Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[sToRmR1dR]

Austrian MP Set to Propose Putin Plan of EU-Russia Free Trade Zone

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160404/1037433368/austrian-mp-sanctions-russia.html

Western sanctions against Russia make no sense, Austrian politician Christoph Leitl said in an interview with APA agency.

Leitl is a member of the Austrian People’s Party and president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

"If a doctor has been using a therapy for two years, and it is not working, it is time to think about it," the politician said.

He expressed regret that some in Europe still think that the "policy of threats is the only option."

Leitl stressed that Russia is one of the most important partner for Brussels. According to him, Moscow played constructive role in the Iranian nuclear talks and contributed a lot to resolving the Syrian crisis.

Tensions between Russian and the West have deepened over the crisis in Ukraine. Since 2014, the US and Brussels have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russian companies and individuals. In response, Russia introduced a food imports ban against a number of Western countries.

The politician also said that a joint trade zone should be created "across the entire continent, from Lisbon to Vladivostok." The initiative would strengthen the positions of Europe among other global regions, he added.

Negotiations would take two-three years, and by that time sanctions may be lifted, Leitl said.

He also plans to share his ideas with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Next week, Leitl will join Austrian President Heinz Fischer during their visit to Moscow.

"I’d like to tell Vladimir Putin about the plan. I’m waiting for his response," Leitl said.

Initially, the idea of a united economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok was proposed by Vladimir Putin back in 2010 when he was prime minister of Russia. He presented his vision in an article published in the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung.

"In the future, we could even consider a free trade zone or even more advanced forms of economic integration. The result would be a unified continental market with a capacity worth trillions of euros," Putin wrote in the article.

He also proposed closer cooperation between Russia and Europe, including in energy, manufacturing industry, and hi-tech segments.

Putin’s idea of a free trade zone across the continent later was supported by many European leaders and politicians.

Japan wants to actively develop relations with Russia — Foreign Ministry’s report

http://tass.ru/en/world/866915

The report also calls for "active preparations" for talks with Moscow on the territorial dispute and soonest visit of the Russian president to Tokyo

TOKYO, April 4. /TASS/. Strengthening relations with Russia is in line with Japan’s national interests and will contribute to regional prosperity, Kyodo news agency quoted the Diplomatic Bluebook as saying on Monday.

Diplomatic Bluebook is an annual report on Japan’s foreign policy and activities published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. It is expected to be presented to the cabinet of ministers on April 15.

"Building relations with Russia is in line with Japan’s interests and will contribute to peace and prosperity of the region," the report says. It also calls for "active preparations" for talks with Moscow on the territorial dispute and soonest visit of the Russian president to Tokyo. Kyodo noted that in general, the Foreign Ministry’s report emphasizes a rather dynamic position of Tokyo in the sphere of developing dialogue with Russia.

However, the document says that Japan’s relations with the United States are the basis of Tokyo’s foreign policy and notes the importance of further strengthening bilateral ties. China’s policy is criticized in the report as Beijing regularly sends patrol boats to the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The report stresses that Japan "will decisively protect its territories and territorial waters." At the same time, the document notes that it is important to develop relations with China on the basis of dialogue.

North Korea’s nuclear missile program is characterized in the report as "a serious threat to the international community." The Diplomatic Bluebook also supports the course for ensuring the non-nuclear status of the Korean Peninsula.

Russia-France cultural ties not impacted by EU’s anti-Russian sanctions - French diplomat

http://tass.ru/en/world/866894

According to the French diplomat, France plans to expand the network of its Alliance Francaise centers of the French language and culture

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The European Union’s anti-Russian sanctions have had no impacts on Russia-France relations in the sphere of culture, Anne-Marie Descotes, Director-General for Globalization, Development and Partnerships of the French Foreign Ministry told TASS on Sunday.

"The sanctions imposed by the European Union have not impacted cultural ties and, as far as I can see, they have not impaired the mutual attraction our peoples feel towards each other. Numerous joint projects we continue to implement only prove this," she said.

"Hence, our presence in Russia has not diminished," she stressed.

According to the French diplomat, France plans to expand the network of its Alliance Francaise centers of the French language and culture. "It is planned to open a new center in Ufa in the nearest future," she said.

Over 120 Russian companies to take part in MIPTV media market in Cannes

http://tass.ru/en/society/866907

CANNES, April 4. /TASS/. Over 120 Russian companies will take part in the MIPTV television and digital content media market that opens in Cannes on Monday.

Russian movies and animated films will be represented at the forum as part of a united stand organized by the Cinema Fund under the auspices of Russia’s Culture Ministry.

More than 11,000 participants from 95 countries are expected to attend this year’s MIPTV event.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Reports of Russia’s Defeat in Syria are Greatly Exaggerated

http://journal-neo.org/2016/04/04/reports-of-russias-defeat-in-syria-are-greatly-exaggerated/

In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s announcement of a partial withdrawal from Syria upon accomplishing its initial objectives, pundits, politicians, and analysts in the West attempted to capitalize on it by portraying Russia in retreat, broke economically, and attempting to avoid a quagmire it had entangled itself in.

However, more honest and thoughtful analysis noted that Russia’s partial withdrawal was more diplomatic than strategic – a grand gesture by Moscow to the West that it was able and willing to give the perpetrators of this proxy war a graceful exit out – and that enough Russian assets would remain in theater to ensure all gains made by Russian and Syrian forces were not only maintained, but expanded upon further in the near and intermediate future.

Since the announcement, this analysis has proven to be accurate, with Russia continuing to conduct effective military operations in Syria, and most notably, helping the Syrian Arab Army liberate the ancient city of Palmyra – which was overrun by the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS) ironically at the height of the United States-led coalition’s alleged battle against the internationally listed terrorist organization.

Despite the fact that Russia is assisting the Syrian government in eradicating an internationally listed terrorist organization from Syrian territory, Western analysts are now crying foul over Russia’s continued military activity in Syria despite its announcement of a partial draw down.

Brookings “Insight” – No Matter What Happens, It’s “Russia’s Fault…”​

The Brookings Institution, a Western policy think tank representing the collective interests of the Fortune 500 who fund it and chair its board of directors, published analysis upon its “Order from Chaos” blog titled, “Why Russia is accountable if the Syrian ceasefire fails.” In it, it claims (emphasis added):

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of victory in Syria has already been eclipsed by his announcement on his willingness to use military force against violators of the ceasefire if he doesn’t get assurances from the United States about how it will control the truce.Meanwhile, it’s become clear that more Russian military hardware is going into Syria instead of leaving, and that Russian forces are openly engaged in ground combat.

Is Putin really offering to secure peace in Syria? Probably not. The conditions that led to Syria’s death spiral into civil war have still not been addressed, and Russia’s withdrawal is a facade. Putin’s announcement highlights that while Russia is a main player in the Syrian conflict, it is far from willing or able to assure peace.

Brookings analysts appear disinterested in the fact that Russia’s forces are fighting ISIS, and that many of the “violators” of the ceasefire are openly collaborating with other listed terrorist organizations, including the Al Nusra Front. The March 30th post fails to make any mention of the liberation of Palmyra days earlier by Russian-backed Syrian forces – in complete defiance of reality.

Brookings concludes by stating (emphasis added):

The Russian military intervention is about Russian interests and gaining an advantageous position within a world order in which it demands to be an equal but sees no equals. Military intervention is meant to upend the international order to the benefit of only Russia and those who align with its interests. The Syrian ceasefire began because Russia said it could. It represents a strategic pause for Russia to reposition itself both politically at home and abroad, and militarily on the battlefield. If it ends, it will likely be because it claims the United States is not living up to its terms, as well as if conditions become favorable for Assad to resume military operations to reclaim lost territory. This is hardly the mark of a nation seeking to lead the peace process and cessation of hostilities. By resorting to the use of force, Russia will be accountable for the ceasefire’s failure, and will prove itself unwilling to peacefully advance the terms it agreed to in order to secure a lasting peace.

It is perhaps ironic that the United States, who has for over a year, unilaterally intervened militarily in Syria to allegedly fight ISIS, is now crying foul when a nation – Russia – has also intervened, only with Syria’s permission, and is actually defeating ISIS in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the force used by the US and its allies. The implications of this run deep including the fact that Russia and Syria are defeating ISIS by cutting their supply lines running straight out of NATO and US-allied territory, but there is at least one point Brookings makes that is valid.

Russia is indeed upending the “international order.”

Russia is upending it, if one understands that the term “international order” actually means the economic, sociopolitical, and military projection of power by Wall Street, Washington, London, and Brussels across the entire planet. Considering that in the West’s “international order,” it is acceptable to unilaterally bomb a sovereign nation without acquiring permission from that nation’s government, it seems upending such egregious, unchecked injustice, it is not only acceptable, it is mandatory.

That Russia has done so in a measured, prudent, and proportional manner, respecting the principles of the multipolar order it seeks to replace the current “international order” with – one that respects the primacy of national sovereignty over monopolized and skewed notions of “international law,” is probably why it has been so successful in Syria. Considering that every alleged principle underpinning the “international order” Brookings refers to has been subverted first and foremost by the West itself, it is no surprise that a crisis of legitimacy has finally begun to take its toll on Western foreign policy objectives.

And while the US and its policymakers attempt to blame Russia already for a failed ceasefire that has yet to manifest itself, it is the US who is still openly training militants along Syria’s borders in an attempt to further perpetuate the violence that has ravaged Syria now for 5 years.

