Rapture Flight to Heaven

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Pre-Tribulation Rapture Forum ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In Loving Memory
  April 29, 1947 - September 5, 2020



Update: On Saturday, September 5th, 2020, the founder, administrator, and head moderator of this forum, Valerie S., went Home to be with the Lord.  Her obituary can be found on https://memorials.demarcofuneralhomes.com/valerie-skrzyniak/4321619/index.php.

This posting is dedicated to the forever memory and honor of Valerie, who was the founder of, and the inspiration for, this Web site.  The Web site will continue to operate in Valerie's remembrance, as requested by her family.  God bless!

Dedicated to God  the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit​​​​​​​
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

   For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.     

​​​​​​​2 Timothy 4:7-8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing
.

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Rapture Ready News January 2015

"Fair Use for Information & Educational Purposes"

U.S. says it is deeply troubled by Palestinian move
WASHINGTON - The United States said on Wednesday the move by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to sign on to 20 international agreements, including the International Criminal Court, was of deep concern and unhelpful to peace efforts in the region.

Israeli PM Netanyahu wins internal elections in Likud party
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to lead his right-wing Likud party, according to initial results of the party's internal elections held Wednesday. Knesset (parliament) member Danny Danon, who served as the party's central committee chairman, and was the only one who challenged Netanyahu's leadership and ran opposite him, conceded his loss on Wednesday night.

Palestinians sign up to join International Criminal Court
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed papers to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). He signed the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, at a Ramallah meeting. Membership could see the Palestinians pursue Israel on war crimes charges, and the move was quickly condemned by Israel's prime minister.

Liberal Judge Dumps Constitution - Orders Drivers Licenses Be Issued to Illegals
If anyone in America has suspicions that communism, in the more friendly, yet more deviously illegal, form called Socialism is commandeering our civil rights, in fact, ALL of our rights, he or she is absolutely spot on target.

Kurds in new Islamic State group offensive in Iraq
A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in central Yemen on Wednesday when he blew himself up at a cultural center where students were celebrating the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, a security official said.

HarperCollins Publishes Maps In The Middle East That Omit Israel
HarperCollins, one of the world's largest publishing houses, sells English-language atlases to schools in the Middle East that omit Israel. Collins Middle East Atlases show Jordan and Syria extending to the Mediterranean but do mark the position of the West Bank.

N. Korea's Kim says open to 'highest-level' talks with South
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Thursday he is open to the "highest-level" talks with South Korea in a surprise overture delivered during the communist supremo's traditional New Year message.

Israel hails highest immigration figures in a decade
Jerusalem - The number of Jews moving to Israel leapt in 2014 to its highest figure in a decade, with western Europe leading the way, the immigration ministry said Wednesday.

This season’s flu activity has reached the epidemic threshold, the CDC says
This year's flu season has officially crossed the epidemic threshold, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fifteen children have died across the country from influenza, as the number of states reporting a "high" level of influenza activity jumped from 13 to 22 in one week.

Leading Publishing House Wipes Israel Off Its Map
HarperCollins' subsidiary remove Israel from school atlases for Middle Eastern countries to appease 'local preferences.'

UN rejects Palestinian resolution
A draft resolution calling for Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian territory and establishment of a Palestinian state is rejected by the U.N. Security Council.

Oil falls below $56, heads for biggest annual drop since 2008
Oil dropped below $56 a barrel on Wednesday and was heading for its biggest annual decline since 2008, pressured by weakening demand and a supply glut prompted by the U.S. shale boom and OPEC's refusal to cut output.

GREEN COMET IN BRIGHT MOONLIGHT
The visibility of Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) continues to improve. Currently shining at magnitude +5.0 underneath the feet of Orion, it is expected to more than double in brightness by mid-January 2015. This puts it just above the threshold for naked-eye visibility and allows photographers to record the comet using only a camera--no telescope required.

First Ebola boy likely infected by playing in bat tree
The Ebola victim who is believed to have triggered the current outbreak - a two-year-old boy called Emile Ouamouno from Guinea - may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of bats.

Russia threatens to change Iran stance over US sanctions
Russia-US ties have plunged to post-Cold War lows over Ukraine as Washington has introduced economic sanctions against Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and support for a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Small earthquake in south of Los Angeles
-A magnitude-3.9 earthquake shook an area south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The small quake hit at 3:26 pm (2326 GMT) about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of San Pedro.

5.5 magnitude quake jolts Taiwan
The quake struck at 3.54pm with its epicentre 87.5km southeast of the northeastern city of Yilan at a depth of 83.1km, the central weather bureau said.

5.4-magnitude quake jolts Batangas
A MAGNITUDE 5.4 jolted Batangas on Wednesday afternoon. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvocs) said the tremor occurred at 5:26 p.m. with its epicenter located at 17 kilometers (km) southwest of Calatagan in Batangas.

Tropical Storm's Floods, Landslides Kill 21 in Philippines
hilippine officials said Tuesday that Tropical Storm Jangmi had triggered floods and landslides, killing at least 21 people in the central and southern parts of the country, many in areas not yet fully recovered from last year's Typhoon Haiyan.

Ebola wrecks years of aid work in worst-hit countries
Ebola is wrecking years of health and education work in Sierra Leone and Liberia following their civil wars, forcing many charity groups to suspend operations or re-direct them to fighting the epidemic.

Sonar finds location of downed AirAsia Flight 8501
Indonesia's search and recovery agency says a sonar image appears to have found the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 upside down on the floor of the Java Sea, CBS News has confirmed. It is unclear whether or not the plane has been found intact.

Mass protests in Moscow as leading Putin critic is jailed
Police in Moscow arrested more than 100 people outside the Kremlin last night after protests at the jailing of the brother of Russia's most prominent opposition leader. Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and one of the most vociferous public critics of President Vladimir Putin's government, was given a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for fraud yesterday.

U.S. is in an oil war with Russia and OPEC: Katusa
Oil prices have tanked this year. Oversupply and diminishing consumption have resulted in oil falling to its cheapest price since May of 2009. “It’s a three-way oil war between OPEC, Russia and North American shale,” says Marin Katusa, author of “The Colder War,” and chief energy investment strategist at Casey Research.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

Re: Rapture Ready News January 2015

"Fair Use for Information & Educational Purposes"

Energy-rich Turkmenistan devalues currency against dollar
The energy-rich former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan Thursday devalued its currency against the US dollar by 18 percent, in the latest sign of contagion among Russia's neighbours from the plunging ruble.

Syria conflict: 76,000 die in deadliest year - activists
The year 2014 was the deadliest year yet in Syria's four-year conflict, with over 76,000 killed, activists say. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17,790 of the dead were civilians, including 3,501 children. Meanwhile more than 15,000 died in conflicts in Iraq in 2014, making it that country's worst year since 2007.

Syria opposition group: Assad must go for any peace plan to work
A new Syrian opposition group linked to a prominent cleric said on Thursday President Bashar al-Assad would have to step down as part of any political solution to the civil war, setting out its position ahead of possible peace talks in Moscow this month.

HarperCollins apologises for 'offensive' omission of Israel from atlas and promises to pulp all remaining copies
Publishing giant HarperCollins has apologised for omitting Israel from an atlas and has vowed to destroy any remaining copies. A spokesman said the company 'regrets' the omission from the Collins Middle East Atlas and has removed it from sale. All remaining stock will be pulped.

Iraq violence killed 15,000 in 2014, worst in seven years: govt
Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, government figures showed Thursday, making it one of the deadliest years since the 2003 US-led invasion.

Jeb Bush, in Clear Nod to 2016, Quits All Corporate Positions
It is the latest in a series of moves that point to the likelihood that the former Florida governor plans to seek the GOP nomination to run for president in 2016. The surprisingly fast and bold move, Bush is now more committed to running than the presumed Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton — will force his fellow Republicans to declare earlier than many of them had been prepared to do.

Report: Gulf States Fear Iranian Takeover of Yemen
An Arabic-language newspaper in London reported Thursday that pro-Iranian militias in Yemen have tightened their grip on the country – to the extent that they have taken over the country's national bank. As a result, Gulf states have withdrawn their support for Yemen, leaving the road open for a full takeover by Iranian-backed groups.

Horrifying ISIS 'Guide for Jihadi Mothers' Surfaces Online
The handbook titled "Sister's Role in Jihad" recommends showing children jihadi websites, reading jihad tales before bed, practicing sports that require good hand-eye coordination, like darts, and going on camping trips to teach the children how to survive outdoors. "It is important for the West to understand that all these groups want the world to know that this indoctrination is taking place," MEMRI said in a statement.

Victorious Netanyahu Lauds 'The Best List of All Parties'
"We have proved to the citizens of Israel that the democracy of Likud is much stronger than the dictatorship of populist parties that fall like mushrooms after rainfall,"

Earthquake off Coast Shakes Northern California
The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting a 5.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern California. The USGS says the quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean, about 70 miles west of Ferndale, California, and struck about 4:16 a.m. PST Thursday.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Jesus
Christian Palestinianism has a done a great deal to try to undermine this. The Palestinian Jesus falsehood is a shocking return to the “Jesus was an Aryan” falsehood of the Far Right or the Church-sanctioned portrayal of Jesus as a fair-skinned, blue-eyed gentile. The identicide of the Jewish Jesus is also redolent of an ancient heresy known as Gnosticism, sometimes described as a metaphysical anti-Semitism.

Aliyah Hits Ten-Year High: Approximately 26,500 New Immigrants Arrived in Israel in 2014
... aliyah hit a ten-year high in 2014, with the arrival of some 26,500 new immigrants. This marks a significant 32% increase over last year’s number of approximately 20,000 immigrants.

Islamic State to Systematically Target Europe in 2015
In an interview with Sputnik, well-known French journalist and Middle East intelligence services expert Jean-Michel Vernochet said that he foresees an impending Islamic State group attack on Europe in the very near future.

Netanyahu set to lead a strikingly hardline Likud
Netanyahu has not been banned from competing for, and presumably retaining, the Likud party leadership on Wednesday. Predictably, a compromise was engineered under which various Netanyahu advisers, whose services should not have been used to promote his campaign, have been placed on temporary leave. The party bureaucrats have been appeased. The prime minister sails smoothly on.

WAITING FOR THE FIRST FLARE OF 2015
Solar flares are unpredictable. However, we know where the first flare of the New Year will probably come from: AR2253. The fast-growing sunspot has doubled in size since yesterday, and it has a 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that harbors energy for moderately strong explosions.

NYPD arrests plummet: Slowdown in policing from NYPD officers after executions
NYPD arrests plummet, and the cause is not hard to guess. Tensions are high among the rank and file in the aftermath of the assassination of two NYPD officers, and coupled with the perceived anti-police rhetoric by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, police unions have called for an active slowdown in an organized protest.

Peter King on MSNBC: ‘The Less Al Sharpton Has to Say,’ The Better
"Quite frankly, I know I’m on MSNBC. I think the less that Al Sharpton has to say about running the police department, interfering with the police department, the better everyone would be. Because I believe the decent people in both communities, in the NYPD, in the African-American minority communities do want to find a way to work together.

Malik Shabazz to Black Panthers: 2015 Time to Build Army, Go to Gun Range
What am I saying? Right now it’s time to build up that army. Right now it’s time for us to build up those corps, those troops. It’s time to get strong. It’s time for lifting weights and working out and going to the gun range and all of that.”

Russia Starts A New Economic Union On New Year's And It Already Looks Like A Disaster
A huge new economic union will begin on New Year's Day. You might not have heard about it, though, because its biggest member — Russia — has been a little preoccupied with its own economy recently. The Eurasian Economic Union (EEA), which succeeds the Eurasian Economic Community and customs union, begins on Jan. 1, 2015. It's made up of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

Shemitah year of 2015 may bring financial upheaval
What would you do if you knew that divine judgment on your country and the world was imminent? If you are Jonathan Cahn, you write two best-selling books that detail the revelations that you have received about how the United States is already undergoing judgment and has been for more than a decade.

U.S. says it is deeply troubled by Palestinian move
WASHINGTON - The United States said on Wednesday the move by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to sign on to 20 international agreements, including the International Criminal Court, was of deep concern and unhelpful to peace efforts in the region.

Israeli PM Netanyahu wins internal elections in Likud party
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to lead his right-wing Likud party, according to initial results of the party's internal elections held Wednesday. Knesset (parliament) member Danny Danon, who served as the party's central committee chairman, and was the only one who challenged Netanyahu's leadership and ran opposite him, conceded his loss on Wednesday night.

Palestinians sign up to join International Criminal Court
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed papers to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). He signed the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, at a Ramallah meeting. Membership could see the Palestinians pursue Israel on war crimes charges, and the move was quickly condemned by Israel's prime minister.

Liberal Judge Dumps Constitution - Orders Drivers Licenses Be Issued to Illegals
If anyone in America has suspicions that communism, in the more friendly, yet more deviously illegal, form called Socialism is commandeering our civil rights, in fact, ALL of our rights, he or she is absolutely spot on target.

Kurds in new Islamic State group offensive in Iraq
A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in central Yemen on Wednesday when he blew himself up at a cultural center where students were celebrating the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, a security official said.

HarperCollins Publishes Maps In The Middle East That Omit Israel
HarperCollins, one of the world's largest publishing houses, sells English-language atlases to schools in the Middle East that omit Israel. Collins Middle East Atlases show Jordan and Syria extending to the Mediterranean but do mark the position of the West Bank.

N. Korea's Kim says open to 'highest-level' talks with South
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Thursday he is open to the "highest-level" talks with South Korea in a surprise overture delivered during the communist supremo's traditional New Year message.

Israel hails highest immigration figures in a decade
Jerusalem - The number of Jews moving to Israel leapt in 2014 to its highest figure in a decade, with western Europe leading the way, the immigration ministry said Wednesday.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

Re: Rapture Ready News January 2015

"Fair Use for Information & Educational Purposes"

Forget fireworks, Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano puts on an explosive New Year's show
Many places around the globe ring in the New Year with fireworks, but Mother Nature gave residents of one Mexican town a very explosive show to celebrate the arrival of 2015.

AirAsia QZ8501: Search teams 'find two large objects'
Search teams scouring the Java Sea for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 have found "two large objects", Indonesian officials say. Search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo said a remotely operated underwater vehicle was being lowered to take pictures.

Merkel government urged to overhaul Germany’s refugee system as anti-immigrant protests grow
The Bavarian coalition partners of German Chancellor Angela Merkel are urging a radical overhaul of the country’s asylum system, including the swift deportation of those who are turned down for refugee status. The proposals coincide with the rise of a new far-right protest movement in which thousands have demonstrated against what they say is the “Islamization” of the country by Muslim immigrants.

Palestinians deliver to U.N. documents to join war crimes court
In a move that heightened tensions with Israel and could lead to cuts in U.S. aid, the Palestinians on Friday delivered to U.N. headquarters documents on joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties.

France wants action on Libya, stops short of African calls for intervention
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday world powers must tackle instability in Libya but he stopped short of openly backing the military intervention called for by regional powers in the Sahel.

US Debt Soars By $100 Billion On Last Day Of 2014, Hits Record $18.14 Trillion
As of the last day of 2014, total US debt soared by $98 billion in one day (driven again by Social Security debt surging on the last day of the month to a record $5.117 trillion), and closing off 2014 with a new all time high total of $18.141 trillion in Federal debt - an increase of $136 billion in the month of December and $790 billion for all of 2014.

Iraqi general warns of military woes in fighting extremists
Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi had 225 fighters, a single Abrams tank, a pair of mortars, two artillery pieces and about 40 armored Humvees when he set out to retake a strategic city in northern Iraq captured by Islamic State militants over the summer.

Nazi hunters condemn Mass for WWII Croatia leader
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center slammed Monday a Mass in Zagreb to commemorate Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi leader, claiming it was a "badge of shame" for the Catholic Church.

Record Number of North American Jews Emigrate to Israel
A record number of Jewish immigrants from North America arrived in Israel in 2014, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption reported, calling the wave a 10-year high, according to Ynetnews.

First Winter Storm of 2015 to Unfold From Chicago to Boston This Weekend
A storm that brought rare snow to Southern California and the Southwest at midweek will spread a swath of snow, ice, rain and travel problems from Chicago to Boston this weekend. The storm will strengthen and take a track toward the lower Great Lakes this weekend.

Planned Parenthood: We Aborted 327,653 in FY2014
Planned Parenthood clinics did 327,653 abortions in its fiscal year 2014 (which ran from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014), according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s newly released annual report. That works out to an average of 37 abortions per hour or nearly 1 every 90 seconds.

Unarmed white man 'resisting arrest' killed by cops; No Protests, No Riots, No National Media
Police in the small Alabama town of Dothan shot and killed an unarmed white man Tuesday who resisted arrest after refusing to show ID when turning in a stray animal to an animal shelter.

Oil could fall to $US20 over the coming year
... my view is that the oil price will remain low for a long time, sinking to perhaps as little as $US20 a barrel over the coming year before recovering a little.

Nazis’ vast, secret WMD facility uncovered in Austria
A huge, secret, underground Nazi weapons factory, believed to have been built for the development and planned manufacture of nuclear weapons and other WMDs, has been uncovered in Austria.

Coalition launches airstrikes on 'capital' of Islamic State
US-led coalition warplanes carried out more than a dozen airstrikes overnight in and around the Islamic State group's de facto capital in northeastern Syria, three activist groups said Friday. The air raids on the outskirts of Raqqa were the heaviest coalition strikes on the city along the Euphrates River since Islamic State group militants captured a Jordanian pilot after his F-16 jet went down near the city on Dec. 24.

Draghi drives euro to four and a half year low
The euro took another downward lurch on Friday, sinking to a 4-1/2 year low against the dollar on clear indications that the European Central Bank will soon embark on outright money-printing.

2014 a record breaking year for aliyah
Although Israel faced another war and tensions rose in Jerusalem, 2014 was a record-breaking year in terms of aliyah (immigration) statistics. According to the end-of-year figures released on Wednesday by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, aliyah hit a 10-year high in 2014 – with the arrival of about 26,500 fresh immigrants.

Iraqi and Kurdish Media Reports: ISIS Fighters Have Contracted Ebola
The Iraqi outlets reportedly claimed that Ebola had started to spread in a Mosul hospital. The city, known as ISIS’s most important strategic stronghold in Iraq, has been under the control of the Islamic State since June.

Russia calls for EU talks with newly born Eurasian Union
Russia’s EU ambassador has urged Brussels to launch talks with the newly born Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) despite the Ukraine crisis. Vladimir Chizhov told EUobserver: “Our idea is to start official contacts between the EU and the EAEU as soon as possible. [German] chancellor Angela Merkel talked about this not long ago. The EU sanctions [on Russia] are not a hinder”.

Tensions simmer in Sweden with third mosque arson attack in past eight days
In a country caught up in a fierce debate on immigration, a third suspected arson attack on a mosque in a week took place in the Swedish city of Uppsala on Thursday. "People saw a man throwing something burning at the building," police in Uppsala said, adding that the mosque did not catch fire, AFP reported. The suspect had left behind "a text on the door expressing contempt for religion," the police said.

Magnitude 4.6 quake rocks eastern Taiwan
The earthquake struck in Guangfu township 35.9 kilometers southwest of the Hualien County government office complex at a depth of 13.7 km, the bureau's Seismology Center said.

5.4-quake hits Batangas, Manila
Its epicenter was tracked 17 kilometers (kms) southwest of Calatagan, Batangas. The earthquake that occurred at past 5 p.m. emanated from the Manila Trench, an active ocean trench west of the country.

5.1 magnitude quake strikes off Humboldt County coast on New Year’s Day
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck nearly 90 miles off the Humboldt County coast during the early morning hours Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was recorded at around 4:16 a.m. Its epicenter was about 80 miles west of Ferndale, according to the USGS website, with responses there showing that the temblor was felt by residents from Arcata to Bodega Bay in Sonoma County.

Energy-rich Turkmenistan devalues currency against dollar
The energy-rich former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan Thursday devalued its currency against the US dollar by 18 percent, in the latest sign of contagion among Russia's neighbours from the plunging ruble.

Syria conflict: 76,000 die in deadliest year - activists
The year 2014 was the deadliest year yet in Syria's four-year conflict, with over 76,000 killed, activists say. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 17,790 of the dead were civilians, including 3,501 children. Meanwhile more than 15,000 died in conflicts in Iraq in 2014, making it that country's worst year since 2007.

Syria opposition group: Assad must go for any peace plan to work
A new Syrian opposition group linked to a prominent cleric said on Thursday President Bashar al-Assad would have to step down as part of any political solution to the civil war, setting out its position ahead of possible peace talks in Moscow this month.

HarperCollins apologises for 'offensive' omission of Israel from atlas and promises to pulp all remaining copies
Publishing giant HarperCollins has apologised for omitting Israel from an atlas and has vowed to destroy any remaining copies. A spokesman said the company 'regrets' the omission from the Collins Middle East Atlas and has removed it from sale. All remaining stock will be pulped.

Iraq violence killed 15,000 in 2014, worst in seven years: govt
Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, government figures showed Thursday, making it one of the deadliest

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

Re: Rapture Ready News January 2015

"Fair Use for Information & Educational Purposes"


20 Egyptian Coptic Christians Abducted in Libya, Witnesses Say
Western news reports say masked gunmen in Libya have kidnapped 20 Egyptian Coptic Christian workers in recent days, including 13 people abducted from a residential compound in the coastal city of Sirte.

Homes destroyed in South Australian bushfire
An out-of-control bushfire in South Australia's Mount Lofty Ranges has destroyed 12 homes and there are fears for 20 others, Premier Jay Weatherill has confirmed. "This is obviously enormously distressing to the people concerned," the premier said on Sunday. "We'll make every effort to contact those people.

Huckabee quits Fox, mulls presidential run
TV host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the Republican nomination for president, a decision he expects to reach in the spring.

Israel withholds funds, weighs lawsuits against Palestinians
Israel will withhold critical tax revenue and seek ways to bring war crimes prosecutions against Palestinian leaders in retaliation for Palestinian moves to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), Israeli officials said on Saturday.

Greek survey gives leftists 3.1-point lead over conservatives
Greece's radical leftist Syriza party led the ruling conservatives by 3.1 percentage points in an opinion poll conducted after it became clear that a snap election would be called, the pollster Rass said on Saturday.

Islamic State kills 14 Libyan soldiers, official government says
Supporters of Islamic State, the militant group that has overrun parts of Iraq and Syria, have killed 14 Libyan soldiers in the south of the country, the official government said on Saturday.

Here Are The Drunkest Countries In The World
Alcohol consumption varies widely across the globe, and US drinkers can keep up with the residents of many other countries. As the map below from the World Health Organization shows, Russians and their neighbors drink more than almost everyone else in the world. Portugal, Grenada, and Andorra are also ranked in the highest category at more than 12.5 liters per person over the age of 15 in 2010.

Saudi Arabia to reopen Baghdad embassy after 25-year chill
A thaw in the once chilly relations between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite-led Iraq could help strengthen a regional alliance against Islamic State militants who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria.

No nuclear deal between Iran, U.S.: Iranian spokeswoman
Iran has not made any agreement with the United States on its nuclear issue, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday, denying recent western reports that the two sides have agreed to ship part of its enriched uranium abroad.

The Interview': no laughing matter for N. Korean defectors
Hollywood comedy "The Interview" has won a few fans in between sparking apocalyptic warnings from North Korea -- but for defectors who escaped the communist state, there's nothing funny about it.

Libyan on trial for US embassy bombings dies at 50
Abu Anas al-Libi, a man accused by federal prosecutors of being an al-Qaida member involved in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, died of complications from liver surgery, his wife said Saturday. He was 50.

Saudi IS cleric killed in northern Syria
A Saudi cleric with the Islamic state group has been killed in the northern Syrian town of Kobani that has been witnessing intense clashes for months between jihadis and Kurdish gunmen, activists said Friday.

Forget fireworks, Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano puts on an explosive New Year's show
Many places around the globe ring in the New Year with fireworks, but Mother Nature gave residents of one Mexican town a very explosive show to celebrate the arrival of 2015.

AirAsia QZ8501: Search teams 'find two large objects'
Search teams scouring the Java Sea for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 have found "two large objects", Indonesian officials say. Search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo said a remotely operated underwater vehicle was being lowered to take pictures.

Merkel government urged to overhaul Germany’s refugee system as anti-immigrant protests grow
The Bavarian coalition partners of German Chancellor Angela Merkel are urging a radical overhaul of the country’s asylum system, including the swift deportation of those who are turned down for refugee status. The proposals coincide with the rise of a new far-right protest movement in which thousands have demonstrated against what they say is the “Islamization” of the country by Muslim immigrants.

Palestinians deliver to U.N. documents to join war crimes court
In a move that heightened tensions with Israel and could lead to cuts in U.S. aid, the Palestinians on Friday delivered to U.N. headquarters documents on joining the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and other international treaties.

France wants action on Libya, stops short of African calls for intervention
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday world powers must tackle instability in Libya but he stopped short of openly backing the military intervention called for by regional powers in the Sahel.

US Debt Soars By $100 Billion On Last Day Of 2014, Hits Record $18.14 Trillion
As of the last day of 2014, total US debt soared by $98 billion in one day (driven again by Social Security debt surging on the last day of the month to a record $5.117 trillion), and closing off 2014 with a new all time high total of $18.141 trillion in Federal debt - an increase of $136 billion in the month of December and $790 billion for all of 2014.

Iraqi general warns of military woes in fighting extremists
Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi had 225 fighters, a single Abrams tank, a pair of mortars, two artillery pieces and about 40 armored Humvees when he set out to retake a strategic city in northern Iraq captured by Islamic State militants over the summer.

Nazi hunters condemn Mass for WWII Croatia leader
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center slammed Monday a Mass in Zagreb to commemorate Croatia's World War II pro-Nazi leader, claiming it was a "badge of shame" for the Catholic Church.

Record Number of North American Jews Emigrate to Israel
A record number of Jewish immigrants from North America arrived in Israel in 2014, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption reported, calling the wave a 10-year high, according to Ynetnews.

First Winter Storm of 2015 to Unfold From Chicago to Boston This Weekend
A storm that brought rare snow to Southern California and the Southwest at midweek will spread a swath of snow, ice, rain and travel problems from Chicago to Boston this weekend. The storm will strengthen and take a track toward the lower Great Lakes this weekend.

Planned Parenthood: We Aborted 327,653 in FY2014
Planned Parenthood clinics did 327,653 abortions in its fiscal year 2014 (which ran from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014), according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s newly released annual report. That works out to an average of 37 abortions per hour or nearly 1 every 90 seconds.

Unarmed white man 'resisting arrest' killed by cops; No Protests, No Riots, No National Media
Police in the small Alabama town of Dothan shot and killed an unarmed white man Tuesday who resisted arrest after refusing to show ID when turning in a stray animal to an animal shelter.

Oil could fall to $US20 over the coming year
... my view is that the oil price will remain low for a long time, sinking to perhaps as little as $US20 a barrel over the coming year before recovering a little.

Nazis’ vast, secret WMD facility uncovered in Austria
A huge, secret, underground Nazi weapons factory, believed to have been built for the development and planned manufacture of nuclear weapons and other WMDs, has been uncovered in Austria.

Coalition launches airstrikes on 'capital' of Islamic State
US-led coalition warplanes carried out more than a dozen airstrikes overnight in and around the Islamic State group's de facto capital in northeastern Syria, three activist groups said Friday. The air raids on the outskirts of Raqqa were the heaviest coalition strikes on the city along the Euphrates River since Islamic State group militants captured a Jordanian pilot after his F-16 jet went down near the city on Dec. 24.

Draghi drives euro to four and a half year low
The euro took another downward lurch on Friday, sinking to a 4-1/2 year low against the dollar on clear indications that the European Central Bank will soon embark on outright money-printing.

