Birth Pangs of Matthew 24, Jan. 22, 2007

[Shammu]

Iran will fall and Israel will rise
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 21, 2007

Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Sunday that "Iran will fall and Israel will rise - no one should have any doubt," Israel Radio reported.

At a ceremony for the new Kadima building in Ramle, Peres said that Israel would be able to defeat Iran financially, adding that "we have strong nerves, and there is no need to lose our wits."

Iran will fall and Israel will rise

[Shammu]

Israeli-Arabs want end of Jewish state

There is no way to accommodate demands of Israeli-Arabs, short of replacing Israel with an Arab state, says Dr. Dan Schueftan

Yaakov Lappin
Published:    01.22.07, 14:39

There was no way of accommodating the demands of Israeli-Arabs, short of the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Arab state, a senior Israeli academic told a stormy session of the Herzliya Conference Monday, held to discuss the Arab minority in Israel.

Dr. Dan Schueftan, deputy director of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa, said a document recently released by Israeli- Arab leaders called for "nothing short of the destruction of Jewish national state."

Schueftan said the consensus position of Israeli -Arabs, as reflected in the document "The future vision of Palestinian Arabs in Israel,' was that Israel should be "replaced with a bi-national state, alongside a mechanism to turn it into an Arab state, adding: "Otherwise, we (Israelis) are automatically not legitimate (in their eyes)." The document was published by the Higher Monitoring Committee for the Arab Population in Israel, a forum of Israeli-Arab leaders.

Schueftan said: "The signal is that even if inequality is bridged, it won't solve the problem. The lack of legitimacy of the national Jewish state is the source of the problem."

The recent Lebanon war also showed that a majority of Israeli-Arabs thought "every enemy of State of Israel should at least be understood," Schueftan emphasized. He added that the document released by the Higher Monitoring Committee said "the Jews rose as a colonialist phenomenon… who expelled… butchered… and the Palestinians have only fought for peace."

'No fix'

"This is a reality for which there is no fix. The Palestinian national minority in Israel has a consensus view demanding recognition by the Jews of their exclusive guilt and their own lack of legitimacy, as well as an agreement to destroy the national Jewish project," Schueftan argued . He said that Israeli-Arab leaders who voiced such views were accurately representing the views of the wider Arab public.

"There are problems, and it won't be OK ," Schueftan said, adding: "It's not leading to violent confrontation… But in the national field, the issue getting more severe… The Arabs don't plan to integrate themselves into the Jewish national state. The Jews won't commit national suicide. Both will continue to stick to the very sad status quo."

'Arab public different from leaders'

Schueftan's grim assessment was challenged by former Knesset Member Eti Livni. "We went out to Arab villages in the Galilee and discussed the drawing up of a constitution. When Israeli -Arab intellectuals or spokespersons were not there, most of the public said they were willing to live in Jewish democratic state."

She cited a recent poll showing that over half of Israeli - Arabs desired to live in "an improved ethnic democracy, meaning a Jewish state with improved rights for the Arab public."

Aida Toma-Suleiman, a member of the Higher Monitoring Committee, contradicted Livni's claim, and asserted that Arab leaders were representative of the Arab public at large.

Responding to Schueftan, Toma-Suleiman said the document in question "did not talk about Jews, but Israeli governments. We know how to distinguish between a political entity and a nation.

"A Jew born in the US, who never visited here, will have more rights and privileges than me, who was born here, like my father and grandfather. This can't be," Toma-Suleiman said. "We were and are against occupation, and we are for the fight for democracy," she added.

"We do want to extend a hand to Jewish public, and share our vision of how the state will look like…Without recognizing the general national rights of Arabs, we won't live in a democracy," she said.

Toma-Suleiman dismissed Livni's report on the willingness of the general Israeli-Arab public to live in a Jewish state. "Jewish elites shouldn't speak to the general Arab public, but Jewish and Arab elites should talk to each other," she said.

"The Arab population in the State of Israel is offering a different alternative. It's a different future with another vision," Toma-Suleiman added.

Israeli-Arabs want end of Jewish state

[Shammu]

Rare snow storm surprises Arizona

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 30 minutes ago

PHOENIX - More than a foot of snow fell on parts of northern Arizona, and several more inches were possible Monday, while children as far south as Tucson got a rare chance to play in the snow as one of the strongest storms of the winter moved through the state.

