U-S PRESSING Vietnam'S PRESIDENT TO RESPECT RELIGIOUS RIGHTS Washington (AP) Vietnam's president is hearing a barrage of criticism during his historic visit to Washington, with angry U-S lawmakers saying ties between the former enemies will stagnate unless Vietnam respects religious and other human rights.

Nguyen Minh Triet (win min trit) is meeting with President Bush at the White House today.

In Vietnam last November and in recent meetings with Vietnamese human rights activists, Bush has emphasized his concern for religious liberty.

On Capitol Hill yesterday, senior lawmakers repeatedly took Triet to task for Vietnam's repression of political activists and religious leaders, including a dissident Roman Catholic priest who recently was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Sound:

Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman, Vietnam Reform Party, in A-P interview Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman of the Vietnam Reform Party, says only government-supervised religion is allowed in Vietnam. (cut used in wrap) CUT ..354 (06/21/07)


:09 "house arrest"


Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman, Vietnam Reform Party, in A-P interview Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman of the Vietnam Reform Party, says he met with President Bush and Vice President Cheney at the White House on May 29th. (cut used in wrap) CUT ..355 (06/21/07)


:11 "Vietnamese president"


Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman, Vietnam Reform Party, in A-P interview Diem Do (dee-EM' doh), chairman of the Vietnam Reform Party, says the Vietnamese government violates religious and other human rights.

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:13 "this year"


Felice Gaer (fay-LEES' gayr), chair, U-S Commission on International Religious Freedom, in A-P interview Felice Gaer (fay-LEES' gayr), who chairs the U-S Commission on International Religious Freedom, says Vietnam's president is hearing a tough message on religious liberty.

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:10 "Vietnamese relations"


Felice Gaer (fay-LEES' gayr), chair, U-S Commission on International Religious Freedom, in A-P interview Felice Gaer (fay-LEES' gayr), who chairs the U-S Commission on International Religious Freedom, says the commission has written to President Bush about his meeting today with Vietnam's leader.

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:14 "two countries"


CATHOLIC BISHOPS WEIGH POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT UNDATED (AP) U-S Roman Catholic bishops have held a private retreat this week in New Mexico, amid questions about how prominent their voices will be in the 2008 presidential race.

Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin has criticized G-O-P candidate Rudy Giuliani for saying he's personally opposed to abortion but won't impose his view on others. Tobin compared that to Pontius Pilate, who "personally found no guilt in Jesus," but handed him over to be crucified anyway.

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput (shuh-PYOO') says the time for behind-the-scenes diplomacy with politicians is over. He says, "I personally think that anybody that is pro-choice as a Catholic is not being faithful to his Catholic identity." Many U-S bishops also are calling for immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship.

POPE CONCERNED ABOUT PLIGHT OF CHRISTIANS IN Iraq VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Benedict says he's deeply concerned that Christians are fleeing Iraq to escape "insecurity, aggression and a sense of abandonment." At a Vatican audience with the patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Benedict said many Iraqi Christians believe their only hope is to seek a new life abroad.

The pope expressed his "solidarity with the pastors and the faithful of the Christian communities who remain there, often at the price of heroic sacrifices." He called this month's slaying of a Catholic priest in Iraq a "barbaric killing" and an "authentic martyrdom in the name of Christ." Christians make up just three percent of Iraq's 26 (m) million people.

GAY PRIDE MARCH IN JERUSALEM DRAWS COUNTER-DEMONSTRATION JERUSALEM (AP) Hundreds of gay activists have marched through downtown Jerusalem, prompting a counter-demonstration by ultra-Orthodox Jews and denunciations by Christians and Muslims.

Gay activists clapped and sang on their trek of just a few hundred yards.

In the counter-demonstration several miles away, Jews chanted psalms through loudspeakers, and marchers waved banners saying "Shame" and "Israeli Supreme Court: Destroying the Holy City." Opponents had appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to ban the Gay Pride march, but the justices ruled Wednesday night that it could go ahead.

The demonstrations snarled traffic in Jerusalem, but there was no violence, although in rioting earlier this week, 22 policemen were injured and 130 people were arrested.

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Mark Lavie (lah-VEE'), A-P correspondent A gay pride march in downtown Jerusalem has sparked a loud counter-demontration from ultra-Orthodox Jews. More from A-P correspondent Mark Lavie (lah-VEE'). (Opens with sound) CUT ..359 (06/21/07)


:30

Hagai, a gay rights activist who declined to give his full name, in A-P interview Hagai, a gay rights activist who declined to give his full name says he wanted to confront the hostility against gays in Jerusalem.

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:14 "equal rights"


An ultra-Orthodox Jew who declined to give his name, in A-P interview An ultra-Orthodox Jew, who wouldn't give his name, says the gay pride march has taken place on the day when a Biblical prophet saw his first vision.

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:19 "such abomination"


Ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrate in Jerusalem against a Gay Pride parade Ultra-Orthodox Jews demonstrate in Jerusalem against a Gay Pride parade downtown, reading psalms into a loudspeaker system.

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:17

MARY WINKLER MOVED FROM JAIL TO MENTAL FACILITY SELMER, Tenn. (AP) Officials in Tennessee say the woman convicted in the shooting death of her preacher husband has been moved from a county jail to a mental health facility.

Mary Winkler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her husband, Matthew. He was found dead 15 months ago in the Selmer parsonage where the family lived.

Winkler was sentenced to three years at a hearing earlier this month, but she'll be eligible for probation after serving a total of 210 days.

A judge ruled that 60 of the remaining 67 days could be served in a facility where she could receive mental health treatment. At her trial, Winkler testified that she had been physically and emotionally abused by her husband.

OREGON SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER CIRCUMCISION DISPUTE PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A dispute over whether the 12-year-old son of divorced parents should undergo circumcision for religious reasons will be decided by the Oregon Supreme Court.

James Boldt sought the procedure for his son after converting to Judaism.

But his ex-wife, Lia Boldt, claims her son is afraid to tell his father that he does not want to undergo the procedure. She also has asked for a hearing to present evidence that her son could suffer physical or psychological harm.

So far, lower courts have sided with the father, who claims that as the custodial parent he has a constitutional right to raise his son in his religion.

UNIVERSITY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH MUSLIM ATHLETES LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) New Mexico State Football coach Hal Mumme (MUM'-ee) has announced a settlement in a lawsuit brought by four former football players who claimed they were discriminated against because they're Muslims.

The university didn't admit any wrongdoing in the case, which was scheduled to go to trial Monday. Both sides say they're pleased the settlement was reached before then.

Former players Mu'Ammar Ali, Jacob Wallace and brothers Anthony and Vincent Thompson had alleged they were subject to a hostile environment because of their religion.

Their lawsuit claimed religious discrimination and violations of the athletes' right to freely exercise their religion. It contended that Mumme singled out Muslim athletes and had players recite the Lord's Prayer after each practice and before each game.

YOGA PRACTITIONERS MARK SUMMER SOLSTICE IN TIMES SQUARE NEW YORK (AP) Dozens of yoga enthusiasts have gathered to stretch and breathe in Times Square, seeking inner peace in the noisy heart of New York.

The all-day "yoga-thon" is held each year on the Summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Yoga instructor Douglas Stewart explained that they were "trying to allow the inner expression to extend outward from the physical body into the environment." Their exertions appeared to have little affect on Times Square's usual din of traffic and car horns, but participants seemed unruffled.

Between exercises, Cara Mischel observed, "This is a hustle and bustle type area and yoga is a calming and soothing type of thing, so it's kind of a juxtaposition."


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Douglas Stewart, yoga instructor, in A-P interview Douglas Stewart, yoga instructor, says he and his group can find inner peace, even in Times Square.

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:11 "a sense"


Cara Mischel, yoga participant, in A-P interview Cara Mischel, yoga participant, says it's challenging to practice yoga in Time Square.

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:12 "and yoga"


Douglas Stewart, yoga instructor, leading dozens of yoga practitioners in Time Square Douglas Stewart, yoga instructor, leading dozens of yoga practitioners in Time Square.

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:10

PAGAN SUN WORSHIPERS MARK SOLSTICE IN GREEK TEMPLE VOULIAGMENI, Greece (AP) They're not the sort of sun-worshipers you normally see on the beach.

To mark yesterday's summer solstice, a small band of pagans burned incense and poured out libations to the sun god in an ancient Greek temple of Apollo on the coast near Athens.

On the longest day of the year, high priestess Doreta Peppa said, "We thank you, O Sun ... your light will once again illuminate this world, renewing the seasons." The 15-minute ceremony was organized by a group that's campaigning to revive rituals from the era when the 12 gods of Mount Olympus and dozens of lesser deities were worshiped in Greece.

Christianity rose to prominence in Greece in the fourth century A.D. after the Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion. Most Greeks today are baptized Orthodox Christians.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 06-22-07 0230CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list