Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-10-14

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From: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>

CONTENTS

THURSDAY 14 OCTOBER 1999

[01] HEADLINES

[02] KASOULIDES

[03] CLERIDES CONFERENCE

[04] KASOULIDES CHAMBERS

[05] EUROCHAMBERS

[06] PAKISTAN COUP

[07] AMNESTY PAKISTAN

[08] GEORGIA HOSTAGES

[09] NATO USA NUCLEAR

[10] AFRICA LION

[11] COBRA

[12] MEXICO WEATHER

[13] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES

- The Meeting of the EuroChambers began today in Nicosia.

- Pakistan's new military leaders have not yet given any clues as to what their next move will be.

- The whereabouts of six UN observers held hostage in Georgia have reportedly been discovered.

AND

- NATO said today that it was concerned over the USA's rejection of a nuclear test ban treaty.

[02] KASOULIDES

Mr Kasoulides told the CyBC that Greece and Cyprus must monitor and evaluate the situation up to the Helsinki Summit and that decisions must be taken at the appropriate time.

[03] CLERIDES CONFERENCE

Speaking this morning at the opening session of the Annual Meeting of the EuroChambers, taking place in Nicosia, President Clerides said that the conference was an important event for Cyprus' European Union accession course.

He also said that it would greatly contribute towards this goal.

[04] KASOULIDES CHAMBERS

He also said that Cyprus should not be punished for something it does not control. He was referring to the Turkish occupation of the northern third of the island.

Mr. Kasoulides also said that the solution of the Cyprus question is the number one problem on Cyprus' foreign policy.

Referring to the reasons Cyprus wishes to become a full member of the European Union, Mr. Kasoulides said that the 15-nation bloc will guarantee the rights of all Cypriots, regardless of nationality and religion.

[05] EUROCHAMBERS

The Meeting is attended by EuroMPs, officials from the European Commission, and others.

[06] PAKISTAN COUP

Two days after coup leader General Pervez Musharraf overthrew elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistanis were still awaiting a policy statement promised by the military.

Instead, the military stepped up its attack on Sharif, still in army custody, and accused him of hatching a conspiracy against it before he was ousted in Tuesday's bloodless coup.

[07] AMNESTY PAKISTAN

The London-based human rights group said in a statement that Tuesday's coup that overthrew the 31-month-old cabinet of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif showed the need to reverse the abuses that had taken place during successive administrations.

Human rights abuses are common in Pakistan, and the Sharif government has been widely accused of interfering with the courts.

Amnesty joined the international call for elections and a quick return to democracy, but added that in light of the rights abuses that have taken place in Pakistan in the past more than that was needed.

Amnesty also voiced concern that in the confusion surrounding the coup, and because the military has not announced what its post-coup plans are, there may be further human rights violations.

The atmosphere so far has been very calm with no protests or violence reported, but newspapers reported today that more than 400 members of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League party were put on an "exit control" list, banning them from leaving the country, as were 20 journalists.

Amnesty also called for the release of Sharif, who along with some of his cabinet members is in the military's "protective custody".

[08] GEORGIA HOSTAGES

The unidentified gunmen took the six men and their translator hostage in the Kodori valley 350 km inside the breakaway region of Abkhazia, northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The captors have demanded a 200,000 dollars ransom.

[09] NATO USA NUCLEAR

Mr Robertson, who stepped down as Britain's defence minister this week to take up his NATO post, said supporters of the treaty, which was rejected by the U.S. Senate yesterday, would not give up trying to persuade the Americans that it was in their interests to ratify it.

He recalled that key American allies Britain, France and Germany had appealed to the Senate to ratify the accord banning nuclear testing, and noted that the allies had other problems ahead that they must work on together.

Last week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, France's President Jacques Chirac and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder wrote a joint article in the New York Times appealing to the Senate to ratify the nuclear test ban treaty.

Ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) failed in the Senate by a vote of 48 to 51 with one abstention. The Senate's Republican majority overwhelmingly opposed the pact.

It was an embarrassing defeat to the Clinton administration, which had fought for U.S. endorsement of the global accord.

The treaty has been signed by more than 150 countries, but cannot go into force unless 44 nuclear-capable countries, including the United States, ratify it.

All five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China -- have signed the treaty, but only Britain and France have ratified it.

[10] AFRICA LION

Patrick Malesela was in a stable condition after suffering injuries to his arms, legs and chest.

He told police that three men had attacked him while he was strolling through the zoo with his girlfirend yesterday.

During the struggle they threw him over the fence of the lion's enclosure, which luckily was only occupied by one, relatively young male.

Malesela said he had tried to run away, but the lion seized him from behind. Workers doing a job in the zoo came to the rescue, bombarding the animal with stones whilst zoo staff fetched a tranquilliser dart gun.

The Zoo Director said that the lion was only 18 months old and had been confused by its unfamiliar prey. Otherwise the man would be dead.

[11] COBRA

Lod Pramuang, 59, was bitten yesterday by the cobra which he had trained at the northeastern village of Saimoon, a tourist spot famed for its snake charmers and their shows.

He died later in hospital.

[12] MEXICO WEATHER

Heavy rainfall of 50-70 millimetres is forecast for the next 24 hours in the states of Chiapas, Yucatan and Veracruz.

The states are already swamped by massive floods and mudslides which have killed at least 425 people across Mexico and driven about 270,000 from their homes.

Very heavy rain of more than 70 millimetres was forecast in the state of Quintana Roo.

Last week's floods submerged entire villages, washed out roads and cut off utilities on the Gulf Coast and throughout central and southern states.

[13] WEATHER

Winds will be mainly southeasterly to southwesterly, light to moderate, three to four beaufort, and the sea will be slight.

Tonight will be mainly fine.

Winds will be northwesterly, light, two to three beaufort, and the sea will be slight.

The temperature will drop to 17 degrees inland and on the coast, and to 12 over the mountains.

The fire hazard is extremely high in all forest areas.

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