It is not a surprise that the West’s foreign policy circles, politicians, and media are attempting to frame the Syrian crisis as everyone’s fault but their own, however, doubling down on a failed policy and continuing to frame it dishonestly when much of the world now sees the truth, only deepens the crisis of legitimacy that has led the West to this particular cliff’s edge. Continuing forward rather than taking a step back, ensures the West’s legitimacy plunges further still.

 

[angelburst29]

Why Are There 12 American Generals Leading the War in Iraq That Doesn’t Exist?
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/why-are-there-12-american-generals-leading-the-war-in-iraq-that-doesnt-exist_042016

Baghdad, Iraq — A new report released Thursday revealed that a surprising number of military generals have been deployed to fight Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) — the very war the United States denies it’s actually fighting. As The Daily Beast explains in an exclusive report:

“There are at least 12 U.S. generals in Iraq, a stunningly high number for a war that, if you believe the White House talking points, doesn’t involve American troops in combat.”

That number doesn’t include those superior officers who oversee airstrikes against Daesh in both Syria and Iraq, nor does it include admirals in charge of maritime operations — and the number jumps to 21 when accounting for other coalition members’ senior officers.

These 12 generals are supposedly overseeing just 5,000 U.S. troops deployed to a base in Iraq — which no one knew existed until a 27-year-old marine was killed in a rocket attack perpetrated by Daesh. Though the Pentagon dubiously claimed after the attack it had “planned to acknowledge” the base’s existence, the Daily Beast’s report of so many generals for so few troops only adds to numerous questions surrounding the true extent of U.S. ground involvement.

Officially, notes the Daily Beast, only 3,870 troops on the ground in Iraq — “the equivalent of a heavy brigade, which is usually led by a colonel. One colonel.”

But even with reports of at least 5,000 troops, the number of senior officials and flag officers is rather inexplicable.

“Defense officials defended the deployment of so many generals to The Daily Beast. In a war where there are so many different types of fighters, these officials said, you need generals to coordinate. Today’s warfighter is more lethal, thanks to improved technology, and therefore needs a commander with the appropriate authority to sign off authority on that use of power. The intelligence reaching the front lines is so complex, it demands the talents of a one-star general, defense officials argued to The Daily Beast.”

The Pentagon somehow remains resolute in claiming U.S. troops are “not in an active combat mission” in Iraq — despite quickly-mounting evidence to the contrary. With the military only revealing its base after being forced into doing so, it’s unclear exactly how involved the United States actually is.

“Having this many generals and flag officers gives the appearance of commitment without the substance of commitment,” Christopher Harmer, a naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told the Daily Beast.

Though total enlisted troops were downsized following World War II, senior military personnel have not been. This awkwardly disproportionate military structure has been criticized as ‘costly and ineffective’ — though the Pentagon apparently disagrees.

In fact, “Several past defense secretaries have tried to cut the number of generals,” the report explains. “Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel tried to reduce the number of general officers and civilians by 20 percent but wasn’t on the job long enough to make it happen. Robert Gates, the defense secretary during the peak of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, proposed eliminating 50 generals and admirals.”

Perhaps the Pentagon simply harbors an affinity for senior personnel, as under its stated premise such officers are needed for the modern “warfighter.” But the military’s bloated budget — which, in 2014, comprised “more than a third of all defense spending worldwide” — as well as its utter inability to account for it, could be telling of U.S. involvement far beyond what the Pentagon publicly claims.

Indeed, increasingly complex U.S. missions in the Middle East have led to strange situations like that in Syria, where CIA-backed rebels are actively fighting Pentagon-armed combatants.

Now that the number of generals involved in the fight against Daesh has become public knowledge, it seems highly likely further revelations will follow — but based on past acknowledgements, the Pentagon may only do so if backed into a corner.

 

[goyacobol]

Syria's Palmyra Retaken, Russian Airstrikes Avoided Monuments - Russian MoD

[....]


Many of Palmyra ancient ruins damaged by IS can be restored — Hermitage museum chief

http://tass.ru/en/society/865638

"The destruction is huge, but not absolute. The main symbol of Palmyra, its ancient columns in the desert, can be restored," Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Russian Hermitage Museum says

ST PETERSBURG, March 28. /TASS/. The ancient ruins of the Syrian city of Palmyra destroyed by the Islamic State (IS) terrorists can be restored, Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Russian Hermitage Museum, said on Monday.

"Palmyra has been destroyed many times, and the last destruction was the most barbaric one," Piotrovsky said. "The destruction is huge, but not absolute. The main symbol of Palmyra, its ancient columns in the desert, can be restored."

"We hope the stolen museum showpieces will be returned, as they are easy to find because of the existing descriptions," Piotrovsky said. "The major part was moved to Damascus and other cities."

Palmyra, located in the Syrian Desert between Damascus and the Euphrates, was one of the richest cities of antiquity. Tradition suggests that biblical King Solomon founded the city.

UNESCO declared the remains of its once majestic temples and buildings world cultural heritage sites in 1980.

IS militants who seized Palmyra last May destroyed several most ancient monuments, including the 2,000-year old statue of the Lion of al-Lat, the temple of Baal Shamin built during the Roman rule in the 1st century AD, and the temple of Bel, the largest edifice on the compound that was erected during the reign of Emperor Tiberius in 32 AD.

The terrorists also beheaded the 80-year-old Dr. Haled al-Asaad, one of the most famous Syrian archeologists who devoted his whole life to the studies of Palmyra heritage.

On March 27, the Syrian army took back the control over Palmyra.

[....]

A peculiar development I have noticed concerns the temple of Baal Shamin/temple of Bel.

The following New York times article describes the erection of replicas of the temple "arches" or gates in New York and London:

NEXT month, the Temple of Baal will come to Times Square. Reproductions of the 50-foot arch that formed the temple’s entrance are to be installed in New York and in London, a tribute to the 2,000-year-old structure that the Islamic State destroyed last year in the Syrian town of Palmyra. The group’s rampage through Palmyra, a city that reached its peak in the second and third century A.D., enraged the world, spurring scholars and conservationists into action. Numerous nongovernmental organizations are now cataloging and mapping damaged cultural heritage sites in the region.

It will be uncanny and thrilling to see this arch from an ancient desert civilization set against the bright lights of New York. Unfortunately, facsimiles can achieve only so much. Denuded of people, stripped of the rich social contexts in which they were once embedded, antiquities appear just as evidence of the grandeur of the past, the accomplishments of another place in another time. But what did these assemblages of stone mean to the modern Iraqis and Syrians who lived with them?

For Salam al-Kuntar, a Syrian archaeologist who works at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, the loss of the Temple of Baal was deeply personal. “I have a special love for Palmyra because the Temple of Baal is where my mother was born,” she said.

Ms. Kuntar’s grandfather was a policeman in Palmyra when its Roman-era ruins were inhabited. Well into the 20th century, generations of Palmyrenes made their homes in the shade of millenniums-old columns. The locals taught Ms. Kuntar’s grandmother — who was a young bride when she arrived in Palmyra — how to cook and how to bake bread.

Her daughter was among the last generation born inside the ancient city. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, French colonial authorities cleared the area of its inhabitants and dismantled their mud-brick house. That paved the way for the archaeological exploration and preservation of the site, but it also definitively ended ancient Palmyra’s habitation as well as the use of the Temple of Baal, which over the centuries had transformed into a Byzantine church, then a mosque, before eventually becoming part of the village where Ms. Kuntar’s mother was born.

When lamenting the masonry and sculpture destroyed by the Islamic State, we can easily overlook this shifting human story. We too readily consign antiquities to the remote province of the past. But they can remain meaningful in surprising and ordinary ways. “This is the meaning of heritage,” Ms. Kuntar said. “It’s not only architecture or artifacts that represent history, it’s these memories and the ancestral connection to place.”

While the above article seems like the intention is purely an effort/tribute to reestablish a connection to memories and place others have wondered about the timing and the history of the god/gods that the temple originally represented.

While the Cs don't encourage an over-emphasis on dates to predict events it seems that many occult groups do give a great deal of attention to dates as in this article:

Temple of Baal in New York Is Going Up Just Before Baal's Biggest Day of the Year

s it just a coincidence that reproductions of the 48-foot-tall arch that stood in front of the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria are going to be put up in Times Square in New York City and in Trafalgar Square in London exactly 13 days before Baal's biggest day of the year?

In the occult world, 13 is the number of rebellion, and these arches are going to be put on display precisely 13 days prior to the major occult holiday of Beltane on May 1. In a previous article, I explained that the chief god of ancient Babylon named Marduk eventually came to be known as "Baal" or "Bel" which both mean "Lord." As worship of this ancient deity spread all over the globe, sometimes this language was retained, and this is definitely true when it comes to "Bel-tane" or "Baal-tein".

Beltane can be translated as "Baal fire," and even many Wiccans acknowledge that this festival has origins which can be traced all the way back to the Baal worship of the ancient Middle East. For example, the following comes directly from the website of a Wiccan named Lady Bridget:

La Baal Tinne, Beltane, Beltain, all are names for the ritual which was traditionally held on May 1st, also known as May Day. The astrological festival occurs when the Sun reaches 15 ° Taurus, which lately has been happening more towards May 4-6th. Either the traditional date or the astrological date can be used to determine when to hold your festival as both will have significant energies for the season.

