Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts

Thursday 9 April 2015

Meeting to focus on humanitarian issues for Syria

English: Bashar al-Assad under pressure
English: Bashar al-Assad under pressure (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The war in Syria is going on already much too long, having demanded lots of innocent civilians and having made the rebel fundamentalist groups stronger but also more divided. In the four years the battle is going on there seems to be more loosers than gainers.
Neither President Bashar al-Assad's government or his opposers seem any nearer to resolving the conflict.

After the US-Iranian (nuclear) deal, and (US Secretary of State) it will be the first meeting whereby John Kerry declined to rule out talking to President Bashar al-Assad, to come to discuss and to find a solution to end the Syrian civil war.

With key opposition figures absent, little progress is expected on resolving the shifting conflict.
Instead, the discussions are expected to focus on humanitarian issues and serve as a way for Russia, a main backer of the Syrian regime, to build its profile as a potential mediator in the conflict.

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Monday 24 March 2014

Swallowing up Crimea, who is next

Vladimir Putin has delivered a swift and uncompromising blow to the imposition of US and EU sanctions by signing a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, paving the way for him to acknowledge a request from the breakaway region to join the Russian Federation. Ignoring Western threats of a new Cold War and a “far-reaching” economic blockade, the Russian president will on Tuesday address both houses of the Russian parliament on the crisis, and is expected to welcome Crimea into the fold. The formal process of absorbing the peninsula could be completed within weeks. The Kremlin announced that Mr Putin had signed a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state, after it voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia. The US and the European Union responded by issuing targeted sanctions against several key players in the escalating crisis.

Events have moved amazingly quickly. Just a few weeks ago Crimea was part of Ukraine. In less than two weeks Russia has moved in and annexed the region and brought it under the Russian Federation. Mr Putin has seen his personal approval ratings soar to a three-year high after his decision to send troops to Crimea. Crimea was invaded by Russia in the 1870s and then handed to Ukraine in 1954. It remained with Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But Putin has said that the greatest geopolitical catastrophe was the collapse of the USSR. He has now begun the process of rebuilding that empire. The Russian juggernaut is on the move. Almost all commentators say that we are returning to a new Cold War. In Ezekiel 38 we read of Gog being “turned back”. This literally means “to be returned”. Putin himself (Gog) was returned to power and is now turning the whole of Russia back to Cold War days….

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen                                                                                                              “I will turn thee back” literally means “I will return you” or “I will restore you”.

Two almost simultaneous signatures Friday on opposite sides of Europe deepened the divide between East and West, as Russia formally annexed Crimea and the European Union pulled Ukraine closer into its orbit. In this "new post-Cold War order," as the Ukrainian prime minister called it, besieged Ukrainian troops on the Crimean Peninsula faced a critical choice: leave, join the Russian military or demobilize. Ukraine was working on evacuating its outnumbered troops in Crimea, but some said they were still awaiting orders. With fears running high of clashes between the two sides or a grab by Moscow for more of Ukraine, the chief of the U.N. came to the capital city Kiev and urged calm all around. All eyes were on President Vladimir Putin, as they have been ever since pro-Western protests drove out Ukraine's president a month ago, angering Russia and plunging Europe into its worst crisis in a generation.

The division of Russia and Europe is made clear in the Bible. It begins with the 2 legs of Daniel’s image representing East and West. It is further detailed in Daniel 7 and 8. Daniel 7 tracks the West and the power of Rome. Daniel 8 tracks the East and the latter day power of Russia. Daniel 11 from verse 40 shows the conflict between East and West through the latter day powers of king of the north and king of the south. There are two distinct wars at the end. Ezekiel 38 is a war led by Russia (East). This war is about power and spoil.  Then there is a religious war (Revelation 17) led by Europe / Rome.

the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold— The stone = Christ returning. The metals of the image  = different world empires.  The fact the stone grinds all worldly kingdoms to powder does NOT mean all the metals are united as one at the end. They remain divided. (Daniel 2:45)

- Andy Walton in Weekly World Watch

 

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Please do find also:
  1. Mother of Ukraine or Crimea
  2. Ukrainians should be free to shape the future of their country
  3. Battling Borshct in Ukraine
  4. When Crimean people made their choice
  5.  

