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JUNE 6, 2016

Random interesting stuff with the significance of JUNE 6, 2016...

• #1 June 6, 2016 is being looked at as 666

(see below for more information)

• #2 Atheist Pride Day, D-Day

• #3 A rare astrological alignment of Venus behind the Sun

• #4 One Jubilee of 49 years after the Israelis took back over East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

• #5 The Egyptian pyramids will provide direction to Bethlehem (supposedly regarding a descending shift, anti-messiah)

• #6 Will be the start to WWIII after Europe closes its boarders to refugees (it will primarily be with China and Russia against U.S.)

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Regarding #1

"Daniel: 7 The USA and Obama

‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. 

After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time."
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"No Trump Presidency 2016-2019 Obama Antichrist

The research for David Montaigne's previous book (End Times and 2019) leads him to conclude 
that the first three and a half years, although full of problems like earthquakes and wars and 
rumors of wars – will not be intense enough to make anyone assume the world is ending. Only 
the second three and a half years will clearly be “great tribulation.” That being said, the final 
seven years already began on December 21, 2012 – when plans were made for the “Covenant 
of Peoples” tour in Israel and the Mayan Long Count ended. When Daniel talks about a midpoint 
halfway through these seven years, I believe he is referring to June 2016. The duration of his 
first time period is repeated often using different phrases to avoid possible misinterpretation. 
“Time, times, and half a time” are considered to be three and a half years, or 42 months, or 
“1260 days” using 42 months of 30 days each. Adding Daniel’s next number of “1290 days” 
gets us within a few days of an exact seven years in total – but it still leaves us with an extra 
3 days of darkness to add to each half to reach an exact seven years. The two witnesses will
lie dead in the street for three days at the end of the second half. I believe the extra 3 days at 
the end of the first three and a half years can be explained by an assassination attempt on the 
Antichrist exactly 1260 days into Daniel’s 70th week on June 3, 2016. He will appear to be 
mortally wounded at first, but in a tragic mockery of Christ’s resurrection, he will rise fully 
healed 3 days later, and present himself at the site of the Temple in Jerusalem as God on 
earth on June 6, 2016.

As on earth, so it is in heaven: when the Antichrist enters the Temple, Venus appears to enter 
the Sun. The Morningstar (Lucifer/Antichrist=Venus) enters the Temple (goes directly behind 
the Sun/altar of fire in the Temple.) As the Sun also represents Christ, and Venus is on the 
opposite (anti-) side we have our astronomical Antichrist in the right position. This is a rare 
event that happens on just 9 days every 105 years… And even the date fits activity for the 
Antichrist – the sixth day of the sixth month of a year ending in six – the only 6-6-6 date 
during the entire tribulation.

The odds of Venus going behind the sun on any given day are about 9/(105*365.25) – about 1 
in 4261 odds. It only happens on a 6-6-6 date one day out of every 15,563,302 days. That 
means on average it would not happen again like this for about 42,611 years. It is a VERY 
rare sign.

There are many other clues pointing to this date which require a more detailed explanation. 
The easiest one to explain in this short article is the JUBILEE.

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to let the land rest every 7 years and have 
a Sabbath year. After 7 Sabbath years, they were also told to celebrate a jubilee year. Every 49 
years, debts were forgiven, slaves were freed, and land which had been “sold” (leased really, the 
prices were even based on how many years were left before the next jubilee) reverted back to 
its original owner. This was to remind them that GOD owned the land and the people.

What better date could be chosen by someone standing at the temple in Jerusalem claiming to be 
God – than the date exactly one jubilee after the Israeli army liberated East Jerusalem and the 
Temple Mount? The Israelis entered East Jerusalem on June 6, 1967, and by morning had taken 
back the entire city, including the Temple Mount. Forty-nine years later we have June 6, 2016, 
when the Antichrist will try to mimic Christ and claim that it is time for possession of the land 
and the people to revert back to him. Many Christians expect the Second Coming at the end of a 
jubilee cycle, and notice that Daniel’s 70 sevens of years (490 years as described in Daniel 
9:24-27) equals ten jubilee cycles and would end with the tenth jubilee. In the Jewish 
commentaries known as the Talmud, Elijah says “on the last Jubilee the Son of David will come.” 
(Sanhedrin 97b) Though the Antichrist will show up in the middle of Daniel’s final week of years, 
and not on a biblical jubilee – he will try to claim that he is our Messiah and that he fulfills this
prophecy – on June 6, 2016.

