"Your Digital News Flash"
News From Rapture Ready
15 Mar 11
Netanyahu: Weapons on seized ship came from Iran through Syria Gadhafi threatens to join forces with al-Qaida if West attacks Libya Japan earthquake magnitude increased to 9.0 from 8.9: USGS Bahrain Declares State of Emergency as Gulf Forces Arrive European stocks fall under weight of Japan's crisis Clinton to tell Egyptians democracy would take time New delay in resuming Egypt gas flow to Israel Germany Shuts Down Seven Nuclear Reactors Administration wants to slow health care challenge GOP conservatives balk at stopgap spending bill Japan feeds more money to banks as stocks slump Nuclear official: Spent fuel storage pool may boil US feared British 'sharia banks' would finance terrorist groups Japan Stocks Suffer Worst 2-Day Rout Since '87 Iran denounces foreign troops in Bahrain Radiation fears after Japan blast Libya: Government and rebels still battling for Brega Nuclear debate sees rise in EU carbon prices IDF on high alert over Palestinian unity demonstrations IDF seizes freighter of Iranian weapons headed to Gaza
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the weapons seized from a ship earlier in the day were from Iran, the newspaper Haaretz reported. "We are currently collecting information and the one thing that is certain is that the weapons are from Iran with a relay station in Syria," Netanyahu said. Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli navy seized a ship that was smuggling weapons allegedly destined for terror groups in the Gaza Strip.
Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has warned Western leaders that if they dare to attack the North African country, he would form an alliance with al-Qaida - who he previously claimed are responsible for the domestic rebellion currently taking place in Libya – and together declare holy war against the West. Gadhafi dismissed demands by world powers for a no-fly zone or airstrikes on Libya, telling the Italian daily Il Giornale on Tuesday, "We will fight and win. A situation of that type will only serve to unite the Libyan people." If western forces attacked Libya, "We will ally ourselves with al-Qaida and declare holy war," he said.
The U.S. Geological Survey Monday raised the magnitude of the deadly earthquake that struck offshore northern Japan Friday to 9.0 from 8.9. “This magnitude places the earthquake as the fourth largest in the world since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings began 130 years ago,” it said in a message posted at 5:35 p.m. Officials say at least 10,000 people were killed in the earthquake and tsunami that followed it.
Bahrain declared a state of emergency for three-months as a second contingent of forces from Gulf states poured into the kingdom after a month of anti- government protests. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa asked the head of the military to guarantee security across the country, state television said. Clashes between mainly Shiite protesters and Bahraini forces escalated on March 13, with more than 100 people injured as demonstrators demanded democracy through elections from their Sunni monarch.
European shares fell to their lowest in 14 weeks on Tuesday after Japan warned of significantly higher radiation levels following explosions at one of its quake-stricken nuclear power plants. Broker Nomura said continued uncertainty regarding the efforts to stabilise certain nuclear facilities would keep stocks under pressure but that the stock market could eventually recover relatively quickly.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Egypt on Tuesday to urge its military rulers to lay the ground for a genuine transition to democracy and offer support to the citizens that toppled Hosni Mubarak from power. The highest U.S. official to visit the country since the Feb. 11 ouster of the former president, who had been a close U.S. ally, Clinton's visit is less a victory lap about the virtues of democracy than a cautionary tale about its challenges.
Shipments of Egyptian gas to Israel, due to resume this week after being cut off after a February 5 attack on a Sinai pipeline, have been delayed again, one of the pipeline's owners said Tuesday. Ampal-American Israel Corporation, which holds 12.5 percent of the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) that owns the pipeline between the two neighbors, blamed the new delay on a leak.
Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will take seven of its 17 reactors offline for three months while the country reconsiders plans to extend the life of its nuclear power plants. Merkel said Tuesday that Germany will temporarily shut down reactors that went into operation before the end of 1980, affecting seven reactors. The decision comes amid fears sparked by the crisis under way at Japan's tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant.
