Yet Another Church Up In Flames...

Oh Look, Yet Another Church Up In Flames...

Steve Watson

Another week, another historic church reduced to smoke, rubble. The former Saint Agnes Church on Martha Avenue in Toledo, Ohio went up early Saturday morning. The 116-year-old landmark's steeple came down. The roof burned out. Nearby homes were evacuated. Once again the cause is listed as currently unknown.

Toledo Fire & Rescue was called around 6:30 a.m. Saturday after reports of heavy black smoke pouring from the roof of the vacant church in the Five Points neighborhood. Crews arrived to find the building already heavily engulfed.

Officials warned of collapse risk and alerted people in surrounding homes. The steeple later fell. By Saturday afternoon excavators were tearing the ruined structure down.Saint Agnes opened in 1910. It was among 29 parishes closed or merged by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo in 2005. The parochial school shut the same year. The diocese no longer owns the property. A charter school now occupies the old school building next door and reported only minor smoke, water, and a cracked window.

One neighbor told local television: "About 6:45 we heard fire trucks and I peeked out my window and it literally looked like the whole street was on fire."

Investigators in Toledo have not named a suspect, a motive, or even a cause. Vacant churches do burn by accident. They also burn because someone wants them gone. The public is asked, week after week, to accept "unknown" as the last word while the buildings keep falling.

In the U.S. hostility against churches has jumped to hundreds of incidents a year - vandalism, arson or fires of uncertain origin, gun incidents, bomb threats.

Churches are not supposed to be disposable scenery. They are the markers of the civilisation that built the towns around them. When those markers keep mysteriously burning to the ground what does that say about our civilisation?

This is now happening every week all over the world.

Israel prepares sharp response to expected British sanctions

Israel prepares sharp response to expected British sanctions

Danny Zaken

Britain's Labour government intends to announce a series of measures against Israel, Israel Hayom has learned, and Jerusalem has already prepared a response. The measures are expected to follow pledges by newly installed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to adopt a tougher approach toward Israel.

In Jerusalem, officials are convinced the move is driven not by foreign-policy considerations but by Burnham's domestic political needs ahead of the Labour Party conference, which is scheduled to convene on Sept. 27. Shortly after taking office following Keir Starmer's departure, Burnham promised his party's anti-Israel left wing that he would pursue a significantly tougher policy toward Israel than his predecessor.

Among the justifications cited in London are violence by rioters against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, which British officials say has not received an adequate response from the Israeli government; the advancement of construction plans in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim; and what Israeli officials describe as false claims that Israel is refusing to allow supplies into the Gaza Strip.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband leveled what Israeli officials described as false accusations against Israel over the weekend regarding the failure to deliver medicines and medical supplies into Gaza. According to Miliband, the claims were based on "conversations with people," although Israeli officials say they contradict even UN reports.

Israel Hayom has learned that the expected measures are likely to include a declaration of intent to boycott goods produced in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria; personal sanctions against individuals among the settler population whose names have been linked to violent acts against Palestinians; similar sanctions against activists and organizations opposing the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip; and, apparently, a policy statement regarding the legality of Israeli control in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.

According to diplomatic sources, at this stage most or all of the measures are expected to amount to declarations of intent. Such steps require regulatory and legal frameworks and are therefore unlikely to be implemented before a new Israeli government is formed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar directly accused Britain of attempting to interfere in Israel's elections by escalating sanctions, making clear that any such measures would be met with a forceful Israeli response.

Based on previous Israeli responses, Jerusalem is expected to distance Britain from involvement in international arrangements concerning Gaza and other diplomatic fronts. The confrontation is expected to intensify, in part because Britain is drawing the European Union and countries including Australia and Canada in its wake. A diplomatic source predicted a cycle of "retaliatory blows" and deteriorating relations.

Houthis strike Saudi Arabia: 73 civilians wounded in overnight attacks

Houthis strike Saudi Arabia: 73 civilians wounded in overnight attacks

Israel National News

Dozens of civilians were wounded in Houthi missile and drone attacks on southern Saudi Arabia overnight, as fighting between the Iranian-backed terrorist group and Yemeni government forces continued to intensify on several fronts.

A Saudi statement issued Tuesday morning said that the Houthis targeted four cities in southern Saudi Arabia - Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran - leaving 73 civilians wounded, including women and children.

Saudi authorities said that all necessary measures would be taken to deter the Houthis and defend the kingdom's sovereignty.

The Houthis said Tuesday that they had launched drones and missiles toward southern Saudi Arabia.

The attacks came amid some of the heaviest fighting in Yemen in years. Since Thursday, the Houthis have carried out a ground offensive alongside missile and drone attacks against areas along the Red Sea coast and near Taiz, as they seek to advance toward territory close to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait that remains under government control.

Dozens of people on both sides have been killed or wounded during several days of fighting.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces expanded their operations against the Houthis on Monday, reporting advances on several fronts alongside intensified airstrikes and ground fighting.

In Al Jawf, Yemeni forces began entering areas that had previously been controlled by the Houthis following strikes against Houthi positions. The Yemeni military also targeted the Al Yatmah area with rocket launchers ahead of an expected advance by government troops and local tribes.