My previous book (End Times and 2019) briefly addresses this as the midpoint of the final seven 
years, but its focus is really on the final events of December 2019. For more on the events of 
June 6, 2016 – including the identity of the Antichrist – read Antichrist 2016-2019: Mystery 
Babylon, Barack Obama & the Islamic Caliphate.

— contributed by David Montaigne, author of End Times and 2019 and Antichrist 2016-2019

and (as of November 2015) The Two Witnesses of Revelation: Will Elijah and Moses Return in 
2016?

This newest little e-book on the Two Witnesses is a short and inexpensive introduction to my 
timeline of events, which explains: “When my first books came out, I knew I was still missing 
something if my timeline didn’t perfectly align with the 1260, 1290, and 1335 day periods in the 
book of Daniel. I finally found the missing piece of the puzzle regarding the two witnesses 
(I already had it before and hadn’t recognized the significance of it) and now I know my timeline 
already was perfectly aligned with Daniel’s numbers…“

His prediction is Barrak Obama on 6-6-2016 !"

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Another post here...CLICK HERE

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Regarding #2

Here is more on this...CLICK HERE

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Regarding #3

"Venus at superior solar conjunction

Mon, 06 Jun 2016 at 14:15 PDT


From our vantage point on the Earth, Venus will appear very close to the Sun in the sky as it passes around the far side of the solar system from the Earth.

At closest approach, Venus and the Sun will appear at a separation of only 0°00', making Venus totally unobservable for several weeks while it is lost in the Sun's glare.

Venus will also pass apogee – the time when it is most distant from the Earth – within a few days of the same time, since it will lie exactly opposite to the Earth in the Solar System. It will move to a distance of 1.74 AU from the Earth, making it appear small and very distant. If it could be observed, it would measure 9.6 arcsec in diameter, whilst appearing completely illuminated.

Venus's reaching superior conjunction marks the end of its apparition in the morning sky and its transition to become an evening object over the next few weeks.

...the superior planet is "in opposition" to the Sun as seen from the inferior planet.


He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.


2 Thessalonians 2:4

666

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Regarding #4

Here is more on this one...CLICK HERE

__________________________

Regarding #5

Here is more on this one...CLICK HERE

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Regarding #6

Here's more on this one...CLICK HERE

Israel Attacked A Syrian Military Facility Which Syria States Was A 'Declaration of War'

Syria: Attack on military facility was a 'declaration of war' by Israel

By Frederik Pleitgen and Sara Sidner, CNN

updated 11:05 AM EDT, Sun May 5, 2013

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- A Syrian official called an attack Sunday on the nation's military research facility a "declaration of war" by Israel.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad said the attack represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel.

He added that Syria would retaliate against Israel in its own time and way.

READ MORE AT http://www.cnn.com   

THE ESCALATION BELOW...

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Israel strikes Syria, says targeting Hezbollah arms

1 of 2. A cloud of smoke is seen in the sky after an explosion at what Syrian state television reported was a military research centre in Damascus, in this still image taken from video obtained from a social media website by Reuters on May 5, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Social Media/Handout via Reuters TV

By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes

BEIRUT | Sun May 5, 2013 10:45am EDT

(Reuters) - Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Local people reported massive explosions and internet video showed the capital's skyline lit by flashes; Syrian opponents of President Bashar al-Assad rejoiced at Israel's third raid this year, and second in 48 hours, while anger in Tehran highlighted how Syria's civil war risks spinning further beyond its borders.

Israel, while declining to confirm the strike, stressed its focus was to deny its Lebanese foes new Iranian firepower and not take sides between Assad, long seen as a toothless adversary, and rebels who have won sympathy from Israel's Western allies but who also include al Qaeda Islamists hostile to the Jewish state.

It appears to calculate that Assad will not risk forces he needs to fight the rebels by attacking a much stronger Israel.

read more at http://www.reuters.com

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Israel Reportedly Attacks Syrian Facility, In An Escalation

BILL CHAPPELL and DANA FARRINGTON

May 05, 201310:50 AM

Israeli warplanes attacked a military research center near Damascus early Sunday, according to 
intelligence reports and Syrian state media. The attack prompted Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister 
Faisal al Mekdad to deem it a "declaration of war" by Israel, CNN reports.

