Frank DiMora P.O. Box 732, Lompoc Ca. 93436 fjdimora@gmail.com
Bible prophecy documentary book download proving our generation will see the return of the Lord. Do you want to know what is going to happen in the future before it actually takes place? The Word of God provides you with specific details about our future and all of these things are coming to pass in this generation. If you aren’t saved yet this is a must read! Please don’t forget to subscribe to receive my daily prophecy up-dates. The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth January 19, 2015 Edition written by Frank DiMora.
Yesterday I put up a video telling you of a need for Pastor Fiaz and his wife who I support to do ministry work in Pakistan which includes giving free medical care, food, bibles, and my prophecy book. Pastor Fiaz and his wife were robbed by Muslims as they were doing ministry work. God was good in that no harm came to them but they lost just about everything that was with them. My heart was broken yesterday for many reasons and the news about Fiaz only added to my burden. However, after I put up the video which is below I received a note from Shawn Svacha at Ascent Ministries. Jesus has blessed me with by answering my prayers for Fiaz and his wife as my Brothers and Sisters in the Lord who watched my video and, then contacted Ascent Ministries to help them get back on their feet. As you will see from Shawn’s note to me $ 1,300 was given so far to help Fiaz. I want to take this time and thank everyone who gave! I love you all.
NOTE FROM SHAWN AT ASCENT MINISTRIES
Hi Frank,
Steve B.
Debbie B.
Headline: Report: Iron Dome deployed to northern Israel after alleged Syria strike
Headline: Israeli tanks take up positions along Lebanon border
In the aftermath of an alleged Israeli strike Sunday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the IDF reportedly deployed a number of Iron Dome air defense batteries to the North on Monday evening, according to foreign media. Sky News Arabic reported that the anti-rocket batteries had been maneuvered in case of further escalation on the border with Syria and Lebanon. According to Hezbollah, which is active on the side of President Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war, an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles Sunday at a military convoy in the Syrian town of Quneitra, not far from the Israeli border in the Golan Heights. Six Hezbollah operatives and six Iranian soldiers were reported killed in the hit. The killings raised the possibility of a retaliatory attack, with a senior Iranian official suggesting that Israel would be hit at “the right time and right place.” An Israeli defense official told Reuters an escalation was possible.
Jan. 21, 2015
Headline: Iran and Hezbollah are planning ‘imminent’ joint invasion of Israel’s northern Galilee region according to ‘high level intelligence’
Senior Iranian and Hezbollah figures killed in an airstrike in Syria this weekend were likely planning an ‘imminent’ attack on Israel, security sources have claimed. Six Iranian army chiefs died alongside five Hezbollah militants after an Israeli helicopter fired rockets at a convoy in the Golan Heights region on Sunday. Today Major General Eyal Ben Reuven, a former deputy head in the Israeli Defense Forces, accused the senior military figures of meeting to plot an attack on Israel. He added that the commanders’ decision to meet in Syria could mean that a ‘high-level’ and ‘sophisticated’ attack on Israel’s northern border is ‘imminent’. Research group The Israel Project came to a similar conclusion, saying that the presence of Tabatabai ‘probably indicates operations aimed at overrunning Israeli border towns.’ The warnings come just a week after Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, warned that the group ‘is ready and prepared for a confrontation in the Galilee and beyond the Galilee.’ Iran has also promised a ‘crushing response’ to the weekend strike, without laying out exactly what action will be taken. General Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said: ‘These martyrdoms proved the need to stick with jihad. The Zionists must await ruinous thunderbolts. ‘The Revolutionary Guards will fight to the end of the Zionist regime… We will not rest easy until this epitome of vice is totally deleted from the region’s geopolitics.’ Israeli troops have been marshalled along the country’s northern border, while an Iron Dome missile launcher has been deployed to destroy any incoming rockets. Senior Iranian politicians are said to be incensed at the death of Allahdadi, which they confirmed yesterday, saying he had been ‘martyred’ in the name of his country.
***SEE ALSO IRAN BELOW
Jan. 20, 2015
Headline: Hamas threatens Palestinian Authority with Gaza takeover
Hamas has warned that it could end reconciliation with the rival Fatah movement and formally regain the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority. The Islamic movement has raised the prospect that Hamas would again expel the PA and restore control over the Gaza Strip. In an analysis, Hamas warned that it could not continue to oversee the chaos and economic decline in the strip. “All of these instructions prove that Hamas is a tough situation, and has to choose one among these five scenarios,” the Hamas daily Al Risala said. In an analysis on Jan. 16, Hamas said it could be “compelled to take a serious turn” to end the deadlock in the Gaza Strip. The analysis said Hamas was frustrated by the PA’s failure to launch reconstruction in wake of the 50-day with Israel in mid-2014. “The first scenario is built on the assumption that Hamas has to take control over the Gaza Strip one more time,” the analysis said. “The hard part about it is that the international projects in Gaza will be stopped completely, the siege will become tougher, and the financial crisis will increase.” The analysis said the PA has demanded the unconditional abdication of Hamas from power as well as the disarming of its military. The analysis also raised the prospect that Hamas, after expelling the PA, would form a joint command with other political factions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas also ruled out a long-term ceasefire with Israel to ensure the continuation of Islamic rule. Another scenario was a war against Israel, “which would lead to the collapse of the PA.” “Thus, Hamas will find itself in a better position to strengthen its place worldwide,” the analysis said.
