Health Experts Say Circumcision Could Help Fight AIDS

Charity News Online

Circumcision could be a highly effective way of braking the AIDS pandemic, experts said, cautioning though that before surgeons everywhere reached for their scalpels, major questions had to be answered. Interest in circumcision surged among AIDS researchers last year after a French-funded trial, conducted in South Africa, found that men who had had their foreskin removed were around 60 percent less likely to be infected by HIV than uncircumcised counterparts, AFP reports.

Two similar trials, one in Uganda and the other in Kenya, are currently underway, the 16th International AIDS Conference heard. The trials are due to end in June and September 2007 respectively. If their data confirm the astonishing outcome of the South African trial, the world's top agencies fighting AIDS will move to recommend male circumcision as a method to prevent HIV infection, they said. The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) is already drafting technical recommendations, which could be implemented if circumcision gets the green light.

Advocating circumcision "seems a pretty dramatic thing to suggest, or at least a few years ago it seemed so," said Kevin De Cock, director of the WHO's HIV/AIDS Department, admitting that the South African trial had had a resounding impact. But he also sounded a loud warning, pointing out that circumcision may reduce the risk but was only a partial protection. So it was essential that circumcised men do not become complacent and start to practice unsafe sex in the belief that they could not contract the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). "It is not a silver bullet," stressed Catherine Hankins, senior advisor to the specialist UN agency UNAIDS.

Hankins also said agencies, governments and doctors had to tread carefully in advising circumcision. In some cultures, circumcision was considered a rite of passage to adulthood and a symbol of manhood; in others, it was considered an emasculation. "In some cultures if you're not circumcised, you are not a man, and in other cultures if you are circumcised, you are not a man. I think it goes very to the heart of masculinity and what that means in the cultures. There are even some anti-circumcision organizations, which are lobbying fiercely against what they call "male genital mutilation," said De Cock.

Scientists started to take a close interest in the circumcision question in the late 1980s, when they realized that in East and West Africa, where the rate of circumcision is high, the rate of HIV infection was low -- whereas in southern Africa, HIV rates were very high but the rate of circumcision was very low: less than 20 percent of men.

The theory behind circumcision's protective effect is that the foreskin has a very thin epithelium, or lining, and easily suffers minor abrasions during intercourse. These microscopic cuts make it easier for the AIDS virus to enter into the man's bloodstream. Another mooted reason is that the foreskin is rich in so-called Langerhans cells whose surface configuration makes it easy for HIV to latch on to them. If circumcision joins condoms in the meager arsenal of weapons to prevent HIV, it could have a mighty effect, according to a study presented at the conference.

Bernar Auvert of the France's National Agency for Research on AIDS, who led the South African trial, said circumcision was a low-cost option: the operation would cost only between 50 and 60 dollars -- less than two months' of the cost of antiretroviral treatment for people who get infected with HIV. But he stressed that circumcision was also a relatively complex operation, lasting around 30 minutes, that had to be carried out under anaesthetic by a surgeon working in hygienic conditions.

A trial funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is underway in Uganda to assess whether male circumcision has any impact on the risk of HIV transmission to females.


AIDS, WHO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

AIG, Manchester United Launch Goals for Kids Charity Initiative

Charity News Online

American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the principal sponsor of Manchester United Football Club, this week announced the launch of the "AIG Goals for Kids" program. For each goal that Manchester United scores during any FA Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup or Carling Cup game during the 2006-2007 season, AIG will donate 1,000 pounds to a selected children's charity in the United Kingdom or Ireland. In the future, AIG hopes to implement similar programs in other countries around the world, Business Wire reports.

"AIG is proud to support children's charities through the 'AIG Goals for Kids' program with Manchester United," said Martin J. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG. "This program will help underprivileged children and bring attention to worthy charities through our association with one of the world's most famous sports teams." David Gill, Chief Executive of Manchester United, added, "The combination of our 75 million fans worldwide and AIG's extensive global network means we will have no shortage of support for the children's charities benefiting from the goal-scoring efforts of the team. We commend AIG on this initiative and look forward to the goals starting to flow from our first match versus Fulham on August 20th."

American International Group, Inc. (AIG), world leaders in insurance and financial services, is the leading international insurance organization with operations in more than 130 countries.

AIG, Manchester United, Goals for Kids, charity

Puerto Rican Pop Idol Ricky Martin Honored Person of the Year for Charitable Work

Charity News Online

Ricky Martin will be honored as the Latin Recording Academy's person of the year for his accomplishments as an entertainer and humanitarian. The 34-year-old Puerto Rican pop star will receive the honor at a dinner and concert in New York City on Nov. 1. A portion of the evening's proceeds will benefit Martin's charitable efforts, The Associated Press reports.

"His musical accomplishments are matched by his endeavors as an advocate for the welfare of children around the world," Latin Recording Academy President Gabriel Abaroa said in a statement Thursday. "It is a great pleasure to honor this man of limitless talent, passion and sense of caring."

Martin is best known to U.S. audiences for his dance hit "Livin' la Vida Loca," and he is considered one of the most successful Latin music crossover acts. In 2004, his foundation launched People for Children, which works toward the elimination of human trafficking, especially trafficking of children. He has also served as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

Past honorees include Carlos Santana, Julio Iglesias and Emilio Estefan.

