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! The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 27, 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora

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Headline:    Israel PM Warns Enemies at Missile Defense Ceremony

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Israel’s enemies not to test the Jewish state at a ceremony inaugurating a joint U.S.-Israeli missile interceptor. Netanyahu said Sunday that defending the home front is of the “utmost importance” and went on to warn “whoever tries to strike us will be hit, those that threaten our existence put themselves in existential danger.” David’s Sling, meant to counter medium-range missiles possessed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, officially became operational at the ceremony, the military said. It marks the completion of the multi-tier system that includes the Arrow, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles in the stratosphere with an eye on Iran, and Iron Dome, which defends against short-range rockets from Gaza.
April 2, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/israel-prime-minister-missile-defense/3792954.html

Headline:  EU nations, Israel eye world’s longest undersea gas pipeline

Italy, Israel, Greece and Cyprus pledged Monday to move ahead with the world’s longest undersea gas pipeline from the eastern Mediterranean to southern Europe, with support from the European Union. If carried out as planned, the long-discussed $6.2 billion pipeline would take gas from Israel and Cyprus’s recently discovered offshore gas reserves to Europe and could help reduce the continent’s dependence on Russian energy at a time of ongoing tensions. In a joint news conference in the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv, energy ministers from the four nations, as well as the EU’s Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete, pledged their commitment to the project. Feasibility studies had been completed, the ministers said, but work on developing it would not begin for several years – with current expectations for it to go online in 2025. “This is going to be the longest and deepest sub-sea gas pipeline in the world,” said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud).
April 3, 2017

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227675

Headline: Arabs plan central ‘Nakba’ event at memorial for fallen soldiers

Jewish residents of the western Galilee region and relatives of soldiers who fell in battle during the War of Independence are shocked at news that Arab-Israelis are planning to hold their central “Nakba” celebration this year on Israeli Independence Day – at the site memorializing the fallen soldiers of the Yehiam Convoy. During the War of Independence, the Convoy had been tasked with bringing supplies to Kibbutz Yehiam in the western Galilee, as the Kibbutz had been bombarded non-stop by Arab forces. Along the way, the Convoy was ambushed by Arabs, and 47 of its members were killed. This year, the so-called “National Committee for the Protection of the Rights of the ‘Displaced’,” which organizes “Nakba Day” ceremonies, is planning to hold the central Nakba ceremony at the memorial site for the fallen soldiers of the Convoy, and expects an attendance of some 25,000. On “Nakba Day,” held annually around the time of Israeli Independence Day, Arabs in Israel lament the “catastrophe” of the creation of the State of Israel.
April 3, 2017

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227686

Headline:  UN agency to release new document equating Israeli ‘occupation’ to US slavery

Less than a month after its executive-secretary resigned over a controversial report describing Israel as an “apartheid regime”, the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia is reportedly writing a new report, this time equating “50 years of Israeli occupation” to the United States’ history of slavery. The expected report will aim to establish “premises and approach for calculating the cumulative cost of the occupation”, according to a resolution passed by ESCWA last December, mandating the research. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is also said to be collaborating with ESCWA on this report. Although no publication date has been announced for the document, according to reports in Israeli media, it is expected to symbolically coincide with the 50-year anniversary of the Six Day War in June. The agency’s last report caused much controversy, stating that “Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole” and angering Israeli officials who even compared it to Der Sturmer – a Nazi propaganda publication that was strongly antisemitic in the nature of its reports.
April 3, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/UN-agency-to-release-new-document-equating-Israeli-occupation-to-US-slavery-485983

Lebanon

Headline:        PM Hariri: Israel wants new war against Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri says recent Israeli actions have indicated a desire for a new conflict after Tel Aviv unveiled the latest addition to its missile system. In an interview with France24 TV station after arriving in Paris on Sunday, Hariri also dismissed concerns that Hezbollah might provoke a conflict with Israel. “I think that Israel is the one that wants to launch a war against Lebanon, and not Hezbollah,” he said. “Israel does not want the Arabs to rest. Look at the daily Israeli violations of our airspace, land and territorial waters,” Hariri added. Hariri’s comments came after Israel unveiled the “David’s Sling” missile system at Hatzor air force base in central occupied Palestinian territories.
April 3, 2017

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/04/03/516514/Israel-Lebanon-Hezbollah-Syria

Saudi Arabia

Headline:    Egypt Court Overturns Block on Islands Transfer to Saudi Arabia

An Egyptian court ruled on Sunday that a judicial decision to block the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia is void, judicial sources said, potentially reviving a deal that triggered protests in Egypt. A court in January rejected a government plan to transfer the two uninhabited islands to Saudi Arabia after a maritime demarcation accord was announced in April. The accord awarded sovereignty of the islands to Saudi Arabia, even though most Egyptians believe they belong to Egypt. The decision by Egypt’s Court of Urgent Matters is subject to appeal and any final deal must be approved by parliament. The latest twist in this issue came as bilateral relations appear to be warming after months of tension. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi accepted an invitation last week from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit his country in April, a move that came on the heels of the kingdom’s decision to restore oil aid shipments to Egypt after a halt of about six months.
April 2, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/egypt-court-overturns-block-on-islands-transfer-to-saudi-arabia/3793099.html

Headline:    ISIS raid in Yemen leaves scores of Houthi troops dead on the battlefield- ***CAUTION GRAPHIC PHOTOS

Headline:     Pentagon: US Conducts More Strikes in Yemen

Headline:     Houthi leader reveals mass exodus of militants near Lahij

Amaq Agency posted 13 photos on Monday, showcasing a firefight between ISIS and Houthi forces in Yemen’s central province of Al-Bayda. The Islamic State raid occurred near the town of Qifah southeast of Sanaa, in the ISIS-held Wadi A’mer area which has come under increasing attacks by Houthi-led fighters. Along with killing a number of enemy combattants, ISIS destroyed a vehicle and seized a batch of weaponry. The Islamic State recently set up a training camp in the mountanious Bayda region and have since launched a series of hit-and-run attacks in the province. Meanwhile, Houthi forces also engaged in heavy clashes over the weekend with Saudi soldiers on the border between the two warring countries. Another Houthi offensive is also underway in western Yemen, ultimately looking to seize the port city of Mocha from the Aden-based rival government.
April 3, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pictures-isis-raid-yemen-leaves-scores-houthi-troops-dead-battlefield-18-graphic/

http://www.voanews.com/a/pentagon-yemen-airstrikes-aqip/3794229.html

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/04/03/Houthi-leader-reveals-mass-exodus-of-militants-near-Lahij-.html

Egypt

Headline:     Sisi as key to Arab anti-ISIS pact with Israel

US President Donald Trump’s first face to face with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi at the White House Monday, April 3, focuses on four main topics, debkafile reports: The fight against Islamist State terror rampant in Egyptian Sinai and neighboring Libya; topping up US military assistance to Cairo, aid for easing Egypt’s dire economic straits and, finally, the effort to bolster normal relations between the Arab world (including the Palestinians) and Israel. Shortly before President El-Sisi’s trip to Washington, the Egyptian air force conducted intense bombardments of ISIS concentrations around the northern town of El Arish, killing at least 14 terrorists, nabbing 22 and seizing large caches of roadside bombs. But they too long delayed bearding the Islamists in their main stronghold atop Mount Jabal Hala in central Sinai. ISIS is therefore free to move around the territory and strike at will, the while expanding its operations into Egypt proper. The US President’s advisers recognize that before a broad, effective front against ISIS and Al Qaeda can be put together from these partial, often covert ties, progress is necessary towards normalizing relations between the Arab governments and the Jewish state, including the Israeli-Palestinian track. Trump will certainly want to hear what role his Egyptian guest is willing to take for bringing this process forward. He will ask his next Middle East visitor, Jordan’s Abdullah II, the same question, when he arrives in Washington Tuesday. As for the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, he was promised an invitation to the White House this month, but not yet been given a date. He is clearly being left to wait until the senior players in the region have had their say. Our Washington sources report that President Trump aims to complete his plan for bringing together Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel on a new footing by September.
April 3, 2017

http://debka.com/article/25993/Sisi-as-key-to-Arab-anti-ISIS-pact-with-Israel

Headline:      US-backed forces repel Daesh assault near Syrian dam- Raqqa Province

US-backed Syrian forces repelled a major counter-attack by Daesh militants holding out at the country’s largest dam and in the nearby town of Tabqa, the group and activists said on Sunday.
The dam is a key strategic target in the military campaign to isolate and capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, 40 km to the east and Daesh’s biggest urban stronghold. The US-backed group said militants attacked its positions north-east of Tabqa and at an airbase to the south of the town where dozens of its fighters were killed; but the coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias was making slower advances in a village east of the town. Jehan Sheikh Ahmad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, said the militants were stepping up their resistance as SDF forces got closer to encircling the town and the dam. “Our forces are advancing…(Daesh) are facing large difficulties and so they are starting counter-attacks,” said the official whose forces have US special forces with them.
April 3, 2017

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1078331/middle-east

Headline:  Airstrikes kill 16 in rebel suburb of Damascus

Syrian opposition activists say airstrikes on a suburb of the capital Damascus have killed 16 people and wounded others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday’s airstrikes on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma killed at least 16 people, including three children. Douma-based activist Mazen al-Shami said 16 people were killed in Douma, including a whole family. He gave no further details. Syrian troops intensified their bombardment of opposition-held areas around Damascus and besieged a rebel neighborhood northeast of the city.
April 3, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4944643,00.html

Headline:    Syrian Army liberates more ISIS-held villages in Aleppo, reaches gates of Jirah Airbase

After a weeklong lull in eastern Aleppo, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) finally broke through Islamic State fortifications on Monday, advancing within striking range of the imperative Jirah Airbase near Lake Assad. Resuming its counter-insurgency operations on Monday morning, the SAA imposed full control over the villages of Atshanat Al-Miri and Al-Idrisiyah after prolonged skirmishes forced an ISIS contingent to withdraw from the area, located directly north of Jirah Airbase. The Tiger Forces neutralized over 20 ISIS insurgents amid the renewed push while dozens of jihadist militants were forced to withdraw to the nearby airfield.
April 3, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-liberates-isis-held-villages-aleppo-reaches-gates-jirah-airbase/

Headline:    Syria Situation Report March 17 – 30, 2017

http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/March%2030EDITS%20COT.pdf

Headline:  Nearly 50 civilian casualties in Mosul today amid heavy US aerial bombardment

Headline:    Campaign for Mosul March 17-29, 2017

Iraqi non-combatants were killed in Mosul across four ISIS-held neighborhoods on Monday as American airstrikes and Iraqi artillery shelling caused significant collateral damage, Amaq Agency stated. The outlet claimed 23 residents were killed and 24 more wounded by bombing in western Mosul today, specifically at the Al-Mashahda, Al-Yarmouk, Al-Farouk and Tanaka suburbs. In addition, Amaq Agency said 25 civilians were killed and 23 injured the day before. Several non-partisan monitors claim US airstrikes on Iraq’s second largest city have killed over 1,000 civilians since the campaign to retake Mosul began October last year. Nevertheless, the Iraqi Armed Forces set up humanitarian corridors on Monday morning for civilians to leave ISIS-held areas in the densely populated Old City neighborhood.
April 3, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/nearly-50-civilian-casualties-mosul-today-amid-heavy-us-aerial-bombardment/

http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/campaign-mosul-march-17-29-2017

Headline:  PM Abadi warns Kurds over independence in northern Iraq

Headline:  Iraqi Kurdistan’s ruling parties reach agreement on independence referendum

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, has warned against an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq, claiming it would only harm the Kurds. “That is totally objectionable. We are serious about Iraq’s territorial integrity,” Abadi said in an interview with the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s Rudaw media outlet. “I have asked the Kurdish leaders not to out us or themselves in an embarrassing situation,” the Iraqi prime minister said. “I don’t like prolonging the issue of referendum because the result is already obvious. But the question is whether they will act on the results or not?” he said. “Separation now and in the past has done the Kurds harm because your neighbors do not accept that either,” Abadi concluded.
April 3, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/pm-abadi-warns-kurds-independence-northern-iraq/

http://aranews.net/2017/04/iraqi-kurdistans-ruling-parties-reach-agreement-on-independence-referendum/

Headline:       Scattered protests in Venezuela, OAS delays crisis debate

Venezuela’s opposition sought to keep pressure on President Nicolas Maduro with scattered protests on Monday, but there was relief for the socialist government when the Organization of American States delayed a debate on the crisis. One group of protesters tried to block a major Caracas highway and another dropped a pile of straw in front of court offices to protest at the judiciary’s controversial takeover last week of the opposition-led congress’ responsibilities. Though the top tribunal rowed back on that decision, which was condemned globally and led to unrest, the opposition is pushing to remove the judges responsible. One opposition lawmaker, Juan Requesens of the Justice First party who is often at the forefront of protests, suffered a gash in the head after being hit by a stone during a fracas outside the public ombudsman’s office, witnesses said. Protesters had taken live chickens there to symbolize cowardice, but were confronted by government supporters. The OAS debate on Venezuela was called at the weekend by 20 countries concerned about democratic erosion in Venezuela under Maduro, who replaced socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez in 2013.
April 3, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKBN175206

Headline:    Al-Shabab Seizes Key Somali Town After Ethiopians Pull Out

Ethiopian troops fighting militant Islamist group al-Shabab have withdrawn from a key military base in central Somalia’s Galgudud region, according to residents. Heavily armed al-Shabab fighters took control of El Bur following the pullout of Ethiopian troops and a small number of Somali National Army soldiers early Monday. The fall of El Bur was confirmed by Nur Hassan Gutale, the town’s district commissioner, who said Ethiopians did not tell them the reason of their withdrawal. “The Ethiopians and our troops withdrew from the town and now it is under the control of the militants. The Ethiopians did not inform us about their withdrawal plan and once we saw them abandoning, our troops also abandoned,” Gutale said. Residents of El Bur say al-Shabab militants traveling in pickup trucks moved into the town early Monday without a fight. “The militants traveling in more than six pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft machine guns moved into town this morning. They took up the strategic positions, raised their black flags on the top of some buildings,” one of the residents told VOA on the condition of anonymity. The reason for the Ethiopian troops’ withdrawal was not clear, and their military officials were not immediately available for comment.
April 3, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/al-shabab-seizes-key-somali-town-after-ethiopians-pull-out/3794065.html

Headline:    St. Petersburg metro explosion: 11 dead in Russia blast

Headline:  ISIS Celebrates St. Petersburg Metro Blast

Eleven people were killed in a blast on the St. Petersburg metro Monday, the Russian health ministry said. Authorities say the explosion is a terrorist attack. An explosion tore through a train as it was traveling between two stations in Russia’s second-biggest city, injuring dozens more. A second device was found and defused at another station, Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which led to the shutdown of the city’s metro system. President Vladimir Putin, who had been in St. Petersburg earlier in the day, said all causes were being investigated, including terrorism. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described the explosion as a “terrorist act.” The blast happened just after 2:30 p.m. (7:40 a.m. ET) as the train was traveling in a tunnel from Sennaya Ploshchad to Tekhnologichesky Institut stations in the city center. In the confusion, initial reports suggested there were two blasts. Investigators are seizing items relative to the investigation, questioning witnesses and metro employees and working to confirm the number of dead and injured, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
April 3, 2017

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/03/europe/st-petersburg-russia-explosion/index.html

http://www.vocativ.com/417413/st-petersburg-metro-blast-kills-at-least-10/

Headline:  Anti-corruption protests continue across Russia

Anti-corruption protests continued across Russia on Sunday, days after President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia has a problem with state corruption. The protests hit the capital and several other cities, but attendance was notably smaller than the week before, when Russians took to the streets in droves demanding government reforms to tackle the issue. More than 30 protesters were detained Sunday in central Moscow near Triumfalnaya Square, according to state news agency TASS, in an area that has become the usual site of the “opposition walk.” Another seven activists were detained at nearby Manezhnaya Square, said TASS, quoting police. The Russian nonprofit OVD-Info reported higher numbers: 44 people arrested in Moscow on Sunday. A young man carrying the Russian constitution in his hands was the first detained at Manezhnaya Square. There were also small protests in Saint Petersburg and Samara. The largest rally was in Novosibirsk, where several hundred people attended an anti-corruption protest held in solidarity with those arrested last Sunday. The coordinator of opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s office in the city said 1,000 people had attended. Other estimates put the number at several hundred.
April 3, 2017

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/02/world/anti-corruption-protests-continue-across-russia/

Headline:    Trump says US is ready to act alone on North Korea

Headline:  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ‘desperate,’ ready to strike US, defector says

Headline:  U.S., South Korea, Japan target North Korea submarine threats

President Donald Trump says that the United States is prepared to act alone if China does not take a tougher stand against North Korea’s nuclear program. Trump’s comments in an interview with the Financial Times come just days before he is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida. The two are expected to discuss a number of issues, including North Korea, trade and territorial disputes in the South China Sea during their meeting on Thursday and Friday. “Yes, we will talk about North Korea,” Trump told the newspaper for a story that appeared Sunday on its website. “And China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone.” A State Department spokesman said late Sunday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been in touch with a top Chinese official about the upcoming trip. “We can confirm Secretary Tillerson spoke today by telephone to Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi regarding this week’s visit of President Xi and other issues of bilateral and regional importance,” the spokesman said. He discussed the upcoming visit on condition that his name not be used. In his interview, Trump said trade was the incentive for China to work with the United States. Still, he said the United States could “totally” handle the situation in North Korea without China’s help. Asked how he would tackle North Korea, Trump said: “I’m not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East.”
April 3, 2017

