Helicopters and boats from Cyprus, Israel and the United Nations were on Monday scouring the Mediterranean for a 26-year-old Israeli man who fell off a cruise ship, Cypriot officials said. A defense ministry statement said a SOS signal was received at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) Monday saying the Israeli was missing at sea after falling overboard from the Panama-flagged cruiser Mirage, which was sailing to the southern Cyprus port of Limassol from Haifa. Cypriot authorities who are coordinating the effort said naval ships from Israel and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are also taking part in the search. Israel, Cyprus and UNIFIL have deployed helicopters as well as vessels, including the UN frigate Sourcouf. "The search will continue until all means of the rescue operation have been exhausted," said the defense ministry statement.
II. YAHOONEWS - Turks frustrated by EU "intrigues"
A minister says the Turkish public is becoming increasingly frustrated by European "political intrigues" that are stalling its EU membership bid. Turkey started negotiation in 2005 but has made little progress since then due to a dispute over Cyprus — an EU member that is divided between the ethnic Greek south and Turkish north. In addition, France and Germany have expressed opposition to its bid. Turkey's chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis said in a blunt statement Sunday: "The negotiation process is interrupted by political intrigues in a way that has never been experienced by a candidate country before." The statement was issued to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the accession talks. Bagis says the approach to Turkey is "neither fair nor sustainable."
III. HINDUSTANTIMES - Merkel: Muslims should conform to German values
German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Monday that Muslims living in Germany conform to "fundamental German values", saying there was no leeway on the issue. She spoke a day after Germany's largely ceremonial president, Christian Wulff, had reached out to Muslims in a speech marking 20 years of reunification, assuring them they belonged. The Christian Democrat chancellor, in remarks promoting a fiercely conservative book by one of her supporters, said Muslims in Germany must orient themselves without reservation to Germany's fundamental values and constitution. "There is no leeway on this," she said, adding that Germans' perceptions of Islam were dominated by Sharia (Islamic law), the lack of equality between men and women and honour killings. Germany had freedom of religion, and Islam was welcome, "but it must be a form of Islam that feels devoted to our fundamental values", Merkel said. If it were not, fears would develop among Germans, "and that is hardly something we want to happen".
IV. TIMESOFINDIA - 4000-year-old Aryan city discovered in Russia
Russian archaeologists have unearthed some ancient and virtually unknown settlements which they believe were built by the original Aryan race about 4000 years ago. According to the team which has discovered 20 of the spiral-shaped settlements in remote part of Russia steppe in southern Siberia bordering Kazakhstan, the buildings date back to the beginning of Western civilisation in Europe. The Bronze-age settlements, the experts said, could have been built shortly after the Great Pyramid some 4000 years ago by the original Aryan race whose swastika symbol was later adopted by the Nazis in the 1930s. TV historian Bettany Hughes, who explored the desolate part of the Russian steppe for BBC programme 'Tracking The Aryans', said: "Potentially, this could rival ancient Greece in the age of the heroes." The remains of the ancient city were explored for the first time around 20 years ago shortly after then Soviet officials relaxed strict laws banning non-military aerial photography. But because of the region is so remote the incredible cities have remained virtually unknown to the rest of Europe until now, according to the archaeologists. They are about the same size as several of the city states of ancient Greece and would have housed between 1,000 and 200 people, they said. The Aryan's language has been identified as the precursor to a number of modern European tongues. English uses many similar words such as brother, oxen and guest which have all been tracked to the Aryans.
V. ANA - Greece to focus on illegal migration
Citizens' Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis, speaking in the extreme northeastern city of Alexandroupolis on Sunday during a meeting on the increasingly urgent problem of illegal immigration, emphasised that "Greece is not a free-for-all." A briefing for officials cited the intensity of the problem in the Evros River region, which marks the land border between Greece and EU hopeful Turkey. Amongst others, authorities said more and more illegal immigrants -- the vast majority from the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia and increasing from Africa -- are attempting to enter EU territory via Greece in relation to clandestine sea landings on Aegean islands and continental Greece. "Greece can no longer tolerate the waves of illegal immigrants, and all are aware that it this not a phenomenon that concerns only our country, but the European Union as a whole," Papoutsis, a former EU Commissioner, underlined. He further indicated that the Papandreou government will take additional initiatives in the near future within the framework of the European Union, which he called on to assume its responsibilities towards a country that is "currently experiencing the greatest pressure by immigration flows".