Ricky Martin, Latin Recording Academy, People for Children, UNICEF

Critics Urge Guenter Grass to Give Soaring Book Profits to Charity After SS Past Confession

Charity News Online

Critics in Germany called Thursday on Nobel Literature laureate Guenter Grass to donate royalties from his book about his Nazi past to some charity that helps victims of the Nazis. The German author has caused a storm with the disclosure in the self-loathing book that he spent six months with the Waffen SS, the Nazi party's private army. The first print run of the book, Peeling the Onion, had almost sold out Thursday in just two days on sale, the DPA news agency reports.

One of Germany's leading literary journalists, Hellmuth Karasek, and the editor of a poetry magazine that has published Grass's work, Anton Leitner, suggested the outcry might have been provoked to boost book sales. 'The simplest way for you to show that you don't seek material profit from exposing your SS membership is to donate all your income from the book to victims of the Waffen SS,' Leitner said in an open letter on his website.

In the guilt-ridden book, Grass, 78, dissects his odious teenage self, or 'this youth with the same name as me,' beginning with his indifference as an 11-year-old when the Nazis executed his uncle for taking part in a heroic Polish defence of Gdansk in 1939. Grass was called up and began training to be a gunner in a panzer division of the Waffen SS in November 1944, but insists he never fired a shot as his squadron beat a disorderly retreat from the Red Army through eastern Germany in 1945.

Grass said he believed today's generation should read the book to understand what had happened to put their German grandparents' generation into a state of denial about their Nazi past, 'keeping it to themselves and only talking about it now.'

The publisher, Steidl Verlag, said 130,000 of the 150,000 first copies of Peeling the Onion had been shipped to booksellers and a second impression had been ordered from the printers. The book officially went on sale Wednesday, two weeks before the date originally planned. Booksellers around Germany said it was selling much more briskly than previous Grass books.

A public opinion survey in Germany showed 68 per cent of Germans did not believe the writer's credibility had been damaged. The Forsa poll of 1,001 persons for N-TV television found 51 per cent believed Grass should have admitted his Waffen SS service sooner while 29 per cent said he had chosen the right time and 8 per cent said he should have kept it permanently secret.

Guenter Grass, Germany, Waffen SS, charity

U.S. President Bush Signs Charity Provisions Into Law

Charity News Online

President Bush on Thursday signed into law a bill that contains a series of provisions designed to stimulate charitable giving and cut down on abuses of charity tax laws by donors and nonprofit organizations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy of reports. The law's chief incentive for charitable gifts allows donors aged 70 ½ and older to withdraw up to $100,000 each year from their individual retirement accounts tax-free if they give the money directly to a charity. Over all, said Brian A. Gallagher, president of United Way of America, "these reforms and new tax incentives will strengthen the nation's charities."

The charity provisions — parts of which have drawn mixed reactions from charity leaders — are part of a broader law, the Pension Protection Act of 2006, a package of tightened rules for the country's private pension system that was recently approved by Congress. The law has seven major provisions intended to encourage charitable giving, or in other ways assist charities, and 17 key provisions that were written to crack down on abuses by charities or donors, or make other changes, according to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

"It reforms key laws governing nonprofit organizations to make sure that money that's deducted for charitable purpose goes to charitable purpose and isn't used as a gimmick to avoid the payment of taxes," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and who was a major proponent of the legislation.

"Americans are very generous with their donations. They deserve to know that their money helps the needy, not the greedy." Congress did not include a provision, which it has considered for years, that could spur charitable giving by allowing people who do not itemize deductions on their returns to write off a portion of their charitable donations.

But nonprofit officials were pleased that Congress included the provision to promote charitable giving through individual retirement accounts — which will be in effect for two years (through 2007) — because they say that making it easier for people to donate their retirement funds to organizations will cause a significant amount of money to flow to charity. At the same time, some charity leaders were not happy that the retirement-account provision has a $100,000 annual cap and does not apply to younger donors or to planned gifts, such as charitable remainder trusts.

charity, U.S., House Committee on Ways and Means, United Way of America, Pension Protection Act

Ex-German Chancellor Schroeder, Wife Adopt Russian Boy

Charity News Online

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his wife Doris have adopted yet another Russian kid, a popular German daily reported Thursday. Two years after the Schroeders adopted a little girl, Viktoria, then 3, from a Russian orphanage, they decided she needed a little brother and brought another little Russian into their family, BILD reports.

Born like Viktoria in St. Petersburg, the baby has not even turned 12 months yet. Doris and Gerhard Schroeder already have a daughter, Klara, who is 15. Viktoria, lovingly called Dascha in the family, is already 5 years of age. The Schroeders keep a cat called Schnurri and a dog named Holly.

Doris Schroeder-Koepf takes keen interest in the fate of poor children. Since September 2003 she’s been a supporter of the joint German-Russian children’s charity group, operating in St. Petersburg. She also assists a children’s hospital in Tirana, Albania.

Some 870,000 Russian children live in orphanages. Most of them are so-called “social orphans” whose parents have been stripped of parental rights, either over ill treatment of their children or alcoholism. Many of those children spend their entire childhood in orphanages and take to drinking and drugs themselves or become criminals.

Gerhard Schroeder, international adoptions

Football Legend Roy Keane Donates Boots to Online Fundraising Auction in Memory of Jason Kaminsky

Charity News Online

The Irish football legend Roy Keane who retired at the end of last season, has given a pair of his boots for the auction in aid of the British Liver Trust. The auction is being organized in memory of Jason Kaminsky, a Nottingham Forest player, who died last year from liver failure, aged just 31 years old, Irish Examiner reports.

Leicester-born Kaminsky, who played for Nottingham Forest in the early 1990s under managerial legend Brian Clough, lost a battle with alcohol addiction which affected him after being released from the club. He left behind an 11-year-old daughter. The online auction will launch on e-Bay on August 21.

Celtic and Manchester United legend, Roy Keane, who also played for Nottingham Forest during the Clough era, is one of a number of stars who have donated items. Keane’s former teammate Dion Dublin has donated his Celtic shirt. Bids can also be placed on Nigel Clough’s signed number 8 England shirt, worn at many international matches. Nottingham Forest supporters are also expected to snap up a shirt signed by members of the 2005/06 first team, including John Thompson and Wes Morgan.

Other items include Newcastle striker Michael Owen’s signed England shirt, a signed photograph of former Nottingham Forest defender and Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce. Brian Laws, manager of Scunthorpe United and a former Nottingham Forest player, has also donated a signed caricature of himself for auction. The organizers believe the online auction could raise several thousand pounds for the British Liver Trust, the only UK liver disease charity for adults.

Earlier this year, Leicester City stars took part in a charity celebrity match in memory of Jason which raised £1,500 (€2.220) for the trust. The game saw Leicester Markets, the team Jason played for after leaving Nottingham Forest, take on a squad of Leicester City legends which included former Liverpool midfielder Kevin McDonald and a member of the Northern Ireland 1986 World Cup squad, Paul Ramsey. The auction will end August 31 at 5pm.

Roy Keane, charity auction, British Liver Trust, Jason Kaminsky

Steven Spielberg Foundation Pledges $1M to Israel

Charity News Online

A foundation created by filmmaker Steven Spielberg will donate $1 million to relief efforts in Israel in the wake of the recent fighting against Hezbollah.

The Righteous Persons Foundation will make an initial contribution of $250,000 to the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Israel Crisis Fund. The foundation, spokesman Marvin Levy said, will then follow up with gifts to the New Israel Fund and other organizations that are providing relief to those evacuated from northern Israel, The Associated Press reports.

The Jewish Foundation will use its donation to support emergency efforts for evacuated children, install shatterproof glass in Haifa's three hospitals and provide emergency assistance at the Naharia hospital, he said.

The New Israel Fund will use its donation to set up crisis hot lines and provide food and other emergency supplies to families in northern Israel, Levy said.

Steven Spielberg, Israel, Hezbollah, Righteous Persons Foundation

Charity Chief’s Arrest Unrelated to UK Aircraft Bombing Plot – Pakistan

Charity News Online

The decision to put the chief of an Islamic charity, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, under house arrest last week had nothing to do with an investigation into a conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners in mid-air, Pakistan said Tuesday. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, was placed under house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday night, Reuters reports.

Just hours later news broke that British police had arrested 24 British Muslims involved in the conspiracy to blow up planes over U.S. cities, and Pakistan had arrested at least seven suspected conspirators. "Hafiz Saeed's arrest has absolutely nothing to do with this case," Tasnim Aslam, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told a regular weekly news conference.

Saeed, the founder and former head of Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the most-feared jihadi groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, has been placed under house arrest for just a month, according to an aide in Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United States put Jamaat-ud-Dawa on its list of terrorist organizations earlier this year. Security analysts say it is little more than a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Though it banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2002, Pakistan has taken no action against the charity, despite pressure from both the United States and India.

"We don't have any evidence of Jamaat-ud-Dawa involvement in terrorist activities, nor has the United States shared any evidence with us," Aslam said.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Saeed was put under house arrest because of some statements he had made. "Hafiz Saeed has not been connected to any terrorist plot or terrorist incident," she added.

Following the July 11 bomb attacks on Mumbai's rail system that killed over 180 people, Indian officials accused Lashkar-e-Taiba of being involved, though a spokesman for the militant group issued a denial. Speculation that Jamaat-ud-Dawa could be linked to the airline bomb plot in Britain surfaced after western media reports that investigators were tracking funds transferred to Islamic relief organisations.

There are a number of such charities in Pakistan. Several of them, like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, are linked to militant groups, some of which have links to al Qaeda.

Pakistan, UK, charity, terrorism, Jamaat ud Dawa, al Qaeda

Sweden to Host International Donors' Conference For Lebanon

Charity News Online

Sweden Monday invited 60 countries and aid agencies to a donors' conference aimed at helping Lebanon rebuild homes, roads and lives shattered by weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas. Big donor nations such as the U.S., France, the U.K., Germany, Norway and Japan as well as the Gulf States were among those invited to the Aug. 31 conference in Stockholm, Swedish aid minister Carin Jamtin said.

