolution but risked getting bogged down for long periods in the regular court system.But since the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, the court has taken on a more prominent role, ruling on cases involving bans or restrictions of political parties and other such sensitive matters.Tiran and Sanafir islands are situated between Saudi Arabia and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them. Ali said Cairo's sovereignty over the islands dated to a 1906 treaty, before Saudi Arabia was founded.The maritime border accord was announced during a visit to Cairo by the Saudi king that coincided with the signing of aid deals, and this created the impression among many that the islands were sold. Egyptian authorities denied this."The (Court of Urgent Matters) has usurped the authority of the Council of State," said Khaled Ali, a lawyer who filed the June lawsuit to annul the maritime deal. He said he would announce legal steps to block the new decision on Saturday.(Reporting by Haitham Ahmed, Ahmed Aboulenein and Lin Noueihed; writing by Asma Alsharif; editing by Mark Heinrich)
As Islamic State loses ground, risk in U.S. rises: FBI official-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - The United States is likely to face a higher risk of Islamic State-inspired attacks over the next two years as the group loses land in the Middle East, a top official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday."I'm fairly convinced that 2017 and 2018 in the homeland will be more dangerous than we've seen before, because as we shrink ISIS, they'll lash out," Michael Steinbach, executive assistant director of the FBI's national security branch, told a security conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Islamic State proclaimed a caliphate over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but has lost a significant amount of territory since then to U.S.-backed offensives, though it still controls oil wells on Syrian land.Steinbach was quick to say that the fact that additional attacks might be planned did not mean they would be successful. He noted that U.S. security officials disrupted some 70 Islamic State-inspired planned attacks in 2015 alone.The U.S. has seen a spate of attacks inspired by the militant group, which has been fighting a long civil war in Syria. They include the June massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub and the killing of 14 people at a San Bernardino, California, social services agency last December.Steinbach also noted that militant attacks remain rare in the United States, saying that 19 people were killed in the United States and 21 Americans killed overseas in attacks considered terrorism in 2015."There is no expectation that we will stop every homicide here in Boston or Chicago," he said. "For some reason, with terrorism, there is an expectation, a bar that is set at zero and every single attack that goes through is considered a failure."(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Mother, brother of NYC bomb suspect held in Afghanistan: report-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mother and a brother of New York City bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami have been detained in Afghanistan after trying to return to the United States and being taken off a flight, the suspect's father told ABC News.The father, Mohammad Rahami, said in an interview published on ABC's website on Wednesday that his wife, Najiba, and another of his sons, Qassim, were in Dubai when they were pulled from a flight and questioned for 16 hours by authorities there.Authorities then sent them to Kabul, he said."Why send my son back to Afghanistan? He is a U.S. citizen. You have any questions? Bring him home, [don't] send him to a different country," Mohammad Rahami said of Qassim.Reuters could not immediately confirm that the two were being held.Ahmad Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, emigrated from Afghanistan with his family at the age of 7. They settled in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and opened a fried chicken restaurant.Rahami faces federal charges in the bombing this month that injured 31 people in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, and in connection with explosives found at locations in New Jersey. No one was killed in the blasts.Rahami has been held in a Newark, New Jersey, hospital since his arrest last week with wounds after a shootout with police.Investigators have probed Rahami's history of travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was motivated by militant Islamist views, prosecutors say, citing a journal he carried when he was captured in which he begged for martyrdom and expressed outrage at what he called the U.S. slaughter of Muslim fighters.The American Civil Liberties Union said on Monday it will temporarily provide legal counsel to Rahami, as concern grew over his lack of access to a lawyer. Authorities say Rahami is not physically able to appear in court, and he has not.(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Charlotte shooting victim's wife said he threatened family: court papers-[Reuters]-By Colleen Jenkins-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - Less than a year before Keith Scott was shot and killed by a police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina, his wife said in court papers that he had called himself a "killer" and threatened to kill his family with his gun.Rakeyia Scott sought a domestic violence protective order against her husband on Oct. 5, 2015, in Gaston County, North Carolina, according to a copy of the document posted online by Time Warner Cable News on Tuesday.She said in a motion for the order of protection that days earlier the father of seven had hit their 8-year-old son in the head and kicked her. On Oct. 4, he threatened to kill them, she said."He said he is a 'killer' and we should know that," she said in court documents. In those documents, she said that Keith Scott worked as a security officer at a local mall and carried a 9 mm handgun.Charlotte police have said that Scott, 43, was armed on Sept. 20 when he was fatally shot by an officer. The incident sparked a week of sometimes violent protests and made North Carolina's largest city the latest flashpoint in the controversy over U.S. police killings of black men.Rakeyia Scott has said that her husband did not have a weapon at the time, and videos from her and police were inconclusive about whether he was holding anything. State police are investigating the incident.Revelations about Keith Scott's past mean little in determining whether the police shooting was justified, Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for the family, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday."What matters is what happened in those moments leading up to the trigger being pulled," Bamberg said. "Mr. Scott was non-aggressive, had his hands by his side, appeared confused and, at the moment he was shot and killed, he was walking backwards. That's what matters."Court documents showed that Scott's wife filed a notice of voluntary dismissal for the protective order against her husband on Oct. 16, 2015, saying he was no longer a threat to her or her family.According to state records and media reports, Keith Scott had a criminal record in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, where he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2005.Relatives have described him as a family man and a good person. Bamberg said that after Scott was badly hurt in a motorcycle accident in November 2015, his wife of 20 years nursed him back to health."At the time that the shooting incident occurred, he was required to take numerous medications daily for both pain as well as cognitive ability," Bamberg said. "His medication did affect him mentally."(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on his way to Jerusalem with a Canadian delegation to attend the funeral of former Israeli prime minister and president Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday at age of 93.Trudeau, who left Ottawa early this morning, is accompanied by former prime minister Jean Chretien along with interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion. Former prime minister Stephen Harper is not flying with Trudeau, but taking a commercial flight instead.Just before taking off, Chretien called Peres a friend, "a great guy" and "a great public servant.""When I quit, he gave me hell, said winners never quit and he never quit," Chretien said.Dion said Trudeau wanted the Canadian delegation to be non-partisan."The whole country of Canada is supporting the whole country of Israel and the prime minister wanted that to be very clear," Dion said.Ambrose echoed Dion's message of unity ahead of the trip overseas."When we look at Israel it's really a beacon of pluralism and democracy in a very difficult part of the world," she said."All the more important for all of us no matter what political party we come from to attend these kind of events and honour a legacy like Shimon Peres."NDP Leader Tom Mulcair couldn't attend due to a family commitment.Peres served two terms as Israeli prime minister and was also the country's president. He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for negotiating the short lived Oslo Accords peace deal.Other world figures planning to attend the funeral include U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Prince Charles and the presidents of France, Germany and Poland.The Canadian Press
