The surviving parts of the Codex Sinaiticus, the world's oldest Bible, were brought online on Monday to the delight of scholars seeking to unlock its mysteries. The text was hand-written on animal hide, known as vellum, by four scribes during the mid-fourth century in Greece – around the time that the Roman emperor Constantine the Great embraced Christianity. "The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures... This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation." Although portions of the Codex Sinaiticus have not survived the damaging effects of time, the parts that have include the entire New Testament and the earliest existing copy of the Gospels – written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John at different times after the death of Jesus. The remaining 800 pages and fragments of the original 1400 page Bible include half a copy of the Old Testament. The other half had been lost. The ancient parchments are a collection of sections separately held by the British Library in London, the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt, the National Library of Russia and Leipzig University Library in Germany. The assembly and transcription includes previously unpublished pages of the Codex discovered in 1975 in a walled-off room at St. Catherine's Monastery. Many questions remain about the book’s creation, according to Juan Garces, the British Library's project manager of Greek manuscripts, who took part in the digitization. Codex Sinaiticus - The Codex Sinaiticus Project Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book. The Codex Sinaiticus Project is an international collaboration to reunite the entire manuscript in digital form and make it accessible to a global audience for the first time. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars, conservators and curators, the Project gives everyone the opportunity to connect directly with this famous manuscript. The Bible can be viewed online and includes modern Greek translations with some sections also translated into English.
Vice-President Joe Biden has said that the United States would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, even as he reiterated an offer to Tehran for negotiations over its nuclear programme. “Look, Israel can determine for itself — it’s a sovereign nation — what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," Mr Biden said. “We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do.” Mr Biden’s remarks came even as the top military official in the US warned of the “unintended consequences” of a strike against Iranian nuclear sites. Israel has made little secret of its desire to deal with Iran militarily. White House officials denied that Mr Biden’s remarks marked a toughening in Washington’s attitude to Tehran in the wake of the Iranian Government’s hardline stance against protests against the disputed elections. By appearing to support Israeli military action, Mr Biden may be hoping to apply indirect pressure on Iran without having to issue any such threat himself, keeping diplomatic channels clear. Washington is aware that Israel would be unable to launch any strike without its co-operation to secure airspace rights over Iraq. Israelis, however, are keenly aware of what the short-term consequences of a strike on Iran could mean for its own security, despite the widespread belief that a nuclear armed Iran would pose an existential threat. The chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, warned that Iran would respond to any attack by Israel. “If it occurred, then the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond in a very full-scale and very decisive way,” he said.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Western leaders against meddling on Monday as Paris said a French woman academic has been detained in the Islamic republic on spying charges. Britain, meanwhile, said that all but one embassy employee detained for allegedly stoking unrest have now been freed. Khameini admitted to "differences" among Iranians following the bitterly disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month but warned the West not to exploit the worst crisis in Iran since its 1979 revolution. "The Iranian nation warns the leaders of those countries trying to take advantage of the situation, beware! The Iranian nation will react," Khamenei said in a televised speech. Facing global concern about the June 12 election and an ensuing crackdown on the opposition, Iranian leaders fired back, accusing Britain and the United States in particular of seeking to exploit the public protests to destabilise the Islamic regime. It expelled two British diplomats last month, prompting a tit-for-tat response from London, and detained nine locally recruited British embassy staff, accusing them of instigating riots during the massive public demonstrations in Tehran. A top Iranian cleric said on Friday that some of the British embassy staff would be put on trial, but did not say how many, while European Union governments had called in Iranian ambassadors across the 27-nation bloc in protest at the detentions. Tehran and Washington engaged in a new war of words over the nuclear programme on Monday after Vice President Joe Biden said the United States would not stand in Israel's way in its dealings with Iran's nuclear ambitions. The chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, warned Iran would respond to any attack by its arch-foe Israel, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear armed state. "If (an Israeli attack) occurred, then the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond in a very full-scale and very decisive way."