The Obama administration says the Supreme Court should not permit Virginia to sidestep a federal appeals court in the state's challenge to the health care law. In court papers filed with the justices Monday, the federal government says there is no reason to take the extremely rare step of "short-circuiting" review by appellate judges, which already has been accelerated.
Conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill began Monday to come out against a measure to keep the government running for three more weeks while the White House and Republican lawmakers seek a longer-term agreement on spending cuts. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, which makes up a sizable majority of House Republicans, said the measure should include a ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood and that Congress needs to do better than cutting spending a few billion dollars at a time.
Japan's central bank pumped billions more into the financial system Tuesday to quell fears that the country's banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami. Stocks slumped for a second day as a nuclear crisis escalated. Two cash injections totaling 8 trillion yen ($98 billion) came a day after the Bank of Japan fed a record 15 trillion yen ($184 billion) into money markets and eased monetary policy to support the economy in the aftermath of Friday's 9.0 magnitude quake that has killed thousands.
Conditions at a crippled nuclear power plant deteriorated further Tuesday, with a Japanese nuclear safety official saying that the water inside the waste fuel storage pool for a damaged reactor may be boiling. Hidehiko Nishiyama told reporters that "we cannot deny the possibility of water boiling" in the spent fuel storage pool at the facility.
Financial reforms pushed through by the Labour government allowed Islamic banks to flourish in Britain, amassing assets valued at more than £12 billion. To comply with Islamic law, their financial products do not pay or charge interest, and the banks cannot invest in alcohol, tobacco or gambling firms. But while government officials have promoted Britain's status as the most Islamic-friendly economy in the Western world, cables obtained by WikiLeaks show that the US feared the banks could be used to channel funds to terrorists.
Japanese stocks plunged 10.6 percent on Tuesday, posting the worst two-day losing streak since 1987, on reports of rising radiation near Tokyo, suggesting any deterioration at a quake-hit nuclear plant could trigger more panic selling led by hedge funds. The yen tripped on talk of intervention and bond yields rose as investors sold debt to offset losses in the stock market. The scale and speed of the equity selloff, on record volume for a second day running, forced fund managers to sit on the sidelines.
Iran has denounced the use of troops from neighbouring Gulf states in Bahrain as "unacceptable". Some 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and a further 500 from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Bahrain on Monday at the invitation of the government. The US state department has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to the country due to the ongoing unrest.
Radiation from Japan's quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached harmful levels, the government says. The warning comes after the plant was rocked by a third blast which appears to have damaged one of the reactors' containment systems for the first time. If it is breached, there are fears of more serious radioactive leaks.
Heavy fighting has been continuing in Libya between government and rebel forces, who are still battling for the oil town of Brega. At one point, both sides simultaneously claimed control of the town. A UN envoy is in the country, asking for an end to the violent response to opposition protests and immediate humanitarian access.
European carbon prices hit a two-year high on Monday (14 March), as the region reassesses the future of its nuclear energy industry following events in Japan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said plans to extend the operating life of the country's nuclear plants would be suspended for at least three months, pending an inquiry into their safety, while Switzerland halted plans to build new reactors.
The IDF will be on high alert throughout the West Bank on Tuesday amid predictions that thousands of Palestinians will participate in demonstrations against Israel and in support of Fatah-Hamas unity. Palestinians have been urged to hold mass rallies in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a campaign aimed at exerting pressure on Fatah and Hamas to end their dispute.
The IDF seized a freighter ship with dozens of tons of weaponry from Iran headed for Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The ship, known as Victoria, was flying a Liberian flag, and was seized by the navy off the coast of El-Arish in Egypt, 200 miles off of Israel's coast. The Victoria was boarded by commandos from the Israely Navy's Flotilla 13, also known as the Shayetet, and is expected to arrive in the Ashdod port on Tuesday evening.
The Last Generation Network News Report
(the other 4 sites should be on board Monday Evening)