Sunday's storm came amid a wave of winter storms that have brought snow, ice and strong winds to the Plains region, but also to the Southwest, including Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.

The harsh, frigid conditions were blamed for 11 traffic fatalities in the Plains over the weekend.

Although the heaviest snowfall in Arizona on Sunday was in the north, snow also fell in downtown Phoenix (1,100 feet above sea level... DW) and Tucson, which received up to 1 1/2 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Danita D'Water said there were huge snowflakes in her neighborhood in far northeast Phoenix.

"The children are running up and down the street, riding their scooters in the snow," she said. "The kids are pretty excited but the adults were out taking pictures."

More than a foot fell in Forest Lakes, Pinetop and at the Sunrise Ski Resort, among other places in northern Arizona. Between one and three inches fell in Flagstaff, said Robert Bohlin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A winter storm warning remained in effect until noon Monday for parts of northern and northeastern Arizona, with the National Weather Service forecasting up to an additional three inches of snow.

Dense fog and icy roads created hazardous driving conditions Monday morning in the Tucson area.

In Colorado, 3 to 6 inches of snow fell across much of the Front Range, with more in the in the eastern plains and the mountains. Strong winds created whiteout conditions on the state's eastern plains.

On Sunday, officials closed a long stretch of Interstate 70, from near Denver International Airport almost to the Kansas state line because of high winds, blowing snow, poor visibility and ice. The road had reopened by Monday morning.

Snow and icy roads caused accidents that shut down southbound Interstate 25 near Fort Collins for two hours Sunday morning. State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins said no injuries were reported.

In Oklahoma, where an ice storm disrupted power to as many as 125,000 homes and businesses more than a week ago, about 20,000 electrical customers remained without power early Monday — mostly in the eastern part of the state.

Hundreds of utility linemen worked through the night in hopes of fully restoring power by Monday or Tuesday, authorities said.

Warmer temperatures in the state led to melting ice and snow that have turned roads into slushy rivers, yards into quagmires and streams into rushing torrents.

A pickup truck carrying radioactive materials used in pipeline scanning equipment was swept from a bridge and disappeared in a swollen creek in Oklahoma's Pittsburg County, said Undersheriff Richard Sexton.

The truck's two occupants escaped unharmed, but efforts to locate the truck and its radioactive cargo were suspended after dark. He said officials hope the creek's level will fall enough on Monday to reveal the truck's whereabouts. A container with the material is bolted to the truck.

"The radioactive materials are still in the truck, and that's what we're worried about," Sexton said.

In Missouri, more than 45,000 people remained in the dark from the same storm.

Winter weather has also hit hard on the East Coast, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain to Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland and making roads treacherous. An accident on Interstate 81 in Virginia killed one person and injured five, authorities said.

Rare snow storm surprises Arizona

[Soldier4Christ]

Rare snow storm surprises Arizona

Especially a surprise for global warming advocates.

[Shammu]

*WARNING* this story contains some graphic language.

For Egypt, the ordeal of 21-year-old Emad el-Kabir has been something of a Rodney King moment, a sudden, stark glimpse of a reality which authorities routinely deny, but which human rights groups say is part of a pattern of police brutality. But unlike the tape of the Los Angeles police beating up King in 1991, which was aired almost immediately, the attack on el-Kabir happened a year ago, and has only became public months later after an Egyptian blogger posted it on his site and it reached YouTube.
... Few people in this nation of 74 million have Internet access, and no TV station has shown anything of the offending footage. There have been no demonstrations or riots or high-profile lawsuits. The only person so far to be sentenced is the victim himself, who police say injured an officer with a broken bottle.

Egypt police video stirs debate

The story shows how Muslim countries keep their general public "in-the-dark" ...
With the rise of cell phone video capabilities, the sinful and evil nature of man is revealed for the "connected media" to witness. The barbaric acts of wild men...men with hatred at the core of their hearts...

To what extent of depravity must a person or group allow themselves to get to before planning and initiating such evil. And to think that these are the same people that are in charge of security for the Egyptian public.