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  1. Chess in a Minefield: The Global Implications of the Ukraine Conflict
  2. West is Impudent – This is like the Fall of Rome 
  3. Crimea: A Microcosm of East-West Conflict 
  4. The Social-Psychological Roots of the Ethnic Problems in Crimea
  5. Christianizing Crimea: Shaping Sacred Space in the Russian Empire and Beyond
  6. Why Crimea, Soviet ‘Gift’ to Ukraine, Remains Strongly Russian
  7. Crimea Votes for Greater Freedom from Ukraine Self-Determination in Black Sea…
  8. Ukraine as it happened: Putin says ‘threat of ultranationalists’ forced him to intervene

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Thursday 20 March 2014

Russian take-over of Crimea

The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, erupted in violent demonstrations and street clashes in late January, culminating with the removal by Parliament of President Viktor Yanukovych. Tensions mounted in the Crimea region, where additional Russian troops and armoured vehicles were reportedly deployed.


English: Ukrainian Presidential Election Octob...
Ukrainian Presidential Election October 2004 - Viktor Yanukovych (First Round) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The last few days we saw how how the Crimean people could only give two votes in Sunday's referendum of which we can question if it was legally installed. The referendum in which 96.8 percent of Crimean residents voted in favour of the secession could also been seen as a voice of the majority. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent. Those who did not turn up to give their vote in a certain way can now not complain.
It for sure did not resolve in Ukraine the country’s ongoing political crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Monday, March 17 the proclaimed independence from Ukraine, will further worsen the situation around Ukraine. 


Ban Ki-moon is “deeply concerned and disappointed” that this weekend’s Crimea secession referendum will only exacerbate an “already complex and tense situation.”

Since the beginning of the crisis, the UN chief has urged all parties to avoid “hasty steps” that could exacerbate tensions.
“He encourages all parties to work for a solution that is guided by the principles of the United Nations Charter, including respecting Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty,”
 said Mr. Dujarric.

What we in the West hear is only that most Tartars stayed at home and did not go to vote. So you could wonder if they now can complain. Looking at the results,in case they where received honestly the majority of the voters in Crimea overwhelmingly supported leaving Ukraine and joining Russia. The referendum caps months of political unrest, triggered by the Government's decision last November not to sign an agreement on broader European integration. The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, erupted in violent demonstrations and street clashes in late January, culminating with the removal by Parliament of President Viktor Yanukovych. Tensions mounted in the Crimea region, where additional Russian troops and armoured vehicles were reportedly deployed.

In his statement today, the Secretary-General condemned the violence which occurred over the weekend in eastern Ukraine and which resulted in injuries and loss of life on all sides.
“The Secretary-General once again urges all parties to refrain from violence and to commit themselves to de-escalation and inclusive national dialogue in the pursuit of a political and diplomatic solution,”
 said Mr. Dujarric, adding:
“A deterioration of the situation will have serious repercussions for the people of Ukraine, the region and beyond.”  

The UN chief also urged all parties in Ukraine and those with influence to avoid any steps that could further increase tensions.
“Above all, the Secretary-General urges all concerned to intensify their efforts and engage constructively toward a peaceful solution to this crisis, with the aspirations of all the people of Ukraine foremost in mind,”
said Mr. Dujarric, adding that Mr. Ban remains ready to work with all parties to resolve this situation.


Moscow and Kiev are on the brink of conflict following a breakdown in relations in the wake of last month's overthrow of Ukraine's former Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
On Tuesday, Putin signed a treaty absorbing the Ukrainian region of Crimea into Russia and on Wednesday pro-Russian troops stormed a Ukrainian naval headquarters on the peninsula.
 

Much of the international community, including the United States and the European Union, rejects the annexation of Crimea as illegal, but Moscow in turn refuses to recognise the Ukrainian government. 

The Secretary-General will travel to Kiev on Friday, where he will hold talks with top Ukrainian officials, members of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission and representatives of civil society.
The statement said the visit was "part of (Ban's) diplomatic efforts to encourage all parties to resolve the current crisis peacefully". Key elements of the charter include respect for fellow U.N. member states' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the peaceful resolution of international disputes.

