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Thursday, 21 November 2024
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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-04-29Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
[01] HEADLINES 29 APRIL EVENINGRussia's Viktor Chernomyrdin refers to progress in his Kosovo peace shuttle mission;NATO continues its strikes against Yugoslav targets for the 36th day, while a stray missile hits a suburb of the Bulgarian capital; Foreign Minister Kasoulides confirms an impending Anglo-American initiative on Cyprus with a significant involvement on the part of Russia; Government Spokesman Serezis reiterates the Republic's right to defend itself; The trial, in absentia, of PKK leader Ocalan begins in Ankara tomorrow; Cyprus Airways shows a profit for 1998; and... The term "road-hogging" acquired a new meaning in Nicosia this morning. [02] YUGO DIPLOMACYRussian envoy to the Balkans, Viktor Chernomyrdin, said today, after meeting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, that he had made progress in his Kosovo peace shuttle mission, without however achieving any breakthrough and not mentioning any of his pre-announced concrete proposals.At the same press conference, Germany's Chancellor, conditioning a NATO cease-fire on a verifiable Yugoslav troop withdrawal from the Serbian province, confined himself to saying that that there was movement on the diplomatic front. Following Bonn, the Russian envoy was scheduled to visit Rome and then Belgrade itself. In Moscow meanwhile, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today pledged to work together to find a diplomatic solution to the Yugoslavia crisis. [03] YUGO STRIKESNATO warplanes last night and today destroyed bridges, oil facilities and a television transmitter, as well as hitting Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's hometown for the first time and intensifying attacks on Montenegro.Air raid sirens sounded again in the capital Belgrade at 1355 GMT today, and there were fresh attacks in daylight hours in southern Serbia and Kosovo. Radio Pancevo, in the industrial town just Northeast of Belgrade, reported several detonations but had no further details. Yugoslavia's official news agency, Tanjug, reported an attack on a metals plant near Glogovac, 30 km west of the Kosovar capital of Pristina, and also said that strong detonations were heard in and around the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica at around 0700 GMT, with city officials reporting the first civilian casualty in Yugoslavia's junior federal partner. [04] BULGARIA MISSILENATO today confirmed that a stray missile which wrecked a house in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, just 60 km east of the border with Yugoslavia, had been fired by one of its warplanes.NATO spokesman Jamie Shea told reporters that the missile had gone off course last night after being fired in response to a threat from a Yugoslav surface-to-air missile system, adding that it had strayed from its target and unintentionally landed in Bulgaria. Initially reported by Bulgarian authorities, the incident was, fortunately, without casualties. [05] KAS YUGOForeign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides today briefed the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee on the German EU-presidency's demarche against Cyprus, referring to the reaction of the political leadership and the House on the Kosovo crisis.In statements after the closed-doors session of the House committee, Mr Kasoulides said he told deputies about the way the EU and the German presidency view the Greek-Cypriot side's positions on the NATO bombings in Yugoslavia. In closing, Foreign Minister Kasoulides said the furore created over the document is considered over, and satisfactory explanations, where needed, have been given. [06] YUGO OTHERSThe US House of Representatives has decided to estop any financing of ground troop deployment in Yugoslavia, unless President Bill Clinton secures the approval of the entire Congress. The decision, taken by 249 votes for and 180 against, will have to pass through the Senate in order for it to be binding upon the US President.Also in the US, former democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, having announced plans to visit the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade, today met with President Clinton's Security Advisor, Sandy Berger, and discussed prospects towards the release of three US servicemen held by the Serb forces. In the Kosovar capital of Pristina meanwhile, the Serbian leadership held another meeting with ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova. According to local media, the Serbian delegation announced that an end to the war would bring about the peaceful co-existence of all Kosovar ethnicities, while Ibrahim Rugova maintained that what should be ensured is the safe return of all refugees to their homes. [07] OCALAN TRIALThe trial, in absentia, of captured PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan, in prison on the Sea of Marmara island of Imrali since his abduction by Turkish security forces in Kenya last February, is due to start in Ankara tomorrow.Turkish public prosecutors yesterday issued a 139-page indictment against Ocalan, accusing him of ordering the killings of 30 thousand people, including women and children. In relation to the trial, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Sermet Atacanli said that foreign observers will not be allowed to attend the trial. [08] SPOKESMANIn his daily briefing of the press, Government Spokesman Costas Serezis said that the government is well aware of the fact that Turkey has rejected UN Security Council 1218 calling for a reduction of armaments in Cyprus, and that consequently the Cyprus Republic seeks to maintain and is maintaining its inalienable right towards strengthening its defences.The Government Spokesman was commenting on statements by the Turkish Minister of State for Cyprus, in which Turkey expressed its opposition to the deployment, in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, of missile systems which could disrupt the balance of power in the region. Government Spokesman Serezis also said that neither President Clerides nor any member of the cabinet will be drawn in by Turkey's constant allusions towards two nations in Cyprus and the non-feasibility of a bizonal and bicommunal federation, explaining that the claims merely aim at increasing tensions, thus blocking the UN Secretary-General's expected initiative on the island. [09] PIG BREEDERSPig-breeders, along with truckloads of their prized possessions, today inundated Nicosia thoroughfares and finally descended upon the Presidential Palace, demanding state subsidisation in order to reduce the glut of pork on the market.Receiving a pig-breeders delegation, Undersecretary to the President Pantelis Kouros said that he would table their motion at next Wednesday's cabinet meeting. Credit should also be given to the capital's Fire Department however, which was quick to take action by systematically hosing down the sweaty swine, sweltering under the April sun. [10] WEATHERThe weather will be generally fair tonight, with some light high cloud, expected to descend as mist and, in some cases fog, around dawn. Winds will gradually settle to northeast-to-northwesterly light, 2-3BF, on slight seas, while temperatures will drop to 12C inland and along the coasts, and 10C at higher altitudes.Fair conditions are also forecast for tomorrow, with skies once again being marked by light high cloud. Winds will start out variable light, gradually strengthening to moderate sea-breezes, 3-4BF, on slight seas. Temperatures are expected to reach 29C inland, 24C in coastal regions and 20C in the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains. Today's max and min temps were: Nicosia 28 - 13 Limassol 22 - 15 Larnaka 24 - 13 Paphos 23 - 11 and Prodromos 19 - 11. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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