The vessel “Liquid Velvet” travels under the Marrshall Islands flag but is owned by Greek firm Elmira Tankers, according to the firm’s website.

“It was taken yesterday. It was going from Suez and heading to India. Crew members are 21 Filipinos and one unarmed security guard,” Andrew Mwangura, mariteime editor of The Somalia Report said.

The monsoon season will soon be over and fears are instantly multiplying, since the seas off the Horn of Africa will flatten and render pirate attacks much easier than before.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean is an unbearable cost for the world economy, since every year the pirates’ attacks are translated into millions of dollars, ransoms, and murder.

British PM David Cameron has said British merchant ships off the coast of Somalia will soon be allowed to carry armed guards.

IMMORTALS producer Mark Canton knew they’d found their Phaedra in Pinto, a young actress of Indian descent who had just made her film debut in the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Producer Gianni Nunnari agrees: “There are certain actors or actresses that grow within the time of the shooting and that was Freida”.

“People might expect that because it’s a Greek film, she would be Greek, but that’s not what I envisioned. When I met Freida I just said, she’s it.”

Phaedra has lived all of her life in the company of her fellow priestesses and is reputed to have an especially strong gift for clairvoyance. But her visions, while accurate, are ambiguous. “It’s a very disturbing experience for her, because she doesn’t know exactly what will happen,” explains Pinto.

For her first big studio film, Pinto says she feels lucky to have had Singh to guide her. “When you work on a film like this, the emotions that you go through are so explosive. I’m just so excited, and that’s exactly what I want the audience to feel”, Pinto concludes.

According to the leader of the team, there are thousands of peaks over 6000 meters on our planet and many even higher, up to 8.848 meters, such as Everest. However, few of them are accessible to climbers. 99% of the mountaineers worldwide climbs only 1% of the mountain peaks.

11^th Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) will honour two extremely talented film-makers from India and abroad. Indian actor-producer Shashi Kapoor will receive the Indian lifetime achievement award at the inaugural function of the Festival on October 29, 2009. A selection of his films will be screened on this occasion. Considered as one of the world’s greatest living directors Greek film-maker Theo Angelopoulos will be presented the international lifetime achievement award in the closing ceremony of the Festival on November 5, 2009. A retrospective of his films will be organized to salute the maestro. Considered one of the greatest living directors, Angelopoulos has won awards at all major International film festivals.

Organized by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), and supported by Reliance Big Entertainment, the 11^th edition of the festival is scheduled to take place from October 29 to November 5, 2009 in Mumbai, the film capital of India. MFF has the distinction of being the only international film festival in India to be organized by an independent body of practicing film professionals.

«Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, greetings in the Name of the Lord! I am glad for the opportunity that is afforded to me, to communicate with all of you. Our deepest thanks for your love and interest for so many years in supporting our missionary efforts in West Bengal- India , where I am working since 1991. My problem of obtaining the necessary Visa is finally solved, and, after three years of absence, by the Grace of God, in November of 2006 I returned back to Kolkata, to commence once again with my Service (Diakonia) to the  Mission.

Despite our absence for many years, enduring many difficulties, hardships and temptations, the activities that commenced and achieved by Fr. Ignatios, now Bishop of Madagascar, and his collaborators, has been preserved with the support of Metropolitan Nikitas of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. All these years in India we persevered in a difficult environment, with the aim to spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ and simultaneously, as much as humanely possible, to give witness of Christian love in our actions, to the destitute, and infirmed of India. With this mind set we developed and established the following programs.

- Every morning we distribute fortified Milk and Biscuits to two hundred and fifty poor malnourished children.
- Every Monday we dispense food to one thousand people who suffer from various infirmities such as, leprosy, blindness and other physically disabilities.
- Operating and managing eight Medical Clinics and one Dental Clinic with free medicine and free medical staff services
- Five Primary schools located in rural areas providing free tuition and text books and all essential school personnel and equipment.
- A Girls Orphanage with occupancy for two hundred girls.
- Free construction and renovations of many small houses and two rent free apartments for the poor.