The Christadelphian brothers and sisters in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Crimea thankfully can report that they are all well, and unaffected so far by the protests and the Russian take-over of Crimea. However their cost of living will increase as the grivna devalues against foreign currencies, and imports cost more.

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Wednesday 28 August 2013

Chemical warsite and Pushing king of the South


Marcus Ampe, Andy Walton and Christadelphian World report

In Explosive situation in Egypt part of what was said in old times Marcus Ampe looked at the situation in Egypt, Syria and the developments in the Middle East which follow the outline predicted in the Holy Scriptures.

At the end of July Syria’s civil war had claimed over 100,000 lives, the UN announced on Thursday July 25 2013, after the number of deaths rose by more than 7,000 in just over a month.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, used the announcement of the landmark death toll to appeal for new efforts to convene a peace conference to end the Syrian conflict that began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.

 “More than 100,000 people have been killed, millions of people have either been displaced or become refugees in neighbouring countries,” Mr Ban said.
 “We have to bring this to an end, the military and violent actions must be stopped by both parties and it is thus imperative to have a peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible.” 
The death toll was placed at 93,000 on June 13, with Thursday’s announcement marking a steep increase in the number casualties in recent weeks.

Both sides in the Syrian civil war have committed atrocities and both sides have misrepresented photos and falsified reports. But the burden appears to be on the government’s side.


Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), which is above partisanship as well as devoted to saving lives, has reported that the hospitals it supports in Damascus have treated thousands of victims for neuro-toxicity. Their reports say that the symptoms are a result of the presence of Sarin gas.

Photo credit: AFP. A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows bodies of children and adults laying on the ground as Syrian rebels claim they were killed in a toxic gas attack by pro-government forces in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21st 2013.

A doctor from Irbin and a volunteer from Douma said that it wasn't until the mosque loudspeakers repeatedly announced warnings of a gas attack and residents were told to keep all doors and windows closed that they realized what had happened. "I was familiar with the patients' symptoms from earlier attacks," doctor Abu Akram recounts from the emergency hospital in Irbin. "People are externally unharmed, but they are foaming at the mouth and trembling, and their heartbeat becomes weaker and weaker. It was only a few victims in the past, but this time it was hundreds. They were lying on the floors of the treatment rooms, in the corridors, everywhere, and more and more kept coming. One after another, the patients around us lost consciousness. We injected atropine," a drug used to counteract the effects of Sarin nerve gas, "until we ran out. Then we used hydrocortisone, and finally we dripped onion juice. Most were revived, but 73 people died."
- Spiegel Online International 
The world looks out for the reaction against the use of chemical weapons. An attack on Syria is now being planned by the US and its allies will be the ninth direct western military intervention in an Arab or Muslim country in 15 years.

The Syrian atrocity, where the death toll has been reported by opposition-linked sources at 322 but is likely to rise, was damned as a "moral obscenity" by US secretary of state John Kerry. The killings in Egypt, the vast majority of them of civilians, have been estimated at 1,295 over two days. But Barack Obama said the US wasn't "taking sides", while Kerry earlier claimed the army was "restoring democracy".


Hafez al-Assad. Taken sometime before April 1987.
Hafez al-Assad. Taken sometime before April 1987. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The latest massacres have suppressed hopes of unity and will encourage radicalism. Last month’s coup by the Egyptian army was supposed to have saved Egypt. The deposition of President Mohammed Morsi was, it was argued, the only way that the country could be saved from a vortex of political polarisation, repression and violence. US Secretary of State John Kerry – speaking, ironically, from Islamabad, the spiritual home of the popular coup – took this line, insisting that the army was “in effect, restoring democracy” and preventing a “descent into chaos”.

President Morsi became Egypt's first  ever democratically elected leader. But he has lasted only 18 months. The people have once again taken to the streets to remove him. This is people power. Obama promised freedom and democracy and human rights. But it has bought only violence, discontent and people wanting their rights above others. It is this godless spirit that Revelation 16 speaks about going forth from the kings of the world and infecting all the world – it  leads to Armageddon....