Some hydro customers say billing change punishes them for conserving energy-[CBC]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Lately, Ottawa resident Johan Hamels has been working hard to cut his electricity consumption. He hangs his clothes to up to dry instead of using a dryer, bought a furnace with a high-efficiency fan system and changed his halogen bulbs to LEDs.Now he's learned that all his efforts may be for naught: come the new year, on the distribution portion of the Hydro Ottawa bill, those who use more electricity will be getting a break, while he will probably be paying more.Even though the change will be minimal, Hamels believes an important principle is at stake."I think an electricity company should not favour people who use a lot, in fact as a society together we should use less electricity because producing electricity costs a lot of effort and money and resources from the planet," Hamel said.-Fixed rate set for distribution costs-The change is the result of the Ontario Energy Board's decision to start charging customers for distribution costs at a fixed rate across the province. By way of example, a customer who uses a lot of electricity, say 1,500 kilowatt hours a month, will pay 6.3 per cent less on that portion of their bill.Those who use 800 kilowatts will pay one per cent more and the biggest energy savers — who use, as an example, 232 killowatts — will pay 2.6 per cent more.Because transmission costs make up only 20 per cent of the bill, the changes won't make much of a difference in a hydro bill: perhaps a few pennies up to a dollar or two a month.-Change meant to address inequity between rural, urban customers-Karen Evans with the Ontario Energy Board says it's all about fairness and equity between rural and urban customers.Many rural customers need to use more electricity to heat and run their homes and farms, and she says the OEB believes customers should pay a fixed cost for something that is a fixed asset: the electricity distribution system.About 60 per cent of customers in Ontario will see little or no effect on their bill, while 20 per cent will see their bills go down and 20 per cent will see them go up, Evans said.Johan Hamels expects that with all his energy conservation efforts, the distribution portion of his bill may be higher next year. But that hasn't deterred him."It has been proven that saving electricity by replacing old machinery or different kinds of lamps saves money for our family in the long term," adding that he soon plans to buy a new energy-efficient refrigerator.
Trudeau defends LNG project approval as splitting differences among critics-[The Canadian Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used a Goldilocks defence Wednesday in an effort to position the federal Liberals in the sweet spot of a boiling debate over energy development and environmental protection.Less than 24 hours after the government gave conditional approval to a massive liquefied natural gas project in northern British Columbia, Trudeau was in the House of Commons defending the decision, which clears a path for the production of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and billions of dollars in foreign investment."Unfortunately the members opposite either think we're not going fast enough or we're going too fast," Trudeau said after fielding questions from Conservatives and New Democrats on opposing sides of the LNG divide."Canadians know we need to grow the economy and protect the environment right now and do it right."Critics are accusing the Trudeau government of policy incoherence as it simultaneously promises to repair relations with indigenous communities, ratchet down carbon emissions and boost economic development by ensuring natural resources get to market.The decision to conditionally approve the $36-billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, B.C., was seen by some as a litmus test of the Liberal pledge to get serious on climate change. Others viewed it as the crucible for testing whether Trudeau was credible about expanding Canada's energy resource exports.The liquefied natural gas processing plant, whose principal owner is Malaysia's Petronas, is designed to ship 19 million tonnes a year of frozen, liquefied gas to markets in Asia over the next 25 years.Among the 190 conditions for approval is a cap on annual CO2 emissions of 4.3 million tonnes, not including the emissions that will result from fracking natural gas to feed the project.Conservative environment critic Ed Fast said the Liberals are "all over the map in terms of their policies going forward," while NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said Trudeau had "pirouetted" on his promise to keep pipelines out of the Great Bear Rain Forest less than 48 hours after visiting the area with the royal tour of Prince William and Kate.The Pacific NorthWest LNG plan includes a natural gas pipeline through the forest.Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr and Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who announced the approval Tuesday night in Richmond, B.C., met reporters Wednesday after their whirlwind trip.Their message, in a nutshell: trust us.LeBlanc said the approval includes a first-of-its kind environmental monitoring committee that will include local First Nations representatives to watch critical salmon habitat during the project's construction.McKenna issued bland assurances that the massive increase in GHG emissions would be encompassed in the pan-Canadian climate plan she hopes to begin finalizing Monday in Montreal with her provincial and territorial counterparts.And Carr beamed his approval, noting that during trips abroad "the message was loud and clear that there is a thirst for Canadian natural resources internationally. And what this decision shows is that we are being responsive to that need."In Edmonton, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the NorthWest project strikes the right balance."We're encouraged that the federal government appears to be rolling up its sleeves to try and navigate a path towards what we have always believed is an important combination of sustainable economic growth while ensuring that you address environmental issues."Geoff Morrison, manager of B.C. operations for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, called it a "positive signal" for the energy investment community."There were questions about anxiety, I guess, among international investors as to whether Canada was an appropriate or desirable place to invest," he said in an interview."Undeniably this will be an encouraging sign to those individuals and those agencies and institutions that look to bring energy to their countries."On the other side of the ledger, Green party Leader Elizabeth May called the Liberal decision an outrage. And Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada turned the Liberals' sunny catchphase from last December's international climate conference in Paris into a cudgel."If this is what Trudeau meant when he said, 'Canada is back on climate,'"said the group's news release, "then we and the planet are in big trouble."— Follow @BCheadle on Twitter-Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press
Scientists bid farewell to comet probe, eye more discoveries-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BERLIN (AP) — Scientists are saying their final farewells to the Rosetta space probe ahead of its planned crash-landing on a comet.The probe was launched in 2004 and took a decade to reach comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it released a lander in November 2014.Both Rosetta and its lander Philae have gathered a wealth of data about 67P that have already given scientists significant new insights into the origins and nature of comets.The European Space Agency plans to steer the probe toward the comet as slowly as possible Friday so it can take unprecedented close-up images before colliding with the icy surface.Scientists involved in the project said Thursday that — even after Rosetta goes silent — they have decades of work ahead of them analyzing all the data collected during the mission .
Pope urges greater efforts for peace in the Middle East-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging the world not to look the other way from war and suffering in the Middle East and appealed to leaders "for greater and renewed efforts to achieve peace throughout the Middle East."The pope made the remarks Thursday during an audience with Catholic charity workers helping to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Iraq and neighboring countries. Also present was the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura.The pope remarked that despite great efforts in the last year "the logic of arms and oppression, hidden interests and violence continues to wreak devastation."Francis has kept the war in Syria at the center of his attention, condemning on Wednesday airstrikes in Aleppo that have followed the collapse of a cease-fire deal.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
UK releases legal arguments on Article 50 By Eszter Zalan-sept 29,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 13:25-The British government was forced by a judge to release its legal arguments for refusing to let the parliament decide when and how the UK should trigger the article 50 procedure to withdraw from the EU.The legal arguments released on Wednesday (29 September) argue that it is “constitutionally impermissible” for parliament to be given the authority to launch the exit procedure.In a court challenge by a group of UK citizens, the British government argued it is the prime minister's prerogative to trigger the exit process, as the parliamentary act establishing the 23 June referendum did not foresee any further action for the parliament after the vote."It was clearly understood that the government would give effect to the result of the referendum for which the 2015 Act provided, and that was the basis on which the electorate vote in the referendum," the legal defence says."The 2015 Act did not prescribe steps which the government was required tot make in the event of a leave vote," it added."It [the government] cannot be prevented from doing so [launching article 50] by the absence of primary legislation authorising that step," the government argues.It also adds that “treaty-making and withdrawal from treaties is not generally subject to Parliamentary control”.“The appropriate point at which the UK should begin the procedure required by Article 50 to give effect to [the notification] is a matter of high, if not the highest policy,” the government’s lawyers argue in the document.A two-year negotiating period will start once the UK triggers the exit procedure, which prime minister Theresa May is expected to launch early next year.The EU has so far refused any preliminary negotiations until article 50 is officially triggered.-Challenge-The release of the documents came after the crowd-funded People’s Challenge initiative questioned Theresa May’s authority to trigger Brexit in court without parliamentary authorisation, and last week called for the government's legal defence to be made public.The judge, Justice Cranston, who ordered the release on Tuesday, said: “Against the background of the principle of open justice, it is difficult to see a justification for restricting publication of documents which are generally available under the rules.”In its legal defence however, the government says the parliament will have "the role in ensuring that the Government achieves the best outcome for the UK through negotiations".But the government's legal defence also makes it clear that the local legislations in other parts of the UK will not be able to override the triggering of the exit procedure.They dismiss the idea that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will have a say in the divorce procedure.The government's layers argue that “devolved legislatures” have no competencies over foreign relations issues, including relations with the EU and its institutions.British prime minister Theresa May earlier assured Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the Remain camp won the Brexit vote, that she would not trigger Article 50 until there is a UK “approach and objectives”.-'Constitutional vandalism'-The People’s Challenge to the Government on Article 50, a crowd-funded initiative that argues for that it is up to the parliament to trigger the exit procedure, was set up by Grahame Pigney.On the campaign’s website he argues that his goal is not to ignore the Leave voters who opted for Brexit, but to “ensure that parliamentary Sovereignty is maintained and is respected by the Government”, and that the "rights of 65 million UK citizens are protected”.The campaign calls the government’s actions “constitutional vandalism”."By using the Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon this Government will be sweeping away rights at a stroke of a pen without the proper scrutiny of and a final decision being made by our Sovereign Parliament,” they argue.A hearing for a test case will start on 13 October.
No support for EU army in ministers' talks By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 09:22-There will be no joint EU force and no EU military HQ for a long time to come, defence ministers’ talks in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September) indicated.The informal meeting came after Italy had proposed the creation of a "permanent" EU force as a political response to Brexit and to popular fears that Europe was becoming more vulnerable .France and Germany had also proposed an EU command centre for overseas crisis missions and EU funding for “battlegroups” - temporary, battalion-sized forces created by subsets of member states.Coming out of the talks, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said there was “common ground” on the principle of closer defence cooperation.But she mentioned smaller initiatives, such as joint investments in Europe’s arms industry, a joint R&D budget, and better planning of overseas missions, as examples of the kind of projects that had won support.Finland, which had, prior to the meeting, called for a “pragmatic” approach to EU defence, also offered to host an EU cyber-defence academy.“This is not about a European army, this is about stronger defence cooperation”, Mogherini told press in Slovakia.Referring to British threats to veto any projects that might compete with Nato, she added: “Let me tell you very clearly: Today, in my three hours’ discussion with ministers, I never once heard the word ‘veto’, I never once heard the word ‘blocking’, and I never once heard the word ‘army’.”“This was not an ideological or abstract debate, it was about what we can do together … to respond to our citizens, who demand that we invest in their security”, she said.The British defence chief, Michael Fallon, earlier in the day repeated the UK’s threat."We agree Europe needs to step up to the challenges of terrorism and of migration, but we are going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato”, he said.The German minister, Ursula Von der Leyen, on Tuesday said Berlin and Paris believed the EU would “make significant progress before the end of the year” on certain projects, but also mentioned joint spending instead of the military HQ idea.“It’s not about a European army”, she said.“It is about bundling the various strengths of European countries to be ready to act together quickly .If you look at how much personnel and money is available for defence in the 28 states in Europe but how little this is coordinated, there is significant space for improvement”.Political will-An EU source who attended the Bratislava event told EUobserver that Italy’s EU force idea was not even discussed, but that “everybody mentioned the HQ issue”.The source said that a small group of states, including Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK spoke out against the idea.He said that a mixed group of about 10 others, including the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, and Spain, were “open to discussions” on the HQ, but not in the short term.He also said that France and Germany were “way ahead of the others” in their initial proposals.The source added that even if the EU decided to fund battlegroups out of its joint budget they would still be unlikely to see action because member states “lacked the political will to go into theatre”.“All the discussions start with talk of greater efficiency, but quickly become ideological”, he said.
