Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 04-12-09

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] UN: SG's report for 5th Committee a technical document

[02] UN SG's report to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly (Full Text)

[03] Lord Hannay: Giving Turkey a date will have a profound effect on Cyprus

[04] Weather forecast for Cyprus

[05] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

[06] Cyprus Stock Exchange

[07] Greek-Russian leaders discuss Cyprus question

[01] UN: SG's report for 5th Committee a technical document

0845:CYPPRESS:01

UN: SG's report for 5th Committee a technical document

by Apostolis Zoupaniotis

United Nations, Dec 9 (CNA) A report by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly asking funds for a Special Adviser on Cyprus is a technical and not a policy document, spokesperson for the Secretary General has stated.

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the 5th Committee of the UN General Assembly to allocate an estimated 532,700 net or 576,500 dollars gross funds for a Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus and his staff.

In his report to the committee, the Secretary General says he does not see any basis for resuming his good offices, noting however that it is imperative that the SGs good offices mission retains readiness during 2005 to re-engage in Cyprus when needed.

Asked to comment on the UN SG's reference as regards the need for a governmental coalition, towards the objective to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem the spokesperson said: ''This is a technical document produced for the 5th committee of the General Assembly for funding purposes. It is not a policy document''.

[02] UN SG's report to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly (Full Text)

UN SG's report to the 5th Committee of the General Assembly (FULL TEXT)

United Nations, Dec 9 (CNA) --

Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus

($532,700)

Background, mandate and objective

84. In its resolution 1250 (1999) of 29 June 1999, the Security Council requested the Secretary-General to invite the leaders of the two sides to negotiations in the autumn of 1999. In October 1999, the Secretary-General appointed Alvaro de Soto to serve as his Special Adviser on Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot parties accepted the Secretary-General's invitation and numerous sessions of proximity talks were held from December 1999 to November 2000 (see letters and reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council contained in S/2001/1122, S/2001/1162, S/2001/1182 and the response of the President of the Council contained in S/2001/1183), and direct talks from January 2002 to February 2003.

85. Between January 2002 and February 2003, an intensive round of talks took place on Cyprus in the presence of the Special Adviser, resulting in a comprehensive settlement proposal on 26 February 2003. The plan called for a referendum before 16 April 2003 to approve it and reunify Cyprus. However, despite the Secretary-General's direct personal involvement and several meetings with leaders from both sides, and visits to Greece and Turkey, a breakthrough could not be attained. It was at that juncture that the Secretary-General announced that the process which had begun in December 1999 had reached an end.

86. In his report of 1 April 2003 to the Security Council (S/2003/398) the Secretary-General observed that, in his view, a solution on the basis of the plan could be achieved only if there is an unequivocal stated preparedness on the part of the leaders of both sides, fully and determinedly backed at the highest political level in both motherlands, to commit themselves: (a) to finalize the plan (without reopening its basic principles or essential trades-offs) by a specific date with United Nations assistance; and (b) to put it to simultaneous referenda as provided for in the plan on a date soon thereafter. The Security Council, in its resolution 1475 (2003) of 14 April 2003, inter alia, stressed its full support for the Secretary-General's mission of good offices as entrusted to him in resolution 1250 (1999) and requested the Secretary-General to continue to make available his good offices in Cyprus as outlined in his report.

87. A renewed effort at reaching a settlement commenced on 13 February 2004, when the parties in Cyprus committed themselves to negotiations in good faith on the basis of a settlement plan dated 26 February 2003, to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem before 1 May 2004, the date when a unified Cyprus would accede to the European Union. To that end the parties agreed to a three-phase negotiations process. The first phase took place in Cyprus between

19 February and 22 March. During the second phase, the Secretary-General convened a meeting of the two sides in Burgenstock, Switzerland, from 24 to 29 March. However, the agreement on a finalized text did not prove possible. In the third phase, after consultations with the parties, the Secretary-General presented a finalized plan on 31 March 2004. The proposed foundation agreement on ''the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem'', as presented on 31 March 2004, was submitted to separate simultaneous referenda on 24 April 2004. It was rejected by the Greek Cypriot electorate and approved by the Turkish Cypriot electorate. It therefore did not enter into force.

88. In his 28 May 2004 report to the Security Council on his mission of good offices (S/2004/437), the Secretary-General noted that the outcome of the referenda has resulted in a stalemate, and he did not see any basis for resuming his good offices as long as the stand-off remained. The Secretary-General further indicated that the prospect for the reunification of their country rested primarily in the hands of the Cypriots. The foregoing factors combine to make it imperative that the Secretary-General's good offices mission retains a capacity and readiness during 2005 to re-engage in Cyprus as and when needed and at the shortest possible notice.