[Shammu]

Speaker Pelosi's daughter documents Christian right
Sun Jan 21, 2007 3:18pm ET136

By Bob Tourtellotte

PASADENA, California (Reuters) - Alexandra Pelosi, a documentary filmmaker and daughter of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had a big problem on her hands when making her new movie, "Friends of God," and it came from the Christian right.

When Pelosi, whose movie was backed by U.S. cable television network HBO, set out to explore the Christian evangelical movement widely credited with helping elect President George W. Bush, she had a difficult time getting anybody to open up to her.

"Forget my name. Forget HBO. It was hard to get people to talk to me just because I was from New York," Pelosi told Reuters in a recent interview in Pasadena, California, where she was presenting the documentary to television critics.

But eventually Pastor Ted Haggard opened his door to Pelosi and welcomed her. It was a perfect entry point because at that time Haggard headed the 30-million member National Association of Evangelicals from his church in Colorado.

Then, in November, only days after the documentary filmmaker handed her work over to HBO to prepare for TV, Haggard made headlines when claims of his drug use and having sex with a male prostitute led to his disgrace and his downfall.

Haggard's dilemma presented Pelosi with her second big problem. Because she uses Haggard extensively and because she felt obliged to her audience to acknowledge the charges against Haggard, "Friends of God" could be viewed as an attack on the Christian right. It is the last thing Pelosi wanted.

"I think the evangelicals will pre-judge the project. I hope they won't, but I assume they will," she said.

She added that if that is the case, it "is unfortunate because I think a lot of them look great."

16 STATES, 800 INTERVIEWS

Pelosi, a former TV news producer who documented Bush's 2000 presidential campaign in her award-winning "Journeys with George," said she traveled through 16 states and conducted some 800 interviews to profile evangelicals who believe the Holy Bible is the word of God and should be strictly followed.

"If you live in Los Angeles or New York, you don't realize there's this whole group out there rejecting your culture," she said. "All I was trying to do was introduce blue staters to all the people who live in between New York and L.A.," she said.

In "Friends of God," audiences are taken on a road trip across the southern, midwestern and western United States, meeting parishioners in churches, kids at Christian concerts, a comedian for Jesus, a man who builds Holy crosses, and even audiences at a Christian professional wrestling match.

What emerges is an outsider's look at people who deeply believe abortion is wrong, gay marriage is bad and teaching evolution in public schools goes against the word of God.

Pelosi is a writer, director, camera operator and producer, which was her style on "Journeys with George" and her 2004 "Diary of a Political Tourist," which looked at that year's Democratic presidential candidates.

In 2004, of course, Bush was re-elected, again with overwhelming support of the evangelical movement.

"You can say what you want about the evangelicals, but in the end you have to respect these people because they are so (politically) organized and so mobilized," she said. "I did come away with a profound respect for that."

"Friends of God" debuts on HBO on January 25.

Speaker Pelosi's daughter documents Christian right

[Shammu]

Anti-missile shield not aimed at Russia: U.S.

By Natalia Reiter 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

WARSAW (Reuters) - Placing a U.S. anti-missile system on Polish and Czech soil would strengthen Europe's defense against a rogue nuclear attack but would not threaten Russia, a senior U.S. official was quoted on Monday as saying.

A top Russian general criticised Washington's plan but U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita that Moscow had nothing to fear.

"We believe that building infrastructure of the anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech (Republic) will significantly boost the defences of a united Europe," Fried said. "I want to stress that the anti-missile system is not aimed at Russia."

The United States is investing billions of dollars a year in a Missile Defense Initiative (MDI) system, which would combine long-range radars and ballistic rockets to detect and shoot down missiles carrying nuclear, bacteriogical or chemical warheads.

Fried said Washington had made a specific offer to Warsaw and Prague last week to start detailed negotiations, which he said could last for months, on hosting a part of the system.

Under the proposal, Poland could be the base for underground rocket silos and the Czech Republic would host the radar system.

The site would be the biggest element of the MDI shield outside the United States. U.S officials say the system will protect it and its allies from missiles that could be fired from North Korea, Iran or other "rogue regimes."

Asked if Washington was speeding up talks on the system because of tensions with nuclear proliferators, Fried said:

"I don't think we need to act under any time pressure. Polish concerns, the conditions for building the base and the basis for our cooperation must be carefully discussed."