German bank woes prompt fear of EU crisis By Andrew Rettman-sept 29,16-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:28-Germany has denied reports that it was preparing to rescue its biggest lender, Deutsche Bank, amid concern of a new systemic crisis in Europe.“The German government is not preparing a rescue plan and there's no reason for such speculation”, Martin Jaeger, a German finance ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday (28 September).Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), also tried to reassure markets, telling US broadcaster CNBC: “I don’t see that particular institution as ... [being] at a stage where state intervention is absolutely called for at the moment.”The bank’s CEO, John Cryan, told German newspaper Bild one day earlier that “at no point did I ask the [German] chancellor for support” and that a rescue was “out of the question”.Their comments came amid reports to the contrary in German media.German newspaper Die Zeit said on Wednesday that Berlin had prepared a rescue package which involved either state guarantees for Deutsche Bank losses or taking a 25 percent stake.The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, also gave weight to the speculation.Reacting to accusations that low interest rates had reduced lenders’ incomes and undermined Deutsche Bank, he told German MPs on Wednesday: “If a bank represents a systemic threat for the eurozone, this cannot be because of low interest rates - it has to do with other reasons”.-Deutsche Bank's problems arise from its high level of debt and from US fines over allegations that it mis-sold mortgage bonds.The US has demanded $14 billion (€12.5bn), but analysts said that if the German lender paid more than $4 billion it could become unstable.It also faces other potential fines - over allegations that it manipulated exchange rates, that it helped Russia to evade sanctions, and over alleged money laundering.-Lehman 2.0?-The bank employs 100,000 people and has assets worth €1.4 trillion - half the size of the German economy.Its ill health means that its shares are worth just €14.5 billion in total - a 30-year low - however.Its so-called Tier 1 Ratio - the ratio of its best assets to its liabilities - is also far below that of major European lenders.The IMF described it in June as “the most important net contributor to systemic risks” in the global financial sector because its fall could cause the same domino effects as that of the Lehman Brothers bank in 2008.Norman Lamont, the former UK chancellor, told British newspaper The Times on Wednesday that: “The biggest threat to Europe is a banking crisis ... Italian banks are in a very serious situation. I think German banks are probably in a very serious situation too.”Tidjane Thiam, the CEO of Credit Suisse, told the Bloomberg news agency that EU banks were in a “very fragile situation” and that several large lenders were “not really investable”.But Axel Weber, the chairman of Swiss bank UBS and the former head of the German central bank, played down the concerns.“The system is much more stable now. I think we are very far in how solid banks are now, from where were in 2007 and 2008,” he told Bloomberg.-Political risk-If the German state was to intervene, under new EU rules, it would first have to let private bondholders take a hit of at least 8 percent of the bank's liabilities.Meanwhile, the fact that chancellor Angela Merkel is heading into elections next year has heightened the political stakes.Hans Michelbach, a senior MP in her CDU party, said on Wednesday that it would be “unimaginable” to use taxpayers’ money to pay US fines because there would be a “public outcry.”Sahra Wagenknecht, an MP from the far-left Die Linke party, said Deutsche Bank was "a ticking time bomb in the lap of the taxpayer".
OPEC deal shows cartel's resolve _ and desperation-[Associated Press]-AOMAR OUALI and PAN PYLAS-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — OPEC's unexpected agreement to trim production shows the cartel still has the resolve — and even desperation — to try to guide energy markets higher. But don't expect triple-digit oil prices anytime soon.Ministers from the oil cartel reached a preliminary deal Wednesday in Algeria to cut production for the first time since the global financial crisis eight years ago. The size of the cut was modest — to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day from just below current levels of around 33.2 million barrels per day.Though limited, the decision came as something of a surprise — expectations were that once again the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran would create a stalemate. Oil prices shot up by around 5 percent in the wake of the cut.On Thursday, markets stabilized, with the benchmark New York rate 23 cents lower at $46.82 a barrel and the international standard, Brent, 34 cents lower at $48.87.Any failure to enact the agreement could lead to a renewed drop. And that risk remains — the deal, after all, is not done yet.Output levels for individual countries will have to be finalized at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna in November. OPEC agreed that Nigeria, Iran, and Libya would be exempted from making big cuts as their economies are already stymied by conflicts or sanctions.The main concern ahead of the meeting centered on Iran, which has been resistant to cutting production, as it's trying to restore its oil industry since emerging from international sanctions over its nuclear program earlier this year."We see this more as an act of desperation," Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht said. "Saudi Arabia appears willing to bear the main brunt of the burden."Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest producer, played a key role in the OPEC policies that helped push oil prices sharply lower over the past couple of years.In the summer of 2014, oil prices were trading above $100 a barrel but increased output from non-OPEC countries, particularly the U.S., created an oversupply in the market. Instead of cutting production, OPEC opted to pump at high volumes to maintain market share and, seemingly, to drive U.S. shale oil and gas producers, who have higher operating costs, out of business.Crude prices plunged, and in January of this year fell below $30 for the first time in more than a decade. The lower prices have hit many oil-producing countries hard, particularly poorer OPEC members Venezuela and Nigeria, but also non-OPEC states Russia and Brazil. It's also taken a toll on Saudi Arabia — its public finances are not as strong as they were and the country's credit rating has been downgraded.Oversupply isn't the only reason oil prices have remained under pressure. Weaker economic growth in energy-hungry China, for example, has had a big impact. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency said growth in oil demand had slowed significantly during the third quarter.OPEC's hope now is that it will be able to get non-OPEC members, such as Russia, to get aboard its strategy to trim output."Good luck with that one!" quipped Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. Moscow is still smarting from economic sanctions and the period of low prices, which have caused a painful recession and blown a hole in its state budget.One potential impact of the understanding forged in Algiers is that any material increase in oil prices could encourage U.S. shale oil and gas producers back into the market, thereby offsetting any impact in prices — in the longer-term as it takes time to kick start production given financial constraints.As a result, analysts don't expect three-digit oil prices anytime soon.Once the OPEC deal is confirmed, Marino Valensise, Head of Multi Asset at Barings Asset Management, said oil prices will likely drift higher to between $55 and $60."At those levels, shale producers in the States will inevitably increase production and there will be no potential through that price level," he said.Whether or not the OPEC deal sticks and whether "cheating" can be controlled, analysts said this didn't herald a return to the era when OPEC could basically control the oil market through its production levels, not least because non-OPEC countries have a bigger stake than before. Four of the world's top 5 producers aren't even part of OPEC."It is just as impossible to restore the conditions that used to prevail on the oil market as it is to step twice into the same river," Commerzbank's Lambrecht said.___Pylas reported from London.
