MOHAMMED, or other variations of the name of Islam's founding prophet, has become the most popular name choice for baby boys in the four biggest cities of Holland. The country's social security agency found that traditional Dutch names have been displaced in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht as the country's Muslim population grows. In The Hague, variations of the name Mohammed have taken first, second and fifth place in the table of most popular names for boys, replacing traditional favourites such as Jan, Luuk, Gijs or Daan. Official statistics show that European societies are being transformed by immigration and demographic trends. In 2008 just 5 per cent of the EU's total population was Muslim. But low birth rates among Europe's indigenous population and rising immigration are having rapid and widespread effects on the population mix. Muhammad is also the most popular first name in the world. It is quickly gaining popularity in the US and Britain. Muhammad is reported to be the second-most popular baby name in Britain.
Georgia has finalized plans to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a regional alliance of former Soviet republics. Tbilisi initiated the withdrawal on the 14th of August 2008 when the country’s parliament unanimously supported president Saakashvili’s motion to do so. The decision came immediately after the conflict in South Ossetia. According to CIS regulations, the legal action to leave the organization takes a year. Therefore, as confirmed by representatives of both Georgia and the CIS, the country’s membership will end on the 18th of August 2009. The CIS executive committee has, however, pointed out that Georgia has expressed a desire to continue to participate in agreements ratified over the course of its membership. Russia’s Foreign Ministry noted that the situation should be taken at face value: “The events should not be dramatized, each sovereign state has the right to decide on its participation in any organization. It is the sovereign right of every state,” a ministry spokesperson told TASS. Nevertheless, the ministry is concerned that Georgia’s withdrawal may have a “negative effect on the country’s citizens”. Leonid Slutsky, the deputy chairman of the Russian Duma committee on foreign affairs, agrees with this view: “Tbilisi will have to re-establish the agreements which were drawn up in the CIS framework, including visa-free travel as well as education and labour migration. In the current situation this could be problematic,” he said. “However, nothing dramatic will happen, especially for the Commonwealth,” he added.
United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz is due to meet late tonight with Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis in New York in the latest round of negotiations over the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Vassilakis is expected to inform Nimetz of Greece’s assessment of the most recent set of proposals that the UN negotiator submitted to the two countries. Nimetz visited Skopje and Athens in July to submit his latest proposals on a mutually acceptable name. Greece and FYROM must give UN officials their responses and suggestions by Thursday. After his meeting with Vassilakis, Nimetz is due to hold talks with FYROM’s representative, Zoran Jolevski, although a precise day and time for the meeting has not been set. Nimetz is thought to have proposed the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” as a solution to the dispute. Sources said that Athens, in principle, is pleased with this suggestion. There have also been indications that Skopje may accept it as a compromise. However, any agreement will depend on the use of the name. Athens wants FYROM to use it in its dealings with all countries, whereas Skopje is likely to insist that all the countries that have recognized it by its constitutional name of “Republic of Macedonia” should continue to call it that. In a speech in Komotini, northeastern Greece, on Saturday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis advised Skopje to adopt a more conciliatory approach. “The history of centuries cannot be wiped out or ignored,” he said. “I repeat that as far as our national issues are concerned, we have put down some clear red lines. “Any of our neighbors that indulge in nationalistic outbursts, provocative behavior and stubbornness that has no basis in history are making a mistake.” Once Nimetz has the feedback from the Greek and FYROM diplomats, he is due to formulate another set of ideas, which will be presented to the two countries.
The first stage of talks between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on reunifying the divided island of Cyprus ended on Aug 6. The second stage of the United Nations-backed talks begins Sep 3 in the island's UN-controlled buffer zone. At the second round the leaders will take on the toughest issue, property rights on the island, where UN peacekeepers have been deployed since 1964 to prevent fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. Previous negotiations have focused on immigration, asylum, citizenship and Greek Cypriot membership of the European Union. Neither Turkish Cyprus nor Turkey belongs to the bloc, a contentious issue. A Greek Cypriot newspaper reports that UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon is expected to visit in September or October to support the talks. In May 2008, the two leaders committed themselves to working towards “a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.” A Federal Government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State of equal status, will comprise the partnership.
President Obama's harsh criticism of West Bank settlements during his heavily publicized June speech to the Arab world in Cairo continues to reverberate here, undercutting his popularity and heightening tensions with some pro-Israel advocates in the United States. Navigating the complex relationship with Israel is a delicate task for any administration, but relations are especially delicate now as Mr. Obama is making a major push to build trust with the region's vast Muslim population and coordinate a diplomatic drive to halt Iran's nuclear programs. During his June speech, Mr. Obama questioned the legitimacy of the settlements, saying they violated previous agreements and undermined the peace process, prompting a hawkish public response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A recent poll sponsored by the Jerusalem Post underscored the extent of the rift: Just 6 percent of Jewish Israelis surveyed said they now consider Mr. Obama's administration to be "pro-Israel." Fifty percent said Mr. Obama was "pro-Palestinian, and 36 percent said he was "neutral." Otniel Schneller, deputy speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, warned that Mr. Obama's approach could stymie the peace process. "He doesn't understand the conflict. He thinks he understands it," Mr. Schneller told The Washington Times. "The formula is very easy. If they will continue to push us to give the Palestinians more than 90 percent of the West Bank, there will not be any peace in the future, ever."
The recent meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was "not just important, but even essential" for the head of the United States, Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood) rector of the Church of St. Catherine on Vspolye, Moscow, believes. "Patriarch is one of the best representatives of the Orthodox Church, he is an intelligent, educated and talented person and he combines these qualities with Patriarchal grace. Therefore, their conversation with Obama was really interesting, intelligent and to my mind, very helpful to U.S. President," Father Zacchaeus said in an interview to online paper Tatyanin Den of Moscow State University. Fr. Zacchaeus, whose church houses the parish of the Orthodox Church in America, also said that the meeting between Obama and Patriarch Kirill should help to dispel a myth that Russia lacks freedom of religion. "Unfortunately, there is a popular idea, and even a myth, that Russia lacks freedom of religion and that the Orthodox Church creates barriers for members of other religions. But I think that after the meeting with Patriarch Kirill, President Obama will have a different view on that matter," Fr. Zacchaeus said.
The Orthodox Patriarchate's lawyer, Kezban Hatemi, who helped arrange a meeting between non-Muslim religious community leaders and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday, said yesterday that a report on the main problems of religious minorities was presented to Erdoğan at the end of the meeting. The 88-article report includes such issues as reopening the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary, stopping the violation of property rights and bringing attention to cultural diversity and to the problems of local administration on the island of Heybeliada, off of mainland İstanbul. The report also includes the expectations of the island's residents. During the preparation of the report, members of civil society organizations were divided into groups to take part in workshops. The articles, which were initially too numerous, were then edited and grouped under subtitles each having three articles and placing the most urgent issues first.