World must not be 'indifferent' to famine

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday urged the world not to be "indifferent" to famine, as some 12 million people in the Horn of Africa face starvation amid the worst drought there in decades.
"We must not be indifferent to the tragedy of the hungry and the thirsty," the pope said in an address to hundreds of pilgrims following the weekly Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome.
Referring to a Bible passage on the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes by Jesus Christ, he said: "Jesus reminds us of our responsibility -- to do everything we can to help those who are hungry and thirsty."
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"It is an immense task. In this time of holiday, let us not forget to open our hands and our hearts to come to the aid of those who need it," he added.
Aid agencies have stepped up efforts to aid the worst affected from the drought in Somalia. But charities say more international donations are needed and relief efforts have been hampered by the combat, as well as a ban on some humanitarian agencies by the Islamist group Al-Shebab which controls much of southern Somalia.
The UN on Friday said it was looking for $2.48 billion for 12.4 million affected people. The UN children's agency UNICEF has said 1.25 million children are in urgent need of life-saving support in southern Somalia.

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Alexander McQueen Leaves $82,000 Each to His Dogs

Alexander McQueen, the high-fashion designer who died last year at the age of 40, has made an unusual provision in his will.
McQueen hanged himself a day before the funeral of his mother, and his body was found by one of his two housekeepers. The designer had taken a cocktail of sedatives and cocaine. One of his two housekeepers found his body, and each was bequeathed £50,000 by McQueen in his will.
But the designer also loved his three dogs- Minter, Juice and Callum- and and left £50,000 per pup from his £16,036,500 to be set aside in a fund for their lifelong care. ($82,000 in US Dollars.) The remaining bulk of McQueen’s fortune went to several charities:
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Four charities – The Terrence Higgins Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the London Buddhist Centre and the Blue Cross sick animal centre in Burford, Oxfordshire – have received £100,000 each.
The designer left the remainder of his estate in a trust for his Sarabande charity, which shares a name with his spring/summer 2007 collection famous for including a dress adorned with fresh flowers.

It’s believed that the hugely successful fashion maven (known as “Lee” to family and friends) was experiencing tremendous work pressure and buckled under the stress of his mother’s passing. An inquest noted a single message from McQueen inscribed on a book found near his body: ”Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee.”

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