The facility in question, in the Damascus suburb of Jamraya, was also targeted by Israel in January.

read more at http://www.npr.org

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Syria warns Israel after 'latest air raids'

Alleged attacks "open the door to all possibilities", Syria's information minister says, as Arab League  urges UN action. Last Modified: 05 May 2013 14:50 Syria's information minister has given warning that Israeli air raids against three targets on the outskirts of  Damascus "open the door to all possibilities". Omran al-Zoabi's comments in Damascus on Sunday came after an emergency cabinet meeting organised to  respond to what a Western source said was a new attack on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Although Zoabi did not hint at a concrete course of action, he said it was Syria's duty to protect the state from  any "domestic or foreign attack through all available means". He claimed the Israeli attacks are evidence of the country's links with "Islamic extremist groups" trying to the  Syrian government. Israel declined to confirm the attack so as not to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into serious  retaliation, according to a confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister. read more at http://www.aljazeera.com ............................................................. Israel confirms airstrike inside Syria Israeli officials say air force hit a shipment of 'game changing' weapons in Syria bound for  Hezbollah. Last Modified: 04 May 2013 10:31 Israeli officials have confirmed that the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria and  say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles. The officials said on Saturday the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of "game changing"  weapons bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah group. They claimed, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the airstrike was early on Friday, but no  mention was made of where it took place. Following the strike, Defence Ministry strategist, Amos Gilad, said that Syrian President  Bashar al-Assad retains control of Syria's reputed chemical weapons and they are not sought  by his Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. "Syria has large amounts of chemical weaponry and missiles. Everything there is under (Assad  government) control," Gilad said in a speech. "Hezbollah does not have chemical weaponry. We have ways of knowing. They are not keen to  take weaponry like this, preferring systems that can cover all of the country (Israel)," he said. Earlier this week, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said his group would assist Assad  if needed in the effort to put down a 2-year-old uprising. Israeli embassy spokesman Aaron Sagui would not comment on Friday night specifically on the  report of an Israeli strike into Syria. "What we can say is that Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or  other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, specially to Hezbollah in  Lebanon," Sagui said in an email to the AP. The Syrian UN Ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, told Reuters: "I'm not aware of any attack right  now." read more at http://www.aljazeera.com .................................................................. I HAD TO RANDOMLY ADD THIS PIC BECAUSE IT TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE THE NAZI REGIME.

UPDATE: 4-26-2013 - Syrians Attacked With Chemical Weapons. Intelligence of Stockpiling Known Months Ago.

UPDATE:4-26-2013

Krauthammer On Syria: "What's At Stake Here Is Whether Anything This President Now Says Is Believable"

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: Well, I think what’s really important here is that what’s at stake is not the trajectory of the Syrian war. There’s something else at stake here, and that’s America’s word. 

Whatever Obama does, I don’t think he’ll do anything. He’ll try to minimize this. He’ll try to caveat himself out of this. But even if he does act, it’ll be a minor act. It’s not going to have any effect on what happens in Syria.

What’s at stake here is whether anything that this president now says is believable around the world. When you say 'red line' and you make the red line way out there -- it’s not the slaughter of 80,000 of your own people; it’s the use of chemical weapons -- and then you get definitive evidence that it has been used and you don’t do anything, then your word means nothing. 

And the one thing America’s had for the last 60 years is the power and the belief in the world that when it says 'x,' it will do 'x.' And I think that’s really what the problem is here. I’m wondering whether this Administration understands how much of its word is at stake. (Special Report, April 25, 2013)

SOURCE: http://www.realclearpolitics.com

.......................end update......................
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UPDATE:4-25-2013

White House: We don’t know if Syria red line has been crossed

Posted By Josh Rogin  Thursday, April 25, 2013

Despite a new U.S. intelligence community assessment that the Syrian regime likely used chemical weapons on its own people, the White House is still waiting for more evidence before deciding whether Bashar al-Assad has crossed President Barack Obama's "red line."

The White House scrambled Thursday to set up a conference call with reporters following Thursday morning's news that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded with varying levels of confidence that there has been small-scale use of sarin, a deadly nerve gas, inside Syria, most likely by the Syrian regime. Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers Thursday that the assessment referenced two instances of chemical weapons use in Syria.

A senior White House official said on the conference call that the intelligence community's assessment was not enough to determine that President Obama's red line regarding U.S. intervention in Syria has been crossed.

"We are continuing to do further work to establish a strong, firm, evidentiary basis to determine whether or not the red line has been crossed," the official said. "If we make a determination that the red line has been crossed... what we will be doing is consulting with friends and allies as to the next steps forward."

The official indirectly referenced the flawed intelligence assessments about Saddam Hussein's programs of weapons of mass destruction in the lead up to the Iraq war as justification for caution.

"It is crucial, given our own history with intelligence assessments, including intelligence assessments on weapons of mass destruction... that we are able to present evidence that is airtight," the official said. "It is absolutely the case that the president's red line is the use of chemical weapons or the transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups. Our standard of evidence has to build on these intelligence assessments. We want to continue to investigate."

The Obama administration is keeping all options on the table, but the official declined to say what options might be considered if and when it is confirmed that the president's red line has been crossed. The official also declined to identify the locations or dates of the two alleged uses of chemical weapons in Syria, but acknowledged that a March incident in Aleppo had spurred the United States to press for a fuller investigation.

"We will constantly have prepared contingency planning for different scenarios within Syria," the official said. "What the Assad regime needs to know is that we are watching this incredibly closely."

The White House's conclusion that not enough evidence exists to confirm that the Syrian regime has crossed Obama's red line was contradicted Thursday by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein(D-CA), the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

 "It is clear that ‘red lines' have been crossed and action must be taken to prevent larger scale use," she said in a statement. "Syria has the ability to kill tens of thousands with its chemical weapons. The world must come together to prevent this by unified action which results in the secure containment of Syria's significant stockpile of chemical weapons."

The original announcement about the new intelligence community assessment on Syrian chemical weapons came in statements Thursday from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and in a letter from the White House to several senators delivered Thursday morning during an otherwise classified briefing.

"Our intelligence community does asses with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent Sarin,"Miguel Rodriguez, the director of the White House office of legislative affairs, wrote in the letter.

SOURCE: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com

SOURCE: http://www.scribd.com......................................................................................................

.....................................................END UPDATE.................................................................

First...let me state that we knew that the stockpiling of weapons, including chemical weapons was known through HUMINT (human intelligence) and other sources of intelligence by global national communities.  As we know, much of this has been helped along by Russia and Iran.  The blame is on the global nations, including the U.S. the have known about this and have not done anything to stop it.  

President Obama said in August that 

"I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command -- the world is watching" "The use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable. And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there will be consequences and you will be held accountable," he said.Obama has previously warned that any use of chemical weapons by Syria in its civil war would be crossing a "red line" that would prompt a swift U.S. response. source: here

Here is when there was warning that the bombs were being made ready to launch against the rebels...

Intell on Syria's chemical weapons sparked international action to stop 'bomb preparation'

Jorge Benitez | January 08, 2013

From Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger, New York Times:  In the last days of November, Israel’s top military commanders called the Pentagon to discuss troubling intelligence that was showing up on satellite imagery: Syrian troops appeared to be mixing chemicals at two storage sites, probably the deadly nerve gas sarin, and filling dozens of 500-pounds bombs that could be loaded on airplanes.

Within hours President Obama was notified, and the alarm grew over the weekend, as the munitions were loaded onto vehicles near Syrian air bases. In briefings, administration officials were told that if Syria’s increasingly desperate president, Bashar al-Assad, ordered the weapons to be used, they could be airborne in less than two hours — too fast for the United States to act, in all likelihood.

What followed next, officials said, was a remarkable show of international cooperation over a civil war in which the United States, Arab states, Russia and China have almost never agreed on a common course of action.

The combination of a public warning by Mr. Obama and more sharply worded private messages sent to the Syrian leader and his military commanders through Russia and others, including Iraq, Turkey and possibly Jordan, stopped the chemical mixing and the bomb preparation. A week later Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said the worst fears were over — for the time being. . . .

“I think the Russians understood this is the one thing that could get us to intervene in the war,” one senior defense official said last week. “What Assad understood, and whether that understanding changes if he gets cornered in the next few months, that’s anyone’s guess. . . .”

The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, warned in a confidential assessment last month that the weapons could now be deployed four to six hours after orders were issued, and that Mr. Assad had a special adviser at his side who oversaw control of the weapons, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported. Some American and other allied officials, however, said in interviews that the sarin-laden bombs could be loaded on planes and airborne in less than two hours. . . .

How the United States and Israel, along with Arab states, would respond remains a mystery. American and allied officials have talked vaguely of having developed “contingency plans” in case they decided to intervene in an effort to neutralize the chemical weapons, a task that the Pentagon estimates would require upward of 75,000 troops. But there have been no evident signs of preparations for any such effort.

The United States military has quietly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan to help the armed forces there, among other things, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons. . . .

