Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Syria Rebels Advance Near Golan Heights, Says NGO
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Clashes in Quneitra can be see from across the border in Israel

Flash 90

Syrian rebels have made fresh advances near the Israeli Golan Heights in Quneitra province, where 26 troops and 17 rebels were killed in a battle on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

Fighting has raged in the province since August, when rebels and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front took control of a border post.

"Rebels have since taken control of hills overlooking the border post, as well as several villages nearby, (after battles that killed) a large number of troops on both sides," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said Sunday.

On Saturday, "the regime tried to take back the village of Msahra, but failed", said Abdel Rahman, with the fighting leaving the 43 dead on both sides.

Over the course of Saturday's fighting, the rebels also seized a string of new hilltops.

The Observatory says the fighting around Quneitra has killed some 70 loyalists and dozens of rebels since the end of August.

For many months, rebels have sought to take full control of southern Damascus, Daraa province on the Jordan border, and Quneitra.

Elsewhere, regime warplanes carried out fresh strikes against areas under Islamic State (IS) control in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and the northern province of Raqa.

The air strike on Raqa killed two children, said the Observatory.

The Britain-based monitor and activists meanwhile reported several shells launched from rebel positions onto Abbasiyeen Square and other areas of central Damascus.

The shelling comes three weeks into a major battle in the eastern Damascus district of Jobar, which the regime is trying to wrest from rebel control.

On Sunday, the air force carried out 10 air strikes against rebel positions east of Damascus, the Observatory said, reporting no casualties.

Syria's war has killed more than 191,000 people since March 2011.

Obama to 'Go on the Offensive' Against Islamic State
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement at the White House

Reuters

President Barack Obama said he will explain to Americans and congressional leaders this week his strategy to deal with and ultimately defeat the Islamic State terrorists, who he said could eventually become a threat to the United States.

Obama will make a speech on Wednesday to “describe what our game plan's going to be,” and meet congressional leaders on Tuesday to seek their support for his strategy to halt the vicious Islamist group, reported Voice of America (VOA).

The president, who campaigned on getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, has struggled to articulate how he wants to address the Islamic State group, telling reporters last month that “we don't have a strategy yet” to tackle the group.

“I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it,” Obama said in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press that aired on Sunday. The interview was conducted in Washington on Saturday.

"I'm preparing the country to make sure that we deal with a threat from ISIL," Obama said, using an alternative name for the jihadist group.

“The next phase is now to start going on some offense,” he said.

The Wednesday speech will come a day ahead of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when al-Qaida terrorists flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, killing almost 3,000 people.

“I want everybody to understand that we have not seen any immediate intelligence about threats to the homeland” from the Islamic State group, Obama said.

But the group has attracted foreign fighters from Western nations who could travel to the United States “unimpeded,” Obama said. “Over time, that can be a serious threat to the homeland,” he said.

In an interview earlier this year, Obama had put the group in a category of foreign militant movements that were a minor threat, comparing it to a “JV”, or junior varsity, team. But he told NBC the group had grown. “They're not a JV team,” he said.

Liberman: Demilitarization of Gaza not Likely
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said today (Sunday) that as nothing as yet as been heard from Mohammed Deif, commander of the Hamas military arm, there is reason to be optimistic that he, indeed, was killed in an IAF airstrike during Operation Protective Edge.

"But we most likely won't see the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," Liberman commented, adding, "The whole issue of a long-term ceasefire agreement in the near future is time sensitive."

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Abbas Threatens to End Hamas Unity Deal
Abbas spoke to Arab journalists in Cairo on Saturday night, warning that the unity deal he sealed with the Hamas terrorist organization in April - torpedoing peace talks with Israel - is on the brink of collapse. "I don't trust Hamas much because they change their words all the time. There must be a unified Palestinian Authority," remarked Abbas.  

Rural hospitals pressured to close as healthcare system changes
In January, Linden Texas native Richard Bowden suffered a mild stroke. Within minutes, medics had taken the 68-year-old to the local hospital emergency room, less than a block from his house. “They checked me out real good,” said the former city councilor, whose East Texas community of nearly 2,000 has relied on the Linden hospital since the 1960s.  

Saudi builds northern border fence against infiltrators
Saudi Arabia has inaugurated a multilayered fence along its northern borders, as part of efforts to secure the kingdom's vast desert frontiers against infiltrators and smugglers, state media said. King Abdullah announced late Friday the launch of the first stage of a border security programme, covering 900 kilometres (560 miles) of the northern frontier, SPA state news agency reported.  

US strikes Islamic State militants at Iraq's Haditha dam
The US has carried out a series of air strikes on Islamic State militants close to the vital Haditha dam in western Iraq, US officials say. The US strikes, the first in the area, were to protect the Iraqi forces and Sunni tribesmen in control of the dam. The US has carried out scores of air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces as they try to halt the advance of the militants in the north and west.  

Sierra Leone's Ebola lockdown will not help, says MSF
A three-day lockdown announced by Sierra Leone to combat Ebola will not help contain the virus, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says. The charity said a lockdown would force people underground, destroy trust between doctors and the public and ultimately help spread the disease. Sierra Leone officials say the measure, due to begin on 19 September, will let health workers isolate new cases.  

Obama delays immigration reform plan
In June, he promised to use executive orders that were expected to change visa rules, boost border security and give a path to citizenship for some 11 million US-based illegal immigrants. But the White House says the plans have been shelved until after mid-term elections in November. Each year tens of thousands try to get into the US from Mexico.  

Former Mossad chief: There are signs of support for Islamic State in Israel
Israel should be concerned with the possibility that its own citizens will potentially volunteer to join the Islamic State terrorist group, former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy warned on Sunday. Speaking during an interview with Army Radio, Halevy said that Israeli-Arabs volunteering for the group pose a greater threat than the possibility of the organization threatening Israel's borders.  

Henry Kissinger: Iran 'A Bigger Problem Than ISIS'
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that Iran "is a bigger problem than ISIS." In an interview with NPR that was released on Saturday, Kissinger explained that because Iran has a stronger footing in the Middle East, it has a greater opportunity to create an empire.  

Boko Haram offensive looks to form copycat caliphate in Nigeria
Fears are growing in Nigeria about a spreading Islamic insurgency which has seen fleeing residents reporting extremists actively recruiting. The Nigerian defence ministry confirmed “challenges in the counter-terrorism efforts” but promised to defeat “rampaging terrorists”.  

Syrian airstrikes target Islamic State stronghold
Syria launched a series of airstrikes targeting a stronghold of the Islamic State extremist group on Saturday, killing at least 29 people, most of whom died when one of the missiles slammed into a crowded bakery, activists said.  

Iraq crisis: Kurds retake strategic mountain from IS
Kurdish forces in northern Iraq have recaptured a strategically important mountain from Islamic State (IS) militants, helped by US air strikes. Mount Zartak overlooks a plain that stretches to Mosul, the city seized by IS in June. The mountain fell to the Islamists last month when they staged a lightning attack on Iraqi Kurdistan.  

Ukraine crisis: Shelling near Mariupol threatens tense truce
Explosions have been heard near the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a day after the government and rebels agreed a ceasefire. A BBC correspondent in the city says intense blasts from the eastern edges have rippled across the city.  

Somalia's al Shabaab name new leader after U.S. strike, warn of revenge
The Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab confirmed on Saturday that its leader Ahmed Godane had been killed in a U.S. air strike this week and named a new leader, promising "great distress" to its enemies.  

North Korea to put US citizen on trial Sept 14
North Korea will put a detained US citizen on trial on September 14, state media said on Sunday, less than a week after Matthew Miller made a highly unusual televised plea for help from Washington.  

Putin is under Satan's influence: leader of Kiev Orthodox Church
President Vladimir Putin has fallen under the spell of Satan and faces eternal damnation unless he repents, a top Ukrainian clergyman said on Saturday in an unusually blunt statement that squarely blamed the Russian leader for the war in Ukraine.  

Hamas: Hamdallah's Refusal to Come to Gaza is Unacceptable
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri tonight (Sunday) attacked PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah's refusal to return to Gaza as an act of appeasement due to allegations of threats made against him.

Zuhri claimed this was a false pretense as Hamdallah also fills the position of Ministry of Interior and is responsible for the police providing security to himself, as well as to all Palestinians.

Arab League to Support U.S. Efforts Against IS
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

ISIS fighters parade in Raqqa, Syria

Reuters

The Arab League said Sunday that it would back military action led by the US and Europe against IS (aka ISIS or ISIL), the Islamist group that has taken over large portions of Syria and Iraq. US President Barack H Obama said in an interview Sunday that the US would step up its aerial campaign against the Islamist group, but would not commit ground forces to the battle.

On Saturday, Arab League chief Nabil Al Arabi met with US Secretary of State John Kerry. Speaking Sunday at the meeting of the group, Al Arabi gave the League's full backing to active military action against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group. “What is needed is a clear decision for a comprehensive confrontation, militarily and politically,” said Al Arabi. The League is expected to ratify and official resolution recording its support for the US activity.