2014 a record breaking year for aliyah
Although Israel faced another war and tensions rose in Jerusalem, 2014 was a record-breaking year in terms of aliyah (immigration) statistics. According to the end-of-year figures released on Wednesday by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, aliyah hit a 10-year high in 2014 – with the arrival of about 26,500 fresh immigrants.

Iraqi and Kurdish Media Reports: ISIS Fighters Have Contracted Ebola
The Iraqi outlets reportedly claimed that Ebola had started to spread in a Mosul hospital. The city, known as ISIS’s most important strategic stronghold in Iraq, has been under the control of the Islamic State since June.

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Boko Haram seizes army base in Nigeria town of Baga
The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say.

Drone Strike In Pakistan Kills At Least Six Militants
A U.S. drone strike targeting a Pakistani Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan has reportedly killed at least six militants. Pakistani security officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the drone fired two missiles in the January 4 strike.

South Australia bushfire: Firefighters warn of worsening weather
Firefighters in South Australia say they are racing to contain a major bushfire before worsening weather expected on Wednesday. More than 30 homes are already feared destroyed in the hills behind the city of Adelaide. More than 500 firefighters are tackling the fires, which have been burning since Friday.

How oil price slump is putting a squeeze on Hezbollah, Iran's Shiite ally
A slump in global oil prices and nuclear-tied sanctions are squeezing the group’s patron Iran, which is already funneling billions of dollars to the Syrian regime. As Iran tightens its belt, Hezbollah has had to impose salary cuts on personnel, defer payments to suppliers and reduce monthly stipends to its political allies in Lebanon, according to a wide range of political and diplomatic sources in Beirut, including friends and foes of the powerful Shiite party.

Afghan president says U.S. might want to 're-examine' pullout deadline
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that the United States might want to "re-examine" the timetable for removing the remaining U.S.-led coalition troops in the country by the end of 2016.

Jury selection begins in trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber
Jury selection is set to begin on Monday in the trial of the man accused of carrying out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others in the largest mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

NYPD officers turn backs on Mayor de Blasio — again
The officers were seen turning away from an outdoor screen showing de Blasio’s eulogy at the service in Brooklyn, defying a request by New York Police Commissioner William Bratton not to protest at the funeral.

4.5 magnitude quake reported off Vancouver Island
The federal agency that monitors earthquakes in Canada says no damage or tsunami was expected nor were tremors felt as a result of the event west of Port Hardy, B.C.

A HOLE IN THE SUN'S ATMOSPHERE
A vast hole has opened in the atmosphere over the sun's south pole, and it is spewing solar wind into space.

Scores of GIANT asteroids on course to hurtle past Earth within the month, NASA reveals
Experts warn if one of these monsters, some of which travel at up to 70,000 miles an hour, were to hit Earth it could “alter life as we know it”. Plumes of debris thrown into the atmosphere would change the climate making the planet inhabitable for all life including humans. An impact would still be catastrophic destroying cities and knocking out transport and communication networks.

Deadly Virus Claims First U.S. Victim
The new virus is called Bourbon virus, after Bourbon County, home of the patient who died. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the patient's symptoms, including fever and fatigue, were similar to symptoms from other tick-borne diseases. "This was the first known instance and the only confirmed case," Rosenow said. "This is a new virus, and we are still learning."

Fatah website posts photo of Netanyahu next to noose with word 'soon' and ICC logo
Days after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Facebook page of his Fatah movement displayed a picture of Netanyahu next to a noose, with the word "soon," written both in Arabic and Hebrew.

Magnitude 4.2 earthquake detected off Vancouver Island coast
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the undersea tremor at 5:49 p.m. had an epicentre 200 kilometres west of Port Hardy and a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. No damage is expected given the location and magnitude of the earthquake.

Idaho suffers millions in property damage following earthquake
A moderate earthquake shook a large area of Idaho early Saturday, causing millions in property damage and cutting off power to residents near its epicenter in Challis.

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Jeff Gundlach: "If Oil Drops To $40 The Geopolitical Consequences Could Be Terrifying"
Oil is incredibly important right now. If oil falls to around $40 a barrel then I think the yield on ten year treasury note is going to 1%. I hope it does not go to $40 because then something is very, very wrong with the world, not just the economy. The geopolitical consequences could be – to put it bluntly – terrifying.

As gay marriages begin in Florida, Supreme Court is set to meet on issue
Gay couples began marrying in Miami on Monday, kicking off a pivotal week when the Supreme Court will have a chance to consider whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry or whether states may limit marriage to a man and a woman.

2 NYPD officers shot, wounded by Bronx armed robbery suspect
Two New York City police officers were shot and wounded late Monday while pursuing a suspected armed robber in the Bronx, but both are expected to survive.

Libya violence: Seized Coptic Christians 'freed' in Libya
Thirteen Coptic Christian workers from Egypt have been freed after being seized in Libya, an official said. On Saturday, eyewitnesses in the northern city of Sirte said gunmen took the Christian men in the middle of the night from a residential compound. But a tribal leader insisted on Monday that they had been detained by people smugglers, not kidnapped.

Germany protests: Rallies over 'Islamization'
Supporters and opponents of a group campaigning against what it sees as the "Islamisation" of Europe have held rival rallies across Germany. There have been weekly protests by the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West (Pegida) since October. A record 18,000 people turned out on Monday at one rally in Dresden.

IS jihadists claim execution of eight people in Iraq
The Islamic State jihadist group has executed eight people, four of them policemen, in Iraq's Salaheddin province, according to a series of pictures posted online.

Ebola deaths top 8,000 in worst-hit West Africa: WHO
More than 8,000 people have died of Ebola in the three worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Saudi border fight with militants: How much of a threat?
A deadly confrontation on the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border Monday – between Saudi border guards and heavily armed men operating from Iraq’s Islamic State-controlled Anbar Province – presents a problematic US ally with the worrisome threat of rising challenges to internal security.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck near Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand.
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck near Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand.

Multiple Earthquakes Recorded In Oklahoma Monday Morning
Multiple earthquake were recorded in Oklahoma Monday morning.

Wicked 'Supernatural' Gift Among 2014's Christmas Sell-Out Items
The hunger for the supernatural, the paranormal and the mystical remains intense and almost universal. Indeed, it seems as if the more a "universe without God" is talked up, the more people flock to the supernatural. If atheism is true, then it's very odd that no one seems to follow it.

Archaeologists say they've located the possible site of trial of Jesus
Archaeologists in Jerusalem say they may have uncovered the remains of Herod the Great's palace, the site where the trial of Jesus Christ may have taken place prior to his crucifixion.

The Arab oil era is over
As the Gulf states are left with no money to spend and are experiencing internal shocks, the era of destructive Arab power is coming to an end; the Israeli mind and innovation era, on the other hand, is just beginning. The most dramatic news in 2014 almost went unnoticed: The United States lifted the restrictions on American oil exports, and as of the first day of the new year it has begun exporting oil to the world.

NY Post: Companies Pay Off Al Sharpton to Avoid 'Racist' Label
Sony Pictures Entertainment isn't the first corporation to reach out to the Rev. Al Sharpton for help with its image in the black community, and the New York Post reported Sunday that Sharpton allegedly gets paid to keep from calling the companies racist.

Israeli official taunts Obama: Criticism only helps Netanyahu
The Obama administration’s criticism of the current Israeli government only serves to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party more popular with the electorate, charged Likud Knesset Member Danny Danon in a U.S. radio interview Sunday.

Czech Politician: Walk Your Pet Pig Near a Mosque
To protest the growing presence and influence of Muslims in his country, Czech opposition leader Tomio Okamura has called on his countrymen to take their pigs for a walk next to mosques. In a Facebook posting, Okamura, head of the Dawn of Direct Democracy movement, listed what he said were “specific instructions” about “how we can protect our democratic way of life and the heritage of our ancestors from Islam,” which has made great inroads into country, “before it's too late.”

Saudi Arabia Denies it Will Allow Jews to Work in the Kingdom
Saudi Arabia’s Labor Ministry is denying a report in a local newspaper that it will be employing Jews within the Kingdom, according to Middle East Eye. On Tuesday, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported that Saudi authorities are now allowing people of all faiths, including Jews, to work in the Kingdom, saying this was proof of the country's openness to other religions and cultures.

Tea Partyer Set to Challenge House Speaker Boehner
Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas says voters made clear in the November election that they want change. Republicans unseated Democrats as the majority party in the Senate and increased their advantage in the House.

Ebola in Britain: 'No stone to be left unturned' in review of how nurse got the disease
Since Saturday Pauline Cafferkey has been in a "critical" condition at the Royal Free Hospital, following a steady deterioration over two days. The nurse is being treated with an experimental antiviral drug and convalescent plasma taken from the blood of an Ebola survivor

Euro crashes to nine-year low on 'Grexit' fears
Report that Germany is prepared to let Greece exit the single currency has spooked markets.

CHANCE OF FLARES
NOAA forecasters estimate a 50% chance of M-class solar flares today. The likely source would be Earth-facing sunspot AR2253, a large active region with an unstable magnetic field.

4.7-magnitude earthquake jolts northeastern Taiwan
An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter Scale jolted northeastern Taiwan at 1:53 p.m. Monday, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The earthquake's epicenter was located at sea about 28.1 kilometers east of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 68.1 km, the bureau said.

Cold rush: 'Dangerous' arctic air roaring into U.S.
The coldest weather of the season is barreling into the U.S. this week with a series of "dangerously cold" arctic air masses. The blasts of cold air will send temperatures 10-35 degrees below average for early January, Weather Channel meteorologist Roy Lucksinger said. High temperatures will range from near zero to the teens and 20s across a wide swath of the country.

Greek oil tanker bombed in Libyan port of Derna
Military jets have attacked a Greek-operated oil tanker in the Libyan port of Derna, killing two crew members, the Greek authorities have said. The attack, on Sunday, was carried out by the Libyan air force, a military spokesman was quoted by AFP news agency as saying. Derna has been controlled by Islamist militants for the past two years.

In time of fear for Mideast Christians, Turkey approves first new church in 92 years
The Turkish government will allow for the construction of a new church for the first time in nearly 100 years, Turkish media recently reported. The move comes amid increased persecution of the religious minority in the Middle East. The state will fund the construction of the church, which will serve Turkey’s Syriac Christian community...this will be the first church constructed in Turkey since...1923.

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Taliban Chief Behind Pakistan School Massacre Promises More Attacks
The head of the group behind last month's horrific Pakistani school massacre that left 153 dead said the militants would strike again if the government continued to target its members and their families. "You will forget the Peshawar school attack when you face more deadly attacks," Maulana Fazlullah, the head of Pakistan's Taliban-Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said in a 12-minute online video statement that came to light Tuesday.

Belgian rapist Van Den Bleeken refused 'right to die'
A Belgian man serving a life sentence for rape and murder will not be allowed to have doctors end his life as he has requested, the justice minister says. Koen Geens said he was respecting the latest medical advice of doctors treating Frank Van den Bleeken, who is unable to control violent sexual urges.

To take Israel to court, Palestinians say they're willing to pay the price
The Palestinian decision last week to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), through which Palestinians plan to recommend legal action against alleged Israeli crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, could incur a fairly high cost.

Oil hits new 5.5-year lows as Saudis defend stance
Oil prices tumbled Tuesday to fresh 5.5-year lows as Saudi Arabia blamed weak global economic growth and said it will stick to its guns on production policy.

Female suicide bomber attacks Istanbul's tourist heart
A female suicide bomber on Tuesday killed herself and a Turkish policeman in a strike on the heart of Istanbul's tourist district, the second attack on police to shake city within a week.

Muslims urged to visit contested Jerusalem holy site: Will tolerance prevail?
Iyad Madani, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called for other Muslims to make the pilgrimage to East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque to support Palestinian claims to the site.


How 3-D printing could revolutionize war and foreign policy
The billion-dollar defence industry is at the bleeding edge of this innovation, with the US military already investing heavily in efforts to print uniforms, synthetic skin to treat battlewounds, and even food. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have already invented "4D printing"—creating materials that change when they come into contact with elements such as water.

114th Congress Heavily Religious According to Pew Survey; Close to 92 Percent Christian
The survey queried all 491 members in Congress, and found that 57.2 percent identify as Protestants – more than the 49 percent of the American public. Another 164 members or 30.7 percent of Congress members identified as Roman Catholic, compared to 22 percent of the population. Furthermore, 5.2 percent of Congress is Jewish, while only 2 percent of Americans answered the same.

German anti-Islam rally hits record numbers
At least 18,000 people in the eastern German city of Dresden have taken part in rallies opposing Islamic influence in Western nations,...The record number of people that took to streets in support of the right-wing populist movement known as the "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisisation of the Occident" (PEGIDA) on Monday came despite a call by Chancellor Angela Merkel's call to snub such demonstrations...

Thousands flee intensifying India-Pakistan clashes
Tension between the nuclear-armed rivals has risen since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called off peace talks in August and clashes along stretches of their border have been erupting intermittently since October. At least 10 Indian and Pakistani soldiers and civilians have been killed in fighting over the past week.

Islamic State 'police' official beheaded: Syria monitor
A top figure in Islamic State's self-declared police force, which has carried out beheadings, was himself found decapitated in eastern Syria, a monitoring group said. "We do not know whether Islamic State killed him or whether it was local people or other fighters,"

Two NYPD officers wounded a day after tense Ramos funeral
Two New York City policemen were shot and wounded on Monday night, officials said, a day after events at a funeral of a colleague killed in an ambush last month fueled tensions between the force and the city's mayor.

Experts: Oil Prices to Remain Low in North America
Competition is expected to intensify between Canadian oil and Saudi oil refineries in southern US, which may keep oil and gas prices low over the next year. Citigroup's report published this week noted that the excess supply of crude oil to refineries, caused in part due to the increase in crude oil exports from Canada, has changed market conditions,

Earthquake: 3.3 quake strikes near Bridgeport, Calif.
According to the USGS, the epicenter was 40 miles from Gardnerville Ranchos, Nev., 51 miles from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 56 miles from Carson City, Nev. and 78 miles from Truckee, Calif.

Army disciplines chaplain for mentioning God
Traditional values groups are rallying around an Army chaplain who was rebuked by his commander for distributing information on Christianity during mandatory suicide prevention training.

Major Earthquake Rattles New Zealand Close to Christchurch
New Zealand’s South Island was jolted awake after a severe earthquake struck near its west coast on Tuesday morning. The 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck close to Arthur’s Pass, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Christchurch, just before 7 a.m. local time, reports the BBC. It was recorded as one of the strongest seismic events in New Zealand since the 2011 Christchurch quake that killed 185 people.

Islamic State: Kurds 'seize key Kobane district'
Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (IS) in Kobane, northern Syria, have seized a key district and now control 80% of the town, activists say. Kurds backed by Iraqi Peshmerga forces captured the security district including the police HQ, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. IS advanced on the town in September and quickly overran much of it.

Ebola: New vaccine trial begins
Scientists at Oxford University have begun immunising healthy volunteers with a new Ebola vaccine. In September last year a separate trial of another Ebola vaccine got underway in the city. This latest trial involves 72 adult volunteers aged 18-50.

France: EU-Russia sanctions 'must stop now'
French leader Francois Hollande has dangled the prospect of lifting EU sanctions on Russia ahead of the year’s first Ukraine crisis summit. "I think the sanctions must stop now. They must be lifted if there is progress. If there is no progress the sanctions will remain”, he said on France Inter radio on Monday (5 January).

Qatar to banish Hamas' Mashaal, who will relocate to Turkey
Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, is expected to leave his base in the Qatari capital of Doha and relocate to Turkey, Turkish press reports indicated on Tuesday. Qatar has reportedly been under pressure from the international community to cease serving as a host of organizations considered by the West to be terrorist groups

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10 Key Events That Preceded The Last Financial Crisis Are Happening Again
If you do not believe that we are heading directly toward another major financial crisis, you need to read this article. So many of the exact same patterns that preceded the great financial collapse of 2008 are happening again right before our very eyes.

Sony Pictures hackers 'got sloppy', FBI says
The US is confident that North Korea was behind the Sony Pictures cyber-attack last year because the hackers "got sloppy", the FBI has said. The bureau's director James Comey said the group posted material from servers used exclusively by the North Koreans.

Yemen bomb blast kills dozens near Sanaa police academy
At least 37 people have been killed and 66 others injured by a bomb blast outside a police academy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, police say. Two men were seen getting out of a minibus and walking away shortly before it exploded beside dozens of people queuing to enroll at the academy.

Japan seeks to sell sub-hunting jet to UK as Abe pushes arms exports
Japan is asking Britain to buy its P-1 submarine-hunting jet in a deal that could top $1 billion, a major step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to arms exports after decades of self-imposed restrictions, people with knowledge of the proposal said.

Slain editor of French newspaper had been on ‘hit list’ of al-Qaida’s Yemeni affiliate
The editor of the French satirical magazine killed in a terrorist attack in Paris on Wednesday had been on an al-Qaida “hit list” for nearly two years, Yahoo News has learned. “WANTED Dead or Alive for Crimes against Islam,” stated the March 2013 issue of Inspire, a Web magazine published by al-Qaida’s Yemen affiliate, above a photo of nine targets considered to be anti-Islam, including Stéphane Charbonnier, the editor of Charlie Hebdo, who was killed along with 11 others in today’s attack.

The dollar, on a ‘hurricane path of destruction,’ is set to fall
The U.S. dollar, at its highest level in nine years, is about to fall off its perch. The decline will catch most investors by surprise and create sudden reversals in oil, coal and emerging market stocks. You can profit from this if you act now and buy those sectors — and bet against dollar.

Gun attack on French magazine kills 12
Gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack. Four of the magazine's well-known cartoonists, including its editor, were among those killed, as well as two police officers. A major police operation is under way to find three gunmen who fled by car. President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack "of exceptional barbarity".

John Boehner just endured the biggest revolt against a House speaker in more than 150 years
Boehner lost the votes of 25 House Republicans, marking the biggest defection in at least 100 years.

Museum Opens America’s Oldest Time Capsule Buried by Paul Revere, Sam Adams — Here’s What Was Inside
According to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the capsule contained five newspapers, one folded title page, one silver plaque, 24 coins and one paper impression of the Seal of the Common Wealth.

To Anti-Semitic Christians, Israel is an Usurper
The Presbyterian Church USA is considering banning the word “Israel” from its prayers. That anti-Semitic resolution was meant to “distinguish between the biblical terms that refer to the ancient land of Israel and the modern political State of Israel". It has happened.before. In his war against the Jews, Adolf Hitler instructed Christian theologians to rewrite the Bible, in a bid to remove all mention of the Jews

Radical Islam a growing threat to sub-Saharan Christians: report
Islamists were the main persecutors of Christians around the world last year, not only in the Middle East but increasingly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to an annual survey monitoring religious freedom.

Bill Clinton’s name found 21 times in rich sex offender’s phone book
A new lawsuit has revealed more details about former President Bill Clinton’s friendship with a fundraiser who was later jailed for having sex with an underage girl – including the fact that Clinton’s name was listed in the man’s phone book 21 times.

UN Says 'Palestine' Will Join ICC on April 1
The Palestinian Authority (PA) will join the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 1, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. In a statement posted on the UN's treaty website and quoted by the news agency, the secretary-general said "the statute will enter into force for the State of Palestine on April 1, 2015."

Worldwide Suicide Attacks Nearly Double in 2014
Muslim slaughter of fellow-Muslims and "infidels" reached new modern heights in 2014. Though car bombings still likely have the lead in worldwide attacks, the number of suicide murderers – virtually all them Muslims, and mostly from Sunni Salafist jihadi organizations affiliated with global jihad – appears to be the next-most lethal weapon.

UNEXPECTED GEOMAGNETIC STORM
A G2-class geomagnetic storm erupted during the early hours of Jan. 7th, sparking bright auroras around the Arctic Circle. What happened? The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth tipped south, opening a crack in our planet's magnetosphere.

Russia faces 'perfect storm' as reserves vanish and derivatives flash default warnings
Russia’s foreign reserves have dropped to the lowest level since the Lehman crisis and are vanishing at an unsustainable rate as the country struggles to defends the rouble against capital flight. Credit defaults swaps (CDS) measuring bankruptcy risk for Russia spiked violently on Tuesday, surging by 100 basis points to 630, before falling back slightly.

5.4-magnitude quake rocks Taiwan
The quake struck at 12.48 pm northeast of Hualien, a coastal city in the east, Taiwan's Seismology Center said. It was 22km deep and an earthquake report showed that it was felt islandwide.

Magnitude-6.6 earthquake strikes off Panama coast
A strong, magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Panama late Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Four tremors jolt North Texas
The epicenters of all four events were clustered around the intersection of Highways 183 and 114. "Scared the hell out of me!" said Ricky Vaughn in the Dallas Medical District.

Taliban Chief Behind Pakistan School Massacre Promises More Attacks
The head of the group behind last month's horrific Pakistani school massacre that left 153 dead said the militants would strike again if the government continued to target its members and their families. "You will forget the Peshawar school attack when you face more deadly attacks," Maulana Fazlullah, the head of Pakistan's Taliban-Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said in a 12-minute online video statement that came to light Tuesday.

Belgian rapist Van Den Bleeken refused 'right to die'
A Belgian man serving a life sentence for rape and murder will not be allowed to have doctors end his life as he has requested, the justice minister says. Koen Geens said he was respecting the latest medical advice of doctors treating Frank Van den Bleeken, who is unable to control violent sexual urges.

To take Israel to court, Palestinians say they're willing to pay the price
The Palestinian decision last week to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), through which Palestinians plan to recommend legal action against alleged Israeli crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, could incur a fairly high cost.

Oil hits new 5.5-year lows as Saudis defend stance
Oil prices tumbled Tuesday to fresh 5.5-year lows as Saudi Arabia blamed weak global economic growth and said it will stick to its guns on production policy.

Female suicide bomber attacks Istanbul's tourist heart
A female suicide bomber on Tuesday killed herself and a Turkish policeman in a strike on the heart of Istanbul's tourist district, the second attack on police to shake city within a week.

Muslims urged to visit contested Jerusalem holy site: Will tolerance prevail?
Iyad Madani, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called for other Muslims to make the pilgrimage to East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque to support Palestinian claims to the site.

How 3-D printing could revolutionize war and foreign policy
The billion-dollar defence industry is at the bleeding edge of this innovation, with the US military already investing heavily in efforts to print uniforms, synthetic skin to treat battlewounds, and even food. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have already invented "4D printing"—creating materials that change when they come into contact with elements such as water.

114th Congress Heavily Religious According to Pew Survey; Close to 92 Percent Christian
The survey queried all 491 members in Congress, and found that 57.2 percent identify as Protestants – more than the 49 percent of the American public. Another 164 members or 30.7 percent of Congress members identified as Roman Catholic, compared to 22 percent of the population. Furthermore, 5.2 percent of Congress is Jewish, while only 2 percent of Americans answered the same.

German anti-Islam rally hits record numbers
At least 18,000 people in the eastern German city of Dresden have taken part in rallies opposing Islamic influence in Western nations,...The record number of people that took to streets in support of the right-wing populist movement known as the "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisisation of the Occident" (PEGIDA) on Monday came despite a call by Chancellor Angela Merkel's call to snub such demonstrations...

Thousands flee intensifying India-Pakistan clashes
Tension between the nuclear-armed rivals has risen since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called off peace talks in August and clashes along stretches of their border have been erupting intermittently since October. At least 10 Indian and Pakistani soldiers and civilians have been killed in fighting over the past week.

Islamic State 'police' official beheaded: Syria monitor
A top figure in Islamic State's self-declared police force, which has carried out beheadings, was himself found decapitated in eastern Syria, a monitoring group said. "We do not know whether Islamic State killed him or whether it was local people or other fighters,"

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Atlanta Fire Chief: I was fired because of my Christian faith
“It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” White told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”

U.S. Muslim group silent on key reason for attack
CAIR’s statement also “repeated its defense of freedom of speech … even speech that mocks faiths and religious figures.” But the Muslim apologist organization’s statement made no mention of Islamic blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty as standard punishment for mocking Islam and its prophet, Muhammad.

Scientists find antibiotic that kills bugs without resistance
Researchers said the antibiotic, which has yet to be trialled in humans, could one day be used to treat drug-resistant infections caused by the superbug MSRA, as well as tuberculosis, which normally requires a combination of drugs that can have adverse side effects.

Senior CNN Man in Bizarre Anti-Israel Tirade after Paris Attack
CNN's veteran news anchor and international correspondent Jim Clancy has provoked controversy after a series of bizarre anti-Israel tweets following Wednesday's deadly terrorist attack in Paris.

From Egypt's leader, an ambitious call for reform in Islam
Egypt's president opened the new year with a dramatic call for a "revolution" in Islam to reform interpretations of the faith entrenched for hundreds of years, which he said have made the Muslim world a source of "destruction" and pitted it against the rest of the world. The speech was Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's boldest effort yet to position himself as a modernizer of Islam.

Dani Dayan: World Leaders Backing Off Two State Solution
he and other world leaders already understood that the two-state solution was unworkable, and that other solutions would have to be found. He had discussed this 'corpse,' as he put it, with other world leaders, and he agreed completely,”

Measles outbreak linked to Disney theme parks in California
Seven Californians and two people in Utah have confirmed cases of measles likely contracted on trips last month to Disney theme parks in California, officials said. They likely got the airborne illness at one of the parks then, officials said Wednesday, adding people with measles can be infectious for nine days.

PM: Israel Stands with Europe - Europe Must Stand with Israel
After meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Netanyahu calls on Europe and Israel to stand together against terrorism. Netanyahu also highlighted the onus on the world to unite against terrorism and called for Israel and Europe to stand together.

EMU deflation is the final betrayal of southern Europe
The eurozone has let it happen. Europe's authorities have so mismanaged monetary and fiscal strategy that the whole currency bloc has tipped into deflation. The drop in the eurozone's headline price index to -0.2pc in December scarcely captures the significance of what is happening. Deflationary forces have been gaining a grip on all the crisis states of the South for 18 months.

Israel Switches To Attack Mode After Unilateral Palestinian Moves
Reacting to the Israeli measure, PA chief negotiator Saeb Arekat threatened that the PA may dissolve itself. But that might be the exact purpose of Israel’s actions. A growing number of Israeli citizens and politicians have come to the conclusion that dissolving the PA and annexing Area C in the West Bank is now preferable to the Two State Solution.

Kansas Church Invites Community To Come Celebrate 42 Years Of Abortion In America
St. James Episcopal Church in Wichita, Kan., is preparing to mark the 42nd anniversary of legalized abortion with a chili dinner on church grounds later this month. Tickets range from $20 to $1,000 for the Planned Parenthood-sponsored event, which promises “an evening of stimulating conversation, refreshments and CHILI!”

Paris Attack Associated With US 9/11 Cover-Up: Former Intelligence Chairman
The US government's cover-up of Saudi Arabia's role in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks are associated with the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman told Sputnik on Wednesday.

New Congress Wastes No Time Introducing Pro-life Legislation
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, HR 36, would ban abortions after 20 weeks, when unborn babies can feel pain. The lead sponsors of the bill are Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona (R-AZ) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN

Earthquakes Rattle North Texas
They weren't the Big Ones -- but a couple of the earthquakes that hit Tuesday were the biggest in a cluster that's been rocking North Texas since last fall. And by the end of the day, eight had been reported.

5.4-magnitude earthquake shakes up Eastern Taiwan
The earthquake struck in Xiulin Township, about 31.3 kilometers north of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 22 km, the Central Weather Bureau's Seismology Center said.

Fewer big #earthquakes in 2014
The biggest earthquake in the United States, and the second largest quake of 2014, was a magnitude 7.9 event in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on June 23. Several quakes below magnitude 5.0 rattled Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Arizona throughout the year.