Syria’s chemical weapons are under the control of a secretive Syrian air force organization called Unit 450, a highly vetted outfit that is deemed one of the most loyal to the Assad government given the importance of the weapons in its custody.

American officials said that some of the back-channel messages in recent weeks were directed at the commanders of this unit, warning them — as Mr. Obama warned Mr. Assad on Dec. 3 — that they would be held personally responsible if the government used its chemical weapons.

Asked about these communications and whether they have been successful, an American intelligence official said only, “The topic is extremely sensitive, and public discussion, even on background, will be problematic.”   (graphic: Best Thinking)

source: http://www.acus.org/natosource/intell-syrias-chemical-weapons-sparked-international-action-stop-bomb-preparation

Is it obvious to anyone else that the video below from approximately a day ago was a staged video to cover our butts because we knew of what was going to happen today with the attack on the Syrian people with the use of chemical weapons?!

Here are are some of the articles about what has happened divided by videos that were about the chemical warfare issue from months ago...

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UK says Syria chemical weapons use would need "serious response"

LONDON | Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:04am EDT

(Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it was aware of media reports about a chemical weapons attack in Syria, adding that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons there would demand a serious response from the international community.

"The UK is clear that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons would demand a serious response from the international community and force us to revisit our approach so far," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/19/us-britain-syria-chemical-idUSBRE92I0J820130319

Above From  7-2012   

Despite the Confirmation of Biological Weapons, the International Community Still Can’t Do Anything 

Though Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons has been an open secret for the past 4 decades, the Assad’s regime’s announcement is a direct confirmation that Syria does indeed have a chemical weapons arsenal at their disposal.  The announcement targeted the international community, stating that if any foreign intervention in Syria’s civil war would be met with the deployment of chemical weapons.  The weapons include mustard and sarin gases, as well as cyanide, and are capable of being deployed by aircraft, surface-to-air missiles and rockets.  The announcement has sparked renewed animosity towards the regime, as well as towards the eastern powers that still persist in supporting the Assad regime, such as Russia and China.  Though the announcement does spark another international dilemma to be confronted if the community were to begin renewed intervention-talks, it does not present any new looming threat for the opposition groups still fighting throughout the Syrian country. 

'Suffocating in the streets': Chemical weapons attack reported in Syria

George Ourfalian / Reuters

Residents and medics transport a wounded Syrian army soldier to hospital Tuesday after heavy fighting in Aleppo province during which both rebels and government forces said a chemical weapon was used.

By Erika Solomon and Dominic Evans, Reuters

Syria's government and rebels accused each other of launching a deadly chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday in what would, if confirmed, be the first use of such weapons in the two-year-old conflict. 

Syria's state news agency SANA said the rebels had launched a missile, while the rebels said the government had fired a long-range missile with "chemical agents."

"Terrorists fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assal area of rural Aleppo," SANA said.

A Reuters photographer visited two hospitals and saw people with breathing problems, who told him that they saw people dying in the streets and that the air smelled strongly of chlorine.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a human rights monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground, said 26 people were killed in a "rocket attack" but it could neither confirm nor deny reports of chemical weapons.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who has resisted overt military intervention in Syria's civil war, has previously warned Syria's President Bashar Assad that any use of chemical weapons would be a "red line".

Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi put the death toll at 16 and said 86 people were wounded, most of them critically.

In a televised news conference, he said the country's armed forces would never use internationally banned weapons. "Syria's army leadership has stressed this before and we say it again, if we had chemical weapons we would never use them due to moral, humanitarian and political reasons," Zoabi said.

read more at http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/19/17370550-suffocating-in-the-streets-chemical-weapons-attack-reported-in-syria?lite

Cagle Cartoons

Views: 213

Above Cartoon Published on Jul 24, 2012 at 8:12 AM PDT

Damascus, rebels trade charges on "chemical attack"

BEIRUT - Syria's government and rebels accused each other of launching a deadly chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday in what would, if confirmed, be the first use of such weapons in the two-year-old conflict.

Syria's information minister said rebels had fired a rocket carrying chemical agents that killed 16 people and wounded 86. State television said later the death toll had risen to 25.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict using a network of contacts in Syria, put the number of dead at 26, including 16 soldiers.

A Reuters photographer said victims he had visited in Aleppo hospitals were suffering breathing problems and that people had said they could smell chlorine after the attack.

"I saw mostly women and children," said the photographer, who cannot be named for his own safety.

"They said that people were suffocating in the streets and the air smelt strongly of chlorine."