Events in Syria might well be reaching a conclusion with the chemical weapon attack this week.

The conflict in Syria will Not have a peaceful outcome. Assad has made gains in recent weeks and is in no mood to compromise with the rebels. Why should he when he has the support of Russia  - a nuclear super power?

In fact Assad’s comments the week of August the 5th speak of even greater trouble to come. He wants to crush his opponents with an “iron fist”. We know he has weapons to do this – chemical and biological. We also know he is not afraid to use them. Even this week there were reports of “toxic gas” wounding many in Damascus itself.

Syrian aleppo
A victim of an air strike by regime forces on Aleppo is carried away, on August 26 2013. 'Chemical weapons are far from being the greatest threat to Syria’s people. That is the war itself and the death and destruction that has engulfed the country.' Photograph: Abo Al-Nur Sadk/AFP/Getty Images

The Bible says that things will not end peacefully. In fact it clearly says that events in Syria will come to a sudden and dramatic end. It will culminate in the complete destruction of Damascus and the actual kingdom of Syria will cease to exist. We don’t know when this will happen – but we know it will – we keep watching….

Step by step Russia and America are being driven apart. This is God’s work. He said through his prophet Daniel over 2500 years ago that at the time of the end there would be a conflict between these two powers. Ezekiel 38 clearly identifies these powers as Russia on the one side and Britain and America (based in Saudi Arabia) on the other.

Over the last few years we have witnessed Russian / US disagreement over Iraq, Libya, Syria, Nato. Each time it gets worse. Now with this spy case they have even resorted to name calling! Obama said this week that Putin acted like a “bored kid” in their meetings. But much worse is to come. Events in Syria will be the final straw for Russia. When Syria is removed from being a power Russia will have been pushed too far. At that point (or shortly afterwards) Russia will descend into the Middle East….


July 21 - 27, 2013: Syria civil war death toll passes 100,000 people; Egypt crisis: 'Scores killed' at Cairo protest; Israel: considers 'serious territorial concessions'; Russia pushes ahead with arms shipments to Syria; Vladimir Putin dives to bottom of the sea in latest stunt; David Cameron: I'd like to export gay marriage

July 28 – August 3, 2013: Israel: The continuing conflict in the Middle East and focus on Jerusalem.; Europe:  Its developing union, both political and religious; Russia: Its return to anti-Western ways as Bible prophecy’s “king of the north.”; The UK and the US: Bible prophecy’s “king of the south.”; Moral standards in decline and violence on the increase; Increasing natural disasters: including earthquake, famine etc

August 4 - 10, 2013: Assad vows to stamp out 'terror' with iron fist; Sinai airstrike on militants in Egypt kills five; Obama cancels meeting with Putin over Snowden; US steps up drone strikes in Yemen
August 11 - 17, 2013: Cairo devastation day after Egypt violence; US-Egyptian relations on the rocks; Temperature records broken in Austria and Hungary

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
- Daniel 11:40

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Please find also to read:
Guttering, choking, drowning  
Chemical warfare in Syria: who and why? 

Assad's Cold Calculation: The Poison Gas War on the Syrian People

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Tuesday 19 February 2013

Russia supplying weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime

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English: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria . ...
English: President Bashar al-Assad of Syria . Original background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Russia will keep supplying weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime despite the country's escalating civil war, the head of Russia's state arms trader said Wednesday. Anatoly Isaikin, the director of Rosoboronexport, said Russia sees no need to stop its arms trade with Syria as the trade isn't prohibited by the United Nations. He dismissed Western criticism of Russian arms sales to Assad's regime, saying his company has only delivered defensive weapons. "In the absence of sanctions, we are continuing to fulfil our contract obligations," Isaikin said at a news conference. "But these aren't offensive weapons. We are mostly shipping air defence systems and repair equipment intended for various branches of the military."
Moscow has been the main protector of Assad's beleaguered regime, joining with China at the U.N. Security Council to block attempts to impose sanctions on Assad amid a civil war in which more than 60,000 people have died.

The EU is generally against this idea and officials report that Britain is "angry and frustrated" at this. In effect we are seeing the king of the north (Russia) arming Syria and we seeing the king of the south (Britain) wanting to arm the rebels. The nations are lining up exactly as prophesied by God. The pieces are almost in place.

We see from Ezekiel 38 that the “time of the end” king of the north is Russia and the “time of the end” king of the south is UK / US

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:40)




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Monday 28 November 2011

Virgin Mary’s girdle

A chunk of the Virgin Mary’s girdle, made of camel hair and preserved for centuries since its owner headed heavenwards according a lot of Christians. For several Christians it is a holy relic, which is now on tour in Russia and drawing crowds of Orthodox believers on a scale that makes U2 concerts look under-populated

The belt is usually kept in a monastery on Mount Athos, Greece, but has been toted round a series of Russian cities over the past few weeks, ending up in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour – the vast white and gold post-USSR replacement for an Orthodox cathedral razed under Stalin. Pilgrims are flooding in to kiss the relic, which is believed to have special powers to treat infertility and promote health.

For the Orthodox Church, already enjoying a resurgence and snowballing membership since the USSR fell apart, the public display of faith is an apparent triumph: devotion doesn’t come much plainer than this. Not everyone agrees, though: even among the faithful, the extremity of the response (at least half a million people have turned out in Moscow alone, and another two million elsewhere in Russia) smacks a touch too much of superstition, of a kind of mass hysteria.

Read the whole story:
  1. Belt up! – the Virgin Mary comes to Moscow

  2. Belt up part II – how the Virgin Mary won Russia’s elections


Friday 14 October 2011

WWW Updates

Brother Andy Walton let us know:

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This weeks WWW is now available.
To view it please click on the following link. You can either open it and view now.
Or you can save it and view it later. It may take a minute to download. If you are not able to download please reply to this email requesting the WWW as an attachment. I will then email the WWW to you as an attachment. This may take a day or two as it is not automated!
CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS WWW
In this weeks WWW

Syria threatens to rain missiles down on Israel.

Weekly World Watch ARTICLES

I gave a talk recently on Daniel's 70 week prophecy and how it links to the Olivet prophecy.
Click here to download a PDF of the slides. (1mb)
Within the PDF is the link to download the AUDIO.

I gave a talk recently on the significance of Queen Elizabeth II in relation to Bible prophecy.
Click here to download a PDF of the slides. (7mb)
Within the PDF is the link to download the AUDIO.

Another article you may be interested in is about how Jesus might return.
Click here to download the PDF of this article.

Another new article is on the question of God's involvement in the earthquake in Haiti.
Click here to download the PDF of this article

I have written an article on the significance of the Pope's visit to the Dome of the Rock in relation to the Olivet Prophecy.
Click here to download the PDF of the new article.
Weekly World Watch AUDIO
There are a number of audio (mp3) talks you can download to listen to. Some are prophecy related but some are exhortational.
Click here to visit the AUDIO page on the website
Weekly World Watch THEMES -updated for 2010
All the WWW slides for last year have been grouped into themes.Suppose you want to view everything the WWW reported on in 2010 relating to Korea - just click the link below and then select the subject you want to view. There's everything from Israel to Russia, from financial collapse to natural disasters. It is amazing to view a whole year on one theme and WATCH God's hand working in the world.
Click here to visit the THEME page on the website
Weekly World Watch CD's
There are currently 6 CD available to order. They are all powerpoint with audio taken from talks I have given. I will gladly post free of charge if money is an issue. A new CD is now available called "The Hope of Israel".
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Internet Protection
It is vital to ensure that we have internet protection. SAFE EYES is the best program I have found to do this. It protects everyone (kids and parents), it is tamper proof and can be installed quickly. According to the London School of Economics 90% of children between the ages of 8 and 16 have accidentally accessed pornography. In most cases these sites were stumbled upon while searching for information that was homework related. As brethren and sisters of Christ we are responsible to ensure we do not view such things either accidentally or on purpose. I commend SAFE EYES to EVERYONE! It does cost money but in my opinion (and I have used it for 5 years) it is worth EVERY penny.
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Powerpoint Viewer
If for any reason you cannot open the Weekly World Watch link you may not have powerpoint installed on your computer.
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