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/2/trump-says-us-is-ready-to-act-alone-on-north-korea/

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/03/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-desperate-ready-to-strike-us-defector-says.html

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/04/03/US-South-Korea-Japan-target-North-Korea-submarine-threats/9961491239984/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2

Headline:      Tensions rise as EU says Spain has its ‘full support’ for Brexit power grab over Gibraltar

Headline:  First Post-Brexit Tremors: Theresa May “Would Go To War” To Protect Gibraltar

The EU broke its silence this morning as the diplomatic crisis between Madrid, London and Brussels over the future of the Rock deepens. In a statement EU Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas said eurocrats were “100 per cent behind” Spain over the inclusion of Gibraltar’s future in the bloc’s negotiating guidelines. And in a move likely to inflame tensions with Westminster he refused to answer questions on whether or not Brussels now officially recognises the Rock as a disputed territory. The EU has previously taken a relatively neutral position towards Gibraltar on account of the fact that both Spain and Britain were members of the bloc. But now that the UK is leaving Brussels appears to have rowed in firmly behind Madrid’s claim to the overseas territory. The inclusion of a clause in the bloc’s draft negotiating guidelines for Brexit, published on Friday, effectively hands Spain a veto over Gibraltar’s inclusion in any future trade deal between Britain and the EU. Madrid’s move has sparked fury both on the Rock and in Westminster, where politicians have insisted they will stand firm over any Spanish attempt to seize control.
April 3, 2017

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/787188/Brexit-news-EU-Commission-Spain-full-support-Gibraltar

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-02/post-brexit-tremors-theresa-may-would-go-war-protect-gibraltar

Headline:     Cyborgs at work: employees getting implanted with microchips

The syringe slides in between the thumb and index finger. Then, with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee’s hand. Another “cyborg” is created. What could pass for a dystopian vision of the workplace is almost routine at the Swedish startup hub Epicenter. The company offers to implant its workers and startup members with microchips the size of grains of rice that function as swipe cards: to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand. The injections have become so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted. Epicenter, which is home to more than 100 companies and some 2,000 workers, began implanting workers in January 2015. Now, about 150 workers have them. A company based in Belgium also offers its employees such implants, and there are isolated cases around the world where tech enthusiasts have tried this out in recent years. The small implants use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few centimeters (inches) away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are “passive,” meaning they contain information that other devices can read, but cannot read information themselves.
April 3, 2017

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Cyborgs-at-work-employees-getting-implanted-with-11046009.php

Headline:  Moscow And Beijing Join Forces To Bypass US Dollar In Global Markets, Shift To Gold Trade

The Russian central bank opened its first overseas office in Beijing on March 14, marking a step forward in forging a Beijing-Moscow alliance to bypass the US dollar in the global monetary system, and to phase-in a gold-backed standard of trade. According to the South China Morning Post the new office was part of agreements made between the two neighbours “to seek stronger economic ties” since the West brought in sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis and the oil-price slump hit the Russian economy. According to Dmitry Skobelkin, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, the opening of a Beijing representative office by the Central Bank of Russia was a “very timely” move to aid specific cooperation, including bond issuance, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism measures between China and Russia. The new central bank office was opened at a time when Russia is preparing to issue its first federal loan bonds denominated in Chinese yuan. Officials from China’s central bank and financial regulatory commissions attended the ceremony at the Russian embassy in Beijing, which was set up in October 1959 in the heyday of Sino-Soviet relations. Financial regulators from the two countries agreed last May to issue home currency-denominated bonds in each other’s markets, a move that was widely viewed as intended to eventually test the global reserve status of the US dollar. Speaking on future ties with Russia, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in mid-March that Sino-Russian trade ties were affected by falling oil prices, but he added that he saw great potential in cooperation. Vladimir Shapovalov, a senior official at the Russian central bank, said the two central banks were drafting a memorandum of understanding to solve technical issues around China’s gold imports from Russia, and that details would be released soon. If Russia – the world’s fourth largest gold producer after China, Japan and the US – is indeed set to become a major supplier of gold to China, the probability of a scenario hinted by many over the years, namely that Beijing is preparing to eventually unroll a gold-backed currency, increases by orders of magnitude.
April 2, 2017

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-01/moscow-and-beijing-join-forces-bypass-us-dollar-global-markets-shift-gold-standard

Headline:  Pandemic Risk: Zika Mosquitos in 129 California Cities

The mosquitos that can carry the Zika virus have reportedly appeared in 129 California cities. With cold winter weather the only major obstacle to the Zika virus becoming America’s first pandemic since the 1957 Asian Flu, ground zero for a potential pandemic is now the West Coast. The California Department of Public Health released an emergency warning on March 31 that two invasive (non-native) mosquito species named Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito) and Aedes albopictus (the Asian tiger mosquito), which are known to carry Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, have now been found in 10 California counties including Fresno, Kern, Imperial, Los Angeles, Madera, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Mateo and Tulare. California has confirmed that 104 pregnant women contracted Zika, and 5 babies were born in the state with the virus. Birth defects directly related to Zika include microcephaly; brain damage from cranial calcium deposits; excess fluid in the brain cavities; brain damage affecting nerves and hearing; and inflexible muscles and bone deformations. But in an alarming development, there are six confirmed Zika infections in California women who acquired the virus through sexual transmission from an individual that traveled to nations where the World Health Organization already declared a Zika virus pandemic.
April 2, 2017

http://www.breitbart.com/california/2017/04/02/pandemic-risk-zika-mosquitos-129-california-cities/

Headline:      Persecuted Christians Suffer “Worst Year Yet,” Mostly Under Islam

The persecution of Christians around the world, but especially in the Muslim world, has reached an all-time high—with 2016 being the “worst year yet,” according to Open Doors, which recently released its annual ranking of the top 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. Among some of its more significant findings:

• “Islamic extremism” remains the dominant force responsible for the persecution of Christians in 40 of the 50 worst nations;
• Nine of the ten worst nations are Muslim (North Korea being the only non-Islamic);
• “In the top 21 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List [18 of which are Muslim], 100 percent of Christians experience persecution”;
• 1,329 churches were attacked, damaged, or destroyed, mostly in Muslim nations;
• Islamic Somalia is now the second worst nation; there, “If their [Christians’] faith is discovered it means instant death, executed without trial and often on rumor alone”;
• In Nigeria—where more Christians have been slaughtered by Muslims than possibly in any other nation—the killing of Christians went up by 62 percent;
• The nation where the most violent and sexual attacks on Christians take place—Muslim majority Pakistan—rose to the number four spot.
  April 3, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85993/persecuted-christians-suffer-worst-year-yet-mostly-islam-opinion/

Headline:  Pakistani prosecutor says he’ll let Christians out of prison — if they convert to Islam

Your freedom or your faith? That’s the question being posed to dozens of Christians currently awaiting trial in a prison in Pakistan. Forty-two Christians were arrested in 2015 for allegedly being involved in the hanging of two Muslims. The two Muslim Pakistanis were killed following two bomb blasts that occurred on Easter Sunday of the same year, killing 15 and injuring more than 70, according to a report by CBN News. The hangings occurred after Christians, who make up a small minority of the population in Pakistan, took to the streets to protest against their treatment. It is believed the two murdered Muslims were involved in the deadly Easter bombings. The 42 Christians that now stand trial for their alleged involvement in the murder of the two Muslims were arrested by Pakistani authorities following a series of house raids in a Christian neighborhood. CBN News reports Joseph Francis, the executive director of the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, claims many of the Christians standing trial for murder are now being given a choice to either continue facing charges or convert to Islam. “He told them if they embrace Islam, he can guarantee them their acquittal in this case,” Francis said.
April 2, 2017

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/04/02/pakistani-prosecutor-says-hell-let-christians-out-of-prison-if-they-convert-to-islam/

Headline:    Rescuers, locals dig for Colombia flood victims, 254 die

Families and rescuers searched desperately on Sunday through mud-plastered rubble for victims of flooding and landslides in Colombia that have killed 254 people, injured hundreds and devastated entire neighborhoods. Several rivers burst their banks near the southwestern city of Mocoa in the early hours of Saturday, sending water, mud and debris crashing down streets and into houses as people slept. Volunteers and firefighters tended to 82 bodies downstream in the town of Villagarzon and said many corpses were still caught in debris. President Juan Manuel Santos made a second visit to the area on Sunday. He said water and energy services would be restored as soon as possible. Santos blamed climate change for the disaster, saying Mocoa had received one-third of its usual monthly rain in just one night, causing the rivers to burst their banks. There was disagreement over the death toll for most of Sunday but, late in the evening, the government’s total was increased to match the 254-person figure released by the army. Just over 200 were injured.
April 3, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-landslide-idUSKBN1740NW?il=0
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

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 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! The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 27, 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora

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Headline:    Greenblatt meets Saudi, UAE ministers amid talk of Mideast summit

Headline:  Trump Envoy Greenblatt Seeks Rabbi’s Peacemaking Advice in Jerusalem

Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations, is leading the US team in talks with Israel about the guidelines. Greenblatt has spent the last few days as an observer at the Arab League meeting in Jordan. On Wednesday, he met with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia to discuss the region and efforts to move the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process forward. In readout briefings of those meetings, Greenblatt underscored the potential role of the Arab world in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace – and said that such a peace would reverberate across the region. He met as well with Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, where conversation also focused on the conflict. The Prime Minister’s Office had no comment on the matter, and a senior Trump administration official told the Post that Greenblatt’s meetings in Amman and Israel are “fact-finding” discussions meant to build trust with the parties.
March 30, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Greenblatt-meets-FMs-of-Saudi-UAE-amid-talk-of-summit-485573

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85898/trump-envoy-greenblatt-seeks-rabbinic-wisdom-solve-peace-middle-east/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=a82b629607-BIN_evening_3_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-a82b629607-86925585&mc_cid=a82b629607&mc_eid=69db9b2ab7

Headline:   Israel to limit settlement ‘footprint,’ new homes only inside building lines

Headline:     UN issues condemnation of new Israeli settlement

Headline: White House warns against ‘unrestrained’ building

Israel will restrict its building beyond the Green Line to the built-up areas of existing settlements, the security cabinet decided Thursday night after nearly three weeks of discussions on the matter with the US government. The guiding principle behind the new guidelines is to limit as much as possible Israel’s settlement “footprint” beyond the existing communities. Sources said the decision was taken out of consideration of the position of US President Donald Trump, and that Israel will also significantly curb building to enable efforts to advance a diplomatic process with the Palestinians. Israel, according to the security cabinet decision, will — as much as possible — only permit building within the existing construction lines of the settlements, a principle that was also informally employed during much of George W. Bush’s tenure. In areas where this is not possible because there is no more available land inside the settlements, construction will take place close to the existing construction line. Where this too is impossible because of issues of land ownership, or security or topographic considerations, Israel will build as close to the existing settlement as possible.
March 31, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Israel-to-limit-settlement-footprint-build-only-inside-existing-settlements-485728

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/UN-issues-brief-condemnation-of-new-settlement-485744

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227571

Headline: Israel okays first new settlement in decades to replace Amona

Headline:  Trump accepts new Jewish town

Senior lawmakers voted unanimously Thursday to establish a new West Bank settlement for families evicted from the razed Amona outpost, the first new Jewish town in the territory since the 1993 Oslo Accords, amid intense negotiations with the US over settlement building. The new community will be located near the settlements of Shiloh and Eli, north of Ramallah, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The PMO also announced the approval of tenders for some 2,000 new settlement homes — housing units whose planned construction was first announced in January. The security cabinet, which voted for the Amona replacement, was also informed that some 900 dunams (about 222 acres) of territory in the West Bank would be registered as state land.
March 31, 2017

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-okays-first-new-settlement-in-decades-to-replace-evacuated-amona/

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227556

Headline:    Sanhedrin Fighting Police to Allow Passover Sacrifice: Call for Nations to Play Their Role

The Israeli police, in direct contravention of the law are preventing the Sanhedrin from holding a reenactment of the Passover Temple Service.  At stake are basic human rights, with the Israeli police giving in to the threat of Islamic violence. For the last fifteen years, the Sanhedrin has hosted a full-dress reenactment of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice in Jerusalem. The Temple ceremony on Pesach was perhaps even more important than the one held on Yom Kippur since every Jew was required to actively participate. The Sanhedrin reenactments have included Kohanim (men of the priestly caste) dressed in authentic vestments, accompanied by the proper musical instruments, and utilizing vessels that have been created for use in the Third Temple. A lamb is slaughtered and roasted on a model altar, under the supervision of a veterinary inspector. Last year, the reenactment held on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount was attended by approximately 1,000 people. For this year’s reenactment scheduled for next Thursday, the Sanhedrin rented an open space at the Davidson Center, an archeological park adjacent to the Western Wall, owned by a corporation that is overseen by the Ministry of Construction and Housing. The organizers of the reenactment received permission from the corporation to hold the ceremony on their grounds on the condition they also received permission from the Israeli police. The police has refused to give permission  for the ceremony to take place. Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin, emphasized the importance of this ceremony and what the battle represents. “The Israeli police are expanding the borders of the Islamic authority beyond the Temple Mount,” Rabbi Hillel Weiss said to Breaking Israel News. “We request that every man and all the nations express to the Israeli government that it is time for them to take their role in bringing all of humanity to freedom through the Pesach sacrifice, for which this reenactment is a preparation. This sacrifice brought us out of Egypt and we need it again to end this long exile completely.”
March 31, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85914/sanhedrin-fighting-police-allow-pesach-sacrifice-call-nations-play-role/

Jordan & Egypt

Headline:     Trump to Host Egypt, Jordan Leaders in Bid to Improve Ties

Headline:    Egypt, Jordan, PA look to coordinate stances ahead of White House visits

President Donald Trump will host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II separately in the first week of April. Trump reached out to al-Sissi just days after his January 20 inauguration, calling his counterpart to discuss how the two countries would work together to fight terrorism. The White House has said the conversation was productive and a testament to the positive relations between the two countries. “We hope next week’s visit continues this positive momentum,” a senior White House official said. The White House has acknowledged Egypt’s human rights abuses, but said Friday that they intend to “handle these sensitive types of issues in a private, discreet way.” Also Friday, the White House announced a meeting between Trump and King Abdullah next week. “The president is pleased to welcome King Abdullah on April 5,” the official said. “Jordan is a key partner for the U.S. in the region.” The White House confirmed that the U.S. would continue military and economic support to both countries, particularly in their efforts to fight terrorism in the region.
March 31, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-egypt-jordan-leaders-bid-improve-relations/3791066.html

http://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-jordan-pa-look-to-coordinate-stances-ahead-of-white-house-visits/

Lebanon

Headline:      Lebanese PM urges world help to cope with refugee influx

Lebanon’s prime minister is appealing to the international community to invest in the country’s infrastructure and educational system to help alleviate the enormous burden of hosting more than a million Syrian refugees. Speaking to a group of journalists ahead of the April 5 conference in Brussels on supporting the future of Syria, Hariri says Lebanon has reached breaking point. He says he will present a comprehensive plan to deal with the burden of Syrian displacement in Brussels and ask for international support. “The international community has to understand that Lebanon cannot pay the price of the unresolved conflict in Syria,” he said Friday. Lebanon has taken in some 1.2 million Syrian refugees — the equivalent of one-fourth of its own population. “Today Lebanon is a big refugee camp,” Hariri said.
March 31, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/31/lebanese-pm-urges-world-help-to-cope-with-refugee-influx.html

Saudi Arabia

Headline:    Coalition air raids strike Houthi sites on the outskirts of Sanaa

Headline:    Arab coalition: Next goal is to retake Hudaydah

The Arab coalition launched several air strikes on Houthi militia and ousted-president Saleh loyalists on the outskirts of Sanaa. Security sources revealed that 17 raids have struck security camps and weapons’ caches affiliated with Saleh militias in suburbs south of the capital. Seven other raids also struck weapons’ caches in al-Zindani farms in Bani al-Harith district north east of the Sanaa. It also struck several Houthi grouping locations in Arhab province, and north of Nahm in al-Matoun in al-Jawf providence. Around 35 militants were killed and injured in other raids on al-Jawf region. Coalition jets also launched intensive raids on militia positions in the town of Saada and destroyed vehicles and ammunition caches in Al-Hasama and Basbas areas.
March 31, 2017

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/03/31/Coalition-air-raids-strike-Houthi-sites-on-the-outskirts-of-Sanaa.html

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/03/31/Arab-coalition-Next-goal-is-to-retake-al-Hudaydah.html

Headline:  No deal in sight as fifth round of UN Syria talks concludes

Headline:  Haley: Removing Assad no longer our priority

The UN envoy for Syria wrapped up a fifth round of talks between opposition leaders and the government, pointing to “incremental” progress while acknowledging no peace deal is foreseeable as the country enters its seventh year of war. After eight days of talks in Geneva, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says negotiators appeared “keen” on taking up a new round, but added Friday he wouldn’t announce a new start date before consulting with the organization’s Security Council and secretary-general. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, declared Thursday that the Trump administration does not consider it a priority that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad be removed from power. “Our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out,” Haley told a small group of journalists, according to Politico. “Our priority is to really look at how do we get things done, who do we need to work with to really make a difference for the people in Syria,” she added. “We can’t necessarily focus on Assad the way that the previous administration did.”
March 31, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4943326,00.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227543