- Tube wells drilled in villages and schools for safe drinking water.
- Farm animals and sewing machines distributed to the needy.
- Donating hand operated bicycle wheelchairs for the disabled.
- Distributing clothing, food and medicine to the poor in rural areas.
- Providing Scholarships for higher achievement in education.
- Providing upgrading of impoverished dwellings with electricity and sanitary facilities.
- Also The Vocational School is completed and functioning with classes in Arts and Sewing. The programs are designed to developing skills for the girls at the Orphanage who are unable to advance in higher education, and to train and educate women from the  surrounding area, who are illiterate and unemployed, with the goal to develop financial independence, self sufficiency and entrepreneur abilities.
There are other necessary programs waiting for implementation such as Physiotherapy and Computer Training, but due to lack of funds are unfortunately unable to be started and sustained.

But none of the programs mentioned could be realized if we did not have for all these years your tremendous support and collaboration in doing the work of God.ƒn Sadly, due to lack of funding and large debt owed to the contractor, unfortunately the Blind School will not be completed as planned.

Hostel and School for the Blind.
This large building and area, if God helps us to complete, will become an Eye Clinic. This can be finished and operated at lower cost. The necessities for this Clinic are supported by statistics that reveal a sad fact. Six million poor people in West Bengal have suffered blindness because they lack the financial means to afford a simple cataract medical procedure and subsequent treatment.

For the programs currently operating and for buildings under construction, with the large debt owed to the contractors and the many necessities of our mission; we are facing financial hardships that seem presently over-whelming. Especially after the transfer of His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, who after the departure of Fr. Ignatius covered monthly all the cost of all philanthropic programs and ecclesiastical works of the Church. We trust in God’s providence and we maintain our hope for the future.

As concerning the pastoral and catechetical works, despite all the difficulties the programs have been sustained and continue by the Grace of God. Except for Kolkata, we are expanding in West Bengal, where we have orthodox believers and church activities in sixty two villages. Currently the total number of baptized people is at five thousand, plus three hundred catechumens. This year in 2007, twenty souls have been Baptized in Kolkata and forty-five in the village of Ghorada. Presently there are eleven Priests, one Deacon and eighteen catechists, who travel to the various villages for liturgical activities and catechism

Once a month there is a meeting of priests and catechists, allowing for discussions and guidance of current programs, and for their spiritual and theological edification.
Also in September 2006, as in almost every year, we had in the village of Akina, the Seminar, which included priests from America conducting theological teachings and discussions with the clergy and faithful of India in collaboration with OCMC of USA.
We have built until now sixteen churches of which four of these remain unfinished, requiring various internal furnishings and implements for completion. There are also fifteen plots of land that we own, and dream as any believer would, of one day building a church on all these properties. Despite our present financial inabilities we are hopeful that in the future with God’s help we will restart construction of churches as soon as a solution to this economic crisis is solved.

In conclusion, I would like to express once more our warmest thanks for your continuous Love and Support during all these years. Please pray that the Lord will give us the patience and courage and illumination to solve the various problems, and to strengthen us for the challenges ahead, for the Glory of His Holy Name and the salvation of many souls. My heartfelt prayers, that the Lord will grant good health and blessings for all your work.
Sincerely yours in Christ love,
Sister Nectaria Paradisi
Any financial assistance can be sent directly by wire transfer to the mission bank account:
In the name of:  THE PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
A/C No     :   031-110802-006
SWIFT CODE: HSBCINBBDAL
Bank    :  Hong Kong Bank
31 BBD BAG  – KOLKATA    70 001 -  INDIA

Or by check in the name of THE PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
send by registered letter to
Sr. Nectaria Paradisi
Greek Orthodox Church
2A Library Road
Kalighat
Kolkata 26 – INDIA