89. The objective, expected accomplishment and indicator of achievement are presented below.

Objective: To achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. Expected accomplishment Indicator of achievement Outputs

Agreement by both parties on a comprehensive settlement

Dialogue among political parties, including governmental coalition, leading to a new approach towards settlement

Political discussions among political parties and civil society

Reports to the Security Council

Briefings of the Security Council

External factors

90. The objective is expected to be achieved provided that the two political parties in Cyprus are willing and committed to reach a political solution, and that the international community, especially the interested countries in the region, provide support for the Secretary-General's efforts.

Resource requirements

91. The estimated requirements for the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for Cyprus for a one-year period ending 31 December 2005 amount to $532,700 net ($576,500 gross). Of this amount, $202,300 would be met from the unencumbered balance against the appropriation for 2004. Thus the overall requirements for the Special Adviser for 2005, after taking into account the unencumbered balance, amount to $330,400 net ($374,200 gross).

[03] Lord Hannay: Giving Turkey a date will have a profound effect on Cyprus

1020:CYPPRESS:03

Lord Hannay: Giving Turkey a date will have a profound effect on Cyprus

by Kyriakos Tsioupras

London, Dec 9 (CNA) -- Britain's former special representative for the Cyprus problem Lord David Hannay has said if the EU is not able or willing to give Turkey a green light on 17 December, then he would be very pessimistic about the prospects for a Cyprus settlement.

Speaking here during the presentation of his book ''Cyprus: The Search for a Solution'', Hannay said that if a date for opening negotiations with Turkey in 2005 is set, then ''that will have a profound effect also on the Cyprus problem and on the way people think about it.''

[04] Weather forecast for Cyprus

1120:CYPPRESS:03

Weather forecast for Cyprus

Nicosia, Dec 9 (CNA) -- The Meteorological Office at Larnaca International Airport has issued the following weather forecast for Cyprus:

Friday and Saturday: 10/12/2004 to 11/12/2004 -------- The weather on Friday will be fine with local cloud but on Saturday partly cloudy with local showers or isolated thunderstorms. Winds will be southwesterly to northwesterly light to moderate and the state of sea sligh to moderate.

Maximum temperature: 17C inland and around 18C over coastal areas. Minimum temperature: 8C inland and around 10C over coastal areas.

Outlook for Sunday and Monday: 12/12/2004 to 13/12/2004 ---------- Fine with patchy cloud on Sunday but risk of local showers on Monday. The temperature is expected to fall by couple of degrees.

[05] Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

1420:CYPPRESS:05

Weather and Temperatures for Cyprus

Nicosia, Dec 9 (CNA) - Today's weather and temperatures for Cyprus,
according to the Meteorological Service at Larnaca International
Airport are:

Temperatures (degrees Celcius)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Station             Maximum       Minimum          Weather
(At 1200 UTC)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Nicosia               17             7              FAIR
Larnaca               20             9              FAIR
Limassol              19             9              FAIR
Paphos                19             9              FINE

[06] Cyprus Stock Exchange

1430:CYPPRESS:06

Cyprus Stock Exchange

Nicosia, Dec 9 (CNA) - The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share
Index closed at today's stock exchange meeting as follows:

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTHERS=1000

TRADED VALUE                       308.009,36

GSE GENERAL INDEX                       72,68     0,26    304.985,12
FTSE/CySE 20                           342,99     0,66    242.415,00
MAIN MARKET INDEX                    1.026,39     0,73    239.955,41
PARALLEL MARKET INDEX                  866,40    -0,96     14.826,98
INVESTMENT COMPANIES MARKET INDEX      911,07    -1,29     28.014,26
MAIN AND PARALLEL MARKETS INDEX      1.020,21     0,67    254.782,38
BANKS INDEX                          1.039,72     0,71    180.466,93
HOTELS INDEX                           900,52    -1,57      1.171,75
ALTERNATIVE MARKET INDEX               849,92    -0,02     23.513,76
FTSE Med (8/12/2004)                 6.645,91     0,52

* The second column presents the percentage variation of the indices

[07] Greek-Russian leaders discuss Cyprus question

2015:CYPPRESS:07

Greek-Russian leaders discuss Cyprus question

by Christa Nicolaou

Moscow, Dec 9 (CNA) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis discussed here today the question of Cyprus, bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest in the international political scene.

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