3289-ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? | View Thread

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's military said Monday it had located and destroyed a tunnel extending from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, in the first such discovery since a devastating 2014 conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels".

Military spokesman Peter Lerner said the tunnel he accused the Islamist group Hamas of building extended from the southern Gaza Strip several hundred metres (yards) into Israel, although no exit had been constructed.

He declined to provide specifics on how it was "neutralised".

"This tunnel is the first one to be found since Operation Protective Edge," Lerner told journalists, referring to the 2014 war.

"It was built by Hamas in order to infiltrate and execute terror attacks against the people of the southern communities and (military) forces in that area."

Hamas's military wing called the discovery, which it said was east of the southern Gazan city of Rafah, "only a drop in the ocean of what the resistance has prepared in order defend our people, the freedom of the holy places and its land and captives".

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades also claimed the army had not "dared" to publish the full details of the tunnels for fear of scaring Israelis.

According to Lerner, the tunnel was 30 to 40 metres underground and large enough for an adult to stand inside.

- New technology -

It included concrete slabs, "communication lines" and rails used to move rubble, he said.

Lerner called it a "new tunnel", saying the military believed it was built after the 2014 war.

Hamas forces have used tunnels in the past to avoid or carry out attacks, store weapons and at times to enter Israel and capture soldiers.

Israel has suggested in recent months it has developed new technologies that will help it locate Hamas tunnels, and Netanyahu implied the find was the result of this.

"Israel has achieved a global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels," he said in a statement. "The government is investing considerable capital in countering the tunnel threat. This is an ongoing effort that will not end overnight."

Daniel Nisman, security analyst with the Israeli risk analysis firm Levantine Group, said if the technology had made the difference "that is bad news for Hamas".

Israel launched its 2014 operation in Hamas-run Gaza with the stated objectives of halting rocket fire and destroying attack tunnels into Israel.

During the war, 32 tunnels were discovered, including 14 that extended into Israel, according to a UN report on the conflict.

It was the third war in Gaza since 2008 and the longest, deadliest and most destructive.

It killed 2,251 Palestinians, while more than 10,000 were wounded and 100,000 were left homeless.

- Tunnel collapses -

On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, of whom 67 were soldiers. Up to 1,600 were wounded, according to the United Nations.

A UN report in June said both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the conflict, decrying "unprecedented" devastation and human suffering.

There have been a number of tunnel collapses within Gaza in recent months, including those extending toward Egypt. Several Gazans have been killed.

The tunnels from to Egypt are generally used for smuggling into and out of the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli blockade. Egypt's border with Gaza has also remained largely closed.

In 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it says were used to smuggle weapons and other items.

In September 2015, Egyptian forces carried out excavations that Palestinians say caused the flooding of the last remaining tunnels there.

An Israeli military official said flooding cannot be employed because of the large amount of territory along the Israeli-Gaza border and sea water that would be used would damage a reservoir in the area.

Lieutenant Colonel Ohad Bachar, head of training for an Israeli military engineering unit involved in destroying such tunnels, told AFP last week that the flooding option had been considered in the past, but was abandoned because of those concerns.

He said that in general, heavy equipment and explosives can be used to destroy tunnels.

"We are always... getting new ways to deal with this kind of threat," Bachar said.

