LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Israeli democracy isn’t broken, but it is under assault-Minorities are worried, their supporters are besmirched, key hierarchies are undermined, and our most hostile critics are empowered-By David Horovitz-TOI-AUG 16,18
There’s a purportedly reasonable explanation for everything.The detention and questioning of Peter Beinart, when he flew into Israel earlier this week to attend his niece’s bat mitzva, was a mistake — a case of overzealous Shin Bet officers getting carried away. Just like the recent questioning at airports and border crossings of several other Israel-critics, whose challenges to government policy fall well within the parameters of legitimate free speech.The predawn arrival of cops at the Haifa home of Conservative Rabbi Dov Haiyun, to take him to the police station for questioning one day last month, was another regrettable but atypical incident — in which police foolishly heeded instructions from some jumped-up nobody in the local rabbinate who had issues with Haiyun’s officiating at weddings.The controversy over the candidacy of Yair Golan as the next chief of staff, who faces opposition because he has had the temerity to warn of dangerous trends in Israeli society and to assert that soldiers should be prepared to take risks in order to protect Palestinian civilians, is a minor fracas that is unlikely to affect the appointments process. He probably wasn’t going to get the job anyway.The battle over who will helm Israel’s police is nothing to be too concerned about. Even though Roni Alsheich had made it known he wanted to stay on, and even though it doesn’t look terribly good for Benjamin Netanyahu to be replacing the law enforcement chief whose officers are investigating him in a welter of corruption allegations, the prime minister has every right and plenty of precedent not to extend Alsheich’s term for a fourth year.The abrupt abrogation last year of the solemnly negotiated Israel-Diaspora agreement on pluralistic prayer at the Western Wall was an unfortunate consequence of Israeli realpolitik. The prime minister genuinely wanted to implement the deal, but believed he would no longer be prime minister if he did so, since his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners would bring him down.The same goes for attempts to loosen the ultra-Orthodox rabbinate’s iron grip on life-cycle events — its monopoly on the formalities of how one gets born, converted to Judaism, married, divorced and dead in this country. And for efforts to resist ultra-Orthodox pressure for more stringent implementation of laws on Sabbath observance. And for the endlessly thwarted bid to conscript or enforce national service for young ultra-Orthodox Israelis: Unfortunately, all resistance is stymied by the coalition leverage of ultra-Orthodox MKs, an entirely legitimate function of our political system.As for the prime minister’s zigzag on extending surrogacy rights to single-sex couples, here, too, he simply didn’t have the votes he needed.The arithmetic was different for the nation-state law. If a phrase noting Israel’s commitment to full equality for all its citizens had not been excised from the text, support in the Knesset for the legislation, with its overdue definition of Israel as the “national home of the Jewish people,” would have been overwhelming. But the argument was made that provisions for equality are already enshrined in existing legislation, albeit without the actual word “equality,” and notwithstanding the fact that this is the law that defines the very nature of Israel.The justice minister warned of an “earthquake” were the Supreme Court to dare to intervene and strike down the nation-state law. Plainly, such talk was out of line, but the justices, formidable and independent, are unlikely to be deterred — even though the composition of the Supreme Court is gradually changing as the self-same justice minister seeks appointees she thinks are not unsympathetic to her worldview.I could go on, but you get the idea. Taken one at a time, ostensibly acceptable rationalizations can be found for all the crises and controversies I’ve listed. Taken together, the picture is bleak.As those crises and controversies accumulate, the explanations stretch and strain but cannot cover the concern that what we’re witnessing is our democracy under assault from within.There are attempts to intimidate the judiciary. The media is both demonized and compromised. Financial corruption goes untreated and seeps into politics-Israeli democracy isn’t broken. The attorney general will investigate the rash of border detentions. Haifa police likely won’t go round collaring too many non-Orthodox rabbis in the near future.Crowds of Israelis will continue to demonstrate against the nation-state law, against alleged corruption in high places, against economic inequality, against the failure to legislate surrogacy rights for single-sex parent families, against religious coercion. Their concerns may even be heeded; they are guaranteed the opportunity to change their leadership if not.But Israeli democracy is being battered. There are attempts to intimidate the judiciary. The media is both demonized and compromised. Financial corruption goes untreated and seeps into politics.As a result of the abiding ultra-Orthodox monopoly, of the scrapping of the Western Wall deal, and of the government’s evident indifference or worse to the concerns of non-Orthodox religious Jews, millions at home and abroad feel alienated from the “national home of the Jewish people” that the government went to such lengths to declare.As a result of that nation-state law, Israeli minorities worry about their status and their rights, and they and their supporters are besmirched for saying so. Backers of Israel overseas, who play an important role in defending the country against its legions of haters worldwide, find themselves baffled, defensive, even alienated; it gets harder to argue against allegations of discrimination when the Druze community, Israel’s own most loyal minority, is leveling the charge.The prime minister’s rapid about-face on an agreement that he had rightly said represented the “best possible” resolution of the fate of tens of thousands of African migrants, because of mild pressure from a part of his voter base that would not tolerate providing residential status for fewer than 20,000 refuge-seekers, further undermines support and empowers detractors.Key hierarchies are being undermined and corroded, as exemplified by Netanyahu’s allegations of police bias against him. People in positions of power are exercising it without due heed for essential rights and freedoms. Internalizing what is now expected, some, in organizations such as the Shin Bet and police force, are trending to the overzealousness epitomized by the detention of the visiting journalist and the summons of the non-Orthodox rabbi.Uniquely in the Middle East, we in Israel have enjoyed free speech, freedom of religion, a free press, equality before the law, an independent judiciary and more.But in this Israeli summer of 2018, there’s a chill in the air. There’s a danger — and it’s not only from Damascus and Tehran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Jerusalem hostel bans Israel ‘haters’ Jon Stewart, CNN…and ToI-NY Times, Natalie Portman and Bernie Sanders also blacklisted by Heritage House for 'crimes committed against the Jewish people'-By JTA-TOI-15 August 2018
A hostel in Jerusalem’s Old City has published a list of “haters of Israel” who have been banned “because of crimes committed against the Jewish people,” drawing derision and ridicule from those blacklisted.The Jerusalem Heritage House describes itself as an institution that provides “warm and comfortable accommodations for Jewish travelers in the heart of the Old City for a nominal fee.” It boasts of having hosted more than 60,000 guests since 1985.Posted on Twitter by journalist Jacob Kornbluh, the list includes figures such as US comedian Jon Stewart, politician Bernie Sanders, former Obama administration ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, and actress Bette Midler.Also banned are members of the media including the staffs of The Times of Israel, Haaretz, CNN, and The New York Times, as well as the heads of the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement.Apparently there’s a Sonei Yisrael (haters of Israel) list #smh pic.twitter.com/RHOfENAIRE— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) August 14, 2018-Members of the Israeli press corps responded with sarcasm, with the Times of Israel’s Judah Ari Gross tweeting, “Shucks, no Jerusalem Heritage House for me,” and The Jerusalem Post’s Amy Spiro joking that “Bette Midler has been banging on the doors of the Jerusalem Heritage House for hours begging to be let inside.”Shucks, no Jerusalem Heritage House for me https://t.co/cSas6hnh6X-- Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) August 14, 2018-In response, Daniel Sugarman of the Jewish Chronicle tweeted at Spiro to be quiet, jokingly inquiring if she wanted “to get the Jerusalem Post on the list too.”SHHHH DO YOU WANT TO GET THE JERUSALEM POST ON THE LIST TOO-— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) August 14, 2018-Finding that the outlet was listed above other organizations on the list, Times of Israel Deputy Editor Joshua Davidovich sarcastically tweeted, “We’re #8 Wooooh! Suck it, @haaretzcom and @ADL_National.”We're #8 Wooooh! Suck it, @haaretzcom and @ADL_National https://t.co/1J0OQWACa4— Joshua Davidovich (@JMDavido) August 14, 2018
Ottoman-era soap factory unearthed under Uri Geller’s Jaffa museum-Underground chambers, soap making tools found beneath building in ancient port city that will house magician's exhibition-By TOI staff-15 August 2018
Archaeologists have unearthed an Ottoman-era soap factory and a number of large underground vaults in the ancient port city of Jaffa, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.The underground chambers and soap factory, or masbena, were discovered during work on a new museum being opened by Israeli illusionist Uri Geller in Jaffa. Geller said the finds came as electricians rerouted the wiring in the building that will house the museum.“As the work proceeded, I noticed a pile of refuse on one side. I intuited that there was something hidden there,” he said in a statement from the IAA. “To the surprise of the Israel Antiquities Authority inspectors, an exceptional find was revealed: a factory for making soap.”An expert on Jaffa archaeology at the IAA said the soap factory was the second of its kind to be found in the port city, which is now a part of Tel Aviv.“The site was well-preserved and included troughs for mixing raw materials for the soap, a large cauldron, a hearth, water cisterns and underground vaults that were used for storage,” said Dr. Yoav Arbel.“This find allows us to reconstruct the manufacturing process, and to draw comparisons with similar factories where the traditional manufacturing process has been perpetuated to this very day.”Arbel said it was unclear who the factory’s original owner was.Soap production has a long history in what is now Israel and the West Bank, dating back to the 10th century, the IAA noted, with soap becoming an important export during the Ottoman period to elsewhere in the empire. While Nablus was long the center of local soap manufacturing, other cities such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Lod, and Jaffa also had major soap production facilities.Unlike in Europe, where soap was made in part from pig fat, soap produced in the area has an olive oil base, allowing its use by Muslims and Jews.Also found at the factory were tools used for soap making. Geller said they will be put on display at his museum when it opens.Additionally, Geller agreed to a suggestion from former Tel Aviv District archaeologist Moshe Ajami to display in the newly uncovered vaults’ artifacts connected to magic and sorcery, the IAA said, in a nod to Geller’s profession.
