Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Syria's war halves wheat harvest, erodes state share
Civil war in Syria has cut the wheat harvest to its worst level in nearly three decades and the government's share of the crop is being further eroded as it struggles to procure grain from rebel-held farming areas.  

US House votes to continue NSA's phone surveillance
The US House of Representatives has narrowly voted to continue collecting data on US phone calls, in the first legislative move on the programme. In a 205-217 vote, lawmakers rejected an effort to restrict the National Security Agency's (NSA) ability to collect electronic information. The NSA's chief had lobbied strongly against the proposed measure.  

Germany stalls Greek bailout money
Germany is stalling the payment of a €2.5 billion bailout tranche to Greece, pending further job cuts in the public sector. The tranche was supposed to have been paid earlier this month, but Athens will likely have to wait another week untill all 22 "prior actions" are met and the Bundestag gives its blessing.  

Silvan Shalom: Peace talks to resume next week in Washington
Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom said on Thursday that US-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians could begin next week, though neither side has formally given any such date. Spokesmen for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had no immediate comment.  

Egypt imposes toughest Gaza restrictions in years
Egypt's new government has imposed the toughest border restrictions on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in years, sealing smuggling tunnels, blocking most passenger traffic and causing millions of dollars in economic losses.  

Pope Francis attacks drug legalisation in Latin America
Pope Francis has criticised drug legalisation plans in Latin America during the inauguration of a clinic for drug addicts in Rio de Janeiro. The roots of drug abuse should be tackled, he said on the third day of his visit to Brazil. Uruguay is close to allowing the legal sale of marijuana, with other countries pondering similar liberalisation  

CDC: More than 275 have unidentified stomach bug
Federal health authorities say more than 275 people in seven states have now been sickened with an unidentified stomach bug. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the infection has been reported in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Connecticut and New Jersey. Most of the illnesses occurred from mid-June to early July. The CDC says it isn't clear whether the cases are all linked.  

The North Pole Has Melted. Again.
In what has now become an annual occurrence, the North Pole's ice has melted, turning the Earth's most northern point into a lake. Call it Lake North Pole. To be clear, the water surrounding the pole is not seawater seeping up from the ocean but melted ice water resting on top of a thinning layer of ice below the surface. "It’s a shallow lake. It’s a cold lake. But it is, actually, a lake," writes William Wolfe-Wylie of Canada.com.  

Family rescued by Zimmerman fears link to 'Good Samaritan': lawyer
The family rescued from a car accident by George Zimmerman, days after he was cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, canceled plans to thank him publicly because they fear being linked to someone reviled by many Americans, Zimmerman's lawyer said on Wednesday.  

Spanish Pension Raids Spell Bad News for Bond Sales: Euro Credit
Spain’s Treasury may find one of its best customers less eager to buy its bonds as budget woes lead Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to raid a government piggy-bank for a second year. Created in 2000 to guarantee pension payments in times of hardship, the 59.3 billion-euro ($78 billion) Fondo de Reserva was tapped for the first time in December for 7 billion euros to fund Christmas bonuses and a monthly increase for retirees. Further withdrawals will have taken an additional 4.5 billion euros by the end of this month, helping to pay for pensioners’ summer bonuses and tax refunds.  

Israel: Newest Home Front Command Battalion Drills Worst - Case Scenarios
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsJpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The latest Home Front Command battalion to be formed is drilling intensely for worst-case scenarios, including chemical missile attacks and conventional projectile strikes, its commander told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

Lt.-Col. Dror Shaul, who commands the Tavor Battalion – the fourth Home Front Command battalion of its kind – said a chemical missile strike exercise had been completed in Ashkelon in recent weeks.

The battalion is preparing for a drill in the coming weeks that will see its members deal with a conventional missile strike before being called suddenly to a chemical incident, in an effort to simulate a war with extreme and unforeseen developments.

While the risk of rockets and missiles carrying conventional warheads being fired by terrorists remains a constant, the chances of an unconventional attack are far lower, according to security evaluations.

On ordinary days, when the battalion is not drilling for extreme scenarios, it takes part in security missions in the West Bank.

“We’re fully set up and operational,” Shaul said. “Our mission is to save lives in emergencies.

We practice rescuing trapped victims from scenes of destruction caused by war or terrorism.

Our scenarios involve homes struck by projectiles, like the Rishon Lezion apartment building hit during Operation Pillar of Defense [in November 2012],” Shaul added, referring to an incident involving a medium-range rocket causing considerable damage to a residential structure.

Iranian Christians Continue to Face Arrest, Imprisonment
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsWorld Watch Monitor
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Ebrahim Firouzi, 28, charged with “promoting Christian Zionism, attempting to launch a Christian website, contact with suspicious foreigners and running online church service”.

Mohabat News

The steady flow of Iranian Christians facing arrest and imprisonment on spurious charges continues.

In Shiraz, famous for its cultural significance to Iranians as the home of Persepolis (the ancient “city of the Persians”) and the poet Hafez’s tomb, eight Christians were jailed last week (July 16) for “action against national security” and “propaganda against the system”.