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 4/18/2016 5:32:45 PM
	Fears strain of 'super gonorrhoea' could spread across UK - and may become untreatable There has been a recent outbreak of a highly drug-resistant strain of the sexually transmitted infection Electron micrograph of the bacterium responsible for Gonorrhea. A drug-resistant strain is now spreading in the UK Rex Features A strain of "super-gonorrhoea" could spread across the UK and there is an increasing risk the disease could become untreatable. Doctors have expressed "huge concerns" over recent outbreaks of drug-resistant versions of the superbug across the UK. The spread seems to have started by affecting straight couples. More recently, cases have been identified in gay men too. In December, GPs already warned cases of drug-resistant strains of the infectious disease had been reported in Leeds, Oldham, Macclesfield and Scunthorpe. Public Health England (PHE) admitted attempts to contain the spread have been of "limited success", despite efforts to track down sexual partners of those infected. Experts believe if the last fully effective antibiotic fails to stops the spread, the sexually transmitted infection could become untreatable. If left untreated, gonorrhoea can cause infertility and can be passed on to a child during pregnancy. The infection is transmitted by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex. Symptoms can include a thick green or yellow discharge from sexual organs, pain when urinating and bleeding between periods but some infected people do not have recognisable symptoms. The alert comes after Chancellor George Osborne warned last week resistance to antibiotics would become "an even greater threat to mankind than cancer" without global action. The increasing number of super-gonorrhoea cases is a "further sign of the very real threat of antibiotic resistance to our ability to treat infections," PHE added. Clinicians have been urged to follow up cases of drug-resistant gonorrheoa and trace their patients' sexual partners, to prevent a further spread of the disease. President of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, Dr Elizabeth Carlin, told the BBC: "The spread of high level azithromycin-resistant gonorrhoea is a huge concern and it is essential that every effort is made to contain further spread. "Failure to respond appropriately will jeopardise our ability to treat gonorrhoea effectively and will lead to poorer health outcomes for individuals and society as a whole." (independent.co.uk)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 4/18/2016 5:40:22 PM
	Israel says finds tunnel from Gaza into Israeli territory Mike Smith April 18, 2016 Israel discovered and destroyed 32 tunnels during the 2014 war with Palestinian militants based in the Gaza Strip (AFP Photo/Mahmud Hams) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's military said Monday it had located and destroyed a tunnel extending from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, in the first such discovery since a devastating 2014 conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels". Military spokesman Peter Lerner said the tunnel he accused the Islamist group Hamas of building extended from the southern Gaza Strip several hundred metres (yards) into Israel, although no exit had been constructed. He declined to provide specifics on how it was "neutralised". "This tunnel is the first one to be found since Operation Protective Edge," Lerner told journalists, referring to the 2014 war. "It was built by Hamas in order to infiltrate and execute terror attacks against the people of the southern communities and (military) forces in that area." Hamas's military wing called the discovery, which it said was east of the southern Gazan city of Rafah, "only a drop in the ocean of what the resistance has prepared in order defend our people, the freedom of the holy places and its land and captives". The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades also claimed the army had not "dared" to publish the full details of the tunnels for fear of scaring Israelis. According to Lerner, the tunnel was 30 to 40 metres underground and large enough for an adult to stand inside. - New technology - It included concrete slabs, "communication lines" and rails used to move rubble, he said. Lerner called it a "new tunnel", saying the military believed it was built after the 2014 war. Hamas forces have used tunnels in the past to avoid or carry out attacks, store weapons and at times to enter Israel and capture soldiers. Israel has suggested in recent months it has developed new technologies that will help it locate Hamas tunnels, and Netanyahu implied the find was the result of this. "Israel has achieved a global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels," he said in a statement. "The government is investing considerable capital in countering the tunnel threat. This is an ongoing effort that will not end overnight." Daniel Nisman, security analyst with the Israeli risk analysis firm Levantine Group, said if the technology had made the difference "that is bad news for Hamas". Israel launched its 2014 operation in Hamas-run Gaza with the stated objectives of halting rocket fire and destroying attack tunnels into Israel. During the war, 32 tunnels were discovered, including 14 that extended into Israel, according to a UN report on the conflict. It was the third war in Gaza since 2008 and the longest, deadliest and most destructive. It killed 2,251 Palestinians, while more than 10,000 were wounded and 100,000 were left homeless. - Tunnel collapses - On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, of whom 67 were soldiers. Up to 1,600 were wounded, according to the United Nations. A UN report in June said both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the conflict, decrying "unprecedented" devastation and human suffering. There have been a number of tunnel collapses within Gaza in recent months, including those extending toward Egypt. Several Gazans have been killed. The tunnels from to