Fredericton police release scene of shooting spree, but 'damage' remains-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
FREDERICTON — Residents of the Fredericton apartment complex that was the scene of Friday's deadly shooting spree are being allowed back into their homes, but many are already thinking about moving out.Four people were gunned down at a four-building complex on Brookside Drive in the city's north end.Bobbie Lee Wright and Donnie Robichaud died in the shooting, along with responding officers Const. Robb Costello and Const. Sara Burns of Fredericton police.Joseph Cartwright was at work that morning when he got the call from his girlfriend to say that there was gunfire and she and Cartwright's four-year-old son were scared."I bolted from work. I couldn't get any closer than the Tim Horton's. I could hear the shots and I could see the apartment building but I couldn't get here. As a parent that's probably the worst feeling in the world, knowing there's somebody shooting where your four-year-old son is," Cartwright said Tuesday.They were not in the same building as the shooter, but were only a few metres away. Police were able to get them safely out of harm's way.Cartwright said police kicked in the doors of a number of apartments in order to gain entry, but maintenance staff have since made repairs.Other buildings still bear the scars of the tragedy. A window is smashed out in the third floor apartment where the shooter was located, while another window in that apartment has bullet holes.A third floor apartment in another building on the other side of a small courtyard also has bullet holes through its windows, and one bullet hole in the wall.Cartwright, 30, said he's planning to move out."I can't let my kid and my girlfriend be traumatized every time they come home ... I have to protect my family. That means getting out of here and getting them safe," he said.Calvin Cole and his girlfriend were in a basement apartment in the same building as the shooter when the shots were fired Friday.He said they hid in the apartment and stayed put until police finally came to get them out.Cole said it's something he'll never forget."It's probably going to be on the mind for a while. It's going to be fresh because it's a rare occurrence here in Fredericton. It makes me concerned heavily about my neighbourhood," he said.Cole, 26, said he's on subsidized housing and will move as soon as a new place can be found for him. Another tenant, who didn't want to be identified, said she was in a basement apartment in another building, and just stayed on the floor."The scariest time was when the shooting stopped," she said. "You didn't know when it was going to start again, or where it would be coming from."The Canadian Red Cross is concluding its emergency provision of lodging, meals and other support to residents who were displaced by the shooting.Bill Lawlor, the New Brunswick director for the Red Cross, said residents are being advised to speak to counsellors and others as they return to their apartments."Many of these people, you have to remember, either heard or actually saw this happen. So it was a very traumatic experience for them on that day, and they now have to return to that very same scene," he said.Fredericton police say a regimental funeral "to celebrate the lives of our fallen members" will be held on Saturday at the University of New Brunswick.An obituary for Burns said the 43-year-old mother of three boys fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a police officer three years ago, after more than 14 years as a stay-at-home mom."Not a day would go by when she didn't say aloud, for everyone to hear, 'I love my job,'" the obituary published on the McAdam's Funeral Home and Crematorium website said.Lawlor said the Red Cross gained a lot of experience after the Moncton Mountie shootings in 2014, and assisted the hundreds of police and other first responders who attended the regimental funeral. He says they will do the same this Saturday."We are the second responders in these types of incidents, but we have great respect for the first responder community, so it will be our great privilege to support them during this difficult time," Lawlor said. Wright is remembered as a compassionate person who "loved to assist others" in an obituary published by Carleton Funeral Home and Crematorium in Jacksonville, near Woodstock, N.B."Affectionately known as 'bubbles,' those that had the honour of knowing her well knew this described her perfectly," it said.The obituary said Wright graduated from Canterbury High School in 2003 and from New Brunswick Community College with a diploma in medical office administration in 2008. She had previously worked on a tree farm, catered and worked in an office before embarking on a career as a home support worker.A public visitation was set for Wednesday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., although there will be no funeral service by request.An obituary for Robichaud said he is survived by a wife and three children, and there will be no visitation or funeral, in keeping with his wishes.Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He is set to appear in court on Aug. 27.During a news conference Monday, police Chief Leanne Fitch urged the public to be patient, saying the investigation is "very much active and is focused on finding facts" — a sentiment she repeated in a statement Tuesday evening.Fitch said she was responding to "media criticism" of police being "tight lipped and not providing certain details of the ongoing investigation.""As with any criminal investigation, we cannot make assumptions or let rumours and speculation direct us. We must deal with facts and evidence," Fitch's statement said. "This protects the integrity of the investigation and it protects the upcoming court case."She added that the questions being raised "are the same questions the investigators are seeking answers to.""As your police force, I assure you we are going to get those answers, but we need to do it right. Doing it right means being patient and being thorough so that all investigative possibilities are looked at," she said.Police have said the man accused in one of the deadliest shootings in New Brunswick history had a firearms licence and allegedly used a long gun that can be legally obtained in Canada.Fitch has also confirmed one of the officers who responded to the shooting was wearing a body camera and that the camera evidence was provided to the RCMP.Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press.
U.S. and Mexico to announce joint plan to fight drug cartels-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Mexican authorities are planning on Wednesday to announce a new strategy to combat transnational Mexican drug cartels that will include a crackdown on their finances, a DEA official said.Details of the plan will be made at a joint news conference in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, the official said. The official said representatives from Mexico's current government would be present but did not name them.Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-leaning nationalist, has vowed to shake up Mexico's war on drug cartels after he takes power in December. He wants to rewrite the rules, aides have said, suggesting negotiated peace and amnesties rather than a hardline strategy that critics say has only perpetuated violence.However, a change of direction without the United States could increase friction between the neighbors, who have been often at loggerheads since Donald Trump became U.S. president.Trump has irked Mexico with demands that it pay for a border wall and his comments that it does nothing to slow illegal immigration. He has also pushed to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to favor the United States.But despite difference with the Trump administration on migration and trade issues, officials and security experts in the United States have applauded long-running bilateral efforts to crack down on drug gangs.For the past 12 years, Mexico has fought the violent cartels by deploying thousands of police, soldiers and intelligence officers.Mexico remains the principal highway for cocaine to the United States and has become the top source of heroin, which is fueling a surge in opioid addiction in the United States.(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
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.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
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.
