05/18/12

* 'Who may go up to the Mountain of God?' As points of religious contention go, the current status of the Temple Mount is one of the most potentially explosive issues for competing faiths anywhere in the world.

* PM: No evidence Iran will end nuke program Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday dismissed a new surge of optimism in the international community that Iran might be prepared to halt its nuclear program.

* Facebook shares trading debut The Nasdaq stock exchange has said it is "experiencing delays" in the start of trading in Facebook shares, according to Bloomberg News.

* UN observers say they cannot help Syria without talks The head of a U.N. observer team in Syria cautioned Friday that the mission cannot achieve a permanent end to the violence without genuine talks.

* Plans to strike Iran ready, U.S. envoy to Israel says U.S. plans for a possible military strike on Iran are ready and the option is "fully available", the U.S. ambassador to Israel said.

* With Sarkozy Gone And Merkel Weakened, Turks Resume EU Entry Bid The elections in France ousted from power one of the leading opponents of Turkish accession to the European Union- Nicolas Sarkozy.

* Bible translated into Inuit language after 34-year Canadian project For the first time, the Bible and New Testament have been translated to an Inuit language.

* From blank slate to theme park, Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter still seeks an identity Most Israeli Jews would probably agree that the heart of Israel is Jerusalem, the heart of Jerusalem is the Old City, and the heart of the Old City is the Jewish Quarter.

* European Commission should be EU government, says Germany The European Union needs to become more integrated with a common finance policy and a central government.

* US to announce food security plan for Africa US President Barack Obama is set to announce a $3bn (£1.9bn) plan to boost food security and farm productivity in Africa.