RUSSIA OPPOSED

Poland, a close U.S. ally since overthrowing communism in 1989, has long been considered a potential location for rocket batteries.

But Russia, Poland's former Warsaw Pact overlord, sees the shield as weakening its own security and has warned Warsaw it could take unspecified measures if it is built in Poland.

"Our analysis shows that the placing of a radio locating station in the Czech Republic and anti-missile equipment in Poland is a real threat to us," Russian news agencies quoted space forces commander Lt.-Gen. Vladimir Popovkin as saying.

Polish and U.S. diplomats say Russia's main concern is that the shield might weaken its nuclear deterrent and disturb the military balance in Europe.

Poland's parliament would have to endorse a decision to host the missiles, amid some public skepticism about the project.

Opposition to the plan has come also from within the ruling coalition, but some opposition parties are likely to back Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who supports it.

Defense Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Polish television on Sunday that safeguarding Poland's security would be the most important factor in the government's decision.

"I think we want to assure the Polish public that we will approach this issue very seriously," he said.

Anti-missile shield not aimed at Russia: U.S.

[Shammu]

Islamic Movement: Suspicious digging under Temple Mount

Group raises charges that religious Jewish groups are making moves to construct Third Temple. Israel Antiquities Authority: There were no excavations, there are none, and none are planned

Roee Nahmias
Published:    01.22.07, 07:44

Israel has been digging underneath the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, with the aim of constructing the Third Temple, the chairman of the Islamic Movement in Israel charged.

“This digging is a very dangerous phase in the mosque’s history,” Sheikh Raed Salah said in a statement.

The Islamic Movement in Israel considers itself responsible for “safeguarding the Temple Mount mosques,” and organizes transports to Friday prayers at the Jerusalem site, as well as the yearly summit “Al-Aqsa is threatened.”

Sheikh Salah and his movement dramatically issue similar messages every few months. This time, Salah made the charges in response to photographs issued by the Al-Aqsa Institution, a fund which works under the Islamic Movement’s northern faction to rehabilitate Muslim holy sites.

The pictures were issued two weeks ago in Israel, but met with little response. Recently, however, they were broadcast on the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya Arab television networks, with the claim that the Religious Zionist “Ateret Cohanim” movement is executing “dangerous and extensive excavations” in the Temple Mount area.

The Islamic Movement rushed to respond, charging that “these excavations threaten the future of the al-Aqsa Mosque, as no one knows the accurate extent, direction and depth of the digging.”

The Islamic Movement believes that the excavations threaten the Temple Mount and are concerned that their ultimate goal is the construction of the Third Temple in place of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

'All excavations are open and known'
The Al-Aqsa Institution said in a statement, “On a visit a week and a half ago we managed to document extensive excavations led by the Jewish Ateret Cohanim movement, via the Antiquities Authority. The area is in the Old City, a mere couple of meters from the al-Buraq Plaza and the al-Aqsa Mosque.

"On the last visit, excavations 25 meters deep, 30 meters wide and no less than 40 meters long were witnessed – in the direction of one of the Temple Mount gates. Local residents told us that they hear digging day and night, and it has already led to fissures in the foundations of their homes.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority issued a response saying that no excavations were being carried out at all in the area of the Temple Mount.

“There were none, there are none, and none are planned,” said Osnat Goaz, spokesperson for the Antiquities Authority.

Regarding accusations of discreet and night-time digging, Goaz said, “The Authority is not acquiring assets, and is certainly not digging in the middle of the night, and definitely not behind closed doors.

"All excavations are open and known, and anyone who claims to know of other excavations is invited to report them to the Antiquities Authority, so we can act according to the law and stop illegal excavation. No digging permit was issued to anyone to dig tunnels to the Temple Mount. If someone knows of illegal excavations, it is his duty to report it to the Antiquities Authority.”

Islamic Movement: Suspicious digging under Temple Mount

[Shammu]

HOT, YES running Jews for Jesus ads
Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 22, 2007

A major Christian TV network offered on Israeli cable and satellite television is broadcasting missionary advertisements directed at Jews.