Headline:      ISIS claims deadly mid-March suicide attack in Damascus

An online publication linked to ISIS says two of its Syrian members carried out the deadly twin suicide attacks in mid-March in Syria’s capital. The March 15 attacks hit the Justice Palace in Damascus, the country’s judicial headquarters, and also a restaurant in another part of the city, killing 30 people. The al-Nabaa online weekly says the man who attacked the Justice Palace in central Damascus shot the guards first, then walked into the building and blew himself up. Two hours later, another ISIS member from Syria blew himself up in a restaurant frequented by Christians.
March 30, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4943054,00.html

Headline:  ISIL accused of using civilians as human shields near Raqqa

People fleeing villages around the Syrian city of Raqqa claim ISIL has been using civilians as human shields. Video images have been uploaded to social media sites by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which has launched an assault to try to recapture a strategic dam near the city. One man on the back of a truck said:” We came here looking for safety. We fled this morning. ISIL burned our tents.” “They want to use us as human shields. If there is an area with citizens, they target it, if it is empty, they leave.” “We escaped from them,” said a woman. “It was terrible, we could not wait to leave, we barely escaped with our lives.” Another man said there are about 5,000 civilians on the run from Tabqa and its surrounding villages. “ISIL treated them very poorly,” he says. “They’re fleeing to safety”. Capture of the area around the Tabqa dam would be a major strategic advance for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. A Syrian Democratic Forces fighter said: “We brought refugees from Tabqa to safe areas. “Just now, five minutes ago, a mortar fell here. Islamic State is targeting helpless citizens.” Amid intense shelling there have been fears about the stability of the Tabqa dam, with many villages and towns located below it.
March 31, 2017

http://www.euronews.com/2017/03/31/isil-accused-of-using-civilians-as-human-shields-near-raqqa

Headline:  New jihadist coalition launches powerful assault in west Aleppo

The new jihadist coalition, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, launched a new assault in the western sector of Aleppo City on Friday, targeting the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions near the Great Prophet Mosque in the Al-Zahra’a Association Quarter. Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham reportedly began the assault by storming the western part of the Al-Zahra’a Association Quarter on Friday morning; this resulted in a series of intense clashes that are still ongoing. According to a military source in Aleppo, the jihadist rebels are attempting to reestablish control over the mosque area and push east towards the Air Force Intelligence headquarters.
March 31, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/new-jihadist-coalition-launches-powerful-assault-west-aleppo/

Headline:     Turkey opposes Iraqi Kurdish bid for independence referendum

Turkey disapproved the referendum bid for independence of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Turkish presidential spokesman said on Friday. It would be “a wrong step,” said the spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, at a press conference in the presidential complex in Ankara. Iraq is passing through a fragile period and there are several security risks at the highest levels, said Kalin as quoted by private broadcaster NTV. Kalin noted that Turkey had discussed the issue with the KRG leadership on several occasions in the past and delivered its message that disrupting Iraq’s territorial integrity on ethnic and sectarian lines would not be right. KRG President Massoud Barzani said on Thursday at a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that an independence referendum will be carried out in the “near future.”
March 31, 2017

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/01/c_136175337.htm

Headline:  Deadly suicide bomb attack strikes Baghdad checkpoint

At least 15 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a police checkpoint in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, officials say. They say more than 40 people were injured when the bomber detonated the vehicle – an oil tanker laden with explosives – at the checkpoint in the south of the capital. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. So-called Islamic State has recently carried out similar attacks in Iraq. Wednesday’s attack comes as Iraq forces are continuing a major offensive to recapture the city of Mosul – the last IS urban stronghold in the country.
March 30, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39439587

Turkey

Headline:     Turkey Will Continue Efforts in Syria After Completion of Euphrates Operation

The Turkish military will continue its efforts to prevent any “unwanted formation” in Syria after the completion of its operation in northern Syria, the army said on Friday. “We are continuing our operations to protect our national security, prevent any unwanted formation, allow our displaced Syrian siblings to return to their country and maintain security and stability in the region,” the military said in a statement. Turkey launched the incursion into northern Syria more than six months ago to push Islamic State fighters away from its border and stop the advance of Kurdish fighters. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday that the operation had been completed successfully.
March 31, 2017

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-03-31/turkey-will-continue-efforts-in-syria-after-completion-of-euphrates-operation-military

Iran

Headline:        US Centcom commander proposes striking Iran’s regime, military forces

Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the US military’s Central Command, stated Wednesday during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iran is not only destabilizing the Middle East but also posing one of the greatest threats to the US in the world. “We need to look at opportunities where we can disrupt (Iran) through military means”, he said, adding that there were more than 300 instances in 2016 alone in which Iran harassed US and other ships in international waters near its shores. However, he emphasized that “Our concern is not with the people of Iran, it is with their revolutionary government.”
March 30, 2017

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/20243/US-Centcom-commander-proposes-striking-Iran-s-regime-military-forces

Afghanistan

Headline:    As war in Afghanistan drags on, Russia resurrects interest

As America’s effort to end 16 years of war in Afghanistan yields little progress, Russia is resurrecting its own interest in the “graveyard of empires.” The jockeying includes engaging the Taliban and leading a new diplomatic effort to tackle Afghanistan’s future, with or without U.S. support. Uncertain of Moscow’s intentions, the Trump administration will stay away when Russia hosts regional powers China, India, Iran and Pakistan, and several Central Asian countries, for another set of Afghan talks next month. Afghanistan’s government is attending, but the U.S. declined an invitation, saying it wasn’t consulted ahead of time. No one has invited the Taliban. For the United States, the new Russian foray into Afghanistan may represent another worrying consequence of a perceived American retrenchment. The perception has intensified overseas as President Donald Trump formulates new policy. Since taking office, he has scarcely mentioned Afghanistan, the U.S. military’s largest deployment in a war zone.
March 30, 2017

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/amid-us-afghanistan-uncertainty-russia-resurrects-interest-46460411

Headline:     Venezuela ‘coup’: Alarm grows as court takes power

There have been demonstrations in Venezuela after the Supreme Court took over legislative powers from the National Assembly. Critics say the development takes the country closer to one-man rule under President Nicolas Maduro. The Organisation of American States (OAS) described the move as the “final blow to democracy in the country”. The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature which has been dominated by the president’s opponents. The secretary general of the OAS, Luis Almagro, described the move as a “self-inflicted coup” by Mr Maduro’s government. It comes after months of consolidation of power by the country’s president, who is locked in a political struggle with the centre-right opposition. On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself. The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly’s lawmakers were “in a situation of contempt” after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections. It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.
***SEE ALSO ECONOMY BELOW

March 31, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39449494

Headline:    US beefs up muscle in Somalia fight

President Donald Trump has given the US military greater authority to attack militants in Somalia. The US provides military support to Somalia in its fight against al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, which is waging an armed insurgency in the country. The head of US forces in Africa had asked for more flexibility and faster responses. A Pentagon spokesman said the White House had approved its request for “additional precision fired”. This effectively means US special forces will be able to call in air strikes more quickly and accompany partner troops in more advanced positions, US media report. “The additional support provided by this authority will help deny al-Shabab safe havens from which it could attack US citizens or US interests in the region,” said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.
March 30, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39445888

Headline:   Pakistan blast: Parachinar bomb leaves at least 24 dead

Headline: Taliban claims deadly Pakistan mosque bomb blast

At least 24 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in a blast outside a mosque in north-west Pakistan. The explosion happened in the city of Parachinar, a mainly Shia Muslim area on the Afghan border. Reports say a car packed with explosives was left near the women’s entrance of the mosque as people gathered for Friday prayers. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), said it had carried out the attack. Many shops and vehicles close to the mosque were damaged in the powerful blast. This bombing in Parachinar, in Kurram district, is the second since January, and just as deadly. Many among the injured are said to be in a critical state. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying his government would keep working to “eliminate the menace of terrorism”. It was followed by protests in Parachinar as angry crowds accused the security forces of failing to protect them.
March 31, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39452306

http://www.euronews.com/2017/03/31/taliban-claims-deadly-pakistan-mosque-bomb-blast

Headline:    Putin spokesman: US-Russia relations ‘maybe worse’ now than Cold War

The relationship between the U.S. and Russia may be more antagonistic now than it was during the decades-long Cold War, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top spokesman said Friday. Asked by ABC’s “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos if the U.S. and Russia were in a “new Cold War,” Dmitry Peskov said the current situation may be worse, blaming the U.S. for disintegrating cooperation between the two countries. “New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse. Maybe even worse, taking into account actions of the present presidential administration in Washington,” Peskov told Stephanopoulos. Peskov cited a decision to expel 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. in December, which was made under former President Obama and not President Trump. The relationship between Trump and Russia has been the subject of intense scrutiny since before the real estate mogul took office in January. The U.S. intelligence committee unanimously concluded late last year that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump, and he has spoken warmly of Putin, expressing a desire to improve U.S.-Russian relations. The House and Senate Intelligence committees are conducting a probe of Russian election meddling, as well as Trump and his aides’ alleged ties to Moscow. The FBI is also investigating.
March 31, 2017

http://thehill.com/policy/international/326666-putin-spokesman-us-russia-relationship-maybe-worse-now-than-during-cold 

Headline:       Venezuela Crisis Deepens, Bonds Sink as Maduro Ally Pushes Back

Venezuela lurched closer to full-blown crisis Friday when the nation’s top prosecutor, a long-time ally of the ruling socialist party, labeled unconstitutional the Supreme Court’s move to usurp the power of the opposition-led National Assembly. Small, sporadic protests flared up across the country, jittery investors dumped the government’s bonds and opposition leaders sought to capitalize on the chaos by calling on the military to  “restore” constitutional order. The comments by prosecutor general Luisa Ortega Diaz, in which she said the court ruling “ruptured” the constitutional order, were a rare — almost unheard of — public condemnation by a high-ranking government official of the direction the faltering country is heading. While her statements likely will have no immediate legal impact, they deliver a potentially major setback to embattled President Nicolas Maduro, who has long sought to use the courts to prevent congress from challenging his rule. Friday’s events heightened investor concern that the fractured country is headed for default. Some said they worried that while Maduro has so far insisted on meeting foreign bond payments amid the economic collapse, a further escalation of the crisis may erode that determination. The government’s benchmark bond due in 2027 declined 3.3 cents to 46.2 cents on the dollar in, the biggest decline in two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bonds issued by the cash-strapped state oil company PDVSA, which has $2.5 billion of debt maturing next month, also fell. Its securities due in 2035 sank to 43.2 cents on the dollar.
March 31, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-31/venezuela-s-top-prosecutor-calls-power-grab-unconstitutional

Headline:    Muslim protesters march against Jakarta’s Christian governor

Undeterred by the arrest of hard-line protest leaders, thousands of Muslims marched in Indonesia’s capital on Friday, calling for the jailing of the city’s minority Christian governor. Following Friday prayers, the protesters marched from Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta to the nearby presidential palace, which was under heavy police guard. Protests against Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama have snowballed since September when he was accused of blaspheming the Qur’an and subsequently charged. His trial is still underway. The turnout for Friday’s protest was small compared with the hundreds of thousands who answered the call of hard-line Islamic groups to flood central Jakarta for demonstrations in November, December and February. Jakarta police’s director of traffic Ermayudi Sumarsono estimated the crowd at 13,000 to 15,000. Police estimates are often conservative. Earlier Friday, police said they had arrested Muhammad Al Khaththath, the leader of the Muslim Peoples Forum umbrella group, and several other activists for suspected treason. “We are not cowed by the arrest of our leaders,” said a protester who identified himself as Wahyudi. “We’ll keep fighting for the dignity of Islam. There’s no room for kafir to lead in this nation.”
March 31, 2017

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1077171/world

Headline:          DEA: Made-in-China Lethal Opioid Fueling U.S. Drug Epidemic

A homemade designer version of fentanyl, the highly addictive opioid which is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent, has been the center of drug busts across the country this month—with law enforcement pinpointing its origin from underground labs in China. The DEA says the China-U.S. supply is further fueling the country’s drug epidemic. “This stuff is unbelievably potent. It is so powerful that even a tiny amount can kill you,” DEA spokesman Rusty Payne tells FOX Business. “China is by far the most significant manufacturer of illicit designer synthetic drugs. There is so much manufacturing of new drugs, [it’s] amazing what is coming out of China. Hundreds of [versions], including synthetic fentanyl and fentanyl-based compounds.” Authorities say dealers across the country have been lacing heroin with the potent analog. Payne adds that Mexican drug cartels are now switching from heroin to fentanyl because of the high-profit margin.
March 31, 2017

http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/03/31/dea-made-in-china-lethal-opioid-fueling-u-s-drug-epidemic.html 

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~

Headline:    What’s shaking? List & map of USGS Earthquakes~Click the shaking house~

Download The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 27 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora

 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! The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 27, 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 to withhold $2 million in UN payments in protest

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Foreign Ministry to cut $ 2 million from Israel’s payments to the UN, in light of hostile proposals adopted by the UN Human Rights Council a few days ago. This amount will be used to deepen and expand Israeli projects in the field of international assistance and will be invested in developing countries that support Israel in international institutions. This decision is part of an Israeli campaign together with allies and headed by the United States, to correct the obsessive discrimination against Israel at the UN and its agencies.
March 29, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4942483,00.html

Headline:    US Planning Unprecedented Peace Summit Between Israel, Palestinians, Arab States: Report

Headline:     New PLO ambassador to US has high hopes for Trump era

Headline:     US President asks Alan Dershowitz to deliver message to Netanyahu

The Trump administration is reportedly exploring whether or not to hold an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit that would be attended by Arab leaders from the Gulf states. According to Israeli sources quoted by the Jerusalem Post, U.S. officials are quietly looking into the possibility of the summit, but no formal plans have been made. The report added if the summit were to take place, leaders from the Arab Gulf states would join their Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts alongside Israeli officials in public, which would be an unprecedented move. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has demonstrated that he is interested in reviving the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis, incoming PLO Ambassador to the United States Husam Zomlot told journalists ahead of his departure for Washington. Zomlot, who is flying from Jordan to Washington on Wednesday, spoke to a small group of journalists at a Ramallah hotel last week about the Trump administration and the possibility of reviving the peace process.
March 29, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85789/us-reportedly-planning-israeli-palestinian-gulf-peace-summit/

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/New-PA-ambassador-to-US-has-high-hopes-for-Trump-era-485491

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227475

Headline:  Arab summit to endorse Palestinian positions with eye on US

Headline:  At Arab Summit, Abbas Demands Britain Apologize for Balfour Declaration

Arab leaders are gathering for an annual summit where the call for Palestinian statehood is to take center stage. The summit on Wednesday is expected to endorse key Palestinian positions, signaling to President Donald Trump ahead of White House meetings with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan that a deal on Palestinian statehood must precede any Israeli-Arab normalization. The Palestinian issue also serves as a showcase for Arab unity in a fractured region, where leaders often find themselves on opposite sides of long-running conflicts. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Arab states to endorse the Palestinian position on statehood and demanded the United Kingdom apologize for granting the Balfour declaration.
March 29, 2017

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1075906/middle-east

http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/1.780220

Headline:       Report: Hamas develops new ‘high-powered’ rocket akin to Hezbollah projectiles

Hamas has produced several dozen short-range rockets that can carry a relatively heavy explosive load, Army Radio reported Tuesday. The report described the rocket as “completely different than any weaponry we know from the direction of the Gaza Strip, regarding the weight of the explosive payload.” According to the report, in the event of a future conflict between Israel and Hamas, the new rocket would have the most effect on the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip. Weapons smuggling into the Hamas-run enclave from the Sinai Peninsula has decreased due to the group’s efforts to improve ties with Egypt, leading Hamas to invest in producing its own rockets. Hamas has boasted of its growing arsenal, testing its stockpile on an almost regular basis since the conclusion of 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.
March 28, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Hamas-develops-new-highly-powerful-short-range-rocket-485405

Jordan

Headline:      UN chief echoes Jordan’s condemnation of ‘settlement activities’

Addressing this year’s Arab League Summit in Amman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said there can be no peace between Israel and the Palestinians without a two-state solution to the conflict. “There can be no peace nor stability in the region without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, the core issue of the Middle East, based on the two-state solution,” Abdullah stated. Moreover, the Jordanian king accused Israel of working to “undermine chances for peace” with its “continued settlement expansion” in Judea and Samaria. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, who also addressed the summit on Wednesday, echoed Abdullah’s remarks. “The two-state solution is the only path to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis can realize their national aspirations and live in peace, security and dignity,” he declared. “There is no Plan B.” “That is why it is important to stop all unilateral actions that can undermine the two-state solution,” he continued. “This is particularly true in relation to the need to stop settlement activities, which are illegal under international law.”
March 29, 2017

https://worldisraelnews.com/king-stooge-say-blah-blah/

Lebanon

Headline:       Syrian Army, Hezbollah foil Al-Nusra infiltration attempt near Lebanon’s border