And the season is Spring! The lusty month of May is called so for a reason! Watch the animals, they are "rutting" now, looking to attract mates to raise their families. Butterflies and insects are pollenating flowers all over, and trees are bursting into blossoms and new green growth. In spring, "the young man's fancy turns to love.." and the young girls fancies turn to young men! (sic)

Beltane, named for the Celtic Sun God, Bel, or Bal, or Baal, also means Bale, to banish, as in the bale fires, which are lit on Beltane to cleanse and purify. Cattle were led between two fires to cleanse them, and I have heard theories that the Druids quite possibly may have put purifying herbs on the fires to physically help the process along, but there is no actual proof of this.

And here is another example that comes directly from wiccazone.net.

Beltane is the second most important sabbath in the Witches' calendar after Samhain. Again, it is an intercalary day when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thin. But whereas Samhain is a time for greeting and celebrating those who have gone before, Beltane is a time when more mischievous spirits may take advantage. For this reason the results of divinations performed at Beltane should always be approached cautiously, for the Gods also enjoy a sense of humour! Similarly, be very careful of working Magic at this time, for the phrase 'Be careful what you wish for' is even more appropriate around Beltane. Many a Witch has found a wish being granted very literally and has received what they asked for as opposed to what they wanted.

This is the festival of the fire God Bel. Bel has been worshipped under many names in all parts of the world for thousands of years; Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor, Belenus, Baal, and Belial. Traditionally, Beltane would be the night on which the old hearth fires were extinguished and the new were kindled from the Bel fire. These fires were placed on the top of hills and produced a chain of beacons which ran across the land. Cattle would be driven between the fires and people would leap over them to ensure fertility for the coming season. In Britain, the tradition of hilltop fires has seen something of a revival lately, although not necessarily associated with Beltane. Fire beacons were lit at the passing of Princess Diana and to mark the Millennium celebrations.

Even the occultists understand that the purpose of Beltane is to honor Baal.

So isn't it odd that these arches from the Temple of Baal are going up in New York and in London just in time for this high occult holy day?

READ: "It's Not Just Times Square—Altars to Baal Will Be Built Around the World"

Posted below is the Wiccan wheel of the year. You can see that Beltane is opposite Samhain (Halloween) on the wheel, and it has experienced a tremendous resurgence in popularity in Europe in recent years.

In ancient times, Beltane celebrations involved lots of sex and lots of fire sacrifices.

It is also important to note that May 1 is more commonly known as "May Day" around the world. It is a major holiday for communists and socialists, and it is also the date on which the Bavarian Illuminati was formed in 1776.

Leading up to Beltane is a 13-day period of time that also appears to have special occult significance. This is something that I wrote about the other day, but I wanted to explore this a bit more.

Admittedly, there are not a lot of mainstream sources that discuss this 13-day period just prior to Beltane, and much of the information on the Internet appears to be speculation.

But there are some authors that have written about this. This first example is an excerpt from a book titled The Most Dangerous Book in the World: 9/11 as Mass Ritual by S.K. Bain.

In case you were wondering, April 19 is a Satanic holy-day, requiring sacrifice by fire, most preferably involving the sacrifice of children, and, indeed, multiple children perished in both Waco (more than 20) and Oklahoma City (19 under the age of 6).

And this next example is an excerpt from a book entitled Phoenix Rising: The Rise and Fall of the American Republic by Donald G. Lett Jr.

In the occult April 19th begins the second highest holy day in the occult called the Beltane, which is a 13 day period which ends on May 1st. The first day of the Beltane is the most important day for human sacrifice. Even the ancient Romans honored April the 19th as the conclusion to their holiday Cerealia, the primary festival of Ceres that was accompanied by "Games of Ceres" in the Circus Maximus.

Lett is definitely correct about the significance of April 19 to the Romans.

According to Wikipedia, it was customary to sacrifice a pregnant cow on that day.

In ancient Roman religion, the Fordicidia was a festival of fertility, held April 15, that pertained to farming and animal husbandry. It involved the sacrifice of a pregnant cow to Tellus, the ancient Roman goddess of the Earth, in proximity to the festival of Ceres (Cerealia) on April 19.

All over the Internet, there are reports that the 13-day period that begins on April 19 and that culminates with May 1 is known as "the blood sacrifice to the Beast." Many of these reports seem to have gotten their material from an article that was originally posted on the highly respected website cuttingedge.org.

Did you know that April 19 is a most important date every year in the Satanic Calendar of High Holy Days? April 19 begins a 13-day period of blood sacrifice to the Beast, culminating on May 1!

And there is a book from 1995 entitled Circle of Intrigue that also made this claim...

"According to the Satanic Calendar of High Holy Days, April 19 inaugurates a period of blood sacrifice to the Beast, culminating in the Grand Climax on May 1st each year. May 1st (May Day), of course, is celebrated in Red Square (note the color, red) in Moscow each year by a huge parade and spectacle. It was also on May 1, 1776 in Bavaria that Adam Weishaupt founded the Order of the Illuminati, and it was May 1st when the ancient Druids honored their great Sun God and Goddess with an uninhibited festival complete with initiations, sex orgies, drunken revelry, and human sacrifice."

Joseph Spickard is another respected author that has also written about this.

The following is an excerpt from an excellent article that was posted on his website:

Sacrifice by fire is required by pagan, occult and satanic elements on April 19. An emphasis on the sacrificial victims who are children or youth is made. "Passing through the fire" to the fire god, Molech, in the Old Testament of the Bible, described children going through the ritual of fire worship and sacrifice. In this regard, the arms of the god Molech were operated mechanically beyond a veil or curtain in the back of the image by its priests. When a victim was selected or chosen from among those "passing through the fire," the child was placed on the supporting Molech outstretched hands, pulled over a pit of flame, and then the hands were shifted mechanically sideways, causing the child to fall and be consumed into the very hot pit furnace below.

The child's screams were muffled by the very low bass sound of drums and music instruments and the corresponding high pitch of tambourines and other music utensils to drown out its cries. This bass sound was exceeding low. This was to be called later the "Devil's chord."

A Molech site was located just outside of Jerusalem during the period of the Kings and Minor Prophets. The Valley of Hinnom, or in Greek called Gehenna, was located on the south and southwest side of the city. Gehenna was later translated as the popular rendition or place, of hell fire. For the hundreds and hundreds of children, if not thousands, that were immolated ... this was an apt description. The Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, became a garbage dump during the time of Christ which continued to emit flame and fire in burning refuse, dead bodies of animals and common criminals, and offal.

So what are we to make of all of this?

It is hard to say.

What we do know is that a lot of strange events have happened on or around April 19th. The following list comes from Advent of Deception.

April 19, 1904—The Great Fire of Toronto.
April 18, 1906—The San Francisco Earthquake Fire.
April 19, 1943—After trapping the last Jewish Resistance Fighters in a storm drain in Warsaw, and holding them for several days, Nazi Storm Troopers began to pour fire into each end of the storm drain, using flame-throwers. They continued pouring the fire into the drain until all fighters were dead. Blood sacrifice brought about by a fiery conflagration.
April 20, 1985—ATF raid on The Covenant, The Sword and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas.
April 19, 1993—50 years later after of the 1943 Warsaw, to the day, government troops, tanks and other military equipment stormed the compound of David Koresh and his followers at Waco, Texas. Certainly, this operation fulfilled the basic requirements for a human sacrifice: trauma, fire and young sacrificial victims.
April 19, 1995—Oklahoma City bombing—Once again fire and death on this day.
April 20, 1999—The Columbine High School Massacre.
April 19, 2005—Joseph Alois Ratzinger elected as Pope Benedict XVI.
April 20, 2007—Johnson Space Center shooting and incident of hostages in Building 44.
April 19, 2010—In Canada over 400 hundred of straw bales caught on fire and blazed out of control.
April 19, 2010—Iceland's Volcanic Ash Grounds all Airlines in Northern Europe while NATO conducts the largest military exercise of the Year.
April 20, 2010—The Gulf Oil Fire.
April 20—The Birthday of Adolf Hitler.

In the end, the significance of April 19 is certainly up for debate, but nobody can question the significance of May 1. Even occultists acknowledge that Beltane is a festival that honors the ancient Middle Eastern god "Bel" or "Baal," and today it is celebrated with fire and sex just like it was back then.

And on this "May Day," millions of children around the globe will once again dance around huge "Maypoles" without even understanding what they originally represented.

Once your eyes are opened, it is easy to see traces of the ancient Babylonian religious system all around us. Of course this is precisely what we should expect if we have indeed moved into the period of time that the Bible refers to as the last days. As society continues to reject the God of the Bible, people will increasingly turn to false religion to fill the spiritual void that they feel.

Personally, I find it exceedingly suspicious that reproductions of the 48-foot-tall arch that stood in front of the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria are going to be put up in Times Square in New York City and in Trafalgar Square in London just before Baal's biggest day of the year.

So what do you think?

Michael T. Snyder is the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and author of The Beginning of the End.

Although the above article has a religious gloss it does ask some interesting questions I think. Should we pay some attention to the "timing" of some of these current events as seen though the eyes of others who may be believers in the significance of "holy" days? I guess for this one we don't have to wait that long.

