Birth Pangs of Matthew 24, Jan. 15, 2007

[Shammu]

Olmert offers carrot for recognising Israel

    * Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent
    * January 16, 2007

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised sweeping moves towards Palestinian sovereignty if a new unity government in the occupied territories commits to recognising the Jewish state.
Mr Olmert last night told visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Israel's concessions to Palestinian statehood would be unprecedented if deadlocked talks between warring Palestinian factions succeeded in moderating the ruling Hamas administration.

Hours before she departed for the Arab world, Dr Rice said the US would devote substantial resources over coming months to reactivating the peace process.

Both Jerusalem and Washington have been trying to strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a move that has pitched his Fatah party into deadly conflicts with the Hamas-led Government of Ismail Haniya.

Tensions have threatened to spark open warfare in Gaza and the West Bank and plunge the peace process back even further.

Mr Olmert told Dr Rice that if tortured moves towards a unity government did not lead towards recognition of Israel, adherence to past peace accords and a pledge to denounce violence, he would sever support for Mr Abbas. Officials linked to Mr Abbas said he was not intending to immediately depart the West Bank for the Syrian capital, Damascus, for sensitive talks with Hamas politburo leader Khaled Meshaal, as Palestinian administrators had announced on Sunday.

A summit with Mr Meshaal, who directs Hamas from exile, was on the drawing board but had not yet been finalised, the officials said. Mr Meshaal, Hamas's hardline supremo, declared in an interview with Reuters late last week that the existence of "a state called Israel was a reality" in the first clear sign that he was prepared to moderate the group's charter, which calls for Israel's destruction.

Dr Rice last night left Israel for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where she hopes to use renewed peace efforts in the Holy Land to leverage support for the US troop surge in Iraq and America's hardline stance against Iran.

The Israeli Defence Force has been ordered to tone down its activities in the West Bank and Gaza for the duration of Dr Rice's visit after an unannounced operation in the West Bank administrative capital Ramallah jeopardised talks last week between Mr Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Olmert offers carrot for recognising Israel

[Shammu]

Severe storms hit southern Sweden
Storm lashing Malmo, Sweden, 14 Jan 07 Severe storms have battered southern Sweden, killing at least three people, disrupting transport and leaving about 270,000 homes without electricity.

The victims - who included a nine-year-old boy - were all struck by falling trees.

Winds on the south-west coast reached speeds of nearly 150km/h (93mph) on Sunday but have since slackened.

Rail services were suspended because trees had been blown onto tracks. Road and air traffic were also badly hit.

Road traffic was suspended on the giant Oresund bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark.

Ferry services were also cancelled from the Swedish mainland to Gotland, Frederikshavn in Denmark and Sassnitz in Germany.

Sweden's The Local website says power companies were unable to send staff out to reconnect households because of the harsh conditions.

Severe storms hit southern Sweden

[Shammu]

Ice storms, snow, floods, tornado wallop US killing 13

Jan 14 2:40 PM US/Eastern

Freezing rain, snow, sleet, flash floods and at least one tornado walloped the United States this weekend, killing at least 13 people in accidents on slick roads as a massive storm front blanketed much of the country.

The storm was expected to continue through at least Tuesday.

The ice, wind and snow downed trees, traffic signals and power lines, blocked roads and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Churches cancelled Sunday services and businesses closed early or did not open at all.

Ten people died in Oklahoma where slippery highways caused more than 200 accidents, the Oklahoman newspaper reported.

A state of emergency was declared and the National Guard was called out in the midwestern state of Missouri declared after an ice storm knocked power out to more than 200,000 homes on a bitterly cold weekend.

Emergency shelters and hotels were filled by people trying to warm up and a nursing home had to be evacuated because of the freezing temperatures, local media reported.

In Texas, the governor also call out the National Guard after more than six inches of rain cause flash flooding and dramatic high-water rescues.

One woman was swept away by floodwaters in an Austin creek and a man who jumped in to save her was rescued when he was spotted clinging to foliage in water up to his neck, the Austin-American Statesman reported.

Crowds filled grocery stores to stock up on essentials after the rain was forecast to turn into an ice storm, the Statesman reported.

Record-breaking cold weather even hit California, which usually has mild temperatures throughout the year, with citrus farmers in the Central Valley and the southern part of the state using wind-machines to protect their fruit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"This is a very, very big cold front," National Weather Service spokesman Greg Romano told AFP.

"We're aware of at least six fatalities and numerous injuries due to weather-related vehicle accidents as of Saturday afternoon. There's been tree damage, downed power lines and significant power outages."

Parts of Colorado got up to 18 inches of snow while up to three inches of sleet were reported in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri, Romano said. Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri got an inch or more of freezing rain.

The storm is gathering moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and cold air from the Arctic, Romano said. It is expected to hit the east coast on Tuesday.

Ice storms, snow, floods, tornado wallop US killing 13

[Shammu]

Jihad threatens '100 rockets'

Islamic Jihad threatens 'Operation Red Rose' to target Sderot, Ashkelon as immediate 'response'

Yaakov Lappin
Published:    01.15.07, 16:59

The website of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Arabic released a statement Monday in which the terror organization threatened to fire "100 rockets" as an immediate response to any IDF activities in Gaza or the West Bank.