Jan. 20, 2015
http://www.worldtribune.com/2015/01/20/hamas-threatens-palestinian-authority-gaza-takeover/
Headline: Hamas: Tel Aviv stabbing attack ‘heroic act’
Headline: Tel Aviv bus terrorist says he was motivated by Gaza War, Temple Mount, martyrdom
Hamas and several Palestinian groups on Wednesday welcomed the stabbing attack in Tel Aviv while Palestinian Authority officials rejected charges of incitement against Israel.
Hussam Badran, a senior Hamas official, called on Palestinians to step up “organized and individual resistance” against Israel. He said that such attacks would confuse Israel and deter it from “pursuing its schemes against the Palestinians.” Bardan said that the perpetrator of the attack has brought happiness to the mothers whose sons were killed by Israel.
“The Palestinian people need to endorse jihad (holy war),” the Hamas official said. Another Hamas leader, Izzat al-Risheq, hailed the attack as heroic and brave, saying it was a “natural response to the crimes of the occupation and its terrorism against our people.”
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-Tel-Aviv-stabbing-attack-heroic-act-388427
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.638284#
Headline: Boehner invites Netanyahu to address Congress on Iran, after Obama veto threat
House Speaker John Boehner announced Wednesday he is inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress next month about the threat from Iran, in a sharp rebuke to President Obama. Such invitations typically are coordinated with the White House and State Department, but this one was not. The House speaker’s office said Netanyahu will be invited to speak Feb. 11 before a joint session of Congress. The invitation comes as lawmakers weigh legislation, supported by Republicans and some Democrats, to tee up more sanctions against Iran in case negotiations fail to curtail the country’s nuclear enrichment program. Obama vowed Tuesday during his State of the Union address to veto any such legislation. But Boehner signaled he wants Netanyahu to explain the stakes of the debate, as he pledged to press ahead with the legislation. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is a great friend of our country, and this invitation carries with it our unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of his people,” Boehner said in a statement. “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life.” Asked about the invite, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest described it as a breach of typical protocol since the White House wasn’t involved. But he said the administration would reserve judgment until they speak with the Israelis.
Jan. 21, 2015
“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! 2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83)
Jordan
Headline: Jordan has taken all measures to halt Israeli airport plan — gov’t
The government on Tuesday said that it has taken all measures to protest an Israeli plan to build an airport near the border north of Aqaba that is considered a threat to Jordan’s airspace security. During an “oversight” House session, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that the government is aware of all the details regarding the Israeli scheme, adding that the Foreign Ministry, through Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, has made all the necessary contacts with international parties and Israeli officials to assert that the airport’s location constitutes a violation to Jordan’s sovereignty, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The issue was raised after MP Rula Hroub said she was not convinced with the government’s reply to a query she had filed, insisting that Judeh take the responsibility for alleged failure to press for a halt to Israeli plans, suggesting a vote of no confidence against the minister. For lack of quorum, the Chamber failed to vote on the proposition — whether or not to hold a no-confidence session — and Lower House First Deputy Speaker Ahmad Safadi, who chaired the session, postponed the discussion till next Tuesday. For her part, Transport Minister Lina Shbeeb confirmed that the planned Israeli airport is a violation to the Kingdom’s sovereignty, outlining the steps authorities have taken to halt the plan, adding that the International Civil Aviation Organisation will hold a session to vote over the Jordanian complaint and establish whether the Israeli facility poses a violation to Jordan’s right and a danger to its airspace security. She did not elaborate on the timing of the vote. The airport, which Israel plans to build some 18 kilometres north of its port city of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba, would serve domestic and international flights and is projected to open in 2016, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
Jan. 20, 2015
http://jordantimes.com/jordan-has-taken-all-measures-to-halt-israeli-airport-plan—-govt
Lebanon
Headline: Israel’s strike has placed Iran on its border, warns Lebanon speaker
Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned on Wednesday of the dangers of Israel’s strike on Syria’s Quneitra region, saying that it committed a “strategic error ” by placing Iran on its border. Berri, a key ally of the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group said: “Through this crime, Israel placed Iran on its border.” This was in reference to the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Mohammed Allahdadi and other Hezbollah and Iranian officials /commanders/fighters in the Quneitra , Golan Heights strike by an Israeli helicopter last Sunday . Berri,made his remarks during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at his Ain el-Tineh residence in West Beirut. The speaker however noted that the strike will not affect the dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement. “The talks have yielded direct results in that tensions have been eased and Lebanon’s internal scene has been fortified,” Berri stressed. He later sent a cable of condolence to Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the death of Iranian General Allahdadi and other officials . Earlier, Berri had accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of timing a deadly air raid on Hezbollah in the Golan Heights for political purposes linked to the upcoming elections.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://yalibnan.com/2015/01/21/israels-strike-has-placed-iran-on-its-border/
Saudi Arabia
Headline: Hezbollah: Saudi Arabia Helped Israel Eliminate Senior Commander
Hezbollah’s official media outlet has claimed that Saudi Arabia helped Israel to eliminate a delegation of Hezbollah terrorists and Iranian soldiers on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights Monday. The comments came during a report on the Al Manar TV channel about the Israel Air Force’s elimination of Jihad Mughniyeh and Iranian field commander, General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, earlier this week. Quoting Hezbollah sources, the report claimed that the Saudis had provided “direct information” to Israel about the movements of the two vehicles Mughniyeh, Allahdadi, and other Hezbollah terrorists were traveling in. According to Hezbollah, Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Gulf states are sending “regular and constant reports” to Israel about the movements of Hezbollah, Iran, and pro-regime Shia militias in Syria, as part of their campaign to keep Iran and its “allies” in check, the report said. Israel has been using this information to support groups fighting against the Shia militias.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190275#.VL_-RS6xXhI
Syria Iraq ISIS- the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (the Levant) ISIS=ISIL=IS=Daash
Iraq Syria Kurdistan
Syria Headline: Strike on IS-held village kills dozens
Syria Headline: New toll has 43 civilians killed in Syria regime raid on ISIS
Dozens of people have been killed in an air strike on a village held by Islamic State in eastern Syria, activists say. It was not clear who was behind the attack in Khansaa in Hassakeh province, which left between 30 and 80 dead. The Local Co-ordination Committees and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian military helicopters had dropped barrel bombs on a market. But some residents alleged that warplanes from the US-led coalition battling IS had fired missiles. Syrian government officials have so far not commented on the incident. Activists and witnesses concurred that the target of the strike in Khansaa, south of the Kurdish-held city of Qamishli, was a busy livestock market. Resident Khair al-Obeidi told the Reuters news agency that the Syrian air force had bombed a part of the market where cattle were traded. “There are at least 65 bodies – mostly charred bodies – that were counted by local medics in Tal Hamis,” he said, referring to a nearby town. The LCC, an opposition activist network, said at least 77 people had been killed in the attack and dozens wounded.