Fears for historic city of Agadez as flooding continues-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
Niamey (AFP) - Authorities in Niger on Wednesday said floods threatened the historic centre of the 15th-century city of Agadez after weeks of heavy rain."We have already triggered an alert warning the population to be prepared and vigilant: flood surges have already carried off an ambulance with two people inside," the city's mayor said.Agadez and its 145,000 residents face the threat of surging waters from Kori-Telwa, a seasonal waterway that can become swiftly supercharged with runoff from the Air Mountains.The old town of Agadez which dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries is classified by UNESCO as being of "outstanding universal value".It includes a well-preserved group of palatial and religious buildings, including a 27-metre (88.5-feet) -high minaret made entirely of mud brick.On Tuesday, two people died when a building housing a mosque and a school collapsed in the city, emergency services said.Floods have already killed 22 people nationwide, destroyed homes and gardens and decimated livestock."The Kori carries a lot of water, it takes everything down in its path, and finds it way to the city," described the local online news site Air Info.The rainy season is currently in full swing in Niger.Despite its short duration of no more than three months, the country has faced recurring floods in recent years in a state where poor harvests are usually caused by drought.
Heavy monsoon rains kill 67 in southern India, close airport-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
NEW DELHI (AP) — Torrential monsoon rains have disrupted air and train services in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where flooding, landslides and bridge collapses have killed at least 67 people in the past week, officials said Wednesday.The international airport at Kochi, a major port city, suspended flight operations until Saturday after rains flooded the runway.Authorities asked tourists to stay away from the popular hill station of Munnar in Idukki district because of flooding. Kerala is a popular tourist destination with scenic landscapes, waterfalls and beautiful beaches.People also have been asked to avoid the Sabarimala hill shrine as the water level in the nearby rain-fed Pampa River was rising. Sabarimala, a Hindu pilgrimage center in the mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta district, attracts around 45 million devotees every year.Krishna Kumar, a relief official, said there will be no immediate respite for thousands of people in state-run relief camps with more rain and winds forecast until Saturday.Heavy rains forced state authorities to release excess water from dozens of reservoirs, causing floods downstream. The flooding has submerged vast areas in 12 out of 14 districts in the state.With another 25 deaths reported across the state on Wednesday, Kerala state officials put the death toll since Aug. 8 at 67, the New Delhi television news channel said.Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The monsoon season runs from June to September.
Flash flood sweeps away 11 picnickers in India-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 11 people were swept away by a flash flood while picnicking at a waterfall in central India on Wednesday, an official said.District Magistrate Shilpi Gupta said seven others were rescued by helicopter, but 30 people remained trapped on rocks in the river in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh state.She said the fate of the 11 missing people was not known.Gupta said the water level in the river rose suddenly because of monsoon rains in the area, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of New Delhi. Nightfall was hampering rescue efforts.Hundreds of people die every year during India's monsoon flood season from June to September.
Lightning storms mass over California, Oregon as wildfires blaze-[Reuters]-By Steve Gorman-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Storm clouds gathered over southern Oregon and northern California early on Wednesday, threatening to spark more wildfires with lightning strikes as emergency crews battled several deadly blazes, forecasters said.The clouds carried little rain and offered little chance of a break from the bone-dry conditions plaguing the region, the National Weather Service said."Initial attack resources could be overwhelmed," it added in a red flag announcement.Elsewhere, crews made slow but steady progress against wildfires including one, called the Mendocino Complex, which has become largest in California's history and killed one firefighter from Utah on Monday.Emergency crews had managed to set up containment lines around almost two thirds the fire which has raged through the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.That fire has scorched 355,000 acres (144,000 hectares) and destroyed 265 structures, it added.To the northeast, firefighters have been able to carve containment lines around 65 percent of the Carr Fire, which has killed three firefighters, four civilians and a utility worker and burned more than 1,500 structures. The Carr Fire has blackening 211,000 acres, Cal Fire said.The heart of Yosemite National Park in California was reopened to the public on Tuesday after it was shut down for nearly three weeks due to the Ferguson Fire, which has caused two deaths. But smoke lingered in the air and a key route to the park's best known landmarks remained closed.The 100,000-acre fire, which is about 150 miles (240 km) east of San Francisco, was 86 percent contained after igniting a month ago, authorities said.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
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)
Police say terror attack thwarted last week in Jerusalem Old City-Suspect from Hebron, who was carrying a knife, first claimed he came to pray, but after days of interrogation admitted he was planning a stabbing attack-By Michael Bachner-TOI-AUG 16,18
Security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City last week arrested a Palestinian man who was planning to carry out a stabbing attack, police said on Wednesday.After keeping the investigation under a gag order for a week, Jerusalem police revealed that the 26-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Hebron was detained by officers on August 8 after they deemed his behavior suspicious.A body search revealed he was holding a knife and a can of tear gas, according to a police statement.The suspect was immediately taken for questioning at a nearby police station, where he claimed he came to Jerusalem to pray, the statement said. But the officers doubted his version and referred him to the district’s central police unit.Police investigators then “carried out several interrogation actions through which they were able to expose the suspect’s real intentions,” the statement added.The suspect was said to have admitted he had traveled from the West Bank illegally to carry out a stabbing attack against Israeli civilians or members of security forces.His remand has been extended until next Monday.“There is no doubt that the suspect’s arrest and the exposure of his intentions prevented an attempt to carry out a terror attack in Jerusalem that could have had terrible results,” police said in a statement.Jerusalem’s Old City, one of the most volatile flashpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been relatively quiet for the past year.But stabbing attacks have continued elsewhere. Last month, a Palestinian terrorist climbed the fence of the Adam settlement in the West Bank and stabbed three people, killing one of them, Yotam Ovadia.