She said Israel wasn't on the guest list for the meeting, which Sweden would host with help from the UN and the Lebanese government. "The countries invited are those who are traditional donors at this type of conference," Jamtin told The Associated Press. "This will not be a political meeting, it's about urgent reconstruction." Jamtin said that included rebuilding ports, bridges and roads wrecked by Israeli bombs to help thousands of people who fled the month-long fighting return to their homes.

"Security is a condition for people to move back. But there must also be bridges to cross and there must be homes with roofs over their heads," Jamtin said. She declined to name a figure on how much aid was needed, saying that was up to Lebanon to determine.

Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas Monday as a UN-imposed ceasefire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people, devastated much of south Lebanon and forced hundreds of thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters.

Lebanon, Israel, Hezbollah, Sweden, aid agencies , UN

Hezbollah Wins Support Through Charitable Work

Charity News Online

In bombed-out southern villages and refugee-filled schools across the country, Hezbollah supporters go door to door, checking if people have enough food and medicine. That is the second prong of the militant Shiite group's strength in Lebanon, where it is putting up stiff resistance to thousands of Israeli troops in the south and has fired, according to Israel, more than 3,500 rockets into the north of the country since the war began a month ago, The Associated Press reports.

In the heat of the battle, Hezbollah's deep political and social roots in Lebanon are overshadowed by its military power, manifested in cadres of guerrilla fighters, their rockets, anti-tank missiles and Kalashnikov rifles. Away from the war front, Hezbollah runs a sophisticated network of schools, clinics and social services in the Shiite Muslim community. It has 14 members in the 128-member Parliament, two Cabinet ministers, a magazine, and a radio and TV station.

"Hezbollah is a grass-roots movement," says Amal Saad Ghorayeb, a political science professor at the Lebanese American University and expert in Hezbollah affairs. "They provide cradle to grave benefits, they take care of all your social, medical and welfare needs. It is precisely those social services that embed the Hezbollah movement in the (Shiite) community," she said.

While Hezbollah's popularity among Lebanon's 1.2 million Shiites stems mainly from its struggle against Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon, the group also cultivated much respect for its efficient network of services in the south, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Dahiyah - Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs. Even now, despite crippling Israeli airstrikes that have destroyed most of Hezbollah offices across the country, the guerrilla group is assisting in relief efforts.

Hezbollah's network of social charity organizations include "Imdad," Arabic for supply, which provides educational and medical services for the poor and physically disabled. "Mu'asasat al-Shahid," or Institution of the Martyr, takes care of the welfare of the families of Hezbollah guerrillas who are killed in the battle against Israel. Another organization, Jihad al-Bina, a name best translated as "construction for the sake of the holy struggle," rebuilds homes damaged in Israeli attacks and provides water and garbage collecting services to residents of southern and eastern Lebanon. The group also has five hospitals, 14 clinics and 12 schools across the country, a Hezbollah official said. He said some of those organizations, such as al-Shahid institution, have headquarters in Iran, which provides backing, weapons and funds to Hezbollah. Others rely on donations and alms from supporters.

Israeli air strikes have destroyed Hezbollah charity offices and schools in the market town of Nabatiyeh, the southern port city of Tyre and Dahiyah. Israeli commandos targeted the Iranian-funded, Hezbollah-run Dar al-Hikma Hospital in eastern Lebanon's town of Baalbek on Aug. 2. A Hezbollah-affiliated charity in the town has also been destroyed.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press in Jerusalem, Israeli Army spokesman Capt. Jacob Dallal said Hezbollah institutions, not just military infrastructure, should be crippled. "In the war on terror in general, it's not just about hitting an army base, which they don't have, or a bunker. It is also about undermining their ability to operate ... . That ranges from incitement on television and radio, financial institutions and, of course, other grass-roots institutions that breed more followers, more terrorists, training bases, obviously, schools," he said.

Hezbollah supporters say their loyalty to the party is unflinching. "Hezbollah is the people and the people are Hezbollah," said Hussein Ayoub, a 56-year-old ex-fighter who said the group paid for his children's tuition and a heart surgery he had several years ago. "I am ready to sacrifice with my life for the party," said Ayoub who has been living in a Beirut school with his family since Israeli air strikes destroyed his house in Dahiyah.

Lebanon, Hezbollah, charity, Middle East, Shiite

French Charity Claims Victory as Paris Pledges to Tackle Homeless Crisis

Charity News Online

A charity that has forced authorities in Paris to take notice of its homeless people claimed victory this week after the French government moved to resolve the crisis by pledging €7m ($9m) to fund more flexible accommodation for 1,100 people without shelter in the capital. The government's move was prompted after tents given to homeless people by a medical charity began springing up around the city, The Financial Times wrote.

Medecins du Monde's "tent city" campaign - in which 300 homeless people were given tents to sleep in on the streets of Paris - prompted such outrage and sympathy that government officials were forced to act, The Independent reported Friday. In a rare move for the political summer off-season the junior minister for employment and social cohesion, Catherine Vaudrin, announced a package for Greater Paris worth EUR7m aimed at producing 1,270 hostel beds.