Jan. 20, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30895546
Syria Headline: Car Bomb Explodes in Central Syria’s Homs, Killing 6 People
A car bomb exploded Wednesday in the central Syrian city of Homs, killing at least six people in a neighborhood frequently targeted by rebels because it is seen as a home of loyalists of the President Bashar Assad. The rigged vehicle exploded among residential buildings and shops in the Akrama neighborhood, an area dominated by Alawites, the same sect as Assad. The explosion killed mostly women and children, Homs Governor Talal Barrazi said. Barrazi said the blast killed at least six people and wounded 30. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast killed 10 people, basing its figure from a network of activists on the ground. Conflicting death tolls are routine after such attacks. It was the third car bomb to target the street over the past year, Barrazi said. A twin suicide car bombing outside schools there in October that killed at least 32 people, including at least 10 children. Wednesday’s bombing came a week after Syrian rebels and government forces began observing a 10-day truce in the last rebel-held area of Homs.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/car-bomb-explodes-central-syrias-homs-killing-28368720
Syria Headline: The Islamic State Eyes Expansion in Damascus
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has begun to expand its presence in the Syrian central corridor which stretches from the Jordanian border through Damascus to the central cities of Homs and Hama. The “central corridor” is highly-contested key terrain for both the Syrian regime and its armed opposition, while ISIS presence has generally been limited in the area until recently. As one major exception, ISIS maintained a notable foothold in several opposition-held areas of Damascus in early 2014 before retreating due to pressure from local rebel groups. A small ISIS contingent, largely overlooked, endured quietly in the southern suburbs of Damascus throughout late 2014. Over the past two months, ISIS has once again escalated its military and public relations activities in this area, threatening to divert both regime and rebel resources away from active fronts in the Damascus area in order to contend with the ISIS threat. This development may provide an indicator of ISIS’s broader expansion plans in western Syria and the potential response of Syrian opposition fighters to this expansion.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://iswsyria.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-islamic-state-eyes-expansion-in.html
Syria Headline: ISW Syria Situation Report Jan. 13-19, 2015
http://iswsyria.blogspot.com/2015/01/syria-update-january-13-19-2014.html
Syria Headline: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe
http://syriahr.com/en/category/news/
Iraq Headline: Canada special forces clash with IS in Iraq
Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in Iraq in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and IS, a senior officer said Monday. The Canadians came under mortar and machine gun fire while training Iraqi troops near front lines and shot back in what Canadian special forces commander Brigadier General Michael Rouleau described as self-defense, killing the IS fighters. Rouleau said the melee had taken place in the previous seven days and was “the first time we’ve taken fire and returned fire” in Iraq, where the extremists have overrun large areas. “My troops had completed a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders several kilometers behind the front lines,” Rouleau told a regular media briefing on the conflict. “When they moved forward to confirm the planning at the front lines in order to visualize what they had discussed over a map, they came under immediate and effective mortar and machine gun fire.” The general said the Canadians used sniper fire to “neutralize both threats” and there were no Canadian injuries.
Jan. 19, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/canada-special-forces-clash-iraq-195504092.html
Iraq Headline: IS Transfers Equipment From Three Mosul Oil Refineries to Syria
The Islamic State (IS) militants in the Nineveh province of Iraq are transferring machinery from three oil refineries in Mosul to Syria. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official in Zumar Town Hassan Khalo told BasNews on Tuesday, that IS militants have abandoned Kask near Mosul. In addition to transferring refinery equipment from Kask, they have looted and destroyed a military base in the area. The machinery had previously been used in the Ain Zala oil fields, Khalo said. He went on to claim that the transfer operation is underway because Islamic State realise that these areas will soon be liberated. The militants have been suffering heavy losses in areas to the north and west of Mosul in recent weeks.
Jan. 21, 2015
Iraq Headline: ISW Iraq Situation Report Jan. 17-18, 2015
http://iswiraq.blogspot.com/2015/01/iraq-situation-report-january-17-18-2015.html
Kurdish Headline: Kurdish forces launch push against ISIS in north Iraq
Kurdish Headline: Kurdish forces squeeze Islamic State supply line in northern Iraq
Kurdish security forces launched an offensive on ISIS in northern Iraq Wednesday, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, and retook villages the jihadis used to launch attacks, officials said. The Kurdistan Regional Security Council said peshmerga forces, who began a “large-scale offensive” around 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT), retook four areas and were working to clear more. The anti-ISIS coalition said it carried out six airstrikes in northern Iraq from Tuesday to Wednesday – three near the town of Tal Afar and three near the city of Mosul. It did not specify the exact locations targeted. The strikes in Nineveh province, where Kurdish troops launched the offensive, hit vehicles, ISIS units, buildings, heavy weapons and a bridge, a statement said.