Other related angles are:

A Gateway Could Be Opened When the Temple of Baal Is Erected in Times Square


Temple of Baal Will Be Erected in Times Square Next Month

Baalshamin

If this is off topic maybe it could be moved to Baked Noodles or the Swamp etc...

I just thought it might be relevant. FWIW

 

[Laura]

That Baal nonsense is ridiculous. Baal was, for a long time, just a Canaanite name for the equivalent god known as Yahweh/Jehovah to the Judeans and Israelites and Jupiter/Zeus to the Romans and Greeks.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Syrian Army, Supported by Russian Aviation, Destroys Daesh Command Point

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160405/1037486875/syria-russia-destroy-daesh-point.html

The Syrian army with support of the Russian Aerospace Forces has destroyed a Daesh command point.

QUARYATAYN (Syria) (Sputnik) – The Syrian army with support of the Russian Aerospace Forces has destroyed a command point of Daesh militant group, constructed on the site of a Christian monastery demolished by the extremists, as part of a campaign to liberate the city of Quaryatayn in the southern Homs province, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Tuesday.

The Syrian army with support of the Russian aviation has been carrying out an operation to liberate the Christian town of Quaryatayn this month. The town is located in a strategically important location at the crossroads of territories controlled by the Daesh in Homs. Presently, the Syrian army is clearing up the city and destroying remaining extremist groups.

On Sunday, the Syrian army, supported by militia, completely liberated Quaryatayn from the Daesh militants.

Large parts of Syria have been taken over by Daesh militant group, which is outlawed in Russia among other countries.

WATCH: First Ever Footage of Russia's Ka-52 Helicopters in Action in Syria

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160404/1037447550/ka-52-syria-action.html

Combat use of Ka-52 Alligator attacks helicopters by the Russian Aerospace Forces was caught on camera for the first time in history.

The Syrian Army published on one of its YouTube channels a video taken near the town of Al-Qaryatayn. On April 3, the Syrian Army and its allies backed by Russian airstrikes fully liberated Al-Qaryatayn from Daesh militants.

The footage shows at least three helicopters firing unguided missile at terrorist targets.

Previously, Ka-52 helicopters were engaged during the second war in Russia’s Chechen Republic. In 2001, several helicopters were deployed to Chechnya.

The Ka-52 Alligator (NATO Designation Hokum-B) is a next-generation reconnaissance and combat helicopter designed to destroy tanks, armored and non-armored ground targets, and enemy troops and helicopters both on the front line and in tactical reserves. It can be used both in reconnaissance and combat missions.

The helicopter can operate around the clock and in all weather conditions. The Ka-52 can provide target acquisition and designation for helicopter teams and ground troop command and control centers. It can also provide fire support for troop landings, fly routine patrols and escort military convoys.The Ka-52 is equipped with a 30mm automatic cannon, and can also carry laser-guided anti-tank missiles, short-range air-to-air missiles and other missiles or bombs.

The helicopter can travel at a speed of over 180 miles (290 kilometers) per hour and reach an operational ceiling of nearly 3.5 miles (over 5,000 meters).

The Ka-52 Alligator is a 2-seat version of the Ka-50 which uses a side by side layout common to transport helicopters instead of the front-and-rear layout common in attack helicopters.

On March 31, the Russian Defense Ministry published a video showing combat use of Mi-28N attack helicopters. In the video, helicopters fired anti-tank missiles against terrorists’ armored vehicles near Palmyra.

Daesh uses mustard gas in attack on Syria airbase

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/05/459156/Syria-Daesh-chemical-attack-mustard-gas-Dayr-alZawr-airbase/

The Daesh terrorist group has reportedly carried out a chemical attack on a Syrian military airport in eastern Syria.

“The terrorists fired rockets carrying mustard gas” and targeting the airbase in the south of Dayr al-Zawr city, Syria’s Ikhbariyah television station said in a statement late Monday.

The report did not disclose whether there were any casualties. Russia’s RIA Novosti, however, cited a military source as saying that “a number of soldiers were choking.”

Last January, the Syrian army managed to drive back Daesh from several villages near the airbase. Operations are still underway, however, to totally remove them.

Mustard gas can form large blisters on exposed skin and in the respiratory tract, severely complicating breathing. It is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Daesh earlier claimed that it had carried out an attack on Jufrah Village near the airbase. The report said two bombers rammed their explosives-laden vehicles into the army defenses and killed at least ten people.

Daesh, which is notorious for its barbarity, heinous atrocities and sacrilegious acts, has been accused of committing gross human rights violations and war crimes in the areas it has overrun, particularly in Syria and Iraq. The group has used chemical weapons in both countries.

Back in March, local Iraqi governor Najmuddin Kareem told Reuters that the group had used “poisonous substances” during an attack on the village of Taza, in northern Iraq. More than 40 people suffered from partial chocking and skin irritation after the attack.

On August 21, 2013, a chemical weapon was used in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus. Hundreds of people died in the attack. According to reports, the rockets used in the assault were handmade and contained sarin.

A report by the Syrian-American Medical Society said Daesh has carried out more than 160 attacks involving “poisonous or asphyxiating agents, such as sarin, chlorine, and mustard gas” since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011. At least 1,491 people have been killed in the chemical attacks.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 270,000 people have been killed in war-ravaged Syria; however, some reports put the death toll as high as 470,000.

Media reported on the use of mustard gas IG in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor

http://www.interfax.ru/world/502025

Moscow. 5th of April. INTERFAX.RU - an attack on a military airfield in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor militants "Islamic state" (IG, banned in Russia a terrorist organization) used missiles with poison gas mustard, told Syrian state television Ikhbariyah.

"The terrorists used rockets filled with mustard gas," - said in a statement. It also noted that some government soldiers as a result of "choking feeling."

Earlier, militants IG announced to intensify attacks in the terminal area.

Hezbollah destroys Daesh bunker on Lebanon's border with Syria

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/05/459157/Lebanon-Hezbollah-Daesh-bunker/

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has destroyed a bunker used by Daesh terrorists on the country’s northeastern border.

The movement’s fighters attacked Daesh positions in the al-Zweitini area on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek on Monday, destroying the bunker and killing the terrorists inside.

The War Media Center, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, said on Twitter that Hezbollah fighters also attacked the Daesh reinforcements that were sent to the area.

Takfiri terrorists have been operating in Syria, Lebanon’s neighbor, to topple the government since 2011.

Lebanon has seen acts of terror associated with the militancy in Syria. Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorists have been active on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Arsal, located on the border with Syria.

The militants briefly overran Arsal in August 2014, taking several Lebanese army and police forces hostage, some of whom were executed. In December last year, most of the captives were released as part of a prisoner swap deal.

Hezbollah fighters are also combating alongside the Syrian army and allied forces against the terrorists in Syria.

On Monday, a senior Lebanese legislator urged the Beirut government to purge the border area of the Takfiri militants.

“Why are we still allowing the Takfiris to tamper with the security of our towns and villages in the Bekaa Valley? And why has a national, sovereign decision not been taken to save Arsal from the threat of these takfiri terrorists?” MP Mohammad Raad said during a ceremony in the town of Adshit.

 

[goyacobol]

That Baal nonsense is ridiculous. Baal was, for a long time, just a Canaanite name for the equivalent god known as Yahweh/Jehovah to the Judeans and Israelites and Jupiter/Zeus to the Romans and Greeks.

Laura,

Thank you for giving your understanding and view of Baal. I have read much of the history you have already provided in many of your books and the sessions. I am trying to see how all this is being used to manipulate especially Christians and Jews. The whole concept of the tower of Babel has been distorted to discourage any kind of human unity and development it seems to me. The timing of these replicas does seem to be geared towards more disunity among Christians, Jews and Muslims at an already chaotic stage of the game.

I notice that the link with "the sons of Belial" and the tower of babel are conveniently being used to create more fear and chaos.

Session 31 May 1997

Q: Were the Jews that were genetically engineered and then planted in the Middle East... what year
was this?
A: 130,000 years ago.
Q: Good grief! Have they managed to retain any racial purity for that long?
A: No.
Q: Cayce talks about the division in Atlantis between the "Sons of One" and the "Sons of Belial." Was
this a racial division or a philosophical/ religious division?
A: It was the latter two, and before that, the former one.
Q: When it was a racial division, which group was it?
A: The Sons of Belial were the Kantekkians.
Q: Well! That is not good!
A: Subjective... you are not bodies, you are souls.
Q: You said that there is a group with whom you have been in contact since they were on Kantek. Is
this group the Druids?
A: No. We will not as of yet identify.
Q: Well, I came to the conclusion that the Rosicrucians are just the new incarnation of the Druids. I
mean, the Druids disappeared and the Rosicrucians appeared not too long afterward.
A: Partially.
Q: Julius Caesar had a standard policy of religious toleration. The only exception seems to have been
the Druids. He was determined to stamp them out. Why?
A: Their mysterious powers.
Q: Where did they get these mysterious powers?
A: Knowledge passed down.

Maybe this is not the best place to consider the details of this subject but it was the retaking of Palmyra that drew my attention to the historical meanings. This has been going on for so long that I am hoping a few more details may give us more of an idea why these events are happening.