Egypt are generally used for smuggling into and out of the Gaza Strip, which is under an Israeli blockade. Egypt's border with Gaza has also remained largely closed. In 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it says were used to smuggle weapons and other items. In September 2015, Egyptian forces carried out excavations that Palestinians say caused the flooding of the last remaining tunnels there. An Israeli military official said flooding cannot be employed because of the large amount of territory along the Israeli-Gaza border and sea water that would be used would damage a reservoir in the area. Lieutenant Colonel Ohad Bachar, head of training for an Israeli military engineering unit involved in destroying such tunnels, told AFP last week that the flooding option had been considered in the past, but was abandoned because of those concerns. He said that in general, heavy equipment and explosives can be used to destroy tunnels. "We are always... getting new ways to deal with this kind of threat," Bachar said. (Yahoo News)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 4/18/2016 5:48:44 PM
	Syria rebels vow retaliation as peace talks under threat Rouba El Husseini with Layal Abou Rahal in Geneva April 17, 2016 Rescue workers and residents help an injured woman following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Haydariya in the northern city of Aleppo on April 10, 2016 (AFP Photo/Thaer Mohammed) Beirut (AFP) - Key Syrian rebel groups vowed on Monday to strike back against alleged regime ceasefire violations, casting doubt on the future of fragile peace talks due to resume in Geneva. A truce agreed in February dramatically curtailed violence across much of Syria, but fighting has surged in recent days around second city Aleppo, causing tens of thousands to flee. "After the increase of violations by regime forces that included targeting displaced people and continuous bombing of residential neighbourhoods, we declare the start of the battle in response," said a statement signed by 10 armed rebel groups. In Geneva, where regime and opposition delegations were set to restart indirect negotiations, Syria's main rebel delegation warned that renewed fighting could scupper peace talks. "We might suspend (our participation in) the talks if things carry on this way, and then there will be no prospect for any political solution," HNC member Abdulhakim Bashar told AFP. The landmark ceasefire agreed between the United States and Russia took effect on February 27, raising hopes that a lasting deal could be struck in Geneva to end Syria's five-year civil war. But fighting has spread in the last week around Aleppo, leading the HNC to question President Bashar al-Assad's commitment to a political solution to a conflict that has displaced half of the population and killed more than 270,000 people. "The humanitarian situation is continually deteriorating, the issue of the detainees has not seen any progress, the ceasefire has almost collapsed, and now there is an attack on Aleppo from three sides," Bashar said in Switzerland. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said 22 civilians were killed over the weekend in Aleppo city -- one of the highest single tolls since the truce began. At least six civilians were killed and eight wounded in regime air strikes on rebel-held eastern parts of the city on Saturday. A barrage of rockets and sniper fire by opposition groups onto government-controlled western districts killed 16 civilians, including 10 children and two women. And rebel groups fired more rockets at western areas of Aleppo city late Sunday, but there was no immediate information on new casualties. - 'Strike them everywhere' - "There's a clear escalation. This was the bloodiest incident in Aleppo and its province" since the ceasefire began, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. "This escalation directly threatens the truce." Among the armed groups who signed the Monday statement is Jaish al-Islam, the most important opposition faction in East Ghouta, a key rebel-held town east of Damascus. Mohammed Alloush, the HNC's chief negotiator in Geneva, is a senior member of Jaish al-Islam who on Sunday called on rebel groups to "strike" regime positions. "Don't trust the regime and don't wait for their pity," he posted on Twitter. "Strike them at their necks (kill them). Strike them everywhere." A fellow opposition figure said Alloush's hawkish statement did not represent the HNC's position and Alloush clarified that he was calling on rebels to defend themselves from attacks. Areas controlled by the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, and other jihadists are exempt from the ceasefire, but renewed Aleppo clashes are straining the truce as other rebel groups are dragged into the fighting. IS has seized fresh territory from rebel groups in the north, threatening the key opposition town of Azaz, just eight kilometres (five miles) south of the Turkish border. The jihadist onslaught has forced 30,000 Syrians to flee, and tens of thousands more are at risk of displacement. - Assad's fate 'red line' - In addition to Jaish al-Islam, the rebel statement was signed by the powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham faction, which is allied to Al-Nusra and fights alongside it around Aleppo and in neighbouring Idlib province. UN mediator Staffan de Mistura is expected to sit down with the Damascus government in Geneva before meeting the opposition delegation later Monday. The fate of Assad remains a major bone of contention, with Syria's opposition clinging onto its call for his ouster since the conflict began in 2011. Alloush said there could be "no compromise" on Assad's removal but the regime has called that a "red line". The peace plan outlined by De Mistura and backed by world powers envisions a political transition, a new constitution, and presidential and parliamentary elections by September 2017. But Syria's government hosted its own parliamentary elections last week only in government-held areas, which Assad's ruling Baath party easily won. The opposition denounced the election as a "farce". (Yahoo News)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 4/18/2016 6:06:11 PM