Jan. 21, 2015
https://in.news.yahoo.com/kurdish-forces-squeeze-islamic-state-supply-line-northern-192418090.html
Headline: $200M ransom demand a sign of ISIS’ financial desperation, say experts
The Islamic State’s staggering $200 million demand for two Japanese hostages may reveal the terrorist group’s desperation to maintain control of its sprawling caliphate, especially amid falling black market oil revenues from seized wells and pipelines, terrorism experts said. An online video purportedly released by the group’s al-Furqan media arm and posted Tuesday on militant websites associated with the terror network presents a pricey ultimatum: Japan must pay $200 million within 72 hours or two Japanese hostages — a 42-year-old private military company operator and a 47-year-old freelance journalist — will be executed. The hostages, identified as Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto Jogo, appear in the video in orange jumpsuits like other hostages previously killed by Islamic State, which controls a third of Iraq and Syria. The militant who threatens them speaks in a British accent and may be the same jihadist who appeared in videos with western journalists who were beheaded. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to save the men — saying, “Their lives are the top priority” — the Japanese government declined to say whether it would pay the ransom.
Jan. 20, 2015
Headline: Obama urges Congress to okay force against ISIS
Headline: Obama calls for new war powers to fight IS in State of the Union address
President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on the U.S. Congress to pass a new authorization of force against the ISIS militant group and to not rush into new sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Obama said a U.S. led coalition of countries is stopping the advance of the group in Iraq and Syria. “I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL,” Obama said in the annual State of the Union address, using another acronym for the militant group. He said the U.S. stands with terror victims from “Pakistan to Paris,” in the address that came came just days after attacks in Paris and weeks after attacks in Pakistan. Lawmakers waved yellow pencils to show their support for free speech when Obama mentioned the attacks earlier this month in Paris. The 17 people killed by Islamist militant gunmen included staff at French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Obama vowed: “We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks.” But he stressed U.S. officials ”reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we’ve done relentlessly since I took office, to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.”
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/obama-calls-new-war-powers-fight-state-union-address-451005287
AMERICA IS IN GRAVE DANGER. CHRISTIANS MUST SPEAK OUT.
When a nation murders 57 million babies and her leaders ignore the threat of Radical Islam, the State of the Union is not “strong.”
By Joel C. Rosenberg (@joelcrosenberg on Twitter)
(Costa Mesa, CA, January 21, 2015) — “America, for all that we have endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.”
So began President Obama on Tuesday night in his 2015 State of the Union address to the nation and to a Joint Session of Congress. He was not the first American President to declare the state of the union “strong.” But with all due respect, the President is wrong. When a nation murders 57 million innocent babies, the state of the union is not strong. When a nation overtaxes and overregulates and over burdens the economy and drives manufacturers and other businesses overseas and leaves 92 million Americans out of the labor force with no jobs and few prospects to get a good-paying job, the state of the union is not strong. When a nation heaps $18 trillion of national debt on the backs of her children and grandchildren, and keeps creating more and more national debt with no end in sight, the state of the union is not strong. When a leader ignores the rising threat of Radical Islam — does not take decisive action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, does not take decisive action to crush terrorist movements like al Qaeda and ISIS, and refuses to even mention “Islam” or “Islamism” or “Radical Islam” or even “al Qaeda” is his address to the nation — the state of the union is not strong. My goal in saying this is not to score partisan political points. Rather, I am deeply concerned about the future of America, and Christian leaders and lay people must speak out. Indeed, at this critical hour, let us consider Ezekiel 33:1-9 and how it applies to us and our times….
Headline: Muslim scholars urge UN to outlaw ‘contempt’ of religions
A leading Islamic organization has called on the United Nations to make “contempt of religions” illegal and urged the West to protect Muslim communities following the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by influential preacher Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, appealed to Muslims to continue peaceful protests against images of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but “not to resort to any violence.” The latest cartoon of the Prophet in Charlie Hebdo has angered many Muslims and triggered protests in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In a statement released Tuesday, the union said there should be protection for “prophets” and urged Islamic countries to submit a draft law to the UN calling for defamation of religions to be outlawed. The union said the UN should then issue a “law criminalizing contempt of religions and the prophets and all the holy sites.” It also called for the West “to protect Muslim communities from attacks, whether they are citizens or residents or visitors.”
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/692686
Listed below are the nations which will attack Israel from Ezekiel chapter 38 and their modern day names (see chart above).
Gog is the leader of the Russian invasion of Israel.
Magog, Meshech, and Tubal comprise modern day Russia.
Persia is Iran, parts of northern Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Cush is Ethiopia and Sudan.
Put is Libya and will most likely include Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
Gomer is Eastern Germany.
Beth Togarmah is Turkey and Armenia.
