Laura Bush to speak at fundraiser for Flight 93 memorial in Pa., attend Sept. 11 service

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. Former first lady Laura Bush will speak at a National Park Service fundraiser in Pittsburgh on Friday, a day before joining Michelle Obama in rural Pennsylvania to remember the victims of Flight 93, which crashed there in the Sept. 11 attacks.Bush’s appearance is part of a wider effort to raise money for the memorial to the 40 passengers and crew who died after they fought back against their hijackers.Just $40 million of the $58 million needed for the memorial has been raised, and the first phase of the project is scheduled to be dedicated in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks next year.

A memorial plaza is under construction in these rolling hills, part of a long-awaited 2,200-acre national park that will eventually honor the victims. The finished memorial will include a 93-foot tower at the entrance with wind chimes for each of the victims and a grove of trees.The project’s planners say they hope Bush’s and Obama’s efforts help bring attention and much-needed cash to the project.

“In a world where there’s so much politics, one thing we have always found is that our story and our efforts resonate across the board. And this is just one more indication of that,” said Gordon Felt, the president of the Families of Flight 93, whose brother died aboard the flight.Patrick White, whose cousin, Louis “Joey” Nacke II, died in the crash, called donating to the memorial “a patriotic thing to do.”

“This is America’s memorial, certainly primarily to the 40 heroes of Flight 93, but indirectly to the events of the day as well,” he said.More than 1.2 million people have visited the temporary memorial since the crash. Planners predict that about 250,000 people will visit the permanent memorial each year.

The park foundation has recently stepped up its efforts to raise money, including a new public service campaign encouraging people to make a $10 donation by texting the word MEMORIAL to 90999, or to contribute online at http://www.honorflight93.org .Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when hijackers seized control and diverted it toward Washington, D.C. But the passengers fought back and the hijackers responded by crashing the plane about 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

It’s imperative to honor the victims, said David Beamer, whose son Todd was believed to have led the revolt with the words “Let’s roll.” He said some textbooks only casually reference Flight 93 as the fourth plane to crash on Sept. 11, with no details.”That’s not sufficient,” Beamer said.(AP)

more than 60 whales were found dead on the Beach Kaitaia in New Zealand

60 whales died on a beach in New Zealand. Whale that died after it beached.This was disclosed by Carolyn Smith of the New Zealand Ministry of Nature Protection. Carolyn announced that more than 60 whales were found dead on the Beach Kaitaia in New Zealand. Whales can not be saved because rescuers could not save enough time for the whales.

Carolyn guessed it before the fish were stranded at first. He was stranded due to make sure they can not survive. Similarly as reported from all voices, Saturday, August 21, 2010.Carolyn adds there are actually about 73 whales that were stranded but there are some among the fish who saved themselves by returning to the sea.Ministry of Nature Protection explained the type of pilot whales were stranded since Thursday night.

Some volunteers are trying hard to restore the large fish in the sea. But, not easy to do so.whale on the beach of New Zealand is not this just happened the first time only. Last December, about 100 whale also beached in the country and then they can not survive presumed dead.

Hurricane Threatens Gulf of Mexico

Low-pressure air in the southeastern United States will move toward the Gulf of Mexico, and potentially 50 percent turned into a tropical storm within 48 hours. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center about the threat of bad weather in the area of the location of the worst oil spill in American history,According to weather forecasts, the low air pressure will cause the flow of warm water in the Gulf on Monday morning local time, and will be able to produce locally heavy rain and strong winds along the central Gulf Coast region.

Commander of the National Disaster Management Agency Thad Alen, who heads the government’s response in tackling the oil spill, said at the weekend, the activity of disposal wells that are designed to permanently block the oil wells will be finished after the giant energy company BP to end the period of testing and planning some time ago.Disposal wells by BP, the owner of the well which was leaked last week, also suspended because of bad weather.

Avalanche Mud trap 500 Citizens of China, 5 Killed

China still not escape the bad weather disasters that befall their region lately. Mud landslides that occurred in Sichuan Province is reported to have killed five people and trapping 500 others.This disaster is preceded by heavy rain that lashed since Thursday, August 12th at midnight local time in Mianzhu. This region is known as an area suffering the most severe damage when an earthquake occurred in 2008 ago.

While these results break landslide mud transport and communications lines that connect the region. The government itself has sent rescue teams to evacuate the survivors was due to landslides. Similarly Xinhua reported on Friday (13/08/2010).This latest disaster to be a slap to China, after more than a thousand people were killed in the city in Gansu province Zhouqu mud when landslides swept a village last week. This disaster also occurred after heavy rains hit the area.

United Nations give warning of second wave of Pakistani flood deaths

Pakistan  The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $459 million in aid for flood-hit Pakistan, warning of a second wave of death among sick, hungry survivors unless help arrived quickly.Roiling floods triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain have scoured Pakistan’s Indus river basin, killing more than 1,600 people, forcing 2 million from their homes and disrupting the lives of about 14 million people, or 8 percent of the population.President Asif Ali Zardari, whose government has come in for harsh criticism for its perceived sluggish response to the disaster, defended a decision to travel abroad as the floods began, saying he helped focus international attention on the plight of the victims.The floods, the worst in the region in 80 years, have raised fears for the prospects of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally already battling a deadly Islamist militancy.U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday the U.S. military was tripling the number of helicopters in Pakistan to 19 from six and sending in a landing platform to be used off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city.

Washington, which had already committed $55 million to Pakistani flood relief efforts, also announced it was contributing a further $16.2 million to the U.N. refugee agency and International Red Cross for emergency assistance to flood victims.Aid agencies have complained of a lackluster donor response to the crisis, while a U.N. spokesman said help was needed soon.”If we do not respond soon enough to the urgent needs of the population, if we do not provide life-saving assistance as soon as is necessary, there may be a second wave of death caused by diseases and food shortages,” said U.N. humanitarian operations the spokesman Maurizio Giuliano.Hundreds of roads and bridges have been destroyed from northern mountains to the plains of the southern province of Sindh, where the waters have not yet crested, meaning the situation could get worse.

Countless villages and farms have been inundated, crops destroyed and livestock lost. In some places, families are huddled on tiny patches of water-logged land with their animals surrounded by an inland sea.On the outskirts of the city of Sukkur, in Sindh, hundreds of people waited for food supplies at a tent camp.”I can’t find my 12-year-old son. I’ve been to my village with soldiers on a boat but there was no sign of him,” said farmer Mohammad Hassan.”I’m so worried. I don’t know what to do. Should I take care of my family here or go and look for my son?” Hassan, a father of 10, told Reuters before rushing into a throng jostling around a truck that arrived with rations of cooked rice.

ECONOMIC DAMAGE

The International Monetary Fund has warned of major economic harm and the Finance Ministry said the country would miss this year’s 4.5 percent gross domestic product growth target, although it was not clear by how much.Pakistani stocks ended 0.17 percent down at 9,875.68 as the economic costs of the disaster rattled investors. the market has lost 5.37 percent since the floods began.The United Nations says the disaster is the biggest the country has faced and it would cost billions of dollars to rehabilitate the victims and rebuild ruined infrastructure.Giuliano said he was optimistic aid would arrive and $150 million had already been pledged. The U.N. World Food Program needs $150 million to feed 6 million people for three months.Zardari defended his decision to travel to France and Britain at the end of last month.

“Some have criticized my decision, saying it represented aloofness, but I felt that I had to choose substance over symbolism,” he said in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal.The British government had pledged $24 million in aid, following his meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, the Pakistani leader said.

Pakistan’s military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 63-year history, has taken the lead in relief efforts, reinforcing the faith many Pakistanis have in their armed forces and highlighting the comparative ineffectiveness of civilian governments.Analysts say the armed forces would not try to take power as they have vowed to shun politics and are busy fighting militants.U.S. military helicopters have been airlifting survivors in an effort that may win Washington some supporters in Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high.