The photographer quoted victims he met at the University of Aleppo hospital and the al-Rajaa hospital as saying: "People were dying in the streets and in their houses."

President Bashar al-Assad, battling a two-year-old uprising against his rule, is widely believed to have a chemical arsenal.

Syrian officials have neither confirmed nor denied this, but have said that if it existed it would be used to defend against foreign aggression, not against Syrians. There have been no previous reports of chemical weapons in the hands of insurgents.

Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said rebels fired a rocket with chemical weapons at the town of Khan al-Assal, southwest of Aleppo, in what he called a "dangerous escalation".

He said the rocket had been launched from Aleppo's southeastern district of Nairab, part of which is rebel-held.

source: Reuters

Japan Readying Patriot Missiles to Defend Against North Korea's Suspected Upcoming Nuclear Missile Test

Japan Deploys Patriot Missiles to Defend Tokyo from North Korean Threats

Military moves three PAC-3 batteries in defensive ring around central Tokyo - and more are likely to follow

By VASUDEVAN SRIDHARAN:

April 9, 2013 7:21 AM GMT

Members of the Japan Self-Defence Forces deploy PAC-3 missiles at the defence ministry in Tokyo. - Reuters

Japan has deployed Patriot missiles in and around central Tokyo as a defensive measure should North Korea decide to launch an attack amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

Tokyo has moved three Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air missile launchers, according to the defence ministry. Two more batteries are likely to be stationed at other places.

The units are meant to defend the headquarters of the defence ministry and key military installations in the capital as well as the 30 million people who live in greater Tokyo.

"We are proceeding with measures including deployment of PAC-3 as we are on alert," said Tokyo's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.

He said another unit would be stationed in Okinawa prefecture as "the place that is most effective in responding to emergencies".

Although Japan has poured scorn on North Korea's threats thus far, the latest move is evidence that it could be preparing for the worst.

Tokyo had already deployed Aegis class destroyers equipped with missile interceptors in the Sea of Japan to counter the North Korean threats, and authorised its forces to shoot down any missile emanating from North Korea.  

"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety. As North Korea keeps making provocative comments, Japan, cooperating with relevant countries, will do what we have to do. For the moment, the most important thing is to implement sanctions under the UN Security Council resolutions," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters.

Further details about the deployment have been withheld by the authorities because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

"We'd like to refrain from explaining further because it would give away details of the cards we hold. At any rate, we have taken thorough measures to ensure the safety of the people," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

The announcement from Tokyo, Washington's close ally in the region, has come after Seoul-based reports suggested that North Korea has moved two medium-range missiles off its eastern coast.

While former North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung's birthday falls on 15 April, experts believe Pyongyang's current leadership may resort to provocative actions coinciding with the occasion to boost its own reputation domestically.

read more at ibtimes

North Korea suspected of preparing for nuclear test

South Korean government says there are signs the regime is getting ready for what would be its fourth nuclear weapon test

Justin McCurry in Seoul
guardian.co.uk, 
Monday 8 April 2013 03.33 EDT

North Korea could be preparing to conduct a fourth nuclear test, following signs of activity at the country's main testing site, South Korea's unification minister, Ryoo Kihl-jae, said on Monday.

Ryoo told a meeting with MPs at the national assembly that Seoul had acquired evidence of increased movement of vehicles and personnel at Punggye-ri, the Yonhap news agency said.

The site on North Korea's north-east coast is where the country's three previous controlled nuclear detonations – in 2006, 2009 and on 12 February this year – took place.

Ryoo's comments came after a South Korean newspaper quoted an unnamed government source as saying that workers appeared to be preparing for another test at Punggye-ri.

The JoongAng Ilbo quoted the source as saying that South Korean intelligence had detected "increased activity of labour forces and vehicles" at the site.

"We are closely monitoring the ongoing situation, which is very similar to the situation ahead of the third nuclear test. We are trying to figure out whether it is a genuine preparation for a nuclear test or just a ploy to heap more pressure on us and the US," it said.

The prospect of a nuclear test is certain to add to tensions on the peninsula amid reports that the regime in Pyongyang could be planning to launch a medium-range missile from its east coat, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Any missile launch is expected to be a test rather than a targeted strike and could take place in the runup to the 101st anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, on 15 April. Another significant date is the anniversary of the foundation of the Korean people's army 10 days later.

Last week, North Korea warned foreign embassies in Pyongyang it could not guarantee their safety from the threat of conflict after Wednesday this week and advised them to consider pulling their staff out of the capital.
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