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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

July 7, 2015

Pope Francis to be Tried by Sanhedrin
A re-established and self declared Israeli Sanhedrin, the religious High Court composed of 71 sages, has declared that it is putting Pope Francis on trial unless he retracts his statement that the Jews have no right to the land of Israel or to Jerusalem. In February 2013, the Vatican officially recognized the “State of Palestine” but more significantly, the Vatican signed a treaty in June with “Palestine” in which the Holy See switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the “State of Palestine." This treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and as such, constitutes an official recognition.  
Iran’s Rafsanjani Reiterates ‘Israel Will Be Wiped Off The Map’
Once again, a top Iranian leader is speaking out and vowing the Jewish State will be obliterated. However, in the meantime the West makes a lot of money by taking advantage of its existence, he says.  
Scientists think a GMO version of one crop might be the key to feeding 3.5 billion people
in two new studies, both of which were published Monday, June 6 in the journal Nature Genomics, researchers identified a single gene that they can tweak to improve rice's quality without sacrificing the amount that farmers get from each crop. Up until now, attempting to grow higher quality rice using genetic hybrids and mutations was only possible so long as farmers sacrificed the amount of rice they ended up with.  
Strong earthquake, 6.3 mag has occurred near Shikotan in Russia
A earthquake magnitude 6.3 (ml/mb) strikes 99 km ENE of Shikotan, Russia (62 miles) on Tuesday. The epicenter was at a depth of 38.15 km (24 miles). Global date and time of event UTC/GMT: 07/07/15 / 2015-07-07 05:10:27 / July 7, 2015 @ 5:10 am. A tsunami warning has not been issued (Does not indicate if a tsunami actually did or will exist).  
6.2 earthquake hits northern Japan
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 jolted Japan's northern island of Hokkaido Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.  
Saudi Arabia to invest record $10bn in Russia
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia in partnership with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has agreed to invest $10 billion into Russian projects. It is the largest foreign investment in Russia.  
Syrian Kurds retake northern villages from Islamic State: monitor
Syrian Kurdish fighters have recaptured more than 10 villages seized by Islamic State north of its de facto capital of Raqqa city, aided by U.S.-led coalition air strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday. Intensified air strikes across northern Syria and clashes on the ground have killed at least 78 Islamic State fighters since Sunday night, the Britain-based Observatory said.  
Chicago's Fourth of July rituals: fireworks, gun deaths
The boy was the youngest of 10 people killed and more than 50 injured in gun violence over the Independence Day weekend, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner and local media reports. Chicago, with 2.7 million people, is the most violent large city in the United States, with poverty, segregation, dozens of small street gangs...  
Religious Services Minister: Reform Jews aren’t Jews
“Those of the Reform denomination living in the Diaspora are in the majority people who have erred,” he repeated. “We would like for them to return to the lap of Judaism and we will accept them gladly and with blessings."  
FAST-GROWING SUNSPOT
During the past 48 hours, sunspot AR2381 has more than quadrupled in size. If the sunspot's development proceeds apace, it could soon pose a threat for strong M-class solar flares.  
I Told You Things Are Getting Crazier
The world is upside down, inside out, sideways, crazy, nutso. Bad is good; up is down. Left is right; right is wrong. Evil is good; insanity is sanity. Abnormal is normal. Circles are squares. Hot is cold. Luke warm is red hot -- among Republicans, anyway. Common sense is uncommon. The world is otherworldly. Dissent is "hate." Diversity means conformity. The good guys are the bad guys; virtue is vice;  
Good Luck Finding a Place to Hide as Global Markets Crumble
Investors tend to respond to impending doom by selling risky stuff and hiding out in safer assets -- namely, bonds in places such as Germany and the U.S. There’s a problem with that formula this time around: Traders aren’t so sure they can find anything that’s truly safe right now. So, instead of piling into sovereign debt of developed nations, traders are pulling their money out of those places...  
Russian Bombers Fly Near U.S. on July 4th
As Americans were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, four Russian long-range bomber aircraft flew close enough to the US shores that they were intercepted by military fighter jets. The first set of two bombers flew near Alaska and just 30 minutes later a separate set flew far off the west coast of California.  
Russia claims to have developed secret 'superweapon' capable of switching off foreign satellites and enemy weapons
Russia has claimed to have built a revolutionary new weapon system that can render enemy satellites and weapons useless. Its Russian makers say it is a 'fundamentally new electronic warfare system' which can be mounted on ground-based as well as air- and sea-borne carriers. However, it has refused to reveal how the system works.  
Australia Presbyterian Church 'may stop legal weddings'
Australia's Presbyterian Church says it could opt out of conducting legal wedding ceremonies if same-sex marriage became law. The church's New South Wales (NSW) arm asked its national branch to withdraw from the Marriage Act if the change goes ahead, a spokeswoman told the BBC. This would mean ceremonies it performs would not be legally recognised.  
UN tribunal to begin South China Sea deliberation
A United Nations tribunal is to begin deliberations on whether it can hear a legal challenge over territorial claims in the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration to declare invalid most of China's maritime claims in the disputed area. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea angering several Asian neighbours.  
WHO 'unfit for health emergencies'
The World Health Organization (WHO) lacks the "capacity and culture" to deal with global health emergencies, says the chair of a new independent report on Ebola. Dame Barbara Stocking says WHO failed in its handling of the deadly disease outbreak, which has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly in West Africa. But the ex-head of Oxfam says WHO is not solely to blame.  
Hamas rebuilding Gaza tunnels and weapons arsenal, IDF commander says
Despite reports that Hamas is interested in maintaining the cease-fire with Israel, military officials remain convinced that the Islamist group is working to rebuild its system of underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip. ...IDF Col. Nochi Mandel...said on Tuesday that Hamas is hard at work in rehabilitating its military capacity, which took a severe beating during the 50-day Operation Protective Edge.  
Air strikes kill nearly 100 in Yemen, cast shadow on truce talks
Nearly 100 people were killed on Monday in air strikes across Yemen, the Houthi-run state news agency reported, as a Saudi-led coalition stepped up attacks that are likely to weigh on efforts to broker a humanitarian truce.  
Obama: U.S. to increase support for Syria opposition
President Barack Obama on Monday pledged to increase U.S. support for the moderate opposition in Syria's civil war and said the United States needed to do more at home to prevent attacks and combat Islamic State efforts to recruit followers.  
Germany, France press Greece to make fast, credible proposals
France and Germany told Greece on Monday to come up with serious proposals in order to restart financial aid talks, a day after Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject more austerity.  
Israel and Egypt: The next ISIS conquests?
Israel and Egypt, which share the Sinai border and cooperate on security and intelligence matters, were both caught off guard. The troops of Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi launched a bloody and successful counterattack, but that engagement was just the beginning of what appears to be a new theater of Caliphate conquest.  
The US's response to Iran's cheating is a very bad omen
If it is reached in the coming days, a nuclear deal with Iran will be, at best, an unsatisfying and risky compromise. Iran's emergence as a threshold nuclear power, with the ability to produce a weapon quickly, will not be prevented; it will be postponed, by 10 to 15 years.  
6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Tonga
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck today Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, no injuries or damage were reported. The source also said, that the epicenter was located at a depth of 10 meters, and 84 kilometers east-northeast of Nuku'alofa, capital of Tonga.