47K DEAD IN TURKEY QUAKE-OHIO ONE OF WORST CHEMICAL SPILLS IN HISTORY.

 47K DEAD IN TURKEY QUAKE-OHIO ONE OF WORST CHEMICAL SPILLS IN HISTORY.

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2 (WW3 OCCURS WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED)
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people (ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(JERUSALEM)(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND BRINGS 3 DEAD BILLION IN WW3)

JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20  And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22  And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24  And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

HOSEA 4:1-3
11 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,(EARTH) 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.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

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, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
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)

Abbas receives White House invite while Netanyahu's awaits-PA agrees to yank UN measure, even as Israel readies to advance settlement package-Facing US pressure, Ramallah suffices with symbolic Security Council statement panning settlements, while Israel will agree to halt some, but not all, activity beyond Green Line-By Jacob Magid-19 February 2023, 8:09 pm

The Biden administration has managed to coax the Palestinian Authority to withdraw its support from a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate end to settlement activity, after convincing Israel to temporarily hold off on a handful of measures meant to further entrench its presence in the West Bank, four sources told The Times of Israel on Sunday.However, according to an Israeli official, those measures will not include holding off on advancing plans for some 10,000 new settlement homes deep in the West Bank, which will be brought before the Defense Ministry body responsible for authorizing such construction on Wednesday and Thursday.Instead, Israel has agreed to not authorize additional settlement homes for several months — something it was not intending to do anyway, as the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration traditionally convenes once every three months, the Israeli official explained.Israel has also agreed to hold off on demolishing and evicting Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank for several months and consented to reduce military incursions into PA-controlled Area A of the West Bank during that time, two US and Palestinian officials said, confirming a report in the Walla news site.Ramallah, in turn, has agreed to withdraw its support for a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt to Israeli settlement activity, which was supposed to come to a vote on Monday. The US has instead agreed to back a symbolic, non-binding Presidential Statements from Security Council members to the same effect, which will also include a condemnation of terror attacks and violence inflicted on both sides, two senior UN diplomats said. It would be the first such statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in nine years.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also agreed to adopt a US plan to boost the PA’s security presence in the northern West Bank, where the IDF increasingly has been operating, sparking deadly clashes with Palestinians on a regular basis over the past several months.As part of the effort to bring Abbas on board, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told him that the US would invite him to meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House later this year, a Palestinian official said.Meanwhile, a US official and a Mideast diplomat told The Times of Israel last week that the Biden administration put on hold plans to extend a White House invitation to Netanyahu, given concerns over some of the hardline government’s early policy proposals, and that the US plans to wait and see how events unfold on the ground during Ramallah before re-addressing the issue.The commitments mark a modest breakthrough though, after the Biden administration’s month-long efforts to urge the Israelis and the Palestinians to take steps to lower tensions, particularly as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan approaches in late March.The US has been engaging intensively with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, given an uptick in violence that has taken the lives of 11 Israelis in terror attacks and nearly 50 Palestinians since the start of the year — most of them in clashes with soldiers, but some in less clear circumstances.While the US was thought to have been making progress in the effort to coax the sides to pause their controversial activities beyond the Green Line and in the UN after the visits of White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, things began to unravel when a Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into a bus stop in East Jerusalem killing three people, including 6- and 8-year-old brothers on February 10.Israel responded days later by approving the legalization of nine outposts — many of them on private Palestinian land — and green-lighting plans for some 10,000 settlement homes for advancement this week, in what would be the largest-ever package of projects ever approved in one sitting.The PA responded by pushing the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning the decision. The UAE picked up the gauntlet and drafted a resolution calling for an immediate halt to settlement activity, putting the US in an uncomfortable position, as it too had spoken out aggressively against last Sunday’s decision by Israel.Despite principally supporting the decision, the Biden administration has long maintained that the UN is not the right forum for adjudicating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Blinken appeared to have made progress over the weekend following calls with Netanyahu and Abbas, in a last-ditch effort to bring the sides toward a compromise.The high-level engagement paid off on Sunday, with each side agreeing to come down temporarily from their initial plans.A Palestinian official clarified that the situation remained fluid and that Ramallah would “respond to any unilateral action by Israel.”The US official acknowledged that there was no set time period for how long the sides would agree to hold off on steps beyond the Green Line and at the UN, but they said that the administration would “continue to engage with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in order to maintain calm and keep prospects for a two-state solution alive.”

Temple Mount to be shut to Jews at Ramadan’s end, despite Ben Gvir dissent – report-Far-right national security minister said to fume at annual arrangement, which he has condemned in the past as capitulation to terror-By ToI Staff    19 February 2023, 11:27 pm

Despite combative rhetoric from firebrands in the government, Israel, as in previous years, is set to bar Jews from entering the Temple Mount holy site during the last 10 days of the Muslim month of Ramadan, according to a report Sunday.The Kan public broadcaster cited a stormy meeting held over the weekend regarding the Israeli policy, which has prohibited non-Muslims from entering the flashpoint Jerusalem location during the culmination of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally sleep at the site that they revere as the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, or the Noble Sanctuary.With the current government widely viewed as the most right-wing in Israeli history, the report said the measure is facing staunch opposition from far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a longtime proponent of changing the current status quo under which Jews are not allowed to pray at the Temple Mount and face numerous other restrictions on entry.Ben Gvir reportedly argued during the meeting that the previous big-tent government “closed the Temple Mount for fewer days than what you want” — nine versus 10. He also made clear he believes the site, the holiest place in Judaism, should not be off-limits to Jews at all.Last year, Ben Gvir and his far-right running mate Bezalel Smotrich — now the finance minister — slammed the government’s move as a “surrender to terror.”Nonetheless, the ban on Jewish entry during the last 10 days of Ramadan seems set to be applied this year too, the report said.The Muslim holy month has traditionally seen violence spike, in particular around the Temple Mound, where the situation has been especially volatile of late. The Mount is the holiest site for Jews, as the location of two biblical Temples, while the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Mount is the third holiest shrine in Islam, turning the area into a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Under an arrangement that has prevailed for decades, Jews and other non-Muslims are permitted to visit the Temple Mount during certain hours but may not pray there. In recent years, Jewish religious nationalists, including members of the new governing coalition, have increasingly visited the site and demanded equal prayer rights for Jews there, infuriating the Palestinians and Muslims around the world.In January, Ben Gvir paid a visit to the Temple Mount — his first since taking office in the new government — leading to furious condemnations from the Arab world. Jordan summoned Israel’s ambassador for a dressing down.Later in the month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman and discussed maintaining calm on the Temple Mount. According to media reports, Netanyahu promised Abdullah that the status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem would be preserved.Further fueling tensions is Ben Gvir’s ongoing crackdown in East Jerusalem, which he ordered in response to recent terror attacks.Last week, Channel 13 reported that Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar had spoken to Ben Gvir and warnied him that the enforcement operations could provoke further violence.
Security sources told the channel that they see a spike in violence as a foregone conclusion, given that efforts to calm tensions in the capital have failed and noting the approach of Ramadan.

COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL AND THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL AND THE WEST

EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA)(JORDAN) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLAND,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
PSALMS 83:3-7 (COUNTRIES AGAINST ISRAEL)(EXCEPT JORDAN)
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
ISRAEL-WEST ENEMIES EZEK 38:4-6,15-19
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,(RUSSIA-ARAB/MUSLIMS) thou, and many people with thee,(AFRICAN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES) all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
DANIEL 11:44 (CHINA WITH RUSSIA-MUSLIMS)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
EZEKIEL 39:1-6 ISRAELS ENEMIES DESTROYED
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Iran said on cusp of ability to make nukes, having enriched uranium to 84% purity-Report says inspectors from UN atomic agency made discovery last week, are probing if move was intentional; Tehran previously known to have enriched to 60%-By ToI Staff and Agencies    19 February 2023, 10:44 pm

Inspectors from the UN atomic agency discovered uranium enriched to 84-percent purity in Iran last week, closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing two unnamed senior diplomats.Iran has been known thus far to have enriched uranium to 60%. A purity of 90% is needed to produce nuclear weapons.International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are trying to determine whether Tehran deliberately made the move or if it was an “unintended accumulation within the network of pipes connecting the hundreds of fast-spinning centrifuges used to separate the isotopes,” the report said.One diplomat said that Iran had not submitted the necessary paperwork to declare its intention of raising enrichment levels at two nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordo.The other diplomat noted that even if the material built up accidentally, as has happened in the past, it shows the problems associated with Iran’s activities in producing highly enriched uranium.The IAEA said in a tweet that it was “aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran.”Director-General Rafael Grossi noted that the agency was in talks with Iran regarding the results of recent inspections, the tweet added. The IAEA is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran. Director General @rafaelmgrossi states that the IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate. pic.twitter.com/4Aqdq01Xr5 — IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) February 19, 2023-The report did not say where the highly enriched material was found.It came after last month’s unannounced inspection at the Fordo nuclear site, which found two advanced centrifuges connected in a way that the Iranians had not declared to inspectors. Iran said it provided “explanations” to the inspector who reported the change and that he then “realized his mistake.”In a joint response at the time, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany dismissed Iran’s claim as “inadequate.”On March 6, the IAEA will present its quarterly safeguards report on Iran to its board of directors when they meet in Vienna.In January, Grossi told European Parliament lawmakers Iran had “amassed enough nuclear material for several nuclear weapons — not one at this point.”Speaking about Iran’s recent atomic activities, including enriching uranium well beyond the limits of the landmark 2015 deal to curb its nuclear capabilities — Grossi said Tehran’s trajectory “is certainly not a good one.”The deal with world powers, known as the JCPOA, collapsed after the United States withdrew from it in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump. The JCPOA gave Iran sanctions relief in return for the curbs and inspections of its nuclear facilities. After Washington withdrew, claiming the deal did not go far enough in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the Iranians dropped many of their own commitments to the pact and ramped up uranium enrichment. The deal had set a maximum enrichment threshold of 3.67%.Negotiations that started in April 2021 to revive the agreement have since stalled.Iran said in November it had begun producing uranium enriched to 60% at Fordo, an underground facility that reopened three years ago after the breakdown of the JCPOA.

US says China mulling exporting weapons to Russia for Ukraine war-Secretary of State Blinken says Beijing supplying Moscow with arms would ’cause a serious problem’ with consequences-By AFP-19 February 2023, 6:52 pm

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that China was considering providing weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine, warning Beijing that any supplies would “cause a serious problem.”“The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they’re considering providing lethal support,” Blinken told CBS’s “Face The Nation.”Asked what lethal support would entail, he said “everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves.”Blinken made similar comments in a series of interviews with American television from Germany, where on Saturday he attended the Munich Security Conference and met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.He told Wang then that “if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion,” there will be consequences, a State Department official said.Strained ties-Taken together, the US comments appeared to be among the clearest warnings yet that China might be poised to go beyond rhetorical, political, or diplomatic support for Russia and be ready to help arm it in its nearly year-old fight against Ukraine.They also came at a time when already strained US-Chinese relations have been further tested by Washington’s shooting down of what it said was a large Chinese spy balloon.Appearing Sunday on ABC, Blinken emphasized that US President Joe Biden had warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as long ago as last March against sending weapons to Russia.Since that time, “China has been careful not to cross that line, including by holding off on selling lethal weapons systems for use on the battlefield,” according to an administration source familiar with the issue.A top Republican senator who also attended the Munich conference, Lindsey Graham, said it would be a serious mistake for China to provide Russia with weapons.Doing so now, he said, would be “dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie.”‘No apology’Graham, known as a well-informed foreign policy hawk, also said he had strong indications that the US will soon announce plans to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, which would represent a further step in the West’s gradually escalating efforts to arm Ukraine.Graham said he believed the US should declare Russia a state sponsor of terror for its actions in Ukraine — which would mean that China or any other country supplying it with arms would face sanctions.Blinken’s meeting with Wang — the highest-level encounter between the countries since US jets shot down the Chinese balloon on February 4 — did not appear to ease tensions.“I told him quite simply that that was unacceptable and can never happen again,” Blinken told CBS about the balloon incident.Wang on Saturday dismissed the US allegations of high-altitude spying in uncharacteristically strong language, calling them “hysterical and absurd.”Blinken said Sunday that his counterpart had offered him “no apology.”The tough-sounding exchanges came a day after US Vice President Kamala Harris said in Munich that Russia had committed “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine through “widespread and systemic” attacks on the country’s civilian population.