The Dallas-based Daystar TV network, which is part of the basic cable program on both YES and HOT, broadcasts a medley of teachings from the New Testament, and includes 15-minute infomercials from the Jewish Voice Ministries International that targets a Jewish audience with the message of Jesus.

The network, which is similar to many Christian religious stations in the US, is broadcast on Channel 110 on YES, and is available upon request on Channel 98 on HOT.

A HOT customer service official said that because of the sensitivity the station poses it is available, as part of the basic cable program, only on request.

The Christian TV network, whose broadcasts have been on the air in Israel for about a year, has 128 million viewers in the US, including 60 million on cable and satellite, and is now available in more than 200 countries.

A summation of the Christian TV network by YES available for viewers on their TV screens defines the station as "an American channel broadcasting mostly talk shows. In addition, you can enjoy diverse programs on various subjects such as family, children, music, health, finance etc."

The Phoenix-based Jewish Voice Ministries International calls itself "a worldwide outreach that is dedicated to bringing the Gospel of Jesus to the Jew first and also to the Gentile throughout the world," according to its Web site.

Yoram Mokady, the chairman of the Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting, said Sunday that the issue would be investigated.

He added there were very clear regulations for religious programming, including misinformation, frightening programming and programs directed at minors, but that there were no guidelines for missionary activity.

The broadcasts were immediately condemned by anti-missionary activists in Israel, who have long been wary of any connection with Christians, including Christian Zionists in Israel.

Jerusalem city councilwoman Mina Fenton, a prominent anti-missionary activist from the National Religious Party, said that the approval of the broadcasts in Israel by the Communications Ministry represented "the corruption of Jewish morals," and was indicative of a country facing a "crusade of money."

The ever-sensitive issue of TV missionary activity comes amid burgeoning ties between Israel and the evangelical Christian world and follows a recent decision by YES to drop Star World and by HOT to discontinue BBC Prime, moves which have triggered a firestorm of protests by the English-speaking public in Israel.

The issue also underscores the delicate balancing act that many Evangelical Christians face between their support for Israel and their hard-core beliefs.

HOT, YES running Jews for Jesus ads

[Shammu]

Rocket Lands Near Strategic Location in Ashkelon
17:00 Jan 22, '07 / 3 Shevat 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Terrorists fired a rocket from northern Gaza on Monday afternoon. The rocket landed near a strategic location in the industrial district south of Ashkelon.

The Islamic Jihad terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. There are no reports of injuries or damage.

Rocket Lands Near Strategic Location in Ashkelon

[Shammu]

Poll: 76% of Palestinians say security worse under Hamas
By Haaretz Service

A poll released on Monday showed that 76 percent of Palestinians in the territories believe that the security situation in the territories has become worse since Hamas took over the Palestinian Authority government last year, with 80 percent saying that they fear for their personal security.

According to the poll, conducted by Nabil Kukali, director of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, some 60 percent of Palestinians are in favor of holding new elections for PA chairman and for the Palestinian parliament, but prospective voters are widely split over a choice for the top post.

Of the sample of 1,015 respondents in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, 35 percent said they would vote for Fatah incumbent Mahmoud Abbas as chairman, 26 percent would vote for Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, and 22 percent for Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, serving life imprisonment in an Israeli prison after his conviction for involvement in terror attacks.

Poll: 76% of Palestinians say security worse under Hamas

[Shammu]

Dingbat Says He's Ready for War With US & Israel
Added: Jan 21st, 2007 9:22 AM

by Ezra HaLevi

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Thursday that Iran is now fully prepared for a war with Israel and the United States.

"Today, with the grace of God, we have gone through the arduous passes and we are ready for anything in this path," Ahmadinejad said, according to Iran’s state-run TV.

The comments were in response to the US decision to send the USS Stennis to the Perisan Gulf, joining another such vessel already stationed there. Iranian media is also reporting that 3,000 centrifuges are prepared to go online.

Ahmadinejad responded to criticism from Iranians who say Iran should compromise its nuclear ambitions to avoid a conflict with the Western world and sanctions from the UN. "Unfortunately, some inside the country try to fabricate news and portray a bad image of the great achievement of the Iranian nation," he said. "[They] prescribe compromise and repeat the words of the enemy. Of course, this will have no effect. Their aim is to frighten Iran and weaken the resistance of the Iranian nation, but they will not succeed.”

