NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT SUNDAY 3/8/2020

One fourth of Italy's population placed in quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus but first....

NORTH KOREA LAUNCHING 3 SHORT RANGE PROJECTILES EASTWARDS INTO THE SEA MONDAY MORNING LOCAL TIME AT 736 AM,  636 PM SUNDAY EASTERN US TIME.

THE FIRINGS SAID BY SOUTH KOREA'S JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF TO BE RELATED TO A 'JOINT STRIKE EXERCISE'.....YONHAP NEWS AGENCY SOUTH KOREA STORY

Politics in Israel heating up in the aftermath of its third election in less than a year.    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party won the most seats and parties aligned with him have 58 seats in the 120 seat parliament.    They are called the "Right".    

On the other side is the main opposition Blue and White Party of former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.    Blue and White finished in second place.    Parties considered aligned with it on the "Left" have 55 seats in the parliament including the 15 seats of the Joint List that represents Arabs in Israel.

With seven seats and staying out of the factional alignments but with hostility towards Prime Minister Netanyahu is Israel Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), led by prominent politician and former cabinet minister Avigdor Lieberman.    Lieberman's many grievances with Netanyahu include the Prime Minister's policy of allowing millions of dollars of Qatari cash to flow into Gaza while rockets and other devices like incendiary balloons are launched into southern Israel.

Today Mr. Gantz agreed to conditions proposed by Mr. Lieberman for participating in a new government potentially giving  Gantz the support of 62 of 120 members of Israel's parliament......HAARETZ NEWS STORY

And the Joint List of Arab politicians in Israel meeting today to consider what would be an historic and controversial move to support Mr. Gantz as the next prime minister.   They are also discussing their support for Gantz's proposed legsislation to bar an indicted member of parliament from forming a government that would ban Mr. Netanyahu from becoming the next prime minister.....HAARETZ NEWS STORY

Netanyahu set to go on trial for corruption a week from Tuesday (March 17th) and tonight he asked for cancellation of the trial on the basis of a lack of material being provided by the prosecution.

(COMMENT-ISRAELI POLITICAL SITUATION)

Expect more loud rhetoric in the hours and days ahead with the most dramatic and extreme comments from all quarters and maybe even some actions like a state of emergency related to coronavirus that could be stretched into a rationale to stop Prime Minister Netanyahu's corruption trial from starting.

Four senior members of Saudi Arabia's royal family now reported arrested as the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tries to maintain power.     Other arrests also reported with accusations of a coup plot against the Crown Prince's rule....PRESS TV IRAN NEWS STORY

Saudi Arabia slashing oil prices and planning a major hike in oil production following the failure of last week's oil production talks among oil producing nations.  "Bloomberg News" headlining the notion that an all out oil price war is beginning......BLOOMBERG NEWS STORY

Bloomberg also reporting that the breakdown of the oil production talks in Vienna was a move by Russia to fight for its oil industry against the threat posed by the energy industry in the US and Trump Administration policy supporting it against Russia's interests.....BLOOMBERG NEWS STORY

THE LATEST ON OIL PRICES LATE SUNDAY EVENING US TIME IS THAT BRENT CRUDE HAS FELL 20 PERCENT TO BELOW 36 DOLLARS A BARREL.

"rogue agents behaving like Mafia"

That's what the widow of Oregon Standoff protester LaVoy Finicum is saying about the actions of federal agents leading up to the FBI led operation on January 26, 2016 that killed Finicum and wounded another protester, Ryan Bundy.

A judge hearing arguments in federal court in Portland, Oregon Friday over the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Finicum against federal, state and local officials and others said to have been parties to his killing.

A lawyer for the federal government argued Friday that LaVoy Finicum was a "domestic terrorist" wanting the suit tossed out.  Those arrested in connection with the Oregon Standoff protest in the deadly operation found not guilty by a federal jury of felony charges in connection with the protest at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016.

The legal limbo will continue with a judge's recommendation after more arguments are filed and some possible movement in the case this summer.

Jeanette Finicum's video account of what happened in court Friday is available at this link.....FACEBOOK VIDEO LINK

The coronavirus story today led by Italy now reporting 366 deaths and 7,375 cases.   Last night the decision announced to impose a quarantine on 15 northern and central provinces where some 16 million people live.    That's just over 25 percent of Italy's population.   The quarantine includes the cities of Milan, Padua and Venice.....BBC NEWS STORY

France reporting 1,126 coronavirus cases Sunday evening with 19 deaths.   All public gatherings of more than one thousand people banned in France after a Sunday evening emergency meeting conducted by President Emmanuel Macron.

Vice President Mike Pence speaking by phone with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel considered a quarantine on visitors entering from certain parts of the United States.   The Prime Minister intervening to stop that quarantine plan...ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS STORY

Israel's Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said to be considering closing off the Palestinian territories because of the coronavirus.

Greece moving to ban spectators at sporting events and school field trips as the number of cases there reaches 73.

The BBC News blog on the coronavirus.....BBC NEWS BLOG CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in the USA Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, announcing a self-quarantine.  Cruz came into contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19 and attended the CPAC conference last month in Washington.

One attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference and three attendees of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee conference testing positive for coronavirus it was revealed over the weekend.

Republican US Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona and his staff also self-quarantining over contact with same person that Senator Cruz was in contact with.

16 new cases reported in New York state with 105 now the total.   82 of the cases in suburban New York's Westchester County.     Oregon Governor Kate Brown declaring a state of emergency.

A migrant center caught fire on the Greek island of Lesbos where more migrants have recently arrived from Turkey.    No one hurt.   The cause not known.    Local residents angered by the crowding of thousands of migrants on the island....BBC NEWS REPORT

"We retain the right to clear that site in our own way"

The words of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a Turkish television interview talking about northwestern Syria.   Erdogan said that unless the deal reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday is implemented, Turkey may take take unilateral action in the "Greater Idlib Region".....TASS NEWS REPORT

Jihadist opposition forces in Syria said to have violated the cease fire agreed to by Erdogan and Putin last week some 19 times Saturday.... and eight times on Sunday......SYRIAN ARAB NEWS AGENCY REPORT......SUNDAY NEWS REPORT SYRIAN ARAB NEWS AGENCY......TASS SUNDAY NEWS REPORT

 A  chemical weapons facility used by opposition jihadist forces said to have been discovered by the Syrian army according to the Russia 24 news channel.   The jihadists said to have been planning a chemical attack that would have been blamed on Syria and its allies Iran and Russia....SOUTHFRONT NEWS STORY

In northeastern Syria today a US military convoy reported to have been blocked by Syrian soldiers and civilians and forced to turn back.   This story published by the Syrian government news agency SANA and repeated by Press TV in Iran...LINK

The nation of Lebanon will default on a scheduled Monday debt bond payment.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab says in part:

"The debt has become bigger than Lebanon can bear, and bigger than the ability of the Lebanese to meet interest payments"

Months of economic turmoil in the country including a decline in the value of its currency punctuated by mass street protests demanding political reform.

In Somalia a senior commander of the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabab killed  in an air strike according to a local media report.   The US had a reward of five million dollars for information on the wherabouts of Bashir Mohamed Qorgab.    No comment from the US government on this....BBC NEWS STORY

"We are amazed by your ability to love selflessly,  show deep compassion and take care of your relatives with joy and patience"

Part of  today's video message from Russia's President Vladimir Putin for International Womens Day......TASS NEWS STORY.....The BBC has its worldwide take on International Womens Day.....BBC NEWS STORY

That's the way it really is Sunday March 8th, 2020.

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