Russia condemns Israeli strike on Syria as ‘flagrant violation’ of international law-Moscow urges Jerusalem to ‘refrain from steps that are fraught with dangerous consequences for the entire region,’ after attack on Damascus leaves 5 dead-By Emanuel Fabian-19 February 2023, 6:13 pm

Russia on Sunday condemned an airstrike blamed on Israel that killed five people and injured 15 in Syria’s capital Damascus the previous night.Moscow, a key backer of the Syrian regime in the over decade-long civil war, called the Saturday night attack on the Kafar Sousah neighborhood in Damascus a “flagrant violation” of international law.Israel’s need to coordinate with Russia — which largely controls Syrian airspace — to carry out strikes has been cited as a chief reason for Jerusalem’s reluctance to supply Kyiv with weaponry amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Israel has found itself at odds with Russia as it increasingly supported Ukraine while seeking to maintain freedom of movement in Syria’s skies.“We strongly urge the Israeli side to stop armed provocations against the Syrian Arab Republic and refrain from steps that are fraught with dangerous consequences for the entire region,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to Reuters.There was no comment from the Israel Defense Forces, in line with its policy of not generally commenting on air raids in Syria. Israeli officials have previously said the IDF does not target civilians and seeks to avoid damage to residential areas as much as possible.Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the strike in Kafar Sousah killed four civilians and one soldier, and wounded another 15 civilians. It said several of those wounded were listed in critical condition.The airstrike also inflicted heavy damage on a number of residential buildings in Kafar Sousah, SANA said. According to Reuters, the targeted area was near a large and heavily guarded security complex and close to Iranian installations.Imad Mughniyeh, a notorious Hezbollah terror chief, was allegedly assassinated by Israel in a 2008 bombing in Kafar Sousah, close to where Saturday night’s strike took place.Orient News, a Syrian opposition media outlet, claimed the strikes targeted Iranian militia officials at the so-called Iranian school in Kafar Sousah.Separately, the Israeli jets targeted Iranian and Syrian regime military sites near Damascus International Airport, as well as in Sitt Zaynab and al-Kiswah, a town and a city just south of the capital, Orient News said.The outlet also claimed the damage to the residential buildings in Kafar Sousah was caused by a misfired Syrian anti-aircraft missile, not an Israeli strike.SANA claimed Syrian air defenses managed to intercept “most” of the missiles launched by IAF jets from over the Golan Heights in the strike. Syria regularly claims to intercept Israeli missiles, though military analysts doubt such assertions. If this geolocation is accurate, the #Damascus strike was almost exactly where Imad Mughniyeh was killed in 2008. Barely 100 metres to the west #Syria https://t.co/YKXA0oivJ9 pic.twitter.com/QZNbSIfk6L — Alex Rowell (@alexjrowell) February 19, 2023-Though Israel’s military does not comment on specific strikes in Syria, it has acknowledged conducting hundreds of sorties against Iran-backed groups attempting to gain a foothold in the country over the last decade.The IDF says it also attacks arms shipments believed to be bound for those groups, chief among them Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror organization. Additionally, airstrikes attributed to Israel have repeatedly targeted Syrian air defense systems.Last week, the Saudi-owned Elaph news site cited an Israeli military official as saying if Iran shipped weapons to its regional proxies under the guise of humanitarian aid to Syria following the major earthquake there, the IDF would not hesitate to strike.The unnamed official said “there is information indicating that Iran will take advantage of the tragic situation in Syria” and ship weapons to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups in Syria.Several Iranian cargo planes carrying aid have landed in Syria since a major earthquake struck the country and areas in southeast Turkey on February 6.In recent years, several airstrikes against alleged Iranian weapon shipments disguised as seemingly harmless products have been attributed to Israel, including one incident last month.Generally, relatively large weapons are thought to be smuggled via Syria on Iranian cargo airlines, which frequently land at Damascus International and the Tiyas, or T-4, airbase, outside of the central Syrian city of Palmyra.The weaponry is then believed to be stored in warehouses in the area before being transported to Lebanon.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

With its envoy booted, Israel avoids African Union summit closing ceremony-Sharon Bar-li was escorted out of regional assembly on Saturday, apparently at behest of South Africa and Algeria, as Israel’s status continues to split 55-member bloc-By Lazar Berman-19 February 2023, 6:01 pm

After its observer delegation was kicked out of the African Union summit opening ceremony in Addis Ababa on Saturday, Israel will stay away from the closing ceremony Sunday evening, an Israeli diplomatic official told The Times of Israel.Also Sunday, South Africa’s governing African National Congress party welcomed the “encouraging” expulsion of Sharon Bar-li, Israel’s Foreign Ministry deputy director general for Africa.Israel blamed the incident on Algeria and South Africa, and will summon the latter country’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Ministry for a reprimand from Director General Ronen Levy. However, the African Union said Sunday that Israel’s observer status at the bloc had been suspended pending a discussion on its continued role as observer, and therefore it had not been invited to the weekend summit.Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was present at the summit, demanded that Israel “substantiate their claim.”The ANC said her removal was aimed at “thwarting an attempt to undermine the current sitting AU Summit from considering a report that is supposed to guide discussions on whether Israel must be granted an observer status.”Last week, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra flew to South Africa to coordinate ahead of the summit, according to Algerian outlets.Israeli sources said the countries were discussing ways to boot Israel, as well as their support for Western Sahara’s Polisario Front, which is fighting for Sahrawi independence from Morocco.The issue of Israel’s observer status has caused deep discord in the 55-member bloc.
Israel was granted observer status in 2021, but at last year’s summit, a debate on the issue was suspended in a bid to avoid a vote that would create an unprecedented rift in the Union. The AU chairman created a six-country committee to examine the issue.Israel and its allies in the organization say that its observer status was never rescinded, but its foes, backed by AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat, argue that it is suspended until the committee comes back with a recommendation.“That means that the status is suspended until such time as this committee can deliberate… and so we did not invite Israeli officials to our summit,” Faki told reporters on Sunday, adding that an investigation was being conducted-The spokesperson for the chairman of the AU Commission Ebba Kalondo also said the expelled Israeli diplomat had not been personally invited to the summit.An Israeli diplomatic spokesperson insisted Bar-li had “valid accreditation as an observer,” accusing the AU of being “hostage to a small number of extremist states like Algeria and South Africa, motivated by hatred and controlled by Iran.”Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Hayat said, “Israel views seriously the incident in which the deputy for Africa, Ambassador Sharon Bar-li, was removed from the African Union hall despite her status as an accredited observer with access badges.”“There is no basis in the organization’s rules for the attempt to cancel Israel’s observer status,” the Foreign Ministry said. “There is a clear majority that supports Israel’s observer status at the organization.”AFP contributed to this report.