“Let’s not talk about politics. We were trapped here and they came to evacuate us,” said Abdul Rehman, 37, rescued by a U.S. helicopter after being stranded with a new-born baby and wife.”They’re doing good. Let’s appreciate them.”The United States needs a stable Pakistan to help it end a nine-year war by the Taliban in Afghanistan.(Reuters)

The Death toll rises to 11 in flooding in Europe

WARSAW, Poland  The death toll in flooding in central Europe rises to 11 as Poland’s interior minister said Sunday that two more people had died in the southwestern region of the country.The flooding has struck an area near the borders of Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.Heavy rains in Poland caused flooding in the southwestern town of Bogatynia and one person was already reported dead on Saturday.In the northern Czech Republic, five people were found drowned over the weekend.

Another three people drowned in the eastern German state of Saxony on Saturday. Several roads and villages there were flooded by swelling Neisse river and hundreds of people were evacuated with rubber boats by rescue workers from their homes in the city of Goerlitz.Polish Interior Minister Jerzy Miller refused to give details about the three deaths in his country because he said he wasn’t yet sure if their relatives had all been informed.

The worst-hit town in Poland was Bogatynia, where a bridge was destroyed and many were left without electricity and running water.It is the third time this year that Poland has been affected by flooding. A first wave in May was the most severe. It caused widespread damage to homes and killed more than 20 people.

In the Czech Republic, at least a thousand people had to be evacuated Saturday, some from areas below two dams threatened by rising waters. People in the towns of Chrastava and Frydlant were rescued by police and military helicopters from the roofs of their homes.Three summer camps for children were evacuated.(AP)

Tony Hayward will leave BP at the upcoming October

Prepare “got away” with golden lifeboat when the ship was aground. Maybe that’s the right impression for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of oil company BP, Tony Hayward. When the company he led was a problem with leaking oil wells that pollute waters of the southern United States (USA), Hayward would leave it preached. He did not go empty-handed, but brought abundant coffers. If so leave the British company that Hayward will soon receive a pension amounting to 600 000 pounds sterling per year. Hayward reportedly will leave in October following the BP refinery oil spill tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico. According to BP’s pension scheme, as quoted from the page of the BBC, Monday, July 26, 2010, BP employees who joined before April 2006 can receive a pension at any time at the age of 53 years. Hayward, who has worked with BP for 28 years, is entitled to receive the facility.

In addition to pensions, Hayward will also receive one-year salary plus benefits worth more than one million pounds sterling. Thus, the total retirement package to be received later Hayward approximately 11 million pounds sterling. British executives were also able to maintain its shareholding in BP. Those shares could be worth several million pounds sterling depending on the performance of BP shares on the stock.

Although the official announcement from BP will be made on this Tuesday, the news that the Hayward will retire in October will aggressively overseas media reported yesterday. His position will be replaced by a colleague, a U.S. citizen named Robert Dudley. While according to the news, Hayward will be promoted to non-executive positions at BP’s joint venture in Russia. Hayward is one of BP’s boss is reaping a lot of criticism. That followed a statement-related statement handling oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico are considered to offend the local community.

Mexico now is safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza

Mexico is now safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, often called the flu Pig. Nevertheless, despite the alert status had been revoked about two weeks ago, the State government was determined not to Sombrero negligent in anticipating the re-emergence of the H1N1 outbreak, which last year killed many residents.Thus said the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa. “Enabling alert in Mexico to take specific measures to prevent H1N1 recently revoked by the Health Ministry two weeks ago,” Espinosa said in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Thursday, July 8, 2010.

“However, we continue to make efforts to prepare the health sector because (H1N1) can occur anytime,” added Espinosa.He continued, the mortality rate due to the H1N1 virus was not as high as previously feared. The Mexican government also set up institutions to deal with better people who contracted the virus.According to Espinosa, compared with previous years, cases of pneumonia or respiratory problems in Mexico, which is one of the symptoms of swine flu, the numbers have declined. “This means that the awareness of citizens to immediately went to the doctor are rising,” said Espinosa.According to the Associated Press news agency, swine flu could spread in over 200 countries with 17 800 claimed the lives of sufferers. In Mexico, where the first cases of H1N1 outbreaks, the disease infected 72 546 people and killing 1289 people.