FAMINE
EZEKIEL 5:16
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
UNICEF says 75,000 children could die in Nigeria hunger crisis-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LAGOS (Reuters) - Famine-like conditions in the former stronghold of Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria could kill 75,000 children over the next year if they do not receive aid, the United Nations children's agency said on Thursday.Some 15,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced during a seven-year insurgency by the Islamist militant group that has been pushed back to its stronghold in the northeast's vast Sambisa forest in the last few months.The U.N. has called for military escorts for aid workers trying to reach areas affected by the crisis, which has been exacerbated by soaring food prices and scarce reserves from the last harvest."The 75,000 is from the three states – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa," said UNICEF spokesman Patrick Rose, in an emailed response to questions, referring to the number of children in those areas who could die over the next year.The agency has said 400,000 children aged under five would suffer from severe acute malnutrition in those states, which have been worst hit by the insurgency, and more than four million people faced severe food shortages in the region.UNICEF also said it had increased the sum sought in its humanitarian appeal to help malnourished children in the region, where food supplies are close to running out, to $115 million - more than double the previous amount of $55 million.It said it had so far received just $28 million, which it said "presents a serious obstacle to UNICEF's scale up plan".(Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram, in Lagos, and Kieran Guilbert for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in Dakar; editing by Dominic Evans)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
Southern Caribbean islands brace for Tropical Storm Matthew-[Associated Press]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — The southern Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are bracing for a rare brush with a tropical storm.People across the three Dutch Caribbean islands were stocking up on fuel and other emergency supplies Thursday as Tropical Storm Matthew approached. Weather authorities say the storm is likely to become a hurricane and pass north of the islands.The so-called "ABC Islands" of the Southern Caribbean are outside of the hurricane belt and rarely get a direct hit from a storm. Aruba's weather service said the storm is expected to pass about 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the north.Matthew passed over the eastern Caribbean on Wednesday, causing at least one death. Officials in St. Vincent say a 16-year-old boy died there as he tried to clear a blocked drain.
Indonesia evacuates hundreds of tourists after volcano erupts-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian rescuers on Wednesday evacuated hundreds of tourists from a volcano that erupted a day earlier and were searching for as many as 50 climbers.Authorities closed the gates to Mount Rinjani, one of Indonesia's most visited active volcanoes on the resort island of Lombok, next to Bali, and told visitors to keep at least three km away.The erupting cone is called Barujari, a volcano within Mount Rinjani.The Disaster Mitigation Agency said 1,023 tourists, including 639 foreigners, were in Mount Rinjani National Park when the volcano erupted on Tuesday afternoon, coating nearby vegetation with ash."Hundreds of tourists have exited Mount Rinjani and they are in good condition," spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Wednesday.Daniel Rosang, an official at the park, said he estimated there were up to 50 climbers still on the volcano and he believed they were safe.(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Nick Macfie)
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Hundreds flee as wildfire scorches California hillsides-[AFP]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Los Angeles (AFP) - A fierce wildfire south of San Francisco has forced hundreds of people to flee their homes as fast-moving flames fed by withering temperatures have consumed nearly 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares).The fire, which started on Monday in the Santa Cruz mountains, was threatening 300 structures and has destroyed one house and six outbuildings and damaged one residence, fire officials said.An AFP photographer also saw several mobile homes destroyed.Officials ordered residents in the area to evacuate as more than 1,000 firefighters battled the flames made worse by triple-digit temperatures in recent days and dry conditions.Several cannabis plantations are also threatened by the wildfire, with several already reduced to ashes, the AFP photographer said.Anthony Lopez, who grows cannabis, said he had only managed to save part of his crop but was happy his home had not been consumed by the flames.The AFP photographer described apocalyptic scenes with ash falling from the sky like rain and thick smoke blocking the sun amid the sound of firefighting helicopters and bulldozers.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Evidence mounts of Russia's role in MH17 By Andrew Rettman-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 17:51-There is enough evidence to say that Russia supplied the rocket that killed 298 people on flight MH17 in July 2014 and that it was fired from a Russia-controlled area, investigators say.“We have concluded that flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile of the series 9M83 that came from the territory of the Russian Federation”, Wilbert Paulissen, a chief Dutch investigator with the JIT, the international taskforce looking into the incident, told press in The Hague on Wednesday (28 September).He said the Buk system was brought into east Ukraine from Russia, fired from a field near the Russia-occupied village of Pervomaiskiy, then taken back to Russia.He indicated that it happened at a time when Russian forces were trying to stop Ukrainian air force raids.He also said the probe had identified about 100 individuals who were involved in the Buk operation and that the next step would be to prepare criminal charges.The MH17 disaster was a turning point in the Ukraine conflict because it prompted the EU and US to impose economic sanctions on Russia.The JIT’s preliminary findings come ahead of EU talks, next month, on whether to prolong the sanctions beyond January.Russia has denied involvement, but cooperated to an extent with the JIT, which is made up of some 200 investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine.Russian media and politicians on Wednesday attacked the JIT report.The Russian foreign ministry said it was "politically motivated" and "biased" and that Ukraine had fabricated evidence.Leonid Slutsky, a prominent MP, said it was “provocative” and designed “to further marginalise the image of Russia in the global political and information space”.The JIT sleuths said that, ultimately, it would be up to courts to decide who is right, but took pains to show that their findings were based on a wealth of hard evidence.They listened to 150,000 intercepted phone conversations, spoke to over 200 witnesses, and collected forensic evidence, such as soil samples, from suspected launch sites in Ukraine.They also examined “thousands” of airplane wreckage parts, 20 different types of weapon systems, and over 500,000 videos and photos.In one exercise, they detonated a Buk missile next to MH17-type aluminium body panels at a test site.The Dutch intelligence service, the MIVD, and the Dutch public prosecutor were also given access to classified US information.The JIT said that, of the 100 suspects, some had played an “active role” in organising the transport of the Buk while others played a “facilitating” role, but that they did not know who masterminded the operation or who gave the order to fire.“We invite insider witnesses, who can tell us more about the role that different persons have played, to report to the JIT”, it said.It said that the “investigation into those responsible is a matter for the long haul and will take more time”, noting that they could have made public even more evidence, but that, “we would run the risk of playing into the perpetrators’ hands”.
Russia says U.S. Syria statement shows Washington supports terrorism-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is outraged by the threatening tone of the latest U.S. statement on Syria, viewing it as tantamount to supporting terrorism, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday, according to Russian news agencies.Ryabkov was referring to a statement made by U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby who said on Wednesday that Russia had an interest in stopping the violence in Syria because extremists could exploit the vacuum there and launch attacks "against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities.""We cannot interpret this as anything else apart from the current U.S. administration's de facto support for terrorism," Ryabkov was quoted as saying."These thinly disguised invitations to use terrorism as a weapon against Russia show the political depths the current U.S. administration has stooped to in its approach to the Middle East and specifically to Syria."U.S. officials said on Wednesday that Obama administration officials had begun considering tougher responses to the Russian-backed Syrian government assault on Aleppo, including military options, as rising tensions with Moscow diminish hopes for a diplomatic solution.Ryabkov was quoted as saying that Moscow saw no alternative to an original U.S.-Russia plan to try to get a ceasefire in Syria and that Washington should focus on implementing it.He said a seven-day ceasefire plan proposed by the United States was unacceptable however and that Moscow was proposing a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" in Aleppo instead. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Turkey denies protection to returning Syrians By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 28. Sep, 15:47-A migrant swap deal with Ankara is progressing well despite returning Syrians being denied guaranteed protection status in Turkey, says the EU commission.EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters on Wednesday (28 September) that "adequate standards" were in place for those returned under the March deal.But earlier in the day, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said not a single Syrian returned from Greece has been granted any temporary protection status, despite the "formal guarantees" under the EU's deal with Ankara."As we speak today, none of the Syrians that have returned to Turkey have got temporary protection," Vincent Cochetal, UNHCR's Europe director, told this website.Turkey is also supposed to allow the UN agency access to facilities where the returning Syrians are temporarily sheltered.But access to the centre has been blocked since a failed military coup in July."We thought we had permission, we were not given access. For us that is an important aspect of the safeguards," he said.-Speed up returns-Instead, Avramopoulos said they intended to "speed up returns" when asked how the fate of returned Syrians in Turkey and the UN agency blockade complies with his definition of "adequate standards"."The situation within Turkey is exactly as it was before. Turkish authorities are providing Syrians with their support and help," he told Euobserver.But the UNHCR is sending out an entirely different message.Cochetal said the returnees were being forced through a security screening process that was taking too long."Those security screenings should take in principle one month but are taking a much longer period of time," he said.The issue poses larger questions over the EU legal claim that Turkey is a safe country for people returned from Greece.People that cross the Aegean sea to Greece are shuffled under the scheme's 'inadmissibility' category. Inadmissibility means the substance of a person's claim to asylum is not scrutinised by Greek authorities.Instead, the Greeks probe to see if Turkey is deemed a "safe third country", or a place that provides what Avramopoulos has described in vague terms as "adequate standards".Greek authorities will be even more hard pressed to return any Syrian if Turkey denies them temporary protection status as promised.Out of the 578 who have ended up back in Turkey under the scheme, only 51 are Syrians. And they volunteered to go back."It is possible that they [Syrians] gave up after months and weeks of waiting on the islands," Karl Kopp, director of the German-based NGO Pro Asyl, told this website earlier this month.The NGO represented nine Syrians in Greece facing deportation to Turkey in April. The Greek administrative appeals committee found that Turkey was not a "safe third country" for Syrian refugees.-Conditions dire on Greek islands-To add to the woes, thousands of people are stuck on the Greek islands with reports surfacing of suicides and fights. Strikes among aid workers are also reported given the poor conditions and insecurity.Less than five percent of asylum claims by Afghans and Iraqis on the islands have been processed, says the UN. And none have had their claims registered in the past six months.Another 47,000 are stranded on the Greek mainland. The vast majority are from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Around 7,500 of those are in apartments or in hotels. The rest are living in camps where women and girls risk violence."Women and girls are living in a constant state of insecurity and fear," said Iverna McGowan at Amnesty International's EU office. Basic measures like proper lighting, separate toilets and showers, are often absent.Yet, since last year, Greece has been granted some €352 million in emergency funds from the EU commission to address the short comings. But administrative complications and bottlenecks on the Greek side means €90 million has been awarded to the government.The bulk is going to aid agencies and NGOs.Greece has also been returning Moroccans to Turkey, mostly by bus through land border crossing points by hundreds, under a separate bilateral readmission agreement it has with Ankara.
Up to 600 wounded in Syria's east Aleppo, evacuations needed - U.N.[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
GENEVA (Reuters) - Hundreds of wounded need evacuation from besieged eastern Aleppo, where medical supplies are running low and there are only rations for a quarter of the population, the United Nations deputy Syria envoy Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy said on Thursday.Ramzy, speaking to reporters in Geneva after the weekly meeting of the humanitarian task force, called for Russia and the United States to "resurrect" their cessation of hostilities agreement of Sept 19 and "make it a reality once again"."I think this is the best way out of this very difficult humanitarian and military situation in which the Syrians find themselves in today," he said.The dramatic situation in rebel-held eastern Aleppo and "extremely heavy aerial bombardment" had "overshadowed" the meeting of the group which links major and regional powers."It is estimated that as many as 600 wounded cannot be provided with adequate treatment," Ramzy said, noting that the rebel-held sector of some 275,000 had just 35 doctors and scant medical supplies.Hundreds of medical evacuations are the "utmost priority at this point", he said. There were also "severe shortages" of water and electricity and many bakeries remain closed.(Reporting by Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alexandra Hudson)
Turkey to complete wall along Syrian border by next spring - defence minister-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will have completely sealed its 911-km (566-mile) border with Syria by next spring when it finishes the construction of a wall, Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday."We want the 911-km border with Syria to be closed, we will have it completely closed by spring 2017," Isik told reporters in the border town of Karkamis, in comments broadcast live on Turkish television.Officials have said the wall aims to stop illegal migration from Syria into Turkey, which already hosts nearly 3 million Syrian refugees.(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