Bills to ban hametz, expand powers of rabbinic courts breeze through committee-AG comes out against proposal criminalizing bringing leavened goods into hospitals during Passover; groups representing ‘chained’ women oppose letting rabbis adjudicate civil cases
By Judah Ari Gross-19 February 2023, 4:30 pm

Two contentious religion-and-state bills were approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday, one forbidding bringing leavened goods into public hospitals during the Passover holiday and another expanding the powers of rabbinic courts.Both government-sponsored bills have met fierce resistance, including from some religious groups, seeing them as likely to antagonize Israelis against Judaism.The bill banning the entrance of leavened goods, or hametz, during Passover was also opposed by the Attorney General’s Office, which found that in its current form the legislation goes too far and would be difficult to defend in court.With their approval by the committee, the two bills will proceed to the Knesset, where they are likely to pass, though they could still undergo slight changes.Tying the bills to the government’s planned judicial overhaul, MK Moshe Gafni, of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism, who was behind both bills, said they were necessary to combat rulings by the High Court of Justice, which prevented hospitals from forbidding people from bringing in leavened goods during Passover and prevented state-run rabbinic courts from adjudicating civil disputes, respectively.“This is further proof of where the Supreme Court has come in intervening in issues that are not under its purview. Today, we are fixing that with legislation that will be brought to a vote later this week in the plenary of the Knesset,” Gafni said.Opposition MKs lambasted the bills, calling them “religious coercion” and “pure provocation.”“The hametz law and the law expanding the authorities of the rabbinic courts that were approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation today are just the start of the wave of unprecedented religious coercion,” said Labor MK and Reform Rabbi Gilad Kariv.He too tied this legislation to the government’s planned judicial overhaul, saying that more changes to religion-and-state would come “once the legal advisers and courts are dramatically weakened.”Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky said the hametz bill was unnecessary and counterproductive, calling it “a finger in the eye and pure provocation.”“Just like there’s no law against driving on Yom Kippur, but people still respect it and don’t drive on that day, so too with hametz. Now people will purposefully try to bring in and sneak in hametz to hospitals,” she said.For years, hospitals and other public institutions banned hametz during the week-long Passover holiday — when Jews traditionally refrain from eating leavened goods — with some even instructing guards to search people’s bags for forbidden foods at the doors. But in 2020, the High Court of Justice declared that hospitals could not conduct such invasive searches — after years of pushing the government to find some compromise or pass some legislation on the issue — and last year the court issued a similar ruling regarding army bases.The legislation approved by the committee Sunday — proposed by Gafni, as well as fellow UTJ members Yaakov Asher and Yitzhak Pindrus — would not only permit public hospitals to ban hametz, but would require them to do so.“During the period of Passover, no hametz or other food — other than that which is in line with the directives set by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel — will be allowed in or held in a medical facility,” the bill reads.In an opinion, two legal advisers from the Attorney General’s Office warned that the bill “as it is written today raises significant legal difficulties,” as it would not only ban leavened foods but all foods, save for fresh produce and packaged foods marked “kosher for Passover,” which would infringe on the rights of patients and their guests — and, because it would force hospital security guards to do something they were not hired to do, infringing on their rights as well.The legal advisers recommend further consideration “to find alternative solutions that would fulfill the underlying goals of the bill but without the state unnecessarily infringing on [civil] rights.”For example, they suggested limiting the law to only apply to leavened goods like bread as opposed to all food, or leaving the legislation more ambiguous to allow the hospitals and the Chief Rabbinate to determine how to proceed on a case-by-case basis.Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah, a liberal Orthodox group, decried the bill, as well as the decision to bring it for a vote during a particularly strained period when there are deep divisions within the population over the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.“The decision to specifically bring the hametz law to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation now, instead of lowering the flames, is not expected to add any honor to the coming Passover holiday but will instead increase the fighting,” the group wrote.“There are a number of solutions that do not require peeking around in people’s personal bags, as was done in different hospitals in the past. Laws like this that impose religion and get into people’s personal lives never bring people closer to Judaism and they are ultimately a boomerang that weakens the Judaism of the state,” it said.Opposition MK Matan Kahana, a former religious services minister, has ridiculed the bill, saying it will almost surely have the opposite effect, with people intentionally bringing in leavened products as a challenge to the law.“If you want to ensure that people will bring hametz into hospitals, please accept Gafni’s request,” Kahana wrote in a tweet when the law was first proposed.The second bill approved by the committee would expand the powers of state-run rabbinic courts, giving them the authority to again hear civil cases.Until 2006, state-run rabbinic courts could hear such cases — disputes between workers and employees, between businesses, or between landlords and renters, for instance — but the High Court found that the rabbinic judges did not have legal authority to do so and they were stripped of that power. Currently, rabbinic judges are limited to overseeing marriage and divorce proceedings for all Jewish Israelis, as well as certain issues dealing with conversions, and occasionally with wills and inheritances. Private rabbinic courts could still hear civil cases if both parties agreed.The bill that was supported by the Shas party, though officially put forward by Gafni, would restore the power of state-run rabbinic courts to adjudicate civil matters, provided both sides agree.The proposal has greater support than the hametz law, including from the opposition, but faces significant criticism from religious pluralism groups and organizations that represent so-called “chained” women, whose husbands refuse to grant them a religious divorce, also known as a get, and are thus left unable to remarry or otherwise move on with their lives.In a joint letter, nine religious advocacy groups — ITIM, Mavoi Satum, Center for Women’s Justice, the Masorti Movement, Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah, Chupot, Kolech, the Schechter Institute’s Center for Women in Jewish Law, and Bar Ilan University’s Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women — came out strongly against the proposal, warning that the rabbinic courts are undemocratic and that there is no way to ensure that both sides had truly agreed to having rabbinic judges rule on a case.“There is concern that in many cases, the weaker of the parties, particularly women, will be forced to agree to arbitration,” they wrote.In their letter, addressed to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, the organizations noted that currently only men can serve as rabbinic judges and that they are not committed to modern concepts of justice and fairness.“Please recall that Torah law as it is implemented by state-run rabbinic courts today is discriminatory against and problematic for women and others,” they wrote.This is particularly true in the case of divorce, where a husband must agree to give a religious divorce or else his wife will never be able to remarry, whereas a man can be given special dispensation to remarry even if his wife refuses to accept a divorce.In light of this power disparity, men can use the threat of withholding a religious divorce to extort better divorce conditions, such as not having to pay alimony or child support or forcing women to give up their rights to shared property. This kind of maneuvering is far more difficult to do in civil courts than in religious ones.“We can say almost certainly that expanding the powers of rabbinic courts will put yet another powerful weapon in the hands of husbands, who will have support from rabbinic courts to demand their case be arbitrated according to Torah law as a reasonable and even desirable condition for divorce,” the organizations wrote.