Government forces also struck Houthi concentrations in the Damt district of Al Dhale province, while Yemeni aircraft carried out strikes against Houthi positions on the Hamir-Maqbanah front in Taiz.

Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said government forces were continuing to advance in Al Jawf and Al Bayda.

In Al Bayda, Yemeni forces advanced toward new positions and reached the outskirts of Dhi Na'im in preparation for entering the area. Yemeni warplanes carried out 25 strikes against Houthi positions in the province.

The Yemeni military also reported advances in Taiz and Hodeidah, where forces regained and consolidated positions and thwarted an attempted Houthi infiltration.

In Marib, Yemeni aircraft struck the Houthis' strategic Umm Rish camp south of the city, while government forces carried out intensive artillery strikes against Houthi positions in the province.

The Houthis, meanwhile, fired a ballistic missile toward Mokha, with the projectile reportedly striking near a hospital. Another Houthi ballistic missile targeted a displaced persons center in the Raghwan district of Marib, killing two children.

Yemeni forces subsequently widened their operations in Marib and Al Jawf and issued instructions against using several roads and routes in the two provinces while military operations continued.

Yemeni Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Abdulaziz al-Muhaya said the air force would continue providing support for ground troops with additional sorties, noting the growing role of drones in the fighting.

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi on Monday praised what he described as the armed forces' victories in Al Jawf, Al Bayda, Taiz, and Hodeidah, saying the government remained committed to extending its authority throughout Yemen.

Al-Alimi said the Yemeni military had demonstrated its ability to deter the Houthis and regain the initiative, while praising the contribution of the country's air force and drone units to operations on the ground.

He warned that the Houthis had chosen military escalation and would have to bear the consequences.

Al-Alimi also said Yemeni authorities would not allow the country to be used as a base for threatening maritime routes, amid the fighting around areas near the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab.

Iran conveyed its ‘conditions’ to US – source

Iran conveyed its ‘conditions’ to US – source

RT

Iran has conveyed its conditions to the US through intermediaries after Washington recently sent new proposals to Tehran, a political source in the Iranian capital has told RT.

The reported contacts come amid renewed regional efforts to revive diplomacy after last week’s flare-up, when the US carried out several rounds of strikes on Iran and Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on American military facilities in Jordan and Bahrain.

“Following the halt of negotiations resulting from US breaches of commitments and its repeated failures in military engagements, the US has recently conveyed proposals to Tehran through mediators,” the source said.

Given Washington’s “repeated violations” and “constant fluctuations in its positions,”Tehran responded by conveying its own conditions to the intermediaries, the source added.

The source did not disclose the details of either the American proposals or the Iranian conditions, but said mediators “continue to talk to both parties.”

Tehran has been pushing Washington to honor the commitments outlined in the June Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), but the US is now reportedly seeking a new, broader agreement covering both the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, the Financial Times reported last week.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities were themselves the main obstacle to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arguing that Washington was responsible for the resulting lack of access while simultaneously using the issue to increase pressure on Tehran.

“The ball has long been in the US court,” Baqaei said, adding that Washington must end its military attacks, economic sanctions and naval blockade if it wants to resolve the confrontation.

“Diplomacy is a dynamic and continuous process,” the spokesman said, noting that delegations from Oman and Pakistan have visited Iran in recent weeks, while Qatari representatives held talks with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Sunday.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told CNN that Doha had put forward several ideas and was exploring different scenarios aimed at addressing the concerns of both sides.

Tehran and Muscat have meanwhile reported significant progress on a separate arrangement for a temporary safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have stressed, however, that such an agreement would not amount to the full reopening of the strategic waterway, as Washington has claimed.

Fall of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk May Speed Donbass Liberation & Boost Russia’s Clout in Talks

Fall of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk May Speed Donbass Liberation & Boost Russia’s Clout in Talks - Expert

Sputnik

The renewed US diplomatic push for a settlement in Ukraine is driven by recognition that the country's defenses are crumbling with Russian forces breaching the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortified area, veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin tells Sputnik.

The fall of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk - the last major cities of the Donetsk People’s Republic still under Ukrainian control – “would mark a strategic breakthrough for Russia,” the analyst says.

These are major industrial hubs with vital infrastructure and transport arteries, including railways and highways linking Donbass to central Ukraine

The heavily fortified zone served as former headquarters for Ukrainian operations against the Donbass 

The loss of this fortified area would strip Ukraine’s military of the ability to mount serious resistance on this axis

Liberation of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk would dramatically change the tactical picture: 

Russian forces would gain operational space to advance deeper into Ukraine, pushing westward toward the Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions 

Ukraine would lose key logistics hubs *Defenses across the entire Donbass front would likely crumble 

The path would open to the complete liberation of the Donbass

Commenting the visit by US presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Russia, the analyst notes that situation must end on Russia’s terms, “addressing the root causes of the conflict.”

“First and foremost, that means eliminating neo-Nazism in Ukraine and militarism,” adds the pundit