After Facebook, Hamas turns to Instagram to lure IDF soldiers, army says-Military uncovers alleged plot to get troops to download spyware onto their phones, giving the Gaza-based terror group control over their cameras, audio recorders and location data-By Judah Ari Gross, TOI staff and Agencies-AUG 16,18
The Israeli military uncovered a new effort by the Hamas terror group to trick soldiers into downloading spyware applications onto their phones by befriending them on Instagram with accounts purporting to belong to attractive women, the army said Wednesday.The Israel Defense Forces’ information security branch revealed a similar attempt last month by the Gaza-based Hamas that used the Facebook social media site to lure soldiers into installing software onto their phones that would allow the terror group to remotely control it, turning on the device’s cameras and audio recorders.“We can say definitively that Hamas failed in its mission and did not succeed in getting classified information leaked,” said the officer in charge of policy for Military Intelligence’s information security branch, in an interview with the IDF’s website.Last week, a civilian cybersecurity firm also found an attempt by Hamas to hack Israeli civilians’ phones using an app called IsraelAlert, a fake version of the “Code Red” app, which is used to warn people of impending rocket attacks.According to ClearSky Cyber Security, IsraelAlert would have also given Hamas control over the user’s phone, allowing the terror group to take pictures, make calls or transmit location data.However, the firm said that it appeared the malicious app had been discovered at an early stage and had not infected many phones.Operation Broken Heart-The military credited a new campaign, dubbed “Operation Broken Heart,” with foiling Hamas’s new Instagram-based plot. The program consists of a series of informational posters displayed on army bases throughout the country, as well as active efforts to root out attempts by Hamas and other groups to gain access to sensitive military information.“Hamas tried, unsuccessfully, by preserving the connections [with soldiers] it had made in the past or starting new ones with fake identities we hadn’t uncovered yet. Thanks to the heightened awareness that we developed, these efforts were also exposed by soldiers, and that way we thwarted additional false identities,” said the officer, Lt. Col. “Aleph,” who could only be identified by his rank and the first Hebrew letter of his name for security reasons.After discovering the fact that the terror group was attempting to use fake online identities to contact soldiers, the military then worked to find and expose those profiles.According to Aleph, part of the challenge in his unit’s fight against attempts by Hamas to trick soldiers into befriending them is the strong desire by Instagram users to gain more followers, which can lead them to abandon common sense.“This is a network that has a sharing culture that is getting more intense, all around pictures and sharing and ‘look at me,'” he said.“The popularity and the need for followers increases the risk, and therefore we need to follow the rules — not allowing people we don’t know to follow us, being wary of links sent to your private mailbox,” he said.In January 2017, the IDF revealed that it had discovered some of the first efforts by Hamas to “catfish” soldiers — to pretend to be attractive women in order to get soldiers to reveal classified information and download spyware software, in a project known as “Operation Hunters’ Battle.”According to the military, the terror group had adopted new, more sophisticated tactics in the intervening year and a half.For instance, the custom-built spyware software was uploaded to the Google Store, to make it seem legitimate, whereas in the past it was only available as a downloadable link, which would be more likely to raise suspicions.Once one of the apps was on the recipient’s phone, the phone could be taken over to covertly take and send photographs, eavesdrop on conversations, copy stored files and pictures, and transmit location details — all of which would greatly contribute to an enemy’s knowledge of IDF operations.In most cases, the IDF said, soldiers did not download the apps and they often informed their superiors of their suspicions.Google has since deleted the apps that are known to have contained spyware from its store.Though the military had long warned soldiers that their social media accounts could be exploited by terror groups and enemy states, last year’s discovery spurred the IDF’s information security branch to step up its efforts and to specifically alert troops to the dangers of downloading strange applications to their phones.“I want to make it clear to soldiers that even if Hamas adds more applications and tries different platforms, the moment that they recognize there is a problem, they won’t be affected by it,” Aleph said.“Soldiers need to ask themselves a number of questions: Why did they contact me? Why is someone who appears to have romantic or friendly feelings toward me asking me questions about the military or if I want to download an app? And most of all, why should I give permission to a stranger who asked me to install something?” he added.In the Facebook-based plot uncovered last month, some 100 soldiers were duped into doing downloading spyware via a World Cup app and two online dating sites, the IDF said at the time, though then too the army insisted no damage had been done to Israeli security.“No damage was done, as we stopped it in time,” an officer involved in Operation Broken Heart said.Attackers used stolen identities to create convincing fake Facebook profiles of young Israelis, written in fluent Hebrew studded with current slang. They then initiated flirtatious exchanges with their targets from Israeli mobile numbers — the military said those operating the accounts were not necessarily based in Gaza — before encouraging them to download the apps.“What Hamas is bringing to the table is a very good knowledge of our young people and their state of mind,” another IDF officer said.Asked how he could be sure Hamas was behind the online offensive, he declined to say but insisted there was no doubt.
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian man who filmed IDF troops, citing ‘incitement’-Palestinian media identifies individual as reporter for PA-run Palestine TV-By Adam Rasgon-TOI-AUG 16,18
Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian man early Wednesday morning in a West Bank village north of Ramallah for inciting violence against Israeli soldiers “in videos he published of them while they were operating,” an IDF spokesperson said without naming the man.The official PA news site Wafa reported that the man was a journalist, identifying him as Ali Dar Ali, a reporter for the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV. The IDF spokesperson did not mention that the detained individual was a journalist.Dar Ali livestreamed two videos on Facebook early Tuesday morning of Israeli security forces operating in the Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.According to the IDF, the home of Yousef Abu Hamid, a Palestinian who was arrested on suspicion of killing IDF soldier Ronen Lubarsky earlier this year by dropping a stone slab on his head, was mapped in al-Amari on Tuesday morning. The army typically maps homes in advance of demolishing them.In the two videos Dar Ali published, he does not explicitly make calls for violence against the IDF.The IDF spokesperson declined to identify the person who was detained, saying only that he had “systematically” posted videos of troops during operations.Ahmad Assaf, a PA official in charge of overseeing Palestine TV, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.Israeli forces also arrested 14 other Palestinians who were suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, rock-throwing and taking part in violent riots against Israeli security forces, according to the IDF.
Scores killed in Kabul blast as Afghanistan reels from attacks-[Reuters]-By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Sayed Hassib-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide blast in a mainly Shi'ite area of Kabul killed at least 48 people on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians, soldiers and policemen over recent days.The explosion, targeting an educational center in the west of the Afghan capital, tore through a large tent set up as a classroom in the courtyard, killing dozens of teenagers studying for a university entrance examination. The blast, which shattered weeks of relative calm in Kabul, also wounded at least 67, including both male and female students."Most of the boys at the educational center have been killed," said Sayed Ali, who witnessed the blast. "It was horrific and many of the students were torn to pieces."Doctors at city hospitals, where people had gathered to try to find relatives who had been studying at the center, said many of the victims were severely burned."My brother was studying at the center and he was killed. I'm here to get his body," said Abdul Khaliq, waiting outside the Isteqlal hospital.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Kabul blast but the attack bore the hallmark of Islamic State, which has conducted many previous attacks on Shi'ite targets. The Taliban issued a statement denying it was involved.The explosion, which came as the central city of Ghazni struggles to recover from five days of intense fighting between the Taliban and government forces, underlined how badly security in Afghanistan has degenerated, some two months before parliamentary elections scheduled for October.Earlier on Wednesday, local officials said at least nine policemen and 35 soldiers were killed in an attack on their base in the northern province of Baghlan, the latest of a series that has killed dozens of members of the security forces nationwide.The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan called for the fighting to stop, saying up to 150 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Ghazni, where the public hospital was overwhelmed and water and electricity supplies cut."The extreme human suffering caused by the fighting in Ghazni highlights the urgent need for the war in Afghanistan to end," the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said in a statement.TALIBAN PULLBACK-The Taliban, who launched their Ghazni assault last Friday and battled Afghan forces backed by U.S. air strikes in the middle of the city for days, said their fighters had been pulled out to prevent further harm to the city's population."They were facing severe shortages of food and drinking water as the power supply was also suspended two days ago," a Taliban commander, who declined to be identified, said by telephone.The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was providing dressing packages and oral and intravenous medicine to treat the wounded, along with electricity generators and fresh water for about 18,000 people.The Ghazni attack, one of the Taliban's most devastating in years, has clouded hopes for peace talks that had been prompted by an unprecedented ceasefire during the Eid celebration in June and a meeting last month between Taliban officials and a senior U.S. diplomat.Two senior Taliban leaders told Reuters this week the group was considering announcing a ceasefire for the feast of Eid-al Adha, which begins next week, but the future of any peace process remained uncertain.With parliamentary elections due on Oct. 20, authorities had been bracing for more attacks in Kabul and other cities, but even so, the scale of the violence has come as a shock to a government facing bitter criticism over its handling of the war.In the southern province of Zabul, Taliban insurgents clashed with soldiers on Tuesday, forcing the government to send reinforcements from neighboring provinces to retain control of two checkposts.The clashes killed 11 soldiers and one policeman, with three soldiers wounded, said Haji Atta Jan Haqbayan, a Zabul provincial council member.Separately, six girls younger than 10 were killed when an unexploded mortar they picked up to play with suddenly exploded on Wednesday, officials in the eastern province of Laghman said.(Additonal reporting by Jibran Ahmad, in PESHAWAR; Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones)
