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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-10-04Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
MONDAY 4 OCTOBER 1999 [01] CLER MEET'SPresident of the Republic Glafkos Clerides this morning held separate meetings with the island's parliamentary party leaders in order to brief them on the results of his recent New York contacts as well as on information made available to the government and pertaining to last Tuesday's White House meeting between US President Bill Clinton and Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.First to arrive was House President and DIKO Chairman Spyros Kyprianou. Next to be briefed was the leader of the ruling DISY party, Nikos Anastassiades, followed in succession, by AKEL Secretary-General Demetris Christophias and EDEK Chairman Vassos Lyssarides. Last but not least to attend the briefings, held in the presence of Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, was United Democrats Chairman and Cyprus' Chief EU-negotiator George Vassiliou. [02] CLER PAPAZOEGreek Minister of Culture Elisabeth Papazoe, accompanied by Cyprus' Minister of Education and Culture Ouranios Ioannides, was today received by President of the Republic Glafkos Clerides.Following the Presidential Palace meeting, the two ministers co-chaired a conference at the Ministry of Education and Culture on matters of culture, antiquities and cinema. Ms Papazoe, on the island on an official one-day visit, will this evening open an exhibition titled "Modern Greek Art in the 20th Century: the invaluable collections of the Rhodos Municipal Library", at the Cyprus Modern Art State Gallery in Nicosia. [03] NIKIPHOROSFour Hellenic Airforce aircraft took part in today's military manoeuvres held within the scope of the National Guard's annual "Nikiphoros" exercise.In an area south of Nicosia, two A-7 Corsair's practised bombing runs against mock targets, while two Hellenic Airforce F-16's participated in manoeuvres in the Paphos district. Commenting on the exercise to date, Defence Minister Sokratis Hasikos noted the presence of Greece in Cyprus, and referred to what he described as "the impeccable co-operation" between the General Staffs of the two countries within the framework of the United Defence Dogma. The other two main phases of the "Nikiphoros '99" exercise will be held tomorrow and on Wednesday. [04] PAP TURKEYGreek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, in Turkey to deliver a series of lectures on the invitation of a Constantinople-based intellectual society, is today scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart, Ismail Cem.According to reliable sources, the two ministers will discuss the current state of affairs in greco-turkish relations, and are also expected to touch upon the Cyprus Issue. Speaking in Constantinople yesterday, Foreign Minister Papandreou referred to the Cyprus Issue and noted that the current situation is indeed unacceptable, given that Cyprus carries the dubious honour of having the only dividing wall still standing in Europe, following the fall of that in Berlin. In his speech, he also mentioned that what is being proposed by Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, whether one calls it "confederation" or not, would essentially lead to the partition of the island and a parallel union of its two parts with Greece and Turkey. [05] MIDEASTIsraeli and Palestinian negotiators last night failed in another round of talks to end a security dispute, delaying the opening of the first Palestinian "safe passage" across the Jewish state.Following four hours of negotiations yesterday, spokesmen for both sides said the teams would meet again today. Palestinian cabinet minister Jamil Tarifi was quoted by Reuters News Agency as saying that the stumbling blocks seem to be two security issues: who will issue magnetic passage cards that will allow Israel to monitor the identity of Palestinians using the passage, and Israeli powers of arrest along the route. The Palestinian minister however expressed the confidence that an agreement would be reached today. The route, which was to have been inaugurated yesterday, is meant to answer years of complaints that Israeli measures prevent Palestinians in the separate self-rule areas of Gaza and the West Bank from visiting friends and family. [06] CANNED FOODSMinister of Health Frixos Savvides told our station this morning that as regards the possibility of certain canned foods on the Cyprus market being contaminated, the authorities of the Republic are in posession of no tangible evidence to justify the taking of drastic measures.For this reason, he added, the purchase and consumption of all imported canned goods is entirely up to the discretion of the consumer. Meanwhile, our Brussels correspondent has reported that the results of the Council of Europe investigation into the specific brands which could be contaminated due to the use of a certain anti-oxidising coating on the interior surface of cans will not be completed today as originally stated. [07] CSEThe Cyprus Stock Exchange re-opened after a four-week closure this morning, with the participation of 18 out of the 21 brokerage firms licenced to carry out business at the bourse.What originally led to the suspension of operations was a tremendous backlog of unprocessed transactions, due primarily to August's rush in trading. Stock Exchange officials reported today that the current backlog does not exceed 400 documents, adding however that there still remain another 40 thousand or so documents for which titles have not been issued. the situation is expected to be resolved by the end of this week. Today's trading volume reached 6 million 866 thousand pounds, as compared to the 54 million reported on September 3rd, the bourse's last day of operation before its temporary closure, while the general price index rose to 425.35 units, a drop of approximately five points, largely attributed to lower industry and banking organisation trading. [08] WEATHERThe weather will be generally fair this afternoon, with partly cloudy conditions being forecast over inland and mountainous regions. Winds will be moderate west-to-southwesterlies, 3-4BF, on generally slight seas, rising to moderate off the south coast. Temperatures are not expected to exceed 31C inland and along the south and east coasts, 29C in the west and 25C at higher altitudes.Generally fair conditions are also forecast for tonight, but light mist is expected to form in some coastal regions. Winds will turn to northwesterly light, 2-3BF, on slight seas, while temperatures are expected to drop to 18C inland and in the west, 20C in the south and east, and 15C on the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains. A reminder that the fire hazard remains extremely high in all forest areas. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |