THE AMERICAs
A domestic terror law could quash political dissent in the US
Passing a law allowing the designation of domestic groups as terrorist would allow the government to silence opposition.
'No progress' at EU-Cuba meeting The European Union has said it made no...
'No progress' at EU-Cuba meeting
The European Union has said it made no headway with Cuba on its human rights record, following talks in Brussels.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8045058.stm
Obama to Discuss U.S. Plan For Engagement With Cuba President Barack Obama...
Obama to Discuss U.S. Plan For Engagement With Cuba
President Barack Obama plans to tell Latin American leaders later this week that the U.S. is willing to discuss how to improve relations with Havana, but wants Cuba to take steps toward democracy before it is reintegrated into the Western hemisphere's economic and political institutions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123958294406112279.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Castro: Communism safe despite cuts Raul Castro has said spending will be cut...
Castro: Communism safe despite cuts
Raul Castro has said spending will be cut further on Cuba's health and education systems, but insisted its communist system will remain unchanged.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/08/200982192030877285.html
Russia to drill for oil off Cuba Russia is to begin oil exploration in ...
Russia to drill for oil off Cuba
Russia is to begin oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, after signing a deal with Cuba, says Cuban state media.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8175704.stm
Mecca mosques 'wrongly aligned' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east...
Mecca mosques 'wrongly aligned'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7984556.stm
Pope visit: at Lambeth, warm words of a joint mission The Archb...
Pope visit: at Lambeth, warm words of a joint mission
The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke to the Pope yesterday of a joint mission in an age where Christianity is seen as an “obstacle to human freedom and a scandal to human intellect”.
Dr Rowan Williams said there were difficulties to be overcome before a reunion of the Catholic and Anglican churches could take place, but insisted they should work towards closer friendship.
Benedict became the first Pontiff to visit Lambeth Palace and Westminster Abbey, where the spiritual leaders prayed together at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor in another historic first yesterday evening.
PAPAL VISIT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/papal_visit/
Papal visit: Pope Benedict in London
The Pope asked the congregation to show concern for victims of child abuse
Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his "deep sorrow" for the "unspeakable crimes" of child abuse within the Catholic Church.
The strongest public apology yet over the scandal was offered during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral on the third day of his four-day state visit.
He also acknowledged "the shame and humiliation" caused by "these sins".
Later it was confirmed that the Pope had met five people who had suffered abuse at the hands of the clergy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11354357
Papal visit: Pope offers 'hand of friendship' to UK Pope Benedict was welco...
Papal visit: Pope offers 'hand of friendship' to UK
Pope Benedict was welcomed by the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Pope Benedict has said he wants to "extend the hand of friendship" to the whole of the UK during his visit.
He also urged the UK to resist "more aggressive forms of secularism" after being welcomed by the Queen at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11313328
Papal visit: Pope to begin historic UK trip The first state visit by a Pope ...
Papal visit: Pope to begin historic UK trip
The first state visit by a Pope to the UK gets under way later when Benedict XVI flies into Edinburgh
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11313328
Catholicism 'not valued' - poll ahead of Pope visit Almost six in 10 Cathol...
Catholicism 'not valued' - poll ahead of Pope visit
Almost six in 10 Catholics say that their faith is not "generally valued" in British society, according to a poll commissioned by the BBC.
But 70% of British Catholics polled expect the Pope's visit to help the Catholic Church in the UK.
Nearly half thought he should drop his insistence on clerical celibacy.
And 52% of the 500 Catholics surveyed ahead of the Pope's visit on Thursday said the sex abuse scandal had shaken their faith in the Church's leadership.
Two-thirds also thought women should have more authority and status within the Church.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11274308
Pope visit: Most Catholics 'oppose church teaching on sex'
The majority of Britain’s Roman Catholics oppose the church’s traditional teaching on sex, according to a survey published just days before the Pope arrives in the country.
Ground Zero Synagogue – Lebanon Becoming More American than America ...
Ground Zero Synagogue – Lebanon Becoming More American than America
"There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia.
"There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over."- Newt Gingrich
http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=26232
US pastor Terry Jones cancels Koran burning
The pastor of a small US church who planned to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11 has cancelled his protest.
Terry Jones said he was calling off the event after the group behind a planned Islamic centre near Ground Zero in New York agreed to relocate it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11255366
Richard Dawkins planning to have Pope Benedict arrested over 'crimes against...
Richard Dawkins planning to have Pope Benedict arrested over 'crimes against humanity'
Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner and evolutionist, is planning to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested when he comes to Britain later this year for "crimes against humanity"
Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, are seeking advice from human rights lawyers as to what legal action can be taken against the pope over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
It emerged this weekend that in 1985 when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases, the pope signed a letter arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys.
Dawkin and Hitchens believe he should face criminal proceedings because his "first instinct" was to protect the church rather than the children in its care.
'Allah' Ruling May Challenge Malaysia If a Malaysian High Court ruling stan...
'Allah' Ruling May Challenge Malaysia
If a Malaysian High Court ruling stands, Roman Catholics here can resume using the word "Allah" as their translation for God in their local language.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126239298638513113.html
Historical Bible pages put online About 800 pages of the earliest surviving...
Historical Bible pages put online
About 800 pages of the earliest surviving Christian Bible have been recovered and put on the internet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8135415.stm
India mine row embroils Church of England The church has been condemned by c...
India mine row embroils Church of England
The church has been condemned by campaign groups such as ActionAid and Survival International for investing in the Vedanta company, which is about to start mining bauxite - used for making aluminium - to feed what could become one of the world's biggest refineries nearby.