I. CHRISTIANPOST - Obama Under Fire for Ground Zero Mosque Remarks
Negative reactions to President Obama’s remarks about the proposed mosque near Ground Zero are coming from all sides, including members of his own political party. Opponents of the proposed $100 million Muslim cultural center are upset that the president voiced support for the plan at a White House iftar (evening meal to break fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan) Friday without seriously addressing the concern of those against the project, mainly sensitivity to the families of the 9/11 attacks. Some critics contrasted the president’s backing of the Islamic center with his lack of support for Christians. Religious Freedom Coalition Chairman William Murray criticized the president for “ignoring” the need of St. Nicholas, the only church destroyed during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which has yet to be rebuilt. Meanwhile, provocative commentator Bill Keller of LivePrayer.com chastised the president for not holding a White House event for the National Day of Prayer but holding an iftar. He also held President Obama responsible for the U.S. government-funded Middle East trip of Imam Feisal Rauf, the man behind the proposed Muslim cultural center. Ralf will be going to the Mideast to build bridges between the United States and Arab countries. Obama on Friday stated in front of members of Congress, religious leaders, activists, and government officials at a White House dinner that he supported the Muslim house of worship. It was the first time that the president made a comment on the emotionally-charged debate. "Let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," he said. "And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances... This is America," Obama proclaimed. "And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable." Obama’s support for the mosque was met on Monday with an opposing statement by the No. 1 Democrat in the Senate, Harry Reid. Reid released a statement saying that the mosque should be built elsewhere. “The First Amendment protects freedom of religion,” reads the statement released by Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley. “Sen. Reid respects that but thinks the mosque should be built some place else.” According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday, nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose the plan to build a mosque near the 9/11 site.
II. BLOOMBERG - Obama Warns Turkey It May Lose Arms Deals
President Barack Obama personally warned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan his country risks not getting some of the weapons it wants from the U.S. unless it improves relations with Israel, the Financial Times said, quoting an unidentified administration official. Some recent actions by Turkey have increased opposition in Congress to it getting some of the weapons it wants from the U.S., the official said. This may include U.S.-made drones Turkey wants to combat the Kurdish PKK separatist group, the Financial Times said. Obama told Erdogan in June he should tone down criticism of Israel for the May 31 Israeli naval raid on a Gaza Strip-bound aid flotilla in which nine Turkish citizens were killed, the paper said.
III. XINHUA - Iran dismisses U.S. demand to suspend enrichment
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed on Tuesday the U.S. demands on Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment activities. Mehmanparast said the White House spokesman should have known that when a nuclear power plant is launched in a country, it would need nuclear fuel too. On Friday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "Russia is providing the fuel (for Iran's Bushehr power plant) and taking the fuel back out," which means that Iran does not need its own enrichment program. "When Iran's nuclear facilities, including the Bushehr Power Plant, are launched, it means that some long-term arrangements should be made in advance for supplying fuel for those facilities, " Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press briefing.
IV. DEUTSCHEWELLE - Netanyahu's visit to Greece signals strategic rapprochement
Just as Israel and Turkey's relationship is souring, Greece and the Jewish state are making moves to build closer ties. Netanyahu's state visit to Athens is the first by an Israeli prime minister. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched Monday a two-day trip to Greece, signaling a warming of relations between the two countries, at the same times as ties deteriorate between Israel and Greece's traditional rival, Turkey. Netanyahu's visit to Greece, the first by an Israeli head of state, was preceded by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's groundbreaking Israel visit three weeks ago. While Israeli media have touted the visit as a sign of rapprochement, there are speculations that Israel may be strategically courting Greece in order to replace its strained ties with Turkey. Deutsche Welle Radio's Athens correspondent, Jannis Papadimitriou said that, before Greece, Israel had "already started warming its ties with other traditional rivals in southeastern Europe - for example, with Bulgaria and Cyprus." Papadimitriou added that, "in the last months after Turkey closed its skies to Israeli military aircraft, everything happened very quickly" between Israel and Greece, which did not recognize Israel's statehood until the early 1990s. Both Israel and Greece have distanced themselves from speculations that they are forming an alliance against Turkey. An official travelling with Netanyahu quoted the leader as saying that both Israel and Greece wanted to improve ties with Turkey, and that, "certainly this [visit] doesn't harm that [goal]. It can only help."
V. B92 - Israel understands Serbs in Bosnia
Republic of Srpska (RS) Prime Minister Milorad Dodik stated that Israeli President Shimon Peres understands the position of the Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dodik, who is on a visit to Israel, said that the Israeli president had said that the wish and aspirations of the peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina have to be respected and that stability and peace have to be preserved. Dodik also said that he discussed the situation in the Balkans, and that he was informed about the situation Israel is being faced with in its efforts to preserve stability and its state identity. “This was an opportunity for me to underscore that it is evident that the international community and its high representative had carried out political and legal violence in the RS and that it had altered the Dayton Agreement,” said Dodik. Dodik reiterated that he and President Peres had a lot in common on all issues, particularly those relating to Turkey's growing engagement in the Balkans, noting that Turkey is being engaged on the side of a the Bosniak people alone.
VI. RIANOVOSTI - South Korea proposes three-stage reunification with Communist North
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a three-stage reunification with North Korea, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. Lee said current inter-Korean ties needed a new paradigm, and it was "imperative that the two sides choose coexistence instead of confrontation, progress instead of stagnation," the agency said. He said Seoul and Pyongyang should build an inter-Korean "peace community" first to assure security and harmony on the Korean Peninsula, then work for an "economic community" for a comprehensive exchange and mutual prosperity. After that, the two sides can establish a genuine "national community", Lee said, according to Xinhua. Lee said it was time for discussing substantive measures for the reunification of the two Koreas, such as "a unification tax" to prepare for the huge financial burden in case the two Koreas realize the reunification, the agency reported. According to a study by a South Korean parliamentary committee, Seoul is expected to bear about 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars cost if the "two Koreas" are reunited, local media said. Lee said, however, that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was the most important thing at present, the agency reported.
VII. VOICEOFRUSSIA - $2 million for church restoration in Kosovo
The Russian Orthodox Church has hailed the government’s decision to donate $2 million for rebuilding damaged Orthodox shrines in Kosovo. Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations told the Voice of Russia the money would go to four major Serbian Orthodox centers in Kosovo – the monasteries of Pec, Decani and Gracanica and the Church of Our Lady of Ljevis. The decision was announced before the death of Patriarch of Pavel of Serbia. His Holiness relished the news. We are glad that this aid has started to come. On June 15, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed the official order. Restoration is to be carried out in cooperation with UNESECO, and we hope the first practical steps won’t be long in coming.Kosovo is the spiritual core of Serbia, a region where key Serbian Orthodox shrines are located. The Pec Patriarchate is the ancient residence of Serbian patriarchs, the spiritual leaders of Serbs. There, on October 3, the newly-elected Patriarch Irinej of Serbia will be enthroned. The Moscow Patriarchate appreciates government donations for the reconstruction of Orthodox shrines in Kosovo. For the Serbian people, it’s a gesture of solidarity showing that Russian brothers are with them in times of trouble. After some controversy over who precisely should control the restoration of Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo, a consensus was reached between Russian and Serbian authorities, the Serb Orthodox Church and international organizations. Father Nikolai said he had no doubt that control would be in the hands of competent people.