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Wednesday 30 December 2015

GOD'S PROMISES IN THE SCRIPTURES

A List of God's Promises of Blessing By Rick Warren

There are over 6000 promises in the scripturers made by God to us His people.

Here's a list of God's promises of blessing if you stay committed to his calling
We don't deserve God's blessings.

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing afteranother."John 1:16(NIV)

But God enjoys blessing his children and wants to bless you!

"I will enjoy blessing them. With all my heart and soul I will faithfully plant them in this land.
"Jeremiah 32:41(GW)

"My blessings are for Gentiles, too, when they accept the Lord; don't letthem think that I will make them second-class citizens. They can be as much mine as anyone.
"Isaiah 56:3(LB)

God promises to bless you IF you follow his instructions.

EVERY PROMISE HAS A PREMISE; THERE'S A CONDITION ATTACHED

"You will experience all these blessings IF you obey the Lord your God:
You will be blessed in your towns and in the country. You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks. You will be blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and with kneading bowls filled with bread. You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going. The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you… And the Lord will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain."Deuteronomy 28:2-8(NLT)

God wants to bless you visibly in front of others as a testimony. "Lord, you have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You do much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.
"Psalm 31:19(NLT)

GOD BLESSES YOU so you can be a blessing to others!

"I will cause my people and their homes around my holy hill to BE a blessing. And I will send showers, showers of blessings,which will come just when they are needed.
"Ezekiel 34:26(NLT)

God's blessing can be passed on to generations. You can create a legacy.

"After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac.
"Genesis 25:11(NLT)

It's never too late to start living a God-blessed life!

"The Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the first half of his life.
"Job 42:12

God promises to bless my life IF I meet with him daily.

"Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching DAILY at my doors, waiting at my doorway."
Proverbs 8:34


God promises to bless my life IF I study and do his Word.

"Blessed is the man… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his word he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
"Psalm 1:1-3"

The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in whathe does."
James 1:25

God promises to bless my life IF I tithe my income.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."Malachi 3:10

God promises to bless my life IF I help others in need, especially the poor.

"God blesses those who are kind to the poor and helpless. He helps them out of their own troubles. He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies."Psalm 41:1-2"

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food withthe poor."Proverbs 22:9

God promises to bless my life IF I share the Good News.

"I pray you will be active in sharing your faith, so that you will fully understand every blessing we have in Christ."
Philemon 1:6"

The man who PLANTS and the manwho waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
"1 Corinthians 3:8"

Good people bless and build up their city."
Proverbs 11:11

God promises to bless my life IF I participate in fellowship with other believers.

"I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
"Romans 1:12"

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed IF you DO them.
"John 13:17

.......More of the many verses on blessing in the Bible

"The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it."Proverbs 10:22(NIV)"

For those who are always generous and lend freely, their children will be blessed.
"Psalm 37:26(NIV)"

If you return to the Almighty, you will be blessed again. So remove evil from your house."
Job 22:23(NCV)"

Even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
"Luke 11:28(NLT)"

(Help the unfortunate…) and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
"Luke 14:14(NIV)"

Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God's, blessing ineverything you do, all your work and ventures."Deuteronomy 15:10(Msg)

"Worship the Lord your God and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.
"Exodus 23:25(NIV)"

'Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
"1 Peter 3:9(NIV)"

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."Deuteronomy 15:10(NIV)"

Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things."Psalm 128:1-2(NCV)"

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
"James 1:12(NIV)"

If they listen and obey God, then they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant.
"Job 36:11(NLT)"

Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
"Job 5:17(NIV)"

Blessed is the person who does not follow the advice of wicked people, take the path of sinners, or join the company of mockers.
"Psalm 1:1(GW)"

Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look tothe proud, to those who turn aside to false gods."
Psalm 40:4(NIV)"

Blessed are those who dwell in your house to worship; they are ever praising you.
"Psalm 84:4(NIV)"

Give freely to the poor person, and do not wish that you didn't haveto give. The Lord your God will bless your work and everything you touch."Deuteronomy 15:10(NCV)"

Blessed is the man who trusts in you."Psalm 84:12(NIV)"

If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, then do this: Sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship."Deuteronomy 14:24-25(TEV)"

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk inthe light of your presence, O Lord."Psalm 89:15(NIV)"

Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right."Psalm 106:3(NIV)"

Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.
"Psalm 128:1(NIV)"

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
"Psalm 41:1-2(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Psalm 112:1-2(NIV)"

Blessed are those who keep my ways."Proverbs 8:32(NIV)"

Each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws I have given you; and you must never worship other gods."Deuteronomy 28:14(Living)"

Blessed is the man you discipline, O Lord, the man you teach from your law.
"Psalm 94:12(NIV)"

It is sin to despise one's neighbors;blessed are those who help the poor."Proverbs 14:21(NLT)"

It is more blessed to give than to receive.
"Acts 20:35(NIV)"

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food withthe poor.
"Proverbs 22:9(NIV)"

Good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do.
"Isaiah 32:8(NLT)"

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding."
Proverbs 3:13(NIV)"

A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
"Proverbs 28:20(NIV)"

The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.
"Proverbs 3:33(NIV)"

People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
"Proverbs 11:26(NIV)"

He who despises his neighbor sins,but blessed is he who is kind to the needy."Proverbs 14:21(NIV)"

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
"Proverbs 16:20(NIV)"

An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed atthe end.
"Proverbs 20:21(NIV)"

It will go well with those who convict the guilty and rich blessing will come upon them.
"Proverbs 24:25(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.
"Proverbs 28:14(NIV)"

The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice, blessed are all who wait for him!
"Isaiah 30:18(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him."Jeremiah 17:7(NIV)"

The best of all the first fruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give themthe first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household."Ezekiel 44:30(NIV)"

Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
"Deuteronomy 16:17(NIV)"

Blessed is the man… whose delightis in the law of the Lord, and on is word he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streamsof water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
"Psalm 1:1-3(NIV)"

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be foodin my house.
'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."'Malachi 3:10(NIV)"

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shownmercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
"Matthew 5:3-11(NIV)"

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
"Luke 11:28(NIV)"

Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed.
"'John 20:29(NIV)"

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give thanto receive.'
"Acts 20:35(NIV)"

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."Ephesians 1:3(NIV)"

The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in whathe does.
"James 1:25(NIV)"

Even if you should suffer for what is right, you will be blessed.
"1 Peter 3:14"

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, forthe Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."
1 Peter 4:14(NIV)"

If you can't carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped; if you live too far away, or if the Lord gives you a big harvest, then sell this part and take the money there instead."Deuteronomy 14:24-25(CEV)"

You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the Lord will make you successful ineverything you do.
"Deuteronomy 15:10(CEV)"

… Each man is to bring a gift as he is able, in proportion to the blessings that the Lord your God has given him."Deuteronomy 16:16-17(TEV)"

Obey the Lord your God so that all these blessings will come and stay with you: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Your children will be blessed, as well as your crops; your herds will be blessed with calves and your flocks with lambs. Your basket and your kitchen will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out. The Lord will help you defeat the enemies that come to fight you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will run from you in seven directions. The Lord will bless you with full barns, and he will bless everything you do.
"Deuteronomy 28:2-8(NCV)"

I will also bless the Gentiles who commit themselves to the Lord andserve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who have accepted his covenant.
"Isaiah 56:6(NLT)"

A beautiful palace does not make agreat king! Why did your father, Josiah, reign so long? Because he was just and right in all his dealings.That is why God blessed him.
"Jeremiah 22:15(NLT)"

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will comes to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs withjustice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor."Psalm 112:1-9(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in herleft hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of lifeto those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed."Proverbs 3:13-18(NIV)"

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing.
"Proverbs 10:7(NIV)"

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
"Proverbs 16:20(NIV)"

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."Proverbs 21:21(NIV)

Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors;if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor,the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
"Luke 14:12-14(NIV)"

You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift."2 Cor. 9:11(CEV)"

The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in whathe does.
"James 1:25(NIV)"

If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, thendo this: Sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship."Deuteronomy 14:24-25(TEV)"

Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
"Deuteronomy 16:17(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
"Psalm 112:1-2(NIV)"

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding."Proverbs 3:13(NIV)"

Blessed are those who keep my ways."Proverbs 8:32(NIV)"

They are always generous and lendfreely; their children will be blessed.
"Psalm 37:26(NIV)"

The best of all the first fruits will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household.
"Ezekiel 44:30(NIV)"

Give freely without begrudging it, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some among you who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share your resources freely with the poor and with others in need."Deuteronomy 15:10-11(NLT)"

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in his times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
"Psalm 41:1-2(NIV)"

Good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do.
"Isaiah 32:8(NLT)"

Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
"Luke 11:28(NIV)"

I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.
"Romans 1:12(NLT)"

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be foodin my house. 'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."'Malachi 3:10(NIV)"

