BBC:

German police have shut down the Hamburg mosque where the 9/11 hijackers met before their suicide attacks on the US in 2001.

Police said they believed the Taiba mosque was again being used as a meeting point for extremists.

The cultural association that runs the mosque has also been banned.

A German intelligence report last year said radical Muslims had travelled to military training camps in Uzbekistan after associating at the mosque.
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* The Hamburg connection

“We have closed the mosque because it was a recruiting and meeting point for Islamic radicals who wanted to participate in so-called jihad or holy war,” said Frank Reschreiter, a spokesman for Hamburg’s state interior ministry.

For the entire story, please visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10911542

GENEVA/ISLAMABAD, 3 August 2010 - UNICEF is sending in life-saving supplies to the millions of people hit by severe flooding in several provinces in northern Pakistan. The devastating floods are said to be the worst in the region for 80 years and have affected an estimated 3.2 million people including 1.4 million children.

“The biggest threats are the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera, especially deadly to children. We have already received reports of cases of diarrhoea amongst children. Food, clean drinking water, health supplies, high energy biscuits, clothing for women and children and vaccines, are needed urgently. We have already provided a first tranche of humanitarian supplies and will be bringing in more over the next days during this critical life-saving period”, said Martin Mogwanja, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.

The flooding has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure with roads submerged and bridges swept away. Power lines are down and damage has been done to hospitals, schools and sanitation systems. In one district, UNICEF reported that 80 per cent of the drinking wells had been destroyed. Many families are camping out in schools and other building located on higher ground. (continue reading…)

Protesters Say Public Has Right to Know Why It’s Best to Stay Away From Cruel Circus

What: As Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus drags its beast wagons into the Staples Center on Wednesday, circusgoers will be met by PETA members showing gripping photos of still-nursing baby elephants as the animals are captured rodeo-style and dragged away from their mothers. The compelling photos, which were taken by a veteran elephant handler inside Ringling’s Florida training center, also show how baby elephants are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions go on for several hours a day for up to a year—often as the helpless, chained mother elephants look on.

“Animals used by Ringling live in fear after they’re torn away from their mothers, beaten into submission, and forced to perform tricks,” says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. “Angelenos should know that if their kids love animals, the last place they should take them is the circus!”

Many celebrities—including Demi Moore, Kellan Lutz, Kyra Sedgwick, and Nicole Richie—have spoken out against Ringling, and actor Olivia Munn, a new correspondent on The Daily Show, is currently raising eyebrows on the Sunset Strip with her risqué anti-circus billboard.

Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St. (near W. 12th Street), Los Angeles

When: Wednesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m. sharp

Your coverage is invited. Please RSVP to Amanda Fortino at 757-284-4895 or AmandaF@peta.org.

Broadcast-quality footage of PETA’s undercover Ringling exposé is available.

For more information, please visit www.PETA.org.

WWF has launched a new voluntary rating tool for paper companies to report on their global ecological footprint. The Paper Company Environmental Index assesses key environmental criteria, such as use of recycled fibre or fibre coming from well-managed forests, energy use and CO2 emissions, water consumption and water pollution.

Five globally significant fine paper manufacturers — Domtar from North America, M-real, Stora Enso and UPM from Europe and Mondi Group from South Africa/Europe — have been the first to voluntarily disclose their environmental profiles on WWF´s new online Paper Company Index. Results and profiles can be found www.panda.org/PaperCompanyIndex. “WWF applauds these companies for their leadership and transparency,” says Harri Karjalainen, WWF’s Pulp and Paper Programme Manager. “They are the vanguard of a more sustainable paper industry.” (continue reading…)

NEW YORK/CAPE TOWN, 12 July - Thousands of young people in the most remote areas in Rwanda and Zambia watched the 2010 FIFA World Cup games as the eyes of the world focused on their continent for the past four weeks.

As part of World Cup in My Village, UNICEF, the Children’s Radio Foundation and local partners set up public viewing areas in sandy football pitches, open fields, community schools and refugee settlements.

Inflatable air screens and satellite dishes made the seemingly impossible happen – showing the games in areas with limited or no access to electricity and broadcast connection.

As well as watching the games, World Cup in My Village used the power of football to communicate with young people and encourage them to make their voices heard. At half-time during the matches radio shows, produced by young people from the local community who were trained as journalists, were broadcasted. (continue reading…)

PORT-AU-PRINCE/NEW YORK, 12 July 2010 – Six months after the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years, the challenges to meet the needs of more than 800,000 affected children and their families remain daunting.

View report: Children of Haiti: Milestones and looking forward at six months

The earthquake left behind a death toll of over 220,000 persons and over 300,000 injured in an already fragile nation. Some two million persons have been displaced from their homes and some 1.6 million of them remain in overcrowded displacement camps. The country’s infrastructure, never strong, was devastated with 60 per cent of government infrastructure destroyed and over 180,000 homes uninhabitable.

The earthquake in Haiti was a disaster for children and it isn’t over yet,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. “UNICEF and its partners are working hard every day to save lives and help children claim their future.” (continue reading…)

Please check out this video before you buy another bottle of water.  If you are looking for more valuable information on water and other consumer products, please visit: http://www.storyofstuff.org/