End Times Prophecy News & Current Events 1/18/2018

defango (64)in #news • 7 years ago

The comments came after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson outlined plans in a speech Wednesday for the United States to remain engaged diplomatically and militarily in Syria long after the defeat of the radical Islamic State group.

The United States has led a coalition carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since 2014, and the Pentagon said last month there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

Tillerson discussed the way forward for the United States in Syria at an event at the conservative leaning Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He listed a number of reasons why it is crucial for the U.S. to remain in the troubled country, including preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State and al-Qaida terrorist groups.

U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, has warned that the alliance will not be “dominant” in certain areas in five years if it fails to modernize and adapt to the growing threat from Russia.

“I certainly have concerns with respect to Russia,” Scaparrotti told a press conference in Brussels on January 17 following a meeting of top NATO defense officials.

“I think that, as an alliance, we are dominant. There are domains within this that were challenged. I think cyber is one of those. They are very competent in that,” he also said, referring to Russia.

“There are others where because of the modernization you noted, while we are dominant, we will not be in five years per se if we aren't adapting like this to include our structure but also within the nations, our capabilities, across the military functional areas as well as our domains.”

SWEDEN is preparing to reissue a pamphlet first sent out during World War II — on how to respond if war breaks out — to 4.7 million households as it deals with Russia’s aggressive actions in the region..

The booklet, titled If Crisis or War Comes will advise people on how they can take part in the “total defence” of the country, according to the New York Post.

It will also offer practical information on how to prepare their homes, secure food and water, and even what clothes to pack in case of evacuation, Quartz reported.

The updated manual will also tell Swedes how to react in case of a terror attack or a natural disaster and give advice on handling false information and propaganda, the website reported.

“All of society needs to be prepared for conflict, not just the military. We haven’t been using words such as total defence or high alert for 25 to 30 years or more. So the knowledge among citizens is very low,” said Christina Andersson, who is heading up the project at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the Financial Timesreported.

The federal government will provide another $12.1 million to help the people of Yemen survive what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition backed by the United States has been carrying out airstrikes in Yemen against Iranian-allied rebels.
The UN says the war has killed more than 10,000 civilians, displaced some two million people and pushed millions more to the brink of famine.

International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s office says the new assistance will be spread among several UN agencies in addition to the Red Cross to “help save lives, alleviate suffering … and address the particular needs of women and girls.”

Dozens of lawmakers sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to reestablish military-to-military contact with North Korea in order to prevent any miscalculations that could evolve into "a great conflict, including nuclear war."

The letter, signed by 32 Democrats and one Republican, said: "We write to request the reestablishment of military-to-military communication between the United States and North Korea. The U.S. should do all in its power to avoid misunderstandings that could escalate to a great conflict, including nuclear war."

Citing Trump's recent indications he could be open to speaking with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the lawmakers urged the president to "prioritize this form of communication" to avert a potential conflict.

Damn your dollars!” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas railed at the United States and President Trump during his recent maniacal tirade.

Well, OK: On Tuesday, Team Trump took him at his word, cutting $65 million of the $125 million Washington sends to the UN outfit that handles Palestinian aid, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Hey, Trump had warned Abbas long ago that PA funding was at risk if its leaders refused to engage in peace talks with Israel.

And Abbas’ 2 ½-hour rant in Ramallah pretty conclusively showed that he’s not remotely ready to do that.

First, he again specifically rejected any thought of playing along with the latest US effort to restart negotiations: “We told Trump we will not accept his project, the ‘deal of the century,’ which has become the ‘slap of the century’ ” — referring to US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.