EUROPE - German court’s move to ban circumcision unites religions. In a rare show of unity, Muslims, Jews and Christians unite against a ruling in Germany restricting circumcision. Doctors have also warned that the ruling could increase health risks by forcing the practice underground. Chancellor Angela Merkel pledges quick action to protect the rights of Muslims and Jews

EUROPE - German court’s move to ban circumcision unites religions: "A German court’s ban on circumcising baby boys has provoked a rare show of unity between Muslims, Jews and Christians, who see it as a threat to religious freedom, while doctors are warning that the ban could increase health risks by forcing the practice underground.

European rabbis meeting in Berlin on July 12 promised to defy the ruling by a court in the city of Cologne last month. They plan further talks with Muslim and Christian leaders in Stuttgart next week to see how they can fight the ban together. “We urge the Jewish community in Germany and circumcisers to continue to perform circumcisions and not to wait for a change in the law,” said Pinchas Goldschmidt, Swiss-born chief rabbi of Moscow. "

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Australia: Oceans’ rising acid levels have emerged as one of the biggest threats to coral reefs, acting as the “osteoporosis of the sea” and threatening everything from food security to tourism to livelihoods. The speed by which the oceans’ acid levels has risen caught scientists off-guard, with the problem now considered to be climate change’s “equally evil twin,” said by U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco - AP

US official: Higher ocean acidity is climate change’s ‘evil twin,’ major threat to coral reefs - The Washington Post: "“We’ve got sort of the perfect storm of stressors from multiple places really hammering reefs around the world,” said Lubchenco, who was in Australia to speak at the International Coral Reef Symposium in the northeast city of Cairns, near the Great Barrier Reef. “It’s a very serious situation.”

Oceans absorb excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, increasing sea acidity. Scientists are worried about how that increase will affect sea life, particularly reefs, as higher acid levels make it tough for coral skeletons to form. Lubchenco likened ocean acidification to osteoporosis — a bone-thinning disease — because researchers are concerned it will lead to the deterioration of reefs.

Scientists initially assumed that the carbon dioxide absorbed by the water would be sufficiently diluted as the oceans mixed shallow and deeper waters. But most of the carbon dioxide and the subsequent chemical changes are being concentrated in surface waters, Lubchenco said."

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England: Flood risk to rise fourfold by 2035-report | Reuters

UPDATE 1-England flood risk to rise fourfold by 2035-report | Reuters: "UK's Environment Agency estimates that funding needs to increase by 20 million pounds a year on top of inflation to keep pace with climate change.
"We are spending more than 2.17 billion pounds over four years to protect people from flooding and our successful partnership funding model will draw in around an additional 72 million pounds," said a spokesman from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to the report. "The money for flood defences is being spent more effectively than ever before and we now expect to exceed our target to better protect another 145,000 homes by 2015." Apart from increased flooding risks, water scarcity is also likely to become more common in parts of the country due to climate change and population growth, the panel said."

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