Russia
Headline: Russia And Iran Just Got Even Closer
Headline: Sophisticated Russian S-400 missiles for Iran under new military pact, S-300s for Egypt, Syria, Hizballah
Russia and Iran are aligning more and more. In Tehran on Tuesday, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart, defense minister Hossein Dehghan, signed an agreement on “military cooperation” between the two countries, according to the state-controlled news agency TASS. “The signing of the intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation today became a significant step in the strengthening of these relations,” Shoigu said afterward. “The theoretical basis of cooperation in the military sphere has been established.” Shoigu noted that the thinking of Russia and Iran regarding the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan was “closer or coincides.” He also noted that during the meeting both sides stressed the importance of coordinated efforts to combat international terrorism and drug trafficking. “We consider the reduction of tension in the region our responsibility and one of our top priorities,” Shoigu said. Cooperation between the two countries is clearest in Syria, where planes from Moscow and Tehran have consistently arrived in Damascus with weapons and supplies for the Assad regime.
Jan. 20, 2015
http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-iran-signed-military-cooperation-2015-1
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fitar-tass.com%2Farmiya-i-opk%2F1708359&edit-text=
Headline: Russia has 9,000 troops in Ukraine, Poroshenko tells Davos forum
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia on Wednesday of sending 9,000 troops to back separatist rebels in the east of his country, and the IMF chief said she backed extra financial help for Kiev as the conflict inflicts severe economic damage. Moscow challenged Poroshenko to present facts to prove his allegations. However, he won support from NATO, which said the amount of heavy military equipment used by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine had increased, and the alliance repeated its call for the forces to withdraw. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Poroshenko made one of Kiev’s boldest assertions yet that Russia’s military is directly involved in a conflict in which more than 4,800 people have died since last April. Russian troops were backed by a range of heavy weapons, including tanks, heavy artillery and armored vehicles, he said, adding: “If this is not aggression, what is aggression?” Poroshenko also called on Moscow to comply with a peace plan agreed in Minsk, Belarus, last September between Ukraine, Russia and pro-Russian separatist leaders to end the conflict. “The solution is very simple — stop supplying weapons … withdraw the troops and close the border,” he said. “If you want to discuss something different, it means you are not for peace, you are for war.”
Jan. 21, 2015
http://newsdaily.com/2015/01/russia-has-9000-troops-on-ukrainian-soil-poroshenko-tells-davos-forum/
Iran
Headline: Iran general killed with Hezbollah fighters in Israel raid
Headline: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vows to punish Israel for general killed in Syria
An Israeli strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed Monday, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah gathered to bury one of six fighters killed in the same raid. The attack on Sunday near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights enraged Hezbollah’s supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel. Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of one of their generals in a statement on their website. “General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi and a number of fighters and Islamic Resistance (Hezbollah) forces were attacked by the Zionist regime’s helicopters,” it said. “This brave general and some members of Hezbollah were martyred.” A source close to Hezbollah said six Iranians had been killed in the attack. Hezbollah told AFP that it was not the source of that toll.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-confirms-general-killed-israel-strike-syria-004946061.html
Headline: Israeli TV shows ‘Iranian missile’ that ‘can reach far beyond Europe’
Iran has built a 27-meter-long missile, capable of delivering a warhead “far beyond Europe,” and placed it on a launch pad at a site close to Tehran, an Israeli television report said Wednesday, showing what it said were the first satellite images of the missile ever seen in the West. It stressed that the missile could be used to launch spacecraft or satellites, but also to carry warheads. The Channel 2 news report showed satellite imagery documenting what it said was Iran’s “very rapid progress” on long-range missile manufacture. It showed one photograph of a site near Tehran, which it said the West had known about for two years, where Iran was working on engines for its long-range missiles. It then showed a satellite photograph of a second site, nearby, which featured a launch pad, with the 27-meter missile on it — an Iranian missile “never seen before” by the West. The missile is capable of taking a manned spacecraft or satellite into space, the TV report said. It is also capable of carrying a conventional or non-conventional warhead “far beyond Europe,” the report added.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-tv-shows-iranian-missile-that-can-reach-far-beyond-europe/
Afghanistan
****Clicking on the UNDERLINED sections will take you to the news link
Headline: War News for Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Political turmoil continues as parliament rejects 7 cabinet nominees over dual citizenship. These include the nominees for Interior and Foreign Minister. Of course, given the decades of war and the period of Taliban rule, many educated Afghans have been expatriates. The nominees can be considered if they drop their second citizenship.
Human Rights Watch reports attacks and threats against journalists in Afghanistan are on the rise, with 2014 being the most violent year on record. “An already fragile media freedom has been jeopardised still further by intimidation and violence from both state and non-state figures, combined with a lack of government protection and waning international support.”
NYT reports that internal divisions in the Taliban have created an opening for IS. This has been noted before, but the NYT goes into more depth. It is not entirely clear whether IS just provides a new brand for some Taliban factions in Helmand, or if there really are strong ties with the organization in Syria and Iraq and an influx of foreigners.
India offers a workaround to the Pakistani blockade of Afghan exports.
And of course, the low-level war continues with 8 civilians dead in Ghazni, and 4 ANA soldiers killed in Kunduz along with a claimed 23 militants. (As always, no way to confirm these typically lopsided casualty reports.)