The Syrian Army and the Lebanese Shi’ite paramilitary group, Hezbollah, have foiled an al-Nusra infiltration attempt. The pro-Syrian government forces discovered the terrorist fighters attempting to sneak close to a militrary check point in Jaroud Flita area in western Qalamoun, near the Syria-Lebanon border. The attackers were spotted as they were traveling towards the checkpoint. Pro-government forces targeted, killed and wounded dozens of terrorist fightersm including a field commander. The failed attack and powerful assault by the the Syrian Army and Hezbollah forced al-Nusra to retreat back, ruining their plan to take the checkpoint.
March 29, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-hezbollah-foil-al-nusra-infiltration-attempt-near-lebanons-border/

Saudi Arabia

Headline:    Saudi Arabia shoots down ‘smuggled’ Yemen rebel missiles

Headline:  Yemeni Army rocks Saudi airport with medium-range missiles

Headline:  Houthi rebels in Yemen threatening strategic strait: US official

Saudi Arabia intercepted four missiles fired by Yemeni rebels on Tuesday, a Saudi-led coalition said, in what it described as evidence of arms smuggling through a rebel-held Red Sea port. The coalition has said previously that it destroyed much of the Shiite rebels’ missile capability early in its two-year-old bombing campaign and says persistent launches show they are receiving new deliveries from abroad. “Early this morning, four missiles were intercepted,” the coalition said. “The ongoing missile attacks on Saudi cities provide clear evidence of the arms smuggling that continues to take place in Yemen, notably through the port of Hodeida.”
March 29, 2017

http://jordantimes.com/news/region/saudi-arabia-shoots-down-smuggled%E2%80%99-yemen-rebel-missiles

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/yemeni-army-rocks-saudi-airport-medium-range-missiles/

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2017/Mar-29/399710-houthi-rebels-in-yemen-threatening-strategic-strait-us-official.ashx

Headline:        Syrian army captures Islamic State village near Aleppo

The Syrian army captured the small town of Deir Hafer east of Aleppo from Islamic State on Wednesday, a Syrian military source said, part of its operations to drive back the jihadist group and consolidate its control in that area. It was the site of an important Islamic State headquarters and contained a command and control center, an arms manufacturing site, field hospitals and highly engineered fortifications, the source said. The army surrounded and besieged it days ago as part of its campaign to recapture the areas to the east of Aleppo, including an important water supply facility for the city that it took earlier this month, and a military airbase. Turkey-backed rebels who oppose the Syrian army have also seized a pocket of territory along the Turkish frontier to the north of Deir Hafer. A U.S.-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, the Syrian Democratic Forces, has captured swathes of land east of the Euphrates and is working to isolate Islamic State’s bastion of Raqqa, which it expects to assault in early April.
March 29, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-army-idUSKBN1702B0

Headline:  Russian Embassy in Damascus being shelled by militants in Jobar

Militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization are shelling the Russian embassy in Damascus from the Jobar and Qaboun districts, Head of Russia’s General Staff Main Operations Department Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi said on Tuesday according to TASS. “The situation in the area of the city’s quarters of Jobar and Qaboun controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra groups remains tense. Precisely from these areas mortar fire continues to be delivered on the Syrian capital’s residential quarters, including the Russian embassy,” Rudskoi said. “The situation is developing far better in another Damascus suburb, in East Qalamoun, where opposition formations who have signed a truce agreement are successfully interacting with the Syrian army,” the general added. “Representatives of the bodies of power and leaders of self-defense groups of most populated areas in that district have signed agreements on joining the ceasefire. Under the agreement, government troops are not committed to these towns and settlements,” the general said.
March 29, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-embassy-in-damascus-being-shelled-by-militants-in-jobar/

Headline:  Syrian Army overruns jihadi groups in northern Hama

The Syrian government forces – backed by local fighters and Russian Air Force – managed to curb the advance made by jihadi groups in northern Hama countryside and began a decisive counter-offensive to recover the lost villages and towns. Today, the government troops recaptured al-Shiha Hiltop located to the north of al-Shiha town, thus paving the way to re-open the strategic Hama-Mahardah road. To the east, jihadi rebels were forced to retreat from the al-Samman Hilltop (Point 50) located to the north of Qamhana, a government-controlled town which has been the main target for rebels for the last few days. Meanwhile, Syrian and Russian fighter jets conducted heavy airstrikes on rebel positions in Halfaya and Al-Lataminah; both towns serve as the launch-pad for rebel forces to attack the Christian city of Mahardah.
March 29, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-overruns-jihadi-groups-northern-hama/

Headline:     Iraqi forces liberate Mosul Stadium amid latest push against ISIL

Headline:  Over 280 Iraqi security forces members killed in west Mosul

Headline:  Campaign for Mosul March 17 – 29, 2017

The Iraqi Armed Forces took contro of more territory in western Mosul, today, after engagng a large Islamic State (ISIL) unit inside the provincial capital’s historical district. According to local activists, the Iraqi Armed Forces liberated the Mosul Stadium and Qadib l-Ban area of the provincial capita, killing and wounding several Islamic State terrorists in the process of this latest advance. In addition to this advance, the Iraqi Armed Forces are still pushing inside the Old Mosul and Yarmouk districts, where ISIL is attempting to make their last major stand.
March 29, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-forces-liberate-mosul-stadium-amid-latest-push-isil/

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/03/29/Over-280-Iraqi-security-forces-members-killed-in-west-Mosul.html

http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/campaign-mosul-march-17-29-2017

Headline:    Turkmen protest raising Kurdish flag in Kirkuk

Headline:    US-led coalition has no intention to create federal Kurdish state in Syria: official

 Turkmen protested on Wednesday at Kirkuk province against raising of the Kurdish flag above official facilities in the province, deeming the measure as “illegal” and unilateral. According to Alsumaria News, the demonstrators protested near the province’s administrative building raising Iraqi and Turkmen flags. They also raised banners reading “No for unconstitutional decisions” and “Turkmens reject the governor’s decision on raising the Kurdish flag on facilities” Protesters also said they would submit an official memorandum to the administration of the province against the decision. On Tuesday, Kirkuk provincial council voted yes on the decision by governor Najmaddin Karim to install the Kurdistan flag alongside the Iraqi flag on the government buildings in the city, a decision that was condemned by Iraqi Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi, who described it as ‘breach of national unity’ Twenty-six out of 40 members of Kirkuk’s council voted for the controversial measure, in the absence of Arab and Turkmen representatives. Two weeks ago, the governor issued directives to raise the Kurdish flag beside the Iraqi flag at all government facilities and on national occasions. Kirkuk is one area where Kurdistan region disputes sovereignty with Iraq.
March 29, 2017

http://www.iraqinews.com/features/turkmens-protest-raising-kurdish-flag-kirkuk/

http://aranews.net/2017/03/us-led-coalition-has-no-intention-to-create-federal-kurdish-state-in-syria-official/

Turkey

Headline:    Turkey suddenly ends Euphrates shield invasion of Syria

Headline:  US Secretary of State to Visit Ankara at a Critical Time

The Turkish National Security Council Wednesday night announced the end of the ‘Euphrates Shield’ military campaign in northern Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was present. “It was noted that the ‘Euphrates Shield’ operation which was started with the goal of ensuring national security, preventing the threat from Daesh and return of Syrian refugees to their homes has successfully completed,” the statement by the Turkish National Security Council read. DEBKAfile: It remains to be seen when and how quickly Ankara pulls back the Turkish army’s armed, artillery, engineering and infantry brigades from northern Syria which they invaded in August 2016.
March 29, 2017

http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/20235/Turkey-suddenly-ends-Euphrates-shield-invasion-of-Syria

http://www.voanews.com/a/us-secretary-of-state-to-visit-ankara-at-a-critical-time/3786364.html

Iran

Headline:       IS Threatens Iran in Persian Language Video

Islamic State has issued a video threatening Iran and promising to conquer the country soon. The 36-minute, Persian-language video is aimed at Iran’s Sunni Muslim minority and accuses Tehran of persecuting them. But analysts said the intention behind the video released late Monday may be a desperate effort to show that IS, at its weakest since its declaration of a caliphate in June 2014, is still a potent force. “IS was not successful in recruiting Iranian Sunnis when it was at its peak, and such an outreach now seems to be the struggles of a sinking body,” said Alex Vatanka, a senior analyst at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. Iran is deeply involved in efforts by Iraq and Syria to rout Islamic State from their territory, providing Shi’ite militias with funding and equipment. Since 2012, Iran has acted as a major ally of the Syrian regime in Damascus, backing Syrian troops in their war with rebel groups across the country. At times, Iranian forces have been in battles with IS fighters in Syria, according to reports. The video, narrated and hosted by several Persian speakers with heavy Baloch accents, alleges more than 18,000 Iranian Sunnis have been executed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. One of the speakers urges Sunnis to join the group “to defend their dignity and regain back the pride taken away by Iranian Shia authorities.”
March 28, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/islamic-state-threatens-iran-persian-language-video/3785617.html

Headline: All 15 Arab Summit resolutions blast Iran

All 15 resolutions passed by the Arab summit which took place in Jordan Wednesday, March 29, were devoted to an indictment of Iran, its Revolutionary Guards Corps and Lebanese surrogate, Hizballah. They were a testament to the depth of Arab-Iranian animosity and exposed the extent of the rift between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim worlds. Iran was accused of meddling in the internal affairs of Arab nations, inciting Shiites against Sunnis, and arming and training Shiite terrorist groups for operations against legitimate Arab governments. The Arab rulers combined to put Tehran in the dock for its interference in the Syrian civil war and assault on its sovereignty. None of the formal resolutions addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As debkafile reported earlier, this issue is the subject of active exchanges between the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah of Jordan, who hosted the summit and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi will travel to Washington to report to President Donald Trump on the private discussions on this issue at the session and launch the next stage of the Arab-Israeli peace initiative.
March 29, 2017

http://debka.com/article/25985/All-15-Arab-Summit-resolutions-blast-Iran

Afghanistan

Headline:   Afghan Governor Says US Marines’ Deployment Will Reverse Taliban Gains

Headline: Russia, Iran urge dialogue between Afghanistan, Taliban

Headline: Afghan Taliban lists ‘Percent of Country under the control of Mujahideen’

Afghan officials appear confident a planned deployment of about 300 U.S. Marines will help local forces reverse insurgent gains in the embattled southern province of Helmand. Backed by airpower, the Afghan National Army has intensified offensive operations in the largest Afghan poppy-growing province, after the Taliban captured the strategically important district center of Sangin last week, although government officials continue to dispute the claim. Afghan forces in overnight operations are reported to have killed dozens of insurgents and destroyed several narcotics-producing factories in Helmand. The provincial governor, Hayatullah Hayat, says national security forces are prepared, and better placed this year to beat back the Taliban. They already have cleared areas around the provincial capital of Lashkargah and nearby districts. Hayat sounded upbeat about a planned deployment of Marines in Helmand, saying it will boost local efforts to evict the Taliban, which is currently in control of most of the province.
March 29, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/afghan-governor-says-us-marines-deployment-will-reverse-taliban-gains/3786580.html

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/29/Russia-Iran-urge-dialogue-between-Afghanistan-Taliban/1421490805977/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/afghan-taliban-lists-percent-of-country-under-the-control-of-mujahideen.php

Sudan

Headline:       Bashir bans Egyptians from entering Sudan

Egyptians have been banned from entering Sudan under a presidential decree which comes into effect immediately. No reason has been given for the decision passed by President Omar Hassan Al Bashir. The ban excludes Egyptian nationals who already have visas to enter the country. The decision is set to increase the tension between the two countries and it follows Sudan accusing Egyptian media of ridiculing and disparaging its historical heritage. The row broke out following an official visit by the Qatari Princess, Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned, which included a trip to the Sudanese pyramids in Merowe in the north of the country. The State of Qatar made a large donation to help Sudan renovate and maintain the 4,600-year-old monuments. However, in response to the visit, sections of the Egyptian media cast doubt on whether Sudan’s Kushite civilisation could have built the pyramids without Egyptian assistance. Last week, the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Professor Ibrahim Ghandour, and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukri, issued a joint statement appealing for calm and respect between the two nations. The two minister are scheduled to meet in Khartoum early next month. There has been no official response from the Egyptian government.
March 29, 2017

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170329-bashir-bans-egyptians-from-entering-sudan/

Libya

Headline:    Struggle for control of Libya’s oil threatens to deepen conflicts

Headline:    US sees a resurgent Russian military expanding into Afghanistan, Libya

A power struggle for control of Libya’s oil is threatening to deepen splits in the country and undermine the fragile authority of the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord, the GNA. The battle has forced the politically neutral chairman of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) to warn the GNA that it has overstepped its authority both by closing the oil ministry and by trying to take over some of the NOC’s role. The attack by Libyan oil boss Mustafa Sanalla’s may weaken already fraying international support for the Tripoli-based GNA led by Fayed Al Serraj. In a deeply divided country, Sanalla is one of the few public figures treated with respect by all sides. Ambassadors from the five countries with permanent seats on the UN security council issued a rare joint statement on Saturday siding with Sanalla and warning all sides to show retraint, stressing that “the petroleum infrastructure, production and export revenues belong to all the Libyan people and must remain under the stewardship of the NOC”. The ambassadors regard the retention of an apolitical functioning national body responsible for administering Libya’s vast oil revenues as critical to preventing the breakup of the country.
March 29, 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/29/struggle-for-control-of-libyas-oil-threatens-to-deepen-conflicts

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/politics/russia-afghanistan-libya-syria/

Morocco

Headline:    Governor fired as new violence hits Morocco province

Moroccan authorities fired a provincial governor after angry protesters clashed with police leaving dozens of officers reportedly injured, an interior ministry source told AFP. The disturbances were the latest to rock the northern province of Al-Hoceima since the death of a local fishmonger in a garbage truck last October sparked nationwide protests. Governor Mohammed Zhar was fired during a visit to Hoceima on Tuesday by Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad, the ministry source said. His dismissal was intended to “clear the air” and “meet residents’ expectations for the region’s development”, the source added. During Sunday’s disturbances, stone-throwing protesters attacked a police barracks outside Al-Hoceima then set fire to adjacent buildings. Provincial authorities said they made 14 arrests but said nothing about the identity or motives of the protesters. Moroccan newspapers reported that several dozen police were injured, six of them seriously, after officers were trapped by the blaze and several jumped from the roof to escape the flames. There was no official confirmation of the casualty toll.
March 29, 2017

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/governor-fired-as-new-violence-hits-morocco-province-20170329

Armenia

Headline:    Armenia Looks to Buy Russian Arms to Counter Azeri Military Potential

Armenia is interested in buying weaponry from Russia as deterrence against Azerbaijan’s growing military potential, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said Wednesday. In February, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said that the presence of the Russian military base in Armenia is Moscow’s and Yerevan’s business, but Baku is taking it into account. “We are interested in military equipment that could balance Azerbaijan’s growing [military] arsenals and prevent the use of a number of weapons systems deployed on combat duty in Azerbaijan,” Sargsyan told reporters. The Erebuni base was formed in 1995 and the MiG-29 Fulcrum multirole fighters were deployed there in 1998, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. In July 2001, the units at Erebuni were incorporated into an air division of the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia. Russia has reinforced its military base in Armenia with attack and transport helicopters, the Defense Ministry said earlier.
March 29, 2017

https://sputniknews.com/military/201703291052093010-armenia-azerbaijan-russian-arms/

Headline:   Report: North Korea Increasing Activity at Nuclear Test Site

Increased activity at North Korea’s main nuclear test site during the past few days could mean the country is in final preparations for a sixth nuclear bomb test, according to a report from the U.S.-Korea Institute. 38 North, a website published by the U.S.-based think tank, released photos of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site taken March 28 that show vehicles moving around the area and water being pumped from a tunnel, likely to keep it dry for communications and monitoring equipment. In a statement released with the photos, the group said the activity is “consistent with previous reports,” though it noted a large, new contingent of people “standing in formation” in the base’s administrative area. The statement said, “Such a gathering has not been seen since January 4, 2013, which was followed by a nuclear test on February 12.” According to 38 North, the North Koreans generally try to avoid activity when they know satellites are passing overhead, so for the satellites to capture images of them in formation “suggests that Pyongyang is sending a political message.” During the weekend, the website reported the possibility of vehicles and trailers at the site being used to install a nuclear device for an underground test.
March 29, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/report-north-korea-increasing-activity-nuclear-test-site/3786874.html

Headline:   The Transformation Of Our Nation Into A Surveillance State Is Almost Complete

Headline: House pulls the plug on internet privacy rules

The headlines are awash with the recent tensions with North Korea, and most are focused intently upon this act of the play that has been running hot for several years, now.  Akin to the proverbial frog in cold water, however, we are not paying as much attention to the surveillance state that is continuing to wrap its tentacles around us.  Eurasia is our ally, Eastasia is our enemy…and nobody notices that the chocolate ration has been diminished.  While everyone focuses on what is reported in the headline news, everybody misses what is happening right before their eyes. Point of Sale is the new jail, the ubiquitous surveillance system that records your every purchase and stores it in a personal database…an algorithm…in the government storage facility in Utah.  Look above that register.  It doesn’t matter whether you have a debit or credit purchase or not.  Paying cash?  Your anonymity only lasts until your image is captured in the little black dome camera right above your head…right next to the register.  The sale is recorded, as well as your image. Now the biometrics are becoming advanced enough to be able to measure the spacing between your eyes, the shapes of the ears, and other idiosyncrasies that are peculiar to each individual.  But these differences do not matter, as long as they can be catalogued.   All the states pretty much have Real ID, now, with driver’s licenses all linked into a central database and passed through the fusion centers and police departments at local, state, and national level.  1984 is now.
March 28, 2017