In the interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Obama said that the US would “hunt down" ISIS terrorists "wherever they are.” The US action against ISIS would consist of a major air campaign, but US troops would not be deployed.

“This is not the equivalent of the Iraq war,” where US troops were advising Iraqi government soldiers in the field, Obama said, stressing that the US would work with “regional partners” to tout the Islamists. “Over the course of months, we are going to be able to not just blunt the momentum of (IS),” Obama said. “We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities. We're going to shrink the territory that they control. And that's how we're going to defeat them.”

Obama will make a speech on Wednesday to “describe what our game plan's going to be,” and meet congressional leaders on Tuesday to seek their support for his strategy to halt the vicious Islamist group, reported Voice of America (VOA).

The president, who campaigned on getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, has struggled to articulate how he wants to address the Islamic State group, telling reporters last month that “we don't have a strategy yet” to tackle the group.

A fallacy: to think that time is a great healer
Sep 7th, 2014
Thought For The WeekA. W. Tozer
Categories: Commentary;Exhortation

The most harmful mistake we make concerning time is to think that it has somehow a mysterious power to perfect human nature and change the human personality.

We say of the foolish young man, "Time will make him wiser," or we see a new Christian acting like anything but a Christian and hope that time will someday turn him into a saint.

The truth is that time has no more power to sanctify a man than space has. Indeed, time is only a fiction by which we account for change. It is a transformation, not time, that turns fools into wise men and sinners into saints, Christ bringing it about by means of the changes He works in the heart!

Saul the persecutor became Paul the servant of God, but time did not make the change. Christ wrought the miracle, the same Christ who once changed water into wine. One spiritual experience followed another in fairly rapid succession until the violent Saul became a gentle God-enamored soul, ready to lay down his life for the faith he once hated. It should be obvious that time had no part in the making of the man of God!

Human nature is not fixed and for this we should thank God day and night! We are still capable of change. We can become something other than what we are. By the power of the gospel the covetous man may become generous, the egotist lowly in his own eyes. The thief may learn to steal no more, the blasphemer to fill his mouth with praises unto God.

And he trembling and astonished said, Lord what wilt thou have me to do? . . . .Acts 9:6

'Nuke - Capable' Stealth Submarine Sets Sail for Israel
Sep 7th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The INS Tanin, Israel's fourth and most advanced Dolphin class submarine – is en route to Israel from Germany, and the Navy has released video of the vessel and the ceremony in which it was launched at Germany's Kiel shipyards at week's end.

Reports claim Israel has modified the Dolphin's 650mm launch tubes to allow the launch of missiles that could carry nuclear warheads. Such missiles should give Israel the ability to deter belligerent neighbors like Iran, if it delivers a sufficiently convincing threat to make use of them. However – Israel has thus far maintained a policy of nuclear ambiguity.

The German weekly Der Spiegel reported that the submarines have a nuclear capability and are part of Israel's weaponry to counter the nuclear threat from Iran.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has denied that the submarines have a nuclear capability. 

The new Dolphin also has state of the art Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, which allow it to operate without the need to access atmospheric oxygen by surfacing or using a snorkel. This makes it virtually silent and potentially stealthier than nuclear powered submarines.

It is the most expensive single vehicle in the IDF's arsenal and unlike the first three Dolphins delivered to Israel, is modeled on the German Navy's Type 212 submarine, and not on the export-only Type 209. The AIP Dolphins are 12 meters longer than the Type 212, are nearly 500 tons heavier in submerged displacement, and have a larger crew.

Israel has already purchased a a fifth Dolphin-class submarine at a subsidized rate from Berlin, and has an option for a sixth.

In May 2012, during an official ceremony in the Kiel shipyards, the German builders transferred the INS Tanin to the Israeli Navy. However, it did not complete its testing process until now.

Each Dolphin-class submarine is capable of carrying a combined total of up to 16 torpedoes and Submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs). The cruise missiles have a range of at least 1,500 km (930 mi) and are widely believed to be equipped with a 200-kilogram (440 lb) nuclear warhead containing up to 6 kilograms (13 lb) of plutonium.

A wet and dry compartment is installed for deploying underwater special operations teams.

Jane's Defense Weekly reports that the Dolphin-class submarines are believed to be nuclear armed, offering Israel both a first strike and a second strike capability. The Federation of American Scientists and GlobalSecurity.org report that the four larger torpedo tubes are capable of launching Israeli built nuclear-armed Popeye Turbo cruise missiles (a variant of the Popeye standoff missile), and the US Navy recorded an Israeli submarine-launched cruise missile test in the Indian Ocean ranging 1,500 km (930 mi).

INS Tanin IDF Spokesman's Unit