Netanyahu says Ben Gvir to chair task force on Palestinian incitement to terror-Following deadly attacks in Jerusalem, PM says he and police minister have agreed to form a panel ‘to fight against those inciting acts of murder against us’By ToI Staff-19 February 2023, 3:19 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday announced plans to form a “special task force” to combat Palestinian incitement to terror, following several recent deadly terror attacks in Jerusalem.Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said he’d agreed on the formation of the panel over the weekend with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who will chair the task force.“We are working with double the vigor against incitement,” Netanyahu said, adding the body will “fight against those inciting murderous acts against us.”Netanyahu said Ben Gvir “will receive reinforcements of investigators, police officers and prosecutors,” with the work to be coordinated with the Shin Bet security agency, the military and the National Cyber Directorate.The premier did not specify when the task force would be formally set up and begin its work.Ben Gvir, whose ministry is in charge of police, put out a tweet confirming he will lead the panel, without offering further details. Ben Gvir has been convicted in the past of incitement against Arabs.The announcement came as Ben Gvir, whose ministry is in charge of police, has pushed for a crackdown in East Jerusalem as a response to terror attacks in the capital over the past month, which have claimed eleven lives.Members of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party have joined in the calls for harsher measures, with one lawmaker on Thursday urging a total ban on the TikTok application in East Jerusalem for allegedly fueling incitement to terror.However, the calls to ramp up operations have been resisted by security brass, including Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, who has been wrangling with Ben Gvir regarding the extent of the minister’s powers over the force.In a television interview Saturday, Shabtai insisted the current operations in East Jerusalem “surgically” target suspects and that police were not interested in collective punishment.“There are more than a few warnings of attacks. In recent weeks we’ve seen a tangible increase in the number of warnings. Our concern is the unknown — lone-wolf attackers. I wouldn’t call the situation now an intifada, but there is an escalation,” Shabtai told Channel 12 news.Last week, Channel 13 reported that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar had warned Ben Gvir the ongoing crackdown was likely to incite further violence.“Your activity is creating a feeling of collective harassment. This is agitating [East] Jerusalem and may cause a broad flare-up at this sensitive time,” Bar told Ben Gvir, according to the report Wednesday.Ben Gvir reportedly dismissed Bar’s warnings and retorted that the methods Bar has used in the past had not brought security.Measures taken so far by Ben Gvir have disrupted the lives of some 10,000 East Jerusalem residents, with 100 Palestinians arrested or detained by police, the report said. In addition, 500 parking tickets or traffic citations have been handed out and seven illegally constructed buildings destroyed. Ben Gvir had wanted to raze more but he was held back by Netanyahu, it said.In response to the crackdown, Palestinian activists in East Jerusalem called for a general strike and civil disobedience on Sunday.

North Korea tests ICBM, warns US and South Korea of more powerful steps-Pyongyang says launch of Hwasong-15 missile demonstrates country’s efforts to ‘turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on hostile forces’By Hyung-Jin Kim-19 February 2023, 2:02 pm

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test was meant to further bolster its “fatal” nuclear attack capacity against its rivals, as it threatened additional powerful steps in response to the upcoming military training between the United States and South Korea.The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers later Sunday for a joint exercise with South Korean warplanes in a demonstration of strength against North Korea.Saturday’s ICBM test, the North’s first missile test since January 1, signals its leader Kim Jong Un is using his rivals’ drills as a chance to expand his country’s nuclear arsenal to get the upper hand in future dealings with the United States. An expert says North Korea may seek to hold regular operational exercises involving its ICBMs.North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said its launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM was organized “suddenly” without prior notice at Kim’s direct order.KCNA said the launch was designed to verify the weapon’s reliability and the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear force. It said the missile was fired at a high angle and reached a maximum altitude of about 5,770 kilometers (3,585 miles), flying a distance of about 990 kilometers (615 miles) for 67 minutes before accurately hitting a pre-set area in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.The steep-angle launch was apparently to avoid neighboring countries. The flight details reported by North Korea, which roughly matched the launch information previously assessed by its neighbors, show the weapon is theoretically capable of reaching the mainland US if fired at a standard trajectory.The Hwasong-15 launch demonstrated the North’s “powerful physical nuclear deterrent” and its efforts to “turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces” into an extremely strong one that cannot be countered, KCNA said.Whether North Korea has a functioning nuclear-tipped ICBM is still a source of outside debate, as some experts say the North hasn’t mastered a way to protect warheads from the severe conditions of atmospheric reentry. The North says it has acquired such a technology.The Hwasong-15 is one of North Korea’s three existing ICBMs, all of which use liquid propellants that require pre-launch injections and cannot remain fueled for extended periods. The North is pushing to build a solid-fueled ICBM, which would be more mobile and harder to detect before its launch.“Kim Jong Un has likely determined that the technical reliability of the country’s liquid propellant ICBM force has been sufficiently tested and evaluated to now allow for regular operational exercises of this kind,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at Korea Aerospace University in South Korea, said that North Korea appeared to have launched an upgraded version of the Hwasong-15 ICBM. Chang said the information provided by North Korea showed the missile will likely have a longer potential range than the standard Hwasong-15.Later Sunday, the US sent B-1B bombers streaking over the Korean Peninsula to train with South Korean and US fighter jets, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. It said Sunday’s training reaffirmed Washington’s “iron-clad” security commitment to South Korea.North Korea is sensitive to the deployment of US B-1B bombers, which are capable of carrying a huge payload of conventional weapons.The North’s launch came a day after it vowed an “unprecedentedly” strong response over a series of military drills that Seoul and Washington plan in coming weeks.In a statement Sunday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong Un, accused South Korea and the US of “openly showing their dangerous greed and attempt to gain the military upper hand and predominant position in the Korean Peninsula.”“I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us,” she said.North Korea has steadfastly slammed regular South Korea-US military drills as an invasion rehearsal though the allies say their exercises are defensive in nature.“By now, we know that any action taken by the US and South Korea — however justified from the vantage point of defense and deterrence against (North Korea’s) reckless behavior — will be construed and protested as an act of hostility by North Korea,” said Soo Kim, a security analyst at the California-based RAND Corporation. “There will always be fodder for (Kim Jong Un’s) weapons provocations.”“With nuclear weapons in tow and having mastered the art of coercion and bullying, Kim does not need ‘self-defense.’ But pitting the US and South Korea as the aggressors allows Kim to justify his weapons development,” Soo Kim said.US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and South Korea and Japan. South Korea’s presidential National Security Council said it will seek to strengthen its “overwhelming response capacity” against potential North Korean aggression based on the military alliance with the United States.The South Korean and US militaries plan to hold a table-top exercise this week to hone a joint response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea. The allies are also to conduct another joint computer simulated exercise and field training in March.The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, meeting on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany on Saturday, agreed to boost a trilateral cooperation involving the United States and exchanged in-depth views on the issue of Japan’s colonial-era mobilization of forced Korean laborers — a key sticking point in efforts to improve their ties, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.South Korea and Japan are both key US allies but often spat over issues stemming from Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula. But North Korea’s recent missile testing spree is pushing the two countries to explore how to reinforce their security cooperation.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

REVELATION 11:11-14
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they(ELIJSH-MOSES) heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.(REV 4:1 WE KNOW IS THE RAPTURE FOR SURE) And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.(RAPTURED)
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

REVELATION 16:18-20
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city (JERUSALEM) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

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.