His Holliness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch held the Holy Hierarchal Liturgy in the Stavropegial Laura of the Serbian Patriarchs - the Patriarchate of Pec. His Holiness, besides bishops of our Holy Church, was concelebrated by dignitaries of all Orthodox Churches. The Holy Hierarchal Liturgy was attended by President of the Republic of Serbia Boris Tadic, Crown Prince Alexander Karadjordjevic and representatives of the diplomatic corps. During the Service of God Their Eminences Metropolitans JOvan of Zagreb and Ljubljana and Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral introduced Patriarch Irinej to the Throne of Serbian Patriarch calling the word Worthy (Axios). At the end of the formal act Patriarch held a sermon. His Holiness Irinej at the Divine Liturgy, besides the Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was concelebrated by: Metropolitan Emanuel and Metropolitan Teoliptos of Iconia (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Metropolitan Kalynikos of Pilusia (Alexandrian Patriarchate), Archbishop Nyphon (Patriarchate of Antioch), Archbishop Teophylact of Jordan (Jerusalem Patriarchate), Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (Moscow Patriarchate), Metropolitan Gerasim Sharashenidze (Georgian Patriarchate), Metropolitan Irenaeus of Oltenia and bishops Nikodim and Danilo (Romanian Patriarchate), Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin (Bulgarian Patriarchate), Archbishop Chrysostomos II of Nea Justiniana and all Cyprus (Cypriot Patriarchate), Metropolitan Teologos of Seres and Metropolitan Symeon of New Smyrna (Hellenic Archbishopric), Metropolitan Ignateous of Verat (Albanian Orthodox Church), Archbishop Avelof Lublin and Holm (Polish Orthodox Church), Archbishop of Prague and Metropolitan of Czech lands and Slovakia Christofer, Bishop Melchisedek of Pittsburgh and West Pennsylvania (Orthodox Church in USA). The Divine Liturgy and the formal act of the enthronement was attended by: President of the Papal Council for promoting Christian Unity H.E. Monsignor Kurt Koch, Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar, Leopold Rohmes, Vicar General, Msgr. Andrija Kopilovic, (Catholic Church), Jonathan Goodall (Anglican Church), Tjeerd Hielke Wolters (SSC), Archbishop Karekin of Germany from the Armenian Church, representatives of the Islamic Community of Serbia, the Slovak Evangelical Church, the Federation of Jewish Communities, the Evangelical Christian Church; Mr. Constantine Triandaphilos, director of the IOCC, the delegation of the Fund of Andrewi the First-called from Moscow. The Patriarchal throne was engraved and it is a gift from Hellenic Archdiocese, and an icon of Lord Jesus Christ on the throne is the handwork done by nuns from the monastery of Zica.The new vestment intended for Patriarch Irinej for the formal act of enthronement, done in the embroidery with the 12 icons of big holidays, the work of Atelier RIZA - the workshop of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, donated by the Crnomarkovic brothers, Krstan and Peter,j and their sisters Olga Lukic and Milica Radan for the repose of souls of their parents Marija and Duro.
VII. VOICEOFRUSSIA - St.Spyridon relics in Moscow
In the past week, hundreds of thousands of Russians have visited the Trinity Cathedral of St. Daniel's Monastery in Moscow, where the relics of Saint Spyridon are currently on display. The shrine was for the first time delivered to Moscow in 2007, when more than one million and three hundred thousand Russian believers paid tribute to the relics of a bishop-turned-saint, explained the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. This year, he added, many braved bad weather so as to offer a prayer in front of the relics. Saint Spyridon is widely venerated for his assistance in healing, settling family conflicts and acquiring Christian love, Patriarch Kirill said. Thousands upon thousands turned to him for help only to see their dreams finally come true, the Patriarch added, praising God’s grace that he says especially emanates from icons and the relics of the Church-revered saints. A saint honored in both the Eastern and Western traditions, Spyridon was born in Cyprus in 270 and was known for his great piety. He was venerated for the rare gift of clairvoyance and his ability to cure the sick by prayer. He eventually became Bishop of Tremithous and went down in history after he proved the essence of the Trinity at the First Ecumenical Council in 325. Using a potsherd, he reportedly illustrated how one single entity could be composed of three unique entities, a metaphor for the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. As soon as Spyridon finished speaking at the Council, the shard is said to have miraculously burst into flame, water dripped on the ground, and only dust remained in his hand. After the Council, Saint Spyridon returned to his diocese in Tremithous, where he died peacefully in old age. When the Arabs took Cyprus in the middle of the 7th century, Spyridon's body was disinterred and taken to Constantinople. It was at the time that the relics were found to be incorrupt which prompted many to believe in his being a saint. The shrine will stay in Moscow till October 6th and is then to be transferred to St.Petersburg. On October 15th, the relics of Saint Spyridon will be delivered to the Greek island of Corfu, where they have been preserved since the late 1980s.