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-03-28/transformation-our-nation-surveillance-state-almost-complete

https://www.cnet.com/news/house-votes-to-repeal-internet-privacy-rules-broadband-fcc/

Headline:   Article 50: UK set to formally trigger Brexit process

Headline: Scottish lawmakers back independence referendum call

Theresa May has signed the letter that will formally begin the UK’s departure from the European Union. Giving official notice under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, it will be delivered to European Council president Donald Tusk later. In a statement in the Commons, the prime minister will then tell MPs this marks “the moment for the country to come together”. It follows June’s referendum which resulted in a vote to leave the EU. Mrs May’s letter will be delivered at 12:20 BST on Wednesday by the British ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow. Meanwhile, Scottish lawmakers voted Tuesday to seek a new referendum on independence, presenting the British government with an unwelcome distraction as it prepares to push the European Union exit button. The Edinburgh-based legislature voted 69-59 to ask the U.K. government to sanction an independence vote that would be held within the next two years. Outside, several dozen independence supporters bearing Scottish and EU flags broke into cheers and tears of joy as they heard the news.
March 29, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-39422353

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_SCOTLAND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-03-28-12-34-01

Headline: Price of imported fruit and vegetables ‘will rise by up to 8% after Brexit’

Headline: Fruit and veg prices skyrocket in Algeria

Fruit and vegetables, flowers and olive oil will all become more expensive once the UK leaves the EU, no matter what trade deal is struck, City analysts have calculated. The price of food imported from the EU is likely to rise by up to 8% by the end of any transitional period as Britain is forced to impose extra border controls, making it more difficult to bring in foods that we cannot produce ourselves. Last year the UK imported food and agriculture products worth £47.5bn , of which 71% were from EU nations. The most valuable imports include Dutch and Spanish fruit, vegetables and flowers as well as French wine. Harry Smit, a senior analyst at Rabobank and author of Future Food Security in the UK: the Impact of the Brexit on Food and Agribusiness in Europe and Beyond, said: “UK consumers should brace themselves for some price rises – perhaps by as much as 8% – on those products for which Britain is almost solely reliant on the EU.”
March 29, 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/29/brexit-fruit-vegetable-prices-uk-eu

http://www.freshplaza.com/article/173083/Fruit-and-veg-prices-skyrocket-in-Algeria

March 22, 2017 – Bird flu confirmed in 3 Southern states, including Kentucky
http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Bird-flu-confirmed-in-3-Southern-states-including-Kentucky-416834273.html

March 22, 2017 – Yellow fever killing thousands of monkeys in Brazil
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322155611.htm

March 22, 2017 – Thousands of dead fish have been washing ashore on Mallacoota beaches, New South Wales
http://www.naroomanewsonline.com.au/story/4548520/wave-of-dead-fish-washing-up-at-mallacoota/?cs=3843

March 23, 2017 – Hundreds of birds found dead in Zihuatanejo beach Mexico
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fguerrero.quadratin.com.mx%2Fhallan-muertas-cientos-aves-playa-zihuatanejo%2F&edit-text=&act=url

March 23, 2017 – Thousands of dead fish in a lagoon in Villa Mercedes, San Luis Argentina
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdzol.com%2Fvideo%2F724924-sorpresa-en-san-luis-por-la-aparicion-de-miles-de-peces-muertos%2F

March 24, 2017 – Official Says 80 Percent of Livestock Dead in Somaliland
http://www.voanews.com/a/official-says-80-percent-of-livestock-dead-in-somaliland/3780112.html

March 26, 2017 – Bird flu toll in Miyagi, Chiba Japan to 270,000 chickens
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/03/26/national/bird-flu-toll-miyagi-chiba-kept-270000-chickens/

March 27, 2017 – Massive die off of fish in fish farm in Hengxian, China
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.gxnews.com.cn%2Fstaticpages%2F20170327%2Fnewgx58d8b4d9-16055183.shtml&edit-text=&act=url

March 27, 2017 – Dead turtles appear in Tiscapa Lagoon, Nicaragua
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tn8.tv%2Fnacionales%2F415881-nicaragua-muerte-tortugas-tiscapa-podria-algas%2F&edit-text=&act=url

March 27, 2017 – Thousands of fish die in reservoir in Chiclayo, Peru
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Frpp.pe%2Fperu%2Flambayeque%2Fmiles-de-peces-murieron-en-reservorio-tras-lluvias-en-chiclayo-noticia-1039798&edit-text=&act=url

March 27, 2017 – Bird flu confirmed in Georgia; 18,000 birds destroyed
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/35004532/bird-flu-confirmed-in-ga-18000-birds-destroyed

March 27, 2017 – Over 13,000 birds dead due to bird flu on Chiayi Taiwan poultry farm
http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201703270029.aspx

Headline: Meningitis outbreak kills nearly 270 in Nigeria: officials

Nearly 270 people, most of them children, have died in the past five months during the latest meningitis outbreak to hit Nigeria, public health officials said Wednesday. “Presently we have 1,828 suspected cases… and we have 269 deaths in about 15 states,” Olubunmi Ojo of the National Center for Disease Control told local television. At least five northern states — Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger — and the Federal Capital Territory have been hit hard and have crossed the threshold for an epidemic, she added. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, director of disease control at the federal ministry of health in Abuja, said those six states accounted for 1,090 infected people and 154 deaths. “Zamfara State alone recorded 590 cases, out of which 29 people have died,” he told AFP. Laboratory tests have confirmed that the disease was of a new Type C strain, he added.
March 29, 2017

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1076031/world

Headline: Warning: Measles spreading across Europe

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned recently of a measles outbreak sweeping across Europe, in places where immunization rates have plummeted. Recently, over 500 cases of measles have been reported in European countries. Out of 559 measles cases reported in January, 474 occurred in seven of the 14 non-immunized areas, which included parts of France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and the Ukraine, with the largest outbreaks in Italy and Romania. In Romania, 3,400 cases were recorded since January 2016, and 17 people have died from the disease, which remains a leading cause of death globally. Italy saw 238 cases in January 2017, and a total of 850 during 2016. February also saw a sharp rise in measles cases. “With steady progress towards elimination over the past two years, it is of particular concern hat measles cases are climbing in Europe,” WHO Europe Regional Director Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab said. “Today’s ravel patterns put no person or country beyond the reach of the measles virus.”
March 29, 2017

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227462

Headline: Vimeo Declares War on Gospel Transformation

If Jesus has changed your life and set you free from homosexual practice, your testimony is not welcome on Vimeo – not now, not ever. And if you see homosexuality as another aspect of sexual brokenness, something for which Jesus died and something from which you can be healed, your opinion is not welcome on Vimeo. Case closed, door shut, end of subject. In the words of Dr. David Kyle Foster, director of Pure Passion Ministries and himself a former homosexual, “This is pure religious bigotry and censorship.” Your statement equating homosexuality to “sexual brokenness” betrays the underlying stance of your organization. To put it plainly, we don’t believe that homosexuality requires a cure and we don’t allow videos on our platform that espouse this point of view. Please remove any and all videos that discuss homosexuality as a condition requiring healing. We also consider this basic viewpoint to display a demeaning attitude toward a specific group, which is something that we do not allow. You can see why Foster described this as “pure religious bigotry and censorship.” Vimeo is forbidding you from agreeing with the Bible when it comes to human sin and brokenness.
March 27, 2017

https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2017/03/27/vimeo-declares-war-on-gospel-transformation-n2304830?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad

Headline:        Domino’s Will Begin Using Robots to Deliver Pizzas in Europe

Starship Technologies, the London-based company that has created six-wheeled self-driving delivery robots, will begin taking customers Domino’s pizzas in Germany and the Netherlands. Starship, launched in July 2014 by two former Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, will whisk pizzas to customers’ doors if they live within a one-mile radius of certain Dominos pizza shops in “select German and Dutch cities,” the company said in a statement. Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd., the world’s largest franchise licence owner of Domino’s Pizza, with operations in markets across Asia and Europe, has formed a group called Domino’s Robotic Unit to oversee the project. Domino’s has tested ground-based autonomous vehicles for pizza delivery in Australia and New Zealand in 2016. In November it also delivered a pizza –peri-peri chicken– by drone in New Zealand. “With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won’t have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this,” Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Don Meij said in a statement.
March 29, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-29/domino-s-will-begin-using-robots-to-deliver-pizzas-in-europe

Headline:    Four drown in Peru after Piura river overflows, floods town

At least four people died in Peru’s town of Catacaos after the Piura river overflowed its banks and caused widespread flooding, officials said. Peru’s defense minister, Jorge Nieto, said on Wednesday that most people affected by flooding in the Piura region have been evacuated and that work is now centered on organizing proper shelter for people. Nieto said officials are working to shelter 2,000 people, though the number of people affected is likely much higher. Nieto said heavy rains — though not as strong as ones seen recently that caused the river to overflow — are forecast to fall in the Piura Region, including in Piura city, which is about two miles north-northeast of Catacaos. Peru’s National Institute of Civil Defense reported on Tuesday that at least 97 people have been killed and 348 injured and that another 124,161 people have been left homeless. In addition, 20 people are missing, 14,787 homes have collapsed and 15,065 homes have been left uninhabitable since the start of seasonal rains in December, which have destroyed 227 bridges.
March 29, 2017

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/29/Four-drown-in-Peru-after-Piura-river-overflows-floods-town/7201490796677/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=3

Headline: Cyclone Debbie damages homes, cuts power to 63,000 in Australia

Cyclone Debbie injured three people, caused flooding, damaged homes and left tens of thousands without power in northeastern Australia as severe weather is forecast for an additional day, officials said. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology downgraded Debbie to a post-tropical cyclone on Wednesday. More than 63,000 homes have lost power in the state of Queensland in the towns of Mackay, Sarina, Airlie Beach and Proserpine. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there was significant structural damage in the Whitsunday Islands, off Australia’s northeast coast, and that officials are working to get water to one of them, called Daydream Island, where 300 people are stranded and running shot of supplies. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was aware of one death, which police officials attributed to a car crash caused by severe weather linked to Debbie. One man was seriously injured after a wall collapsed in Proserpine, police said. Officials said relief efforts are limited due to heavy rain, debris, large waves, damaging wind gusts and high tides. The BOM said flooding is likely to occur in Queensland’s coastal areas and that strong winds with gusts up to 62 mph along with heavy rains will continue as Debbie’s remnants move southeastward on Wednesday through Thursday morning.
March 29, 2017

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/29/Cyclone-Debbie-damages-homes-cuts-power-to-63000-in-Australia/9361490784664/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=11

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~

Headline:    What’s shaking? List & map of USGS Earthquakes~Click the shaking house~

The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 27, 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora

 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! The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 20, 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:     UK Puts UN Human Rights Council ‘On Notice’ for Anti-Israel Bias

British officials put the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) “on notice” Friday after the council passed a series of resolutions singling out Israel for its policies towards the Palestinians while ignoring other countries’ human rights violations. “Today we are putting the Human Rights Council on notice,” U.K. Ambassador Julian Braithwaite told the UNHRC during the closing moments of its latest session. The group approved four resolutions that condemned Israeli policy on the Palestinians, and called on the Jewish state to return control of the Golan Heights to Syria. “If things do not change, in the future we will adopt a policy of voting against all resolutions concerning Israel’s conduct in the occupied Syrian and Palestinian territories,” Braithwaite said. The U.K.’s statement comes three days after the terror attack in London that killed five people and injured dozens more. The attacks resembled the terrorism of the Palestinian wave of car-rammings and stabbings that has plagued Israel in recent years.
March 26, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85595/uk-joins-trump-administration-putting-unhrc-notice-anti-israel-bias/

Headline:   Netanyahu: Israel committed to working with Trump to advance peace

In a satellite speech to AIPAC in Washington DC, Prime Minister Netanyahu praised cooperation with the Trump administration and affirmed Israel’s support for the fight against radical Islam; ‘We won’t let them drag humanity away from the promise of a bright future to the misery of a dark past.’ Toward the end of his speech, Netanyahu turned his attention to the Palestinians, Israel’s other moderate Arab neighbors and the prospects for peace. “Israel’s hand, and my hand, is extended to all our neighbors in peace,” Netanyahu stated. “We teach peace to our children and it’s time the Palestinian Authority do the same. It must stop teaching hatred to its children. It must stop paying terrorists. It must stop denying our legitimacy and our history. It must, above all, once and for all, recognize the Jewish state.” “Israel is committed to working with President Trump to advance peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors,” he continued. “I believe that the common dangers faced by Israel and many of our Arab neighbors now offer a rare opportunity to build bridges towards a better future—a future more prosperous, more secure and more peaceful. And to achieve that, Israel will stand ever vigilant, never compromising on our security, always ready to defend ourselves.
March 27, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941302,00.html

Headline:     Hamas closes Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel

Headline: Assassinated Senior Hamas Terrorist Was Planning Attacks On Israel, Gaza Militant Says

It is the first time ever Hamas has closed the crossing since taking over Gaza in 2007. The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry closed the Erez crossing until further notice on Sunday, a day after Hamas accused Israel of assassinating a senior member of its military wing. “The closure of the Beit Hanoun [Erez] crossing comes as a part of the steps being taken by the security apparatus following the crime of assassinating Mazen Fuqaha,” Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad Bazm said. Nonetheless, Bazm later clarified that “humanitarian cases” will be allowed to return to the Gaza Strip. Erez is the only pedestrian crossing between Israel and Gaza. Hamas security forces are also preventing Gazan fishermen from going out to sea, the official PA news site Wafa reported. There are approximately 4,000 fishermen in the Strip, most of whom depend on fishing as their primary source of income. Fuqaha was killed in front of his home in Gaza City’s southern Tel al-Hawa neighborhood late Friday. Hours after the assassination, the Interior Ministry said the parties behind it are “unknown,” adding that the local security services opened an investigation. Hamas, however, accused Israel of assassinating Fuqaha. Israeli officials have not commented on the incident.
March 26, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-closes-Erez-crossing-into-Israel-485208

http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/03/26/assassinated-hamas-top-terrorist-planning-attacks-israel-gaza-militant-says/

Headline: IDF launches military exercises on two fronts, high alert on third

Israel embarked Sunday on two week-long military exercises – one across the Golan to drill the forces’ preparedness for attack, and the other in Judea and Samaria. Residents were warned the drills will be accompanied by explosions. The troops of the Southern Command and the Gaza region went on high terror alert following Hamas threats Saturday to avenge the gunning down of Mazen Fukaha, a senior member of its armed wing, of which they accuse the Mossad.  Fukaha, who was released from jail for multiple terrorist murders in the prisoner exchange for Gilead Shalit, was in charge of Hamas terror operations against Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Four shots from a silenced pistol ended his life outside his home in Gaza.
March 26, 2017

http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/20206/IDF-launches-military-exercises-on-two-fronts-high-alert-on-third

Headline:   PM to allow lawmakers to resume Temple Mount visits

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday decided to lift a nearly 18 month-old ban forbidding ministers and lawmakers from visiting the flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Channel 2 reported. The decision was apparently made at a meeting on Monday, which was attended by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Netanyahu confidante Yitzhak Molcho and representatives of the internal security services and police. Visits will be permitted again in three months, after the passage of politically sensitive dates in the Jewish and Muslim calendars, the report said. These include Passover in April, and May’s scheduled celebration of 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War, along with the Muslim festival of Ramadan, which ends in late June. The number of visits permitted will rise gradually, subject to conditions on the ground and possibly to police restrictions, Channel 2 News reported.
March 27, 2017

http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-to-allow-lawmakers-to-resume-temple-mount-visits/

Jordan

Headline:    Jordan’s foreign minister says Arab foreign ministers unanimously endorse more than a dozen policy resolutions

Headline: Arab League to adopt the 2002 Saudi peace initiative

Jordan’s foreign minister says Arab foreign ministers unanimously endorsed more than a dozen policy resolutions, including one rejecting unilateral steps that “jeopardize the historic and legal status” of Jerusalem. This was an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s previously stated intentions to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the city at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians seek a capital in east Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Jordanian minister, Ayman Safadi, said Monday that the resolution is one of “about 17” to be adopted later this week at a gathering of Arab heads of states in Jordan. He says the ministers also reaffirmed the need to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel. A spokesman of the Jordanian government was quoted by Arab media as saying that King Abdullah will travel to Washington after the Arab League Summit to update US President Donald Trump on the decisions made.
March 27, 2017