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/
Sudan
Headline: South Sudan Government Says Rebels Torched Oil Facility
The South Sudan government on Wednesday accused rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar of attacking an oil facility in Unity state and setting it on fire. Information Minister Michael Makuei told reporters in Juba that rebel forces attacked the facility in Pariang County, in the north of Unity state, early in the week. “This area is an area where the production of so many [oil wells] is pooled and then directed towards the processing center in Heglig,” Makuei said. “They set this place on fire. It was not operational, of course, since that area is under the rebels, but nevertheless they decided to set it on fire. And the fire was burning up to yesterday but we don’t know how far it has gone by now,” he said. Makuei noted that government and rebel officials agreed last week at talks in Khartoum, mediated by China, to protect foreign personnel and economic installations, including oil facilities. He said the rebel attack on the oil installation in Unity state was a clear violation of that agreement. He said the rebels are not taking diplomatic initiatives to end South Sudan’s conflict seriously.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-unrest-rebels-oil-unity-state/2607652.html
Libya
Headline: Libyan OPEC representative goes missing
Headline: ISIS To North Africans: Syria’s Too Far? Come To Libya
A senior Libyan oil official who represents his country in OPEC is believed to have been abducted in the militia-held capital Tripoli, a company official said Tuesday. Samir Salim Kamal, an engineer with the National Oil Company and Libya’s governor for OPEC, has not been seen since Thursday when he left the company’s offices. “His friends last saw him on Thursday afternoon as he left the NOC headquarters” in central Tripoli, an official at the company, who did not want to be named, told AFP. Nobody has claimed responsibility for his apparent abduction, and his family has received no news about him since his disappearance, the official said. Libya is one of 12 members of OPEC, whose current secretary-general Abdullah El-Badri is Libyan.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.vocativ.com/world/libya/isis-inviting-north-africans-syria-far-come-libya/
Algeria
Headline: Algeria Backtracks on Shale Gas Plans After Protests
Algeria’s prime minister announced Wednesday that plans to drill for the country’s abundant shale gas reserves have been scrapped. The announcement in a television interview came in the wake of a string of protests in the southern desert cities over environmental concerns near where drilling had already begun. “I confirm that the exploitation of shale gas is not the order of the day as for now Algeria has sufficient reserves of conventional energy to meet its needs,” Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said. Despite high profile announcements in December that drilling had been authorized, he added that the initial drilling near the town of In Salah had just been “experimental.” He said the studies would continue for at least four more years to evaluate environmental and technical considerations. Soon after the drilling began, rare protests erupted in nearby In Salah and spread to other southern cities in Algeria, principally over fears the scarce water supply would be contaminated. “Between shale gas and water, the Algerian people will choose water and you think the Algerian state would be crazy enough to endanger the lives of its citizens?” he asked the interviewer. “We are a responsible government.” While Algeria derives more than 95 percent of its export earnings from oil and gas, its reserves are dwindling. The country has also been hard hit by the drop in oil prices by 50 percent in the last six months.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/algeria-backtracks-shale-gas-plans-protests-28381170
Germany
Headline: Germany bans anti-Islamic rally over terror threat
German authorities have banned a rally by the anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement in the eastern city of Dresden today, saying they have “concrete” information that Islamist militants plan to attack the weekly demonstrations. The federal and state police agencies had received information that radical Islamists were planning to mix with demonstrators and attack one of the leaders of the rightwing Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA), which has been organising the Dresden rallies since September. “In our assessment of the situation, we believe that there is a concrete threat of a terror attack,” Dresden’s police commissioner Dieter Kroll said yesterday. Informations received by the authorities indicated that one of the PEGIDA leaders and the people around him were being targeted for a terror attack, Kroll said in a statement. Kroll, however, said there were no specific information about the suspected terrorists or the nature of the attacks they were planning. The antiIslam rally in Dresden to protest against the “Islamisation of Germany” and the government’s asylum policy have been drawing a number of supporters in spite of appeals to the public by Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders to stay away from it. Police estimated that a record number of over 25,000 people attended the rally last Monday and its organisers were expecting a much bigger crowd today.
Jan. 19, 2015
Turkey
Headline: Flood of jihadi volunteers to Syria is ‘unstoppable’, warns Turkish Prime Minister
The tide of foreign volunteers crossing from Turkey into Syria to fight for Isis cannot be stopped, the Turkish Prime Minister has warned, with authorities unable to close the porous 510-mile border between the two countries. Ahmet Davutoglu, whose government has been accused of not doing enough to stop jihadi fighters from Britain and other countries crossing into Syria, told The Independent that Turkey could not put “soldiers everywhere on the border”. He added: “In any case, there isn’t any state on the other side [of the frontier].” Barack Obama says the US will go on the offensive in Iraq, providing air support to the Iraqi army when it attacks Isis forces. But Iraqi sources say the army, badly beaten by Isis last summer, is failing to reconstitute itself despite US efforts to retrain it. Even when supported by air strikes, it has made little headway and many of its combat units remain grossly under-strength. Isis is likely to continue to rule most of the territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria because its enemies are failing to unite and act decisively against it.
Jan. 21, 2015
Armenia
Headline: Turkey calls for a ‘new beginning’ with Armenia
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has called on all Armenians to jointly seek ways to resolve their historical differences with Turkey, stressing that it is a must for Turks and Armenians to “engage in humane relations and to recognize each other in light of 800 years of common history.” “It’s possible for two ancient people to have the maturity to understand each other and to look to the future together. Turks and Armenians, sharing the same geography and long history, can only talk to each other about their problems and seek together ways to resolve them. It is a necessity for us to develop mutual trust and cooperation, to know each other again in light of our 800 years of common history, and to engage in a humane relationship,” Davutoğlu said in a written statement issued on Jan. 20, a day after the eighth anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
“With this understanding, we invite our Armenian friends to pay more visits to Turkey in order to remove mutual prejudices,” he added.