Q: Well, that is out of my depth tonight! In a previous session I
asked a question about the 'sons of Belial' and the 'sons of the law of
One,' as explicated by Edgar Cayce, and whether these were
philosophical or racial divisions. You said that they were initially
racial, and then philosophical and religious. Now, from putting the
information about religions together throughout the centuries, I am
coming to a rather difficult realization that the whole monotheistic
idea, which is obviously the basic concept of the 'sons of the law of
One,' is the most clever and devious and cunning means of control I
have ever encountered in my life. No matter where it comes from,
the religionists say "we have the ONE god, WE are his agents, you
pay us your money, and we'll tell him to be nice to you in the next
world!"
A: Clever if one is deceived. Silly truffle if one is not.
Q: Well, I know! But, uncovering this deception, this lie that the
'power' is 'out there' is unbelievable. So, the Kantekkians were the
'Sons of Belial,' which is not the negative thing that I interpreted it as
at the time. So, the 'Sons of the Law of One,' was perverted to the
monotheistic Judaism, which then was then transformed into the
Christian religious mythos, and has been an ongoing theme since
Atlantean times.
A: Woven of those who portray the lights.
Q: And that is always the way it has been. They appear as 'angels of
light.' And, essentially, everything in history has been rewritten by
this group.
A: Under the influence of others. And whom do you suppose?
Q: Well, the Orion STS.
A: Sending pillars of light and chariots of fire to deliver the message.

It just seems that we are being blinded by "the light" again and again. I would have not even noticed this temple of Baal tribute event except for a family member whose father happens to be a retired minister mentioned it. I related the Syrian retaking of Palmyra and he said that it was the ISIS destruction of the monuments that is being used to justify the event.

Thanks for the opinion and shedding real light on the subject.

 

[angelburst29]

Rebels shoot down second Syrian jet in a month
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Apr-05/345737-syrian-observatory-rebels-shoot-down-war-plane-south-of-aleppo.ashx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=Newsletter

DAMASCUS: Rebels shot down a second Syrian warplane in less than a month Tuesday and reportedly captured its pilot in an area near Aleppo where heavy fighting has erupted in recent days despite a cessation of hostilities agreement.

The Syrian army said the jet was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile – the same type of weapon it says was used to shoot down a warplane in western Syria in March – but rebels accused Damascus of fabricating the claim, saying the plane was downed with anti-aircraft guns.

Foreign-backed rebels have long demanded anti-aircraft weapons to fight against devastating aerial raids by Syrian and, since September, Russian forces. But their backers, which include Western and Sunni Muslim regional states, are wary of delivering weapons that could fall into the hands of hardline groups.

The aircraft crashed in the Talat al-Iss highland south of Aleppo city, an area where Al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgents have come under heavy bombardment by Syrian and Russian warplanes since capturing it in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The pilot was seized alive by fighters from Al-Qaeda's Nusra Front and taken to one of their headquarters in the area, Observatory-affiliated activists said.

Videos circulated by pro-rebel accounts on social media showed what appeared to be the remains of the aircraft burning on an open patch of ground and surrounded by rebels. Some users separately posted an image of the man they said was the pilot.

Syria's military confirmed that a plane on a reconnaissance mission had crashed after being hit by a surface-to-air missile. The pilot survived and efforts were underway to rescue him, it said.

The Observatory also said the plane was mostly likely brought down by an anti-aircraft missile.

Rebels last downed a Syrian jet in the western province of Hama on March 12, when they also denied a Russian defence ministry report they had used an anti-aircraft missile. The Observatory said on that occasion a rebel group had used two heat-seeking missiles.



Putin orders creation of National Guard to fight terrorism, organized crime
https://www.rt.com/politics/338512-putin-national-guard-terrorism/

President Vladimir Putin has ordered that a National Guard be created in Russia under the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The guard will fight terrorism and organized crime.

“We have made a decision to create a new federal executive body within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, namely the National Guard," the president said Tuesday.

The National Guard "will be fighting terrorism, organized crime, all in close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They will also continue to perform the functions which are currently carried out by riot police units, SWAT, etc.,” he added.

The deployment of a US tank brigade to Europe is yet more proof that international treaties on troop movements are not working, and that weapons control on the continent is dead, Russia’s permanent representative to NATO has said.

Weapons control regime in Europe is dead, says Russia’s envoy to NATO (Video)
https://www.rt.com/politics/338012-new-us-troops-deployment-will/

In comments to Izvestia daily, Aleksandr Grushko said that US plans to send another 4,200-strong unit to Europe should be seen as part of a larger plan to boost the US military presence there, and added that it would lead to “a significant deterioration of the situation in the military sphere.”

He explained that regular rotation of US forces already takes place in six European countries, and that US troops participate in constant military exercises together with forces from European countries. In addition, NATO is developing infrastructure sites allowing for rapid deployment of military reinforcements to Europe and is stepping up its air force activity near Russian borders, as well as the intensity of reconnaissance flights.

The official noted that NATO’s actions contradict the spirit of the 1997 Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security – as the Western military bloc agreed not to permanently station additional forces near Russian borders, and for Russia’s defenses there is practically no difference between constant rotation and the permanent deployment of troops.

Grushko added that global anti-missile defense installations that will be soon operate in Poland and Romania definitely contradict the treaty as they are both permanent and substantial.

However, the envoy said that the recent developments would not affect Russia-NATO cooperation because this was already at a “non-existent” level.

Locals in Hanover (Germany) have been given a very specific command for when the US President comes to visit - better neither heard nor seen.

Germans told 'stay away from windows' for Obama visit
http://www.thelocal.de/20160404/locals-told-stay-away-from-windows-for-obama-germany-visit

When US President Barack Obama arrives in Hanover for a visit on Sunday April 24th, residents have been told very clearly what is expected of them: stay away from windows and do not wave.

Local police issued advisory flyers out of security concerns for some 1,800 residents who live near the Congress Centrum and zoo area, where Obama will be meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel for the Hanover Messe, a major global trade fair for industrial technology.

Police strongly advised residents to abide by the precautions so as not to alarm officers, which could result in an inspection of their home.

A "security zone" will also be established on Saturday April 23rd with two access roads available, though people who want to pass through are advised to carry an ID for possible checks, local newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ) reported.

Additionally, residents of the zoo area who have any visitors during this time are instructed to register them in a written statement to police by April 17th, according to Bild. Even employees of stores within the security area must register with police, according to HAZ.

"Please understand that security forces operate under special alert during the visit of the US president," police wrote to locals.

Berliners were once similarly warned to mind their windows when Obama visited the capital, with police there instructing locals not to open their windows, according to Spiegel Online.

Fire broke out at the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service late Monday afternoon, forcing staff to evacuate the building.

IRS headquarters evacuated Monday after fire breaks out in basement
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/irs-headquarters-evacuated-monday-after-fire-breaks-out-in-basement/2016/04/04/fe0a4fd6-fac1-11e5-886f-a037dba38301_story.html

A smoky fire broke out Monday in a monumental federal building near the Mall that holds special significance this month for Washington and the entire country.

The basement transformer fire was reported about 3:30 p.m. at Internal Revenue Service headquarters, in the 1100 block of Constitution Avenue NW.

The building will be closed Tuesday, the IRS said. The agency said that electricity had not been completely restored and that the “air-handling system” was not working.

No injuries were reported in the fire, but the building was evacuated when it broke out. The smoke was mainly in the basement and on the first floor in the building’s southwest corner, near 12th Street and Constitution.

The building closed about 2:45 p.m. Monday, before the fire started, “due to electrical issues with the air-conditioning system,” an IRS spokesman said. He said that about 2,000 people work there and that “a few hundred” were still in the building when the fire broke out.

The fire will not affect processing of tax returns, which is done elsewhere, officials said.

 

[angelburst29]

MORE WAR, MORE MADNESS AS ISRAEL, TURKEY AND THE CIA OPEN UP NORTHERN FRONT
http://novorossia.today/war-madness-israel-turkey-cia-open/

Turkey, Israel and the CIA are using NATO naval exercises in the Black Sea to offload advanced weapons in Constanta and Odessa for use against Syria, Iraq and Armenia. Truck convoys from Ukraine are being shadowed into Turkey as of this writing by VT sources while we await the further outbreak of hostilities between Armenian and Russian backed Nagorny-Karabakh and Israeli and Turkish backed Azerbaijan

This “northern front” of the “ISIS War” is often ignored and the real ties between Kiev’s rogue dictatorship and the cabal operating ISIS are ignored. Even when Israeli planes were smuggled through Turkey into Azerbaijan with the aid of Georgia in 2009 and 2010 to attack Iran or when Azerbaijan was caught hosting armed Israeli drones, it was quickly covered up,

Similarly, when an ISIS military operation moved into Georgia and accessed weaponized Swine Flu, and by ISIS we mean Ukrainian, Saudi and Turkish intelligence groups, nothing was said despite thousands of dead.

Similarly, when the same “coalition” brought sarin gas into Syria using Turkish NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations), charities whose normal job it is to transit jihadists and American made TOW missiles to al Qaeda and ISIS, this story was also quickly forgotten.

Then again, reports that an Israeli F 15 flying from Azerbaijan is credited with coordinating the Ukrainian Air Forces downing of MH17, the only provable cause of the air disaster, were similarly shelved.

This week, President Obama said: “If terrorists get nukes, it would change our world.” His statement is more than just “too little, too late.” But then, what did he really mean? Let’s take a look at just some of the many conflicts pushing the world to the brink, a look that goes past the simple lies fed the mainstream news to hide the corruption and incompetence of so many governments.