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941367,00.html

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4941052,00.html

Lebanon

Headline:    ISIS U-Turns West to Lebanon as Next Target

American helicopters Thursday and Friday, March 23-24, dropped Kurdish and Arab fighters over a region west of the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa. Those forces quickly captured at least five villages and so cut jihadist concentrations in the northwestern Syria off from their Raqqa stronghold. debkafile’s military sourcesreport this operation was the opening shot of the US-led campaign to isolate the Islamic State’s Syrian capital before storming it. Raqqa’s liberation is not expected to encounter the same fierce ISIS resistance as the US-led Iraqi army is facing in Mosul. That is partly because the town has gradually emptied of fighting forces ever since ISIS chiefs saw that their time was running out. Instead, ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and his strategists, Iraqi ex-generals, effected a major U-turn: the  jihadists fleeing the Syrian and Iraqi fronts, instead of heading for the ISIS bastions in Deir ez-Zour in eastern Syria and Abu Kamal in western Iraqi Anbar province, were given new orders to head in the opposite direction for their next destination: Lebanon. This is a radical change from their former orders to reassemble in the two towns, which straddle the Iraqi-Syrian border and have commanded the Al Qa’im crossing and ISIS supply routes ever since June 2014. Both towns are located in virtual desert regions through which any approaching enemies are visible from afar. Moreover, the dense vegetation of the Euphrates river banks and nearby forests are effective cover for surreptitious movements against aerial and satellite surveillance.
March 25, 2017

http://debka.com/article/25982/ISIS-U-Turns-West-to-Lebanon-as-Next-Target

Saudi Arabia

Headline:   At least 11 dead in suicide bombing and gun attack in southern Yemen

Headline: Houthi forces turn the tides in the battle for western Yemen – full report

At least 11 people were killed in a suicide bombing and gun attack by suspected al Qaeda militants on a local government compound in southern Yemen on Monday, a Yemeni government media office said in a statement. The attack is the latest in a series of operations by Islamist militants who have exploited a two-year-civil war to try to expand their control and recruit more followers in the country, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia. The government media office said security forces confronted a suicide bomber who tried to drive a mini-bus laden with explosives into a government compound in al-Houta, the Lahj provincial capital. Security forces opened fire on the bus and clashed with militants wearing military uniforms who attacked the compound with automatic weapons, it said in the statement, adding that six security personnel and all the attackers died. Officials said there were five attackers in all. “The situation is now under control,” the statement quoted a security official as saying.
March 27, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-idUSKBN16Y269

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/houthi-forces-turns-tides-battle-western-yemen-full-report/

Egypt

Headline:       Egyptian soldiers wounded by ISIS ambush in the Sinai desert

On Saturday, a mine planted by ISIS insurgents near the port city of Al-Arish injured 9 Egyptian soldiers, including 2 officers, according to Amaq Agency. An armored vehicle was destroyed by the blast. The incident occured at the Al-Buraiky checkpoint, south of Al-Arish city. Recently, the Islamic State’s media department posted pictures online showing its militants setting up checkpoints across Sinai province. Although jihadist insurgents regularly target the Egyptian Armed Forces in the Sinai desert, they maintain merely an underground presence and are yet to establish actual control over areas of Egypt. In a propganda video released last month, ISIS called on its followers to slaughter members of the country’s Christian minority, known as Orthodox Copts.
March 26, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/9-egyptian-soldiers-wounded-isis-ambush-sinai-desert/

Headline:       Syria fighters take control of IS-held airbase near Raqqa

A US-backed force of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters has taken control of an Islamic State-held airbase west of the jihadist group’s stronghold of Raqqa. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and a monitoring group said Tabqa airbase had fallen on Sunday evening. US helicopters airlifted hundreds of fighters behind IS lines at the start of the assault last Wednesday. The airbase’s capture is seen as a significant step in the campaign to drive IS militants out of Raqqa. The SDF is also aiming to seize the nearby town of Tabqa and the Tabqa dam, which the US-led multinational coalition has denied damaging in air strikes. The airbase’s capture was part of a wider offensive aimed at also taking control of the Tabqa dam – the largest in Syria and a key source of electricity for the region. The coalition said the dam had been used by IS as a headquarters, as a prison for high-profile hostages, as a training location and to plot attacks outside Syria. On Sunday, IS said coalition air strikes had locked the dam’s gates, causing water levels to rise dangerously behind the structure and placing it at risk of collapse.
March 27, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39401326

Headline: Western-backed rebels take control of large parts of eastern Al-Sweida (Suwayda)

The Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) continued their large-scale advance near the Iraqi border-crossing on Monday, seizing large parts of Al-Sweida’s eastern countryside from the Islamic State (ISIL) forces. Free Syrian Army units operating in Al-Sweida’s Badiyah area launched another powerful assault this weekend, striking the remaining areas under ISIL’ control. According to the Free Syrian Army’s official media wing, their forces seized the Al-Badiyah area of Al-Sweida on Sunday, giving them control of more territory inside the province. On Monday, the Free Syrian Army units managed to reach the Syrian Arab Army’s front-lines in eastern Al-Sweida for the first time since the Islamic State took control of this area in late 2014.
March 27, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/western-backed-rebels-take-control-large-parts-eastern-al-sweida/

Headline:      US sending around 200 more troops to Mosul in ISIS fight, official says

Headline: Mortar attack in eastern Mosul kills at least 4 people

Headline: Moscow urges ‘responsible’ US action in Mosul, requests UN Security Council briefing on airstrikes

Two companies from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are being deployed to the Mosul to bolster security in Iraq at the request of the top American commander in Baghdad fighting ISIS, a U.S. defense official with knowledge of the order told Fox News. A U.S. defense official told Fox News the 200 additional troops from the 82^nd Airborne Division are going to Mosul—“to provide additional ‘advise and assist’ support to our Iraq Partners as they liberate Mosul,” according to the official. In another sign the Pentagon is ramping up the fight against ISIS, jets from the aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush began striking ISIS targets on Friday, days after arriving in the Persian Gulf. Last month, Bush conducted airstrikes in Syria from the Eastern Mediterranean. In recent weeks, multiple press reports said upwards of 1,000 additional American troops would deploy to Kuwait or Syria to act as a “reserve force.” These reports were said to be inaccurate by multiple Pentagon officials.
March 27, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/27/us-sending-around-200-more-troops-to-mosul-in-isis-fight-official-says.html

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/27/Mortar-attack-in-eastern-Mosul-kills-at-least-4-people/9101490624334/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=8

https://www.rt.com/news/382477-us-bombing-mosul-lavrov/

Headline:   Iraq Situation Report March 1-20, 2017

http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/iraq%20SITREP%202017-03-20%20PDF.pdf

Turkey

Headline:         Tensions flare as Greece tells Turkey it is ready to answer any provocation

Fears of tensions mounting in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean Seas reignited after the Turkish president raised the prospect of a referendum on accession talks with the EU and the Greek defence minister said the country was ready for any provocation. Relations between Ankara and European capitals have worsened before the highly charged vote on 16 April on expanding the powers of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Western allies have argued that a vote endorsing the proposed constitutional change would invest him with unparalleled authority and limit checks and balances at a time when they fear the Turkish leader is exhibiting worrying signs of authoritarianism. Erdoğan has been enraged by recent bans on visiting Turkish officials rallying “yes” supporters in Germany and the Netherlands. Highlighting growing friction between Ankara and the bloc, he raised the spectre of a public vote on EU membership at the weekend. “We have a referendum on 16 April. After that we may hold a Brexit-like referendum on the [EU] negotiations,” he told a Turkish-UK forum attended by the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. “No matter what our nation decides we will obey it. It should be known that our patience, tested in the face of attitudes displayed by some European countries, has limits.”
March 27, 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/27/tensions-flare-greece-turkey-answer-provocation-erdogan

Iran

Headline:     Iran Strikes Back at U.S. With ‘Reciprocal’ Sanctions on 15 Companies

Iran on Sunday sanctioned what it described as 15 American companies, alleging they support terrorism, repression and Israel’s occupation of land Palestinians want for a future state, likely in retaliation for sanctions earlier announced by the U.S. The wide-ranging list from an American real estate company to a major arms manufacturer appeared more symbolic than anything else as the firms weren’t immediately known to be doing business anywhere in the Islamic Republic. A Foreign Ministry statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency said the sanctions barred companies from any agreements with Iranian firms and that former and current directors would not be eligible for visas. It also said any of the company’s assets in Iran could be seized. “The sanctioned companies have, directly and/or indirectly, been involved in the brutal atrocities committed by the Zionist regime in the occupied Palestinian territories, or they have supported the regime’s terrorist activities and Israel’s development of Zionist settlements on the Palestinian soil,” the IRNA report said. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Iran would consider a bill branding the U.S. military and the CIA as terrorist groups if the U.S. Congress passes a bill designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.
March 27, 2017

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran-strikes-back-at-us-with-reciprocal-sanctions-on-15-companies/ar-BByPeCV?li=BBnb7Kz

Afghanistan

Headline:      Pakistan Has Started Fencing Off Its Border With Afghanistan

Pakistan has begun work on a fence that will trace its mountainous northwest border with Afghanistan, Islamabad announced Saturday. “A better managed, secure and peaceful border is in mutual interest of both brotherly countries who have given phenomenal sacrifices in war against terrorism,” Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Bajwa, said in a statement from the country’s tribal hinterlands, the Wall Street Journal reports. But instead, a border fence could further inflame tensions between Pakistan and its landlocked northeasterly neighbor. For one thing, Afghanistan disputes the legitimacy of much of the border, which was drawn up under British colonial rule; for another, each side accuses the other of harboring terrorists. The measure follows a spate of terrorist attacks in recent weeks that have killed more than 100 people on Pakistani soil. Islamabad blames these on militants that it says have relocated across its porous border, which it closed for more than a month in February, citing “security reasons.”
March 26, 2017

http://time.com/4713582/pakistan-afghanistan-border-fence/

Sudan

Headline:     Death toll in attack on South Sudan aid workers rises to 7

The death toll of an attack on aid workers in South Sudan has risen to seven, with the news that the driver also died. David Kim Choop was driving the vehicle when he and six aid workers were ambushed and killed on Saturday, March 25th. The four South Sudanese and three Kenyans worked for a local non-governmental organization called GREDO (Grass Roots Empowerment for Development Organization) and were attacked while on a routine food convoy from Juba, the capital, to Pibor. The ambush caused the highest number of aid workers killed in a single incident since South Sudan’s civil war began in 2013. At least 12 aid workers have been killed so far this year and at least 79 killed since 2013, according to the U.N.
March 27, 2017

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/death-toll-attack-south-sudan-aid-workers-rises-46398380

Headline:    Get ready for Calexit! Now Nigel Farage and the ‘Bad Boys of Brexit’ set their sights on splitting California in two

The ‘Bad Boys of Brexit‘ who led the campaign to break Britain away from the European Union have taken on a new exit challenge: splitting California into two states. Former UKip leader Nigel Farage and Leave backer Arron Banks have just returned from the United States, where they helped raise $1million (£800,000) for a ‘Calexit’ campaign, which would split California into two eastern and western regions. There are several ‘Calexit’ campaigns competing for a referendum in the United States, with one aiming to remove the state from America entirely as a response to President Donald Trump being elected last year. Farage and Banks, who led the ‘Leave.EU’ campaign, appear to be pitting the eastern, more rural side of California against the western ‘coastal elite’ liberals in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
March 27, 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4350388/Nigel-Farage-s-Bad-Boys-Brexit-look-Calexit.html

Headline:    Chile pensions protest draws tens of thousands

Tens of thousands of people in Chile have taken part in demonstrations against the country’s controversial privatised pension system. Demonstrators called on the socialist government of Michelle Bachelet to scrap the the system, which is managed by private funds. Critics say the system benefits the rich but leaves poorer Chileans with a pension below the minimum wage. The system was introduced in 1981 under General Augusto Pinochet’s rule. Protest organisers said a total of more than 2 million people had joined marches in most Chilean cities, and that 800,000 people took part in Santiago alone. Chilean police put the number of demonstrators in the capital at 50,000.
March 26, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39401766

Headline:    Militia fighters decapitate 40 police officers in DR Congo

Militia fighters in DR Congo have decapitated about 40 police officers in an ambush in the central province of Kasai, local officials say. Fighters from the Kamwina Nsapu group attacked a police convoy. Six policemen who spoke the local Tshiluba were freed, but the rest were killed, Kasai Assembly President Francois Kalamba said. The unrest in Kasai began last August, when security forces killed the Kamwina Nsapu leader. Friday’s attack targeted a police convoy travelling between Tshikapa and Kananga. The state Governor Alexis Nkande Myopompa said an investigation had been launched into the killings.
March 25, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39396196

Headline: Putin Critic Jailed as Mass Rallies Energize Russian Opposition

Headline: White House calls on Russia to release protesters

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was jailed for 15 days after the largest anti-government demonstrations for at least five years energized President Vladimir Putin’s critics as presidential elections loom. Navalny was imprisoned by a Moscow court on Monday after being convicted of disobeying police and fined 20,000 rubles ($352) for organizing an unsanctioned protest after more than 1,000 people were detained in a wave of demonstrations in cities across Russia on Sunday. Despite draconian laws forbidding unsanctioned rallies, at least 60,000 took part in more than 80 protests, according to the independent Ekho Moskvy radio station. The protests were the largest since demonstrations erupted in winter 2011 and spring 2012 against alleged vote-rigging in parliamentary elections and Putin’s return to the presidency for a third term. Putin, 64, is likely to seek a further six years as president in elections next March, though he hasn’t officially said he’ll run. Navalny, 40, has said he’ll be a candidate, but the Kremlin insists he’s ineligible because of a fraud conviction that the opposition activist has dismissed as politically motivated. “This is just the start, and the culmination will be nearer to the presidential elections,” Vladimir Milov, one of the opposition leaders, said in a blog posting Monday. “Now our task is to force them into concessions.” The protests were a “provocation” and police acted “absolutely correctly, professionally and legally” in dealing with them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Monday. Organizers got people to join the demonstrations on the “lie” that they’d been approved by the authorities, he said.
March 27, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-27/putin-opponents-energized-after-biggest-russia-protests-in-years

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2017/Mar-27/399404-white-house-calls-on-russia-to-release-protesters.ashx

Headline:   Sylhet blasts kill six amid Bangladesh militant raid

Six people – two police officers and four civilians – have been killed in twin bombings in north-eastern Bangladesh, officials say. The blasts in Sylhet occurred near an apartment building where commandoes have been trying to flush out a group of suspected Islamist militants. Earlier many civilians were evacuated from the block of flats. The suspects have refused to surrender. Dozens of people were injured in the twin explosions on Saturday. Army units continue to surround the building. The blasts hit a large crowd which had gathered nearby as troops continued to exchange gunfire with the militants. The first explosive device was brought by two men on a motorbike and the second was left in a bag of vegetables, police say. So-called Islamic State (IS) claimed on messaging app Telegram that it was behind one of the blasts. The suspected extremists are hiding out in a five-storey building, from which 78 civilians have been evacuated.
March 26, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39394487

Headline:       U.N. plan to ‘mark’ world population

If you believe the Bible is true, then you know it’s going to happen. The “Mark of the Beast” is a staple of prophecy, a development many evangelical Christians would take as a sign the end times have truly begun. And Pastor Carl Gallups believes there are real, concrete indications the United Nations has already started making preparations to develop the very technology that could be used to register every single person on Earth. He sounds the warning in his latest book, “When The Lion Roars: Understanding The Implications Of Ancient Prophecies For Our Time.” Gallups expanded on the international plans under way on a recent episode of “SkyWatchTV.” He cites a report from the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda, including a list of 17 “Global Goals.” One of the goals is “legal identity for all, including birth registration.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is also working to implement biometric technology to identify and track refugees. The information will be stored in a central database in Geneva, Switzerland. Such a plan could be expanded to include the global population. When asked if he was saying the U.N. was going to try to register the entire population, Gallups said those are not his words but those of the United Nations.
March 25, 2017

http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/stunner-u-n-plan-to-mark-world-population/

Headline:    Dow futures slide 150 points as global markets fall on Trump’s health-care failure

Headline:    Dollar skids to four-month low as Trump trade deflates

Wall Street futures underlined a global market sell-off on Monday as investors fretted over the potential knock-on effects of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s surprise failure to deliver on health-care reform. Dow futures were set for triple-digit losses, down around 150 points at 8:45 a.m. ET, after Republicans dramatically pulled their health-care bill on Friday. “The market’s patience is wearing thin,” Vasileios Gkionakis, head of global FX strategy at Unicredit, told CNBC on Monday. “It definitely doubts the U.S. administration’s ability to push forward (with) this so much talked and discussed agenda including the fiscal stimulus, tax deregulation, tax cuts,” Gkionakis added.
March 27, 2017

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/27/global-markets-slip-on-trumps-health-care-failure-dow-set-for-triple-digit-losses.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-forex-idUSKBN16X135

Headline:    Le Pen: I Will Quit Office if French Reject Eurozone Exit

Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen says that if her plan to pull France from the euro currency is rejected by the French she will resign. Le Pen, speaking Monday on Europe 1 radio, reiterated her plan to hold a referendum on the euro issue if elected president, and “If it’s no, I will go.” She said that a show of support for the eurozone means the French “choose a model of governance imposed by the European Union” – which Le Pen also wants to exit. It also means, she said, that “70 percent of my project cannot be put in place.” Le Pen is at the top of polls ahead of the April 23 and May 7 voting, along with independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.
March 27, 2017

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/03/27/le-pen-will-quit-office-french-reject-eurozone-exit/