Jan. 20, 2015
Luke 21:9 and Matthew 24:7 speak of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom in the end times. Revelation 6:3-4 speaks of the fiery red horse given power to make men slay one another and Revelation 6:8 speaks again of this red horse in conjunction with the pale horse of Death and Hades, as the one that has the power to kill by sword. Luke 21:9: wars & commotions; the Greek word here is Akatastasia, meaning instability, a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion (revolutions) Matthew 24:7: the Greek word for nation is Ethnos & refers to various ethnic groups fighting among themselves, where the next sentence in the verse refers to kingdoms (basileiva) fighting one another (not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom)
Headline: Boko Haram ‘leader Abubakar Shekau’ claims Baga raid
A man purporting to be the leader of the Boko Haram Islamist group has said in a video that his fighters carried out a deadly attacks on the Nigerian town of Baga earlier this month. The man said to be Abubakar Shekau said people were killed “as our Lord instructed us”, threatening more raids. He taunted nearby countries’ leaders. Some reports said that as many as 2,000 people died in the Baga raid but Nigeria’s government has disputed this, putting the toll at 150. “We killed the people of Baga,” the man claiming to be Shekau said in the 35-minute video, quoted by AFP news agency. He also issued a challenge to Nigerian and regional forces to attack his group.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30909916
Headline: Church backs Congo protesters, rights group says 42 killed
Democratic Republic of Congo’s powerful Catholic church on Wednesday backed ongoing protests against reforms that could extend President Joseph Kabila’s rule, denouncing a government crackdown which a rights group said had killed 42 people. As anti-government demonstrations in the capital Kinshasa entered their third day, the leader of Congo’s Catholics, Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya, strongly criticized any attempt to postpone a presidential election due next year. Opposition supporters took to the streets on Monday to try to derail legislation that would require a national census before the vote. The opposition says the count would take years to organize in a poor nation the size of Western Europe, although the government denies this. With more than 40 percent of Congo’s 65 million people describing themselves as Catholic, the Church’s stance is likely to bolster popular resistance to the reform. Western powers including France and the United States have called for restraint and backed timely elections. The proposed change to the electoral code, approved by the lower house of parliament on Saturday, is expected to be voted on by the Senate on Thursday. “We disapprove of and condemn any revision of the electoral law that aims to … illegally postpone the holding of the elections in 2016,” Mosengwo Pasinya said, adding that some politicians and the security services were stoking the violence.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://newsdaily.com/2015/01/at-least-11-killed-on-tuesday-in-congo-election-protests/
Headline: Hundreds in Mali Protest UN Airstrikes
Hundreds of people protesting United Nations peacekeepers’ airstrikes on Tuareg rebels in Mali occupied the airport in the northern town of Kidal on Wednesday, forcing U.N. troops to abandon positions there. The protest in the rebel stronghold, mainly by women and children, comes a day after Dutch U.N. attack helicopters hit rebel forces in northern Mali during clashes over a separate town. It was the first such engagement by peacekeepers. The protesers “were violent. They threw stones, they burned some assets,” U.N. spokeswoman Radhia Achouri told Reuters. “We ordered our units guarding the airport to go inside the camp.” She estimated 200 to 300 people were involved in the protest. A Kidal resident at the airport said U.N. troops had shot in the air to try to disperse the crowds. But protests had continued, so the U.N. troops headed to their base in the town.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.voanews.com/content/hundreds-in-mali-protest-un-airstrikes/2607507.html
Headline: Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels shell presidential home
Headline: Aden airport shut in solidarity with Yemen president
Headline: Yemen leader expected to accept demands of Houthis who defeat his guards
Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital Sanaa have shelled the president’s home, shattering a ceasefire. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was reported to be inside the house but an official insisted he was safe. The UN Security Council condemned the attack and urged the rebels to respect the country’s legitimate leaders. But rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi accused Yemen’s leaders of corruption and said the country was at a “defining” moment. The attack on Mr Hadi’s home came after the rebels entered the presidential palace in another part of the city following a brief clash with guards. Information Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf said on Twitter the president’s home had come under heavy shelling from armed forces positioned on rooftops nearby. An unnamed Yemeni government official told Reuters news agency: “The president is inside and he is fine.” Another official said two people had been killed in the fighting. Shelling died down after about half an hour, witnesses said.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30903516
http://news.yahoo.com/houthi-gunmen-replace-guards-outside-yemen-presidents-home-081410018.html
Headline: Pakistan Arrests ISIS Recruiter in Lahore
Pakistani security forces have arrested a member of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) jihadist group and two accomplices in eastern city of Lahore, officials said Wednesday. “A Pakistani Syrian man named Yousaf Al-Salafi and two of his accomplices have been arrested two days ago,” a senior security official told AFP. “During investigation he has confessed that he was setting up IS operations in Pakistan,” the official said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Al-Salafi, believed to be about 40-years-old, entered Pakistan around five months ago via Turkey and worked with Hafiz Tayyab, an Imam at a local mosque, to recruit Pakistani men to fight in Syria – charging ISIS about $600 for each person they sent, the official said. The other accomplice was identified only as Doctor Fuwad from the industrial city of Sialkot who arranged visits for Al-Salafi to various madrassas in that city and neighboring Gujranwala, he added. During the past five months Al-Salafi also visited Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas that border Afghanistan and met with Pakistani Taliban terrorists, the official said.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190287#.VL_9yy6xXhJ
Headline: 800,000 Muslims Rally Against Charlie Hebdo in Chechnya – A Country of 1.3 Million People
Nearly one million Muslims rallied in Grozny, Chechnya against the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. They’re more upset with the magazine than they are with the killer Kouachi brothers. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Russian Muslim region of Chechnya gathered in the regional capital Grozny on Monday to protest against caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Chechnya’s Interior Ministry said more than a million people attended the demonstration. Earlier Monday, the Russian Interior Ministry had estimated the number of attendees at more than 800,000. Before the rally, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov urged people to attend to protest against what he called “the vulgarity, immorality, lack of culture, and the shamelessness of those who drew the caricatures of the Prophet.” Earlier this month, gunman attacked the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people. The killings were said to be retaliation for the publication’s depictions of Muhammad. Some of the Chechen protesters Monday carried signs reading “Hands off the Prophet Muhammad,” Addressing the crowd, Kadyrov declared “If needed, we are ready to die to stop anyone who thinks that you can irresponsibly defile the name of the Prophet.”