Hardline Israelis anger Palestinians by trying to reclaim prayer rights at Jerusalem's most famous holy site
The Jewish visitors knew within seconds that they had entered hostile territory. Scores of hooded Palestinian women, their faces covered, chanted a shrill chorus of Allah-u akbar (God is great) as wary policemen looked on. A police officer used a video camera to film one woman who, holding the hand of a toddler carrying a toy gun, protested the newcomers' arrival with particular vehemence.

Nepal to issue passports with third gender for sexual minorities
Nepal will issue passports to sexual minorities, adding a third gender category...a sign of the conservative Hindu-majority country becoming more liberal since the end of a decade-long civil war. The Himalayan nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are identified as either male or female in passports, despite a 2007 Supreme Court ruling ordering authorities to amend laws to include a third gender.

FCC Chairman Strongly Hints He’ll Favor Internet Reclassification – CES
Chairman Tom Wheeler didn’t say so directly, but he left little doubt that he and fellow Democrats on the FCC will stand up to cable and telco Internet providers next month by adopting net neutrality rules that redefine broadband as a regulated, communications service. ISPs have said that such a move would chill investment.

Strong geomagnetic storm hits Earth
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning for a large geomagnetic storm on Wednesday morning. The NOAA organization said the primary areas that would be affected would be in the northern portion of the northern hemisphere.

Muslims segregated from French society in growing Islamist mini-states
A backdrop to the massacre in Paris on Wednesday by self-professed al Qaeda terrorists is that city officials have increasingly ceded control of heavily Muslim neighborhoods to Islamists, block by block. France has Europe’s largest population of Muslims, some of whom talk openly of ruling the country one day and casting aside Western legal systems for harsh, Islam-based Shariah law.

Winter storm brings misery to Middle East refugees
A fierce winter storm has brought freezing temperatures to the Middle East, raising worries about the plight of the millions of refugees there. Snow has fallen in the mountains around Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians live. With icy winds blowing there have been attempts to anchor tents more securely, and prepare for flooding.

Islamic State attacks checkpoints in Iraq's Samarra
Islamic State militants have attacked Iraqi security forces in the central city of Samarra, killing two people and injuring 28 others, officials say. They reportedly carried out five suicide bomb attacks on checkpoints along a motorway west of Samarra. The bombings were followed by mortar attacks on the city itself.

'Dangerously cold' temperatures and snow across US
Temperatures across much of the northern and eastern US are plunging to "dangerously cold" levels, the National Weather Service says. High winds mean wind-chill temperatures are forecast to drop as low as -50F (-45C) in Minnesota. The freeze has led to the closure or late running of schools from north to south, from the Dakotas to Alabama.

Plunging oil prices drive eurozone into deflation
Prices across the eurozone have fallen for the first time in five years, according to the EU statistics office, raising the prospect of a sustained period of deflation. Consumer prices in the single currency area fell by a greater than expected 0.2 percent in December 2014, the first decline in prices since 2009, Eurostat revealed on Wednesday (7 January). A month earlier inflation was 0.3 percent.

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U.S. to cut European military bases as budgets shrink
Facing tight budgets and a shrinking military, the United States said on Thursday it was ending operations at an air base in Britain and handing it and 14 other sites in Europe back to their home governments.

Al-Qaeda Is Planning to Attack the U.K. and May Succeed, Says Security Chief
Fears are growing the U.K. may be the next European target of a terrorist attack, following the mass killing at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Obama Proposes Free Community College Program
The White House on Thursday announced a proposal that President Barack Obama said would make community college "free for everybody who is willing to work for it." But administration officials provided no details about the program's costs or where the money would come to pay for it.

Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria's Baga town hit by new assault
Bodies lay strewn on the streets of a key north-eastern Nigerian town following an assault by militant Islamists, officials have told the BBC. The Boko Haram group attacked Baga town on Wednesday, after over-running a military base there on Saturday, they said.

Seismic series prompts Dallas suburb to examine emergency plans
Seismologists installed more earthquake-monitoring devices in the Dallas suburb of Irving on Thursday as officials examined contingency plans after a series of temblors raised concerns for the area near the former Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

Jihadists have declared war, world must respond: Canada's Harper
The deadly attacks in Paris serve as a vivid reminder that jihadists are at war with those they disagree with, and the world must confront them, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.

Terror suspects in Charlie Hebdo massacre were on U.S. ‘no fly’ list
The two brothers wanted in the terror attack on a French weekly that killed 12 people Wednesday had long been viewed by U.S. officials as potential terror suspects, prompting them to be placed on a “no fly” list that banned them from boarding commercial aircraft into and out of the United States, U.S. counterterrorism sources told Yahoo News.

Atlanta Fire Chief: I was fired because of my Christian faith
“It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” White told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”

U.S. Muslim group silent on key reason for attack
CAIR’s statement also “repeated its defense of freedom of speech … even speech that mocks faiths and religious figures.” But the Muslim apologist organization’s statement made no mention of Islamic blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty as standard punishment for mocking Islam and its prophet, Muhammad.

Scientists find antibiotic that kills bugs without resistance
Researchers said the antibiotic, which has yet to be trialled in humans, could one day be used to treat drug-resistant infections caused by the superbug MSRA, as well as tuberculosis, which normally requires a combination of drugs that can have adverse side effects.

Senior CNN Man in Bizarre Anti-Israel Tirade after Paris Attack
CNN's veteran news anchor and international correspondent Jim Clancy has provoked controversy after a series of bizarre anti-Israel tweets following Wednesday's deadly terrorist attack in Paris.

From Egypt's leader, an ambitious call for reform in Islam
Egypt's president opened the new year with a dramatic call for a "revolution" in Islam to reform interpretations of the faith entrenched for hundreds of years, which he said have made the Muslim world a source of "destruction" and pitted it against the rest of the world. The speech was Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's boldest effort yet to position himself as a modernizer of Islam.

Dani Dayan: World Leaders Backing Off Two State Solution
he and other world leaders already understood that the two-state solution was unworkable, and that other solutions would have to be found. He had discussed this 'corpse,' as he put it, with other world leaders, and he agreed completely,”

Measles outbreak linked to Disney theme parks in California
Seven Californians and two people in Utah have confirmed cases of measles likely contracted on trips last month to Disney theme parks in California, officials said. They likely got the airborne illness at one of the parks then, officials said Wednesday, adding people with measles can be infectious for nine days.

PM: Israel Stands with Europe - Europe Must Stand with Israel
After meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Netanyahu calls on Europe and Israel to stand together against terrorism. Netanyahu also highlighted the onus on the world to unite against terrorism and called for Israel and Europe to stand together.

EMU deflation is the final betrayal of southern Europe
The eurozone has let it happen. Europe's authorities have so mismanaged monetary and fiscal strategy that the whole currency bloc has tipped into deflation. The drop in the eurozone's headline price index to -0.2pc in December scarcely captures the significance of what is happening. Deflationary forces have been gaining a grip on all the crisis states of the South for 18 months.

Israel Switches To Attack Mode After Unilateral Palestinian Moves
Reacting to the Israeli measure, PA chief negotiator Saeb Arekat threatened that the PA may dissolve itself. But that might be the exact purpose of Israel’s actions. A growing number of Israeli citizens and politicians have come to the conclusion that dissolving the PA and annexing Area C in the West Bank is now preferable to the Two State Solution.

Kansas Church Invites Community To Come Celebrate 42 Years Of Abortion In America
St. James Episcopal Church in Wichita, Kan., is preparing to mark the 42nd anniversary of legalized abortion with a chili dinner on church grounds later this month. Tickets range from $20 to $1,000 for the Planned Parenthood-sponsored event, which promises “an evening of stimulating conversation, refreshments and CHILI!”

Paris Attack Associated With US 9/11 Cover-Up: Former Intelligence Chairman
The US government's cover-up of Saudi Arabia's role in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks are associated with the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman told Sputnik on Wednesday.

New Congress Wastes No Time Introducing Pro-life Legislation
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, HR 36, would ban abortions after 20 weeks, when unborn babies can feel pain. The lead sponsors of the bill are Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona (R-AZ) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN

Earthquakes Rattle North Texas
They weren't the Big Ones -- but a couple of the earthquakes that hit Tuesday were the biggest in a cluster that's been rocking North Texas since last fall. And by the end of the day, eight had been reported.

5.4-magnitude earthquake shakes up Eastern Taiwan
The earthquake struck in Xiulin Township, about 31.3 kilometers north of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 22 km, the Central Weather Bureau's Seismology Center said.

Fewer big #earthquakes in 2014
The biggest earthquake in the United States, and the second largest quake of 2014, was a magnitude 7.9 event in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on June 23. Several quakes below magnitude 5.0 rattled Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Arizona throughout the year.

Hardline Israelis anger Palestinians by trying to reclaim prayer rights at Jerusalem's most famous holy site
The Jewish visitors knew within seconds that they had entered hostile territory. Scores of hooded Palestinian women, their faces covered, chanted a shrill chorus of Allah-u akbar (God is great) as wary policemen looked on. A police officer used a video camera to film one woman who, holding the hand of a toddler carrying a toy gun, protested the newcomers' arrival with particular vehemence.

Nepal to issue passports with third gender for sexual minorities
Nepal will issue passports to sexual minorities, adding a third gender category...a sign of the conservative Hindu-majority country becoming more liberal since the end of a decade-long civil war. The Himalayan nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are identified as either male or female in passports, despite a 2007 Supreme Court ruling ordering authorities to amend laws to include a third gender.

FCC Chairman Strongly Hints He’ll Favor Internet Reclassification – CES
Chairman Tom Wheeler didn’t say so directly, but he left little doubt that he and fellow Democrats on the FCC will stand up to cable and telco Internet providers next month by adopting net neutrality rules that redefine broadband as a regulated, communications service. ISPs have said that such a move would chill investment.

Strong geomagnetic storm hits Earth
The Space Weather Prediction Center issued a warning for a large geomagnetic storm on Wednesday morning. The NOAA organization said the primary areas that would be affected would be in the northern portion of the northern hemisphere.

Muslims segregated from French society in growing Islamist mini-states
A backdrop to the massacre in Paris on Wednesday by self-professed al Qaeda terrorists is that city officials have increasingly ceded control of heavily Muslim neighborhoods to Islamists, block by block. France has Europe’s largest population of Muslims, some of whom talk openly of ruling the country one day and casting aside Western legal systems for harsh, Islam-based Shariah law.

Winter storm brings misery to Middle East refugees
A fierce winter storm has brought freezing temperatures to the Middle East, raising worries about the plight of the millions of refugees there. Snow has fallen in the mountains around Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians live. With icy winds blowing there have been attempts to anchor tents more securely, and prepare for flooding.

Islamic State attacks checkpoints in Iraq's Samarra
Islamic State militants have attacked Iraqi security forces in the central city of Samarra, killing two people and injuring 28 others, officials say. They reportedly carried out five suicide bomb attacks on checkpoints along a motorway west of Samarra. The bombings were followed by mortar attacks on the city itself.

'Dangerously cold' temperatures and snow across US
Temperatures across much of the northern and eastern US are plunging to "dangerously cold" levels, the National Weather Service says. High winds mean wind-chill temperatures are forecast to drop as low as -50F (-45C) in Minnesota. The freeze has led to the closure or late running of schools from north to south, from the Dakotas to Alabama.

Plunging oil prices drive eurozone into deflation
Prices across the eurozone have fallen for the first time in five years, according to the EU statistics office, raising the prospect of a sustained period of deflation. Consumer prices in the single currency area fell by a greater than expected 0.2 percent in December 2014, the first decline in prices since 2009, Eurostat revealed on Wednesday (7 January). A month earlier inflation was 0.3 percent.

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With talks on ice, Palestinians’ Mahmoud Abbas declares diplomatic war on Israel
Frustrated by the failure of U.S.-brokered peace talks and under growing pressure from his people to confront the Israeli occupation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is launching diplomatic war against Israel, betting on a risky campaign to fully “internationalize the struggle” by moving toward the United Nations and away from the United States.

Ukraine crisis: Rebels 'intensify Donetsk and Luhansk attacks'
Pro-Russian separatists have intensified their shelling of government positions in eastern Ukraine, military officials say. Four Ukrainian soldiers and two civilians have reportedly been killed in the latest violence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

US warns of global 'terror' threat after French attacks
The United States on Friday warned Americans to beware of "terrorist actions and violence" all over the world, following the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

Boko Haram Kills 'Too Many to Count' in Nigeria
On Friday, Amnesty International released a report about a recent series of attacks by Boko Haram that killed hundreds, if not thousands of people in Nigeria. According to Daniel Eyre, the author of the Amnesty report, the terror groups raids on Baga, a border town near Chad, may constitute the group's "deadliest act" yet:

IS forced to defend supply lines in Iraq
Islamic State jihadists are having to spend more effort defending key supply lines in Iraq due to US-led air strikes and pressure from local forces, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Cost Of Obama's "Free" Community College Plan To Taxpayers? $60 Billion
Yesterday, to much shock and dismay, Obama revealed his latest "noble" grand vision: provide a free community college education to millions of folks. Apparently now, far too late, even the community organizer-in-chief realized that with $1.2 trillion in student loans, almost double the total outstanding credit card debt, which as the TBAC warned will rise to a mindblowing $3.3 trillion in one decade all else equal

Psalm 83 with Bill Salus
An ancient prophecy written over 3000 years ago reveals that the Arab states and terrorist populations, which presently share common borders with Israel, will soon confederate in order to wipe Israel off of the map.

Vatican conference on Haiti earthquake reconstruction
In convoking the January 10 conference, Pope Francis wished to express “ongoing concern for those who continue to suffer as a result of this natural disaster,” according to Vatican Radio.

Saudi blogger Badawi 'flogged for Islam insult'
A Saudi Arabian blogger has been publicly flogged after being convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam, reports say. Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail, was flogged 50 times. The flogging will be carried out weekly, campaigners say. Mr Badawi, the co-founder of a now banned website called the Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested in 2012.

First they came for the Jews. Then they came for the journalists
The massacre at Charlie Hebdo was part of an all-out assault on freedom in Europe. Jews and cartoonists are on the frontline.

France deploys 88,000 troops as Charlie Hebdo manhunt focuses northeast of Paris
France deployed tens of thousands of security forces in the hunt for two brothers accused of killing 12 people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a hunt which is now focused on a forest and several woodland villages northeast of Paris.

Netanyahu: Paris attack proves world must fight Islamist terror
Netanyahu said the motive of Islamist terrorists was to “destroy society and nations, to uproot human culture which is based of freedom, and the freedom to choose.” Therefore, the prime minister continued, “free societies and all civilized people must unite and combat this terrorism.”

French losing control over their country
French President Francois Hollande, the man who only several days ago instructed France's representative at the United Nations Security Council to vote in favor of the establishment of a Palestinian state, outdid himself on Wednesday when he declared that the massacre at the office of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo was "a terrorist attack."

6 Times The Obama Administration Said Its Job Was to Promote Islam
White House press secretary Josh Earnest announced that the Obama administration would prioritize fighting Islamophobia in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in France. Never mind that most Westerners aren’t Islamophobic, but rather GettingShotInTheFaceForExpressingMyOpinion-Phobic.

The Media’s Main Bias is Anti-American
Kudos to the Islamic terrorists yesterday who shot up the Charlie Hebdo offices yesterday for doing so in such a way that the media could not pretend that they were not Muslim or that their belief in radical Islam was not the primary motivating factor for their actions. Having been robbed of their normal playbook of refusing to use Islamic names or to report that terrorists were Muslims or motivated by Islam at all.

Earthquakes, Blizzards, Volcanic Activity All Hit Russia's Far East on One Day
Severe natural upheavals raged across Russia's Far East on Thursday, as the region experienced increased volcanic activity, at least five earthquakes, avalanches and a month's worth of snow within a day, media reports said.

Earthquake rocks Guthrie early Friday
GUTHRIE, Okla. —A 4.0 earthquake rocked the town of Guthrie early Friday.

Security cameras capture the moment a space rock blazes across sky in Bucharest
Bucharest residents witnessed night transform into day after a meteor was seen blazing through the the sky. At 3:05am local time, several security cameras throughout the Romanian city captured the incredible sight of the space rock lighting up the area.

South Australia faces heavy rain after bushfire
Emergency services in South Australia are preparing to deal with potential severe flooding, with the state facing its heaviest rainfall in three decades. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said up to 150mm (6in) of rain could fall in some parts between Friday and Sunday. The wet weather will bring relief to firefighters who have been battling to control a bushfire in Adelaide Hills.

Taliban 'reject offer of Afghan government posts'
The Taliban have been offered posts in the new Afghan government but have turned them down, the BBC understands. The offer came from new President Ashraf Ghani in a bid to end the insurgency that threatens the recovery of the country. More than three months after coming into office, President Ghani is due to announce the shape of his cabinet.

Hurricane-force gusts cause disruption to power and travel
Hurricane-force gusts have caused travel disruption and left tens of thousands of homes without power across Scotland. The storm caused the suspension of all ScotRail trains, although some limited services have now started running. More than 70,000 homes are currently without power as the Atlantic jet stream caused gusts of more 100mph (160km/h).

Britain's MI5 chief warns al-Qaida in Syria planning mass attacks on West
Al-Qaida militants in Syria are plotting attacks to inflict mass casualties in the West, possibly against transport systems or "iconic targets", the head of Britain's MI5 Security Service said on Thursday. Speaking after gunmen killed 12 people in an assault on a French satirical newspaper, MI5 boss Andrew Parker warned a strike on the United Kingdom was highly likely.

U.S. to cut European military bases as budgets shrink
Facing tight budgets and a shrinking military, the United States said on Thursday it was ending operations at an air base in Britain and handing it and 14 other sites in Europe back to their home governments.

Al-Qaeda Is Planning to Attack the U.K. and May Succeed, Says Security Chief
Fears are growing the U.K. may be the next European target of a terrorist attack, following the mass killing at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Obama Proposes Free Community College Program
The White House on Thursday announced a proposal that President Barack Obama said would make community college "free for everybody who is willing to work for it." But administration officials provided no details about the program's costs or where the money would come to pay for it.

Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria's Baga town hit by new assault
Bodies lay strewn on the streets of a key north-eastern Nigerian town following an assault by militant Islamists, officials have told the BBC. The Boko Haram group attacked Baga town on Wednesday, after over-running a military base there on Saturday, they said.

Seismic series prompts Dallas suburb to examine emergency plans
Seismologists installed more earthquake-monitoring devices in the Dallas suburb of Irving on Thursday as officials examined contingency plans after a series of temblors raised concerns for the area near the former Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

Jihadists have declared war, world must respond: Canada's Harper
The deadly attacks in Paris serve as a vivid reminder that jihadists are at war with those they disagree with, and the world must confront them, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.

Terror suspects in Charlie Hebdo massacre were on U.S. ‘no fly’ list
The two brothers wanted in the terror attack on a French weekly that killed 12 people Wednesday had long been viewed by U.S. officials as potential terror suspects, prompting them to be placed on a “no fly” list that banned them from boarding commercial aircraft into and out of the United States, U.S. counterterrorism sources told Yahoo News.

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Oil Price Blowback: Is Putin Creating A New World Order?
It’s hard to know which country is going to suffer the most from falling oil prices. Up to now, of course, Russia, Iran and Venezuela have taken the biggest hit, but that will probably change as time goes on. What the Obama administration should be worried about is the second-order effects that will eventually show up in terms of higher unemployment, market volatility, and wobbly bank balance sheets. That’s where the real damage is going to crop up because that’s where red ink and bad loans can metastasize into a full-blown financial crisis.

Paris shooting cases demonstrate spy agencies' limits
This week's deadly attacks in France by Islamist gunmen showed the limits of spy and anti-terrorist agencies, which often have information about perpetrators in advance but are only able to assemble all the clues after the bloodletting has taken place.

No Ukraine summit without progress on peace plan, Merkel tells Putin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone on Saturday that a four-way summit to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine would not take place until there was real progress on the Minsk peace plan.

US slams North Korea offer on nuclear tests as 'implicit threat'
The United States slammed an offer by North Korea to suspend future nuclear tests temporarily if Washington cancels military drills with the South as an "implicit threat." Pyongyang was "inappropriately" linking routine military exercises between Washington and Seoul to the possibility of a nuclear test, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Saturday.

Al-Qaida group claims suicide bombing in north Lebanon
The fundamentalist group al-Nusra Front on Saturday claimed responsibility for a twin suicide bombing in the Alawite neighborhood of north Lebanon's port city of Tripoli, which killed at least 9 people and injuring 37 others.

Police stopped watching Paris killers six months ago after terror cell of kosher deli attacker and his crossbow jihadi wife - who has fled to Syria -
The world’s most wanted female terrorist has fled to Syria, it was revealed last night – as police admitted they stopped surveillance on her deadly Parisian cell six months ago because they were deemed ‘low-risk’.

Ex-Pakistan Taliban members join IS group, behead man
An online video released Saturday purports to show former militants of the Pakistani Taliban pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheading a man they identify as a Pakistani soldier. The video shows former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid along with dozens of other militants in a wooded area.

6.0 magnitude earthquake hits northern Phl
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted the northern Philippines at 3:32 a.m. today, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

10 Jan 15

Gorbachev Issues New Warning of Nuclear War Over Ukraine
"A war of this kind would unavoidably lead to a nuclear war," the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner told Der Spiegel. "We won't survive the coming years if someone loses their nerve in this overheated situation," added Gorbachev, 83. "This is not something I'm saying thoughtlessly. I am extremely concerned."

George Zimmerman arrested on aggravated assault charge
Florida authorities say George Zimmerman, whose acquittal of murdering an unarmed black teen sparked a national debate on race and self-defense laws, has been arrested for allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.

Netanyahu to French, European Jews after Paris attacks: Israel is your home
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to French and European Jews on Saturday evening in the wake of two deadly attacks in Paris that left at least 17 victims without their lives this week. "I want to tell the Jews of France and the Jews of Europe - the State of Israel is your home," he said.

We vomit' on Charlie's sudden friends: staff cartoonist
A prominent Dutch cartoonist at Charlie Hebdo heaped scorn on the French satirical weekly's "new friends" since the massacre at its Paris offices on Wednesday. "We have a lot of new friends, like the pope, Queen Elizabeth and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. It really makes me laugh," Bernard Holtrop, whose pen name is Willem, told the Dutch centre-left daily Volkskrant in an interview published Saturday.

All Over America, Government Officials Are Cracking Down On Preppers
Why would the government want to punish people that are just trying to work hard, become more self-sufficient and take care of their families?

US issues global travel warning after terror attacks
The United States has issued a global travel warning after recent terror attacks in France, Australia and Canada. The alert comes hours after French police killed three hostage-takers in a pair of incidents. Two of the men are believed responsible for Wednesday's attack on a satirical magazine in Paris. Twelve people were killed in that assault, France's deadliest terror incident in decades.

Editor of Britain's Jewish Chronicle claims people are fleeing terror-hit French capital
Jews are fleeing terror-hit Paris because of growing anti-Semitism in France, one of Britain's most influential Jewish journalists said today. ...Mr Pollard said today's terror attack in Paris, linked to the massacre at the office of Charlie Hebdo, will force more French Jews to flee the country. Many are moving to Britain or to Israel, according to a report published in the newspaper last year.

Thousands remain without power after storms
Thousands of homes remain without power following the storms that have been battering Scotland. A total of 32,000 Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) customers in the north and 1,500 supplied by Scottish Power further south of the country are affected. SSE said engineers worked through the night to try to restore power to homes.

Syria's Assad building facility for the production of nuclear weapons
Syria's President Bashar Assad wants to have a nuclear bomb and has begun work on an underground plant in order to achieve his goal... Intelligence sources provided exclusive documents, satellite photographs and intercepted conversations to Der Spiegel that indicate that the plant is located near the city of Homs and is a built deep underground in an inaccessible mountain region only two kilometers from the Lebanese border.

With talks on ice, Palestinians’ Mahmoud Abbas declares diplomatic war on Israel
Frustrated by the failure of U.S.-brokered peace talks and under growing pressure from his people to confront the Israeli occupation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is launching diplomatic war against Israel, betting on a risky campaign to fully “internationalize the struggle” by moving toward the United Nations and away from the United States.

Ukraine crisis: Rebels 'intensify Donetsk and Luhansk attacks'
Pro-Russian separatists have intensified their shelling of government positions in eastern Ukraine, military officials say. Four Ukrainian soldiers and two civilians have reportedly been killed in the latest violence in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

US warns of global 'terror' threat after French attacks
The United States on Friday warned Americans to beware of "terrorist actions and violence" all over the world, following the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris.

Boko Haram Kills 'Too Many to Count' in Nigeria
On Friday, Amnesty International released a report about a recent series of attacks by Boko Haram that killed hundreds, if not thousands of people in Nigeria. According to Daniel Eyre, the author of the Amnesty report, the terror groups raids on Baga, a border town near Chad, may constitute the group's "deadliest act" yet:

IS forced to defend supply lines in Iraq
Islamic State jihadists are having to spend more effort defending key supply lines in Iraq due to US-led air strikes and pressure from local forces, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Cost Of Obama's "Free" Community College Plan To Taxpayers? $60 Billion
Yesterday, to much shock and dismay, Obama revealed his latest "noble" grand vision: provide a free community college education to millions of folks. Apparently now, far too late, even the community organizer-in-chief realized that with $1.2 trillion in student loans, almost double the total outstanding credit card debt, which as the TBAC warned will rise to a mindblowing $3.3 trillion in one decade all else equal.

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Schools in Pakistan's Peshawar reopen after Taliban massacre
Schools in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar re-opened Monday morning for the first time since a Taliban raid massacred 150 people, mainly children, with returning students expressing defiance tinged with apprehension.

Christianity Is Exploding In China And The Communist Party Isn't Happy
While Christianity is waning in many parts of the world, in China it is growing rapidly – despite state strictures. The rise in evangelical Protestantism in particular, driven both by people’s spiritual yearnings and individual human needs in a collective society, is taking place in nearly every part of the nation.

Iraq may need three years to restructure and rebuild military: PM
Iraq may need three years to rebuild and restructure its military, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday, as the country battles Islamic State militants who pose the biggest threat to its security since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

South Korean president says open to summit with North's Kim, no pre-condition
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday she was open to holding a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without any pre-condition and urged Pyongyang to promptly return to dialogue.

Hamas Calls United States 'Rude and Racist'
The United States last week expressed its dissatisfaction over Turkey’s contacts with Hamas, and the terror group took exception. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in her daily press briefing on Thursday that Washington's position on Hamas has not changed and classified the group as a "designated foreign terrorist organization that continues to engage in terrorist activity."

Official: Islamic State group battle in Iraq kills 30 Kurds
Islamic State group fighters attempting to retake a town in northern Iraq held by Kurdish peshmerga forces have killed at least 30 Kurds, an Iraqi military spokesman said Sunday.

Police and Onlookers Discover ‘Lost Ark of the Covenant’ Only a Replica
Jerusalem was in momentary shock on Sunday when a pilgrim from the Philippines placed a replica of the Lost Ark of the Covenant in the center of the city, causing commotion and confusion. The replica was complete with the “cherubim” and was coated in the color of gold, JerusalemOnline reported.

German Newspaper Offices Firebombed After Printing Hebdo Cartoons
A German newspaper was firebombed overnight after it printed cartoons from the Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Terror Alerts Highest in France, Raised Around the World
Americans were warned by the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta about potential terror threats. France is not the only country... Australia warned its citizens... The Philippines is also seeing... Egypt has decided to...

Earthquake strikes East of Palomar Mountain
The quake was at 3:29 p.m. and was epicentered 14 miles east-southeast of Anza, or 14 miles south-southwest of La Quinta. That would be near the Riverside-San Diego county line...

Over a Million People March in France Against Terror
Up to 1.5 million people participated in the anti-terror march in Paris on Sunday. World leaders linked arms as they marched 1.9 miles through France’s capital from Place de la Republique to Place de la Nation. Many of the family members of the victims led the march alongside the world leaders.