Mohammad Roghangir, Massoud Rezaie, Mehdi Ameruni, Bijan Farokhpour Haghighi, Shahin Lahooti, Suroush Saraie, Eskandar Rezaie and Roxana Forughi were sentenced to between one and six years in prison. They were arrested in October last year – seven of them picked up from the same prayer meeting.

Earlier this month near the capital, Tehran, 28-year-old Christian convert Ebrahim Firouzi was charged with “promoting Christian Zionism”.

Firouzi was arrested in March while at work and released on bail in May. At his trial at the Revolutionary Court in his hometown of Robat Karim, just to the south-west of the capital, he was also charged with “attempting to launch a Christian website, contact with suspicious foreigners and running online church services”.

He rejected the charges, saying the allegations were fabricated by security authorities and interrogators, reports Mohabat News. The trial continues.

In June, another Christian convert, Mostafa Bordbar, 27, was charged with “illegal gathering and participating in a house church”.

Bordbar was arrested in December last year during Christmas celebrations with friends. If found guilty, his lawyer Shima Qousheh said he can expect a prison sentence of between two and ten years.

Bordbar was arrested for apostasy five years ago in his hometown of Rasht. The charge remains on his record. At the time he was forced to pay substantial sums of money for bail – a recurring theme for many of the Christians brought to trial in Iran.

Experts Raise Fears of Antibiotic - Resistant Superbugs Spread Through Food Supply
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsABC
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Medical experts have raised fears of a new strain of antibiotic-resistant superbug spread through food and even drinking water.

The British chief medical officer has described the superbug threat as ranking with terrorism or global warming.

Australia’s chief scientist this month warned antibiotic resistance could mean an end to modern medicine as we know it.

Professor Lindsay Grayson, who heads up the infectious diseases unit at Melbourne’s Austin Hospital, says there is an urgent need to look at superbugs in the food supply.

“The problem with superbugs is like a bushfire. It’s running,” Professor Graham told 7.30.

“And of course we need new fire trucks and new helicopters and all that sort of stuff, but they’re going to take years.

“We’ve got to put in the containment lines to stop this.”

He says food coming in from overseas is of primary concern.

“A shipment of prawns from Vietnam was blocked because it had high levels of antibiotic residues in the prawns,” he said.

“Well, if I was to give you a script for that antibiotic that was in those prawns, I’d have to call Canberra for permission.”

A recent Senate inquiry found that seafood imported largely from southeast Asia was failing antibiotic tests.

In a test of 341 tonnes of seafood from Vietnam, 5 per cent – or 17 tonnes – were found to have antibiotic residue.

Editors Note.....This seems to be a tribulation period scenario.

Defying U.S. Warnings of Civil War, Egyptian Military to Crack Down on Armed Protest
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

When the Obama administration warned Gen. El-Sisi that his actions could generate bloodshed leading to an outbreak of civil war, the Egyptian leader replied that military inaction was the more dangerous course, because terrorism and live fire in protest demonstrations must be controlled forthwith before they too degenerated into civil warfare.
After failing to win the Egyptian defense minister around to its view, Washington announced it was suspending the delivery to the Egyptian air force of four American F-16 fighter planes, as a mark of the administration’s displeasure with the military leader’s approach. He showed no signs of being put off his plans.
Wednesday, July 24, after a week of surging opposition violence and attacks on Egyptian military positions in Sinai, Gen. El-Sisi’s turned to the Egyptian people in a television speech: "I urge the people to take to the streets this coming Friday to prove their will and give me, the army and police a mandate to confront possible violence and terrorism."

In the past week, debkafile's military sources report, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood protesters continued to fill the streets of Egypt’s main cities, demonstrating against the interim government and the military and demanding the reinstatement of ousted president Mohammed Morsi. Some groups have begun closing off entire city blocks, declaring them independently-ruled entities. These enclaves have been fortified with sandbag barriers and sentries posted to check the documents of people going in and out. Entry is barred to those suspected of collaborating with the army and security forces.
Large photos of Morsi are draped over buildings along with banners of injunctions to obey no authority other than that of the elected president.
The generals fear that these “independent closed enclaves” could become the nuclei of a full-scale revolt which if not curbed in time could run out of control.
They are increasingly concerned by the spreading use of firearms by Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators against their opponents in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Port Said and Ismailia.
An outright terrorist incident seen as an ill omen of Iraq-style tactics to come occurred in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, 45 kilometers north of Cairo, Wednesday, when a bomb tossed from a passing car killed one person and injured seventeen. The Egyptian general staff believes that terrorist tactics may be filtering into the cities from Sinai.
debkafile's sources say that El-Sisi's call for a mass demonstration of government supporters on Friday portends their first large-scale clash with Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators who will no doubt turn out in force. The army and police would intervene only after the confrontation begins. This tactic carries a high risk of becoming the match which ignite civil war in Egypt.
In Sinai, the Muslim Brotherhood is activating the machinery for an armed uprising in collusion with Salafits linked to al Qaeda and the Palestinian Hamas by means of escalating attacks on Egyptian military and security targets.