As Turkey reassembles its own “coalition of the willing,” a 21st century “axis of evil” including but not limited to Israel, Saudi Arabia and “the Islamic State,” the threat of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, biological and chemical, has never been so real nor have such weapons ever been in the hands of as dangerous a person as Erdogan.

This week, Turkish President Erdogan was in Washington at the 50 nation nuclear summit. The meeting, where President Obama had a few terse words with Erdogan who was refused a White House audience, wasn’t about terrorists and nuclear weapons, despite rumors of an incident with a Belgian nuclear facility.

It was all about Turkey. Last week, the US pulled its military and diplomatic dependents out of Turkey and issued a travel warning advisory. This wasn’t about terrorism either, it was about Erodgan’s instability and the threat he poses against American civilians that President Obama fears would be held hostage in Turkey.

What is being held hostage is nuclear weapons stored at Incirlik Air Force Base, the 84 B-61 gravity bombs NATO chose to keep in Turkey in the belief the Turkish military would be able to withstand any threat from Islamic extremism.

NATO was wrong, not just about the Turkish Army but in looking only at religious extremism and not the real threat, world organized crime, now seen by more and more as the force behind the 9/11 demolitions, or before that, the overthrow of the US government placing the Bush crime family in control of the largest military force in the history of the world.

History, though this history will never be taught in a school, is clear on this. A surveillance state in America, the overthrow of the political process leading to the mayhem seen today with the upcoming farcical election, torture and kidnapping on a global scale and war upon war, all criminal in every respect.

Today, Russia stands virtually alone against a global criminal organization that boasts of redrawing not only the maps of the Middle East and Africa but has castrated Europe as well leaving that continent only a few short years, maybe even months, before civil war between what will be the Muslim majority and reemerging fascism.

Only a few short weeks ago, the mainstream news mistakenly reported attempts by the UAE to buy nuclear weapons from Israel. Similarly reports of Turkey’s nuclear program and that of Saudi Arabia were leaked but quickly smothered. In truth, the Saudi’s have had nuclear weapons since 1982, according to our sources in the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and have used them in Yemen.

Similarly, a circular trade of nuclear weapons technology, according to Der Spiegel, has existed between Germany and Israel for some time with Germany receiving nuclear weapons in trade for is underwriting Israel’s nuclear programs.

As late as 2003, the Johan Meyer nuclear team in South Africa, working with Israel and Germany, had produced up to a dozen “devices,” despite South Africa’s dismemberment of their official program in 1990, turning their 9 Hiroshima “gun type” nukes, each 13.2 kilotons, over to the US for disassembly.

We note that 3 of these weapons, according to confirmed sources involved in the transit of these weapons, had “disappeared.” For those with a short memory, these are the WMD’s referred to by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he claimed Saddam Hussein was “45 minutes from a nuclear capability.” Blair claimed that the missing South African nukes were in Iraq and that they were moved through Syria to Lebanon after the 2003 invasion. The story of the 3 Syrian ambulances carrying Saddam’s stolen South African nukes, their trip to Lebanon to be stored in a hospital X Ray lab, hidden from American VELA satellites until loading for Gaza or to be detonated in off Haifa’s waterfront, is how Blair really got Britain into the Bush war.

As to where the 3 disappeared weapons really went, one was reportedly exploded in North Korea, taken there by an Israeli submarine.

Thus, the real reason for the Washington nuclear conference had nothing to do with terrorism but rather rogue states and a chance to pass along a message of accountability that the “nuclear genie,” let out of the proverbial bottle on 9/11 according to some, or at the Baghdad airport in 2003 or at Tora Bora or Damascus or Yemen or even, heading back a bit, Bali or Oklahoma City, was no longer going to be tolerated even if it was the United States that had “pulled the cork".

Remember, it was only a scant week ago that Russia’s President Putin stated that it would “probably” not be necessary to use tactical nuclear weapons against ISIS.

For background, we already know NATO keeps nuclear weapons in Turkey. But we also know that Turkey had Israel convert a number of its F16 fighter bombers to carry nuclear weapons. You see, the US pulled its nuclear capable aircraft out of Turkey leaving only the bombs there, useless and, as far as such things can be considered, “non-threatening.”

The weapons are also highly secured through safeguards. Then, however, Saudi Arabia brought aircraft to Incirlik Air Force Base, planes brought weeks ago but never flown although they are ostensibly there to attack ISIS, an organization Saudi Arabia supports as all know very well.

With those aircraft came teams trained in Israel who were, according to multiple sources, given training in overcoming safeguards were America’s nuclear weapons to be seized by Turkey and loaded onto the Israeli modified F16s. The “nuclear secrets” required were stolen, we are told, possibly by former US Senator, co-founder of the shadowy Federalist Society and Bush Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, a shadowy character with long ties to organized crime families in the vending machine business in Detroit.

We are told they were given to Bush “terror czar” Richard Clarke who handed them to an Israeli “handler” at a “gala” at the Israeli embassy. A VT editor was standing there when it happened,

Conclusion Obama is right when he fears nuclear weapons. What he isn’t saying is that it isn’t the weapons themselves, as nukes are used all the time, smaller weapons with controlled radiation or, when larger weapons are used such as in Yemen, it simply didn’t happen if CNN fails to report it. Things have gone this far, that governments can and do anything imaginable, based on their ability to walk away from their abominations.

There is no accountability of any kind, no one to speak up, either out of fear of being discredited or simply out of the realization that saying something, whether about torture or the use of biological weapons or even the odd nuke dropped here or there, nobody really cares.

Being killed by a suicide bomber while at a shopping center is far more real and becoming more real every day, in Europe now but in America soon as many predict. Of course these “problems” have been around, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Turkey, Kenya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and so many other places for a very long time and nobody has cared about this either.

We believe this is what Erdogan sees, that there is no sheriff, there is no law, there is no accountability and that he simply should take advantage of the weakness and corruption of the European Union, or if he so desires, steal a nuclear arsenal or spread a few diseases the same way he killed hundreds even thousands with poison gas in Syria and Iraq.

After Bush and Blair, there may never be any accountability again for anyone, except the victims.

 

[angelburst29]

Rebels shoot down second Syrian jet in a month
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Apr-05/345737-syrian-observatory-rebels-shoot-down-war-plane-south-of-aleppo.ashx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=transactional&utm_campaign=Newsletter

DAMASCUS: Rebels shot down a second Syrian warplane in less than a month Tuesday and reportedly captured its pilot in an area near Aleppo where heavy fighting has erupted in recent days despite a cessation of hostilities agreement.

The Syrian army said the jet was shot down with an anti-aircraft missile – the same type of weapon it says was used to shoot down a warplane in western Syria in March – but rebels accused Damascus of fabricating the claim, saying the plane was downed with anti-aircraft guns.

Syrian Fighter Jet Downed Near Aleppo - Source
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160405/1037504617/syrian-jet-downed-aleppo.html

Militants have downed a Syrian Air Force warplane to the south of Aleppo, according to the source.

A representative of the command of the Syrian Armed Forces confirmed to RIA Novosti that a Su-22 warplane had been downed in Aleppo.

"The Syrian Air Force plane was shot down by militants in the Aleppo province during a combat mission. At the moment, we are trying to find out the fate of the pilot," the Syrian military told RIA Novosti.

According to state TV, the pilot of the Su-22 pilot ejected. According to local TV, the warplane, which was believed to be on a reconnaissance mission, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

Reuters cited a watchdog and a Syrian rebel source as saying that the pilot of the Su-22 was captured by al-Nusra Front terrorists.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that aircraft of the Russian air group in Syria have not been carrying out operations in the area, where a fighter jet had been downed.

The combat group of the Chechen special forces "Flying Squad" and journalists of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company were cut off from the world after a crack in the Arctic ice, Russian news website Vesti.ru reported.

Russian TV Crew, Chechen Forces Cut Off From World on Cracked Ice in Arctic
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160405/1037536650/cracked-ice-arctic.html

The Chechen combat unit conducted military training in the Arctic. They landed on an ice floe and made 80-mile battle march, destroying command posts of an imaginary enemy.

Following the training, the soldiers were expected to attend a lecture on the basics of survival at the North Pole, but it had to be canceled.

After the Arctic sea ice pack cracked, a floe — on which the airfield used by the soldiers was located —broke away and the men found themselves surrounded by faults in the ice.

Russian correspondent Mikhail Fedotov was among those trapped in the Arctic. He reported by phone that the group would soon have to find a new location for the construction of the flight strip and move the camp there. According to him, their camp lacks fuel and food, while the measure could take about a week.

"Flying Squad" is a combat group of Chechen special forces. Before the expedition to the Arctic, they had been trained in a special program, developed jointly with the Russian Geographical Society. The group has unique equipment, which allows fighters to make parachute jumps from a height of six thousand meters and precisely land in a certain place.

Although Turkish ultranationalist Alparslan Celik was arrested and questioned by Turkish authorities, he wasn’t charged with killing a Russian Su-24 pilot, Celik’s lawyer Murat Ustundag told Sputnik in an interview.

Turkish Court Lays No Murder Charges Against Alleged Killer of Su-24 Pilot
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160405/1037537647/alparslan-celik-turkey-charges-russian-pilot.html

Ustundag said that although Celik was questioned at an Izmir court about his alleged involvement in the killing of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov whose Su-24 was shot down in Syria last November, he didn't receive any punishment.

"In the Prosecutor's office my client was asked to give detailed statements, including about the murder of the Russian pilot, but no charges were laid against him. The arrest of my client wasn't connected to this case," Ustundag told Sputnik.

The lawyer added that it would be impossible to determine who exactly was responsible for the killing of the Russian pilot, as the events were taking place in a war zone with hunderds of people involved in the fighting.

"Given this the allegations against my client about this murder are unfounded and unproven," Celik's lawyer explained during an interview to Sputnik.

Interestinly, on April 3, Dogan News Agency reported that Celik plead guilty for the murder of the pilot in the court.

Celik was arrested in Izmir with 13 other people in a restaurant. Turkish authorities charged Celik with possession of illegal arms. Celik is also reportedly suspected of having misappropriated funds gathered as aid for Syrian Turkmens, as well as distributing counterfeit money and helping organize a prison breakout.

Ustundag also said that charges are not laid against those who went to Syria to fight and then returned to Turkey. He also added that there are a lot of young men from Turkey who traveled not only to Syria but to other countries to take part in military conflicts.

According to the lawyer, Russia can't demand the extradition of Celik because he's a Turkish citizen and his trial can only be conducted by Turkish authorities.

Celik was a member of Syrian Turkmen rebels who are fighting against the Syrian government in the northern part of the country. He is said to be the son of a Turkish politician, who served as the mayor of Keban, a small town in the province of Elazig.

Celik is a member of the Grey Wolves, a Turkish youth organization often described as ultranationalist or neo-fascist. The group, particularly active in the 1970s and the 1980s, is said to have killed hundreds of people in Turkey. The Grey Wolves are affiliated with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the fourth largest party in Turkey.

Celik and his six accomplices were officially arrested for the illegal possession of firearms. It is significant that during the court session, Celik denied the charges of murdering the Russian pilot.

Turkish court detains Alparslan Celik for three months
http://katehon.com/agenda/turkish-court-detains-alparslan-celik-three-months

Turkish prosecutors, in addition to presenting the main charges of violating the law on weapons, intend to evaluate the degree of Celik’s involvement in the murder of the Russian pilot. "The prosecutor asked Celik to explain what happened during the shooting of the parachuting Russian pilot. Celik replied, stating that he warned the people close to him not to shoot." - reported HaberturkTV. However, Celik had previously said to various media agencies that he had personally killed the pilot.

 

[angelburst29]

Jabhat Al-Nusra Release Video Showing Badly Beaten Pilot of Downed Su-22 (Photo - Video)
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/04/jabhat-al-nusra-release-video-showing.html


Media Reports Death of Seventh Russian Soldier in Syria
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/04/media-reports-death-of-seventh-russian.html

Two Orenburg websites (Orenday.ru and RIA56) have reported the death of a Russian military serviceman in Syria. According to media reports, a special forces officer was killed, a native of the Orenburg region - Vadim Tumakov.

His relatives, whose names Orenday.ru did not state, are unaware of the details or exact date of his death... They just know "only that he died around the same fateful day that Alexander Prokhorenko died (Russian special forces officer, whose death in Syria was reported by the Defense Ministry on 24th March)".

According to the website Orenday.ru, Tumakov's body was delivered to his home in the village of Pokrovka in the Sol-Iletsk district of the Orenburg region. In turn, the website RIA56 reported that the body of the Russian soldier was brought home a week and a half ago; a few days later his funeral took place.

The administration of the Sol-Iletsk district did not comment on RIA56's information about Tumakov's death. In the regional military Commissariat, information on the death of Tumakov in Syria is not confirmed.

"He served under contract. The mission had been long. But Vadim tried to avoid our questions . He never shared where he was and what he had seen. He was kind, strong, and kindhearted. A real Russian hero," quoted Orenday.ru from the words of Tumakov's relatives.

The Ministry of Defence has officially reported the death of a seventh Russian soldier in Syria. Previously, the deaths of six Russian soldiers during the Syrian operation were officially reported.

 

[goyacobol]

The Russians exploded an anti-personnel mine in South Korea

A Russian citizen was blown up by an anti-personnel mine in South Korea. On Monday, April 4, according to TASS with reference to the Agency Yonhap.

The incident occurred on one of the farms in Gangwon province, where he worked for the Russians. The man was hospitalized with serious injuries. Information about the identity of the victim is not present. In the Russian Embassy in Seoul have so far been unable to confirm information about the incident.

Currently investigating the incident involved South Korean police and military.

From June 1950 to July 1953 between North and South Korea was a civil war, which effectively ended with the establishment of two States — South Korea and North Korea separated by the demilitarized zone (its length is about 240 kilometres with an average width of 4 km). The parties never signed a peace Treaty and technically are still at war.

 

[angelburst29]

US Cyber Command, Northern Command Feud Over Who’s in Charge of Cyberspace
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160406/1037546508/pentagon-cyber-feud.html

The Pentagon relies on a number of branches to cover the wide spectrum of its security concerns. But cyberattacks are a relatively new threat, and so far the Department of Defense isn’t sure under whose responsibility the protection of its online presence and internet-based activities falls.

United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) was formed in 2009 and officially "plans, coordinates, integrates, synchronizes and conducts activities…[to] ensure US/Allied freedom of action in cyberspace and deny the same to our adversaries."

It would seem that cybersecurity would fall exclusively within CYBERCOM’s responsibility and, in the event of a cyberattack, this would be precisely the type of situation for which the agency was formed.

But there is disagreement within the Department of Defense. US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) claims it would have jurisdiction over a cyberattack. The National Security Agency (NSA) is another complicating factor, as the intelligence agency regularly deals with privacy breaches like last year’s US Office of Personnel Management hack.

DOD officials stated that the department had not yet determined the approach it would take to support a civil authority in a cyberincident and, as of January 2016, DOD had not begun efforts to issue or update guidance and did not have an estimate on when the guidance will be finalized," said Joseph W. Kirschbaum, Government Accountability Office director for defense capabilities and management, according to Defense One.

NORTHCOM has a pre-approved concept plan allowing it to operate civilian cyber missions “with other DOD components supporting in conducting missions,” Kirschbaum said. CYBERCOM, by comparison, does not yet have a formal guideline in place.

US law requires the Pentagon to develop a plan for Cyber Command by next month.

CYBERCOM, for its part, argues that in the event of a cyberattack, the Defense Secretary would likely call on its services, not NORTHCOM, particularly since a number of formal agreements currently list Cyber Command as the authority on the subject.

In June 2015, Robert Salesses, a deputy assistant secretary for Homeland Defense Integration, testified that Cyber Command would oversee the repair process following a cyberattack. A formal agreement between DOD and the Homeland Security Department from 2010 also lists CYBERCOM as the proper authority in the event a cyber emergency.

NORTHCOM does not appear to backing down, however. According to Kirschbaum, the agency stressed it will take the lead in the event of an emergency and that Cyber Command can act in a supporting role.

Until the Defense Department lays some clear ground rules, political infighting could lead to deep confusion and a weak response in the event of a real emergency.

The U.N. has been in the spotlight for months over allegations of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers

11 Tanzanian Peacekeepers Face Paternity Claims, U.N. Says
http://time.com/4281744/un-tanzanian-peacekeepers-paternity-claims/

(UNITED NATIONS) — A group of 11 Tanzanian peacekeepers accused of sexual exploitation and abuse in Congo also face paternity claims from their alleged victims, the U.N. said Monday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters that troops from the mission’s Force Intervention Brigade in the village of Mavivi in eastern Congo have been confined to the mission’s base camp by its commander pending investigation.

Unlike other international peacekeeping troops, the brigade has an unprecedented mandate to take offensive military action against rebel groups to help end Congo’s long-running conflict by neutralizing and disarming the fighters.

Dujarric said the 11 accused peacekeepers include four from the mission’s current deployment and seven from a previous contingent.

The U.N. has been in the spotlight for months over allegations of sexual abuse by its peacekeepers, especially those based in Congo and Central African Republic. On Thursday, the U.N. said more than 100 girls and women had come forward with new sexual abuse accusations against peacekeepers in CAR.

The U.N.’s Congo mission first announced on Friday that it had received allegations of sex with minors and sex for pay against the Tanzanians and that a response team was dispatched to investigate. The U.N. said it will provide medical and psycho-social support to victims.

Dujarric said it was impossible to say whether more allegations against the Tanzanian contingent could surface. But he encouraged anyone who has information about alleged abuses to come forward.

“We want to make sure that the communities and those members in the communities who may have been abused feel free . safe enough to come forward,” he said.

The 20,000-strong Congo peacekeeping mission began in 1999. The conflict there is a spillover from the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Hundreds of Hutus who participated in the mass slaughter escaped into Congo and still fight in the mineral-rich and volatile east, along with other armed groups.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Palestinian Leader Abbas to Meet With Putin in Moscow on April 18

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160406/1037550860/palestine-russia-visit-politics.html

Sputnik spoke to the Palestinian ambassador, who said that Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with Vladimir Putin on April 18.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Moscow on April 17 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 18. They will discuss issues in the Middle East and bilateral relations, Palestinian Ambassador Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik.

“Mahmoud Abbas will arrive to Moscow from Paris on April 17 to discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of bilateral relations, coordination in regard to the political developments around the Middle East crisis, since the negotiations between parties have been halted; a role that Russia can play in this issue," Nofal said.