Quake death toll in Turkey and Syria rises to almost 47,000-Posted : 2023-02-20 14:09

The number killed in Turkey by the February 6 earthquake rose to 41,020 late on Sunday, the Anadolu news agency reported on the basis of information from the country's AFAD disaster authority.The new figure pushed the total death toll to 47,000, including the 5,900 reported in Syria. The Syrian figures are, however, not being updated as frequently as the Turkish.Search and rescue operations in the region along the Turkey-Syria border region have almost all ended, as rescuers move on to retrieve bodies from under the rubble.Missions to recover people alive have officially ended in nine quake-hit provinces, except Kahramanmara? and Hatay, the head of the disaster authority AFAD, Yunus Sezer, told reporters in Ankara on Sunday.According to the United Nations, 8.8 million people have been affected by the disaster in Syria."[The] majority [is] anticipated to need some form of humanitarian assistance," U.N. Deputy Syria Representative Najat Rochdi wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "The U.N. is fully committed to doing more to help all Syrians," she said.Activists and aid workers in rebel-held areas in north-western Syria have complained of a lack of U.N. assistance in the days following the February 6 quakes.So far, more than 140 trucks carrying U.N. aid have travelled from Turkey to rebel-held north-western Syria since the disaster, where more than 9,000 buildings were completely or partially destroyed, causing at least 11,000 people to lose their homes.According to the U.N., the most urgent needs of those affected now include shelter such as tents.Some 600 schools have been destroyed in Syria, Yasmine Sherif, director of the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) U.N. fund, told Al-Jazeera. The fund is distributing $7 million in emergency aid.The first 7.7-magnitude quake struck Turkey and Syria in the early hours of February 6; another large tremor hit at noon that day and there have been more than 6,000 aftershocks, disaster authority AFAD said.The devastating earthquake destroyed or damaged around 105,000 buildings and left tens of thousands homeless in south-eastern Turkey.More than 1.2 million people are believed to have been evacuated from the south-eastern Turkey disaster zone. Over 1 million locals are currently living out of temporary shelters in quake-hit provinces, according to AFAD.To help victims, the Turkish government called on property owners to provide housing for the earthquake victims and for those who don't own property to donate money.Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey's southern Adana province on Sunday for his 2-day visit, state broadcaster TRT reported.In his first ever visit to Turkey as secretary of state, Blinken met quake victims and held talks with Turkish officials over U.S.?quake aid and the proposed NATO expansion to include Sweden and Finland, among other topics.The U.S. State Department simultaneously announced an increase in U.S. aid to $185 million. (DPA)

Earthquake sends tremors through Turkey’s already fragile economy-On top of existing pledges, President Erdogan will be forced to find up to $84 billion ahead of May 14 election to finance rebuilding of 11 provinces flattened by quake-By AFP-19 February 2023, 9:00 am

ISTANBUL — Turkey was already battling runaway inflation and relying on rich allies for funding to keep its economy afloat when a massive earthquake killed tens of thousands, razed entire cities and left millions needing urgent help.Now, it must pour billions of dollars into rebuilding 11 southeastern provinces flattened by the February 6 tremor — the worst disaster of its post-Ottoman history.That money will have to come on top of the billions of dollars in election promises that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made in the run-up to crucial polls still tentatively planned for May 14.All this cash could turbo-charge consumer spending and industrial production — two key indicators of economic growth.The problem for Erdogan, however, is that Turkey is very short on funds.The central bank’s vanishing coffers have been replenished by assistance from Russia and oil-rich Gulf states, which has helped Turkey spend tens of billions of dollars propping up the lira in the past few years.But economists believe that money is only sufficient to keep Turkey’s finances in order — and the troubled lira from collapsing — until the May polls.Now, Erdogan must repair some $84.1 billion in quake damage, according to an estimate from a prominent business group.Other experts’ estimates are more conservative, putting the total closer to $10 billion. Reconstruction boost-With elections in mind, Erdogan has already promised to provide new homes to the millions affected within a year.Should he find the cash, leaning heavily again on foreign donors, Erdogan will need to allocate much of it to the construction sector to rebuild parts of Turkey from the ground up.Although contractors are now being blamed for following lax standards that allowed so many buildings to crumble, Erdogan relied on the sector to modernize much of the country with airports, roads and hospitals.“The boost to output from reconstruction activities may largely offset the negative impact of the disruption to economic activity,” the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said.For the overall economy, at least, there are glimmers of hope.The area affected is one of Turkey’s least developed, contributing only nine percent to gross domestic product (GDP).But Turkey’s agricultural production could take a hit.Unay Tamgac, associate professor of economics at Ankara’s TOBB ETU University, said the region creates 14.3% of Turkey’s total agriculture, fishing and forestry output.The region is a global exporter of food such as apricots, she added, warning there could be a knock-on effect on prices.The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has warned of disruptions to basic food production in Turkey and Syria.Better than 1999? The quake also damaged energy facilities, infrastructure, transportation, irrigation and logistics, added Tamgac.Some look back to history for guidance.Residents support a woman in front of a destroyed building in Duzce, the epicenter of the 12 November 1999 earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the open-ended Richter scale, that shook northwestern Turkey, killing at least 452 people and injuring another 2,300. (Manoocher Deghati/AFP)-Mahmoud Mohieldin, an executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the 7.8-magnitude tremor could hurt the economy less than a 7.6-magnitude quake in 1999, which claimed more than 17,000 lives.An IMF spokesperson later said Mohieldin was speaking in a private capacity and not representing the fund’s official view.The Turkish economy weakened by around 0.5 to 1.0% of GDP in 1999. But that tremor hit the country’s industrial heartland — including economic powerhouse Istanbul.The economy quickly rebounded, however, growing by 1.5% of GDP in 2000 thanks to reconstruction efforts, the EBRD said.Last week’s quake also “did not affect areas farther west favored by foreign tourists, who have become one of Turkey’s most important sources of foreign exchange,” Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at Teneo consultancy, said in a note.Headwinds-The focus, then, is where Erdogan will get the cash to spend on rebuilding.“It’s clear there will be a need for foreign currency,” said Baki Demirel, associate professor of economy at Yalova University, since Turkey will now import more.Turkey’s sovereign debt levels are relatively low, meaning the government has some leeway to issue long-term debt.On the downside, foreign investors have shunned Turkey because of Erdogan’s unorthodox economic views, which include an ill-fated attempt to fight inflation by slashing interest rates.When the quake hit, Turkey’s annual inflation rate had slowed from a two-decade high of 85% last year to 58%.With all the headwinds, economists agree the economy will stall in the coming year.“Despite the uncertainty and different factors at play, such as global economic conditions and internal political expectations, the Turkish economy is likely to stagnate or grow below its natural rate,” economist Murat Kubilay wrote in a note online.