Egyptian President Al-Sisi Delivers Speech That May Change the World Forever
In a speech delivered at Al-Azhar at the end of 2014, Egyptian President Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi called to combat extremist ideology and said: “We need to revolutionize our religion.” Calling for “religious discourse that is in keeping with its times,” We need to revolutionize our religion. “Honorable Imam [the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar], you bear responsibility before Allah. The world in its entirety awaits your words, because the Islamic nation is being torn apart, destroyed, and is heading to perdition. (Video)

Irish priest receives standing ovation after revealing he is gay
A Catholic priest in Dublin has receiving a standing ovation from members of his church after revealing he is gay during mass. Father Martin Dolan, who has served the inner-city Church of St Nicholas of Myra for the past 15 years, made the unusual step of coming out in support of gay marriage and added: I’m gay myself”.

Lebanon violence: Bomb blast hits northern city of Tripoli
A suicide bomb attack in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli has killed at least seven people, in the latest violence linked to Syria's civil war. The Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, said it was behind the attack, which also injured 30 people. The blast, on a cafe in a predominantly Alawite neighbourhood, was the first major attack in Lebanon for months.

Nigeria: 'Girl bomber' kills 19 people in Maiduguri market
At least 19 people have been killed and several injured by a bomb strapped to a girl reported to be aged about 10 in north-eastern Nigeria, police say. The bomb exploded in a market in the city of Maiduguri, in Borno state. "The explosive devices were wrapped around her body," a police source told Reuters.

Haiti protesters clash with police in anti-Martelly march
Protesters in Haiti have clashed with police in a demonstration calling for the resignation of President Michel Martelly over long-delayed elections. Police in the capital, Port-au-Prince, fired tear gas and sprayed water on hundreds of demonstrators. Haiti is facing a major political crisis, as the mandates of its lawmakers expire at midnight on Monday.

Economic Power And Influence Are Flocking To The Gulf States
Dubai likes to set records. It has the world's tallest building (the Burj Khalifa), the largest shopping centre (the Dubai Mall) and the longest handmade gold chain (5.52km), to name but three. But beyond mere ostentation, the city-state has more substantial achievements to its credit. In the year to September Dubai airport overtook Heathrow in London to become the world's busiest international hub, with some 68.9m passengers using it yearly.

Oil Price Blowback: Is Putin Creating A New World Order?
It’s hard to know which country is going to suffer the most from falling oil prices. Up to now, of course, Russia, Iran and Venezuela have taken the biggest hit, but that will probably change as time goes on. What the Obama administration should be worried about is the second-order effects that will eventually show up in terms of higher unemployment, market volatility, and wobbly bank balance sheets. That’s where the real damage is going to crop up because that’s where red ink and bad loans can metastasize into a full-blown financial crisis.

Paris shooting cases demonstrate spy agencies' limits
This week's deadly attacks in France by Islamist gunmen showed the limits of spy and anti-terrorist agencies, which often have information about perpetrators in advance but are only able to assemble all the clues after the bloodletting has taken place.

No Ukraine summit without progress on peace plan, Merkel tells Putin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone on Saturday that a four-way summit to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine would not take place until there was real progress on the Minsk peace plan.

US slams North Korea offer on nuclear tests as 'implicit threat'
The United States slammed an offer by North Korea to suspend future nuclear tests temporarily if Washington cancels military drills with the South as an "implicit threat." Pyongyang was "inappropriately" linking routine military exercises between Washington and Seoul to the possibility of a nuclear test, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Saturday.

Al-Qaida group claims suicide bombing in north Lebanon
The fundamentalist group al-Nusra Front on Saturday claimed responsibility for a twin suicide bombing in the Alawite neighborhood of north Lebanon's port city of Tripoli, which killed at least 9 people and injuring 37 others.

Police stopped watching Paris killers six months ago after terror cell of kosher deli attacker and his crossbow jihadi wife - who has fled to Syria -
The world’s most wanted female terrorist has fled to Syria, it was revealed last night – as police admitted they stopped surveillance on her deadly Parisian cell six months ago because they were deemed ‘low-risk’.

Ex-Pakistan Taliban members join IS group, behead man
An online video released Saturday purports to show former militants of the Pakistani Taliban pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and beheading a man they identify as a Pakistani soldier. The video shows former Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid along with dozens of other militants in a wooded area.

6.0 magnitude earthquake hits northern Phl
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted the northern Philippines at 3:32 a.m. today, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

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Jewish fears for safety in wake of Paris attacks
wo young college student poets, Hannah Halpern and Amina Iro, are talking about their faith. Nothing unusual there, you might think. But one writes about Allah and her mosque, the other about her synagogue and the Star of David.

Lebanon prison raided over inmates' links to bombing
Lebanese security forces have raided a prison after an investigation found detainees were connected to a suicide attack over the weekend, officials say. Television pictures showed troops entering and searching inmates' rooms and smoke rising from Roumieh prison.

Charlie Hebdo's latest edition to depict Prophet Muhammad
The cover of the latest edition of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has been published in French media, and depicts the Prophet Muhammad. The cover shows the Prophet holding a sign reading "I am Charlie", below the words "all is forgiven".

Divers retrieve cockpit voice recorder of crashed AirAsia jet: MetroTV
Divers on Tuesday retrieved the black box cockpit voice recorder from the wreck of an AirAsia passenger jet, Indonesian news channel MetroTV said quoting a transport ministry official.

German anti-Islamist rally swells after attacks in France
A record 25,000 anti-Islamist protesters marched through the east German city of Dresden on Monday, many holding banners with anti-immigrant slogans, and held a minute's silence for the victims of last week's attacks in France.

The American Absence in Paris
The most conspicuous absence at Sunday's enormous anti-terror march in Paris, which drew some 40 world leaders and more than a million French citizens, was any high-ranking official from the United States. President Obama did not join the likes of François Hollande, David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Mahmoud Abbas for what turned out to be a historic photo of solidarity.

Muslim Brotherhood Founded 50% of the Mosques in the West
A prominent Muslim leader in the United Kingdom with links to the Muslim Brotherhood estimates that half of the mosques in the West were founded by Brotherhood members. The Brotherhood presents itself as moderate, but it supports violent jihad and is the parent organization of Hamas.

Australia adopts 'Daesh' terminology
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has decided to follow the lead of other Western leaders and rebrand the self-proclaimed Islamic State with an acronym they despise. After talks with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Mr Abbott has started using the name Daesh. Daesh is an acronym for the Arabic spelling of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

American fear: 74% see 'catastrophic terrorist attack' inside United States
Hacked By Rexal Scooterist indonesian defacer

3.3 Magnitude Quake in Eastern Connecticut
A 3.3 magnitude earthquake shook eastern Connecticut this morning and it’s the third earthquake since last Thursday. The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed that this was a 3.3 magnitude quake and Plainfield police said they have received several reports from all over town and they are asking for anyone with damage to call the local building inspector.

The Exegetical Left and the Koran
In other words, in the same way I would not listen to what a liberal atheist on the op-ed page of the New York Times thinks about my religion, why the hell should I listen to them about Islam? I should not. And neither should you.

Charlie Hebdo In China: Limited Press Freedom Will Prevent Similar Attacks, State Media Says
In the wake of the deadly attack at the offices of o a French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, an editorial by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency pointed to the terrorist attack as an example of why the press needs boundaries. “What they seem not to realize is that the world is diverse, and there should be limits on press freedom.”

The forces of darkness are winning
Jihadi extremism is becoming more powerful and the free world is simply not coping; the far-right is not the answer, but neither is surrender.

Pope Francis says fundamentalist terrorism result of 'deviant forms of religion'
Pope Francis on Monday denounced the religious fundamentalism that inspired the Paris massacres and ongoing Mideast conflicts, saying the attackers were enslaved by "deviant forms of religion" that used God as a mere ideological pretext to perpetuate mass killings.

Why aren't Muslim leaders being heard?
Why don’t Muslim leaders speak out? That question comes up every time terrorists purporting to be deeply religious Muslims carry out armed attacks that kill innocent people. Where, commentators ask, are the moderate Muslim leaders and why aren’t they decrying the horrors perpetuated by fellow Muslims?

OPEC price war in Asia intensifies as oil falls below $50
Even as Saudi Arabia and its Gulf OPEC allies appear united in their refusal to cut output to boost global oil prices, they are becoming locked in an increasingly fierce battle to secure market share in Asia.

CHANCE OF FLARES
Solar activity is low, but the quiet could be short-lived. During the past 24 hours, sunspots AR2255 and AR2257 have developed 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic fields that harbor energy for powerful explosions.

Black-mob mall brawl hits Indianapolis
'I don't know what it's going to take for people to open their eyes' Police brought the ruckus under control and made no arrests, but the incident was only the latest in a spate of violent, black-mob incidents across the country.

Jews Are Leaving France: 10,000 to Arrive in Israel in 2015
France is bleeding Jews. The onslaught of radical Islamic terror combined with growing anti-Semitism has finally persuaded the country’s most loyal immigrants that it’s time to leave.

America snubs historic Paris rally: Holder was there but skipped out early, Kerry was in India, Obama and Biden just stayed home
Obama told the French on Friday that 'the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow' – but he didn't stand with them in Paris.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani unveils unity government
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has unveiled his unity cabinet more than three months after he was sworn in. The names of 25 ministers were read out at a ceremony in Kabul presided over by Mr Ghani and government chief executive Abdullah Abdullah. The announcement comes after tortuous negotiations between the two former rivals who agreed to work together following disputed elections last year.

Boko Haram crisis: Nigerian archbishop accuses West
The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, in central Nigeria, has accused the West of ignoring the threat of the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram. Ignatius Kaigama said the world had to show more determination to halt the group's advance in Nigeria. He said the international community had to show the same spirit and resolve it had done after the attacks in France.

France deploys 10,000 security forces, approximately half to Jewish schools
France will have more than 10,000 soldiers mobilized on home soil by Tuesday after 17 were killed in attacks carried out by Islamist militants in Paris last week, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday. Speaking a day after the biggest French public demonstration ever registered, held to remember the victims, he said France was still at risk of further attacks.

Schools in Pakistan's Peshawar reopen after Taliban massacre
Schools in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar re-opened Monday morning for the first time since a Taliban raid massacred 150 people, mainly children, with returning students expressing defiance tinged with apprehension.

Christianity Is Exploding In China And The Communist Party Isn't Happy
While Christianity is waning in many parts of the world, in China it is growing rapidly – despite state strictures. The rise in evangelical Protestantism in particular, driven both by people’s spiritual yearnings and individual human needs in a collective society, is taking place in nearly every part of the nation.

Iraq may need three years to restructure and rebuild military: PM
Iraq may need three years to rebuild and restructure its military, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday, as the country battles Islamic State militants who pose the biggest threat to its security since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

South Korean president says open to summit with North's Kim, no pre-condition
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday she was open to holding a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without any pre-condition and urged Pyongyang to promptly return to dialogue.

Hamas Calls United States 'Rude and Racist'
The United States last week expressed its dissatisfaction over Turkey’s contacts with Hamas, and the terror group took exception. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in her daily press briefing on Thursday that Washington's position on Hamas has not changed and classified the group as a "designated foreign terrorist organization that continues to engage in terrorist activity."

Official: Islamic State group battle in Iraq kills 30 Kurds
Islamic State group fighters attempting to retake a town in northern Iraq held by Kurdish peshmerga forces have killed at least 30 Kurds, an Iraqi military spokesman said Sunday.

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555 Trillion Reasons Why Central Banks Won't Let Rates Normalize
The Fed may raise rates a token amount this year, but the move will be largely symbolic. With over $100 trillion in bonds and over $555 TRILLION in interest rate derivatives trading based on interest rates, the Fed will not be normalizing rates at any point in the future.

Region warned to be prepared for massive earthquake
The Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) is warning the region to “move expeditiously” towards building resilience amid predictions of the Caribbean being hit with an earthquake with a magnitude of eight or larger.

'Felt bigger than 5.5' - residents rattled by lower South Island quake
The shake was centered 70km west of Te Anau at 12.40am, and was reported by close to 2000 people on GeoNet's website.

9th Earthquake Rattles Eastern Connecticut
Plainfield police have received more phone calls reporting an earthquake this morning, the ninth to rattle the area since last Thursday.

Jimmy Carter Blames Recent Terror Attacks On ‘Palestinian Problem’
When in doubt, blame Israel — at least that seems to be the habit of America’s least respected former president. In the wake of the Islamist terror attacks in France against cartoonists and Jews, former President Jimmy Carter’s first reaction was to pin the motivation for such terrorism on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Appearing on “The Daily Show” Monday, Carter was asked by host Jon Stewart whether the violence the world saw on the streets of Paris was actually fueled by something else other than Islamic extremism.

In China, a church-state showdown of biblical proportions
Yet there is also trouble brewing for China’s faithful. As evangelical Christianity grows sharply, officials fear it could undermine their authority. Already, Christians may outnumber members of the Communist Party. That has far-reaching implications both for Chinese society and for a party that frowns on unofficial gatherings and other viewpoints. In China, party members cannot be Christian.

Radical Islam is a threat to Europe's future
"Radical Islam, like the Nazi ideology, is a threat to Europe's future," said CER President Pinchas Goldschmidt, Moscow's chief rabbi. "The fact that the entire world paid more attention to the massacre at the office of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper than to the massacre of Jews at the Jewish supermarket raises serious doubts about their desire to eradicate and fight anti-Semitism."

Al-Qaeda’s 7 Step Plan: Total Confrontation in 2016
Al-Qaeda’s 7 step plan formed in the 90s: from 2010 Arab governments will be toppled, in 2013 an Islamic state shall appear, 2016 is time for “total confrontation”

Efforts to Identify Source of ISIS Recent Weapons Shipments
An unidentified aircraft dropped weapons and equipment for ISIS southeast of Tikrit over the weekend. Western intelligence sources say that there is a concentrated effort to identify the source. According to a new report in the Iraqi media, Iraqi sources said that this is not the first time; an unknown aircraft dropped weapons and munitions to ISIS in Yathrib area south of Tikrit,

Swiss activists plan PEGIDA anti-Muslim march amid rising tensions across Europe
Swiss activists have founded a local branch of the popular German anti-Muslim PEGIDA movement. The group is boasting a fast growth in supporters and plans to hold a demonstration next month. The Swiss branch of PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) was launched two days after the attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.

EU Should Prosecute Preachers Endorsing Violence: UK Muslim Association
The UK Ahmadiyya Muslim Association representative calls on European governments to persecute those clerics who incite hatred and violence.

French Muslims Students Refused to Stand in Memory of Terror Victims
One student said, “I’m for those who killed [the victims],” Le Figaro reported, and a Muslim elementary school student said, “They had it coming.” Approximately 80 percent of Muslim students in one class refused to stand in silence, and several of them suggested conspiracy theories to reject the idea that Muslims carried out the murders.

Rise in mass die-offs seen among birds, fish and marine invertebrate
An analysis of 727 mass die-offs of nearly 2,500 animal species from the past 70 years has found that such events are increasing among birds, fish and marine invertebrates. At the same time, the number of individuals killed appears to be decreasing for reptiles and amphibians, and unchanged for mammals.

SOLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT
Sunspot AR2257 erupted on Jan. 13th, producing an M5-class solar flare at 04:24 UT. A pulse of extreme UV radiation from he flare ionized Earth's upper atmosphere over Australia and the Indian Ocean. Mariners and ham radio operators may have noticed a brief communications blackout at frequencies below about 10 MHz.

Banks prepare plans for Greek eurozone exit
The ruling coalition government has framed the election as a de facto poll on whether the country stays in the eurozone, saying Syriza’s antiausterity policies would force a break with eurozone partners. Syriza, though, hasn’t campaigned on an exit and most Greek voters want to stay in the monetary union, according to recent polls.

World braces for end of Fed's 'easy money'
“Tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve will have turbo-charged effects on a global financial system addicted to zero rates and dollar liquidity.” yields on 2-year U.S. Treasuries have surged from 0.31pc to 0.74pc since October, and this is the driver of currency markets. the Fed has engaged in a “pivot,” shifting concern from stimulating job growth to worrying about inflation...

At least 20 sleeper cells ready to strike Europe
Algeria’s intelligence services passed information to several European countries indicating there are at least 20 sleeper cells with a combined total of 120 to 180 jihadists ready to act in France, Germany and Belgium,

Radioactive tritium leak reported at TVA nuclear plant in northern Alabama
A Chattanooga newspaper reports that radioactive water leaked from a tank at an Alabama nuclear plant, releasing tritium into the environment. The report said that the leak occurred last week at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Alabama. A spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates the plant, said the leak was quickly contained and presented no public risk.

Earthquake gives R.I. a little shake before dawn Monday
If you felt a little unsteady around 6:36 a.m. Monday, you aren’t alone. People in Rhode Island felt a 3.3 magnitude earthquake centered in the Plainfield area of Connecticut at that time, the same area where a 2.0-magnitude earthquake struck at 9:28 a.m. Thursday.

EXCLUSIVE: Catch and Release 2.0 — Leaks Highlight Teardown of Immigration Enforcement
Leaked internal training documents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal Border Patrol agents are now receiving guidelines instructing them that the vast majority of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are off limits to federal agents and are substantially immune to detention and deportation. A trusted federal agent in the CBP provided exclusive copies of the documents to Breitbart Texas and also agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity.

Kosher Market Attack Deepens Fears Among European Jews
The killing of four French Jews in last week's hostage standoff at a Paris kosher market has deepened the fears among European Jewish communities shaken by rising anti-Semitism... In the wake of the attacks, which follow deadly strikes on a Belgian Jewish Museum and a Jewish school in southwestern France, Israeli leaders have called on European Jews to immigrate to the Jewish state.

The Media’s Standard in the Terrorist Fight
The terrorists put up propaganda videos on YouTube and posted soldiers’ personal data on CENTCOM’s twitter feed. Leave aside the question of why CENTCOM has social media feeds. The dismissiveness of the American press over the data breach was staggering. ISIS published the home addresses of soldiers and other information. Some of it was in public domain. Some appeared classified. Much of it was personal information that could put our soldiers’ families in the targets of terrorists.

UK inflation rate falls to 0.5% in December
The UK inflation rate fell sharply to 0.5% in December, the joint lowest on record, official figures show. Inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index fell from 1% in November to its lowest rate since May 2000, helped by cheaper fuel prices. A fall below 1% triggers a letter of explanation from Bank of England governor Mark Carney to the chancellor.

Republican Congressman Randy Weber Compares Obama To Hitler
Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) compared President Barack Obama to German dictator Adolf Hitler on Monday night. The ultra-conservative congressman from Texas criticized the president for not traveling to Paris on Sunday to attend a massive unity rally against terrorism, which was attended by dozens of world leaders.

French police chief committed suicide after Charlie Hebdo attack
Limoges deputy director of regional judicial police committed suicide hours after being tasked with investigating the family of one of the Charlie Hebdo victims.

Franklin Graham: America's ‘Culture of Death’ Stems From a 'Sinful, Godless Worldview That Rejects Christ’
Reverend Franklin Graham, son of world renowned evangelical preacher Billy Graham, said that America is increasingly embracing a “culture of death” that echoes what has occurred in Europe, and which stems from a “sinful, godless worldview that rejects Christ.”

Jewish fears for safety in wake of Paris attacks
wo young college student poets, Hannah Halpern and Amina Iro, are talking about their faith. Nothing unusual there, you might think. But one writes about Allah and her mosque, the other about her synagogue and the Star of David.

Lebanon prison raided over inmates' links to bombing
Lebanese security forces have raided a prison after an investigation found detainees were connected to a suicide attack over the weekend, officials say. Television pictures showed troops entering and searching inmates' rooms and smoke rising from Roumieh prison.

Charlie Hebdo's latest edition to depict Prophet Muhammad
The cover of the latest edition of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has been published in French media, and depicts the Prophet Muhammad. The cover shows the Prophet holding a sign reading "I am Charlie", below the words "all is forgiven".

Divers retrieve cockpit voice recorder of crashed AirAsia jet: MetroTV
Divers on Tuesday retrieved the black box cockpit voice recorder from the wreck of an AirAsia passenger jet, Indonesian news channel MetroTV said quoting a transport ministry official.

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Charlie Hebdo attacks: Hollande says magazine 'reborn'
French President Francois Hollande has insisted Charlie Hebdo and its values will survive, after the new edition of the satirical weekly sold out in hours. "Charlie Hebdo is alive and will live on," Mr Hollande said. Millions more copies of the magazine are being printed because of demand.

Most British Jews feel they have no future in Europe: poll
A quarter of Jews in Britain have considered leaving the country in the last two years and well over half feel they have no long term future in Europe, according to a survey published on Wednesday.

Netanyahu returns fire over Erdogan jibe on Paris rally
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who blasted him this week for "daring" to attend an anti-terror solidarity march in Paris.

Saudi Arabia Is Building A 600-Mile 'Great Wall' To Shield Itself From ISIS
When a raiding party from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attacked a Saudi border post last week, it was no mere hit on a desert outpost. The jihadists were launching an assault on the new, highest-profile effort by Saudi Arabia to insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbours.

The End Of OPEC As We Have Known It Is Here
Early last fall, when oil prices had fallen by about $25 a barrel and it became clear the decline was more than a temporary blip, the big question was how far prices would fall. And that would depend on whether and when Saudi Arabia and its OPEC partners would support the world oil price by cutting their own production.

Russia Is Losing Control Over The European Gas Market
Oil isn't Russia's only problem. The energy exporter is losing its dominance over the European gas market. In the past there were two factors that kept Russia as the major gas powerhouse: European policies and cold winters. But both of those things have changed — and Russia is starting to explore non-Western countries.

Japan Earthquake 2015 Today Strikes East of Tokyo
USGS indicates to news that a 4.8 Japan earthquake 2015 struck today January 14, 2014 just after 2:46 am local time. The quake was twenty-nine miles below ground level. As a results the quake could felt across the region.

Competition for Islamic Terrorism Cluelessness Prize: Carter and Stewart Tie
...it is hard to dispute that the president who has done and said more idiotic things since leaving office is – hands down – Jimmy Carter. And yet in a segment on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart on Monday, Jan. 13, Jimmy Carter seemed to be in a competition with his host to show who is more clueless about Islamic terrorism.

Oil under pressure as World Bank cuts growth forecast
Oil prices pared early losses on Wednesday but remained under pressure after the World Bank cut its economic growth forecast, doing little to end a rout that saw prices touch their lowest in nearly six years in the previous session.

Cop-bashing a disturbing pastime for race baiters and progressives
It took the assassination of two Brooklyn cops to make it clear that America is close to crossing the line from order to anarchy. The questions for elected officials are: Are you going to allow mob rule to override the rule of law in this nation? Are you supporting wacko leftists who talk and act like society’s main problem is the police?

22 terror camps verified inside U.S.
The FBI is aware of at least 22 paramilitary Islamic communes in the U.S., operated by the shadowy Pakistan-based group Jamaat al-Fuqra and its main U.S. front group, Muslims of America Inc.

SOLAR FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT (UPDATED
Observatory (SOHO) show no significant CME emerging from the blast site. This means no there will be no Earth-CME collision, and no geomagnetic storms as a result of this event. The effects of the flare are therefore finished.

'We told you so' - Israeli embassy in Ireland posts photo of Mona Lisa in Muslim headdress
The post seems to be a common sentiment among Israelis who are angry over criticism of its response to Palestinian terrorism.

Boko Haram’s Radical Islamic Jihadist Army Barbarically Murders 2,000 More
Boko Haram, a radical Islamic jihadist army similar in its barbaric tactics to ISIS – the Islamic State – literally exterminated an entire city in northern Nigeria. They slaughtered an estimated 2,000 innocent human beings. In an indescribable killing spree, Boko Haram destroyed the city of Baga, burning Christian churches and murdering thousands.

An Asteroid Will Be Making A Close Call Later This Month, And It Will Be Visible With Backyard Telescopes
OK, so asteroids are always heading this way. But this particular asteroid, lovingly named 2004 BL86 by people who get paid to come up with such names, is remarkable for two reasons. First, it’s huge (as asteroids go); and second, it’s coming rather close (again, as asteroids go).

Illegal Immigrants ‘Aggressive’ timetable for launching Obama immigration actions raising concerns
“There is a state of confusion at DHS,” said the DHS source, who works in immigration enforcement, claiming that “just like ObamaCare, the administration is eager to make an announcement, but infrastructure is lacking to make it happen.” The administration wants to hire 1,000 workers to help process applications out of a new facility in Crystal City, Va., just outside Washington.

Alaska shook from record number of earthquakes in 2014
The Alaska Earthquake Information Center detected 40,686 quakes in the state and bordering parts of Canada, significantly more that the previous high of nearly 32,000 in 2003, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

Magnitude 5 quake hits Bicol Tuesday night
An earthquake with a magnitude 5 on the Richter scale was felt by residents in Bicol on Tuesday night, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Iran nuclear talks: Kerry meets Zarif in Geneva
US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting his Iranian counterpart in Geneva in a bid to revive stalled talks over Iran's nuclear programme. Mr Kerry said he and Mohammad Javad Zarif needed to "take stock" ahead of a new round of negotiations on Thursday. Six world powers want Iran to curb its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions.

Scores killed as floods hit Malawi and Mozambique
At least 48 people have been killed and around 23,000 forced from their homes by heavy flooding in Malawi, the country's leader said on Tuesday. President Peter Mutharika has declared a third of the country a disaster zone and urgently appealed for foreign aid.

Earthquake rate steadies in Oklahoma, experts say
After increasing rapidly over the past three years, the pace of earthquakes in Oklahoma held steady in 2014 at a rate higher than California and far higher than the historic average in Oklahoma. Oklahoma experienced 567 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in 2014,

Obama makes push for stronger cyber security laws
US President Barack Obama has unveiled proposals to strengthen cyber security laws following a spate of attacks against high-profile US targets. Recent hacks of Sony Pictures and a Pentagon Twitter feed reflect the need for tighter legislation, the president said. The proposals are due to be sent to Congress immediately.

Up to 5,000 Europeans joined jihad, Europol chief says
Europe is facing the largest terrorist threat since 2001, with between 3,000 and 5,000 Europeans in jihadist ranks, the director of European police agency Europol said on Tuesday (13 January). Europol head Rob Wainwright answered questions in a committee of the British House of Commons. He told MPs that “about 3 to 5,000 EU nationals” have left Europe to fight in Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones.

Nearly half of British Jews say they have no future in Europe, study finds
A quarter of Jews in Britain have considered leaving the country in the last two years and well over half feel they have no long term future in Europe... Additionally, anti-Semitic beliefs are widely prevalent among the wider public with 45 percent of Britons agreeing with at least one anti-Semitic sentiment, the YouGov poll for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) group found.

Liberman calls Turkey's Erdogan 'an anti-Semitic, neighborhood bully'
Europe's silence in the face of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's vitriolic attacks against Israel is one of the reasons for the surge of anti-Semitism in Europe...Liberman said Wednesday. In some of the toughest public comments in memory against Erdogan and Turkey, Liberman told a gathering...that Europe's Ignoring the hate and incitement Erdogan cultivates toward Israel has ramifications.

Building snowmen is forbidden by Saudi Arabian cleric, who calls them anti-Islamic
A senior Saudi cleric has issued a strict religious ruling that bans the building of snowmen because he says they are "anti-Islamic." Religious scholar Mohammad Saleh Al Minjed said it's "not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun," according to reports. He announced the frosty fatwa after being asked on a religious website whether building the figures was permissable.

China bans burqa in biggest Muslim city
Legislators in China's far-western Xinjiang province have passed a law to prohibit residents from wearing burqas in public, state media reported, in a continued campaign against what authorities view as religious extremism.