France's Ayrault says more bombing of Aleppo will fuel radicalization-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Thursday that the longer the bombardment of Aleppo continued in an ongoing Russian-backed offensive, the more it would fuel extremism in the partly-besieged Syrian city."The longer the bombardment of Aleppo goes on, the longer the massacre of the population continues, the more radicalization will occur on the ground," Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters in London.(Reporting by Helen Reid; writing by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden)
South Africa's cabinet says nuclear power procurement delayed-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa is unlikely to issue a tender for a new nuclear power fleet by Sept. 30, as previously expected, because further consultations were needed, a cabinet spokesman said on Thursday.Africa's most industrialized country has earmarked nuclear expansion as a key part of increasing its power generation but the price tag of up to 1 trillion rand ($74 billion) has raised concerns over whether the plan is affordable.(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Joe Brock)
Amnesty accuses Sudan of using chemical weapons in Darfur-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan's government has carried out at least 30 likely chemical weapons attacks in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur since January using what two experts concluded was a probable blister agent, Amnesty International said on Thursday.The rights group estimated that up to 250 people may have died as a result of exposure to the chemical weapons agents.The most recent attack occurred on Sept. 9 and Amnesty said its investigation was based on satellite imagery, more than 200 interviews and expert analysis of images showing injuries."The use of chemical weapons is a war crime. The evidence we have gathered is credible and portrays a regime that is intent on directing attacks against the civilian population in Darfur without any fear of international retribution," said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's director of Crisis Research.Sudanese U.N. Ambassador Omer Dahab Fadl Mohamed said in a statement that the Amnesty report was "utterly unfounded" and that Sudan does not possess any type of chemical weapons."The allegations of use of chemical weapons by Sudanese Armed Forces is baseless and fabricated. The ultimate objective of such wild accusation, is to steer confusion in the on-going processes aimed at deepening peace and stability and enhancing economic development and social cohesion in Sudan," he said.Amnesty said it had presented its findings to two independent chemical weapons experts."Both concluded that the evidence strongly suggested exposure to vesicants, or blister agents, such as the chemical warfare agents sulfur mustard, lewisite or nitrogen mustard," Amnesty said in a statement.Sudan joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1999 under which members agree to never use toxic arms.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, which oversees adherence to the treaty, said in a reaction it would examine the Amnesty report "and all other available relevant information."The organization's executive council is due to meet Oct. 11-14.A joint African Union-United Nations force, known as UNAMID, has been stationed in Darfur since 2007. Security remains fragile in Darfur, where mainly non-Arab tribes have been fighting the Arab-led government in Khartoum, and the government is struggling to control rural areas.Some 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the conflict began in 2003, the U.N. says, while 4.4 million people need aid and over 2.5 million have been displaced.The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 on charges of war crimes and genocide in his drive to crush the Darfur revolt.(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Tom Brown)
Why Obama refuses to say 'radical Islamic terrorism'-[Christian Science Monitor]-Ellen Powell-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
What’s in a phrase? When it comes to terrorism, more than you think, says President Obama.In a town hall at Fort Lee, Va., on Wednesday, the president was asked about his choice not to use the phrase “Islamic terrorist” to describe ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. Gold Star mother Tina Houchins wanted to know why Obama wouldn’t use the term, if he believed that terrorist groups themselves considered their activities grounded in Islam.The decision to use the term – or not – has gained in political significance over the course of the 2016 election campaign. Donald Trump and other Republicans have said avoiding the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism” is equivalent to avoiding the problem. Yet neither Obama or former president George W. Bush has used the term, describing it as counterproductive to efforts to combat terrorist groups.“When you start calling these organizations Islamic terrorists, the way it’s heard, the way it’s received by our friends and allies around the world is that somehow Islam is terroristic. And that then makes them feel as if they’re under attack. In some cases, it makes it harder for us to get their cooperation in fighting terrorism,” Obama told the town hall meeting on Wednesday.Avoiding the term “radical Islam” has therefore been US policy for more than a decade. Elliot Abrams, deputy National Security Advisor under President Bush, told Bloomberg, “We were invading two Muslim countries, and we were being accused of being at war with Islam. So the administration wanted to make it very clear that we are not at war with Islam and every Muslim in the world.”That attitude is clear in the way both Mr. Bush and Obama have described terrorist groups and their relation to Islam as a religion. On Wednesday Obama said terrorists have “tried to claim the mantle of Islam for an excuse,” while Bush described them as having “hijacked a great religion.”That distinction, they say, prevents sowing dissent among Muslims and recognizes the contribution of Muslims in America and around the world to a more peaceful society. Obama explained that he wants to “make sure that we do not lump these murderers into the billion Muslims [around the world] who are peaceful, who are responsible, who in this country, are our fellow troops and police officers and firefighters and teachers and neighbors and friends.”But others have expressed concern that by refusing to describe the actions of Al Qaeda and ISIS as “radical Islamic terrorism,” the US risks misunderstanding what's fueling terrorism and being unable to effectively combat it. Some Republicans suggest that using the term would make Americans safer.Mr. Trump has been outspoken in calling for use of the term. At a campaign rally this spring, he told his supporters, “Unless you’re going to talk about it, you’re not going to solve [the problem].” Following the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, he suggested that Obama should resign if he was not willing to describe the attack as ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’“I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack,” he said in a statement. “We can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.”The terrorism fight would probably not be more successful if it was framed as “radical Islamism,” according to Daniel Serwer, director of the Conflict Management Program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He told CNN that the label could alienate moderate Muslims and hinder coordination efforts.“Anything that stands in the way of Muslims joining the fight against ISIS is not a good thing,” he added.Though she has in the past expressed concern about the term, Hillary Clinton told CNN’s New Day in June that actions are ultimately more important than words.“From my perspective, it matters what we do more than what we say. And it mattered we got bin Laden, not what name we called him…Whether you call it radical jihadism or radical Islamism, I’m happy to say either. I think they mean the same thing.”
Egypt court suspends annulment of Red Sea island deal with Saudi Arabia-[Reuters]-September 29, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Court of Urgent Matters has ordered the suspension of an earlier court ruling that annulled a deal to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, judicial sources said on Thursday.Egypt announced in April a maritime border accord with Saudi Arabia, which could see it lose control of two Red Sea islands. The accord caused a public uproar and rare protests by Egyptians, many of whom said they were taught at school that Tiran and Sanafir were Egyptian.An administrative court voided the accord in June after a lawsuit was filed against it, saying Egyptian sovereignty over the islands held and could not be given up.Egyptian authorities lodged a formal appeal with the Higher Administrative Court, part of the Council of State, a high-level judicial body that gives legal advice to the government, drafts laws and oversees legal cases involving public entities.That appeal is still pending.The Court of Urgent Matters ruled on Thursday on a separate appeal filed by Ashraf Farahat, a lawyer. But legal experts dismissed that court's ruling, saying it was not qualified to pronounce on matters related to public administration."This verdict is unconstitutional and void. If the government were to refer the treaty to parliament for ratification based on this verdict then it is announcing to everyone that it does not care about the constitution," constitutional expert Mohamed Nour Farahat said.The Court of Urgent Matters' original brief was to tackle cases that needed quick resolution but risked getting bogged down for long periods in the regular court system.But since the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, the court has taken on a more prominent role, ruling on cases involving bans or restrictions of political parties and other such sensitive matters.Tiran and Sanafir islands are situated between Saudi Arabia and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the narrow entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba leading to Jordan and Israel.Saudi and Egyptian officials say they belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them. Ali said Cairo's sovereignty over the islands dated to a 1906 treaty, before Saudi Arabia was founded.The maritime border accord was announced during a visit to Cairo by the Saudi king that coincided with the signing of aid deals, and this created the impression among many that the islands were sold. Egyptian authorities denied this."The (Court of Urgent Matters) has usurped the authority of the Council of State," said Khaled Ali, a lawyer who filed the June lawsuit to annul the maritime deal. He said he would announce legal steps to block the new decision on Saturday.(Reporting by Haitham Ahmed, Ahmed Aboulenein and Lin Noueihed; writing by Asma Alsharif; editing by Mark Heinrich)
As Islamic State loses ground, risk in U.S. rises: FBI official-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - The United States is likely to face a higher risk of Islamic State-inspired attacks over the next two years as the group loses land in the Middle East, a top official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday."I'm fairly convinced that 2017 and 2018 in the homeland will be more dangerous than we've seen before, because as we shrink ISIS, they'll lash out," Michael Steinbach, executive assistant director of the FBI's national security branch, told a security conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Islamic State proclaimed a caliphate over parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but has lost a significant amount of territory since then to U.S.-backed offensives, though it still controls oil wells on Syrian land.Steinbach was quick to say that the fact that additional attacks might be planned did not mean they would be successful. He noted that U.S. security officials disrupted some 70 Islamic State-inspired planned attacks in 2015 alone.The U.S. has seen a spate of attacks inspired by the militant group, which has been fighting a long civil war in Syria. They include the June massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub and the killing of 14 people at a San Bernardino, California, social services agency last December.Steinbach also noted that militant attacks remain rare in the United States, saying that 19 people were killed in the United States and 21 Americans killed overseas in attacks considered terrorism in 2015."There is no expectation that we will stop every homicide here in Boston or Chicago," he said. "For some reason, with terrorism, there is an expectation, a bar that is set at zero and every single attack that goes through is considered a failure."(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Mother, brother of NYC bomb suspect held in Afghanistan: report-[Reuters]-September 28, 2016-YAHOONEWS
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mother and a brother of New York City bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami have been detained in Afghanistan after trying to return to the United States and being taken off a flight, the suspect's father told ABC News.The father, Mohammad Rahami, said in an interview published on ABC's website on Wednesday that his wife, Najiba, and another of his sons, Qassim, were in Dubai when they were pulled from a flight and questioned for 16 hours by authorities there.Authorities then sent them to Kabul, he said."Why send my son back to Afghanistan? He is a U.S. citizen. You have any questions? Bring him home, [don't] send him to a different country," Mohammad Rahami said of Qassim.Reuters could not immediately confirm that the two were being held.Ahmad Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, emigrated from Afghanistan with his family at the age of 7. They settled in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and opened a fried chicken restaurant.Rahami faces federal charges in the bombing this month that injured 31 people in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, and in connection with explosives found at locations in New Jersey. No one was killed in the blasts.Rahami has been held in a Newark, New Jersey, hospital since his arrest last week with wounds after a shootout with police.Investigators have probed Rahami's history of travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was motivated by militant Islamist views, prosecutors say, citing a journal he carried when he was captured in which he begged for martyrdom and expressed outrage at what he called the U.S. slaughter of Muslim fighters.The American Civil Liberties Union said on Monday it will temporarily provide legal counsel to Rahami, as concern grew over his lack of access to a lawyer. Authorities say Rahami is not physically able to appear in court, and he has not.(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Charlotte shooting victim's wife said he threatened family: court papers-[Reuters]-By Colleen Jenkins-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - Less than a year before Keith Scott was shot and killed by a police officer in Charlotte, North Carolina, his wife said in court papers that he had called himself a "killer" and threatened to kill his family with his gun.Rakeyia Scott sought a domestic violence protective order against her husband on Oct. 5, 2015, in Gaston County, North Carolina, according to a copy of the document posted online by Time Warner Cable News on Tuesday.She said in a motion for the order of protection that days earlier the father of seven had hit their 8-year-old son in the head and kicked her. On Oct. 4, he threatened to kill them, she said."He said he is a 'killer' and we should know that," she said in court documents. In those documents, she said that Keith Scott worked as a security officer at a local mall and carried a 9 mm handgun.Charlotte police have said that Scott, 43, was armed on Sept. 20 when he was fatally shot by an officer. The incident sparked a week of sometimes violent protests and made North Carolina's largest city the latest flashpoint in the controversy over U.S. police killings of black men.Rakeyia Scott has said that her husband did not have a weapon at the time, and videos from her and police were inconclusive about whether he was holding anything. State police are investigating the incident.Revelations about Keith Scott's past mean little in determining whether the police shooting was justified, Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for the family, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday."What matters is what happened in those moments leading up to the trigger being pulled," Bamberg said. "Mr. Scott was non-aggressive, had his hands by his side, appeared confused and, at the moment he was shot and killed, he was walking backwards. That's what matters."Court documents showed that Scott's wife filed a notice of voluntary dismissal for the protective order against her husband on Oct. 16, 2015, saying he was no longer a threat to her or her family.According to state records and media reports, Keith Scott had a criminal record in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, where he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2005.Relatives have described him as a family man and a good person. Bamberg said that after Scott was badly hurt in a motorcycle accident in November 2015, his wife of 20 years nursed him back to health."At the time that the shooting incident occurred, he was required to take numerous medications daily for both pain as well as cognitive ability," Bamberg said. "His medication did affect him mentally."(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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