Russian, Austrian Presidents to Meet in Moscow on Wednesday

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160406/1037551500/russia-australia-visit-moscow.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Moscow on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss bilateral cooperation.

Fischer arrived on an official two-day visit to the Russian capital on Tuesday at Putin’s invitation.

The two leaders will discuss a wide range of issues in Russian-Austrian relations in the trade and economic spheres, as well as cultural and humanitarian issues, according to the Kremlin’s press service. The presidents will talk about the implementation of agreements reached during Putin's visit to Austria in June 2014.

Putin and Fischer will reportedly have a comprehensive exchange of opinions on pressing international and regional problems. Taking into account Austria’s presidency in Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2017, special emphasis will be placed on European security, the press service added.

Fischer is also expected to meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, later on Wednesday. They will discuss development of Russian-Austrian relations, including trade, economic, investment and energy cooperation as well as cultural, humanitarian, historical and memorial issues, according to the Russian government.

Peace Treaty Could be on the Japanese Menu During PM Abe's Visit to Russia

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160406/1037549334/shinzo-abe-russia-visit-may.html

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could visit the seaside Russian city of Sochi on May 6, local media reported Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In February, Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed that Moscow was expecting a visit from Abe in April or May.

According to the newspaper Izvestiya, Abe is likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit. The two leaders are likely to discuss signing a peace treaty, bilateral relations and issues on the international agenda.

Prime Minister Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly reached an agreement on the Japanese leader’s visit to Russia in a phone conversation in January. Due to the informal nature of the visit, no documents will be signed between the sides.

The Kuril Islands are the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan. Japan lays claims to Kunashiri, Etorofu, and Shikotan island as well as the Habomai group of islets dividing the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The territorial dispute has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty since the end of World War II.

US State Secretary Kerry says Europe must tighten transportation security — media

http://tass.ru/en/world/867578

"One of the things Europe needs to do… they must begin to do a passenger name record system on air flights… and they need to have an early access screening system for some of those folks," Kerry says

NEW YORK, April 6. /TASS/. Europe needs to tighten up security measures at public transportation, particularly on air flights, in the wake of terrorist attacks in the Belgium capital of Brussels last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Bloomberg news agency.

"One of the things Europe needs to do… they must begin to do a passenger name record system on air flights… and they need to have an early access screening system for some of those folks," Kerry said in an interview with Bloomberg.

"Europe has not been with the rest, certainly not the United States, and other countries with respect of that tracking," the high-ranking US official said. "They had privacy concerns, we respect them. But they did their learning, as we did in America with 9/11, that you have to take certain precautions and you have to give up something to be safer."

In Belgium, two blasts rocked Brussels airport in the morning of March 22 this year, killing over 30 persons and wounding several hundred others. The Belgian authorities confirmed the blasts were a terror attack and announced the highest level of terrorist threat in the country. A third explosion occurred in the Brussels metro close to the EU institutions in the Belgian capital on the same day.

NATO allies in Europe need US support in light of Russia’s actions - President Obama

http://tass.ru/en/world/867574

According to Obama, the United States invests money in the armed forces to counter aggression and provide for the national security as well the security of American allies

WASHINGTON, April 6. /TASS/. The United States needs to preserve its level of military spending and maintain support of its NATO allies in Europe in light of new challenges, including Russia’s recently aggressive actions, US President Barack Obama told journalists.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Obama said it was important that his administration earlier managed to agree with the Congress against the cutting the budget of Pentagon and seek $582.7 billion for defense needs in the financial year of 2017.

According to Obama, the United States invests money in the armed forces to counter aggression and provide for the national security as well the security of American allies.

The United States, he said, needed to enhance its positions in Europe, where the country’s NATO allies required extra support in light of Russia’s aggressive behavior.

US military spending to enhance security in Europe is planned to be upped in 2017 to $3.4 billion, which is four times more compared with the previously allocated sum.

Less than two weeks ago Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian Defense Ministry was compelled to respond to the build-up of NATO’s military potential in Europe, including close to Russian borders.

"NATO continues building up its military potential in Europe, including in close vicinity to the Russian borders. No doubt, this situation cannot but concern us. We are forced to respond to it," the minister said, adding that the developments in the western strategic direction merited special attention.

Russia and US-led NATO have been in a long dispute over US missile shield plans in Europe, which the United States said was aimed to defend its allies from possible missile threats emerging from Iran and North Korea.

Russia viewed the deployment of the missile shield near its borders as a threat to its national security and in 2011 then-President Dmitry Medvedev announced a set of measures to counter the US-proposed missile defense system in Europe. The measures particularly included the construction of new air-defense radar systems and deployment of Iskander missiles in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, which borders on Europe.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Militants Violate Ceasefire in Aleppo Province, Syrian Army Retaliates

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160406/1037552176/syria-military-terrorism-aleppo.html

The Command Joint Operations Headquarters of the Syrian Army in Aleppo announced that the ceasefire had been disrupted in the southern part of the province in a statement Wednesday.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – The Syrian Army has renewed military activity against armed groups that are regularly violating the internationally-brokered ceasefire agreement in the south of Aleppo, the Command Joint Operations Headquarters of the Syrian Army in Aleppo said in a statement Wednesday.

“The Syrian Army and its allies have begun completing military tasks and are conducting gunfire against armed groups, their command points, and areas where they are gathering in the south of Aleppo province,” the statement reads.

Since 2011, Syria has been mired in a civil war, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting a number of militant groups and opposition factions. The conflict has significantly damaged the country's economy and caused a humanitarian disaster.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced, while over 4.8 million have fled the country amid violence.

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force on February 27 across Syria. It was supported by Damascus, as well as by dozens of opposition groups on the ground. The Islamic State (also known as Daesh) and the Nusra Front (both outlawed in Russia) were not part of the deal.

Top Hezbollah Fighter Killed While Liberating Christian Town From Daesh

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160406/1037549824/bilal-nadir-khairuddin-killed.html

A leading figure from the Syrian branch of Hezbollah was killed while assisting government forces in the liberation of Homs province.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Bilal Nadir Khairuddin, known by the nom de guerre 'Abu Jafaar', was killed in the Christian town of Quaryatayn in Homs province on Monday, Al Arabiya News reported on Tuesday, citing Hezbollah-tied outlets. He was considered one of Hezbollah’s key figures in the country after he founded the “Redha forces,” the group that represents Hezbollah in Syria.

The Syrian army has been carrying out an operation to liberate Quaryatayn, with Russian air support. The city had been taken by Daesh in August, 2015, prior to the Russian campaign; after invading the city, Daesh abducted over 200 people, including dozens of Christians.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shiite paramilitary and political organization with close ties to Iran, was established in the 1980s after Israel invaded Lebanon. The group has been fighting alongside the Syrian government against Sunni radicals and other militant groups, such as Daesh, which has been condemned by Russia, the United Nations and throughout the world.

Flour Delivered to Hama, Syria as Part of Russian Humanitarian Aid

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160406/1037549745/russia-deliers-hama-aid.html

Three metric tons of wheat flour was delivered for the first time to the Syrian city of Hama, as part of humanitarian aid from Russia.

HAMA (Sputnik) – Three metric tons of wheat flour was delivered for the first time to the Syrian city of Hama, mostly controlled by government forces, as part of humanitarian aid from Russia.

The flour will be processed at the city’s central bakery, and the traditional Syrian flatbreads made from it will be sent to the most vulnerable groups of the population. Such groups include internally displaced persons who fled to Hama province from territories occupied by Daesh and the Nusra Front.

According to a spokesperson from the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation, the bread made from the Russian flour will be taken this week to the refugee camps located near the city. At least three routes to settlements which are home to thousands of people who've fled the terrorists have been worked out, the spokesperson said.

Since 2011, Syria has been mired in a civil war, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting a number of militant groups and opposition factions. The conflict has significantly damaged the country's economy and caused a humanitarian disaster.

According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced, while over 4.8 million have fled the country amid violence.

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force on February 27 across Syria. It was supported by Damascus, as well as by dozens of opposition groups on the ground. The Islamic State (also known as Daesh) and the Nusra Front (both outlawed in Russia) were not part of the deal.

General: Mortar shells ‘unintentionally’ fired on Iran’s territory from Armenia

http://tass.ru/en/world/867583

Iran's Commander of Border Guards Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei visited the border areas in northwestern Iran’s province and said that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia was safe

TEHRAN, April 6. /TASS/. Mortar shells that exploded on Sunday on Iran’s territory close to the border with the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region had been fired from Armenia’s territory, Iran's Commander of Border Guards Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei said.

"During conflicts between Baku and Yerevan in the past few days, several mortar shells from Armenia were 'unintentionally' fallen in Iran's zero border point," the official was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying. Iran has called on Armenian border guards not to repeat such actions.

Rezaei visited the border areas in northwestern Iran’s province and said that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia was safe. He also met with Azerbaijan’s deputy chief of the State Border Service, Ilham Mehdiyev, and reviewed joint border issues.

The Fars news agency reported on April 3 citing local officials that three mortar shells fired during clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh hit a village in Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan. No casualties or injuries were reported.

The situation along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone deteriorated dramatically overnight to April 2 when fierce clashes began. The parties to the conflict accused each other of violating the truce.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries announced cessation of combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh from 11:00 a.m. (0800GMT) Moscow time on April 5.