Much of the accommodation, she said, would be bedsits where homeless people could settle and not have to move out every morning. Between 2,000 and 5,000 people are estimated to sleep rough on the streets of Paris every night.

Medecins du Monde and other campaigners for poor people welcomed the move but said more efforts would be needed as winter approached. "It's a first step in the right direction," said Graciela Robert of Medecins du Monde.

The charity's campaign began last winter when it gave away 300 "two-second tents" - which unfurl rapidly and do not require poles or pins - to people who had been sleeping rough.

Small communities of eight to 10 tents, emblazoned with the Medecins du Monde logo, sprang up along the Quai d'Austerlitz and the Canal Saint-Martin. Some Parisians complained but many others sympathized with the homeless in their neighborhoods and bought them the tents, which retail for only about 40 euros. As a result, Medecins du Monde estimates there are about 500 tents on the streets of Paris.

charity, Paris, homeless, Medecins du Monde

Israel Rejects Russia’s Call for Humanitarian Truce

Charity News Online

Israel’s representative to the United Nations Dan Gillerman has rejected Russia’s proposal at the Security Council demanding a 72-hour humanitarian truce in Lebanon, AFX reports. Earlier on Thursday, Russia circulated a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in Lebanon, saying the crisis was reaching “catastrophic” proportions and was too urgent to wait for passage of a separate U.S.-French measure, The Associated Press reported.

“It would be a very bad solution” to the crisis, because “it would allow Hezbollah to regroup,” Gillerman told Israeli public radio.

Russia’s move came as the United States and France appeared close to breaking a deadlock on their long-awaited resolution and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said there could be a vote on their proposal on Friday. Responding to the Russian draft, Bolton said he did not think it was helpful to distract attention from negotiations over the U.S.-French draft. “We’re not playing games here,” he said. “This is very serious.”

More than 800 people have been killed in the month-long conflict which has devastated Lebanon.

“War is raging in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation is getting catastrophic,” Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said. He said that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan supported the Russian proposal for a 72-hour cease-fire.

Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, humanitarian aid

McConaughey's 1971 Sports Car Nets $61,000 for Oprah’s Hurricane Charity

Charity News Online

The winning bid for Matthew McConaughey’s 1971 Corvette Stingray convertible, auctioned for hurricane relief, was $61,600, according to the eBay Web site. The name of the winning bidder wasn’t immediately released. The Web site indicated that 72 bids were received.

McConaughey, a native of Texas, said he’s donating all proceeds from last month’s sale to Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network for Katrina and Rita recovery efforts, The Associated Press reported.

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29 last year. Rita made landfall in southeast Texas on Sept. 24.

Film credits for the 36-year-old actor include “Failure to Launch” and “The Wedding Planner.” In 2005, he was named the “sexiest man alive” by People magazine.

Matthew McConaughey, Oprah Winfrey, charity, Hurricane Katrina

Seattle Gunman Wants to Plead Guilty in Jewish Charity Shooting

Charity News Online

The man accused of shooting six people at the Jewish Federation offices in Seattle surprised many, his own attorney included, by trying to plead guilty Thursday to the crimes, Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. After a deputy prosecutor read all nine criminal charges to Naveed Haq, the man briefly conferred with his attorney, C. Wesley Richards, who told the judge that Haq wanted to enter guilty pleas.

Richards urged the judge not to accept the pleas until he had more time to go over the evidence and the consequences of a guilty plea with his client. He said he also had some concerns about whether Haq was mentally competent to make such a decision. King County Superior Court Judge Michael Trickey said that while defendants are allowed to plead guilty at their arraignment, though an unusual move, he was worried about the charge of aggravated murder that Haq faces.

That charge carries the possibility of the death penalty, and King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has not yet decided whether he will seek a death sentence. It's unclear what would happen if Haq pleaded guilty before that decision is made. Trickey delayed Haq's arraignment until next Tuesday.

Haq, 30, is a college graduate raised in the Tri-Cities. Thirteen days ago, he is accused of forcing his way into the Federation offices in downtown Seattle. After declaring himself a Muslim opposed to the Bush administration's support of Israel he opened fire, killing one woman and wounding five others.

Israel, U.S., charity, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle

Bayern Munich, German Charity Suspend Sri Lanka Project Amid Security Concerns

Charity News Online

The ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka has forced the German champions Bayern Munich and a German charity to postpone a social responsibility project they were initiating in Sri Lanka. To coincide with the start of the Bundesliga Bayern Munich and Malteser International were going to start a 'Football Reconciliation Program', under which young footballers were going to be sponsored in the Trincomalee district in eastern Sri Lanka.

"Based on the security situation in the country we have decided that we will only start the project at a later date," Juergen Clemens who heads the Sri Lanka desk for Malteser International said in a statement, cited by the news agency DPA. Tamil rebels said Thursday that government forces had again carried out land and airborne attacks in the east of the country with several casualties. Tamilnet, which is close to the rebels, reported that at least 45 civilians had been killed.

Malteser International has been operating in all areas affected by the Tsunami in December 2004. They have more than 15 projects which are contributing to the reconstruction of the country in those areas. Since mid-April Bayern's social responsibility programs are being coordinated under the banner of FC Bayern Hilfe e.V. This was formed to help people who need assistance without having themselves caused this situation. They are particularly involved in working with victims of floods in Sri Lanka. There they are trying to help orphans and people who are experiencing financial problems as a result of the floods.