Jan. 20, 2015
Decline of the Euro– ““ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)“Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” (Daniel 2:41-43)
Headline: Euro at Almost 11-Year Low as QE Looms; Canadian Loonie Drops on Rate Cut
Headline: Central bank prophet who foresaw the Lehman crisis fears QE warfare pushing world financial system out of control
The euro was at almost an 11-year low as the European Central Bank prepares for a meeting at which policy makers are forecast to adopt a sovereign-bond purchase program under the quantitative-easing strategy. The 19-nation shared currency pared gains against the dollar after Bloomberg reported that two central-bank officials said policy makers led by Mario Draghi will propose purchasing 50 billion euros ($58 billion) in assets per month through 2016. A gauge of the greenback approached the highest on record. Canada’s dollar plunged the most in three years after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates. The yen climbed for the first time in four days as the Bank of Japan refrained from more stimulus. “This market is very nervous,” Dean Popplewell, vice president of currency analysis and research at Oanda Corp., said by phone from Toronto. “The bullish expectation for Draghi to deliver is somewhat priced in. If the ECB wavers at all, these markets are going to severely punish the ECB.”
Jan. 21, 2015
Economic collapse Revelation 6:5-6 & James 5:1-3– Worldwide– “ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation) “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” (James)
Headline: Oil export losses to reach $300 billion in Middle East
Headline: IMF Says Gulf States Set to Swing Into Deficit as Oil Falls
Losses from lower oil exports should sap up to $300 billion from economies in the Middle East and Central Asia this year, as countries in the region adjust to falling crude prices, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. Economies that are particularly dependent on oil exports, including Qatar, Iraq, Libya and Saudi Arabia, will be hit hardest by the more than 50 percent decline in petroleum prices, the IMF said in an update to its outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia. Oil prices are now hovering near six-year lows amid expectations of an abundance of supply tied to unexpectedly high production of US shale crude. The IMF said, however, that falling crude prices will not translate immediately into major gains for oil importers in the Middle East and Central Asia, which have been hurt by the slowing growth prospects of key trading partners in the euro zone and Russia. The IMF this week cut its forecasts for global economic growth to 3.5 percent for 2015 compared with an October outlook of 3.8 percent, and significantly lowered projections for oil exporters Russia, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The IMF said nearly every exporting country in the Middle East and Central Asia is expected to run a fiscal deficit this year because of the oil price shock, which prompted the IMF to downgrade the region’s growth prospects by as much as 1 percentage point compared with its October forecasts, to 3.4 percent for 2015.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Oil-export-losses-to-reach-300-billion-in-Middle-East-388459
Headline: IMF: Venezuela economy to shrink 7 percent this year
The International Monetary Fund is predicting Venezuela’s troubled economy will shrink by 7 percent in 2015, suffering the worst contraction in Latin America. It’s a dramatic downgrade from October, when the IMF said Venezuela’s economy would shrink by 1 percent. In a post published Wednesday, IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner says Venezuela will be clobbered by falling oil prices, which have declined by half in the last six months. Oil accounts for more than 95 percent of the South American country’s export earnings. Werner says that the Argentine economy will also shrink, but by less than 2 percent, and predicts that overall growth for Latin America and the Caribbean will hold steady at slightly more than 1 percent. Werner says the recession in Venezuela will lead to worsening shortages.
Jan. 21, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/imf-venezuela-economy-shrink-7-percent-192641624.html
Matthew 24:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring”
Headline: Volcanic eruption in Tonga creates new island
A volcanic eruption in Tonga has created a new island — although one scientist said Wednesday it could soon disappear. The volcano has been erupting for a month in the ocean about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the capital, Nuku’alofa. Last week it disrupted international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days. New Zealand volcanologist Nico Fournier said he traveled by boat to within about a mile of the new island on Saturday to take a closer look. He said it’s made mainly of loose scoria and its dimensions are about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) by 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles), and that it rises about 100 meters (109 yards) above the sea. “It’s quite an exciting site, you get to see the birth of an island,” he said. “Visually it was quite spectacular, but there was no big sound coming with it, no boom. It was a bit eerie.” He said that once the volcano stops erupting, it will likely take the ocean no more than a few months to erode the island entirely. He said it would need to be made of lava or something more durable to survive. Fournier, who works for New Zealand agency GNS Science, said he was able to establish that the volcano was mainly belching steam into the atmosphere, and that the small amount of ash it was sending out was rising no more than about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). That will come as a relief to airlines, as it is the ash that can be dangerous to planes. Fournier said the ocean around the island is likely fairly shallow, perhaps only about 100-200 meters (328-656 feet) deep. He said there is no name yet for the new island, and he has been told that any naming rights will fall to Tonga’s king.
Jan. 21, 2015
Headline: What’s shaking? 
List & map of USGS Earthquakes