	U.K. FIRM ‘EMPLOYED EX-CHILD SOLDIERS AS MERCENARIES IN IRAQ’ BY LUCY CLARKE-BILLINGS ON 4/18/16 AT 11:59 AM Henry, a teenaged Revolutionary United Force rebel solider, brandishes his weapon in Koindu, Sierra Leone, June 9, 2001. James Ellery, a former director of Aegis Defence Services between 2005 and 2015, said the company did not check if African mercenaries—mostly from Sierra Leone—had previously been child soldiers. CHRIS HONDROS/GETTY A U.K. firm may have employed former child soldiers as mercenaries in Iraq, it has been alleged. The claims against Aegis Defence Services are to be made in a Danish television documentary The Child Soldier’s New Job, which is due to be broadcast on Monday. The documentary claims that Aegis, which is chaired by Sir Nicholas Soames, the Tory MP and grandson of Winston Churchill, hired some 2,500 mercenaries for as little as £10 ($16) a day in order to fulfil contracts to guard U.S. military bases from 2004 onwards. James Ellery, a former director of Aegis Defence Services between 2005 and 2015, told The Guardian that the company had not checked if the African mercenaries—mostly from Sierra Leone—had previously been child soldiers. He said they were cheaper than Europeans and claims the firm did not check if they were former child soldiers. “You probably would have a better force if you recruited entirely from the Midlands of England,” Ellery said. “But it can’t be afforded. So you go from the Midlands of England to Nepalese etc etc, Asians, and then at some point you say, I’m afraid all we can afford now is Africans.” Sierra Leone remains one of the world’s poorest countries, and the documentary charts how from 2009 onwards private military firms turned to it, along with Uganda and Kenya, for cheap labor to guard military installations in Iraq. Interviewees in the documentary provided detailed testimony of serving as child soldiers, and documents showing their employment with Aegis. “When war gets outsourced, then the companies try to find the cheapest soldiers globally. Turns out that that is former child soldiers from Sierra Leone. I think it is important that we in the west are aware of the consequences of the privatization of war,” the film’s maker, Mads Ellesøe, said. Aegis was taken over in 2015 by GardaWorld, a Canadian security company. Graham Binns, Aegis’s former CEO and GardaWorld’s senior managing director, told The Guardian: “We worked very closely with our audited, vetted and authorized agents to recruit, vet and screen our professionals. Our agents were authorized [as was the employment of individuals] by the relevant national government of the countries from which we recruited. “Aegis takes issues pertinent to our industry, such as post-traumatic stress very seriously, and has worked closely with experts in the field to develop and implement procedures for the management of trauma risk.” (Newsweek)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 4/19/2016 10:31:41 AM
	Syria: Why the Ceasefire is Unravelling 04/17/2016 12:54 pm ET \| Updated 1 day ago Syrian Army forces advancing on Nubl north of Aleppo, February 26, 2016 Syria: Why the Ceasefire is Unraveling The ceasefire in Syria seems on the verge of unraveling. It was never much of a ceasefire, so the issue might be purely a semantic one. Nonetheless, it underscores the continuing difficulties in crafting a political solution to end the five year long Syrian Civil War and its consequences. The current ceasefire went into effect on February 27, as part of a United Nations brokered effort that would have led to elections in early 2017, and a transition to a freely elected representative government. The ceasefire was the culmination of an ongoing effort spearheaded primarily by Russia and the United States, as well as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which had started in 2011 as an Arab-League and, from 2012 on, a joint Arab League-United Nations effort to end the fighting. That effort took on even more urgency following the escalation of fighting that followed the intervention of Russian military forces in support of the Assad government and the rising tide of Syrian refugees attempting to enter Europe. The ceasefire had specifically excluded ongoing military operations against Islamic State (IS) militants and the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front. The ceasefire did result in a reduction in fighting in a number of the theaters of the Syrian Civil War, principally in the south. The ongoing Syrian Army campaign to retake Aleppo, however, continued unabated. Moreover, while Islamic State militants generally operated within a discreet area, al-Nusra militants were often co-located with other rebel groups, including the U.S. backed, Free Syrian Army, and on occasion would even collaborate with them in joint military operations against both Islamic State militants and Syrian government forces. From the very beginning of the Russian military intervention in September 2015, it was clear that the bulk of the Russian airstrikes were being directed at the Western-backed Free Syrian Army and other “moderate groups.” The Russian intervention had been prompted by the need to stabilize the client Assad government in Damascus, then getting dangerously close to losing key territory to the Free Syrian Army. Syrian army’s encirclement of Aleppo. Pink: Syrian Army, Green: Anti-Assad rebels,. Grey: Islamic State It was equally clear that the Russian intent was to eliminate any Western-backed alternatives to the government of Bashar al-Assad as a viable option and force the United States and its allies to choose between either accepting a continuation of the Assad regime or allow Syria to come under the control of radical jihadist groups like Islamic State or the al-Nusra Front. With the tide of battle now shifted strongly in favor of Syrian military forces and both the Free Syrian Army and Islamic State on the defensive, Damascus