Sri Lanka, Bayern Munich, Malteser International, charity, Bundesliga

Gates Charity Gives $500M for Aids Care

Charity News Online

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation took its support of AIDS-related research and care to a new level Wednesday, announcing a $500 million grant to an international fund that provides AIDS assistance in poor countries, The Associated Press reports. The Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will receive the grant over five years.

The gift dwarfs the $150 million that the charity already has given since the Global Fund was created four years ago, and the additional $287 million the foundation announced last month to speed development of an AIDS vaccine. The fund "is one of the most important health initiatives in the world today," Bill Gates said in a statement announcing the gift. "We need to do everything we can to support its continued success, which will save millions of lives."

The announcement comes as nearly 25,000 scientists, advocates and policy-makers prepare to meet in Toronto this weekend for the 16th International AIDS Conference. Governments have been the main contributors to the Global Fund, whose total income to date is $9 billion. But this falls far short of what is needed, fund organizers say, and the level of support from rich nations, especially the United States, has been controversial. "When the richest man on earth provides such generous support for the Global Fund, the risk is that some donor governments may mistakenly think they are now off the hook," Joanne Carter of Results, an advocacy organization, said in a statement representing a coalition of such groups.

However, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said she hoped the grant would spur more money from others, not less. "We hope all donors - public and private, large and small - will step up their support and make long-term commitments," she said in a statement. So far, 132 countries have received money from the Global Fund. About 544,000 people have received treatment for AIDS and more than 1.4 million others for tuberculosis. More than 11 million bed nets have been given out to prevent bites from the mosquitoes that spread malaria.

"The impact of the Global Fund can be seen in towns and villages throughout Rwanda," says a statement by that country's president, Paul Kagame. "Thousands of people who would otherwise be dead are healthy and working to build a better future for their families and our country."The new Gates Foundation gift "sends a strong message about the importance of sustainability" of such funds, said Richard Feachem, the Global Fund's executive director. Instead of one-time provision of AIDS drugs, the gift demonstrates "an unprecedented moral commitment to sustain this treatment until death," he said.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, AIDS, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Barbra Streisand Gives $1 million to Clinton Charity

Charity News Online

Barbra Streisand has made a gift of $1 million to a charity led by the former U.S. president Bill Clinton, making his Climate Change Initiative the first recipient to benefit from the millions she has pledged to charitable causes generated by her upcoming national concert tour.

The gift makes Streisand the leading contributor to Clinton's effort to bring together a consortium of major cities around the world to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, Reuters reports.

Streisand recently announced that she would undertake a concert tour in October and November to help raise money for organizations dealing with environmental, women's health and educational issues. A spokesman for Streisand said she has been funding efforts to deal with global climate change since the late 1980s.

charity, Bill Clinton, Barbra Streisand, Climate Change Initiative

Jackie Chan Promotes Coffee Chain, Pledges Proceeds for Books, Schools in Asia

Charity News Online

Hong Kong action movie hero Jackie Chan crooned a 1962 Elvis Presley song and promoted his worldwide charity work on Friday as he signed a franchise deal in Manila to sell his Java coffee brand. There was no mention of the actor's alleged drunken rant at a Taiwanese concert last month when, according to local newspapers, he demanded a duet with singer Jonathan Lee and traded insults with the audience.

Instead, the 56-year-old, who broke into Hollywood with his "Rush Hour" movie series, asked people to frequent his Java Coffee shop chain, where part of the profits will be spent on books and schools in Asia, Reuters reported Friday. In three months, Jackie Chan's Java Coffee shop will open in Manila, the first in a chain spread across China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines. Through his Jackie Chan Charities Foundation, the actor, seen as the successor to martial arts legend Bruce Lee, has opened 17 schools in China and donated books and educational materials to children across Asia and Africa.

Chan arrived in Manila on a chartered private jet after his commercial flight from Hong Kong was canceled due to fierce winds from typhoon Prapiroon. "I had a very tedious flight. I risked my life," he said, speaking through an interpreter. Chan was due to return to Hong Kong on Friday night to catch a flight to Paris, where he will begin filming the third installment of "Rush Hour" with Hollywood star Chris Tucker.

Jackie Chan, charity, Asia, Africa, Bruce Lee

UK Charity Commission to Probe Charity Suspected of Supporting Hamas-Linked Groups in Gaza, West Bank

Charity News Online

The UK Charity Commission this week pledged to investigate any new evidence against a British charity accused of passing on funds to Hamas-linked charities in Gaza and the West Bank, TotallyJewish.com reports. The announcement came after Sunday’s BBC Panorama documentary Faith, Hate and Charity, in which a senior official at the charities watchdog admitted that its investigations into Interpal had not been “in depth”.

Kenneth Dibble, the Commission’s Director of Legal and Charity Services, told reporter John Ware that evidence presented in the program of activities at charities that received funds from Interpal ‘clearly needed to be looked at’. In one video clip, which program-makers claimed showed activities at the al Khalil al Rahman Girls’ Society, a group of youngsters sang: “We all sacrifice ourselves for our country. We answer your call and make of our skulls a ladder to your glory, a ladder.”