Meanwhile, Mohamed El Baradei, who heads the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, said he was concerned that UN sanctions on Iran could escalate the standoff with the West and called for a resumption of negotiations.

In the eight years following the Egyptian’s appointment to head the watchdog group, it has failed to detect covert nuclear programs in three countries. It also failed to detect the “nuclear supermarket” run by the Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan.

Meanwhile, the Hashemite King of Jordan told Haaretz that his regime is also seeking to become a nuclear power. As the Hashemite regime is propped up by the West in a country that is majority Palestinian, Jordanian nukes would be only an election away from being controlled by an Islamist group, possibly Hamas.

“The rules have changed on the nuclear subject throughout the whole region,” King Abdullah II said. “Where I think Jordan was saying, 'we'd like to have a nuclear-free zone in the area,' after this summer, everybody's going for nuclear programs. The Egyptians are looking for a nuclear program. The GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] are looking at one, and we are actually looking at nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes.”

I can't post the link because of solications for money. So I will be using.................

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[Soldier4Christ]

The USS Stennis deployment is just an excuse for them. It is not uncommon to have at least two aircraft carriers in theatre at the same time. The only aircraft carrier there right now is the USS Eisenhower and the Stennis is just going there to share some of their load.

This does not really constitute a buildup as they want to consider it and does not necessarily mean it is against them.

[Shammu]

Crime at Vatican Running at Biblical Proportions

Monday , January 22, 2007

Think of the most crime-ridden place on Earth and what comes to mind: Sao Paulo, Brazil? Lagos, Nigeria? The Bronx, New York?

Try the Vatican. The small nation-city ruled by Pope Benedict XVI apparently sees more criminal cases per capita than any other part of the world, the German magazine Spiegel reports.

That's according to statistics released by the Vatican's attorney general, Nicola Picardi.

In 2006, the tiny nation's justice department had to contend with 341 civil and 486 criminal cases. With a population of 492, that measures out to 1.5 cases per person — 20 times the corresponding rate in Italy.

Another surprising statistic about the rampant crime in the Vatican is that it exists despite a security force that would put a police state to shame. The seat of the Catholic Church has one Swiss guard for every four citizens, plus museum guards and police assigned to the Vatican by the Italian government.

Picardi said most criminal cases were matters of purse-snatching or pickpocketing. The rest amounted to other petty crimes like fraud and forgery, committed by a handful of the 18 million pilgrims and tourists who visit St. Peter's Cathedral, St. Peter's Square and the Vatican museums every year.

According to the Vatican, about 90 percent of these crimes go unpunished because it is easy for the perpetrators to slip across the border into Italy, which is just a few yards away.

Even if it were able to catch and prosecute every pickpocket, the Vatican would have to send them to Italy to serve out their sentences, since it has no prison system.

Crime at Vatican Running at Biblical Proportions

[Shammu]

New meningitis kills 1,000 in south Sudan
Mon. January 22, 2007 11:09 am.

Bonny Apunyu

(SomaliNet) A fresh out break of meningitis and another unknown disease has claimed at least 1,000 people in one week in south Sudan’s Warap state from, state governor Anthony Bol Madut said in a statement on Sunday.

South Sudan has very poor infrastructure and outbreaks of disease are frequent. A cholera outbreak last year killed 147 people.

“There is an outbreak of meningitis and (an) unknown disease spreading fast throughout the state and there is fear it may affect other neighbouring states,” Mr Madut’s statement said.

According to Madut, the symptoms of the second disease were similar to yellow fever, but the patient died quickly. He appealed for medicalexperts to come to diagnose the disease and help stop the spread of the outbreak.

“Up to this time the death toll is over 1,000 this week alone,” the statement said.

“As I am writing this press release, I am expecting other death reports sooner or later.”

Meanwhile, Africa’s “meningitis belt” stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia through some of the world’s poorest and most war-scarred places, including Sudan. It accounts for more than half the cases of the disease worldwide each year.

Meningitis is an infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It can cause complications including brain damage and deafness.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about five per cent to 10 per cent of patients die from the illness.

New meningitis kills 1,000 in south Sudan