The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth October 5, 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora
How to Add the Last Chronicles to your Electronic Device
~Scroll down for all the news; be sure to CLICK on the photos next to the prophecy sign for all Bible verses & videos ~
Headline: Israel strikes Hamas target in retaliation for rocket fire from Gaza
The IDF struck a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening after a rocket was fired at Israel from the Hamas-controlled enclave. According to the army, the rocket fired from Gaza was aimed at Israel but exploded within the Gaza Strip. Siren alerts sounded in some communities bordering the Gaza Strip. In response, an IDF tank destroyed a Hamas watch tower in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to an IDF statement, the rocket fire constituted a threat to Israeli citizens and an attack on the State of Israel’s sovereignty. Hamas is held responsible for all terrorist activity within the Gaza Strip, the statement said.
Oct. 8, 2017
Headline: Sanhedrin Revives Ancient Temple Water Libation Ritual in Shiloah Valley
Headline: 50,000 Jews, Nations Gather for Priestly Blessing on Sukkot
On Monday afternoon, a group of approximately 500 set out from the Dung Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, singing and dancing as they descended into the valley below Jerusalem with one goal in mind: to draw one small jug of water from the Shiloah Pool in order to reenact the Temple water ceremony. Three Kohanim (Jewish men of the priestly caste) wearing priestly garments led the group past the archaeological remains of the City of David. After dancing down winding alleyways, the festive crowd arrived at the Shiloah Pool. Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, founder of the Temple Institute, presided over the event. “Sukkot was a holiday for all the nations and the nisuch hamayim (water libation) was an essential part of that,” Rabbi Ariel said when the procession arrived at the ancient pool. “The rain for the entire world was judged on Sukkot.” In Temple times, a libation of water was made together with the pouring out of wine at the morning service on the last six days of the week-long Sukkot holiday. Though not explicitly mandated in the Torah, the water libation is part of the oral tradition passed down from Moses. Sukkot is a joyous holiday and the water libation was the focal point of this joy. In the Temple, the ceremony would take fifteen hours with accompanying celebrations lasting all night until the Temple service began again the next morning.
Oct. 9, 2017
Saudi Arabia
Headline: Saudis could seek Russian bailout in Yemen
Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud’s Oct. 4-5 visit to Moscow ignited new speculation over Russia’s growing role in the Middle East: this time, in Yemen. Moscow has been involved on multiple levels in the Syrian conflict, has been active in the Libyan settlement and has taken what looks like a pragmatic stance regarding regional spats, including the latest between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Yemen, however — though it does register on Moscow’s diplomatic radar — has not so far warranted proactive Russian efforts. Salman’s visit to Moscow could kick-start Russian mediation efforts to reconcile Yemeni differences, potentially in a way that benefits Saudi Arabia over Iran — the Saudis’ bitter enemy and rival proxy in Yemen’s civil war.
Oct. 9, 2017
Egypt
Headline: Palestinian rivals head to Cairo for reconciliation talks
Headline: Israel asks US to plumb real motive behind Sisi-sponsored Palestinian talks
Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas dispatched teams to Egypt on Monday for talks in a renewed push to end their decade-long split after a key breakthrough last week. Senior figures in the Hamas terrorist movement and the secular Fatah party will meet in the Egyptian capital on Tuesday as they seek to end a division that has crippled Palestinian politics. Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank-based Fatah of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been at odds since they fought a near civil war in 2007. Senior Fatah figures attending the Cairo talks include intelligence chief Majed Faraj and Fayez Abu Eita, a party leader in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian official news agency Wafa said. Newly appointed Hamas deputy leader Salah al-Aruri and the movement’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar, will lead the Hamas delegation, a spokesman said in a statement.
Oct. 9, 2017
https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-rivals-head-to-cairo-for-reconciliation-talks/
https://www.debka.com/israel-asks-us-plumb-real-motive-behind-sisi-sponsored-palestinian-talks/
Syria
Headline: Nusra Front, Islamic State clash in Syria’s Hama province
Islamic State took control of some Syrian villages in a rebel-controlled area east of Hama on Monday, opening a new frontline days after the Syrian military said it had cleared Islamic State from a nearby area. Islamic State said in a statement it had taken control of 12 villages and carried out a big attack on the jihadist alliance Tahrir al-Sham. Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by al Qaeda’s former affiliate the Nusra Front, said in its own statement that Islamic State had stormed several villages and accused the Syrian army of allowing it to cross government territory. A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Islamic State had taken 15 villages from Tahrir al-Sham, but that the jihadist alliance then took five of them back.
Oct. 9, 2017
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5026564,00.html
Headline: Turkey troops, Syria extremists clash ahead of expected incursion
Turkish troops on Sunday exchanged fire with Syria-based extremists as Ankara massed military vehicles on the frontier ahead of an expected incursion to oust Al Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate from Idlib province. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation by pro-Ankara Syrian rebel forces backed by the Turkish army, whose launch he announced the day before, was “having no problem” and continuing “in a calm way”. Most of the northwestern region is controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a group led by Al Qaeda’s former Syria affiliate, which ousted more moderate rebels in recent months. Turkey has massed special forces and military hardware including tanks on the border, but the operation has yet to begin in earnest, monitors and sources on the ground said. But Turkish forces fired seven mortars over the border with the aim of easing the passage of the pro-Ankara Syrian forces, the Dogan news agency reported. Turkish forces have also been seen removing parts of the security wall Ankara has built on the border so that military vehicles can pass through into Syria.
Oct. 9, 2017
http://jordantimes.com/news/region/turkey-troops-syria-extremists-clash-ahead-expected-incursion
Turkey
Headline: Turkey, US block travel between countries as tensions rise
Tensions between Washington and Ankara spiraled downhill as Turkey and the US both blocked tourist and business travel between the two NATO-allied countries. Turkish Airlines announced Monday it would refund passengers’ airfares or make reservation changes for free because of the diplomatic battle. Passengers holding Turkish passports traveling to the USA and passengers holding American passports flying to Turkey between through Oct. 31 can seek relief. Passengers transferring to a connecting flight in Istanbul shouldn’t be affected. The shutoff of non-immigrant visas started last week when Turkish authorities arrested an employee – identified by Turkish state-run media as Metin Topuz — at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish authorities accuse the US employee of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher exiled in the US and blamed by Ankara for the 2016 failed coup to overthrow the government.
Oct. 9, 2017
http://nypost.com/2017/10/09/turkey-us-block-travel-between-countries-as-tensions-rise/
Iran
Headline: IRGC threatens missile strike on U.S. forces in Mideast as Iran nuclear deal decision nears
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has suggested that U.S. military forces in the Middle East could be in danger of an Iranian missile attack if Washington imposes new sanctions against Teheran. Jafari’s comments on October 8 follow several media reports saying that U.S. President Donald Trump intends to announce plans to decertify the 2015 nuclear deal that global powers forged with Iran in 2015 — declaring it not in U.S. interests. The move would give the Republican-controlled Congress 60 days to decide whether to reinstate sanctions on Tehran that were suspended under the agreement. Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying that “if new sanctions go into effect,” the United States should “move its regional bases to a 2,000-kilometer radius” from Iran, adding that 2,000 kilometers is “the range of Iranian missiles.” The U.S. military currently has bases less than 800 kilometers from Iran’s borders in countries neighboring Iran. Jafari also said that if the United States designates the IRGC as a terrorist group, the IRGC would consider the U.S. Army a terrorist group.
Oct. 9, 2017
Morocco
Headline: Hundreds Protest to Free Morocco’s Northern Activists
Hundreds of people from around Morocco protested on Sunday in the nation’s economic capital, Casablanca, to demand freedom for activists jailed for their roles in a protest movement that took off a year ago in a neglected northern city. The demonstration was the latest of numerous protests demanding the liberation of activists from the city of Al Hoceima, in the northern Rif region where hundreds of protesters have been arrested. Leading figures in the opposition movement known as Hirak will go on trial Oct. 17 in Casablanca. No trial date has been set for the movement’s leader, Nasser Zefzafi — arrested in June after a dramatic manhunt. An appeals court will decide this month whether a charge of attacking state security, which carries a risk of capital punishment, is maintained. The death sentence hasn’t been carried out in Morocco in decades. Up to 1,000 protesters, led by organizers perched on a pickup truck with megaphones, gathered at a main Casablanca intersection Sunday, chanting “freedom, dignity, social justice.”
Oct. 8, 2017
https://www.voanews.com/a/hundreds-protest-to-free-morocco-northern-activists-/4061700.html
Headline: Seven killed as militants attack checkpoint in Somalia’s Puntland
Al-Shabab militants attacked a checkpoint in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, killing at least seven people in the early hours of Monday, police said. The fighters then ambushed officers rushing in to help colleagues on the outskirts of the city of Bosaso, an officer at the scene said. Al-Shabab said it took the checkpoint then left, though the police said they fought off the assault. “At about 1 a.m., many well-armed Al-Shabab fighters attacked us from all directions in an attempt to capture the checkpoint,” police captain Abdifatah Mohamed said. Three police and four civilians died and at least 13 others were wounded in the clashes, he said over the phone from the checkpoint. Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operation spokesman, said its fighters killed seven soldiers and wounded 11 others. “We captured the Bosaso checkpoint and left this morning. We also ambushed a police reinforcement,” he said.