Headline:     Scientists Discover Portal Into Parallel Universe

Physicists have discovered a quantum portal into a separate, dark universe, bringing them closer to understanding the first moments of creation. One physicist and man of faith thinks this discovery could offer partial proof of God. Quantum physicists have speculated that in the early days of the universe, visible particles were formed along with hidden, or dark particles, which, though completely unobservable, would have had to exist in order to make the universe expand at the known rate. The dark particles are beyond the limits of scientific observation, but their effects on our universe are enormous, so great that physicists believe that roughly 68 percent of the universe is dark energy, with dark matter making up about 27 percent. The rest, everything observable with man-made instruments, adds up to less than five percent of the universe. Quantum scientists theorized dark matter and dark energy exist in a parallel, though not symmetrical, universe. This separate dark universe is connected to ours via quantum portals. Scientists at the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe believe they have discovered one of these portals via a newly discovered subatomic particle called a heavy quark. It is believed that heavy quarks have a “dark charge” which allows them to act as a bridge between the two universes, but as scientists are unable to observe dark particles or dark energy, no more is known about the parallel universe other than the fact of its existence.
March 27, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85689/physicists-discovered-portal-dark-universe-can-hidden-mysteries-creation/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=438d8ad290-BIN_morning_3_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-438d8ad290-86925585&mc_cid=438d8ad290&mc_eid=69db9b2ab7

Headline:          Cyclone Debbie: Thousands evacuate in Queensland, Australia

About 25,000 people have been told to evacuate as a cyclone carrying winds of up to 275km/h (170 mph) moves towards the Queensland coast. Cyclone Debbie has intensified into a Category 4 system and is due to make landfall early on Tuesday local time. Some people have refused to leave despite warnings the destructive core could be as wide as 100km (62 miles). Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the storm would rival the devastating Cyclone Yasi in 2011. In its latest update, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said the cyclone could “intensify further” as it moved towards the Queensland coast. It is expected to make landfall sometime after 07:00 on Tuesday (20:00 GMT Monday) anywhere in a 265km zone from Townsville to Proserpine.
March 27, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-39402106

Headline: 5.1 SW China earthquake affects 15,000 people

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake that hit southwest China has affected the lives of 15,786 people, according to the latest government tally. The tremor jolted Yangbi County in Yunnan Province at 7:55 a.m. Monday. One person was injured by falling tiles, and has been treated in time. Damage was reported in eight townships under Yangbi. Houses collapsed, cracks appeared on walls, while schools, dams, and water facilities were also impaired. The local government said the lives of 2,105 people in 469 households were seriously affected. Economic loss of the quake was initially estimated at 202 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars). The epicenter, at depth of about 12 km, was monitored at 25.89 degrees north latitude and 99.8 degrees east longitude, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Four tremors measuring 3 to 4.7 on the Richter scale hit the same region before and after the magnitude 5.1 quake.
March 27, 2017

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/28/c_136162333.htm

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Headline:    What’s shaking? List & map of USGS Earthquakes~Click the shaking house~

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Headline:    ‘Palestinian cause’ prioritized at 2017 Arab League summit

The “Palestinian cause” will be a major priority in the upcoming Arab League summit, according to a report in the London-based Arabic outlet, Al Sharq al Awsat. “The Palestinian cause will be granted huge attention in the coming Arab summit,” the Arab League’s Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the publication. Aboul Gheit added the Palestinians plan to present their own initiative. “They promised to put forward a new plan pertaining to the Palestinian issue in general,” he continued. “There is a desire on the Palestinian side to reformulate some ideas.” Although the Arab League and the Palestinian Authority (PA) seek a PA state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have yet to commit to such an outcome, though both leaders endorse a regional approach to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The summit agenda also includes: “Arab national security, confronting terrorism, Syrian crisis, Yemen, Libya, enhancing performance of the Arab League.”
March 23, 2017

https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinian-cause-priority-2017-arab-league-summit/

Headline:    UN secretary-general reaffirms ancient Jewish ties to Jerusalem

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his recognition of ancient Jewish ties to Jerusalem during a meeting with World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder. A statement Wednesday by the WJC said Lauder and Guterres met earlier in the week in New York, and that Guterres repeated comments he had made to Israeli radio in which he noted the existence of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Palestinian leaders in recent decades have sought to deny any ancient Jewish presence in the city. The WJC statement said that Guterres would do what he could to stem anti-Israel initiatives at the United Nations and its affiliates. Guterres said he could not keep the UN Human Rights Council from passing anti-Israel resolutions.
March 24, 2017

http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-secretary-general-reaffirms-ancient-jewish-ties-to-jerusalem/

Headline: Merkel: ‘No reasonable alternative’ to two-state solution

German Chancellor Angel Merkel said on Friday that there is “no reasonable alternative” to a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and warned that Israeli settlement activity was impeding a resolution to the conflict. She also chided the Palestinians for taking to international forums to “unilaterally denounce” Israel at every turn. In a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin on Friday, Merkel was quoted by Reuters as saying: “I see no reasonable alternative to the goal of a two-state solution.” The German chancellor also warned that in the absence of a two-state solution, Israel cannot remain both “a Jewish and a democratic state,” according to the German dpa news agency. Merkel’s comments appeared to be a rebuke of both the Israeli government and US President Donald Trump,  During her meeting with Abbas, which focused on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Merkel also criticized Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank, saying they are “leading to an erosion of the basis for a two-state solution,” and were “an impediment to the resolution of the conflict.”
March 24, 2017

http://www.timesofisrael.com/merkel-two-state-solution-has-no-reasonable-alternative/

Headline:      US stresses ‘concern’ with Israeli settlements after intensive talks

Headline:   Texas signs first-ever trade agreement with Samaria region

The Trump administration is encouraging the Israeli government to adapt some of its policies toward the Palestinians in preparation for a new round of peace talks. Senior administration officials conducted four days of intensive talks with their Israeli counterparts focused on “concrete near-term measures to improve the overall climate in order to advance the prospects for a genuine and lasting peace,” both governments said in a joint statement. “A principal focus of the discussions was specific measures that could have a meaningful impact on the economic environment in the West Bank and Gaza, allowing the Palestinians to more fully realize their economic potential,” the White House said, noting Israel’s embrace of the initiative. “The two delegations also discussed Israeli settlement construction, following up on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and Mr. Greenblatt’s recent visit to Israel,” the statement continued. “The United States delegation reiterated President Trump’s concerns regarding settlement activity in the context of moving towards a peace agreement. The Israeli delegation made clear that Israel’s intent going forward is to adopt a policy regarding settlement activity that takes those concerns into consideration.” US President Donald Trump has prioritized making peace between Israelis and Palestinians, characterizing a comprehensive agreement between the two parties as the “deal of all deals.” He has told both parties that now is the time for negotiations.
March 24, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/US-stresses-concern-with-Israeli-settlements-after-intensive-talks-485090

https://worldisraelnews.com/texas-signs-first-ever-trade-agreement-with-samaria-region/

Headline:   Sanhedrin Calls on Israel’s Greatest Enemy to Follow Tradition and Build Third Temple

The nascent Sanhedrin has turned a dispute between the Israeli Prime Minister and the Iranian Foreign Minister into an opportunity to invite Israel’s greatest enemy to help build the Third Temple. This offer is not nearly as preposterous as some may think, and has an undeniable precedent the Iranian Minister is quite proud to admit. The international spat began on Purim, two weeks ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a reading of the Megillah (Book of Esther) at a synagogue near his home in Caesarea. While discussing the Biblical story with children in attendance, he assured them, “Today, too, they’re trying [to kill us] in Persia, and today they’re also not going to succeed!” The Iranian minister then went on to claim that his country had saved the Jews three times throughout history. Zarif gave a distorted version of the Book of Esther, claiming that the hero was the Persian King Ahashverosh, and not the Jews, Esther and Mordechai. Zarif also reminded Netanyahu that it was Cyrus, a Persian king, who had facilitated the Jews’ building of the Second Temple. The nascent Sanhedrin choose to see this exchange as an opening and an affirmation of Iranian national pride in helping the Jews build the Temple. The rabbinical court sent a letter to Zarif inviting him to manifest this historic Persian mission. “We were overjoyed to hear of your reference to the wonderful and unique chapter in our nation’s history, in which the Cyrus, as king of the Persian Empire, gave his permission for the building of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem,” the letter read. “It is also recognized that he aided the project by returning the holy vessels that were taken from Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. “It is to be understood from your statements that you support the actions of King Cyrus and that your country supports the establishment of a Temple on Mount Moriah even today. We invite you to opening a dialog regarding this. We will be happy to hear your response to this invitation.”
March 23, 2017

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85484/sanhedrin-invites-iranian-minister-follow-ways-persian-kings-build-temple/

Lebanon

Headline:     Israeli bill redefining maritime border with Lebanon labelled a ‘declaration of war’

Lebanese politicians have reacted with anger over a proposed Israeli parliament bill which would redraw the current highly sensitive maritime border with Lebanon. Israel is seeking to annex a zone of 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of disputed waters between the two neighbours which is believed to be rich in natural gas reserves, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday. The move comes after Lebanon’s government – formed at the end of 2016 after two years of political deadlock – recently advertised commercial tenders for oil and gas exploration in the same stretch of the Mediterranean. This week Israel asked the UN to ensure that Lebanon respects international law with regards to the maritime bloc. It is not clear when the bill will be presented to the Knesset. The maritime border has been a hot button topic for decades, as the two countries are technically still in a state of war. UN and US brokered talks over the years have failed to settle on a definite border. The renewed dispute, however, has caused outrage on both sides. Israeli media accused Lebanon of disrupting the status quo by putting out tenders for the seabed exploration work earlier this year.
March 24, 2017

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-lebanon-maritime-border-bill-redefine-move-declaration-war-parliament-annex-860-square-km-a7648476.html

Saudi Arabia

Headline:   Saudi Arabia is in ‘serious discussions’ with the NYSE in what could be the biggest IPO ever

Headline:   Why Saudi Arabia Must Push OPEC To Extend Production Cuts

Saudi Arabia is having “serious discussions” with the New York Stock Exchange about having the NYSE as one of the exchanges for state oil giant Saudi Aramco’s IPO, the Saudi foreign minister told Fox News on Thursday. “Our objective is to try to complete the IPO sometime in 2018. There are serious discussions with the New York Stock Exchange about having the NYSE be one of the exchanges for the Aramco IPO and I believe the decision will be made on the financial merits,” Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News.
March 24, 2017

http://www.businessinsider.com/aramco-ipo-2017-3

https://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/why-saudi-arabia-must-push-opec-extend-production-cuts

Headline:      Iran steps up support for Houthis in Yemen’s war – sources

Headline: Suicide Drones Have Migrated To The Conflict In Yemen

Iran is sending advanced weapons and military advisers to Yemen’s rebel Houthi movement, stepping up support for its Shi’ite ally in a civil war whose outcome could sway the balance of power in the Middle East, regional and Western sources say. Iran’s enemy Saudi Arabia is leading a Sunni Arab coalition fighting the Houthis in the impoverished state on the tip of the Arabian peninsula – part of the same regional power struggle that is fuelling the war in Syria. Sources with knowledge of the military movements, who declined to be identified, said that in recent months Iran has taken a greater role in the two-year-old conflict by stepping up arms supplies and other support. This mirrors the strategy it has used to support its Lebanese ally Hezbollah in Syria. A senior Iranian official said Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Qods Force – the external arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – met top IRGC officials in Tehran last month to look at ways to “empower” the Houthis. “At this meeting, they agreed to increase the amount of help, through training, arms and financial support,” the official said. “Yemen is where the real proxy war is going on and winning the battle in Yemen will help define the balance of power in the Middle East.”
March 24, 2017

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-iran-houthis-idUSKBN16S22R

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8586/suicide-drones-have-migrated-to-the-conflict-in-yemen

Egypt

Headline:       Egyptian soldiers killed in clashes with jihadists in central Sinai

Ten members of Egyptian security forces were killed during a raid on an “extremely dangerous” jihadist hideout in central Sinai. Ten members of Egypt’s security forces were killed by two improvised roadside bombs during clashes with jihadist militants in central Sinai, the Egyptian army said on Thursday. Fifteen of the Islamist fighters were also killed, while seven others were arrested in the raid on what the Egyptian army describes as “an extremely dangerous” hideout for Islamist fighters. The security forces also discovered and destroyed half a ton of TNT explosives, and took hold of two four-wheelers with hand grenades, and hundreds of mobile phones.
March 23, 2017

https://worldisraelnews.com/10-egyptian-soldiers-killed-clashes-jihadists-central-sinai/

Headline:      Syrian opposition calls for direct negotiations at the Geneva talks

After the preliminary talks that took place Thursday, the Geneva talks on Syria are expected to begin on Friday with substantive talks between the participating delegations. In this context, the spokesman of the Supreme Commission for Negotiations Salem al Mosalat expressed the desire of the delegation of Syrian opposition to engage in direct negotiations leading to a political solution to the crisis in Syria. He revealed receiving pledges by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura that the current round will directly address the political transition process, calling on him to fulfill those commitments. Ramzi Ezzidine Ramzi, assistant UN envoy to Syria, said on Thursday that the discussions were objective. “We talked about all the issues that need clarification before we officially start, and in that sense I think it was a positive meeting, so let’s see what happens,” he said. Al Arabiya’s envoy to Geneva said on Thursday that the official opening of the Geneva talks on Syria would be on Friday instead of Thursday as planned, due to the presence of UN envoy Staffan de Mistura in Ankara.
March 24, 2017

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2017/03/24/Syrian-opposition-calls-for-direct-negotiations-at-the-Geneva-talks.html

Headline:        Syrian Troops Besiege IS Held Northern Stronghold in Aleppo

Headline: ISIL’s collapse continues in east Aleppo as Syrian Army units liberate another village

Syrian government forces are besieging the last Islamic State stronghold in the northern province of Aleppo, weeks after launching an offensive to free the entire province from militants. The push on Deir Hafer comes as U.S. aircraft ferried Syrian Kurdish fighters and allies behind IS lines to spearhead a major ground assault on the strategic IS-held town of Tabqa in Raqqa province, which borders Aleppo. That airlift marked a deepening U.S. involvement in Syria’s conflict ahead of a looming battle for IS’s de facto capital, the city of Raqqa. The Syrian Central Military Media says Syrian troops launched the Deir Hafer siege late Wednesday after capturing nearby areas. The opposition’s Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Syrian troops have now cut the road linking Deir Hafer with Raqqa province.
March 24, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/syrian-troops-besiege-is-held-northern-stronghold/3778658.html

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isils-collapse-continues-east-aleppo-syrian-army-units-liberate-another-village/

Headline: Analysis: Insurgents launch major offensive against Assad regime in Hama province

Headline: Assad regime bolstered in Hama province by Iranian-controlled Iraqi militia

Insurgent organizations — including jihadists, Islamists and rebel groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) — launched a large-scale offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime in Hama province earlier this week. The battle began on Mar. 21, when the insurgents assaulted more than a dozen towns and villages north of the city of Hama. Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), al Qaeda’s joint venture in Syria, has produced a stream of content from the offensive. One of the first HTS images posted online showed the group’s leader, a jihadist known as Abu Jaber, rallying his fighters. Sitting to his left was Sheikh Abdullah al Muhaysini, a US-designated terrorist who is a senior HTS sharia official and likely a major figure in al Qaeda’s international network. The photo of Abu Jaber and Muhaysini can be seen at the top of this article. HTS dispatched suicide bombers in vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) during the early hours of the fighting.
March 24, 2017

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/analysis-insurgents-launch-major-offensive-against-assad-regime-in-hama-province.php

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/assad-regime-bolstered-in-hama-province-by-iranian-controlled-iraqi-militia.php

Headline:     Pentagon investigating report that US-led airstrike killed more than 100 civilians in Mosul Iraq

The Pentagon on Friday acknowledged that the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria carried out an airstrike in a western Mosul neighborhood and that it is “looking into” reports that the bombing left more than 100 civilians dead. “We are aware of reports on airstrikes in Mosul resulting in civilian casualties,” Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to Fox News. “The Coalition conducted several strikes near Mosul and [coalition forces are] looking in to these reports. The Department of Defense takes all reports of civilian casualties very seriously and assesses all incidents as thoroughly as possible.” The suspected civilian body count underscores the problems that Iraqi troops face in their weeks-long campaign to drive out the Sunni militant group from the densely urban part of Iraq’s second-largest city.
March 24, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/24/pentagon-investigating-report-that-us-led-airstrike-killed-more-than-100-civilians-in-iraq.html

Headline: Thousands threaten to boycott elections at Baghdad rally- VIDEO

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in downtown Baghdad on Friday. The protesters were supporting demands from Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to overhaul the government committee overseeing upcoming provincial elections after claims of institutional corruption. Following al-Sadr’s calls, anti-government protesters have threatened to boycott the elections if the present committee is not replaced. Al-Sadr has taken a leading part in the ‘reform revolution’, which has consisted of a series of mass protests for those dissatisfied with the governance of the country.
March 24, 2017

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-thousands-threaten-boycott-elections-baghdad-rally/

Turkey

Headline:         Turkey attacks Kurdish villages in Syria’s Afrin, dozens of civilian casualties reported

