Bin Laden accuses pope of ‘crusade’ in new tape

updated 2:42 p.m. ET March 20, 2008
Image: Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, seen in a 1998 photo, complains in a new audio message that drawings of the Prophet Muhammad published by Danish and other newspapers were part of a "crusade" in which the Catholic pope was involved.

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden accused Pope Benedict XVI of helping in a "new crusade" against Islam and warned of a "severe" reaction to European publications of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that insulted many Muslims.

Bin Laden's new audiotape message raised concerns al-Qaida was plotting new attacks in Europe. Some experts said bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the rugged Afghan-Pakistan border area, may be unable to organize an attack himself and instead is trying to fan anger and inspire his supporters to violence. read more from yahoo news
MSNBC

We celebrated Flickr Turns 4 at Maldives


It's flickr.com's birthday! They'll be sponsoring a "pin-up" event of up to almost 100 Maldivian flickr users' photographs was attend this event~

Best wishes for your special day! - Adam & Dhunya

Hey Adam ,

We would like to add our personal congratulations on this most special of occasions, your wedding. We know that you will enjoy your lives together and will share many special moments, which you should cherish forever.

Be good to one another as love is a two way street! Don't forget that you are not alone. Enjoy your life....!

Don't forget full of fun you had with your friends earlier and don't forget your friend.

Poor and Rich - The Facts

DEFINING POVERTY...

Absolute poverty is defined according to an absolute minimum standard, often called the ‘poverty line’. Relative poverty means that you are poor in relation to those around you. Income poverty (‘less than a dollar a day’, for example), means that you are poor if you have less money than the defined poverty line for your country. Human poverty takes into account other factors, such as life expectancy, infant malnutrition, illiteracy and lack of food or clean water. Basic needs definitions also go beyond money, to include all the things that a person needs in order to survive – including employment and participation in society.

MEASURING POVERTY...

Measuring poverty is always a problem, especially if you recognize that just using money is not enough. There are a number of new measurements emerging, like the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare.1 This measures ‘quality’ economic activity by, for example, making a subtraction for air pollution and an addition for unpaid household labour.

Another method is the Human Poverty Index. This is ranked according to three main areas of deprivation: survival; knowledge and a decent standard of living. In the industrial world, where the Index also includes social exclusion, some 7 to 17% of the populations are classified as poor. The higher the percentage figure, the greater the poverty in that country. read more

Save our seabirds


Save our seabirds
Originally uploaded by i b u
Ibu, wonderful photo and your point is well taken. The birds and all native creatures and plants are important parts of the Maldives ecosystem. The loss of one can creature or plant mean disruption to others that depended on it, for food, for materials, or for control. It is important to learn about our ecosystem and protect it."