A Charity Commission spokesperson defended the integrity of investigations it carried out into Interpal in 1996 and 2003, claiming that on neither occasion was any evidence found that substantiated the allegations against the charity. She added: “The Panorama program has raised a number of new issues. We will ask the BBC to share with us details of the evidence presented by the program so that we can assess it. The Commission will also seek a meeting with Interpal trustees before deciding whether a new inquiry is necessary. In a statement on its website, Interpal accused the program-makers of pursuing a “political agenda", arguing that “a severe imbalance inherent in the content gives the lie to the claim that this is responsible investigative journalism”. It added that the matter had been passed on to its legal advisors.

The Charity Commission is established by law as the regulator and registrar for charities in England and Wales. Interpal is a non-political, non-profit making British charity that focuses solely on the provision of relief and development aid to the poor and needy of Palestine the world over, primarily in Palestine and the refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, according to the group’s website.

Interpal, Charity Commission, Hamas, Palestine

London Couple Raises 3,000 Pounds for Children in Latvia

Charity News Online

A charity night for Latvian children set up by a Londonderry couple who lost their baby son to cot death has raised almost £3000. Raymond and Violeta Kelly have said a big "thank you" after they held a special event in aid of latvianchildren.com on Tuesday - what would have been their son Joel's first birthday, Belfast Telegraph reports.

Derry man Raymond, a missionary, met Violeta in Latvia where she lived and worked at an orphanage. The pair married in 2000 and, after the births of daughters Leanna and Kristal, Violeta prayed for a son, and Joel was born on August 1, 2005. But tragically Violeta found her little son dead in his cot after a nap earlier this year.

They set up the charity after receiving donations in lieu of flowers at Joel's funeral. Over £3,000 was raised in a short time and the couple resolved to turn the tragedy of Joel's death into something positive and in April, a group of 22, including Raymond's extended family, traveled to Riga and helped fix up an orphanage where Violeta had worked previously.

The launch of the charity took place at the White Horse Hotel in Campsie and included an appearance from comic May McFetteridge. Today, Violeta revealed that through ticket sales and donations from the night, they had amassed a whopping £2,700. Violeta said that the money would go towards projects like sponsoring summer camps for Latvian orphans and building playgrounds for underpriveliged kids.

Latvia, charity, fundraising

U.S. Freezes Assets of Saudi-Based Islamic Charity Accused of Financing Al-Qaida

Charity News Online

The United States moved Thursday to financially incapacitate branches of a Saudi-based Islamic charity as well as a high-ranking official for allegedly helping al-Qaida bankroll terrorist acts. he Treasury Department's action is directed at the Philippine and Indonesian offices of the International Islamic Relief Organization. The charity has operations in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the epartment said.

The action also covers Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, who is the executive director of the charity's Eastern Province branch in Saudi Arabia, The Associated Press reported. The department's action means that any assets found in the United States belonging to Al-Mujil or to the Philippine and Indonesian branches of the charity will be frozen. Americans also are forbidden from sending money or otherwise doing business withthem.

The department said that Al-Mujil has been called the "million dollar man" for his financial support of Islamic militant groups. He allegedly provided money to the al-Qaida terror network as is considered a major fundraiser for two al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist groups in Southeast Asia, Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah, the department said. The department also alleged that, among other things, the charity's offices in the Philippines raised money for the Abu Sayyaf terror group. The charity's offices in Indonesia has funneled money to foundations affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group and has helped to finance training facilities for use by al-Qaida associates, the department alleged.

"It is particularly shameful when groups that hold themselves out as charitable or religious organizations defraud their donors or divert funds in support of violent terrorist groups," said Stuart Levey, the department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "Al-Mujil has a long record of supporting Islamic militant groups and he has maintained a cell of regular financial donors in the Middle East who support extremist causes," Levey said.

al-Qaida, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, charity, Jemaah Islamiyah, terrorism, International Islamic Relief Organization

Jewish Group Launches $60M Israel Aid Campaign

Charity News Online

A leading Jewish organization has announced the launch of a new fundraising campaign to respond to the crisis the Israelis are facing in the wake of the latest developments in the Middle East, United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York President Morris W. Offit has said.

The UJA-Federation Israel Emergency Campaign, with a USD 60 million goal, will be launched at an emergency fundraising session with its highest-level donors on Thursday, Ynetnews has reported. UJA-Federation of New York this week withdrew USD 10 million from its General Reserve fund to immediately send to Israel. The emergency campaign will be extended to all areas of the community in the coming days.

“We have just returned from Israel and we have witnessed the strength of Israel’s people, but this war will leave deep scars on even the strongest. Our help will be needed for those most seriously affected by the days spent in bomb shelters, the gnawing fear, and the unimaginable loss of loved ones,” said UJA executive vice president and CEO John S. Ruskay.

The USD 10 million emergency appropriation will provide both immediate needs for those in impacted areas of Israel as well as longer terms needs, a statement issued by the organization said. The funds will be used to help the thousands of evacuee families, including an estimated 12,000 children by providing safe locations for a summer camp experience; direct aid will also be provided to widows and orphans of fallen Israeli soldiers, the statement said.