Japan approves record 4.98 trillion yen defence budget
Japan's cabinet has approved a record 4.98 trillion yen (£28bn, $42bn) budget for defence spending, amid a long-running maritime dispute with China. The new budget represents a 2.8% rise from the previous fiscal year. It marks the third year of increased spending after a decade of cuts.

Iran's Rouhani says countries behind oil price drop will suffer
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that countries behind the fall in global oil prices would regret their decision and warned that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait would suffer alongside Iran from the price drop.

U.S. takes aim at North Korea's remaining financial links
The United States aims to use new sanctions imposed on North Korea over the cyber attack on Sony Pictures to cut off the country's remaining links to the international financial system, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.

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Turkish PM compares Netanyahu with Paris terrorists
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed crimes against humanity comparable to those behind the Paris attacks that left 17 dead. "Netanyahu has committed crimes against humanity the same like those terrorists who carried out the Paris massacre," he told reporters.

Israel says Swedish FM not welcome
Israel said Thursday that Sweden's foreign minister was not welcome for an official visit in the country, with relations strained over Stockholm's recognition of Palestine. The minister, Margot Wallstroem, last week postponed a trip to Israel indefinitely, with Israeli media reports suggesting that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not want to meet her.

Hezbollah confirms member spied for Israel
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hasan Nasrallah, confirmed Thursday that a spy for Israel infiltrated the group, but he sought to play down recent media reports that described the incident as an unprecedented security breach.

Authorities search for clues after raid thwarts potential 'Belgian Charlie Hebdo' attack
Belgian authorities were searching for clues early Friday after police killed two in raids aimed at jihadists returning from Syria who were planning to launch a "Belgian Charlie Hebdo" attack, officials said.

Duke nixes plan to use chapel tower for Muslim prayer call
Days after announcing that a Muslim call to prayer would echo from its historic chapel tower, Duke University changed course Thursday following a flurry of calls and emails objecting to the plan.

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel over Syria strikes
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened in an interview Thursday to retaliate against Israel for repeated strikes on Syria and said he has missiles that can hit the Jewish state.

The Greek Bank Runs Have Begun: Two Greek Banks Request Emergency Liquidity Assistance
The first time the phrase Emergency Liquidity Assistance, or ELA, was used in the context of Greece was in August 2011, when Greece was imploding, when its banking sector was on (and past) the verge of collapse...Raoul Ruparel of Open Europe told The Telegraph: "The activation of the so-called ELA looks to be the last stand for Greek banks and suggests they are running alarmingly short of quality collateral usually used to obtain funding."


Target to close all 133 stores in Canada
Citing an inability to connect with customers and an underperforming holiday sales period, Minneapolis-based Target announced Thursday that it is ceasing all operations in Canada and closing all 133 of its Canadian stores.

Duke University becomes a Parisian suburb
Great. In the week after multiple terror attacks by Islamic extremists on Jews and harmless cartoonists in Paris, Duke University has announced it will begin allowing a Friday afternoon Muslim call to prayer to be played via loudspeaker from the Duke Chapel Bell Tower, thereby bringing the suburban Parisian ambience to the upscale campus.

Back on ISIS’s Home Turf: Crucifixions and Beheadings Continue
ISIS has continued its barbarism, executing five men in Deir Ezzor, an eastern province of Syria, on Wednesday, Jan, 14.

Iran Building Missile Sites in Syria
Iranian military leaders admitted this week to building and operating missile-manufacturing plants in Syria, where it was also revealed that Tehran is helping to build a secret nuclear facility.

Pharaoh bows to god of gods in newly discovered quarry carving
The carvings and inscription are difficult to decipher because they are so worn and eroded. They were found at Gebel el Sisila, Egypt’s largest sandstone quarries, north of Aswan.

Swiss franc jumps 30 percent after Swiss National Bank dumps euro ceiling
Switzerland's franc soared by almost 30 percent in value against the euro on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank abandoned its three-year old cap at 1.20 francs per euro.

CHANCE OF STORMS
NOAA forecasters estimate a 40% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on Jan. 15th when a CME is expected to sideswipe Earth's magnetic field. The storm cloud was propelled in our direction by a solar filament eruption three days ago.

What If Every Volcano on Earth Erupted at Once?
scientists say the chance of every volcano on the planet erupting at once is so small that it's impossible. But what if it did happen? Would Earth as it we know it survive? Not likely, said Parv Sethi, a geologist at Radford University in Virginia.

Amidror: Hezbollah's firepower of 150,000 projectiles exceeds all European armies combined
The IDF must be prepared for three principal security scenarios in the near future, former national security adviser Maj.- Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror has said, naming them as a large-scale ground war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, attrition against Hamas in Gaza, and the possibility of a military operation in Iran.

Nasrallah: Hezbollah prepared for war deep into Israel, beyond the Galilee
"We have made all necessary preparations for a future war with Israel," Hezbollah chief says.

New N Korean Military Plan Envisages Occupying S Korea Within Seven Days
North Korea has developed a military plan envisaging the occupation of South Korea within seven days using nonconventional arms including nuclear weapons, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported Thursday. The plan was reportedly adopted on August 25, 2012, during a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and top military officials.

Overnight earthquake awakens Plainfield
For the fourth straight day, an earthquake shook eastern Connecticut. This one happened during the overnight hours on Thursday.

‘US Consulate in Jerusalem arming Palestinian guards’
The US Consulate in Jerusalem is training a force of 35 Palestinians from East Jerusalem to serve as armed guards, particularly for consular trips to the West Bank’s Area A, which is off-limits to Israelis, it was reported on Wednesday. The arrangement violates a 2011 agreement between Israel and the consulate...whereby only IDF combat veterans would be authorized to carry arms as consulate guards.

Ebola crisis: New cases declining in West Africa
New Ebola cases in the three West African countries worst affected by the deadly outbreak of the virus are declining, weekly UN figures show. Sierra Leone and Guinea both recorded the lowest weekly total of confirmed Ebola cases since August. Liberia, which reported no new cases on two days last week, had its lowest weekly total since June.

US House votes to block Obama migrant plan
The House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that would effectively roll back President Obama's recent immigration initiatives. The bill still needs to go to the Senate for approval and the White House has said the president will veto it. Mr Obama announced in November that he would use his executive authorities to enact sweeping immigration changes.

Russia to cut EU gas transit via Ukraine
Russia has said it will stop EU gas transit via Ukraine and do it via Turkey instead in the second shock announcement on energy in as many months. It said on Wednesday (14 January) that the EU should build new infrastructure to link up with a future Russia-Turkey pipeline or lose access to supplies.

Turkish PM says Netanyahu on par with Paris attackers
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu...Benjamin Netanyahu to the Islamist militants who carried out attacks last week in Paris... "Just as the massacre in Paris committed by terrorists is a crime against humanity, Netanyahu, as the head of the government that kills children playing on the beach... and that massacred our (Turkish) citizens on an aid ship...has committed crimes against humanity," Davutoglu said...

Charlie Hebdo attacks: Hollande says magazine 'reborn'
French President Francois Hollande has insisted Charlie Hebdo and its values will survive, after the new edition of the satirical weekly sold out in hours. "Charlie Hebdo is alive and will live on," Mr Hollande said. Millions more copies of the magazine are being printed because of demand.

Netanyahu returns fire over Erdogan jibe on Paris rally
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday hit back at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who blasted him this week for "daring" to attend an anti-terror solidarity march in Paris.

Saudi Arabia Is Building A 600-Mile 'Great Wall' To Shield Itself From ISIS
When a raiding party from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attacked a Saudi border post last week, it was no mere hit on a desert outpost. The jihadists were launching an assault on the new, highest-profile effort by Saudi Arabia to insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbours.

The End Of OPEC As We Have Known It Is Here
Early last fall, when oil prices had fallen by about $25 a barrel and it became clear the decline was more than a temporary blip, the big question was how far prices would fall. And that would depend on whether and when Saudi Arabia and its OPEC partners would support the world oil price by cutting their own production.

Russia Is Losing Control Over The European Gas Market
Oil isn't Russia's only problem. The energy exporter is losing its dominance over the European gas market. In the past there were two factors that kept Russia as the major gas powerhouse: European policies and cold winters. But both of those things have changed — and Russia is starting to explore non-Western countries.

Japan Earthquake 2015 Today Strikes East of Tokyo
USGS indicates to news that a 4.8 Japan earthquake 2015 struck today January 14, 2014 just after 2:46 am local time. The quake was twenty-nine miles below ground level. As a results the quake could felt across the region

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Sessions: Obama Making Congress ‘A Museum Piece’
Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) urged colleagues not to oppose the House-passed legislation blocking President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, warning that Congress will be “a museum piece” if they do.

War threat on Iran "heightened" if nuclear talks fail, Obama warns
New congressional action against Iran would blow up an international diplomatic effort to stop their nuclear program through peaceful means, Obama said on Friday, in a pointed warning to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

German police tipped off that Islamists may target rail stations
German authorities have received specific warnings of the risk of militant attacks on central railway stations in Berlin and Dresden, security sources told Reuters on Friday, after pre-dawn police raids on 12 homes linked to radical Islamists.

Gay marriage: High court sets stage for historic ruling
Setting the stage for a potentially historic ruling, the Supreme Court announced Friday it will decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry everywhere in America under the Constitution.

Muslims protest weekly's prophet cartoon; 4 killed in Niger
Muslim anger flared over a French satirical weekly's latest caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, with four people reported killed and dozens injured at a protest Friday in the West African country of Niger, and violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Pakistan, Jordan and Algeria.

ICC prosecutor opens probe into war crimes against Palestinians
The International Criminal Court's prosecutor on Friday opened a preliminary probe into possible war crimes committed against Palestinians, a move immediately blasted by Israel as "scandalous".

Scientists balk at ‘hottest year’ claims: Ignores Satellites showing 18 Year ‘Pause’
Climatologist Dr. Roger Pielke Sr.: 'We have found a significant warm bias. Thus, the reported global average surface temperature anomaly is also too warm.' Climatologist Dr. Judith Curry: 'With 2014 essentially tied with 2005 and 2010 for hottest year, this implies that there has been essentially no trend in warming over the past decade.'

'The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven' Recants Everything
"The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" actually never went. Alex Malarkey, a young boy who co-authored a book with his father about going to heaven and returning to earth first published in 2010, wrote an open letter to Christian publishers retracting his story.

Did the Pope Justify the Charlie Hebdo Massacre?
"They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Dr. Gasbarri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit," opined the pope.

CHANCE OF STORMS
Polar geomagentic storms are likely for the next three days. The action begins on Jan. 16th when a late-arriving CME is expected to sideswipe Earth's magnetic field.

Duke Reconsiders: No Minaret on Cathedral, No Call to Prayer Broadcast
The original plan to have the Islamic chant – which includes the words “Allahu Akbar” – made from the bell tower would have been “moderately amplified” in both English and Arabic.

Anti-Charlie Hebdo Protests In Pakistan Turn Violent, At Least Two Injured
The protesters, mostly members of the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, were marching toward the French consulate to express their outrage at the Charlie Hebdo caricatures depicting the Prophet. According to the newspaper, Rangers were deployed to aid the police, and at least 20 protesters have already been detained by the authorities.

The French Enlightenment is About to End
During the past year we have witnessed both tragic and unprecedented events in France. This is not by coincidence. According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman, as explained by Rabbi Ginsburgh previously, this year of 5775 possesses great potential for the coming of Moshiach. (Messiah)

Six Ukrainian soldiers killed, fighting rages at airport
Six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in attacks by separatists in the past 24 hours, the Kiev military said on Friday as fighting raged at the international airport in the big eastern city of Donetsk.

Jimmy Carter blames Israel for Paris terrorist attacks
Former President Jimmy Carter, a Georgia peanut farmer who was arguably the worst president of the last century, apparently justified the terrorist attacks in France by blaming Israel. Appearing on Jon Stewart's Daily Show, Carter blamed the brutal murder and mayhem that left 17 people dead in Paris on the Jewish people in Israel.

Obama offers tens of thousands of Muslim refugees homes in U.S
Obama is being quietly applauded by United Nations officials for his agreeing to secretly allow 70,000 Muslim refugees to "legally" enter the U.S. as part of the an international resettlement program, according to the political action committee Combat Veterans for Congress. Besides providing these unscreened Muslim aliens with green cards, Obama and his minions are fast tracking them for U.S. citizenship.

Lawsuit from 25 states says President is not above law on immigration
“No individual is above the law, not even the President of the United States,” new Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated yesterday. “President Obama’s brazenly lawless action in November trampled on the U.S. Constitution.”

California Drought Outlook Extends at Least Into April
Most of California will still be in drought in April even though conditions will probably improve across the southern part of the state... Seasonal rains and the potential for a weak El Nino forming in the equatorial Pacific have increased the chances for the drought to ease in southern California as it persists or gets worse in the central and northern areas, the center said in a three-month outlook, issued today.

US to send 400 troops to train Syrian rebels
The US Department of Defense is to send 400 troops and hundreds of support staff to train moderate rebels against Islamic State (IS) in Syria. It is not yet clear where the troops will be drawn from or where they will be based, though Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have offered to host them. The US aims to train more than 5,000 rebels annually for three years.

US to help Bulgaria reduce dependence on Russia
The US has promised to help Bulgaria reduce energy dependence on Russia, as Europe digests Gazprom’s latest announcement on EU gas supplies. Secretary of state John Kerry, on a visit to Sofia on Thursday (15 January), said he will post a US envoy on energy security to Bulgaria and mobilise the Export-Import Bank of the United States to help pay for investments in nuclear energy, liquid gas, and gas interconnectors.

Report: 20 sleeper cells operating in Europe
As many as twenty sleeper cells are operating throughout Europe, an intelligence source told CNN on Friday. The cells, made up of between 120 to 180 people, were reportedly planning attacks in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The source said that intelligence agencies have identified an imminent threat to Belgium, causing Jewish schools in the country to close on Friday.

Turkish PM compares Netanyahu with Paris terrorists
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed crimes against humanity comparable to those behind the Paris attacks that left 17 dead. "Netanyahu has committed crimes against humanity the same like those terrorists who carried out the Paris massacre," he told reporters.

Israel says Swedish FM not welcome
Israel said Thursday that Sweden's foreign minister was not welcome for an official visit in the country, with relations strained over Stockholm's recognition of Palestine. The minister, Margot Wallstroem, last week postponed a trip to Israel indefinitely, with Israeli media reports suggesting that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman did not want to meet her.

Hezbollah confirms member spied for Israel
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Hasan Nasrallah, confirmed Thursday that a spy for Israel infiltrated the group, but he sought to play down recent media reports that described the incident as an unprecedented security breach.

Authorities search for clues after raid thwarts potential 'Belgian Charlie Hebdo' attack
Belgian authorities were searching for clues early Friday after police killed two in raids aimed at jihadists returning from Syria who were planning to launch a "Belgian Charlie Hebdo" attack, officials said.

Duke nixes plan to use chapel tower for Muslim prayer call
Days after announcing that a Muslim call to prayer would echo from its historic chapel tower, Duke University changed course Thursday following a flurry of calls and emails objecting to the plan.

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel over Syria strikes
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened in an interview Thursday to retaliate against Israel for repeated strikes on Syria and said he has missiles that can hit the Jewish state.

The Greek Bank Runs Have Begun: Two Greek Banks Request Emergency Liquidity Assistance
The first time the phrase Emergency Liquidity Assistance, or ELA, was used in the context of Greece was in August 2011, when Greece was imploding, when its banking sector was on (and past) the verge of collapse...Raoul Ruparel of Open Europe told The Telegraph: "The activation of the so-called ELA looks to be the last stand for Greek banks and suggests they are running alarmingly short of quality collateral usually used to obtain funding."

Target to close all 133 stores in Canada
Citing an inability to connect with customers and an underperforming holiday sales period, Minneapolis-based Target announced Thursday that it is ceasing all operations in Canada and closing all 133 of its Canadian stores.

Duke University becomes a Parisian suburb
Great. In the week after multiple terror attacks by Islamic extremists on Jews and harmless cartoonists in Paris, Duke University has announced it will begin allowing a Friday afternoon Muslim call to prayer to be played via loudspeaker from the Duke Chapel Bell Tower, thereby bringing the suburban Parisian ambience to the upscale campus.

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"Russian Invasion Survival Manual" To Be Issued To Citizens In European Union
While most Americans discount the possibility of a major conflict with Russia, Europeans who have seen two great wars in the last century know better. The country of Lithuania, much like its neighbors, is preparing for a full-out invasion by Russian forces and their government is issuing a survival manual to its citizens. Though the complete details have yet to be released, the manual, among other things, advises citizens to “keep a sound mind, don’t panic and don’t lose clear thinking.”

America Is In The Middle Of A New Cold War
In this excerpt from The Russia-China Axis: The New Cold War And America's Crisis Of Leadership authors Douglas E. Schoen and Melik Kaylan argue that only a rebirth of American global leadership can combat the growing threat from the Russian-Chinese axis.

Greek elections: Syriza’s young radicals plot a political earthquake for Europe
Shock, anger and fear have marked Greece’s financial meltdown. But five years on, Syriza’s meteoric rise – and imminent electoral victory – also presages the passage of despair. Many Greeks will be inclined to vote for the insurgents as much out of hopelessness as helplessness. “With our country’s economic crisis, our big opening has been to the decimated middle class,” Skourletis says. “In us they have found a voice.”

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake jolts seas in Philippines' Luzon region
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake jolted seas off northern Philippine province of Batangas at 1:09 p.m. Saturday local time, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

A Dignified Death? Living Is Dignified, Too
This advocacy of death with dignity is particularly true of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) whose “Dying in America” paper runs counter to its mission to improve health. The IOM, a part of the National Academy of Science, has a mandate to cure, not care.

Muslims Burn French Flag on the Temple Mount
Hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian Authority Muslims used the sacred Temple Mount Friday to burn the French flag in protest of the Charles Hebdo satirical magazine caricature this week of the Prophet Mohammed.

Revealed: Elon Musk's Plan to Build a Space Internet
Musk describes his system as “a giant global Internet service provider” for anyone. But he wants to go even bigger than that: He sees it as the basis for a system that will stretch all the way to Mars...

Piers Morgan: Pope's Comments 'Endorse Violence' Against Satirists
In his column in London's Daily Mail, Morgan, a Catholic, lambasted the Pope, saying he had "endorsed violence as a way to respond to insults." "Here was my Holy Father, supposedly a man who espouses the philosophy of turning the other cheek, telling us all to whack someone in the face if they insult us," Morgan wrote.

Visa waivers could help terrorists enter US
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged concerns Friday that terrorists might use the visa waiver program to enter the United States... But he noted that some of those countries also have citizens or legal residents who have left to fight or train with terrorist groups...The concern is that those fighters will return to their home countries and from there travel to the U.S.

Genetically modified wheat is in the works again
At the heart of Monsanto’s global research operation...on the fourth floor of Building GG is a room where the future of wheat may be changing. ...The supporters tout the work being done at the Chesterfield Village Research Center as critical to feeding a growing global population, while the critics say the world isn’t ready for the genetic modification of a dinner table staple.

Boko Haram crisis: African Union to discuss multinational force
Ghana's President John Mahama has said he and other African leaders will discuss plans next week to "deal permanently" with Boko Haram militants. He said he wanted African Union (AU) countries to produce a "specific plan of action" for tackling the Nigeria-based Islamist group collectively. "This has to end. We have to make this terror end," he said.

Attack on UN camp in Mali kills peacekeeper
Gunmen have launched an attack on a UN camp in Mali, killing a UN peacekeeper, residents and eyewitnesses say. The attack took place at about 06:00 in the northern town of Kidal. Residents said at least two suicide bombers were involved and a car bomb was detonated. A soldier from Chad was killed and at least one other was injured.

Europe on high alert over terrorist threat
Europe is on high alert following anti-terror raids and arrests of suspected Islamist militants. More than 20 people have been arrested in Belgium, France and Germany and Belgium has joined France in deploying troops alongside police. Security has been tightened in several countries after last week's attacks in Paris left 17 people dead.

Sessions: Obama Making Congress ‘A Museum Piece’
Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) urged colleagues not to oppose the House-passed legislation blocking President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, warning that Congress will be “a museum piece” if they do.

War threat on Iran "heightened" if nuclear talks fail, Obama warns
New congressional action against Iran would blow up an international diplomatic effort to stop their nuclear program through peaceful means, Obama said on Friday, in a pointed warning to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

German police tipped off that Islamists may target rail stations
German authorities have received specific warnings of the risk of militant attacks on central railway stations in Berlin and Dresden, security sources told Reuters on Friday, after pre-dawn police raids on 12 homes linked to radical Islamists.

Gay marriage: High court sets stage for historic ruling
Setting the stage for a potentially historic ruling, the Supreme Court announced Friday it will decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry everywhere in America under the Constitution.

Muslims protest weekly's prophet cartoon; 4 killed in Niger
Muslim anger flared over a French satirical weekly's latest caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, with four people reported killed and dozens injured at a protest Friday in the West African country of Niger, and violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Pakistan, Jordan and Algeria.

ICC prosecutor opens probe into war crimes against Palestinians
The International Criminal Court's prosecutor on Friday opened a preliminary probe into possible war crimes committed against Palestinians, a move immediately blasted by Israel as "scandalous".

Scientists balk at ‘hottest year’ claims: Ignores Satellites showing 18 Year ‘Pause’
Climatologist Dr. Roger Pielke Sr.: 'We have found a significant warm bias. Thus, the reported global average surface temperature anomaly is also too warm.' Climatologist Dr. Judith Curry: 'With 2014 essentially tied with 2005 and 2010 for hottest year, this implies that there has been essentially no trend in warming over the past decade.'

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NASA climate scientists: We said 2014 was the warmest year on record... but we're only 38% sure we were right
The NASA climate scientists who claimed 2014 set a new record for global warmth last night admitted they were only 38 per cent sure this was true.

Billy Crystal Says Gay Scenes on TV are ‘Pushing It’
Billy Crystal, who played television’s first ever gay series regular role of a gay man on the comedy “Soap,” said today’s portrayal of LGBT characters is, at times, gratuitous. “Sometimes I think, ‘Ah that’s too much for me,” the comedian told the audience at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena.

Boko Haram 'in Cameroon kidnappings'
Suspected militants from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have kidnapped dozens of people in raids in neighbouring Cameroon, officials say. They said many of those kidnapped in the cross border attack against villages were children.

Netanyahu says Europe's 'Islamization' pushing Israel to expand Asia trade
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that a wave of anti-Semitism and what he called “Islamization” in Western Europe are factors in the government’s push to expand trade with Asia.

Israeli strike kills son of top Hezbollah commander
The son of a late, top Hezbollah commander was killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in Syria, Hezbollah said. Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, was born in 1989. His father was assassinated in Syria in 2008.

Islamic State Has More Than Tripled Its Territory In Syria Since U.S. Started Airstrikes
The following Wall Street Journal graphic shows that ISIS has more than tripled the amount of territory it holds in Syria since the U.S. started bombing

Tourist numbers in Paris drop following terror attacks
Since last week's terrorist attacks that left 17 victims and three gunmen dead, the swarms of sightseers have thinned below Paris' most visited monument, baring the dull concrete of the giant plaza.

German anti-Islam rally canceled after threat to organizer
A weekly rally by a German group protesting what it calls "the Islamization of the West" was called off on Sunday because of a terrorist threat against one of its organizers, the group and authorities said.

Israeli helicopter fires missiles in Syria: Hezbollah's al-Manar TV
An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles in the Syrian province of Quneitra near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, the Lebanese Hezbollah-run al-Manar news channel said. It did not specify the target of the strike in the area, called Amal Farms. The Israeli military declined comment and Syrian state media did not mention the attack.

Israel fears Gaza's economic woes could lead to border skirmishes
Israel fears that the economic crisis in Gaza could erode the cease-fire that ended the war with Hamas over the summer and lead to conflicts along the border, according to defense officials.

Gunmen abduct Yemeni president’s chief of staff
Gunmen abducted the chief of staff to Yemen's president early Saturday in the center of the capital of Sanaa, security officials said. The kidnapping of Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, 46, comes as Yemen remains gripped by Shiite Houthi rebels and battered by regular al-Qaida attacks.

"Russian Invasion Survival Manual" To Be Issued To Citizens In European Union
While most Americans discount the possibility of a major conflict with Russia, Europeans who have seen two great wars in the last century know better. The country of Lithuania, much like its neighbors, is preparing for a full-out invasion by Russian forces and their government is issuing a survival manual to its citizens. Though the complete details have yet to be released, the manual, among other things, advises citizens to “keep a sound mind, don’t panic and don’t lose clear thinking.”

America Is In The Middle Of A New Cold War
In this excerpt from The Russia-China Axis: The New Cold War And America's Crisis Of Leadership authors Douglas E. Schoen and Melik Kaylan argue that only a rebirth of American global leadership can combat the growing threat from the Russian-Chinese axis.

Greek elections: Syriza’s young radicals plot a political earthquake for Europe
Shock, anger and fear have marked Greece’s financial meltdown. But five years on, Syriza’s meteoric rise – and imminent electoral victory – also presages the passage of despair. Many Greeks will be inclined to vote for the insurgents as much out of hopelessness as helplessness. “With our country’s economic crisis, our big opening has been to the decimated middle class,” Skourletis says. “In us they have found a voice.”

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake jolts seas in Philippines' Luzon region
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake jolted seas off northern Philippine province of Batangas at 1:09 p.m. Saturday local time, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

A Dignified Death? Living Is Dignified, Too
This advocacy of death with dignity is particularly true of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) whose “Dying in America” paper runs counter to its mission to improve health. The IOM, a part of the National Academy of Science, has a mandate to cure, not care.

Muslims Burn French Flag on the Temple Mount
Hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian Authority Muslims used the sacred Temple Mount Friday to burn the French flag in protest of the Charles Hebdo satirical magazine caricature this week of the Prophet Mohammed.

Revealed: Elon Musk's Plan to Build a Space Internet
Musk describes his system as “a giant global Internet service provider” for anyone. But he wants to go even bigger than that: He sees it as the basis for a system that will stretch all the way to Mars...

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PLO: Israeli-Palestinian Relations Have Reached 'Point Of No Return'
Israeli-Palestinian relations, already off to a bad start in 2015, worsened considerably Monday. Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said in a statement released by Palestinian news agency Wafa his country’s relations with Israel have reached “a point of no return.”

Europe 'faces political earthquakes'
Political earthquakes could be in store for Europe in 2015, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the BBC's Democracy Day. It says the rising appeal of populist parties could see some winning elections and mainstream parties forced into previously unthinkable alliances.

Ukraine conflict: Security in east deteriorating, say observers
Observers in eastern Ukraine have warned of a serious deterioration in security as fighting intensifies in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) told the BBC that fighting around Donetsk airport was spreading further into the city.

Australia raises terror threat level against police to 'high'
Australia raised the threat level of a terrorist attack against law enforcement officers to "high" on Tuesday, federal police said, citing intelligence, discussions with international partners and recent high-profile attacks in Europe and Canada.

Canada special forces clash with IS in Iraq
Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in Iraq in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and IS, a senior officer said Monday.

British tabloid The Sun ends topless 'page three'
British tabloid The Sun will no longer feature topless women on its page three, ending a controversial tradition that has lasted decades, according to reports on Tuesday. The Times, which like The Sun is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News UK, reported that last Friday's edition of the tabloid would be the last to feature a topless model.

Some Shiites link Saudi king's health to end-times
news agencies speculate on what will become of the Saudi dynasty and its leadership after the king's death. But some Shiite scholars think differently about the matter, believing that Abdullah's death will mark the beginning of a chain of great events that will shock the world.

Woman Beheaded In Broad Daylight in ‘Moderate’ Muslim Nation While Police Watch
The convicted woman is led out before a crowd in broad daylight and beheaded in the middle of a lot. It is unknown whether or not she was afforded due process during her defense, but the Saudi justice system is typically discriminatory against female defendants. (Graphic Video)

Fast radio burst from a distant source captured in real-time
"These bursts were generally discovered weeks, months or even more than a decade after they happened. We are the first to catch one in real time, " Ms Petroff said.