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE
Israeli democracy isn’t broken, but it is under assault-Minorities are worried, their supporters are besmirched, key hierarchies are undermined, and our most hostile critics are empowered-By David Horovitz-TOI-AUG 16,18
There’s a purportedly reasonable explanation for everything.The detention and questioning of Peter Beinart, when he flew into Israel earlier this week to attend his niece’s bat mitzva, was a mistake — a case of overzealous Shin Bet officers getting carried away. Just like the recent questioning at airports and border crossings of several other Israel-critics, whose challenges to government policy fall well within the parameters of legitimate free speech.The predawn arrival of cops at the Haifa home of Conservative Rabbi Dov Haiyun, to take him to the police station for questioning one day last month, was another regrettable but atypical incident — in which police foolishly heeded instructions from some jumped-up nobody in the local rabbinate who had issues with Haiyun’s officiating at weddings.The controversy over the candidacy of Yair Golan as the next chief of staff, who faces opposition because he has had the temerity to warn of dangerous trends in Israeli society and to assert that soldiers should be prepared to take risks in order to protect Palestinian civilians, is a minor fracas that is unlikely to affect the appointments process. He probably wasn’t going to get the job anyway.The battle over who will helm Israel’s police is nothing to be too concerned about. Even though Roni Alsheich had made it known he wanted to stay on, and even though it doesn’t look terribly good for Benjamin Netanyahu to be replacing the law enforcement chief whose officers are investigating him in a welter of corruption allegations, the prime minister has every right and plenty of precedent not to extend Alsheich’s term for a fourth year.The abrupt abrogation last year of the solemnly negotiated Israel-Diaspora agreement on pluralistic prayer at the Western Wall was an unfortunate consequence of Israeli realpolitik. The prime minister genuinely wanted to implement the deal, but believed he would no longer be prime minister if he did so, since his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners would bring him down.The same goes for attempts to loosen the ultra-Orthodox rabbinate’s iron grip on life-cycle events — its monopoly on the formalities of how one gets born, converted to Judaism, married, divorced and dead in this country. And for efforts to resist ultra-Orthodox pressure for more stringent implementation of laws on Sabbath observance. And for the endlessly thwarted bid to conscript or enforce national service for young ultra-Orthodox Israelis: Unfortunately, all resistance is stymied by the coalition leverage of ultra-Orthodox MKs, an entirely legitimate function of our political system.As for the prime minister’s zigzag on extending surrogacy rights to single-sex couples, here, too, he simply didn’t have the votes he needed.The arithmetic was different for the nation-state law. If a phrase noting Israel’s commitment to full equality for all its citizens had not been excised from the text, support in the Knesset for the legislation, with its overdue definition of Israel as the “national home of the Jewish people,” would have been overwhelming. But the argument was made that provisions for equality are already enshrined in existing legislation, albeit without the actual word “equality,” and notwithstanding the fact that this is the law that defines the very nature of Israel.The justice minister warned of an “earthquake” were the Supreme Court to dare to intervene and strike down the nation-state law. Plainly, such talk was out of line, but the justices, formidable and independent, are unlikely to be deterred — even though the composition of the Supreme Court is gradually changing as the self-same justice minister seeks appointees she thinks are not unsympathetic to her worldview.I could go on, but you get the idea. Taken one at a time, ostensibly acceptable rationalizations can be found for all the crises and controversies I’ve listed. Taken together, the picture is bleak.As those crises and controversies accumulate, the explanations stretch and strain but cannot cover the concern that what we’re witnessing is our democracy under assault from within.There are attempts to intimidate the judiciary. The media is both demonized and compromised. Financial corruption goes untreated and seeps into politics-Israeli democracy isn’t broken. The attorney general will investigate the rash of border detentions. Haifa police likely won’t go round collaring too many non-Orthodox rabbis in the near future.Crowds of Israelis will continue to demonstrate against the nation-state law, against alleged corruption in high places, against economic inequality, against the failure to legislate surrogacy rights for single-sex parent families, against religious coercion. Their concerns may even be heeded; they are guaranteed the opportunity to change their leadership if not.But Israeli democracy is being battered. There are attempts to intimidate the judiciary. The media is both demonized and compromised. Financial corruption goes untreated and seeps into politics.As a result of the abiding ultra-Orthodox monopoly, of the scrapping of the Western Wall deal, and of the government’s evident indifference or worse to the concerns of non-Orthodox religious Jews, millions at home and abroad feel alienated from the “national home of the Jewish people” that the government went to such lengths to declare.As a result of that nation-state law, Israeli minorities worry about their status and their rights, and they and their supporters are besmirched for saying so. Backers of Israel overseas, who play an important role in defending the country against its legions of haters worldwide, find themselves baffled, defensive, even alienated; it gets harder to argue against allegations of discrimination when the Druze community, Israel’s own most loyal minority, is leveling the charge.The prime minister’s rapid about-face on an agreement that he had rightly said represented the “best possible” resolution of the fate of tens of thousands of African migrants, because of mild pressure from a part of his voter base that would not tolerate providing residential status for fewer than 20,000 refuge-seekers, further undermines support and empowers detractors.Key hierarchies are being undermined and corroded, as exemplified by Netanyahu’s allegations of police bias against him. People in positions of power are exercising it without due heed for essential rights and freedoms. Internalizing what is now expected, some, in organizations such as the Shin Bet and police force, are trending to the overzealousness epitomized by the detention of the visiting journalist and the summons of the non-Orthodox rabbi.Uniquely in the Middle East, we in Israel have enjoyed free speech, freedom of religion, a free press, equality before the law, an independent judiciary and more.But in this Israeli summer of 2018, there’s a chill in the air. There’s a danger — and it’s not only from Damascus and Tehran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
Jerusalem hostel bans Israel ‘haters’ Jon Stewart, CNN…and ToI-NY Times, Natalie Portman and Bernie Sanders also blacklisted by Heritage House for 'crimes committed against the Jewish people'-By JTA-TOI-15 August 2018
A hostel in Jerusalem’s Old City has published a list of “haters of Israel” who have been banned “because of crimes committed against the Jewish people,” drawing derision and ridicule from those blacklisted.The Jerusalem Heritage House describes itself as an institution that provides “warm and comfortable accommodations for Jewish travelers in the heart of the Old City for a nominal fee.” It boasts of having hosted more than 60,000 guests since 1985.Posted on Twitter by journalist Jacob Kornbluh, the list includes figures such as US comedian Jon Stewart, politician Bernie Sanders, former Obama administration ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, and actress Bette Midler.Also banned are members of the media including the staffs of The Times of Israel, Haaretz, CNN, and The New York Times, as well as the heads of the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement.Apparently there’s a Sonei Yisrael (haters of Israel) list #smh pic.twitter.com/RHOfENAIRE— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) August 14, 2018-Members of the Israeli press corps responded with sarcasm, with the Times of Israel’s Judah Ari Gross tweeting, “Shucks, no Jerusalem Heritage House for me,” and The Jerusalem Post’s Amy Spiro joking that “Bette Midler has been banging on the doors of the Jerusalem Heritage House for hours begging to be let inside.”Shucks, no Jerusalem Heritage House for me https://t.co/cSas6hnh6X-- Judah Ari Gross (@JudahAriGross) August 14, 2018-In response, Daniel Sugarman of the Jewish Chronicle tweeted at Spiro to be quiet, jokingly inquiring if she wanted “to get the Jerusalem Post on the list too.”SHHHH DO YOU WANT TO GET THE JERUSALEM POST ON THE LIST TOO-— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) August 14, 2018-Finding that the outlet was listed above other organizations on the list, Times of Israel Deputy Editor Joshua Davidovich sarcastically tweeted, “We’re #8 Wooooh! Suck it, @haaretzcom and @ADL_National.”We're #8 Wooooh! Suck it, @haaretzcom and @ADL_National https://t.co/1J0OQWACa4— Joshua Davidovich (@JMDavido) August 14, 2018
Ottoman-era soap factory unearthed under Uri Geller’s Jaffa museum-Underground chambers, soap making tools found beneath building in ancient port city that will house magician's exhibition-By TOI staff-15 August 2018
Archaeologists have unearthed an Ottoman-era soap factory and a number of large underground vaults in the ancient port city of Jaffa, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.The underground chambers and soap factory, or masbena, were discovered during work on a new museum being opened by Israeli illusionist Uri Geller in Jaffa. Geller said the finds came as electricians rerouted the wiring in the building that will house the museum.“As the work proceeded, I noticed a pile of refuse on one side. I intuited that there was something hidden there,” he said in a statement from the IAA. “To the surprise of the Israel Antiquities Authority inspectors, an exceptional find was revealed: a factory for making soap.”An expert on Jaffa archaeology at the IAA said the soap factory was the second of its kind to be found in the port city, which is now a part of Tel Aviv.“The site was well-preserved and included troughs for mixing raw materials for the soap, a large cauldron, a hearth, water cisterns and underground vaults that were used for storage,” said Dr. Yoav Arbel.“This find allows us to reconstruct the manufacturing process, and to draw comparisons with similar factories where the traditional manufacturing process has been perpetuated to this very day.”Arbel said it was unclear who the factory’s original owner was.Soap production has a long history in what is now Israel and the West Bank, dating back to the 10th century, the IAA noted, with soap becoming an important export during the Ottoman period to elsewhere in the empire. While Nablus was long the center of local soap manufacturing, other cities such as Jerusalem, Gaza, Lod, and Jaffa also had major soap production facilities.Unlike in Europe, where soap was made in part from pig fat, soap produced in the area has an olive oil base, allowing its use by Muslims and Jews.Also found at the factory were tools used for soap making. Geller said they will be put on display at his museum when it opens.Additionally, Geller agreed to a suggestion from former Tel Aviv District archaeologist Moshe Ajami to display in the newly uncovered vaults’ artifacts connected to magic and sorcery, the IAA said, in a nod to Geller’s profession.
