Prophetic Times
|
WEEKLY
WORLD NEWS UPDATE |
|
18 JANUARY
2003 |
Jan
15, 2003 The Middle East Newsline
reports: "The
So
far, officials said, the State Department is quietly pulling out non-essential
embassy staffers and families in such countries as Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. They said similar measures will be taken in
the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
'We
have been seen a series of attacks over Ramadan that indicate that the intelligence
warnings of increased threat to Americans in the region are accurate,' an
official said. 'The biggest threat is that of kidnapping of Americans,
particularly diplomats.'…"
BLAIR
READY TO ACT WITHOUT NEW UN RESOLUTION
Resolution
1441, passed last year, demanded that President Saddam allow unfettered access
to inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction. However, defining his government's position
in more detail than he has done so far, the prime minister added a caveat about
returning to the security council that did not completely rule out supporting
military action outside a UN resolution.
Mr.
Blair said he 'could not be constrained' by the possibility of a country
imposing an 'unreasonable block' or proviso that would hinder a fresh UN
resolution. He added: 'I want to make it
quite clear, and I believe this to be the position of all the main security
council members, that if there is a breach [of the first resolution] we would
expect the United Nations to honor the undertakings that were given and make
sure that the will of the UN is upheld.'
The
White House has been careful not to commit itself to having to seek a second
resolution before starting any military action, and Mr. Blair's comments today
would still allow him room to support the U.S. doing so…"
ISRAELI
EXPERTS EXAMINE ANCIENT TABLET
Jan
14, 2003 The Guardian.uk reports:
"Israeli geologists said Monday they have examined a stone tablet
detailing repair plans for the Jewish Temple of King Solomon that, if
authenticated, would be a rare piece of physical evidence confirming the
biblical narrative.
The
find - whose origin is murky - is about the size of a legal pad, with a 15-line
inscription in ancient Hebrew that strongly resembles descriptions in the
Bible's Book of Kings. It could also strengthen Jewish claims to a disputed
holy site in Jerusalem's Old City that is now home to two major mosques. Muslim clerics insist, despite overwhelming
archaeological evidence, that no Jewish shrine ever stood at the site. That
claim was made by Palestinian officials in failed negotiations with Israel in
2000 over who would be sovereign there.
The
origin of the stone tablet is unclear, making it difficult to establish
authenticity. The Israeli daily Ha'aretz on Monday quoted an
unidentified source as saying it was uncovered in recent years, during
renovations carried out by the Muslim administrators of the mosque compound
known to Muslims as the Haram as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, and to Jews as the
Temple Mount.
From
there, it reached a major antiquities collector in Jerusalem, Ha'aretz said. The Holy Land has a
thriving trade in
antiquities,
often operating on the edge of the law.
The
sandstone tablet has a 15-line inscription in ancient Hebrew that resembles
descriptions in Kings II, 12:1-6, 11-17, said Israel's Geological Survey, which
examined the artifact. The words refer to King Joash, who ruled the area 2,800
years ago…"
Officials
said the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has decided to approve a
U.S. proposal for a 150-member team of military experts to inspect Turkish
military bases and ports. The U.S. request had been delayed amid disagreement
whether the U.S. delegation would be bound to Turkish law during their stay.
After
assurances from Washington, Ankara decided to sign a memorandum of
understanding on for the U.S. base and port survey, officials said. The
inspection will include at least six Turkish military bases as well as three
sea ports. The United States has been using the Turkish air base at Incerlik
for more than a decade...”
TOXIC ATTACK ON
CITY IS 'LIKELY SOON'
Jan
11, 2003 The Financial Times
reports: “British ministers have been warned by their security advisers that a
west European city is ‘likely’ to be the target of a terrorist attack using a
chemical or other non-conventional weapon in the short-to-medium term. They have also warned that they cannot be
sure they know the identity of more than 50 per cent of people in the
In
a separate incident on Friday morning German authorities arrested two Yemeni
men believed to be high-ranking members of al-Qaeda, according to German
security officials. The federal crime office confirmed that two men were
arrested at a Frankfurt airport hotel, on the request of US authorities. One of
the men is a senior al-Qaeda financier and both had been involved in building
al-Qaeda's network in Yemen, security officials were cited as saying.
Fears
that al-Qaeda terrorists are closer to carrying out a chemical attack have been
heightened by the discovery this week of traces of ricin at a house in London
occupied by suspected terrorists. Seven
men arrested in connection with a suspected plot to use the deadly poison were
still being questioned by anti-terrorist police in the UK on Friday and were
expected to by charged this weekend.
Security
sources in Britain say that it is ‘certainly a possibility’ that the ricin
poison made in London might have been taken abroad..."
THE
EU NEEDS A SINGLE PRESIDENT
Jan
10, 2003 The Financial Times reports:
"The convention on the future of
The
critical issue dominating this constitutional debate is the organization of
executive power in the EU - currently split between the European Commission and
national governments, meeting in the Council of Ministers. The proliferation of
proposals, from politicians and academics, bears witness to its importance.
What
the EU requires is a visible European executive, with a face that is
recognizable within Europe and on the international scene. The executive must
have the authority to take the initiative and co-ordinate the actions of
national governments. We propose a
full-time president with a term of office of, say, five years, to provide
continuity. The president would be appointed by national leaders following the
five-yearly elections to the European parliament...
The
president's primary role would be to represent the EU at home and, alongside
the new minister for foreign affairs, on the world stage. He or she would also
make proposals for legislative and executive action and would play a leading
role in developing the EU's program, which would be devised by the Commission
and adopted by the Council..."
Compiled by L.
ljtuc@msn.com
UCGIA,