According to the UJA, trauma experts say that 500,000 to 600,000 children will suffer post- traumatic stress disorder along with Holocaust survivors who are reliving their nightmares, the elderly, and immigrants who have no support system. “After personally witnessing the magnitude of this tragedy, we recognized that we needed to respond swiftly with a comprehensive approach, including this USD 60 million Israel Emergency Campaign,” explained Merryl Tisch, campaign co-chair, UJA-Federation of New York.

In addition, the UJA-Federation said it is planning a Solidarity Mission to Israel from August 20 through 25to send a powerful message of support in person. Mission participants will meet with top officials and the people from throughout the country who have been affected by the devastation.

Israel, United Jewish Appeal, Lebanon, Hizbollah, aid, fundraising

ICRC Voices Concern Over Missing Worker

Charity News Online

It has now been three years since Usman Saidaliev, an employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Russia’s volatile province of Chechnya, was abducted from his home in the village of Novy-Engenoy by unidentified armed men, the ICRC said Wednesday.

Though the ICRC has made numerous representations to the Russian authorities in an attempt to find out what has happened to Saidaliev and learn his whereabouts, neither the organization nor his family has received any news of him, according to the ICRC statement. The ICRC is continuing to search for information about his abduction.

The agency “takes this opportunity to emphasize the right of families to know the fate of loved ones who have gone missing in connection with armed conflict and other situations of widespread violence. This is a fundamental provision of international humanitarian and human rights law,” the statement reads.

Chechnya, International Committee of the Red Cross, Russia, aid, aid agencies , charity

9/11 Charity Organizer Accused in Fraud Case in U.S.

Charity News Online

An organizer of a Hamptons charity event benefiting the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks was arrested at the party on fraud charges from a fugitive warrant in Colorado, the Suffolk County district attorney's office said Wednesday, 1010 WINS news website reported.

Glenda Joy Chesshir, 46, who has homes in Manhattan, Beverly Hills, Calif., and Aspen, Colo., was arrested last Saturday during the “Fourth Annual White Party Clam Bake” in Amagansett, said DA spokesman Robert Clifford. Chesshir is charged with four felony counts of fraud, allegedly for writing checks of $500 or more with insufficient funds, according to an arrest warrant issued in Pitkin County, Colo.

“It is our understanding that the case is related to the defendant taking a large sum of money, a reported $147,000, from a Colorado woman who claims she had an agreement with Ms. Chesshir to invest the money, but Ms. Chesshir never did,'' Clifford said.

She was arrested by the Suffolk County fugitive squad at Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett, where she was attending a clam bake to benefit the children of the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund. An invitation to the fundraiser lists Chesshir as one of three chairs for the event. The bond-trading firm lost 658 of its 1,050 employees in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

The $200-a-person clam bake featured "lobsters, libations and live music", according to an invitation. Chesshir was released Tuesday on $6,000 bond, Clifford said. There was no immediate response from the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund when reached by telephone and e-mail seeking comment.

Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, 9/11, U.S., charity, fraud

UN Lowers Risk Level for Chechnya, Aid Agencies May Resume Operations in Restive Region

Charity News Online

The United Nations has improved the security assessment of the situation in Chechnya, thus allowing wider access to this North Caucasus republic for aid agencies, Prague Watchdog has learnt from a well-informed source in the region.

The "security phase V" or "Evacuation" in Chechnya, standing for the highest risk, has been reduced to "security phase IV", which allows the UN staff to carry out overnight or several day missions or even be based in the republic. Up until now, foreign aid workers working for the UN could only conduct short monitoring and assessment missions with their number being limited and their organizing complicated.

Representatives of international humanitarian agencies have long lobbied for this decision, which will now help them to better serve the needy and to carry out their recovery and development projects. However, they will keep struggling with a huge amount of paperwork and endless checks by Russian authorities that treat all foreigners in the North Caucasus region with suspicion.

The lower risk assessment also paves the way for the opening of UN offices in Chechnya. Following his visit to Grozny this past spring, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said that the UNHCR would open an office the war-torn republic of Chechnya as soon as security conditions allow. "Our staff is anxious to work in Chechnya... ...If we can also be present, we'll be able to provide more effective protection and assistance to returnees," he told a press conference in Moscow in April.

However, it is expected that aid agencies will at first deploy their local staff in Chechnya, while foreign workers will follow later on. And it is also likely that it will take several weeks or months before the UN establishes its permanent presence in the troubled republic.

This decision, approved by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was communicated to UN agencies on July 28 and took effect immediately. It also upgrades the security phase in Kabardino-Balkaria, which a year ago saw an outbreak of violence in its capital Nalchik, from II to III, and reduces the security phase in the Kurskoi District of Stavropolsky Region from V to IV, the source told Prague Watchdog.

This year, nine UN agencies and 13 NGOs are running joint operations in Chechnya and its neighbouring republics under the Inter-Agency Transitional Workplan for the North Caucasus. Many other NGOs, along with local and federal authorities, contribute to these protection, recovery and development efforts.

UN, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Chechnya, Russia, aid agencies , NGOs