Fredericton police release scene of shooting spree, but 'damage' remains-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
FREDERICTON — Residents of the Fredericton apartment complex that was the scene of Friday's deadly shooting spree are being allowed back into their homes, but many are already thinking about moving out.Four people were gunned down at a four-building complex on Brookside Drive in the city's north end.Bobbie Lee Wright and Donnie Robichaud died in the shooting, along with responding officers Const. Robb Costello and Const. Sara Burns of Fredericton police.Joseph Cartwright was at work that morning when he got the call from his girlfriend to say that there was gunfire and she and Cartwright's four-year-old son were scared."I bolted from work. I couldn't get any closer than the Tim Horton's. I could hear the shots and I could see the apartment building but I couldn't get here. As a parent that's probably the worst feeling in the world, knowing there's somebody shooting where your four-year-old son is," Cartwright said Tuesday.They were not in the same building as the shooter, but were only a few metres away. Police were able to get them safely out of harm's way.Cartwright said police kicked in the doors of a number of apartments in order to gain entry, but maintenance staff have since made repairs.Other buildings still bear the scars of the tragedy. A window is smashed out in the third floor apartment where the shooter was located, while another window in that apartment has bullet holes.A third floor apartment in another building on the other side of a small courtyard also has bullet holes through its windows, and one bullet hole in the wall.Cartwright, 30, said he's planning to move out."I can't let my kid and my girlfriend be traumatized every time they come home ... I have to protect my family. That means getting out of here and getting them safe," he said.Calvin Cole and his girlfriend were in a basement apartment in the same building as the shooter when the shots were fired Friday.He said they hid in the apartment and stayed put until police finally came to get them out.Cole said it's something he'll never forget."It's probably going to be on the mind for a while. It's going to be fresh because it's a rare occurrence here in Fredericton. It makes me concerned heavily about my neighbourhood," he said.Cole, 26, said he's on subsidized housing and will move as soon as a new place can be found for him. Another tenant, who didn't want to be identified, said she was in a basement apartment in another building, and just stayed on the floor."The scariest time was when the shooting stopped," she said. "You didn't know when it was going to start again, or where it would be coming from."The Canadian Red Cross is concluding its emergency provision of lodging, meals and other support to residents who were displaced by the shooting.Bill Lawlor, the New Brunswick director for the Red Cross, said residents are being advised to speak to counsellors and others as they return to their apartments."Many of these people, you have to remember, either heard or actually saw this happen. So it was a very traumatic experience for them on that day, and they now have to return to that very same scene," he said.Fredericton police say a regimental funeral "to celebrate the lives of our fallen members" will be held on Saturday at the University of New Brunswick.An obituary for Burns said the 43-year-old mother of three boys fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a police officer three years ago, after more than 14 years as a stay-at-home mom."Not a day would go by when she didn't say aloud, for everyone to hear, 'I love my job,'" the obituary published on the McAdam's Funeral Home and Crematorium website said.Lawlor said the Red Cross gained a lot of experience after the Moncton Mountie shootings in 2014, and assisted the hundreds of police and other first responders who attended the regimental funeral. He says they will do the same this Saturday."We are the second responders in these types of incidents, but we have great respect for the first responder community, so it will be our great privilege to support them during this difficult time," Lawlor said. Wright is remembered as a compassionate person who "loved to assist others" in an obituary published by Carleton Funeral Home and Crematorium in Jacksonville, near Woodstock, N.B."Affectionately known as 'bubbles,' those that had the honour of knowing her well knew this described her perfectly," it said.The obituary said Wright graduated from Canterbury High School in 2003 and from New Brunswick Community College with a diploma in medical office administration in 2008. She had previously worked on a tree farm, catered and worked in an office before embarking on a career as a home support worker.A public visitation was set for Wednesday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., although there will be no funeral service by request.An obituary for Robichaud said he is survived by a wife and three children, and there will be no visitation or funeral, in keeping with his wishes.Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He is set to appear in court on Aug. 27.During a news conference Monday, police Chief Leanne Fitch urged the public to be patient, saying the investigation is "very much active and is focused on finding facts" — a sentiment she repeated in a statement Tuesday evening.Fitch said she was responding to "media criticism" of police being "tight lipped and not providing certain details of the ongoing investigation.""As with any criminal investigation, we cannot make assumptions or let rumours and speculation direct us. We must deal with facts and evidence," Fitch's statement said. "This protects the integrity of the investigation and it protects the upcoming court case."She added that the questions being raised "are the same questions the investigators are seeking answers to.""As your police force, I assure you we are going to get those answers, but we need to do it right. Doing it right means being patient and being thorough so that all investigative possibilities are looked at," she said.Police have said the man accused in one of the deadliest shootings in New Brunswick history had a firearms licence and allegedly used a long gun that can be legally obtained in Canada.Fitch has also confirmed one of the officers who responded to the shooting was wearing a body camera and that the camera evidence was provided to the RCMP.Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press.
U.S. and Mexico to announce joint plan to fight drug cartels-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Mexican authorities are planning on Wednesday to announce a new strategy to combat transnational Mexican drug cartels that will include a crackdown on their finances, a DEA official said.Details of the plan will be made at a joint news conference in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon, the official said. The official said representatives from Mexico's current government would be present but did not name them.Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-leaning nationalist, has vowed to shake up Mexico's war on drug cartels after he takes power in December. He wants to rewrite the rules, aides have said, suggesting negotiated peace and amnesties rather than a hardline strategy that critics say has only perpetuated violence.However, a change of direction without the United States could increase friction between the neighbors, who have been often at loggerheads since Donald Trump became U.S. president.Trump has irked Mexico with demands that it pay for a border wall and his comments that it does nothing to slow illegal immigration. He has also pushed to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to favor the United States.But despite difference with the Trump administration on migration and trade issues, officials and security experts in the United States have applauded long-running bilateral efforts to crack down on drug gangs.For the past 12 years, Mexico has fought the violent cartels by deploying thousands of police, soldiers and intelligence officers.Mexico remains the principal highway for cocaine to the United States and has become the top source of heroin, which is fueling a surge in opioid addiction in the United States.(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
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.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
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.