In a meeting on Thursday July 25 at the Egyptian General Staff headquarters, Gen. Ahmed Wasfi, commander of the Second Army, and Gen. Osama Askar, commander of the Third Army, who are leading counter-terror operations in Sinai and against the Gaza Strip, reported that they expect to report the success of their campaign by the middle of next week.
debkafile's military sources cannot confirm that the Egyptian military campaign has made any advances in the field.

CA Set to Release 10k Moderate to High - Risk Inmates
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsBreitbart
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

California is all set to release up to 9,600 more prison inmates into society, most of them moderate-to-high-risk criminals, under the terms of a 2008 Supreme Court ruling suggesting that overcrowding was violating inmates’ Constitutional rights. The state of California has been forced to release inmates until it reaches 137% of capacity, even though Governor Jerry Brown has stated in the past that the state needs no new prisons. In January, Brown explained, “I don’t think that’s smart, and I don’t think the law requires it, and moreover, management of a prison is quintessentially an executive function.”

Brown is now appealing the Supreme Court ruling again, attempting to demonstrate that the state has spent enough money to upgrade care for 119,000 inmates, complying with Justice Anthony Kennedy’s order that prisoners could be retained “if significant progress is made toward remedying the underlying constitutional violations.”

Back to Anti - Israel Stance, Turkey Spurns Compensation Offer
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Amid a resurgence of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic rhetoric, Ankara is refusing to accept Israel’s compensation offer for the families of the nine protesters who died in a clash with Israel troops aboard the Turkish Mavi Marmara when the ship tried to bust the Gaza blockade in 2010. Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu apologized for the incident when pressed to do so by US President Obama, for the sake of mending ties between two US allies. DEBKAfile: The Erdogan government reneged on its side of the deal. Ankara has now broken off compensation talks to squeeze Israel further. The Turks claim Israel’s offer of extra gratia payment does not entail admission of wrongdoing and besides, Israel must lift the Gaza embargo.

'Secret Obama Plan' Forfeits Temple Mount to Palestinians
Jul 25th, 2013
Daily NewsWND - Aaron Klein
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The Obama administration has quietly presented a plan in which the Palestinian Authority and Jordan will receive sovereignty over the Temple Mount while Israel will retain the land below the Western Wall, according to a senior PA negotiator speaking to WND.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.

The proposed plan is part of the basis for U.S.-brokered talks that are set to resume in Washington next week after Secretary of State John Kerry announced that both Israel and PA President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to open negotiations aimed at creating a Palestinian state.

Israel has not agreed to the U.S. plan over the Temple Mount, with details still open for discussion, stated the PA negotiator.

The negotiator, who is one of the main Palestinian figures leading the Arab side of the talks, further divulged Kerry’s proposed outline for a Palestinian state as presented orally to Israel and the PA.

He said Jordan has been invited to play a key role in the discussions surrounding both the Temple Mount and Jerusalem while it will be the PA, with some Jordanian assistance, that would ultimately receive control of some of those areas.

WND was first to report in 2007 that Jordan had been quietly purchasing real estate surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem hoping to gain more control over the area accessing the holy site, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.

Meanwhile, regarding the rest of Jerusalem, Kerry’s plan is to rehash what is known as the Clinton parameters. That formula, pushed by President Bill Clinton during the Camp David talks in 2000, called for Jewish areas of Jerusalem to remain Israeli while the Palestinians would get sovereignty over neighborhoods that are largely Arab. Most Arab sections are located in eastern Jerusalem.

WND previously reported the Palestinians are building illegally in Jewish-owned areas of Jerusalem, resulting in Arab majorities in some neighborhoods.

For the strategic Jordan Valley, Obama’s proposal calls for international forces to maintain security control along with unarmed Palestinian police forces, the PA negotiator said. Israel will retain security posts in some strategic areas of the Jordan Valley, according to the leaked plan.

When it comes to the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Israel’s main population centers, Israel is expected to evacuate about 90 percent of its Jewish communities currently located in the territory, as outlined in Kerry’s plan.

Israel would retain strategic security posts along with the West Bank’s main blocs, Maale Adumin, Ariel and Gush Etzion. In return, Obama is calling for an exchange of territory with the Palestinians in other locations inside Israel, with discussion being open for the Palestinians to possibly receive land in the Israeli Negev in the country’s south.

The PA negotiator further said Israel rejected a Palestinian request that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree not to place the final peace plan up for referendum in the Knesset.

Indeed, Netanyahu announced today any plan must receive final approval in a national poll.

“I am committed to two objectives that must guide the result … if there will be a result. And if there will be a result, it will be put to a national referendum,” he said at the start of the cabinet meeting.

“Negotiations with the Palestinians will not be easy, but we are entering them with integrity, honesty and hope,” Netanyahu added.

The PA negotiator, meanwhile, said Netanyahu agreed that as a gesture to restart talks, Israel will enact a temporary freeze on all Jewish construction in the West Bank outside the main settlement blocs. According to Israeli sources, such a freeze has largely already been in place for several months now anyway.

The negotiator warned that one of the toughest issues centers on control of water, with Kerry already reaching out to Turkey about the prospect of selling water at a cheaper rate to a future Palestinian state.