Oct. 9, 2017
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1174996/middle-east
Headline: UN says 1 peacekeeper killed, 12 injured in eastern Congo
The United Nations says one Tanzanian peacekeeper has been killed and 12 others injured after an attack in eastern Congo by Ugandan rebels belonging to the group known as ADF. U.N. Congo mission spokeswoman Florence Marchal said suspected rebels attacked early Monday near a U.N. base in Mamundioma, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Beni and have seized weapons. She said forces have been deployed to the area in the North Kivu province as fighting continues. ADF rebels in September killed a Tanzanian peacekeeper there. The assault comes after local administrator Amisi Kalonda said fighting in the region overnight Saturday killed 10 people. However, David Muhaze, the president of a civil society organization, said at least 22 people are missing. The total of missing and dead could not be confirmed.
Oct. 9, 2017
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5026527,00.html
Headline: US defense chief: Military must ‘be ready’ to confront North Korea
US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the US military must “be ready” to confront North Korea amid threats by Pyongyang and continued missile testing. Speaking on Monday at the Association of the US Army’s annual meeting, Mattis said the US strategy for North Korea at the moment was a “diplomatically led, economic sanctioned, buttressed effort to try to turn North Korea off its path.” And while “neither you nor I can say” what the future holds, Mattis said, “there’s one thing the US Army can do, and that is you have got to be ready to ensure that we have military options that our president can employ if needed.” “But that means the US Army must stand ready, and so, if you’re ready, that’s your duty at this point in time. And I know the Army will always do its duty,” he added.US President Donald Trump said last week that years of talking to the North and providing aid haven’t worked and that there was “only one thing [that] will work” to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Mattis’s comments came as Russia was warning against escalating tensions with Pyongyang.
Oct. 9, 2017
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-defense-chief-military-must-be-ready-to-confront-north-korea/
Headline: California Hepatitis A Outbreak on Verge of Statewide Epidemic
The California hepatitis A outbreak is on the verge of reaching statewide epidemic status, as cases have spread through homeless tent cities from San Diego north to Sacramento. California health officials have reported that at least 569 people have been infected with the hepatitis A liver disease and 17 have died since a San Diego County outbreak was first identified in November. Cases have migrated north to homeless populations in Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and Sacramento over the last 11 months. Although local and state authorities have tried to underplay the risks and severity of the outbreak, the most recent annual totals for cases of hepatitis A in the United States was 1,390 in 2015, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). California only reported 179 cases during the same year.
Oct. 8, 2017
Headline: ‘Antibiotic apocalypse’: Drug-resistant gene spread across globe within 2 years
The life-saving antibiotic of “last resort” is in danger of becoming powerless after a drug-resistant gene was found to have spread across the globe in the last two years. Scientists believe it’s one of the greatest dangers now facing humanity. A bacteria containing a gene which carries resistance to the antibiotic colistin has spread around the world at an alarming rate. The gene is mcr-1 and was first discovered in China in 2015, and has since been found in more than 30 other countries. Colistin is known as the antibiotic of “last resort,” because it is used when patients no longer respond to other antibiotics. It has toxic side effects but doctors are increasingly using it as a result of antibiotic resistance. “The world is facing an antibiotic apocalypse,” England’s chief medical officer Sally Davies said, the Guardian reports.
Oct. 9, 2017
https://www.rt.com/news/406159-antibiotic-apocalypse-drug-resistant-gene/
Headline: Baltimore Doubles Chicago’s Homicide Rate In 2017
According to The Daily Caller, Baltimore‘s homicide rate is now doubled Chicago’s in 2017. Essentially, residents in Baltimore are twice as likely to be shot than Chicagoans. As the battlefield continues to expand, President Trump has yet to mention the chaos in Baltimore just 38 miles North of the White House. As The Daily Caller points out, the soaring violence in Baltimore is occurring in a much smaller city of 621,000, when compared to Chicago of 2,700,000. Chicago has suffered 503 gun homicides so far in 2017. With a population of over 2.7 million, the gun homicide rate is at just over 18 people per 100,000 residents. Baltimore, however, has suffered 275 gun homicides with a population of just over 621,000, putting the homicide rate at more than 44 per 100,000. The city is on track to break its all-time murder record originally set in 1992, when Baltimore had 100,000 more residents. The author made a very interesting point, both cities are “long-standing Democratic strongholds”. Not surprising, Baltimore hasn’t had a republican mayor since 1947 and or voted Republican in a presidential election since 1956. On top of failed liberal policies, de-industrialization has stripped the cities of productivity and forced an alarming inequality gap in education, jobs, health, and wealth of residents. For example, Baltimore has a population of 621,000 and out of that 63% are African American. In highlights below, 1/3 of the African American population has a net worth of zero, which equates to 130,000 residents. Opportunity for most citizens in the city are limited giving way to violent crime and an explosion in homicides.
Oct. 8, 2017
All earthquakes are instantly posted to the ETRM Facebook page- you do not need to sign up; click the photo below to see the earthquake album
~click the photo to see ALL the maps of the large earthquakes for the current year~
What’s shaking? 
List & map of USGS Earthquakes ~Click the shaking house~