Admirals, generals, intel: Benghazi inquest compromised
speaking on their own behalf and not as spokesmen for the Commission, are expressing concerns, wanting to make sure the Gowdy investigation is not compromised by elements within the GOP. ...there is no longer any intention in Washington, by the leadership of both the Democratic and Republican Parties, to get to the truth.”

Europe plunged into energy crisis as Russia cuts off gas supply via Ukraine
Russia cut gas exports to Europe by 60 per cent today, plunging the continent into an energy crisis 'within hours' as a dispute with Ukraine escalated. This morning, gas companies in Ukraine said that Russia had completely cut off their supply.

'Wave of Islamisation' sweeping Western Europe, Benjamin Netanyahu says
Benjamin Netanyahu triggered a potential new row with Europe on Sunday by claiming that “a wave of Islamisation” was sweeping the continent... ...“Western Europe is undergoing a wave of Islamisation, of anti-Semitism, and of anti-Zionism. It is awash in such waves, and we want to ensure that for years to come the state of Israel will have diverse markets all over the world.”

Islamic State fighters mass on Lebanon border and threaten to launch attacks across it
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters in Syria, massed close to the Lebanese border, are threatening to launch attacks across it, the Telegraph has witnessed. The group has been training new recruits and defectors from smaller rebel factions in Qalamoun, a militarily strategically important province in the south-west of Syria that borders Lebanon.

Argentine Prosecutor Found Dead Ahead of Hearing on Bombing
The prosecutor, who had led the bombing investigation since 2004, accused Iran of being behind the attack and said Kirchner hampered the inquiry to curry favor with the Islamic republic.

Commercial bees threaten wild bees, say researchers
The trade in bees used for honey or to pollinate crops could have a devastating impact on wild bees and other insects, say scientists. New measures are needed to stop diseases carried by commercial bees spilling over into the wild, says a University of Exeter team. Evidence suggests bees bred in captivity can carry diseases that could be a risk to native species.

Ukraine battle for Donetsk airport rages on
Ukrainian government troops are still battling for control of Donetsk airport with pro-Russian rebels, reports say. The rebel military command said its forces had halted a government offensive at a key bridge between the airport and the city. The Putylivskiy bridge was destroyed in the fighting. The airport in eastern Ukraine is in ruins after months of intense clashes.

Meet the four autocrats of the apocalypse
Four leaders of great states run the gamut of political authoritarianism.

China calls Snowden's stealth jet hack accusations 'groundless'
China dismissed accusations it stole F-35 stealth fighter plans as groundless on Monday, after documents leaked by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on a cyber attack were published by a German magazine.

Anti-Islam group buys ads on San Francisco buses and displays the image of Adolf Hitler
An anti-Islam group has sparked controversy with the purchase of advertisements on San Francisco’s public buses that display the image of Adolf Hitler and accuse the religion of fostering anti-Semitism

State of the Union: Obama to seek tax raises on wealthy
President Obama is to use Tuesday's State of the Union speech to call for tax increases on the wealthy to help the middle class, officials say. The proposals would raise $320 billion (£211 billion) over a decade, to fund benefits such as tax credits. The speech is the centrepiece of the US political diary and may shape both Mr Obama's legacy and the 2016 election.

EU to appeal ruling that Hamas should be removed from terror list
The European Union will appeal against a court ruling that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should be removed from the bloc's terrorist list, an EU official said on Monday. ..."The fight against terrorism remains a priority for the European Union. In this sense, the EU is determined to stem the financing of terrorism, for which EU autonomous measures are an essential tool."

73 quakes west of Umluj in one week
The Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) recorded a total of 73 Red Sea earthquakes since last Monday. The director of the SGS' National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Hani Zahran, said the earthquakes happened 90 km west of Umluj governorate.

Half global wealth held by the 1%
Oxfam warns of widening inequality gap, days ahead of Davos economic summit in Switzerland. Billionaires and politicians gathering in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to tackle rising inequality after a study found that – on current trends – by next year, 1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%. Ahead of this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the ski resort of Davos, the anti-poverty charity Oxfam said it would use its high-profile role at the gathering to demand urgent action to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Muslims also at risk by Obama dodging the I-word
Why Obama goes into metaphoric pretzel mode all to avoid calling the scourge of the day what it undeniably is: Radical Islamic Terrorism. What’s in a name? Everything when power is your game. That’s why Barry Soetoro (Barack Obama) and Warren Wilhelm Jr., New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio changed theirs.

NASA climate scientists: We said 2014 was the warmest year on record... but we're only 38% sure we were right
The NASA climate scientists who claimed 2014 set a new record for global warmth last night admitted they were only 38 per cent sure this was true.

Billy Crystal Says Gay Scenes on TV are ‘Pushing It’
Billy Crystal, who played television’s first ever gay series regular role of a gay man on the comedy “Soap,” said today’s portrayal of LGBT characters is, at times, gratuitous. “Sometimes I think, ‘Ah that’s too much for me,” the comedian told the audience at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena.

Boko Haram 'in Cameroon kidnappings'
Suspected militants from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have kidnapped dozens of people in raids in neighbouring Cameroon, officials say. They said many of those kidnapped in the cross border attack against villages were children.

Netanyahu says Europe's 'Islamization' pushing Israel to expand Asia trade
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that a wave of anti-Semitism and what he called “Islamization” in Western Europe are factors in the government’s push to expand trade with Asia.

Israeli strike kills son of top Hezbollah commander
The son of a late, top Hezbollah commander was killed Sunday by an Israeli airstrike in Syria, Hezbollah said. Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, was born in 1989. His father was assassinated in Syria in 2008.

Islamic State Has More Than Tripled Its Territory In Syria Since U.S. Started Airstrikes
The following Wall Street Journal graphic shows that ISIS has more than tripled the amount of territory it holds in Syria since the U.S. started bombing

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Obama pushes tax plan, wields veto pen in defiant State of the Union address
A defiant President Obama staked out a populist agenda Tuesday night for his final two years in office built on what he called “middle-class economics,” while using his sixth State of the Union address to deliver a slew of veto threats challenging the new, Republican-led Congress.

Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels shell presidential home
Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital Sanaa have shelled the president's home, shattering a ceasefire. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was reported to be inside the house but an official insisted he was safe. The UN Security Council condemned the attack and urged the rebels to respect the country's legitimate leaders.

Syria conflict: Strike on IS-held village kills dozens
Dozens of people have been killed in an air strike on a village held by Islamic State in eastern Syria, activists say. It was not clear who was behind the attack in Khansaa in Hassakeh province, which left between 30 and 80 dead.

French newspaper 'Le Monde' says Twitter account hacked
French newspaper "Le Monde" said its twitter account and publishing tool were hacked by a group called the "Syrian Electronic Army", an amorphous hacker collective that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Questions mount over death of Argentine prosecutor
The mysterious death of an Argentine prosecutor just days after he accused the president of directing a cover-up in the bombing of a Jewish community center two decades earlier has jolted the country with accusations of foul play coming from all sides.

Iraq tries to get Babylon on world heritage list
Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday said that his country is seeking to restore the ancient ruin city of Babylon onto the UNESCO world heritage list. "We have finished our part and prepared a dossier to be sent to the UNESCO tomorrow, and so we met our obligation to prepare this dossier on February 1," Adel Shirshab told a press conference in Baghdad.

Russia And Iran Just Got Even Closer
Russia and Iran are aligning more and more. In Tehran on Tuesday, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart, defense minister Hossein Dehghan, signed an agreement on "military cooperation" between the two countries, according to the state-controlled news agency TASS.

No tsunami threat to Hawaii after 4.9-magnitude earthquake hits part of California
A magnitude-4.9 earthquake struck an area near Monterey, Calif. but was not strong enough to generate a tsunami warning for Hawaii, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center

Buyer beware: The value of near-death accounts
The revelation that Kevin Malarkey fabricated his six-year old son’s account of his near-death experience (NDE) in “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” is not shocking. In response to a letter by the now 16-year-old Alex, its publisher, Tyndale House, has announced it will no longer market the book, which has reportedly sold more than one million copies.

4.1 magnitude earthquake recorded in north-central Oklahoma
The USGS reports the quake occurred at 4:19 a.m. Monday about nine miles east of Cherokee in Alfalfa County - about 95 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The county sheriff's office says there are no reports of damage or injury.

Two more planets in our Solar System, say astronomers
The Solar System has at least two more planets waiting to be discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, Spanish and British astronomers say. ...In a study published in the latest issue of the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers propose that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto.

ISIS Plans On Killing ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in ‘Religious Cleansing’
...Todenhofer lived side by side with the jihadist fighters for ten days in the Islamic State-stronghold city of Mosul, Iraq... “I always asked them about the value of mercy in Islam,” but “I didn’t see any mercy in their behavior,” explained Todenhofer. He added, “Something that I don’t understand at all is the enthusiasm in their plan of religious cleansing, planning to kill the non-believers…

Iran general killed with Hezbollah fighters in Israel raid
An Israeli strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed Monday, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah gathered to bury one of six fighters killed in the same raid. The attack on Sunday near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights enraged Hezbollah's supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel.

EU to increase intelligence sharing with Arab states
The EU wants to step up security and intelligence co-operation with neighbouring countries to counter terrorist threats. The plan is part of a broader ...to reduce the risk of militant attacks by getting national intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share data and to communicate better with each other and their counterparts in Turkey, north Africa, and Asia.

Report: Iron Dome deployed to northern Israel after alleged Syria strike
In the aftermath of an alleged Israeli strike Sunday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the IDF reportedly deployed a number of Iron Dome air defense batteries to the North on Monday evening, according to foreign media. Sky News Arabic reported that the anti-rocket batteries had been maneuvered in case of further escalation on the border with Syria and Lebanon.

New police radars can 'see' inside homes
At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance.

PLO: Israeli-Palestinian Relations Have Reached 'Point Of No Return'
Israeli-Palestinian relations, already off to a bad start in 2015, worsened considerably Monday. Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said in a statement released by Palestinian news agency Wafa his country’s relations with Israel have reached “a point of no return.”

Europe 'faces political earthquakes'
Political earthquakes could be in store for Europe in 2015, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the BBC's Democracy Day. It says the rising appeal of populist parties could see some winning elections and mainstream parties forced into previously unthinkable alliances.

Ukraine conflict: Security in east deteriorating, say observers
Observers in eastern Ukraine have warned of a serious deterioration in security as fighting intensifies in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) told the BBC that fighting around Donetsk airport was spreading further into the city.

Australia raises terror threat level against police to 'high'
Australia raised the threat level of a terrorist attack against law enforcement officers to "high" on Tuesday, federal police said, citing intelligence, discussions with international partners and recent high-profile attacks in Europe and Canada.

Canada special forces clash with IS in Iraq
Canadian special forces exchanged gunfire with Islamic State fighters in Iraq in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and IS, a senior officer said Monday.

British tabloid The Sun ends topless 'page three'
British tabloid The Sun will no longer feature topless women on its page three, ending a controversial tradition that has lasted decades, according to reports on Tuesday. The Times, which like The Sun is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News UK, reported that last Friday's edition of the tabloid would be the last to feature a topless model.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine of a "blatant land grab". He was speaking after reports that the rebels had extended the area they control, violating a ceasefire plan.

Germany Pegida: Protest leader quits amid Hitler row
The head of Germany's "anti-Islamisation" movement Pegida has quit after disparaging anti-refugee comments and a photo showing him apparently posing as Hitler emerged. Lutz Bachmann apologised for Facebook comments he made in which he reportedly called refugees "animals" and "scumbags".

L.A. ban on some alcohol ads will protect young people, advocates say
Los Angeles on Tuesday effectively became the largest US city to ban alcohol advertising on some city-owned or city-controlled property. Specifically, the Los Angeles measure, which the city council passed unanimously, will remove such advertising from all public transit, including bus-stop benches and enclosures.

Disenchanted militants in South Asia eye Islamic State with envy
Splits within the Taliban, and doubts over whether its elusive leader is even alive, are driving a growing number of militant commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan towards Islamic State (IS) for inspiration.

Hedge Fund Manager Loses 99.8% In 9 Months, Tells Investors He Is "Sorry" For "Overzealousness"
Day after day, mainstream media proclaimed December the month to be in stocks: seasonals, Santa Claus rally, and performance-chasing funds would 'guarantee' upside. For Owen Li, former Raj Rajaratnam's Galleon Group trader, and the clients of his Canarsie Capital hedge fund, December 2014 will never be forgotten. According to CNBC, from around $100 million in AUM in March 2014, Li told investors in a letter, the fund had lost all but $200,000 and he was "truly sorry," for "acting overzealously" in the last 3 weeks.

Boehner invites Israeli leader to address Congress on Iran
Rebuffing President Barack Obama on Iran, House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he had invited Israel's prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress next month about the threats from Tehran and radical Islam.

Gallup: Obama Plummets to Lowest Annual Approval Rating Ever
With six years down and just two left in which to build a legacy, President Barack Obama has posted his lowest-ever average annual approval rating. A Gallup poll finds that Obama, in the one-year period between Jan. 20, 2014, and Monday, posted an approval average of just 42.6 percent.

Iran and Hezbollah are planning 'imminent' joint invasion of Israel's northern Galilee region according to 'high level intelligence
Senior Iranian and Hezbollah figures killed in an airstrike in Syria this weekend were likely planning an 'imminent' attack on Israel, security sources have claimed. Six Iranian army chiefs died alongside five Hezbollah militants after an Israeli helicopter fired rockets at a convoy in the Golan Heights region on Sunday.

Paris attacks: France boosts anti-terror strategy
France is to create 2,680 new jobs and boost spending by €425m (£325m; $490m) to bolster counter-terrorism efforts, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said. He said such resources were crucial to dealing with an expanded extremist threat, with 3,000 people currently requiring surveillance across France. Mr Valls was laying out the government's plans following attacks in Paris in which 17 were killed.

Boko Haram 'leader Abubakar Shekau' claims Baga raid
A man purporting to be the leader of the Boko Haram Islamist group has said in a video that his fighters carried out a deadly attacks on the Nigerian town of Baga earlier this month. The man said to be Abubakar Shekau said people were killed "as our Lord instructed us", threatening more raids. He taunted nearby countries' leaders.

Hamas: Tel Aviv stabbing attack 'heroic act'
Hamas condoned on Wednesday a stabbing attack on a Tel Aviv bus which left nine people injured, calling it an act of heroism. A 23-year-old man from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, illegally residing in Israel, stabbed nine Israelis on the 40 bus line near Maariv junction. Two of the victims were seriously wounded and several others suffered moderate injuries.

Netanyahu: Tel Aviv terror attack a result of wild incitement coming from Palestinian Authority
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu placed responsibility for Wednesday morning's stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on the shoulders of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for allowing vicious incitement against Israel. “This same terrorism tries to hit us in Paris, Brussels, and elsewhere,” he said.

Obama pushes tax plan, wields veto pen in defiant State of the Union address
A defiant President Obama staked out a populist agenda Tuesday night for his final two years in office built on what he called “middle-class economics,” while using his sixth State of the Union address to deliver a slew of veto threats challenging the new, Republican-led Congress.

Yemen crisis: Houthi rebels shell presidential home
Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital Sanaa have shelled the president's home, shattering a ceasefire. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi was reported to be inside the house but an official insisted he was safe. The UN Security Council condemned the attack and urged the rebels to respect the country's legitimate leaders.

Syria conflict: Strike on IS-held village kills dozens
Dozens of people have been killed in an air strike on a village held by Islamic State in eastern Syria, activists say. It was not clear who was behind the attack in Khansaa in Hassakeh province, which left between 30 and 80 dead.

French newspaper 'Le Monde' says Twitter account hacked
French newspaper "Le Monde" said its twitter account and publishing tool were hacked by a group called the "Syrian Electronic Army", an amorphous hacker collective that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Questions mount over death of Argentine prosecutor
The mysterious death of an Argentine prosecutor just days after he accused the president of directing a cover-up in the bombing of a Jewish community center two decades earlier has jolted the country with accusations of foul play coming from all sides.

Iraq tries to get Babylon on world heritage list
Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities on Monday said that his country is seeking to restore the ancient ruin city of Babylon onto the UNESCO world heritage list. "We have finished our part and prepared a dossier to be sent to the UNESCO tomorrow, and so we met our obligation to prepare this dossier on February 1," Adel Shirshab told a press conference in Baghdad.

Russia And Iran Just Got Even Closer
Russia and Iran are aligning more and more. In Tehran on Tuesday, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart, defense minister Hossein Dehghan, signed an agreement on "military cooperation" between the two countries, according to the state-controlled news agency TASS.

No tsunami threat to Hawaii after 4.9-magnitude earthquake hits part of California
A magnitude-4.9 earthquake struck an area near Monterey, Calif. but was not strong enough to generate a tsunami warning for Hawaii, according to the National Tsunami Warning Center

Buyer beware: The value of near-death accounts
The revelation that Kevin Malarkey fabricated his six-year old son’s account of his near-death experience (NDE) in “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” is not shocking. In response to a letter by the now 16-year-old Alex, its publisher, Tyndale House, has announced it will no longer market the book, which has reportedly sold more than one million copies.

4.1 magnitude earthquake recorded in north-central Oklahoma
The USGS reports the quake occurred at 4:19 a.m. Monday about nine miles east of Cherokee in Alfalfa County - about 95 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The county sheriff's office says there are no reports of damage or injury.

Two more planets in our Solar System, say astronomers
The Solar System has at least two more planets waiting to be discovered beyond the orbit of Pluto, Spanish and British astronomers say. ...In a study published in the latest issue of the British journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers propose that "at least two" planets lie beyond Pluto.

ISIS Plans On Killing ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in ‘Religious Cleansing’
...Todenhofer lived side by side with the jihadist fighters for ten days in the Islamic State-stronghold city of Mosul, Iraq... “I always asked them about the value of mercy in Islam,” but “I didn’t see any mercy in their behavior,” explained Todenhofer. He added, “Something that I don’t understand at all is the enthusiasm in their plan of religious cleansing, planning to kill the non-believers…

Iran general killed with Hezbollah fighters in Israel raid
An Israeli strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed Monday, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah gathered to bury one of six fighters killed in the same raid. The attack on Sunday near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights enraged Hezbollah's supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel.

EU to increase intelligence sharing with Arab states
The EU wants to step up security and intelligence co-operation with neighbouring countries to counter terrorist threats. The plan is part of a broader ...to reduce the risk of militant attacks by getting national intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share data and to communicate better with each other and their counterparts in Turkey, north Africa, and Asia.

Report: Iron Dome deployed to northern Israel after alleged Syria strike
In the aftermath of an alleged Israeli strike Sunday on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, the IDF reportedly deployed a number of Iron Dome air defense batteries to the North on Monday evening, according to foreign media. Sky News Arabic reported that the anti-rocket batteries had been maneuvered in case of further escalation on the border with Syria and Lebanon.

New police radars can 'see' inside homes
At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance.

PLO: Israeli-Palestinian Relations Have Reached 'Point Of No Return'
Israeli-Palestinian relations, already off to a bad start in 2015, worsened considerably Monday. Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, said in a statement released by Palestinian news agency Wafa his country’s relations with Israel have reached “a point of no return.”

Europe 'faces political earthquakes'
Political earthquakes could be in store for Europe in 2015, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the BBC's Democracy Day. It says the rising appeal of populist parties could see some winning

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Fury in Israel Over Obama's Mossad 'Lies'
A senior Israeli official delivered an uncommonly harsh attack on US President Barack Obama's administration Thursday evening, following the American report that alleged that Mossad Head Tamir Pardo had warned US senators against further Iran sanctions, in contradiction of Israel's official stance. "The fraudulent claims against the Mossad Head were raised by the Americans yesterday, despite a message that had been transmitted to them on Tuesday by Intelligence Minister [Yuval] Steintz,” the senior Israeli source told Channel 2 news.

Obama Will Not Meet with Netanyahu During Trip to Washington
President Barack Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to Washington in March, the White House said Thursday, one day after being caught off-guard by Republicans' invitation for the Israeli leader to address a joint session of Congress. !

'People need to have less things in life', says U.S. billionaire after flying into Davos on private jet with his wife, children and TWO nannie
A U.S. billionaire who made his fortune betting against sub-prime mortgage securities has told Americans to lower their expectations so they have 'less things' in life. Jeff Greene made his remarks after flying into Switzerland on a private jet with his 19-year younger wife, Mei Sze, children and two nannies.

House Passes Bill to Completely Ban Taxpayer Funding of Abortions
The House today approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department.

Despite Democrats’ Claims, Mossad Chief Favors Additional Iran Sanctions
Despite a story in Bloomberg News claiming the Mossad has gone rogue on Iran, Israel's spy agency is not opposed to additional Iran sanctions.

Romney and Jeb Bush to Meet in Utah
Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney are scheduled to meet privately this week in Utah, raising the possibility that the two former governors will find a way to avoid competing presidential campaigns that would split the Republican establishment next year, two prominent party members said Wednesday night.

UCLA Broadcasting Muslim Call to Prayer Declaring ‘Allah is Great’ on Campus
Less than a week after controversy erupted over an announcement that a Muslim call to prayer would be broadcast at North Carolina’s Duke University, it has come to light that students at UCLA in California have been doing so for some time.

Russia positioning nukes to confront NATO?
Moscow could be preparing to move nuclear weapons into the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed last year, and also position them around the strategic Russian enclave of Kaliningrad near the periphery of NATO countries, in possible violation of the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, according to a WND source. The move would send a message to NATO to limit its eastward progression, in line with the new military doctrine Moscow released in December.

Geert Wilders: The ‘Prophet’ Who Hates Muhammad
Wilders’s growing popularity in Holland is emblematic of a larger trend: Europeans are becoming increasingly hostile to both native-born Muslims and the recent wave of immigrants flooding across their borders.

ISIS Aims to Occupy Mecca
The recent early morning clash between a Saudi border patrol and extremists trying to enter Saudi Arabia from Iraq appears to be the latest indicator of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) intent to expand its influence and control from its stronghold in Syria and Iraq south into Saudi Arabia, and what ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his followers would consider the ultimate prizes: the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

'Darkness' of Sexual Culture 'Gone Mad' Threatens America's Future, Says Evangelical Leader Tony Perkins
"The threats America face are not potential — they are clear, present and dangerous," he said. "And ironically they come most sharply today not from the radical economic doctrines of Karl Marx, nor from the lights of what Winston Churchill called 'perverted science,' but from the darkness of unrestricted sexual license — a new Cultural Revolution — gone mad."

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: Biblical warnings in Obama speech
He sees dark storm clouds closing in on Obama’s rays of sunshine, citing “harbingers” that the country is sliding headlong toward a collapse – with blindfolds securely fastened. “Listening to the president’s State of the Union address, I was reminded of ancient Israel,”

Oil Prices Fall, Gold Hits Peak, Euro Under Pressure Ahead of ECB Meeting
Oil prices have fallen again in Asia on Thursday as dealers wait impatiently for the European Central Bank (ECB) to meet and the latest US supply report to be released later in the day.

BRIGHT ASTEROID FLYBY
A large asteroid is about to fly past Earth. On the night of Jan. 26-27, mountain-sized space rock 2004 BL86 will be only 3 times farther from us than the Moon.

GEOMAGNETIC ACTVITY
Earth is passing through a stream of solar wind that is sparking auroras around the Arctic Circle.

Obama in State of Union: Same-Sex Marriage is ‘America at Its Best’
in a nationally televised forum held by a Christian pastor at a Christian church, Barack Obama said he believed that marriage was a “sacred union” that was “between a man and a woman.” On Tuesday night, in his State of the Union Address, Obama said that legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States is one of the things he has seen that represents “America at its best.”

Gazans Rally in Support of Paris Terrorists, Threaten to “Slaughter” French Citizens in the Strip
In a dramatic and opposite response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks from the rest of the civilized world, over 200 Salafis in Gaza held a protest in support of the terrorists who killed over 17 people in France.

California not ready for big quakes, and they're coming
Scientists agree there is a virtual certainty that a 6.7-magnitude or stronger earthquake will strike the state in the next 30 years, according to the CEA, but no one has any way of predicting it.

IDF launches overnight raids on Tulkarm, the city from which Tel Aviv terrorist came
The IDF launched security raids on Tulkarm early on Thursday, the West Bank city from which a terrorist came from the previous day and carried out a stabbing spree in Tel Aviv. Hamza Muhammad Hassan Matruch, a 23-year-old from the northern West Bank city stabbed a dozen commuters early Wednesday morning in a terrorist attack on a No. 40 bus in central Tel Aviv.

In Split from Netanyahu, Mossad Warns US Lawmakers against Iranian Sanctions Bill
The Mossad’s warning, which sharply diverges from the formal position of the Israeli government, said that the bill could lead to the collapse of nuclear talk’s altogether.

Hamas' Deif reportedly tells Hezbollah's Nasrallah: Let's unite against Zionist enemy
Mohammed Deif, the Gaza-based military commander of Hamas who is said to have survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, sent a letter of condolence to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah expressing sorrow for the deaths of those killed in the suspected Israeli airstrike on the Golan Heights on Sunday.

Hezbollah, Iran threats to avenge 'Israeli strike' have Lebanon on edge
The tensions in the North that have been heightened following this week’s alleged Israeli airstrike that killed senior Hezbollah officials in the Golan Heights are also being felt in Lebanon, where apprehension is growing over the specter of another cross-border war. The Lebanese television network Al-Mustaqbal reported on Thursday that Israeli reconnaissance planes were flying sorties over southern Lebanon since the morning hours.

Meet the “Jewish Indiana Jones” Searching for the Lost Ark of the Covenant
“Truth of the matter is, for the last 25 years, it’s been a personal hobby of mine to find the Makom Hamikdash, the exact location where the Jewish Temple once stood,” he told Breaking Israel News. Inspired by the teachings of Maimonides, Moskoff has met with world renowned rabbinical and archaeological authorities in Israel as he comes closer to finding the Lost Ark.

Twelve Israeli cyber-security firms to watch
When hackers exposed embarrassing emails, passwords, Social Security numbers and other sensitive data from Sony Pictures Entertainment in November last year, the world sat up and took notice. The data thieves (purportedly from North Korea) wreaked internal havoc at Sony and disrupted the planned rollout of its film The Interview, costing the company millions of dollars.

Ukraine conflict: US accuses rebels of 'land grab'
US Secretary of State John Kerry has accused pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine of a "blatant land grab". He was speaking after reports that the rebels had extended the area they control, violating a ceasefire plan.

Germany Pegida: Protest leader quits amid Hitler row
The head of Germany's "anti-Islamisation" movement Pegida has quit after disparaging anti-refugee comments and a photo showing him apparently posing as Hitler emerged. Lutz Bachmann apologised for Facebook comments he made in which he reportedly called refugees "animals" and "scumbags".

L.A. ban on some alcohol ads will protect young people, advocates say
Los Angeles on Tuesday effectively became the largest US city to ban alcohol advertising on some city-owned or city-controlled property. Specifically, the Los Angeles measure, which the city council passed unanimously, will remove such advertising from all public transit, including bus-stop benches and enclosures.

Disenchanted militants in South Asia eye Islamic State with envy
Splits within the Taliban, and doubts over whether its elusive leader is even alive, are driving a growing number of militant commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan towards Islamic State (IS) for inspiration.

Hedge Fund Manager Loses 99.8% In 9 Months, Tells Investors He Is "Sorry" For "Overzealousness"
Day after day, mainstream media proclaimed December the month to be in stocks: seasonals, Santa Claus rally, and performance-chasing funds would 'guarantee' upside. For Owen Li, former Raj Rajaratnam's Galleon Group trader, and the clients of his Canarsie Capital hedge fund, December 2014 will never be forgotten. According to CNBC, from around $100 million in AUM in March 2014, Li told investors in a letter, the fund had lost all but $200,000 and he was "truly sorry," for "acting overzealously" in the last 3 weeks.