How Dangerous Was the Ohio Chemical Train Derailment? By The Conversation-Updated Feb 19, 2023 at 7:58pm

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Several cars that contained hazardous chemicals burned after the February 3, 2023, derailment.Headaches and lingering chemical smells from a fiery train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, have left residents worried about their air and water – and misinformation on social media hasn’t helped.State officials offered more details of the cleanup process and a timeline of the environmental disaster during a news conference on Feb. 14, 2023. Nearly a dozen cars carrying chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, derailed on the evening of Feb. 3, and fire from the site sent up acrid black smoke. Officials said they had tested over 400 nearby homes for contamination and were tracking a plume of spilled chemicals that had killed 3,500 fish in streams and reached the Ohio River.However, the slow release of information after the derailment has left many questions unanswered about the risks and longer-term impact. We put five questions about the chemical releases to Andrew Whelton, an environmental engineer who investigates chemical risks during disasters.Let’s start with what was in the train cars. What are the most concerning chemicals for human health and the environment long term, and what’s known so far about the impact? The main concerns now are the contamination of homes, soil and water, primarily from volatile organic compounds and semivolatile organic compounds, known as VOCs and SVOCs.The train had nearly a dozen cars with vinyl chloride and other materials, such as ethylhexyl acrylate and butyl acrylate. These chemicals have varying levels of toxicity and different fates in soil and groundwater. Officials have detected some of those chemicals in the nearby waterway and particulate matter in the air from the fire. But so far, the fate of many of the chemicals is not known. A variety of other materials were also released, but discussion about those chemicals has been limited.State officials disclosed that a plume of contamination released into the nearby creek had made its way into the Ohio River. Other cities get their drinking water from the river, and were warned about the risk. The farther this plume moves downstream, the less concentrated the chemical will be in water, posing less of a risk.Ohio train derailment prompts evacuations, uncertainty On Feb. 3, a train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Ten of the cars carried hazardous materials, according to the rail operator. "This town was nuked by chemicals. And it was all to get the railroad going," says Sil Caggiano, a hazardous materials specialist.Long term, the greatest risk is closest to the derailment location. And again, there’s limited information about what chemicals are present – or were created through chemical reactions during the fire.It isn’t clear yet how much went into storm drains, was flushed down the streams or may have settled to the bottom of waterways.There was also a lot of combusted particulate matter. The black smoke is a clear indication. It’s unclear how much was diluted in the air or fell to the ground.How long can these chemicals linger in soil and water, and what’s their potential long-term risk to humans and wildlife? The heavier the chemical, often the slower it degrades and the more likely it is to stick to soil. These compounds can remain for years if left unaddressed.After the Kalamazoo River oil pipeline break in Michigan in 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency excavated a tributary where the oil settled. We’ve also seen from oil spills on the coasts of Alaska and Alabama that oil chemicals can find their way into soil if it isn’t remediated.The long-term impact in Ohio will depend in part on how fast – and thoroughly – cleanup occurs.If the heavily contaminated soils and liquids are excavated and removed, the long-term impacts can be reduced. But the longer removal takes, the farther the contamination can spread. It’s in everyone’s best interest to clean this up as soon as possible and before the region gets rain.Booms in a nearby stream have been deployed to capture chemicals. Air-stripping devices have been deployed to remove chemicals from the waterways. Air stripping causes the light chemicals to leave the water and enter air. This is a common treatment technique and was used after an 2015 oil spill in the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana.At the derailment site in Ohio, workers are already removing contaminated soil as deep as 7 feet (about 2 meters) near where the rail cars burned.Some of the train cars were intentionally drained and the chemicals set on fire to eliminate them. That fire had thick black smoke. What does that tell you about the chemicals and longer-term risks? Incineration is one way we dispose of hazardous chemicals, but incomplete chemical destruction creates a host of byproducts. Chemicals can be destroyed when heated to extremely high temperatures so they burn thoroughly.The black smoke plume you saw on TV was incomplete combustion. A number of other chemicals were created. Officials don’t necessarily know what these were or where they went until they test for them.We know ash can pose health risks, which is why we test inside homes after wildfires where structures burn. This is one reason the state’s health director told residents with private wells near and downwind of the derailment to use bottled water until they can have their wells tested.The EPA has been screening homes near the derailment for indoor air-quality concerns. How do these chemicals get into homes and what happens to them in enclosed spaces? Homes are not airtight, and sometimes dust and other materials get in. It might be through an open door or a window sill. Sometimes people track it in.So far, the U.S. EPA has reported no evidence of high levels of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride in the 400 or so homes tested. But full transparency has been lacking. Just because an agency is doing testing doesn’t mean it is testing for what it needs to test for.Media reports talk about four or five chemicals, but the manifest from Norfolk Southern also listed a bunch of other materials in tanks that burned. All those materials create potentially hundreds to thousands of VOCs and SVOCs.Are government officials testing for everything they should? People in the community have reported headaches, which can be caused by VOCs and other chemicals. They’re understandably concerned.Ohio and federal officials need to better communicate what they’re doing, why, and what they plan to do. It’s unclear what questions they are trying to answer. For a disaster this serious, little testing information has been shared.In the absence of this transparency, misinformation is filling that void. From a homeowner’s perspective, it’s hard to understand the true risk if the data is not shared.The Conversation-By Andrew J. Whelton, Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University-This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

What to Know About the Ohio Train Derailment and Chemical Spill: A Timeline of Events-Abigail Adams-Fri, February 17, 2023 at 12:28 p.m. EST

What to Know About the Ohio Train Derailment and Chemical Spill: A Timeline of Events-It has been two weeks since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, leaving chaos in its wake.The train was pulling 150 cars through the village, located about 50 miles from Pittsburgh and home to over 4,700, on the morning of Feb. 3 when it left the rails and toppled over, spilling numerous dangerous chemicals as a result.The Feb. 3 derailment resulted in what officials called a "controlled release" of chemicals in hopes of avoiding further disaster, per The Washington Post.Since then, concerning signs of contamination have cropped up for miles, including dead animals such as fish and chickens, sick pets, and seemingly contaminated waterways, according to CBS News. Various health problems have been reported in those close to the contamination site, as well.However, local officials continue to insist that the air quality in and around the village is fine and the municipal water, which the majority of residents rely on, "is safe to drink", the outlet reported. Those who get their water from private wells are being encouraged to schedule testing and use bottled water until the results are in, according to the Ohio Department of Health.Multiple lawsuits have already been filed in connection with the disaster, claiming Norfolk Southern displayed negligence and carelessness in connection to the derailment, according to Ohio newspaper The Repository.Attorney Gary Corroto, with the Canton-Akron firm Tzangas Plakas Mannos, told the newspaper, "We don't believe we've been getting the full information."Here is a look at how the situation has unfolded so far:Train Derails in East Palestine-A train carrying "hazardous materials" derailed in East Palestine, Ohio around 9 a.m. local time on Feb. 3, according to town officials and the National Transportation Safety Board.The NTSB said 38 rail cars derailed, including 11 of the 20 "hazardous material cars" attached to the train. Twelve other cars were damaged, and a large fire ensued.Evacuation orders issued for everyone within a one-mile radius of the derailment, town officials said.Officials Say Air and Water Are Safe, Despite Burning Vinyl Chloride-Village officials said in a statement on Feb. 4 that hazmat teams had not detected harmful chemicals in the air.  They also claimed that the water is safe to drink, despite "low pressure or discoloration," which they attributed to "the high usage fighting the railroad fire."Mayor Trent Conaway declared a state of emergency for the Village of East Palestine the morning following the derailment. Later that day, town officials revealed that vinyl chloride was burning as a result of the wreck. The fire wasn't extinguished until Feb. 8, per NPR.Norfolk Southern also established a Family Assistance Center to help support the community, according to a company press release.Local Officials Reveal Spill in Sulphur Run-Village officials continued to urge locals that the water was safe, as did the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency.At the same time, Columbiana County EMA said on Feb. 5 that "some of the substances associated with the derailment may have spilled into Sulphur Run."At a news briefing that day, an NTSB official said that the cause of the derailment appeared to be caused by a mechanical problem, according to The Washington Post. A preliminary report will be released in March.The agency, which said there's no evidence that the train was purposefully derailed, said that before the emergency brake went on, crew members received an alarm alerting them to the issue, the newspaper reported.Officials Conduct "Controlled Release" Of Chemicals-The Ohio EMA announced that the railroad had conducted a "controlled release" to avoid "a possible explosion" involving the hazardous materials that were carried by the train. This was done on Nov. 6, per NPR."The risk of the car exploding was described to me as high," Gov. DeWine said at a press conference, according to the outlet.Per the Ohio EMA statement, the release sent "toxic and potentially deadly fumes" up into the air.With a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Train Derailment Ohio, East Palestine, United States - 04 Feb 2023-Evacuation Order Lifted Residents of East Palestine who evacuated were allowed to return home on Feb. 8. At the time, Gov. DeWine said air samples had "consistently showed readings" below what is required for safety screenings.That same day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed that spilled materials were found in Sulphur Run."Oily product was found leaking from a tank car and pooling on to the soil," the agency said. "Norfolk Southern was notified of the spill and began removing the product using a vacuum truck."Ohio EPA Reveals More Leaked Chemicals-On Feb. 10, the Ohio EPA released a work plan to address the derailment, which revealed more chemicals that were on the train that left the tracks.In addition to the vinyl chloride butyl acrylate that were previously disclosed, the agency said four more chemicals — ethylene glycol, monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene — were in some of the cars.Water sampling taken on Feb. 10 showed "very low levels" of butyl acylate and ethyl hexyl acrylate in Leslie Run, according to the agency."A much lower level" of ethyl hexyl acrylate was found in North Fork Little Beaver Creek.U.S. EPA Scolds Norfolk Southern For Improper Disposal-The U.S. EPA sent a letter to Norfolk Southern, informing the company that it had failed to properly dispose of contaminated soil after the derailment, CBS affiliate WKBN-TV reported on Feb. 13.The letter said five cars of vinyl chloride "were intentionally breached," and that the chemical "was diverted to an excavated trench" before it was burned off.Additionally, the EPA said areas of contaminated soil and liquids were "potentially covered and/or filled" while the rail line was reconstructed, including portions of the trench that was used to burn the vinyl chloride.On Feb. 13, Norfolk Southern announced that more than $1 million had been "distributed directly to families to cover costs related to the evacuation."East Palestine resident Ben Ratner, a 37-year-old father of four who lives less than a mile from the site of the derailment, spent eight days living in an Airbnb property before finally returning home three days after the evacuation order was finally lifted."Once we got back, we did a lot of cleaning and let the house air out, but all those chemicals that burned create byproducts, like hydrochloric acid, in the form of a film that's been left on the surfaces of our homes," Ratner told PEOPLE. He added he's not only worried about the long-term health impacts of the disaster but fears how it will affect the economy of his community."We still need answers about how to keep our families safe while also maintaining some sort of a regular existence for our kids," he said.Threat From Vinyl Chloride Fire "No Longer Exists," U.S. EPA Says-The U.S. EPA announced on Feb. 14 that it had "not detected any levels of health concern in the community that are attributed to the train derailment" while monitoring the air.Additionally, the agency said vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were not detected in nearly 400 homes tested for the chemicals."The threat of vinyl chloride fire producing phosgene and hydrogen chloride no longer exists," the EPA said on its site.In a separate announcement, Norfolk Southern revealed it had created "a $1 million charitable fund" for those impacted by the derailment in East Palestine.Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw also said the company is "cleaning up the site in an environmentally responsible way."Residents of East Palestine gathered at the local high school on Wednesday for a meeting with officials handling the train derailment.Norfolk Southern was originally expected to participate, but ultimately backed out at the last second, according to CNN and the Cincinnati Enquirer."Unfortunately, after consulting with community leaders, we have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties," the company said, according to CBS affiliate WBNS-TV.At the meeting, Mayor Conaway said he is "just as frustrated" as everyone else. "I'm trying to get answers," he said, per the Enquirer. "I cannot force them to be here."'No Water Quality Concerns' in East Palestine Municipal Well, U.S. EPA Says-The U.S. EPA announced Thursday that test results from the village's municipal well "showed no water quality concerns.""The municipal wells are at least 56 feet below the surface and are covered by a solid steel casing that protects the water from contamination," Gov. DeWine wrote in a press release the previous day. "Before drinking water is made available to the public, water from these five wells is combined at the water treatment plant and treated."The Ohio Department of Health encouraged residents with private wells to used bottled water until their well water tests are completed, according to the agency.Also on Thursday, Norfolk Southern's CEO shared a letter with the community of East Palestine."When I visited East Palestine last week, you told me how the train derailment has upended your lives and how concerned you are about the safety of your air, water, and land," Shaw wrote. "Many of you have also reached out to Norfolk Southern to share your fears, your anger, and your frustration."He added, "I hear you. We hear you."The Biden administration has said they will "hold Norfolk Southern accountable" for the derailment."We understand the residents are concerned as they should be ... and we're going to try to figure out an answer," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Thursday, according to Axois.