"The al-Quds Brigades declares the commencement of Operation Red Rose," the communiqué read, adding: "The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad in Palestine, has declared the commencement of Operation Red Rose rockets, in response to the ongoing aggressions against the beloved Gaza Strip and our resisting West Bank."

In the statement, Islamic Jihad threatened that "the minute Israel commits aggression in our land and against our people… we will launch 100 rockets."

"The al-Quds Brigades affirms: The Zionist enemy has to understand well that Sderot, Ashkelon, and their inhabitants, are a target for the al-Quds rockets. And that any harm to our holy fighters in Gaza or the West Bank will result in a heavy price for the enemy," the statement added. The message concluded by vowing "victory or death as a martyr."

For its part, Hamas also warned in a statement - published on its official English-language website, that its "armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was ready to repel any military aggression the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) might think to unleash against the tiny Gaza Strip."

"Hamas is ready to block any kind of aggression Israel might launch against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as it did before many times", the PIC website quoted Hammad Al-Rukob, a Hamas spokesman in south Gaza, as saying.

"Rukob, moreover, called on the Palestinian factions to consolidate their ranks and end internal tension in the Palestinian arena, and to gear up for confronting any IOF atrocities against the Strip," the website added.

Jihad threatens '100 rockets'

[Shammu]

Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran

Created: 15.01.2007 11:45 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 20:38 MSK, 10 hours 40 minutes ago

MosNews

U.S. Navy nuclear submarines maintaining vigil off the coast of Iran indicate that the Pentagon’s military plans include not only control over navigation in the Persian Gulf but also strikes against Iranian targets, a former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Eduard Baltin has told the Interfax news agency.

“The presence of U.S. nuclear submarines in the Persian Gulf region means that the Pentagon has not abandoned plans for surprise strikes against nuclear targets in Iran. With this aim a group of multi-purpose submarines ready to accomplish the task is located in the area,” Admiral Baltin said.

He made the comments after reports that a U.S. submarine collided with a Japanese tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

“American patience is not unlimited,” he said. “The submarine commanders go up to the periscope depth and forget about navigation rules and safety measures,” the admiral said.

Currently there is a group of up to four submarines in the Persian Gulf area, he said. So far they only control navigation in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and in the Arabian Sea, he said. They might receive different orders in future: to block off the Gulf of Oman, that is the Iranian coast, and, if need be, launch missile strikes against
ground targets in Iran, he said.

Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran

[Shammu]

Rains force 100,000 in Malaysia to flee

Sun Jan 14, 10:32 PM ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - More than 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in southern Malaysia after heavy rains over the weekend caused massive flooding, officials said Monday.
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The evacuations came just a couple weeks after many residents had returned home to clean up from flooding in late December and early January that killed at least 17 people and caused more than $28 million in damages, officials said.

One town in the hardest-hit area, Kota Tinggi, has been completely cut off from the rest of Johor state, just north of Singapore. Floodwaters as high as 13 feet have engulfed houses, gas stations and roads in the town, the New Straits Times newspaper said.

Several relief centers in the area are overcrowded and cannot take in any more evacuees, an official at the Johor state flood operations center said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said there were about 105,000 flood victims in more than 300 relief centers in the state.

"We need donations of food. Some (relief) centers have no more space already," the official said. "Blankets and warm clothing are also needed."

Malaysia's Meteorological Service said heavy rain was forecast for the area until the middle of the week, the national news agency Bernama said.

Rains force 100,000 in Malaysia to flee

[Shammu]

Millions of Hindus wash away their sins

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 15, 2:05 AM ET

ALLAHABAD, India - Hundreds of Hindu holy men, naked but for the ash smeared on their bodies and an occasional marigold garland, led a sea of humanity to the waters of the Ganges River Monday to wash away their sins at the apex of a weekslong pilgrimage.
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By midmorning Monday, some 3 million people had immersed themselves in the waters near the north Indian city of Allahabad, said festival organizer P. N. Mishra.

The number was expected to top 5 million by the end of the day — declared a royal bathing day by astrologers and the most auspicious of the 45-day festival that started Jan. 3.

The holy men, or sadhus, were followed into the waters by the heads of Hindu monasteries, many of them pulled into the waters on elaborate silver chariots or palanquins. Marching bands accompanied them as they initiated the bathing by scattering flowers over the waiting faithful and chanting "Har Har Gange" (Long live Ganges).

Nearly 70 million Hindus are expected to participate in the 45-day "Ardh Kumbh Mela" or Half Grand Pitcher Festival, one of the largest regular gatherings in the world. They wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges, believing it absolves their sins and ends the process of reincarnation.

While pilgrims dip themselves in the chilly waters at the spot where the Ganges meets the Yamuna River throughout the festival, Monday was declared by astrologers as especially auspicious after the sun entered the Tropic of Capricorn late Sunday night.

According to Hindu mythology, gods and demons fought a celestial war, spilling nectar at Allahabad in a pitcher, or Kumbh. A larger festival, the "Maha Kumbh Mela," or the Grand Pitcher Festival, takes place every 12 years.

Millions of Hindus wash away their sins