Boehner invites Israeli leader to address Congress on Iran
Rebuffing President Barack Obama on Iran, House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he had invited Israel's prime minister to address a joint meeting of Congress next month about the threats from Tehran and radical Islam.

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Jewish leaders wary of accelerating cycle of fear in Britain
“We spend a huge part of the synagogue’s budget on security. That’s ludicrous. We do what every Jewish organisation does. Nobody is going to be the one to say, ‘No, we shouldn’t do that’. I would love to be the rabbi who says I don’t want to spend money like that,” Berger says.

Greek elections: Party leaders make final calls for votes
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has made a final appeal to voters ahead of Sunday's general election, with his party battling the left-wing Syriza. Mr Samaras said that despite years of austerity, the country was showing signs of recovery. Meanwhile, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said his party would restore "dignity" to Greece.

Ukraine rebel Zakharchenko 'rejects truce talks'
The main pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine says his troops are on the offensive and he does not want truce talks with Kiev. Alexander Zakharchenko said his forces would push the front line back to the borders of Donetsk region. They are in control of the city of Donetsk

Saudi Arabia's new King Salman promises continuity
Saudi Arabian King Salman has pledged continuity, hours after his accession to the throne following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. The new king moved swiftly to appoint heirs and ministers, including one prince from the ruling dynasty's third generation.

The $9 Trillion US Dollar Carry Trade is Blowing Up
The US Dollar rally, combined with the ECB’s policies are at risk of blowing up a $9 trillion carry trade. When the Fed cut interest rates to zero in 2008, it flooded the system with US Dollars. The US Dollar is the reserve currency of the world. NO matter what country you’re in (with few exceptions) you can borrow in US Dollars. And if you can borrow in US Dollars at 0.25%... and put that money into anything yielding more… you could make a killing.

Argentina suspects rogue agents were behind death of prosecutor
Argentina suspects rogue agents from its own intelligence services were behind the death of a state prosecutor investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

‘There will be a price’: Obama team reportedly fuming over Netanyahu visit
The Obama administration reportedly is fuming over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to address Congress in March regarding the Iranian threat, with one unnamed official telling an Israeli newspaper he will pay “a price” for the snub.

Americans Offer to Take 100 Lashes Each for Saudi Blogger
A bipartisan, multi-religious group of Americans have offered to each take 100 lashes for Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting Saudi clerics. All those who volunteered are members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Iran Isn't Just Trying to Build a Nuclear Bomb
While Iran's march toward a nuclear bomb has provoked a major clash between the White House and Congress, Iran's march toward conventional domination of the Arab world has been largely overlooked. In Washington, that is. The Arabs have noticed. And the pro-American ones, the Gulf Arabs in particular, are deeply worried.

Netanyahu ‘spat in our face,’ White House officials say
The White House’s outrage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to speak before Congress in March — a move he failed to coordinate with the administration — began to seep through the diplomatic cracks on Friday... Officials in Washington said that the “chicken****” epithet — with which an anonymous administration official branded Netanyahu several months ago — was mild compared to the language used in the White House when news of Netanyahu’s planned speech came in.

Earthquake in Andaman Islands: Tremors felt
The tremors were felt at around 6:00 AM, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) release said in New Delhi. "The epicentre of the quake was located at 12.9 degrees North on the latitude and 92.8 degrees East on the longitude," it said.

Small quake rattles Alabama for 3rd time since November
A small earthquake has rattled western Alabama for the third time in as many months.

Magnitude 6.9 quake hits off Vanuatu - USGS, no tsunami warning
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit off the coast of Vanuatu, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on Friday.

Putin, Piketty and Draghi hit Davos in spirit only
Conversations are buzzing up and down the Promenade about rampant inequality, the European Central Bank’s plan to flood markets with money and Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. Notably missing from the Alpine retreat are the three people actually inspiring those debates.

U.S. pulls more staff from Yemen embassy amid deepening crisis
The United States has pulled more staff out of its embassy in Yemen...as Washington scrambled to cope with the collapse of a government that had been a key ally in the fight against al Qaeda. The scaling down of its presence in Yemen is the first sign that...there will affect U.S operations in a country that President Barack Obama hailed...as a model for “successful” counter-terrorism partnerships.

Assisted suicide movement gaining traction across U.S.
The highly publicized physician-assisted suicide of 29-year-old brain cancer patient Brittany Maynard has given the ailing right-to-die movement a new lease on life. A national campaign advocating state right-to-die legislation kicked off Wednesday in Sacramento with the introduction of the California End of Life Option Act...

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is dead
King Abdullah ibn Abdilazīz of Saudi Arabia, known in the kingdom as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has died at an estimated age of 91. The cause of his death was not immediately released by the state. The new king is Crown Prince Salman, 78, state media announced, despite reports that he himself suffers from health problems.

European borrowing rates collapse after ECB launches QE, euro sinks
European government borrowing rates plummeted to record lows, the euro weakened and stock markets rallied on Thursday after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying program.

Ukraine cedes airport on one of bloodiest days of war
Ukrainian forces on Thursday ceded a long-disputed airport to Russian-backed rebels as an upsurge in clashes killed nearly 50 people and punctured Europe's latest push for peace in the nine-month war.

Fury in Israel Over Obama's Mossad 'Lies'
A senior Israeli official delivered an uncommonly harsh attack on US President Barack Obama's administration Thursday evening, following the American report that alleged that Mossad Head Tamir Pardo had warned US senators against further Iran sanctions, in contradiction of Israel's official stance. "The fraudulent claims against the Mossad Head were raised by the Americans yesterday, despite a message that had been transmitted to them on Tuesday by Intelligence Minister [Yuval] Steintz,” the senior Israeli source told Channel 2 news.

Obama Will Not Meet with Netanyahu During Trip to Washington
President Barack Obama will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to Washington in March, the White House said Thursday, one day after being caught off-guard by Republicans' invitation for the Israeli leader to address a joint session of Congress. !

'People need to have less things in life', says U.S. billionaire after flying into Davos on private jet with his wife, children and TWO nannie
A U.S. billionaire who made his fortune betting against sub-prime mortgage securities has told Americans to lower their expectations so they have 'less things' in life. Jeff Greene made his remarks after flying into Switzerland on a private jet with his 19-year younger wife, Mei Sze, children and two nannies.

House Passes Bill to Completely Ban Taxpayer Funding of Abortions
The House today approved legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department.

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California bars judges from belonging to Boy Scouts
California's Supreme Court voted to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts on grounds that the group discriminates against gays. The court said its seven justices unanimously voted to heed a recommendation by its ethics advisory committee barring judges' affiliation with the organization.

Power breakdown plunges Pakistan into darkness
Pakistan was plunged into darkness after a breakdown of a key power transmission line in the southern part of the country early Sunday, another blinding reminder of the country's crippling energy crisis.

Rockets kill dozens in Ukraine port of Mariupol
Dozens of people have been killed or injured in a series of rocket attacks by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's government-held port of Mariupol, police there say. The Grad rockets hit a market in a residential area in the east of the city, the police chief said. A spokesman for the rebels denied that they had any involvement in the attack, calling it "blatant misinformation".

Greek leftists Syriza aim for historic election win
Greeks vote on Sunday in a historic election expected to bring in a government led by the leftwing Syriza party, which has promised to take on international lenders and roll back painful austerity measures imposed during years of economic crisis.

Japan condemns apparent Islamic State execution, demands hostage release
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday called the apparent killing of a Japanese captive by Islamic State militants "outrageous and impermissible," and again called for the release of a Japanese journalist being held by the group.

QE…D: Why Printing Money will end badly for the US
You may have heard the news, the European Central Bank have started up the printing press. They are soon to print upwards of €60 Billion a month. The crowds of economic pundits have collectively cheered. Europe stands to enjoy significant near term benefits, but at what cost?

Iran FM in rare Saudi visit after king's death
Iran's foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a rare visit to the regional rival, bringing condolences after the death of King Abdullah, television pictures showed.
‘Worst-case scenario’: Yemen chaos, Saudi king’s death pose new challenges for US
Te collapse of the Yemeni government, coupled with the death early Friday of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, have in an instant thrown the future of America’s fight against Islamist extremists in the volatile region into question -- while potentially giving Iran more sway.

En Route To Iowa, John Bolton Rips Obama, Takes Shots At Rand Paul
Bolton is considering his own bid, he says, and he’s been putting major work into fund-raising for a super PAC that, along with a traditional PAC, raised some $7.5 million in the 2014 cycle. But it’s clear he’s as concerned about the substance of the debate of the GOP primary as he is about ever someday becoming president.

MIT Climate Scientist: Global Warming Believers a ‘Cult’
An MIT professor of meteorology is dismissing global-warming alarmists as a discredited “cult” whose members are becoming more hysterical as emerging evidence continues to contradict their beliefs. “As with any cult, once the mythology of the cult begins falling apart, instead of saying, oh, we were wrong, they get more and more fanatical. I think that’s what’s happening here.

Very high values of SO2 emissions from Holuhraun eruption site, Iceland
It is an invisible gas with a sharp smell, a potent acid rain maker which damages forests and crops, changes the makeup of soil, and makes lakes and streams acidic and unsuitable for fish.

Merkel upstaged, more protests, currency wars
The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of "improving the state of the world."

Brazil's most populous region facing worst drought in 80 years
Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira has said the country's three most populous states are experiencing their worst drought since 1930. The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais must save water, she said after an emergency meeting in the capital, Brasilia. Ms Teixeira described the water crisis as "delicate" and "worrying".

Report: Iranian general was killed in Israeli strike because he didn't turn off his phone
An Iranian general killed in an alleged Israeli air strike last Sunday in Syria may have died because he did not turn off his cellphone. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria reported on Saturday that a Hezbollah investigation into the strike found that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Mohammed Allahdadi kept his cellphone on in a sensitive area targeted by Israeli intelligence.

Jewish leaders wary of accelerating cycle of fear in Britain
“We spend a huge part of the synagogue’s budget on security. That’s ludicrous. We do what every Jewish organisation does. Nobody is going to be the one to say, ‘No, we shouldn’t do that’. I would love to be the rabbi who says I don’t want to spend money like that,” Berger says.

Greek elections: Party leaders make final calls for votes
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has made a final appeal to voters ahead of Sunday's general election, with his party battling the left-wing Syriza. Mr Samaras said that despite years of austerity, the country was showing signs of recovery. Meanwhile, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said his party would restore "dignity" to Greece.

Ukraine rebel Zakharchenko 'rejects truce talks'
The main pro-Russian rebel leader in eastern Ukraine says his troops are on the offensive and he does not want truce talks with Kiev. Alexander Zakharchenko said his forces would push the front line back to the borders of Donetsk region. They are in control of the city of Donetsk

Saudi Arabia's new King Salman promises continuity
Saudi Arabian King Salman has pledged continuity, hours after his accession to the throne following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. The new king moved swiftly to appoint heirs and ministers, including one prince from the ruling dynasty's third generation.

The $9 Trillion US Dollar Carry Trade is Blowing Up
The US Dollar rally, combined with the ECB’s policies are at risk of blowing up a $9 trillion carry trade. When the Fed cut interest rates to zero in 2008, it flooded the system with US Dollars. The US Dollar is the reserve currency of the world. NO matter what country you’re in (with few exceptions) you can borrow in US Dollars. And if you can borrow in US Dollars at 0.25%... and put that money into anything yielding more… you could make a killing.

Argentina suspects rogue agents were behind death of prosecutor
Argentina suspects rogue agents from its own intelligence services were behind the death of a state prosecutor investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

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Assad: Israeli strikes in Syria benefit al-Qaida
Syria President Bashar Assad has claimed Israel is perpetrating attacks in the war-torn country in order to bolster radical Islamist forces that seek to topple his regime.

Egypt: Protests marking uprising leave 18 dead
At least 18 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters across Egypt, officials said. Three police cadets were among the dead, and dozens of protesters were also injured, the officials said.

Boko Haram attacks key Nigerian city of Maiduguri
Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram fighters have attacked the strategically important north-eastern city of Maiduguri, with dozens reported dead. Earlier on Sunday they captured the north-eastern town of Monguno. The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that with the insurgents gaining ground, Maiduguri is increasingly at risk.

Rebels press Ukraine offensive, Obama promises steps against Russian-backed 'aggression'
Pro-Moscow rebels, backed by what NATO says is the open participation of Russian troops, pressed on with their offensive on Sunday after restarting the war in eastern Ukraine with the first all-out assault since a truce five months ago.

Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity
Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras promised on Sunday that five years of austerity, "humiliation and suffering" imposed by international creditors were over after his Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Sunday.

Iran's foreign minister summoned to parliament over walk with Kerry
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to appear before parliament following controversy over a promenade with his American counterpart during intense nuclear negotiations in Geneva, state media reported on Sunday.

White House going nuclear on Netanyahu
Thou shall not cross Dear Leader. With their gutter sniping failing to stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned March speech before Congress, White House aides are unloading their full arsenal of bile.

New report on anti-Semitism finds France is most dangerous country for Jews
A report on anti-Semitism presented on Sunday to the government found that France was the most dangerous country for Jews in the world in 2014. During the past year, levels of anti-Semitism and violence against Jews in France reached new records...

USGS: 4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Recorded Near Oklahoma State Line
The earthquake struck at approximately 3:36 a.m. Its epicenter was located five miles south of Caldwell, 31 miles west southwest of Arkansas City, and 32 miles west northwest of Ponca City, Oklahoma at a depth of about 2 and a half miles.

Report notes 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents during Gaza war
The cabinet will discuss Sunday a report pointing to a worrying rise in worldwide anti-Semitism in 2014, including a sharp increase in attacks against Jews. According to the report, there was a 400 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents during July and August 2014 - likely due to Operation Protective Edge - compared to the same time the previous year.

Video Appears to Show Decapitated Body of a Japanese Hostage of ISIS
Japan’s prime minister expressed outrage on Sunday at an image released Saturday that appeared to show the decapitated body of one of two Japanese hostages captured by Islamic State militants, and President Obama condemned what he called a “brutal murder.” The kidnappers had threatened to kill the men if a Friday deadline passed for a $200 million ransom from Japan.

Rockets kill 30 in Mariupol as rebels launch offensive
A series of rocket attacks has left 30 people dead and many more injured in the city of Mariupol in east Ukraine. Ukraine blamed pro-Russia rebels, but the separatists said Ukrainian forces were behind the attacks. East Ukraine's main rebel leader claimed he had begun an offensive against Mariupol, but later said he "will not storm the city".

Two US airliners searched at Atlanta after bomb threats
Airport spokesman Reese McCranie said the threats were received against Delta and Southwest flights coming from Portland and Milwaukee respectively. He said both planes had landed safely and had been evacuated. Two US fighter jets escorted the planes into the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The airport later said no bombs were found.

Libya's Ansar confirms chief's death
Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia has confirmed that its leader Mohammad al-Zahawi has died. In a statement, the group said "we mourn the death of the emir", without giving further details.

California bars judges from belonging to Boy Scouts
California's Supreme Court voted to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts on grounds that the group discriminates against gays. The court said its seven justices unanimously voted to heed a recommendation by its ethics advisory committee barring judges' affiliation with the organization.

Power breakdown plunges Pakistan into darkness
Pakistan was plunged into darkness after a breakdown of a key power transmission line in the southern part of the country early Sunday, another blinding reminder of the country's crippling energy crisis.

Greek leftists Syriza aim for historic election win
Greeks vote on Sunday in a historic election expected to bring in a government led by the leftwing Syriza party, which has promised to take on international lenders and roll back painful austerity measures imposed during years of economic crisis.

Japan condemns apparent Islamic State execution, demands hostage release
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday called the apparent killing of a Japanese captive by Islamic State militants "outrageous and impermissible," and again called for the release of a Japanese journalist being held by the group.

QE…D: Why Printing Money will end badly for the US
You may have heard the news, the European Central Bank have started up the printing press. They are soon to print upwards of €60 Billion a month. The crowds of economic pundits have collectively cheered. Europe stands to enjoy significant near term benefits, but at what cost?

Iran FM in rare Saudi visit after king's death
Iran's foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a rare visit to the regional rival, bringing condolences after the death of King Abdullah, television pictures showed.

‘Worst-case scenario’: Yemen chaos, Saudi king’s death pose new challenges for US
The collapse of the Yemeni government, coupled with the death early Friday of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, have in an instant thrown the future of America’s fight against Islamist extremists in the volatile region into question -- while potentially giving Iran more sway.

En Route To Iowa, John Bolton Rips Obama, Takes Shots At Rand Paul
Bolton is considering his own bid, he says, and he’s been putting major work into fund-raising for a super PAC that, along with a traditional PAC, raised some $7.5 million in the 2014 cycle. But it’s clear he’s as concerned about the substance of the debate of the GOP primary as he is about ever someday becoming president.

MIT Climate Scientist: Global Warming Believers a ‘Cult’
An MIT professor of meteorology is dismissing global-warming alarmists as a discredited “cult” whose members are becoming more hysterical as emerging evidence continues to contradict their beliefs. “As with any cult, once the mythology of the cult begins falling apart, instead of saying, oh, we were wrong, they get more and more fanatical. I think that’s what’s happening here.

Very high values of SO2 emissions from Holuhraun eruption site, Iceland
It is an invisible gas with a sharp smell, a potent acid rain maker which damages forests and crops, changes the makeup of soil, and makes lakes and streams acidic and unsuitable for fish.

Merkel upstaged, more protests, currency wars
The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of "improving the state of the world."

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Enormous Hope, Unchanging Vice
If one man stands clearly apart from the entire western world, alone in his unwillingness to utter the simple phrase “radical Islamic extremism”, why on earth should Americans expect this same man to utter the simple phrase “personal responsibility” when facing racial issues; those not exclusively in our black communities, but within all American communities?

Meteorologist: 2010s officially the snowiest decade in the east coast in the NOAA record – surpassing the 1960s
The monster blizzard of 2015 will be adding to what is already the snowiest decade on the East Coast. “Assuming this storm gets ranked by NOAA as one of the high impact (population affected by snowstorm) snowstorms (likely since the November storm was), we will have had 14 major impact storms this decade (only half over) beating out the 10 in the 1960s and 2000s,” Joseph D’Aleo, CCM (Certified Consulting Meteorologist), told Climate Depot on Monday.

Obama’s National Field Director Running Anti-Netanyahu Election Campaign
Obama’s people are running a direct anti-Netanyahu election campaign in Israel.

ISIS-Linked Cyber Warfare Strikes Malaysia Airlines
It is not clear why Malaysia Airlines was targeted by the group. However, dozens of Malaysian citizens have been recruited by ISIS in recent months. Authorities in the country said last week they detained 120 people suspected of being ISIS sympathizers, or planning to travel to Syria

Russian official warns sanctions of “brink of war”
The head of a leading Kremlin-owned bank warned on Friday that further banking sanctions would lead Russia and the U.S. to the “brink of war.” Andrei Kostin, the head of VTB, reacted angrily when asked what the consequences would be if Russia were excluded from the Swift banking system, a secure means of moving money across borders.

Federal Judge Accuses DOJ Attorneys of Defrauding The Court, Threatening Witness in Case of ATF Whistleblower Jay Dobyns
“An ATF agent who testified in this case may have been threatened by another witness during the trial.” Justice Department attorneys ordered the agent not to report the threat to the court or he would face repercussions, Allegra said.

Russian security forces raid independent Crimean TV station
Russian security forces raided independent Crimean television station ATR on Monday, seizing equipment and telling employees they were looking for archival footage of an anti-Russia protest last year, station officials said.

QUIET WITH A CHANCE OF FLARES
Solar activity is low. However, sunspot AR2268 has an unstable 'beta-gamma' magnetic field that could explode and break the quiet. NOAA forecasters estimate a 25% chance of M-class solar flares on Jan 26th.

Magnitude 5.1 quake hits Negros Occidental
-- A magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit the province of Negros Occidental at 3:09 p.m. Monday, the state seismologists reported. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tremor was located at 18 kilometers (km) northwest of Sipalay, Negros Occidental.

Greece delivers first tremors of potential earthquake
The Greek election result represents the first rumblings in 2015 of potential political and economic earthquakes on the European horizon. On the political front, the ballot highlights the growing strength of populist parties which was previewed in last May’s European Parliament elections.

In Mosul, Islamic State turns captured city into fortress
In a government building in Mosul, a handful of Iraqi contractors gathered to compete for a tender last month. It was the kind of routine session that happens in cities everywhere -- except here the contract was for fortifications ordered by the new rulers in town, Islamic State. One member of the radical Islamist group grabbed a map and explained to those present what was required.

Millions of GMO insects could be released in Florida Keys
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases. Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood.

Iran vows to attack Israel from West Bank
Iran has threatened to attack Israel from the West Bank, in retaliation for an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria on Sunday that left 12 Iranian and Hezbollah operatives dead. The airstrike has been attributed to Israel and though Jerusalem has not officially confirmed it, anonymous government sources have admitted as much.

EU threatens more Russia sanctions after Mariupol attack
The EU has threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia following its new offensive in south-east Ukraine. EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday (24 January) said “further escalation … would inevitably lead to a further grave deterioration of relations”.

Assad: Israeli strikes in Syria benefit al-Qaida
Syria President Bashar Assad has claimed Israel is perpetrating attacks in the war-torn country in order to bolster radical Islamist forces that seek to topple his regime.

Egypt: Protests marking uprising leave 18 dead
At least 18 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters across Egypt, officials said. Three police cadets were among the dead, and dozens of protesters were also injured, the officials said.

Boko Haram attacks key Nigerian city of Maiduguri
Nigerian Islamist Boko Haram fighters have attacked the strategically important north-eastern city of Maiduguri, with dozens reported dead. Earlier on Sunday they captured the north-eastern town of Monguno. The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that with the insurgents gaining ground, Maiduguri is increasingly at risk.

Rebels press Ukraine offensive, Obama promises steps against Russian-backed 'aggression'
Pro-Moscow rebels, backed by what NATO says is the open participation of Russian troops, pressed on with their offensive on Sunday after restarting the war in eastern Ukraine with the first all-out assault since a truce five months ago.

Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity
Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras promised on Sunday that five years of austerity, "humiliation and suffering" imposed by international creditors were over after his Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Sunday.

Iran's foreign minister summoned to parliament over walk with Kerry
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to appear before parliament following controversy over a promenade with his American counterpart during intense nuclear negotiations in Geneva, state media reported on Sunday.

White House going nuclear on Netanyahu
Thou shall not cross Dear Leader. With their gutter sniping failing to stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned March speech before Congress, White House aides are unloading their full arsenal of bile.

New report on anti-Semitism finds France is most dangerous country for Jews
A report on anti-Semitism presented on Sunday to the government found that France was the most dangerous country for Jews in the world in 2014. During the past year, levels of anti-Semitism and violence against Jews in France reached new records...

USGS: 4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Recorded Near Oklahoma State Line
The earthquake struck at approximately 3:36 a.m. Its epicenter was located five miles south of Caldwell, 31 miles west southwest of Arkansas City, and 32 miles west northwest of Ponca City, Oklahoma at a depth of about 2 and a half miles.

Report notes 400% rise in anti-Semitic incidents during Gaza war
The cabinet will discuss Sunday a report pointing to a worrying rise in worldwide anti-Semitism in 2014, including a sharp increase in attacks against Jews. According to the report, there was a 400 percent rise in anti-Semitic incidents during July and August 2014 - likely due to Operation Protective Edge - compared to the same time the previous year.

Video Appears to Show Decapitated Body of a Japanese Hostage of ISIS
Japan’s prime minister expressed outrage on Sunday at an image released Saturday that appeared to show the decapitated body of one of two Japanese hostages captured by Islamic State militants, and President Obama condemned what he called a “brutal murder.” The kidnappers had threatened to kill the men if a Friday deadline passed for a $200 million ransom from Japan.

Rockets kill 30 in Mariupol as rebels launch offensive
A series of rocket attacks has left 30 people dead and many more injured in the city of Mariupol in east Ukraine. Ukraine blamed pro-Russia rebels, but the separatists said Ukrainian forces were behind the attacks. East Ukraine's main rebel leader claimed he had begun an offensive against Mariupol, but later said he "will not storm the city".

Two US airliners searched at Atlanta after bomb threats
Airport spokesman Reese McCranie said the threats were received against Delta and Southwest flights coming from Portland and Milwaukee respectively. He said both planes had landed safely and had been evacuated. Two US fighter jets escorted the planes into the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The airport later said no bombs were found.

Libya's Ansar confirms chief's death
Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia has confirmed that its leader Mohammad al-Zahawi has died. In a statement, the group said "we mourn the death of the emir", without giving further details.

California bars judges from belonging to Boy Scouts
California's Supreme Court voted to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts on grounds that the group discriminates against gays. The court said its seven justices unanimously voted to heed a recommendation by its ethics advisory committee barring judges' affiliation with the organization.

Power breakdown plunges Pakistan into darkness
Pakistan was plunged into darkness after a breakdown of a key power transmission line in the southern part of the country early Sunday, another blinding reminder of the country's crippling energy crisis.

Greek leftists Syriza aim for historic election win
Greeks vote on Sunday in a historic election expected to bring in a government led by the leftwing Syriza party, which has promised to take on international lenders and roll back painful austerity measures imposed during years of economic crisis.

Japan condemns apparent Islamic State execution, demands hostage release
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday called the apparent killing of a Japanese captive by Islamic State militants "outrageous and impermissible," and again called for the release of a Japanese journalist being held by the group.

QE…D: Why Printing Money will end badly for the US
You may have heard the news, the European Central Bank have started up the printing press. They are soon to print upwards of €60 Billion a month. The crowds of economic pundits have collectively cheered. Europe stands to enjoy significant near term benefits, but at what cost?

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Re: Rapture Ready News January 2015

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Activists ensure Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls aren’t forgotten
After nine months of daily rallies for Chibok’s kidnapped schoolgirls, Aisha Yesufu admits that her own family is paying a price. She once heard her 13-year-old daughter praying that the abducted girls would be freed “so that I’ll have my mummy back.”

Netanyahu: Iran denies Holocaust while it plots genocide against us
The United States is a close ally, but Israel must speak out against the danger of a negotiated deal with Iran, because the ultimate responsibility for securing the Jewish state rests on the government’s shoulders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Iran Warns of 'Consequences' for Israeli Attack
Iran has told the United States that Israel should expect consequences for an attack on the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights that killed an Iranian general, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Greece names hardline anti-bailout finance minister
Greece named radical left-wing economist Yanis Varoufakis its new finance minister on Tuesday, giving him the mammoth task of leading negotiations with international creditors over the country's bailout.

Nine killed as gunmen storm luxury hotel in Libyan capital
Heavily armed gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Tripoli favored by Libyan officials and visiting delegations on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, including foreigners, before blowing themselves up with a grenade.

McCain: Get Ready for U.S. Troops on the Ground in Iraq and Syria
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) did not mince words during their joint- appearance on “60 Minutes” Sunday night in berating President Obama’s strategy for defeating ISIS and other terrorist threats in the Middle East.

Obama Campaign Team Arrives in Israel to Defeat Netanyahu in March Elections
Just days after the Obama White House accused House Speaker John Boehner of “breaking protocol” by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, a team of up to five Obama campaign operatives has reportedly arrived in Israel to lead a campaign to defeat the Israeli Prime Minister in upcoming national elections scheduled for March 17.

Aircraft Carrier Stennis Has Biggest Ordnance Onload Since 2010
Nearly two weeks ago, we were surprised to read on the Navy's website that one of America's prize aircraft carriers, CVN-74, John C. Stennis (whose crew is perhaps best known for the following awkward incident), as part of an operational training period in preparation for future deployments, just underwent not only its first ordnance onload since 2010, but, according to Senior Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Jason Engleman, G-5 division's leading chief petty officer, "the biggest ordnance onload we've seen."

Czech president calls for united action against Islamic State
Speaking at a Holocaust commemoration forum held by the European Jewish Congress in Prague, he drew a parallel between the growth of jihadist groups and Nazi Germany that could be easily contained in the 1930s before it grew too strong.

Muslim Brotherhood Starts A Political Party Out Of Chicago
According to the Center for Security Policy, the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) has begun building the framework for a political party. USCMO’s party will also be the first political party in the U.S. to be openly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Volcanic activity worldwide 26 Jan 2015: Kliuchevskoi volcano, Shiveluch, Dukono, Suwanose-jima, Zhupanovsky
The eruptive activity has weakened a bit, but remains near-continuous. Small ash emissions from strombolian activity...

CLOSE APPROACHING ASTEROID HAS A MOON
Scientists working with NASA's 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, California, have released the first radar images of asteroid 2004 BL86, which flew past Earth on Jan. 26th. The mountain-sized space has its own small moon.

Plague is 'endemic in Madagascar': WHO Chief
The head of the World Health Organization is warning about an “alarming” plague outbreak in Madagascar that could worsen, particularly as fleas that transmit the disease to humans have developed immunity to insecticide.

Earthquake hits Indonesia's North Sumatra
An earthquake measuring 5.6 Richter scale jolted North Sumatra province of Indonesia earlier Tuesday, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said here.

Nor’Easter Could Paralyze Northeastern U.S.
Tens of millions of people along the Philadelphia-to-Boston corridor rushed to get home and settle in Monday as a fearsome storm swirled in with the potential for hurricane-force winds and 1 to 3 feet of snow that could paralyze the Northeast for days. Snow was coating cars and building up on sidewalks and roadways in New York City by evening, and flurries were flying in Boston.

Syrian Kurds 'drive Islamic State out of Kobane'
Kurdish forces have driven Islamic State (IS) militants from Kobane, officials say, ending a four-month battle for the northern Syrian town. Fighters from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) were said to have entered outlying areas in the east of the town after the jihadists retreated. The US said anti-IS forces were in control of 90% of the town.

Ukraine conflict: EU weighs more sanctions on Russia
EU leaders have asked their foreign ministers to consider imposing further sanctions on Russia in response to the continued fighting in Ukraine. A statement said the ministers, who will meet on Thursday, should "consider any appropriate action, in particular on further restrictive measures".

Greece debt repayment in full is 'unrealistic', says Syriza
It is unrealistic to expect Greece to repay its huge debt in full, the chief economics spokesman for the victorious Syriza party has told the BBC. "Nobody believes that the Greek debt is sustainable," Euclid Tsakalotos said. The far-left Syriza, which won Sunday's general election, wants to renegotiate Greece's €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout by international lenders.

Libya gunmen attack Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli
Militants have attacked a hotel popular with foreigners in Libya's capital, killing three guards, officials say. At least two gunmen stormed Tripoli's Corinthia Hotel and opened fire in the reception area. A car bomb exploded outside the hotel shortly afterwards. It is not clear whether the gunmen are still inside the hotel, and whether any civilians are trapped there.

Russia cut to 'junk', as Lavrov says West wants 'blood'
Ratings firm S&P has cut Russian bonds to “junk” status, with Moscow accusing the West of wanting “blood” amid threats of further sanctions. The agency said in its note on Monday (26 January) Russian bonds are not worth buying because of low oil prices, the risk of more economic sanctions, and long-term Russian mismanagement.

Two projectiles fired from Syria land in Golan Heights, IDF returns fire
Two projectiles fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights on Tuesday. The IDF returned artillery fire toward the source of the projectiles. The army said that it scored a direct strike against the source of enemy fire. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the attack.

Argentine president plans to dissolve spy agency after prosecutor's death
President Cristina Fernandez plans to disband Argentina's intelligence agency amid suspicions that rogue agents were behind the mysterious death of a state prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.

Kurds push Islamic State out of Kobani after four-month battle
Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani on Monday after driving out Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and Syrian state media said, although Washington said the four-month battle was not yet over.

Iran Nuclear Deal Prospects Fade as Israel Digs In Against Terms
The odds of reaching a deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons that could pass muster in Tehran, Jerusalem and the U.S. Congress are growing longer.

Enormous Hope, Unchanging Vice
If one man stands clearly apart from the entire western world, alone in his unwillingness to utter the simple phrase “radical Islamic extremism”, why on earth should Americans expect this same man to utter the simple phrase “personal responsibility” when facing racial issues; those not exclusively in our black communities, but within all American communities?

Meteorologist: 2010s officially the snowiest decade in the east coast in the NOAA record – surpassing the 1960s
The monster blizzard of 2015 will be adding to what is already the snowiest decade on the East Coast. “Assuming this storm gets ranked by NOAA as one of the high impact (population affected by snowstorm) snowstorms (likely since the November storm was), we will have had 14 major impact storms this decade (only half over) beating out the 10 in the 1960s and 2000s,” Joseph D’Aleo, CCM (Certified Consulting Meteorologist), told Climate Depot on Monday.

Obama’s National Field Director Running Anti-Netanyahu Election Campaign
Obama’s people are running a direct anti-Netanyahu election campaign in Israel.

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North Korea might be restarting nuke plant, US institute says
North Korea may be attempting to restart its main nuclear bomb fuel reactor after a five-month shutdown, a U.S. research institute said Thursday. If true, the finding, which is based on recent commercial satellite imagery, will be an added worry for the United States and the North's neighbors at a time of increasing animosity over recent U.S. sanctions against the North and Pyongyang's fury about a U.N. push to punish its alleged human rights abuses.

The Pentagon Is Pushing For Better Weapons To Stay Ahead Of China And Russia
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work on Wednesday urged NATO allies to develop and make more innovative weapons, and said bold action was needed to stay ahead of rapid weapons development by China, Russia and other countries.

The New Greek Government Arrives In Its Residence: Finds No Power, No Wifi Password And No Toilet Soap
Things in Greece are bad. So bad, that the outgoing government of Antonis Samaras decided to not only leave the new inhabitants of the official residence of the Greek prime minister, the Maximos Mansion, without power, and without the WiFi password, but they decided to "borrow" all the soap in the toilet as well.

US nuclear scientist jailed for trying to sell secrets
A former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US has been sentenced to five years in jail for attempting to pass nuclear bomb-making secrets to Venezuela. Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni pleaded guilty in 2013 to delivering secrets to an undercover FBI agent, who he thought was a Venezuelan official. Pedro Mascheroni, who is 79, is originally from Argentina.

Hezbollah will pay 'full price' for deadly attack: Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon's Hezbollah it will pay the "full price" after missiles killed two Israeli soldiers in an attack that raised fears of another all-out war.

Iran names new UN ambassador after US visa refusal
Iran appointed a new UN ambassador Wednesday following Washington's refusal to grant a US visa to a previous nominee over the 1979 embassy hostage crisis, state news agency IRNA said.

5.7 earthquake strikes in Northern California
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake was reported Wednesday afternoon 25 miles from Ferndale in Northern California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

House plots new lawsuit against Obama's immigration orders
Under the emerging plan, members would vote on a resolution authorizing the House to take various legal actions. Options could include filing a new lawsuit against the president or joining the states' lawsuit against the executive action.

Snowden files show Canada spy agency runs global Internet watch
The spying initiative was revealed in 2012 documents obtained by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden. It is the first revelation from the Snowden files to show Canada has launched its own mass, globe-spanning Internet surveillance.

In Saudi Arabia, Michelle Obama raises eyebrows with a handshake and some hair
Despite the country's strict modesty standards, Obama met the recently-instated King Salman without a headscarf and shook his hand. Though foreign women visiting Saudi Arabia are not required to wear a headscarf, the decision to go with hair uncovered drew criticism.

'We will cut off your head in the White House': ISIS threatens to behead Obama and turn the U.S. into a 'Muslim province' in new execu
slamic State militants have threatened to behead Barack Obama and turn the U.S. into a Muslim province in the latest gruesome video to emerge from their self-styled caliphate. The footage shows a black-clad jihadist standing over a Kurdish soldier who, in a sickening climax to the video, has his head cut off.

FEAR GRIPS VATICAN: 'Islamic State is clear. They want to kill the Pope'
Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See, Habib Al Sadr, at the time warned that "what has been declared by the self-declared Islamic State is clear. They want to kill the Pope. The threats against the Pope are credible."

ECONOMIC EARTHQUAKE: IBM rumored to lay off 110,000 employees - biggest cull in business history
There are alarming indications that the largest corporate layoff in history may be near. There are rumors afoot that computer IBM plans to lay off 110,000 employees shortly. As their entire worldwide workforce is estimated at 430,000, this represents a quarter of their employees.

Top Obama Aid Working to Defeat Israeli Right
A top appointee in President Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign is now working to defeat Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the upcoming March election in Israel, according to the Daily Caller website.

Ukraine looking more like Poland on the brink of World War Two
more than 9,000 Russian soldiers and several hundred tanks are on active duty in Ukraine and that 7 percent of his nation’s territory is effectively occupied. “If this is not aggression, what is aggression?” he asked.

Moscow Talks to Defuse Syrian War Begin
Syrian opposition figures and representatives of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began talks in Moscow Wednesday, but there was little hope that they would make a breakthrough in ending the country's bloody four-year civil war that has claimed over 200,000 lives.

Secret planting of up to 75,000 Syrian Muslims begins in U.S.
refugees, most of them Muslims, will be resettled in cities throughout the U.S. in 2015, with that figure expected to surge to near 75,000 over the next five years.

Obama’s Policies Bring the Golan to a Boil
ISIS gained a foothold there when the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade of the Free Syrian Army “defected” from the de facto alliance with the U.S.-Arab coalition against Assad, and declared its allegiance to ISIS. The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade had been one of the most active rebel factions holding territory directly adjacent to the “area of separation” between Syria and Israel

ASTEROID FLYBY
On Monday, Jan. 26th, mountain-sized asteroid 2004 BL86 flew past Earth--and it was not alone. NASA radar images revealed, to the surprise of astronomers, that the space rock has its own moon.

Bill would grant war powers to fight Islamic State militants
The top Democrat on the House intelligence panel is introducing a bill Wednesday to authorize President Barack Obama's war against Islamic State militants... Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he wants to spark the debate in the Republican-controlled Congress over a new authorization to fight IS, which has been fighting for territory in Iraq and Syria.

Photos Show China Military Buildup on Island Near Senkakus
Recent satellite photos of an island off the coast of China confirm Beijing’s buildup of military forces within attack range of Japan’s Senkaku islands. Construction of a helicopter base on Nanji Island was observed by a commercial spy satellite in October.

Arab lawmakers shake up Israeli politics with historic union
Israel's Arab political parties are banding together under one ticket for the first time ever ahead of national elections in March, hoping to boost turnout and help unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The result is an awkward political marriage of communists, Palestinian nationalists, religious Muslims, feminists and even one Jew.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un 'to visit Russia'
Russia says North Korea's leader has accepted an invitation to Moscow in May, South Korea's Yonhap reports. The news agency cites a written response from the Kremlin, but says it does not mention Kim Jong-un by name. Yonhap quotes a Unification Ministry official as saying the reference to the leader could be ambiguous, as Kim Yong-nam is the nominal head of state.

Netanyahu on Lebanon attack: I suggest those trying to challenge us in the North look at Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the IDF was responding to an anti-tank missile attack against an army vehicle on the Lebanon border. ...the prime minister said, “At this moment, the IDF is responding to events in the North.” Netanyahu added: "I suggest that all those who are challenging us on our northern border, look at what happened in Gaza, not far from the city of Sderot.

IDF soldiers hurt in anti-tank missile attack on Lebanon border; Hezbollah takes credit
A number of IDF soldiers were injured in a multi-pronged attack carried out by Hezbollah from Lebanon on Wednesday. IDF Spokesman Brig-Gen. Moti Almoz described two incidents that unfolded. In the first, an anti-tank missile fired from southern Lebanon struck an IDF vehicle traveling with other military vehicles, resulting in "a number of injures" among IDF soldiers. Almoz ruled out the possibility of a kidnapping.

Activists ensure Nigeria’s kidnapped schoolgirls aren’t forgotten
After nine months of daily rallies for Chibok’s kidnapped schoolgirls, Aisha Yesufu admits that her own family is paying a price. She once heard her 13-year-old daughter praying that the abducted girls would be freed “so that I’ll have my mummy back.”

Netanyahu: Iran denies Holocaust while it plots genocide against us
The United States is a close ally, but Israel must speak out against the danger of a negotiated deal with Iran, because the ultimate responsibility for securing the Jewish state rests on the government’s shoulders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Iran Warns of 'Consequences' for Israeli Attack
Iran has told the United States that Israel should expect consequences for an attack on the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights that killed an Iranian general, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Greece names hardline anti-bailout finance minister
Greece named radical left-wing economist Yanis Varoufakis its new finance minister on Tuesday, giving him the mammoth task of leading negotiations with international creditors over the country's bailout.

Nine killed as gunmen storm luxury hotel in Libyan capital
Heavily armed gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Tripoli favored by Libyan officials and visiting delegations on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, including foreigners, before blowing themselves up with a grenade.

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Suspected terrorist brother of no-fly-list man
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The FBI on Thursday added a former taxi driver from northern Virginia to its list of most-wanted terrorists, saying he was a recruiter for the al-Shabab terror group in Somalia.

Mullahs’ regime stuck in epicenter of crises
Unveiling human rights violations in Iran has increased to the regime's already boiling crises and added to its complications. The waves of back-to-back crises are reaching the coasts of the Iranian regime, with no stopping in sight. The economic dead-end, administrative corruption and explosive unrest and dissent in a society of 80-million, with a foreign policy engulfed in a nuclear calamity, its puppet Nouri Maliki being set aside from the Iraqi Prime Ministry and the possible fall of Bashar Assad in Syria, have all rallied to target the heart of the mullahs’ dictatorship in Tehran.

The “C” Word
Christian faith is getting slammed simply on account of "what," we believe. Good morning. We hope this finds everyone doing very well, and in good health and spirits. I thought I’d speak a little this morning on not our, or any other all natural products, but the challenges of our faith in regards to the political agendas today in our Country, and the world in general, or better known as…. The “C” word.

Senate approves Keystone pipeline bill, in face of White House veto threat
Senate approves Keystone pipeline bill, in face of White House veto threatThe legislation passed on a 62-36 vote, after lawmakers spent weeks considering amendments. The House passed a similar bill earlier this month, though there are slight differences that have to be ironed out before the bill can go to President Obama's desk. The vote nevertheless marked the first time the Senate has voted to approve the controversial Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. Nine Democrats joined with 53 Republicans to back the measure.

Without Obama We would Never Know….
If it were not for President Obama and Democrats, would you know that the Taliban is not a terrorist organization but just an “armed insurgency?” The Taliban shot Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani child advocate for girl’s education, in the face because she simply wanted an education. Then how could we forget the December attack in Pakistan where the Taliban killed 145 people, mostly children in their school uniforms.

Ebola May Be Mutating
Only a day after the World Health Organization announced that an end was in sight for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, scientists had less uplifting news: The virus may be mutating.

Republicans ask: Is Loretta Lynch just another Eric Holder?
Republicans in the United States Senate sought on Thursday to use the second day of attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch’s confirmation hearing to continue to attack what they call the “lawlessness” of the Obama administration.

Is Hezbollah tunneling into Israel? Army looks into village's old complaint.
For months, residents of this northern border village complained that they were hearing drilling noises underground, but that seemed to elicit little response from the Israeli army. Until now.

Russian envoy called in after nuclear bombers cross Channel
Relations between London and Moscow were rocked again yesterday when the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to explain why two of the country’s bombers had flown unannounced across the English Channel.

Militant attacks kill at least 20 people in Egypt's Sinai
At least 20 people were killed Thursday in militant attacks on numerous army and police locations in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, authorities said.

The Third Temple Is Coming And This Is What It’s Going To Look Like
(video)

Communist Party USA Chairman Vows Cooperation With Democratic Party
The chairman of the National Committee of the Communist Party USA has penned a 2,023-word manifesto making the critical point that American Communists are eager to work with the Democratic Party to advance the modern communist agenda and achieve communist goals.

The Ebola Virus Is Mutating, Say Scientists
Scientists at a French research institute say the Ebola virus has mutated and they are studying whether it may have become more contagious.

Iran calls for assassination of Netanyahu's children
The publication of the personal information and biographies of Netanyahu’s children follows an Israeli airstrike last week that killed several key Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian commander affiliated with the country’s hardline Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Next War In The Middle East Has Begun And Israel Vows ‘To Act Powerfully On All Fronts’
Israel and Hezbollah are at war. On top of everything else that is going on in the world, now we have a new war in the East, and nobody is quite certain what is going to happen next. Israel has been preparing for this moment for more than 8 years. So has Hezbollah.

Brazil hit hard by worst drought since 1930
The government has called on Brazilians to cut their water and energy use. "We are living an atypical situation and it is very important that people do their part and avoid the waste of water," the environment minister, Izabella Teixeira, said at a press conference last week. Low water levels also spell trouble for electricity generation. Brazil relies on hydroelectric power for around 65 per cent of its supply..

Do Workers Believe Immigrants Steal Their Jobs?
Majority of Americans oppose President Barack Obama’s Executive Order protecting millions of illegal immigrants from deportation and giving them three-year work permits, Tuesday Paragon Insights poll shows.

Nature’s Fireworks: The Best Meteor Showers Coming in 2015
The coming year promises to be another good one for meteor buffs, so here’s a guide on what to expect and how best to enjoy nature’s own firework displays.

A Tale Of Two City Protests: Sharia In Dallas Vs. Christian Prayer In Baton Rouge
“the militant Muslim is the person who beheads the Infidel, while the moderate Muslim holds the feet of the victim.”

State Department Hosts Muslim Brotherhood-Aligned Leaders
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist organization that advocates jihad. Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammed Badi said in a September 2010 sermon that “change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life.”

Fed outlook and Greece worries hit stocks, dollar up
Stocks fell in Europe and Asia and the dollar strengthened on Thursday after the Federal Reserve took an upbeat view of the world's largest economy and signaled it was on track to raise interest rates this year. The stronger dollar helped push U.S. oil prices to six-year lows and weighed on the price of gold.

Gun range's ban on Muslims draws fire
she made the decision in September after two customers she deemed suspicious visited. She said their furtive behavior and cellphone ringtones of “Allahu Akhbar” prompted her to revise her range’s policies.

SOUTHERN CORONAL HOLE
A vast hole has opened in the sun's atmosphere over the sun's south pole. hot gas flows outward at speeds exceeding a million mph. A stream of solar wind from this coronal hole is expected to reach Earth in the days ahead.

Look Who is Behind the New US Democratic-Style Campaign in Israel
Flying in to run the show is none other than Jeremy Bird. The same Bird who was the deputy national campaign director and then national campaign director for Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, respectively.

North Korea demanded $10bn in cash and food to attend talks with South
North Korea demanded $10 billion in cash and half a million tons of food in 2009 as a precondition of holding a summit with the South, former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak said, adding that he refused to pay anything for holding talks. ..."as a condition for a summit" that included 400,000 tons of rice, 100,000 tons of corn, 300,000 tons of fertilizer and $10 billion in capital the North would use to set up a bank.

Who is killing the great bankers of Europe?
This is either the most interesting case of coincidental deaths or one of the most evil plots in modern history. Western bankers are dropping dead all over the place - most of them youngish and in good health. There appear to be an unusual number of suicides and "unexplained" deaths.

Muslim Brotherhood-Aligned Leaders Hosted at State Department
The State Department hosted a delegation of Muslim Brotherhood-aligned leaders this week for a meeting about their ongoing efforts to oppose the current government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, who rose to power following the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, an ally of the Brotherhood, in 2013.

Millions to owe Obamacare tax penalty
Some 3 million to 6 million Americans will have to pay an Obamacare tax penalty for not having health insurance last year, Treasury officials said Wednesday. It's the first time they have given estimates for how many people will be subject to a fine. The penalty is $95, or 1% of income above a certain threshold (roughly $20,000 for a couple). So you could end up owing the IRS a lot of money.

Ebola outbreak: Virus mutating, scientists warn
Scientists tracking the Ebola outbreak in Guinea say the virus has mutated. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur in France, which first identified the outbreak last March, are investigating whether it could have become more contagious. More than 22,000 people have been infected with Ebola and 8,795 have died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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Dozens dead in bombing of mosque in Pakistan
An explosion ripped through a Shia mosque in southern Pakistan during weekly prayers yesterday, killing more than 40 people and wounding at least 50 in an apparent suicide attack, hospital officials said. The bombing, in Shikarpur, about 480km north of Karachi, was the country’s worst sectarian attack in months.

Mitt Romney will not run in 2016 election
Mitt Romney, the Republican beaten by President Obama in the US 2012 election, has decided he will not run for president again. Mr Romney, 67, said he had decided it was "best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee".

IS chemical weapons expert killed, says US military
A chemical weapons expert with the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq has been killed in a coalition airstrike, the US military has said. Abu Malik's training provided IS with "expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability", a statement said.

Greece's Varoufakis: 'No debt talks with EU-IMF troika'
Greece's new left-wing finance minister says his government will not negotiate over the Greek bailout conditions with the "troika" team from the EU and IMF. Yanis Varoufakis said he was rather seeking direct talks with eurozone leaders, to try to cancel more than half the money Greece owes.

Hezbollah: we don't want war with Israel but do not fear it
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Friday his group did not want war with Israel but was ready for one, and reserved the right to respond to Israeli attacks any time, anywhere.

Islamic State attacks Kurdish outposts across Iraq
Islamic State militants struck at Kurdish forces southwest of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, while bombs in Kirkuk, Baghdad, Samarra and Ramadi killed at least 27 people.

Ukraine peace talks aborted as civilians die in east
Civilians were killed on both sides in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine on Friday, while an attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began.


Morgan Stanley thinks Russia's doomed
Morgan Stanley has a short message for Russia: you're doomed. This past week hasn't been easy for the Russian economy: on Thursday, the EU foreign ministers decided to extend the sanctions on Russia by six months. Additionally, the Central Bank slashed interest rates to 15% down from 17% after the economy deteriorated following the rate hike in December.

Proposed school policy would ban Satanic materials, Bibles
ibles, atheist materials and Satanic coloring books would be banned from Orange schools under a policy the School Board endorsed Thursday evening.. But several speakers warned board members they are likely to get sued — and lose — if they go ahead with the changes. "We believe excluding all religious materials is unconstitutional," said Roger Gannam, a lawyer with Liberty Counsel, which is representing a group that has given out Bibles three times in Orange County high schools.

Sociologists: 'Christianophobia,' Anti-Christian Hostility Infects Powerful Elite Subculture
Yancey, professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, explained that Christians are fortunate in one sense, because those with anti-Christian hostility are small in number; but in another sense, they should be concerned, because those with "Christianophobia" tend to be powerful elites with influence in certain important areas, such as higher education.

Hamas ‘War Crimes Camp’ Graduates Trains 17,000 Teens for Terror
”The Hamas version of the Boy Scouts dresses the children in military uniforms, preaches sermons of hate against Israel and for the “love of death,” and teaches skills they will need to lead them there, such as using assault weapons. The United Nations Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) specifically prohibits soldiers under the age of 18.

Obama Wins War on Terror By Saying It Doesn’t Exist
The White House said that Taliban is an “armed insurgency” and not a terrorist group, a handy semantic tactic to allow President Barack Obama to declare he was won the war on terror.

Israel has become a strongly partisan issue in Washington
This speech will place Bibi firmly in the crossfire between Democrats and Republicans, on Capitol Hill. There are many who are angered by a foreign leader pushing his way into the middle of what most consider to be a strictly Washington affair.

INCREASING CHANCE OF FLARES
The sunspot number is rising, and so is the chance of flares. NOAA forecasters have boosted the odds of an M-class solar flare today to 50%.

U.S. armed drone program in Yemen facing intelligence gaps
The United States is facing increasing difficulty acquiring intelligence needed to run its stealth drone program in Yemen, undermining a campaign against the most lethal branch of al Qaeda after Houthi rebels seized control of parts of the country’s security apparatus, U.S. officials say.

The Ninnies of America
They worship an effeminate Jesus who double majored in ***** Theory and Gender Studies and is the patron saint of professional victims ...These ninnies, given their pedigree, also hate stories that show real good and real bad. Unless those movies show the GOP, Christians, or the NRA as the enemy, the ninnies prefer a GLAAD approved movie where good and bad are ambiguous unless there is a transvestite, in which case that character is morally good in every circumstance and probably has been abused by the Pope.

Gorbachev warns Cold War could heat up to all-out war
Gorbachev, in comments to the Interfax news agency, said Thursday the West has "dragged" Russia into a new Cold War and warned of risks of a military confrontation. "I can no longer say that this Cold War will not lead to a 'Hot War.' I fear that they could risk it," he was quoted as saying.

4.2 Magnitude Quake Recorded in Northern Oklahoma
A 4.2 magnitude earthquake shook part of Grant County in northern Oklahoma on Jan. 27. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 4.2 magnitude earthquake was recorded shortly before 10 a.m. about 13 miles south-southeast of Medford at a depth of about one mile

Russia says patrols near UK airspace were 'routine'
Russia has dismissed claims its planes caused "disruption to civil aviation" in the UK this week, saying its actions were not "threatening" or "disruptive". The UK Foreign Office said the Russian planes, which came near UK airspace on Wednesday before being "escorted" by RAF jets, were "part of an increasing pattern of out-of-area operations".

Boko Haram crisis: Chad 'captures Nigerian town from militants'
Chad's army has driven Boko Haram militants out of Malumfatori town in north-eastern Nigeria, a senior official from Niger has told the BBC. The reported capture of the town, which lies near the borders of Chad and Niger, follows two days of fighting. Both ground and air forces are reported to have been used in the assault.

Egypt military targeted in deadly Sinai attacks
At least 26 people, mostly soldiers, have been killed in a series of attacks by Islamist militants in the north of Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Most of the casualties were in the provincial capital, El-Arish. Militant group Sinai Province, which changed its named from Ansar Beit al-Maqdis when it pledged allegiance to Islamic State, said it carried out the "extensive, simultaneous" attacks.

Islamic State's Egypt wing claims credit for terror attacks that killed 27
Islamic State's Egypt wing claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed at least 27 on Thursday in some of the worst anti-state violence in months, after commemorations around the anniversary of the 2011 uprising turned deadly this week. Egypt's government faces an Islamist insurgency based in Sinai and growing discontent with what critics perceive as heavy handed security tactics.

Israel published tenders for 450 new homes in West Bank settlement
The Lands Authority on Friday morning published tenders for 450 new homes in West Bank settlements. The non-governmental group Peace Now, which opposes any Jewish building over the pre-1967 lines, immediately attacked the move and charged that it was yet one more attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to embarrass US President Barack Obama.

Suspected terrorist brother of no-fly-list man
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The FBI on Thursday added a former taxi driver from northern Virginia to its list of most-wanted terrorists, saying he was a recruiter for the al-Shabab terror group in Somalia.

Mullahs’ regime stuck in epicenter of crises
Unveiling human rights violations in Iran has increased to the regime's already boiling crises and added to its complications. The waves of back-to-back crises are reaching the coasts of the Iranian regime, with no stopping in sight. The economic dead-end, administrative corruption and explosive unrest and dissent in a society of 80-million, with a foreign policy engulfed in a nuclear calamity, its puppet Nouri Maliki being set aside from the Iraqi Prime Ministry and the possible fall of Bashar Assad in Syria, have all rallied to target the heart of the mullahs’ dictatorship in Tehran.

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