Fears for historic city of Agadez as flooding continues-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
Niamey (AFP) - Authorities in Niger on Wednesday said floods threatened the historic centre of the 15th-century city of Agadez after weeks of heavy rain."We have already triggered an alert warning the population to be prepared and vigilant: flood surges have already carried off an ambulance with two people inside," the city's mayor said.Agadez and its 145,000 residents face the threat of surging waters from Kori-Telwa, a seasonal waterway that can become swiftly supercharged with runoff from the Air Mountains.The old town of Agadez which dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries is classified by UNESCO as being of "outstanding universal value".It includes a well-preserved group of palatial and religious buildings, including a 27-metre (88.5-feet) -high minaret made entirely of mud brick.On Tuesday, two people died when a building housing a mosque and a school collapsed in the city, emergency services said.Floods have already killed 22 people nationwide, destroyed homes and gardens and decimated livestock."The Kori carries a lot of water, it takes everything down in its path, and finds it way to the city," described the local online news site Air Info.The rainy season is currently in full swing in Niger.Despite its short duration of no more than three months, the country has faced recurring floods in recent years in a state where poor harvests are usually caused by drought.
Heavy monsoon rains kill 67 in southern India, close airport-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
NEW DELHI (AP) — Torrential monsoon rains have disrupted air and train services in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where flooding, landslides and bridge collapses have killed at least 67 people in the past week, officials said Wednesday.The international airport at Kochi, a major port city, suspended flight operations until Saturday after rains flooded the runway.Authorities asked tourists to stay away from the popular hill station of Munnar in Idukki district because of flooding. Kerala is a popular tourist destination with scenic landscapes, waterfalls and beautiful beaches.People also have been asked to avoid the Sabarimala hill shrine as the water level in the nearby rain-fed Pampa River was rising. Sabarimala, a Hindu pilgrimage center in the mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta district, attracts around 45 million devotees every year.Krishna Kumar, a relief official, said there will be no immediate respite for thousands of people in state-run relief camps with more rain and winds forecast until Saturday.Heavy rains forced state authorities to release excess water from dozens of reservoirs, causing floods downstream. The flooding has submerged vast areas in 12 out of 14 districts in the state.With another 25 deaths reported across the state on Wednesday, Kerala state officials put the death toll since Aug. 8 at 67, the New Delhi television news channel said.Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The monsoon season runs from June to September.
Flash flood sweeps away 11 picnickers in India-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 11 people were swept away by a flash flood while picnicking at a waterfall in central India on Wednesday, an official said.District Magistrate Shilpi Gupta said seven others were rescued by helicopter, but 30 people remained trapped on rocks in the river in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh state.She said the fate of the 11 missing people was not known.Gupta said the water level in the river rose suddenly because of monsoon rains in the area, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) south of New Delhi. Nightfall was hampering rescue efforts.Hundreds of people die every year during India's monsoon flood season from June to September.
Lightning storms mass over California, Oregon as wildfires blaze-[Reuters]-By Steve Gorman-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Storm clouds gathered over southern Oregon and northern California early on Wednesday, threatening to spark more wildfires with lightning strikes as emergency crews battled several deadly blazes, forecasters said.The clouds carried little rain and offered little chance of a break from the bone-dry conditions plaguing the region, the National Weather Service said."Initial attack resources could be overwhelmed," it added in a red flag announcement.Elsewhere, crews made slow but steady progress against wildfires including one, called the Mendocino Complex, which has become largest in California's history and killed one firefighter from Utah on Monday.Emergency crews had managed to set up containment lines around almost two thirds the fire which has raged through the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.That fire has scorched 355,000 acres (144,000 hectares) and destroyed 265 structures, it added.To the northeast, firefighters have been able to carve containment lines around 65 percent of the Carr Fire, which has killed three firefighters, four civilians and a utility worker and burned more than 1,500 structures. The Carr Fire has blackening 211,000 acres, Cal Fire said.The heart of Yosemite National Park in California was reopened to the public on Tuesday after it was shut down for nearly three weeks due to the Ferguson Fire, which has caused two deaths. But smoke lingered in the air and a key route to the park's best known landmarks remained closed.The 100,000-acre fire, which is about 150 miles (240 km) east of San Francisco, was 86 percent contained after igniting a month ago, authorities said.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
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)
Police say terror attack thwarted last week in Jerusalem Old City-Suspect from Hebron, who was carrying a knife, first claimed he came to pray, but after days of interrogation admitted he was planning a stabbing attack-By Michael Bachner-TOI-AUG 16,18
Security forces in Jerusalem’s Old City last week arrested a Palestinian man who was planning to carry out a stabbing attack, police said on Wednesday.After keeping the investigation under a gag order for a week, Jerusalem police revealed that the 26-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Hebron was detained by officers on August 8 after they deemed his behavior suspicious.A body search revealed he was holding a knife and a can of tear gas, according to a police statement.The suspect was immediately taken for questioning at a nearby police station, where he claimed he came to Jerusalem to pray, the statement said. But the officers doubted his version and referred him to the district’s central police unit.Police investigators then “carried out several interrogation actions through which they were able to expose the suspect’s real intentions,” the statement added.The suspect was said to have admitted he had traveled from the West Bank illegally to carry out a stabbing attack against Israeli civilians or members of security forces.His remand has been extended until next Monday.“There is no doubt that the suspect’s arrest and the exposure of his intentions prevented an attempt to carry out a terror attack in Jerusalem that could have had terrible results,” police said in a statement.Jerusalem’s Old City, one of the most volatile flashpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been relatively quiet for the past year.But stabbing attacks have continued elsewhere. Last month, a Palestinian terrorist climbed the fence of the Adam settlement in the West Bank and stabbed three people, killing one of them, Yotam Ovadia.