has made it clear that Bashar al-Assad has no intention of stepping down and that the only viable “political solution” would be some kind of “national unity government” under Assad that would incorporate the more moderate elements of the anti-Assad opposition and which, with Russian and U.S. support, would continue military operations against Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front. The Free Syrian Army has rejected its participation in any unity government that includes Assad but has indicated it would accept members of his inner circle provided they were not guily of any “war crimes”. What is risking the complete collapse of the ceasefire, however, is the Syrian Army’s ongoing operations to retake Aleppo. Those operations had never stopped, even under the ceasefire. Syrian military forces are now on the verge of surrounding Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and a key stronghold of the Free Syrian Army, and also various jihadist groups including the al-Nusra Front. The prospect of retaking control of the city is simply too tempting for Damascus to pass up. Moreover, the political situation has changed significantly in the past six weeks. What prompted Russian calls for a ceasefire was the Kremlin’s concern of an imminent Turkish intervention into the civil war. Although Ankara has been a vehement opponent of the Assad regime, its more immediate concern was to prevent the creation of a semi-autonomous Kurdish state along the Syrian-Turkish border. That proposed state, Rojava, or Syrian Kurdistan, made up of the cantons of Jazira, Kobani and Afrin, was rapidly taking shape as the largely Kurdish, Syrian Democratic Forces militia advanced west of the Euphrates in an attempt to link up with the Kurdish forces in Afrin Canton to the west. A successful link up would create a continuous Kurdish controlled zone in Syria from the Iraqi border almost all the way to the Mediterranean. Such a semi-autonomous state was deeply concerning to Ankara, as it would prompt renewed demands of its own Kurdish community for more political autonomy. In the weeks prior to the ceasefire taking effect, there were numerous signs that Turkey was actively considering a military intervention to secure the largely Islamic State controlled zone between Afrin Canton and the Euphrates. Ostensibly the intervention would be justified as an attempt to create a safe zone for Syrian refugees displaced by the fighting elsewhere in Syria. The Turkish military even went so far as to begin dismantling Turkish minefields along the border to prepare invasion routes into Syria. A Turkish invasion, while it would likely have resulted in the quick occupation of the disputed territory, was not without its problems. Such an intervention was highly unpopular in Turkey. It would have likely promoted an increase in IS inspired terrorist attacks in Turkey. Moreover, there was the more significant problem of who would provide air cover. Having shot down a Russian SU-24 jet fighter on November 24, for straying into Turkish air space, it was a foregone conclusion that the appearance of Turkish Air Force planes over Syria would have prompted a Russian retaliatory response. The downing of Turkish Air Force jets, to further complicate the situation, might have prompted Ankara to seek NATO support under Article 5 of the mutual defense treaty. Russian SU-25s landing at the Latakia air base in Syria Ankara had extensive discussions with Washington over the prospect of the U.S. supplying air cover and, according to unconfirmed reports, an agreement in principal was reached, although the Obama White House has continued to insist no such agreement was made. It’s very possible that Russia’s repeated and deliberate provocation of Turkey in November 2015, was intended to complicate a possible Turkish intervention and make the consequences of an intervention much more problematic for Turkey the United States and for the NATO alliance in general. The prospect of American air support for a Turkish ground invasion triggered Russian announcements that a Turkish invasion would quickly escalate, “draw other countries into the conflict,” and even a declaration by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that it “could possibly lead to a third World War”—shorthand for a direct U.S.-Russian military clash. The Obama White House’s strong support for the Russian ceasefire proposal was likely prompted by a desire to avoid the complications that would have been created by a Turkish intervention. A Turkish intervention is still possible, but seems less likely now than it did six weeks ago. Washington has been quietly backing away from supplying air cover to Turkish Forces. The success of the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces against Islamic State, as well as Russian overtures in support of the SDF, and more generally in favor of more autonomy for Syrian Kurds, has meant that the last thing that the Obama administration wants is a direct military clash between Turkey and the U.S. backed SDF or the prospect of having to choose between supporting one side or the other. From the Kremlin’s standpoint the “Syrian ceasefire” served the political purpose it was designed to achieve¬—it forestalled a Turkish ground invasion of Syria. For the Obama White House it is yet one more example of how it continues to be out maneuvered in Syria by Vladimir Putin. For the moment, the military operation to retake Aleppo goes on, Bashar al-Assad shows no signs of stepping down and the Syrian Civil War will continue unabated. Follow Joseph V. Micallef on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JosephVMicallef
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

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Fears strain of 'super gonorrhoea' could spread across UK - and may become untreatable

Israel says finds tunnel from Gaza into Israeli territory

Syria rebels vow retaliation as peace talks under threat

U.K. FIRM ‘EMPLOYED EX-CHILD SOLDIERS AS MERCENARIES IN IRAQ’

Syria: Why the Ceasefire is Unravelling