Mexico is now safe from the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, often called the flu Pig. Nevertheless, despite the alert status had been revoked about two weeks ago, the State government was determined not to Sombrero negligent in anticipating the re-emergence of the H1N1 outbreak, which last year killed many residents.Thus said the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Minister) of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa. “Enabling alert in Mexico to take specific measures to prevent H1N1 recently revoked by the Health Ministry two weeks ago,” Espinosa said in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Thursday, July 8, 2010.

“However, we continue to make efforts to prepare the health sector because (H1N1) can occur anytime,” added Espinosa.He continued, the mortality rate due to the H1N1 virus was not as high as previously feared. The Mexican government also set up institutions to deal with better people who contracted the virus.

According to Espinosa, compared with previous years, cases of pneumonia or respiratory problems in Mexico, which is one of the symptoms of swine flu, the numbers have declined. “This means that the awareness of citizens to immediately went to the doctor are rising,” said Espinosa.According to the Associated Press news agency, swine flu could spread in over 200 countries with 17 800 claimed the lives of sufferers. In Mexico, where the first cases of H1N1 outbreaks, the disease infected 72 546 people and killing 1289 people.

Hurricane Alex gained strength early Wednesday as the storm began to take aim on the western Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Alex gained strength early Wednesday as the storm began to take aim on the western Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center reported.The Category 1 storm, which became the first June hurricane on the Atlantic side of the United States since 1995, is expected to make landfall in northeastern Mexico or southern Texas by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

The hurricane center’s advisory issued at 2 a.m. ET said Alex was moving erratically, but generally westward, at 5 mph. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was about 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.President Barack Obama issued a federal emergency declaration for Texas ahead of the expected arrival of Alex, the White House said Tuesday night.A hurricane warning was issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay, Texas, to La Cruz, Mexico. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions and tropical storm-force winds are expected in the forecast area within 36 hours.

A tropical storm warning was in place along the Texas coast from Baffin Bay to Port O’Connor.The storm continued to move away from the massive BP oil catastrophe near the Louisiana coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but it already was complicating cleanup efforts. The storm created 12-foot waves on Tuesday and oil skimming ships were sent back to shore, from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

The rough seas may force crews to replace and reorganize booms meant to deter the oil from reaching shore, reported CNN’s Ed Lavandera.Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said that even though Florida may dodge a bullet with this storm, the Atlantic hurricane season is just beginning.”In Florida, we’ve had a lot of hurricanes a number of years ago, but we handled them very well,” he told CNN’s Campbell Brown. “The difference and the distinction that we face now is that we have a Gulf of Mexico that’s full of oil. So our hope and our prayer is that we don’t have a mixture of hurricanes with oil that could potentially damage the beautiful beaches of Florida. But if we do, we’re prepared for it.”

Brownsville, Texas, Mayor Pat Ahumada said his city was expecting to distribute 60,000 sandbags and provide shelter for roughly 2,000 families. Utility crews were put on standby to handle outages. At the same time, 90 buses had been provided by the state government in case an evacuation is required.”I expect about 10 percent of residents to evacuate voluntarily, which already started yesterday,” Ahumada said. “I see a steady flow of people going out, but no bottlenecks — which is good.””We’re not taking it lightly,” he said. “We’re ready for a worst-case scenario.”

On Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster proclamation for 19 counties and ordered the pre-deployment of state resources. The governor’s declaration allows the state to initiate necessary preparedness efforts, such as pre-deploying resources to ensure local communities are ready to respond to disasters.The governor’s order puts up to 2,500 National Guard personnel, eight UH-60 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft on standby for rapid deployment as needed, Perry’s office said in a statement.(CNN)

to watch

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/30/hurricane.alex/?hpt=T1&fbid=d3drOUu-5r2

Gulf residents prepare for Alex

6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY June 30  A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico early on Wednesday, shaking buildings in Mexico City, the U.S. Geological Survey and Reuters witnesses reported.The quake’s epicenter was 8 miles (14 km) east of Oaxaca, Mexico, the USGS said. The quake was felt in Mexico City, where some people fled their houses in the city center, a Reuters witness reported..(Reuters)