Turkey’s military forces on Wednesday launched an offensive on the Kurdish district of Afrin in Syria’s northwestern Aleppo Governorate, killing and wounding dozens of civilians, eyewitnesses and officials told ARA News. The Turkish Army initiated the offensive by shelling the villages of Malla Khalil and Der Ballout in the Jinderis area of Afrin. Several houses were destroyed and dozens of civilians were killed or injured during the attack. Also on Wednesday, Turkey’s military forces hit with heavy artillery the Kurdish villages of Ferferk and Qere Baba in the Rajou area in Afrin District. Furthermore, the villages of Anqala and Khalil in the Kurdish Shiya area were also exposed to artillery shelling by the Turkish troops. “The barbaric Turkish attacks on the Kurdish villages of Afrin caused dozens of casualties among civilians, many of them were women and children,” a local human rights activist told ARA News. “The death toll is in increase as many of the injured are in critical condition,” the source said.
March 23, 2017

http://aranews.net/2017/03/turkey-attacks-kurdish-villages-in-syrias-afrin-dozens-of-civilian-casualties-reported/

Iran

Headline:     Senate introduces new bill sanctioning Iran and testing its nuclear deal

Bipartisan leadership in the US Senate introduced a bill on Thursday that would severely sanction Iran over its ballistic missile work and its proxy activities regionwide, targeting several Iranian entities that were previously relieved of sanctions under a nuclear accord implemented last year. Passage of the bill “would risk killing the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action],” an Iranian American lobbying group based in Washington said in a statement, referring to the formal title of the nuclear deal. The Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 would designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization– a move bitterly opposed by Tehran. The National Iranian American Council, which has the ear of senior Iranian government officials, warned that such a move would “risk American lives” and prompt Iranian retaliation against US troops in Iraq. “The bill would also mandate the re-imposition of sanctions on Iranian entities that were de-listed pursuant to the JCPOA– measures that could constitute a clear violation of the nuclear deal,” the lobby argues. Indeed, the law would provide US President Donald Trump with the authority to sanction any individual or entity “engaged in any activity that has materially contributed, or poses a risk of materially contributing, to the activities of the Government of Iran with respect to its ballistic missile program, or any other program in Iran for developing, deploying, or maintaining systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction, including any efforts to manufacture, acquire, possess, develop, transport, transfer, or use such capabilities.”
March 24, 2017

http://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Senate-introduces-new-bill-sanctioning-Iran-and-testing-its-nuclear-deal-485126

Afghanistan

Headline:  Afghan Taliban capture crucial town of Sangin

Headline:Russia may be aiding Taliban in Afghanistan, top US general says

The Taliban have captured the crucial south Afghan district of Sangin after a year-long battle, officials say. Government forces say they have made a tactical retreat from the centre of Sangin. A spokesman for Helmand’s governor confirmed the district police and governor’s headquarters were now in militant hands. Almost a quarter of British troops killed during the UK’s combat mission in Afghanistan died defending Sangin. Hundreds of members of the Afghan security forces died there in recent fighting. Separately, at least nine local policemen were killed in an “insider” attack in Kunduz in the north early on Thursday. A guard who officials say was linked to the Taliban reportedly gave access to insurgents at a security checkpoint located on the Kunduz-Kabul highway. The attackers took weapons and ammunition with them.
March 23, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39365330

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/23/russia-may-be-aiding-taliban-in-afghanistan-top-us-general-says.html

Sudan

Headline:            US warns South Sudan government against ‘deliberate starvation tactics’

The United States warned South Sudan’s government on Thursday that preventing humanitarian aid workers from reaching parts of the war-torn state that are suffering famine could “amount to deliberate starvation tactics.” A civil war erupted in 2013 when President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, fired his deputy, Riek Machar, a Nuer, who has fled and is now in South Africa. The United Nations says at least one-quarter of South Sudanese have been displaced. The Security Council said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned about the actions of all parties to the conflict that are perpetuating the humanitarian crisis.” However, the language was toned down from a draft that said the crisis was “the result of the actions of all parties to the conflict.” South Sudan Deputy Ambassador Joseph Mourn Majak Ngor Malok rejected accusations that the government was to blame for the famine, saying “it will spare no efforts to help address the situation and calls upon the international community to assist in addressing this urgent matter.”
March 24, 2017

http://www.smh.com.au/world/south-sudan-government-warned-against-deliberate-starvation-tactics-20170323-gv5dyq.html

Libya

Headline:       Russian troops ‘on the ground in Libya,’ US general claims

Russian troops are on the ground in Libya supporting the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, the warlord who controls much of the eastern part of the country, a US general said on Friday. Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, said the link between Russia and General Haftar, the head of a group called the Libyan National Army, is “undeniable.”  “There are Russians on the ground in the area,” Gen Waldhauser said in a meeting with reporters in the Pentagon. It is the first time US officials have said Russian forces are likely inside Libya. The Russian ministry of defence was not immediately available for comment on Friday evening. Gen Waldhauser’s comments follow reports earlier this month that Russian special forces had been deployed to western Egypt, possibly in order to conduct operations in Libya.
March 24, 2017

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/24/russian-troops-ground-libya-us-general-claims/

Headline:    ISIS Claims Responsibility for London Attack but Analysts Remain Skeptical

Headline: Belgium driver on terrorism charge over Antwerp ‘attack’

Headline: UK Parliament terror tied to Antwerp attack

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the terror attack that left four people dead, including the assailant and a police officer, outside of London’s Parliament building on Wednesday, according to the Amaq media agency. “The perpetrator of the attacks yesterday in front of the British Parliament in London is an Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of the coalition,” the Amaq statement said. The claim of responsibility comes fewer than 24 hours after a man driving an SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge near the Parliament building. Two people were killed and more than 30 others injured before the attacker fatally stabbed police officer Keith Palmer on the Parliament’s grounds. Police shot the attacker, who later was pronounced dead. The attacker’s identity has not been revealed, but British Prime Minister Theresa May said he was born in Britain and known to authorities who had once investigated him for links to religious extremism. “Our working assumption is that the attacker was inspired by Islamist ideology,” she told members of Parliament. “We know the threat from Islamist terrorism is very real. But while the public should remain utterly vigilant, they should not and will not be cowed by this threat.”
March 24, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/23/london-attack-british-police-reportedly-make-arrests-in-raid-on-home.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39380527

http://debka.com/article/25976/UK-Parliament-terror-tied-to-Antwerp-attack

Headline:    ‘Make America Great Again’ marches planned Saturday; anti-Trump groups vow to stop them

They’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore. So they’re marching. On Saturday, backers of President Trump are planning marches across the country in a show of unity and support for his agenda. In several places, anti-Trump groups are vowing to try to undermine the rallies. Pro-Trump groups say they are tired of all the attacks on a president who has been in office barely three months. “Why are we here is because we have a president that has been in office, by the time of the march, what … 65 days?” asked former Rep. Doreen Costa, a Rhode Island Republican, in a rhetorical question to the Providence Journal. “All this resistance: ‘He’s not my president,'” she continued. “News flash: He is. He is everybody’s president. I did not vote for Barack Obama, but he was still my president. And you can only resist so much and it’s not going to change the outcome of the election.” The marches, dubbed “Make America Great Again,” or “MAGA,” have met with opposition in some areas, with anti-Trump groups planning to counter-demonstrate.
March 24, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/24/make-america-great-again-marches-planned-saturday-anti-trump-groups-vow-to-stop-them.html

Headline: Belarus Leader Vows Harsh Measures as Protest Showdown Looms

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened a harsh crackdown on opponents of his rule amid mass arrests of protesters planning what they say may be the largest demonstration for years in the former Soviet republic. “We don’t shut anyone’s mouth, but one step to the left or to the right away from the law will be stopped in the most severe way possible,” Lukashenko said at a meeting with security officials on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s planned rally in the capital, Minsk. “We’re not scaring anyone and we won’t. But we’ll be very tough in ensuring the country’s laws and constitution are observed.” Nearly 300 people have already been detained, jailed or fined for involvement in anti-government protests that have swept across Belarus since last month over a so-called “parasite tax” on the jobless, according to Viasna, a Minsk-based rights group. Police have started rounding up prominent activists in Minsk before the so-called Freedom Day march, the independent Belsat TV, which is based in neighboring Poland, reported Wednesday.
March 23, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-24/belarus-strongman-vows-harsh-measures-as-protest-showdown-looms

Headline: Chechnya: Russian soldiers killed in clash with insurgents

Headline: Ex-Russian Lawmaker Shot Dead in Kiev; Ukraine Blames Russia

Six Russian soldiers have been killed and several wounded in a clash with armed militants in Russia’s region of Chechnya, security forces say. The Russian National Guard says militants took advantage of heavy fog to try to storm one of its bases overnight on Thursday. Six attackers are also said to have been killed in the gun battle. They still face a low-level insurgency in the mainly Muslim region in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus area. But clashes between the two sides have become less commonplace in recent years, correspondents say. The insurgency has been quelled largely because of Chechnya’s authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has ruled Chechnya since his forces, helped by massive Russian firepower, defeated separatist rebels between 1999-2009. His much-feared militia, called the “Kadyrovtsy”, have been accused of kidnapping, torture and other human rights abuses.
March 24, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39377409

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-03-23/former-russian-lawmaker-shot-dead-in-ukraine

Headline:  ISIS claims ‘suicide’ blast near Bangladesh airport: SITE

ISIS claimed responsibility late Friday for a suspected suicide bomb attack outside the Bangladeshi capital’s main international airport, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist communications. A bomber was killed in the blast, police said, the third in a series of suspected attacks and the second claimed by ISIS since last week. The bomb, carried by a man on foot, exploded near a police checkpoint monitoring vehicles heading to Hazrat Shahjahal International Airport in Dhaka. “The bomb carrier himself was killed,” a Dhaka police spokesman, Yusuf Ali, told AFP. In an Arabic report, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to U.S.-based monitoring agency SITE Intelligence Group. “A martyrdom-seeking attack targeted a Bangladeshi police checkpoint near the international airport in the city of Dhaka,” the ISIS-linked Amaq news agency said.
March 24, 2017

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2017/Mar-24/399059-isis-claims-suicide-blast-near-bangladesh-airport-site.ashx

Headline:       North Korea preparing for nuclear test at Punggye-ri, officials say

North Korea may be getting ready for its sixth nuclear test. Intelligence collected from U.S. sources indicates North Korea’s next test “could come as early as the end of the month,” one official told Fox News. There is evidence, according to the report, that North Korea has finished tunnels around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. But more equipment needs to be moved into the area for a test. North Korea conducted two nuclear tests in 2016.  South Korea’s military is generally in agreement with the U.S. assessment. “When North Korea’s top leadership makes the decision, we believe the country is ready to test nuclear weapons at any time,” one official said, according to South Korean news service News 1. The unidentified South Korean military official said the tunnels at the north and west sides of Punggye-ri have been completed, and a southern tunnel has also been drilled. The U.S. military has begun to move the Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix to Japan for surveillance purposes. The aircraft will be used to patrol areas surrounding the Korean peninsula. If North Korea completes the miniaturization of nuclear warheads and mounts the weapon on an intercontinental ballistic missile, it will have a weapons capable of striking the U.S. mainland
March 24, 2017

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/24/North-Korea-preparing-for-nuclear-test-at-Punggye-ri-officials-say/5961490360821/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=9

Headline:       CIA’s NightSkies tool can hack, remotely control iPhones without user knowing

WikiLeaks has revealed the CIA’s alleged ability to infiltrate and control iPhones through a tool called NightSkies, which is physically installed onto factory fresh iPhones and allows the CIA to monitor and download files from targets’ phones undetected. The revelation is part of WikiLeaks’ latest Vault 7 release named ‘Dark Matter.’ NightSkies works in the background and grants “full remote command and control,” to the CIA, allowing it to upload and download files from iPhones, including details from the owner’s phonebook, text messages and call logs, and to execute actions on the phones as it wishes. In the press release regarding the latest ‘Vault 7’ leak, WikiLeaks claims that NightSkies “is expressly designed to be physically installed onto factory fresh iPhones.” A 2008 document featured in the release explains that NightSkies v1.2 must be physically installed and will only start beaconing information once the user starts to use the phone. Nightskies is made up of three components: an implant, a Listening Post (LP) and a post-processing program. The implant runs undetected on the phone once it has been physically installed. The CIA monitors the phone for activity, including its browser history file, YouTube video cache or mail metadata. Once it is used for the first time, NightSkies kicks in and sends information to a preconfigured LP.
March 23, 2017

https://www.rt.com/viral/382080-nightskies-cia-infiltrate-iphone/

Headline: FBI Grilled On Extent Of Its Facial Recognition Program

The FBI took fire from privacy advocates and members of Congress Wednesday over how it characterizes its face recognition program, which has allowed agents to access and algorithmically match the photos of tens of millions of Americans — including innocent people who have never been charged with a crime. “The only information the FBI has and have collected in our database are criminal mugshot photos,” Del Greco stated, when asked by committee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) whether the FBI was collecting or storing photos of innocent people from other sources, like social media. “We do not have any other photos in our repository.” “That’s not true,” Chaffetz replied. According to a comprehensive report released last year by researchers at Georgetown Law, roughly half of all Americans have their photos accessible by a law enforcement face recognition system. The report found that 16 states grant the FBI free access to driver’s license photos for its Next Generation Identification and Facial Analysis, Comparison, and Evaluation (FACE) photo-searching systems. The House Oversight Committee also recently learned that two additional states — Arizona and Maryland — have been added, bringing the total to 18 states. The hearing’s panelists quickly concurred that even if the FBI doesn’t directly control some of the photo databases, it can still easily access them with no independent oversight. Agreements with the Department of Motor Vehicles in 18 states currently allow the agency’s face-matching system to freely access residents’ driver’s license photos in order to conduct virtually unlimited face recognition searches, according to Alvaro Bedoya, a surveillance researcher who sat on the panel, and a coauthor of the Georgetown Law face recognition report.
March 22, 2017

http://www.vocativ.com/413934/fbi-facial-recognition-program/

“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.  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.  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:     Balkans to face new war if EU collapses: Juncker warns US against anti-European stance

The chief of the European Commission has warned US president Donald Trump against encouraging countries to copy Britain’s exit from the EU, arguing that a break-up of the bloc could lead to a war in the Balkans. Jean-Claude Juncker, speaking in an interview with the Financial Times, called Trump’s enthusiasm for Britain’s departure from the EU “annoying” and “surprising.” Trump did indeed express his approval for Britain’s departure from the bloc, even labeling himself ‘Mr. Brexit’ during the US presidential campaign. He also became closely associated with the populist right-wing British politician Nigel Farage, then the leader of the UK Independence Party, who was one of those who led the push for the UK’s exit from the EU. Juncker said he delivered his warning via Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Brussels last month. “I told the vice president, ‘Do not say that, do not invite others to leave, because if the European Union collapses, you will have a new war in the Western Balkans,’” Juncker said. The 62-year-old European Commission president stressed that the prospect of EU membership is extremely important for Balkan countries, so they do not become engaged in another war. “If we leave them alone — Bosnia Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Macedonia, Albania, all those countries — we will have war again,” he said, referencing the conflict that broke out between Serbs, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims in 1991, and ended after a NATO-led intervention. Juncker went on to state that Trump’s “America First” rhetoric had frightened Europeans, noting that “for the first time in post-war history we have an American president giving the impression he is not interested in European affairs.”
March 24, 2017

https://www.rt.com/news/382231-juncker-trump-brexit-balkans/

Headline: Doctors Warn Of New Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Bacteria

Friday marks the United Nations’ World Tuberculosis Day, aimed at raising awareness of a disease that kills an estimated 1.8 million people every year. Six countries account for nearly two-thirds of the cases: India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. “In South Africa, for example, TB is the commonest cause of death and the disease is out of control in Africa,” said Dr. Keertan Dheda, head of the Division of Pulmonology at the University of Cape Town. “For the first time after about four to five decades, we have two drugs. One is called bedaquiline,” Dheda said. “That has now been registered in South Africa and is available to treat many patients with drug-resistant TB. And there’s another new drug called delamanid, that’s not yet licensed in South Africa but is available in other countries.” In a report published in the Lancet medical journal, Dheda and his co-authors warn that the effectiveness of these new drugs could be rapidly lost if they aren’t used correctly. “There are several case reports globally of patients that have already become resistant to both delamanid and bedaquiline. We need to change our strategy,”
March 24, 2017

http://www.voanews.com/a/world-tuberculosis-day-new-drug-resistant-bacteria/3779980.html

Headline:   Taiwan top court hears landmark gay marriage case

A panel of judges at Taiwan’s top court are hearing a case that could make the island the first place in Asia to introduce gay marriage. The case has been brought by a gay activist as well as municipal authorities from the capital, Taipei. Taiwan’s parliament has also been debating whether to pass laws that would allow same-sex marriage. The movement has split society and prompted a conservative backlash, with vocal protests in recent months. A panel of 14 justices are hearing arguments and will debate whether a line in Taiwan’s civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. The hearing lasts only one day, but could be a decisive turning point in Taiwan’s decades-long debate on whether to legalise same-sex marriage. It’s the first time the judiciary is opening the Constitutional Court on the issue. If the judges rule that Taiwan’s current ban is unconstitutional, then parliament will be forced to amend the laws to offer gay couples protection.
March 24, 2017

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39376423

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Download The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth March 20 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora