The Faithful Watchman

Hizballah drones were the opening shot of a maritime energy war vs Israel

Hassan Nasralah – July 7, 2022

The IDF’s revelation on Wednesday, July 6, of a fourth Hizballah drone that was intercepted heading for Israel’s Karish gas rig, confirmed an assessment that the Lebanese terrorist organization was bent on starting a war, initially over this offshore gas platform. This hitherto undisclosed drone was intercepted three days before the three that were shot down on July 2 by Barak missiles. This one was downed by advance electronic warfare measures after being identified at a distance from Israel’s maritime economic zone, while still over Lebanese waters. No reason for the disclosure of this fourth drone at this time was offered by the military.

DEBKAfile’s Mid-East sources have concluded that Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iran’s terrorist proxy Hizballah, has decided to go to war against Israel over its newest gas rig. In his words, “Lebanon’s oil and gas resources must be freed from Israeli control, just as the south was freed [in 2000] and Israel’s ‘security zone’ dismantled by force of arms.”

The drone tactic is the opening shot, say our sources, for three objectives:

To scare the staff employed on Israel’s offshore gas and oil rigs in the eastern Mediterranean into fleeing for fear of their lives.
Nasrallah included Greece’s maritime energy projects in his declaration of war.
As a strong message that the management of gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean had passed from the Lebanese government to Hizballah control. The intention was to nullify the Lebanese prime minister’s condemnation of the drones as “unacceptable” and as jeopardizing ongoing US-brokered negotiations on the drawing of a maritime border between Lebanese and Israeli economic zones.

The interception of the three Hizballah unarmed UAVs was presented by the Israeli military as an important feat, although the Barak missiles were highly expensive compared with the cheap drones. However, Hizballah, did not care about recovering the drones but aimed at this stage for a psychological advantage. This was meant as a declaration that a new page had been opened in its contest against Israel over the oil and gas fields of the Mediterranean.

https://www.debka.com

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Is Assassinated

Milton Quintanilla – July 8, 2022

Hospital officials in Japan have confirmed that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe died after he was shot during a campaign speech in Western Japan Friday morning.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot twice from behind while speaking to a crowd on the streets of Nara on Friday. Abe was delivering a campaign speech ahead of an election for the parliament’s upper house this Sunday.

Video footage posted to social media shows Abe speaking when a loud bang erupted, and smoke began to rise from behind the former Prime Minister. The first shot, however, missed the former prime minister, who paused and turned around only to get shot at again seconds later. The second shot struck Abe in the chest, causing him to collapse to the ground. His security then tackled and arrested the gunman, later identified as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami. According to the Japanese outlet NHK World News, a police officer retrieved a gun at the scene that is believed to be homemade.

Yamagami, who served in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for three years, reportedly told police that he was dissatisfied with the former prime minister and sought to assassinate him.

According to Fox News, Abe was left unconscious and in cardiac arrest after being shot. He was taken to a hospital for treatment but later succumbed to his injuries.

Doctor Fukushima Hidetada of Nara Medical University told NHK World News that a team of more than twenty doctors spent four hours trying to save Abe’s life.

“We tried to resuscitate him, but, unfortunately, he died at 5:03 pm,” he said.

https://www.christianheadlines.com

Boris Johnson’s resignation caps off tumultuous tenure

Peter Aitken , Anders Hagstrom – July 7, 2022

Boris Johnson announced plans to resign as prime minister of the United Kingdom on Thursday in a tumultuous end for a government that once enjoyed a strong democratic mandate.

Johnson’s roughly three-year tenure ended in disarray after he threatened a standoff with his party and a possible general election following the resignation of 42 ministers who deemed his position “untenable.” He says new leadership is “clearly now the will” of Parliament.

Johnson hopes to remain in a caretaker position as his Conservative Party elects a new prime minister, a process that may take roughly two months.

“I have appointed a new cabinet who will serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place,” he said. “When the herd instinct moves, it moves.”

Conservative ministers declared that they had lost confidence in the prime minister after news emerged he had elevated Chris Pincher to the powerful role of deputy chief whip despite allegations of sexual misconduct.

But it was not the only scandal that Johnson’s government had to wrangle with. It was merely the final one that ministers could tolerate, bringing an end to his sole ambition and goal in politics.

“Boris Johnson’s place in history is assured given his stewardship of Brexit, vaccine rollout during the COVID-19 crisis and staunch defense of the free world in Ukraine,” Alan Mendoza, co-founder and executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com

Global Food Crisis ‘Will Kill Millions’ By Disease, Health Executive Warns

AFP – June 23, 2022

The global food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine will kill millions by leaving the hungriest more vulnerable to infectious diseases, potentially triggering the world’s next health catastrophe, the head of a major aid organisation has warned.

A Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has stopped grain shipments from the world’s fourth-largest exporter of wheat and corn, raising the spectre of shortages and hunger in low-income countries.

The knock-on effects of the food shortages mean many will die not only of starvation but from having weaker defenses against infectious diseases due to bad nutrition, Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria told AFP this week.

“I think we’ve probably already begun our next health crisis. It’s not a new pathogen but it means people who are poorly nourished will be more vulnerable to the existing diseases,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of a G20 health minister meeting in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.

“I think the combined impact of infectious diseases and the food shortages and the energy crisis… we can be talking about millions of extra deaths because of this,” he said.

World governments should minimize the impact of the food crisis by providing frontline healthcare to their poorest communities, who will be the most vulnerable, said the British former banker who now heads the $4 billion fund.

“That means focusing on primary healthcare so the healthcare that is delivered in the villages, in the communities. Hospitals are important but when you are faced with this kind of challenge, the most important thing is primary healthcare.”

“It’s been a disaster for TB,” said Sands.

https://www.barrons.com

CDC Warns: ‘One of the Worst Outbreaks of Meningococcal Disease Among Gay and Bisexual Men in U.S. History’

Michael W. Chapman – June 27, 2022

(CNS News) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement that it is working with the Florida Department of Health to “investigate one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history.”

So far, there have been “24 cases and 6 deaths among gay and bisexual men,” reported the CDC in its June 22 press release.

Meningococcal disease refers to any illness caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, said the CDC. “These illnesses are often severe, can be deadly, and include infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) and bloodstream.”

The disease is spread to other people “by sharing respiratory and throat secretions (saliva or spit),” said the health agency. “Generally, it takes close (for example, coughing or kissing) or lengthy contact to spread these bacteria.”

To counter spread of the disease, the CDC is “recommending gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men get a meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) if they live in Florida, or talk with their healthcare provider about getting vaccinated if they are traveling to Florida.” The also recommend routine vaccination for people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“Getting vaccinated against meningococcal disease is the best way to prevent this serious illness, which can quickly become deadly,” said José R. Romero, M.D., director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“Because of the outbreak in Florida, and the number of Pride events being held across the state in coming weeks, it’s important that gay and bisexual men who live in Florida get vaccinated, and those traveling to Florida talk to their healthcare provider about getting a MenACWY vaccine,” said Romero.

https://www.cnsnews.com

Biden to Sign Order on Abortion Access

AP – July 8, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will take executive action Friday to protect access to abortion, the White House said, as he faces mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to be more forceful on the subject after the Supreme Court ended a constitutional right to the procedure two weeks ago.

The White House said Biden will speak Friday morning “on protecting access to reproductive health care services.” The actions he was expected to outline are intended to try to mitigate some potential penalties women seeking abortion may face after the ruling but are limited in their ability to safeguard access to abortion nationwide.

Biden is expected to formalize instructions to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to push back on efforts to limit the ability of women to access federally approved abortion medication or to travel across state lines to access clinical abortion services.

Biden’s executive order will also direct agencies to work to educate medical providers and insurers about how and when they are required to share privileged patient information with authorities — an effort to protect women who seek or utilize abortion services. He will also ask the Federal Trade Commission to take steps to protect the privacy of those seeking information about reproductive care online and establish an interagency task force to coordinate federal efforts to safeguard access to abortion.

The White House said it will also convene volunteer lawyers to provide women and providers with pro bono legal assistance to help them navigate new state restrictions after the Supreme Court ruling.

https://www.breitbart.com

How Israel foiled attempts to poison its water supply, disrupt US power plants

Israel National News – June 29, 2022

The deputy commander of the IDF’s signal intelligence, or “SIGINT” unit, also known as Unit 8200, spoke at the Cyber Week Conference hosted by Tel Aviv University this week.

The address marked the first time an officer from the unit has made a public appearance, though military censors barred publication of the officer’s full name, referring to him only by his first name, Uri.

Uri described Unit 8200’s cyber defense operations, citing two recent examples, including a foiled attempt – widely attributed to Iran – to gain control of Israel’s water distribution system and poison the water supply, as well as a planned attack on American power plants.

“Once we obtain superiority over the attacker, we then act to deny their capabilities,” said Uri. “By collaborating with industry or if necessary, we do it on our own – implementing our tools at some point along the attack stream. Be assured – 8200 won’t rest until the threat is removed.”

“When do we apply these methods? I’ll mention two examples from recent years. In the first case an adversary attacked water treatment facilities in Israel. We saw this careless attacker attempting to poison the water in order to claim human lives. We mitigated that threat far ahead.”

“Another adversary, from this region, attacked in Israel. We initialized a CCO, and found out they are also trying to attack power plants in the US. This was the first indication for that attack. It enabled preventing this threat through our tight collaboration with our US partners.”

https://www.israelnationalnews.com

Great Reset: Economically Crippled Germany Pushes ‘Climate Club’ Global Tax Scheme at G7

Peter Caddle – June 26, 2022

Germany is aiming to found a global “climate club” taxation scheme designed to force countries worldwide to adopt a hardcore green agenda.

Seemingly unhappy with just destroying its own economy, eco-crazy Germany is now reportedly aiming to found a so-called “climate club”, a group that would punish countries not perceived as green enough.

The country is pushing this next element of its climate Great Reset agenda despite the fact that it is already facing economic collapse, a situation which is due in part to its obsession with its own green agenda.

According to a report by public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the German government will push for the genesis of the “climate club” at the latest meeting of the G7 in Bavaria, Germany, seemingly in the hopes of onboarding some of the other member countries into the new scheme.

The plan was originally the brainchild of eco-zealot American Professor William Nordhaus of Yale University, who has argued that the voluntary nature of previous climate agreements has been insufficient in achieving green goals. Under the scheme, member states set extremely aggressive climate targets, while punishing those outside the group by implementing climate tariffs on their goods.

https://www.breitbart.com

South Carolina rocked by two of the largest earthquakes in years, Quake swarm continues, residents on edge

ETH – June 29, 2022

South Carolina was rocked by several earthquakes Wednesday, including the two strongest yet in a “swarm” of earthquakes that have rattled the state this year according to USA Today.

Two quakes that are unusually strong for the region struck central South Carolina on Wednesday — a magnitude 3.5 and a magnitude 3.6, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. Over the weekend, a magnitude 3.4 earthquake also shook the state.

The quakes are the most powerful to hit the state in years, and at least one of Wednesday’s tremblers could be felt near Charlotte, North Carolina, according to reports published by the United States Geological Survey.

In a video shared by the state’s Emergency Management Division, geologist Wendy Bohon said more than 30 quakes have hit the state this year, a part of an “earthquake swarm.” Such swarms are familiar occurrences in more earthquake-prone areas, but less common in the South.

The South Carolina swarm has been going on for over half a year and included seven quakes above a magnitude 3, according to seismologist Lucy Jones. “Swarms happen in all seismic regions and the earthquakes continue until they stop,” Jones tweeted.

“That may not seem helpful, but knowing this is normal can help.” The latest quakes occurred near Elgin, South Carolina, according to data from the United States Geological Survey. The town is located about 20 miles northeast of Columbia, the state’s capital.

https://endtimeheadlines.org