After Facebook, Hamas turns to Instagram to lure IDF soldiers, army says-Military uncovers alleged plot to get troops to download spyware onto their phones, giving the Gaza-based terror group control over their cameras, audio recorders and location data-By Judah Ari Gross, TOI staff and Agencies-AUG 16,18
The Israeli military uncovered a new effort by the Hamas terror group to trick soldiers into downloading spyware applications onto their phones by befriending them on Instagram with accounts purporting to belong to attractive women, the army said Wednesday.The Israel Defense Forces’ information security branch revealed a similar attempt last month by the Gaza-based Hamas that used the Facebook social media site to lure soldiers into installing software onto their phones that would allow the terror group to remotely control it, turning on the device’s cameras and audio recorders.“We can say definitively that Hamas failed in its mission and did not succeed in getting classified information leaked,” said the officer in charge of policy for Military Intelligence’s information security branch, in an interview with the IDF’s website.Last week, a civilian cybersecurity firm also found an attempt by Hamas to hack Israeli civilians’ phones using an app called IsraelAlert, a fake version of the “Code Red” app, which is used to warn people of impending rocket attacks.According to ClearSky Cyber Security, IsraelAlert would have also given Hamas control over the user’s phone, allowing the terror group to take pictures, make calls or transmit location data.However, the firm said that it appeared the malicious app had been discovered at an early stage and had not infected many phones.Operation Broken Heart-The military credited a new campaign, dubbed “Operation Broken Heart,” with foiling Hamas’s new Instagram-based plot. The program consists of a series of informational posters displayed on army bases throughout the country, as well as active efforts to root out attempts by Hamas and other groups to gain access to sensitive military information.“Hamas tried, unsuccessfully, by preserving the connections [with soldiers] it had made in the past or starting new ones with fake identities we hadn’t uncovered yet. Thanks to the heightened awareness that we developed, these efforts were also exposed by soldiers, and that way we thwarted additional false identities,” said the officer, Lt. Col. “Aleph,” who could only be identified by his rank and the first Hebrew letter of his name for security reasons.After discovering the fact that the terror group was attempting to use fake online identities to contact soldiers, the military then worked to find and expose those profiles.According to Aleph, part of the challenge in his unit’s fight against attempts by Hamas to trick soldiers into befriending them is the strong desire by Instagram users to gain more followers, which can lead them to abandon common sense.“This is a network that has a sharing culture that is getting more intense, all around pictures and sharing and ‘look at me,'” he said.“The popularity and the need for followers increases the risk, and therefore we need to follow the rules — not allowing people we don’t know to follow us, being wary of links sent to your private mailbox,” he said.In January 2017, the IDF revealed that it had discovered some of the first efforts by Hamas to “catfish” soldiers — to pretend to be attractive women in order to get soldiers to reveal classified information and download spyware software, in a project known as “Operation Hunters’ Battle.”According to the military, the terror group had adopted new, more sophisticated tactics in the intervening year and a half.For instance, the custom-built spyware software was uploaded to the Google Store, to make it seem legitimate, whereas in the past it was only available as a downloadable link, which would be more likely to raise suspicions.Once one of the apps was on the recipient’s phone, the phone could be taken over to covertly take and send photographs, eavesdrop on conversations, copy stored files and pictures, and transmit location details — all of which would greatly contribute to an enemy’s knowledge of IDF operations.In most cases, the IDF said, soldiers did not download the apps and they often informed their superiors of their suspicions.Google has since deleted the apps that are known to have contained spyware from its store.Though the military had long warned soldiers that their social media accounts could be exploited by terror groups and enemy states, last year’s discovery spurred the IDF’s information security branch to step up its efforts and to specifically alert troops to the dangers of downloading strange applications to their phones.“I want to make it clear to soldiers that even if Hamas adds more applications and tries different platforms, the moment that they recognize there is a problem, they won’t be affected by it,” Aleph said.“Soldiers need to ask themselves a number of questions: Why did they contact me? Why is someone who appears to have romantic or friendly feelings toward me asking me questions about the military or if I want to download an app? And most of all, why should I give permission to a stranger who asked me to install something?” he added.In the Facebook-based plot uncovered last month, some 100 soldiers were duped into doing downloading spyware via a World Cup app and two online dating sites, the IDF said at the time, though then too the army insisted no damage had been done to Israeli security.“No damage was done, as we stopped it in time,” an officer involved in Operation Broken Heart said.Attackers used stolen identities to create convincing fake Facebook profiles of young Israelis, written in fluent Hebrew studded with current slang. They then initiated flirtatious exchanges with their targets from Israeli mobile numbers — the military said those operating the accounts were not necessarily based in Gaza — before encouraging them to download the apps.“What Hamas is bringing to the table is a very good knowledge of our young people and their state of mind,” another IDF officer said.Asked how he could be sure Hamas was behind the online offensive, he declined to say but insisted there was no doubt.
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian man who filmed IDF troops, citing ‘incitement’-Palestinian media identifies individual as reporter for PA-run Palestine TV-By Adam Rasgon-TOI-AUG 16,18
Israeli security forces arrested a Palestinian man early Wednesday morning in a West Bank village north of Ramallah for inciting violence against Israeli soldiers “in videos he published of them while they were operating,” an IDF spokesperson said without naming the man.The official PA news site Wafa reported that the man was a journalist, identifying him as Ali Dar Ali, a reporter for the Palestinian Authority-run Palestine TV. The IDF spokesperson did not mention that the detained individual was a journalist.Dar Ali livestreamed two videos on Facebook early Tuesday morning of Israeli security forces operating in the Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.According to the IDF, the home of Yousef Abu Hamid, a Palestinian who was arrested on suspicion of killing IDF soldier Ronen Lubarsky earlier this year by dropping a stone slab on his head, was mapped in al-Amari on Tuesday morning. The army typically maps homes in advance of demolishing them.In the two videos Dar Ali published, he does not explicitly make calls for violence against the IDF.The IDF spokesperson declined to identify the person who was detained, saying only that he had “systematically” posted videos of troops during operations.Ahmad Assaf, a PA official in charge of overseeing Palestine TV, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.Israeli forces also arrested 14 other Palestinians who were suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, rock-throwing and taking part in violent riots against Israeli security forces, according to the IDF.
Scores killed in Kabul blast as Afghanistan reels from attacks-[Reuters]-By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Sayed Hassib-YAHOONEWS-August 15, 2018
KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide blast in a mainly Shi'ite area of Kabul killed at least 48 people on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians, soldiers and policemen over recent days.The explosion, targeting an educational center in the west of the Afghan capital, tore through a large tent set up as a classroom in the courtyard, killing dozens of teenagers studying for a university entrance examination. The blast, which shattered weeks of relative calm in Kabul, also wounded at least 67, including both male and female students."Most of the boys at the educational center have been killed," said Sayed Ali, who witnessed the blast. "It was horrific and many of the students were torn to pieces."Doctors at city hospitals, where people had gathered to try to find relatives who had been studying at the center, said many of the victims were severely burned."My brother was studying at the center and he was killed. I'm here to get his body," said Abdul Khaliq, waiting outside the Isteqlal hospital.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Kabul blast but the attack bore the hallmark of Islamic State, which has conducted many previous attacks on Shi'ite targets. The Taliban issued a statement denying it was involved.The explosion, which came as the central city of Ghazni struggles to recover from five days of intense fighting between the Taliban and government forces, underlined how badly security in Afghanistan has degenerated, some two months before parliamentary elections scheduled for October.Earlier on Wednesday, local officials said at least nine policemen and 35 soldiers were killed in an attack on their base in the northern province of Baghlan, the latest of a series that has killed dozens of members of the security forces nationwide.The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan called for the fighting to stop, saying up to 150 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Ghazni, where the public hospital was overwhelmed and water and electricity supplies cut."The extreme human suffering caused by the fighting in Ghazni highlights the urgent need for the war in Afghanistan to end," the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said in a statement.TALIBAN PULLBACK-The Taliban, who launched their Ghazni assault last Friday and battled Afghan forces backed by U.S. air strikes in the middle of the city for days, said their fighters had been pulled out to prevent further harm to the city's population."They were facing severe shortages of food and drinking water as the power supply was also suspended two days ago," a Taliban commander, who declined to be identified, said by telephone.The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was providing dressing packages and oral and intravenous medicine to treat the wounded, along with electricity generators and fresh water for about 18,000 people.The Ghazni attack, one of the Taliban's most devastating in years, has clouded hopes for peace talks that had been prompted by an unprecedented ceasefire during the Eid celebration in June and a meeting last month between Taliban officials and a senior U.S. diplomat.Two senior Taliban leaders told Reuters this week the group was considering announcing a ceasefire for the feast of Eid-al Adha, which begins next week, but the future of any peace process remained uncertain.With parliamentary elections due on Oct. 20, authorities had been bracing for more attacks in Kabul and other cities, but even so, the scale of the violence has come as a shock to a government facing bitter criticism over its handling of the war.In the southern province of Zabul, Taliban insurgents clashed with soldiers on Tuesday, forcing the government to send reinforcements from neighboring provinces to retain control of two checkposts.The clashes killed 11 soldiers and one policeman, with three soldiers wounded, said Haji Atta Jan Haqbayan, a Zabul provincial council member.Separately, six girls younger than 10 were killed when an unexploded mortar they picked up to play with suddenly exploded on Wednesday, officials in the eastern province of Laghman said.(Additonal reporting by Jibran Ahmad, in PESHAWAR; Editing by Robert Birsel and Gareth Jones)