The best of all the first fruits will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household.
"Ezekiel 44:30(NIV)"

You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift."2 Corinthians 9:11(CEV)"

If the place of worship is too far from your home for you to carry there the tithe of the produce that the Lord has blessed you with, then do his: Sell your produce and take the money with you to the one place of worship."Deuteronomy 14:24-25(TEV)"

God blesses those who are kind to the poor and helpless. He helps them out of their own troubles. He protects them and keeps them alive; he publicly honors them and destroys the power of their enemies.
"Psalm 41:1-2(LB)"

Give freely without begrudging it, and the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There willalways be some among you who arepoor. That is why I am commanding you to share your resources freely with the poor and with others in need."
Deuteronomy 15:10-11



source http://rockvillecogop.com/blog/2010/10/14/a-list-of-god%E2%80%99s-promises-of-blessing-by-rick-warren/

Friday 18 December 2015

Reuter site - Turkish security forces kill 54 Kurdish militants - state media

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Turkish security forces kill 54 Kurdish militants - state media

Fri, Dec 18 14:33 PM IST

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Gunfire rang out around the towns of Silopi and Cizre in southeast Turkey early on Friday, witnesses said, as state media reported security forces had killed 54 Kurdish militants in three days of urban fighting there.

The figures indicated a doubling of the death toll in the last 24 hours after President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters would be "annihilated".

A two-year ceasefire between the PKK and Ankara fell apart in July, shattering peace talks and reviving a conflict which has wrecked the mainly Kurdish southeast for three decades, killing more than 40,000 people.

State-run Anadolu Agency said security forces were in "hot pursuit" of militants in the towns, near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, which were placed under curfew on Monday before an operation which media has said involves 10,000 police and troops backed by tanks.

Traditionally active in the countryside, the PKK has shifted its focus in recent years to towns in the southeast. Ankara has responded by cracking down with operations.

In the region's biggest city, Diyarbakir, shopkeepers kept their stores shuttered in a sign of protest against the operations which were also being conducted in the city's historic district of Sur.

Peace talks between the PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan and the state ground to a halt early this year. The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

(Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Daren Butler; editing by David Dolan)

Reuter site - Widows worldwide robbed, enslaved, raped and accused of witchcraft

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Widows worldwide robbed, enslaved, raped and accused of witchcraft

Fri, Dec 18 13:32 PM IST

By Emma Batha

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Millions of widows around the world are left destitute after being robbed of their inheritance, while others are enslaved by their in-laws, accused of witchcraft or forced to undergo abusive sexual rituals, research shows.

The crushing poverty and persecution faced by widows worldwide is outlined in a major report on widowhood which will be presented to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.

"Widows have been suffering in silence for centuries, and yet nobody - no government, not even the U.N. - has ever attended to this problem," said Lord Raj Loomba, a campaigner on widowhood, who will discuss the issue with Ban in New York.

There are more than 258 million widows worldwide with one in seven living on less than $1 a day, according to the World Widows Report produced by the Loomba Foundation which works to empower widows.

Newly-widowed women in many developing countries are often plunged into destitution after being disinherited, stripped of property and evicted by their in-laws, sometimes losing their children.

Those who remain reliant on their in-laws are often treated like slaves, abused physically, psychologically and sexually, Loomba said.

The deprivation faced by widows is even more devastating because of the impact on their children who may be pulled out of school and forced into child labour or early marriage.

Loomba said the new U.N. global development goals, known as the SDGs, agreed this year would never be met without addressing the problems endured by widows.

"We have got to link this issue to the SDGs. The first goal is the elimination of poverty and the last goal is to leave no one behind - so I want to make sure widows are not left behind," said Loomba, a member of the House of Lords, Britain's upper chamber of parliament.

VICIOUS CYCLE

The SDGs also include ending all discrimination and violence against women and girls, and commitments regarding women's access to property and inheritance.

Estimates suggest the number of widows has risen 9 percent since 2010, partly because of conflicts in the Middle East, the report said.

Child marriage is another cause of early widowhood.

Many girls are left prematurely widowed after being married off to much older men. Young widows who cannot support their children are in turn more likely to marry off their daughters early, perpetuating the cycle.

Two of the most harmful traditional practices are "widow cleansing" and "widow inheritance", the report says. Both fuel the spread of AIDS, Ebola and other diseases.

Cleansing rituals in Sub-Saharan Africa may require a new widow to drink the water used to wash her husband's corpse or to have sex with his brother or a stranger to exorcise her husband's spirit.

Widows may also be "inherited" by their husband's brother as a first or additional wife - a common tradition in parts of Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

Loomba said superstitions surrounding widowhood mean they are often blamed for their husband's death and accused of witchcraft.

Older widows living alone are particularly vulnerable to witchcraft accusations, putting them at risk of violence and even murder.

Beliefs that widows bring bad luck can lead to their exclusion from society, limiting their prospects for employment and entrenching poverty.

(Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)

Reuter site - Insight - Vietnam builds military muscle to face China

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Insight - Vietnam builds military muscle to face China

Fri, Dec 18 13:39 PM IST

By Greg Torode

XUAN MAI, Vietnam (Reuters) - Vietnam's military is steeling itself for conflict with China as it accelerates a decade-long modernisation drive, Hanoi's biggest arms buildup since the height of the Vietnam War.

    The ruling Communist Party's goal is to deter its giant northern neighbour as tensions rise over the disputed South China Sea, and if that fails, to be able to defend itself on all fronts, senior officers and people close to them told Reuters.

    Vietnam's strategy has moved beyond contingency planning. Key units have been placed on "high combat readiness" - an alert posture to fend off a sudden attack - including its elite Division 308, which guards the mountainous north.

The two countries fought a bloody border war in 1979. The likely flashpoint this time is in the South China Sea, where they have rival claims in the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.

"We don't want to have a conflict with China and we must put faith in our policy of diplomacy," one senior Vietnamese government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. "But we know we must be ready for the worst."

    Most significantly, Hanoi is creating a naval deterrent largely from scratch with the purchase of six advanced Kilo-class submarines from Russia.

    In recent months, the first of those submarines have started patrolling the South China Sea, Vietnamese and foreign military officials said, the first confirmation the vessels have been in the strategic waterway.

DIVISION 308

    Militarily, the tensions are palpable northwest of Hanoi at the headquarters of Division 308, Vietnam's most elite military unit, where senior army officers talk repeatedly about "high combat readiness".

    The phrase is on billboards beneath images of missiles and portraits of Vietnam's late revolutionary founder, Ho Chi Minh, and its legendary military hero, General Vo Nguyen Giap.

    Perched between Vietnam's craggy northern mountains and the ancient rice paddies of the Red River Delta, 308 is Vietnam's oldest division and still effectively guards the northern approaches to Hanoi.

    Reflecting deep-set official sensibilities towards offending Beijing, one senior officer, Colonel Le Van Hai, said he could not talk about China. But Vietnam was ready to repel any foreign force, he told Reuters during a rare visit by a foreign reporter. 

    "Combat readiness is the top priority of the division, of the Ministry of Defence and the country. We can deal with any sudden or unexpected situation ... We are ready," he said.

    "High combat readiness", along with references to the "new situation", increasingly feature in lectures by senior officers during visits to military bases and in publications of the People's Army of Vietnam. The phrases also surface in talks with foreign military delegations, diplomats said.

"When Vietnam refers to the 'new situation', they are using coded language to refer to the rising likelihood of an armed confrontation or clash with China, particularly in the South China Sea," said Carl Thayer, a professor at Australia's Defence Force Academy in Canberra who has studied Vietnam's military since the late 1960s.

While ramping up combat readiness, Hanoi's once-reclusive generals are reaching out to a broad range of strategic partners. Russia and India are the main source of advanced weapons, training and intelligence cooperation. Hanoi is also building ties with the United States and its Japanese, Australian and Filipino allies, as well as Europe and Israel.

The outreach covers weapons purchases, ship visits and intelligence sharing but will have its limits. Hanoi shuns formal military alliances under a staunchly independent foreign policy.

Vietnam is seeking more Russian jet fighter-bombers and is in talks with European and U.S. arms manufacturers to buy fighter and maritime patrol planes and unarmed surveillance drones, sources have told Reuters. It has also recently upgraded and expanded air defences, including obtaining early warning surveillance radars from Israel and advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile batteries from Russia.

    Indeed, increases in Vietnam's military spending have outstripped its South East Asian neighbours over the last decade, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

"They are not doing this for national day parades ... they are building real military capabilities," said Tim Huxley, a regional security expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that modernizing the military was standard procedure for all nations.

"The relationship between Vietnam and China is maintaining a positive development trend in all fields, including the defence sector," the statement said.

OIL RIG FLASHPOINT

    While communist parties rule both Vietnam and China and share political bonds, the two countries have a history marked by armed conflict and long periods of lingering mistrust.

    Fresh academic research has revealed how the Sino-Vietnamese war in 1979 was more intense than is widely known, rumbling on into the mid-1980s. The two sides then clashed at sea in 1988 when China occupied its first holdings in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea - a defeat still acutely felt in Hanoi.

    China also took full control of another South China Sea island chain, the Paracels, after a naval showdown with then South Vietnam in 1974. Hanoi still protests China's occupation.

    More recently, China's placement of an oil rig in disputed waters for 10 weeks in the middle of last year sparked anti-Chinese riots across Vietnam.

    The rig's placement on Vietnam's continental shelf 80 nautical miles from its coast was a game-changer, officials in Hanoi privately said, hardening suspicions about Chinese President Xi Jinping among political and military leaders.

Hanoi dispatched dozens of Vietnamese civilian vessels to confront the 70 coastguard and naval warships China sent to protect the oil rig in mid-2014.

"It was a reminder to all of us just how dangerous the South China Sea has become," said one retired U.S. naval officer.

For its part, China's military strategists have long been frustrated at the two dozen military outposts that Hanoi has fortified across the Spratlys since losing the Paracels in 1974, Chinese analysts say. China is building three air strips on man-made islands it is building on reefs in the Spratlys that it took from Vietnamese forces in 1988.

A statement to Reuters from China's Defence Ministry said the two militaries had close, friendly relations and China was willing to work hard with Vietnam for regional peace.

"Both sides have frank exchanges of view on the South China Sea ... both sides should look for a basic, lasting solution both sides can accept," the statement said.

China's historic claim to most of the South China Sea, expressed on maps as a nine-dash line, overlaps the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Taiwan also has claims in the area.

    Some $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes through the waterway every year, including most of the oil imported by China, Japan and South Korea.

    'PSYCHOLOGICAL UNCERTAINTY'

The importance to China of protecting its submarine base on Hainan Island - the projected home of its future nuclear armed submarine fleet - could be another flashpoint. Beijing also has jet fighters and many of its best warships stationed around Hainan Island. This South Sea Fleet is close to Vietnam's northern coast and its vital deep water access channels to the South China Sea and beyond.

Vietnamese generals make clear to foreign visitors they know their limitations. Two decades of double-digit increases in defence budgets have given China a vastly larger and better equipped navy, air force and army.

Foreign military envoys say they struggle to gauge Vietnam's actual capabilities and how well they are integrating complex new weapons. They are given little access beyond Hanoi's gilded staterooms.

Vietnamese military strategists talk of creating a "minimal credible deterrent" – raising the costs of any Chinese move against Vietnam, whether it is a naval confrontation or an attack across the 1,400-km (875-mile) northern land border.

    If conflict did break out, Hanoi could target Chinese-flagged merchant container and oil ships in the South China Sea, said Thayer, who said he was told this by Vietnamese strategists.

    The aim would be not to defeat China's superior forces but "to inflict sufficient damage and psychological uncertainty to cause Lloyd's insurance rates to skyrocket and for foreign investors to panic", Thayer said in a paper presented to a Singapore conference last month.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Ho Binh Minh and My Pham in Hanoi.; Editing by Dean Yates and Bill Tarrant.)

Monday 14 December 2015

THE BETRAYAL OF THE KURDS

On 15 Dec 2015 10:19, "jestymore Simon" <jestymore254@gmail.com> wrote:


The Kurds are one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia. They are in different religions although the majority are Sunni Muslims.

They have since been on the forefront to fight the ISIS in Syria. With news that,the IS are loosing ground to the Kurdish forces.

Over years since 20th Century,they have struggled and fought to establish their own independent state "Kurdistan" in vain, indulging them into brutality and cruelity.

An important story the covers up the tribulations of the Kurds from the Iraq under Saddam Hussein and their agreement.

Follow up the whole story through the link below.....
(source:BBC world news)

http://bbc.in/1z3aHR3

THE BETRAYAL OF THE KURDS


The Kurds are one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what are now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia. They are in different religions although the majority are Sunni Muslims.

They have since been on the forefront to fight the ISIS in Syria. With news that,the IS are loosing ground to the Kurdish forces.

Over years since 20th Century,they have struggled and fought to establish their own independent state "Kurdistan" in vain, indulging them into brutality and cruelity.

An important story the covers up the tribulations of the Kurds from the Iraq under Saddam Hussein and their agreement.

Follow up the whole story through the link below.....
(source:BBC world news)

http://bbc.in/1z3aHR3