RUSSIAN PATRIARCH DRAWS HEAVY CRITICISM IN UKRAINE. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Aleksii II has ignited a firestorm of criticism during his ongoing visit to Ukraine because of his call for Church unity. Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarch Filaret told journalists in Kyiv that Aleksii's appeal for all Orthodox congregations in Ukraine to unite under pro-Moscow Kyiv Metropolitan Vladimir was an effort to resubjugate Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Patriarch Dmitriy told Studio One Plus One television program that he and his congregation "do not want to unite with the Russian Church."

FIRST REACTOR AT LITHUANIAN POWER PLANT SHUT DOWN. Officials at the Ignalina nuclear power plant said they had to shut down the first reactor after the cooling system failed on 21 September, BNS reported. The closure came only hours after repairs to the reactor had been carried out. Viktor Shevaldin, the plant's director-general, said there was no increase in radiation levels either inside or outside the plant. He added that he expected the power station to be back on line within two or three days. According to BNS, the incident measured zero on the international nuclear events scale. Ignalina's two reactors are of similar construction to those at Chornobyl. The Ignalina plant is situated 60 kilometers from Vilnius and supplies about 80 percent of Lithuania's electricity.