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have reached an outline agreement to cut back their nations' stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The "joint understanding" signed in Moscow would see reductions of deployed nuclear warheads to below 1,700 each within seven years of a new treaty. The accord would replace the 1991 Start I treaty, which expires in December. Mr Obama said the two countries were both "committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past". Separately, Russia also agreed to allow the US military to fly troops and weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, allowing it to avoid using supply routes through Pakistan that are attacked by militants. The two countries also will set up a joint commission to co-operate over energy, and fighting terrorism and drug-trafficking. Military co-operation, suspended since last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia, will be resumed. However, on the contentious issue of US plans to base parts of a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, the presidents merely said they had agreed to a joint study into ballistic missile threats and the creation of a data exchange centre. On Tuesday, Mr Obama will meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. This summit is aimed at repairing strained US-Russian relations. Under the Bush Administration, ties between Washington and Moscow were considered almost as bad as during the Cold War.
The reunification of Cyprus, divided for the last 35 years, has been a ''shelved file'' for a long time due to the slow progress of diplomatic talks. Italy has closely monitored this progress and as of tomorrow will play a more important role in the attempts to heal the wound in what once was an island-State and now is divided in a Greek (63% of the island's surface area) and a Turkish part. On July 7th Italian Foreign Undersecretary Alfredo Mantica will arrive on the island for talks with the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias and with Mehmet Ali Talat, president of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, ignored by the international community and recognised only by Ankara. The Italian undersecretary wants to make it clear that Italy is closely watching the talks between the two parties, which so far haven't come to any conclusion. The personal friendship between the two president had increased hopes on an agreement. However, there are many differences on the constitutional architecture of the reunified Cyprus and on practical aspects linked to property that was lost in the events of July 1974. During five days (from July 15 to 20 1974) Cyprus was the stage of a failed coup followed by a Turkish invasion. Despite frequent talks between Christofias and Talat, the problems remain. The main differences between the parties regard the form of the new republic, particularly the question if it will be an ''arithmetic'' merger of two areas into a single state or rather a confederal or federal organisation. Italy, pressured by the EU and USA, wants to make an attempt to close the gap between the parties. Another issue to be solved is the time table of the reunification. The president of the Turkish republic of North Cyprus wants to link it to the end of his term in 2010, so he can run for a second term boasting significant progress in the negotiations. Italy has always stayed neutral in this conflict, as Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Kyprianou in Rome this January, as well as Mantica, in April in his meeting with special representative of Talat, Kutlay Erk. The United Nations say that the solution of the problem must be based on respect for political equality between the two sides, to guarantee full incumbency to the ''new Cyprus'' in its international relations. Italy's position in the issue is in line with the general view that aims at the stabilisation of the Mediterranean area.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said he plans to step down when his mandate expires at the end of October. f the EU's Lisbon reform treaty is approved following a referendum in Ireland in October, Solana's successor will have enhanced powers as head of an EU foreign service designed to give the bloc a greater say on the world stage. The high representative will answer to EU governments but will also be vice-president of the European Commission and manage the EU executive's large external aid budget. Below are leaders who analysts say could seek the job. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt; Frank-Wlater Steineier, German Vice Chancellor and Former Foreign Minister; Former Austrian Minister Ursula Plassnik; Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis; EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn; Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini; Former Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou; and NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer.
The Orthodox Theological Seminary of Halki is to be reopened, according to Turkish Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay, adding that they are searching for a formula to integrate the school into Turkey's university system. "Although we have not finalized a decision in the Cabinet, my personal impression is that we are going to open the seminary," said Gunay, speaking on Kanal 24 television. Ankara has been long pressed by the Archons of the Order of Saint Andrew, The European Union, and the United States to re-open the seminary to prove their respect for religious freedom rights for the dwindling Christian minority. U.S. President Barack Obama openly expressed the issue during his address to the Turkish Parliament in April, saying, "Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening the Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond." The Turkish government would have to change existing laws to reopen the seminary. According to news reports, the education ministry recently came up with a report listing different options to reach that aim. One would be to have the school function as an institution or a foundation, while another way could be to tie the seminary directly to the education ministry and the board of higher education. "With the opening of the school, we strengthen ourselves and at the same time render a service to our own citizens on the way towards the EU," Minister Gunay told NTV, another news channel. The century-old seminary was forcibly closed in 1971, depriving the Ecumenical Patriarchate its only facility to train clergy in Turkey for nearly four decades now.