Mid Day International News |
- If you could build Hindu temple why not mosque: Obama
- History student finds world's oldest share
- DiCaprio gets 3-year protection from stalker
- Australian churches ban sports songs from funerals
- Will he or won't he?
| If you could build Hindu temple why not mosque: Obama Posted: On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, President Barack Obama on Friday strongly defended the building of a mosque near Ground Zero, saying that if one can build a Hindu temple then why not a mosque. "With respect to the mosque in New York, I've been pretty clear on my position here," Obama said when asked about the controversy surrounding the construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero in the New York city. He said the US believes in the inalienable right to allow its citizens to practice their religion freely. "This country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights; one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely," he argued ahead of the ninth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks that killed nearly 3000 people. "And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site," Obama said. He also remembered the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families who continue to live with a sense of loss. "I recognise the extraordinary sensitivities around 9/11. I've met with families of 9/11 victims in the past. I can only imagine the continuing pain and anguish and sense of loss that they may go through," he said "And tomorrow, we as Americans are going to be joining them in prayer and remembrance," Obama said. Most Americans have opposed construction of the planned mosque near Ground Zero, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll. Most Americans say the planned Muslim community centre and place of worship should not be built in Lower Manhattan, near the site of the Twin Towers which were blown up by Al Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001. Two-thirds of those polled object to the mosque near Ground Zero while a slim majority expresses strongly negative views. As many as 82 per cent of those who oppose the construction say it's because of the location, although 14 per cent (nine per cent of all Americans) say they would oppose such building anywhere in the country.
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| History student finds world's oldest share Posted: A Dutch history student has unearthed the world's oldest share, dating back to 1606 and issued by the sea trading firm Dutch East India Company. Locked away in forgotten city archives, the share was made out to Pieter Harmensz, a male resident of the Dutch city Enkhuizen who served as an assistant to the city's mayors. After his death in 1638, Harmensz left the share to his widow and their daughter Ada and the document eventually ended up in Enkhuizen archives, kept in Hoorn. As the Netherlands' largest trading company in the 17th and 18 centuries, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was also the world's first company to issue stock. The 'Enkhuizen share' dates back to September 9, 1606, when Harmensz paid the last instalment of his 150 Dutch guilders.
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| DiCaprio gets 3-year protection from stalker Posted: A judge has granted Leonardo DiCaprio a three-year restraining order from a woman who he said claims to be his wife and carrying his baby.
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| Australian churches ban sports songs from funerals Posted: Sports anthems and popular songs such as Frank Sinatra's My Way have been banned from funerals at Australian churches by Melbourne's archbishop.
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| Posted: Pastor who had planned to burn copies of Quran today says he is "seriously considering" not burning them if he can meet Ground Zero mosque imam The pastor at a Florida church that planned to burn copies of the Quran added to the confusion yesterday over whether he intends to go ahead with the controversial event. The Rev Terry Jones told The Early Show that "we have called the event off". Soon afterward, however, he told reporters in Florida the burning is still being contemplated. "We are seriously, seriously, seriously considering not burning the Qurans. That is absolutely right," Jones said. Challenged by a reporter, Jones then said, "Well, we are hoping that we can come to a conclusion." "Are you or aren't you?" a reporter asked, to which Jones replied, "We're actually not prepared to answer that right now." Jones also said he is scheduled to travel to New York on Friday night for a still unscheduled meeting with the imam in charge of the Islamic centre planned near ground zero. The meeting, Jones had said, was part of what convinced him to halt the planned burning. Jones said the meeting was promised Thursday by local Florida imam Mohammad Musri, who also told him the Islamic centre would be moved in exchange for the burning being called off. Musri said yesterday that he made no such promise, and both Musri and the imam in charge of the center, Feisal Abdul Rauf, said there was no agreement on a meeting or relocation of the centre. Trump steps in Real estate mogul Donald Trump has offered to purchase the site of the proposed Islamic community centre and mosque near Ground Zero with a 25 per cent markup. Trump made the offer with the condition that any community centre must be built at least five blocks away from the site of the World Trade Centre. He offered Hisham Elzanaty, an Egyptian-born New York businessman, a 25 per cent premium over the $4.8 million (Rs 22.5 crore) price that his investment consortium paid for the site, which is just two blocks from ground zero.
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