Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-11-22

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

CONTENTS

MONDAY 22 NOVEMBER 1999

[01] HEADLINES

[02] CLERIDES SIMITIS

[03] DENKTASH

[04] ANNAN CY

[05] SPYROS HOSPITAL

[06] WORLD IN BRIEF

[07] SOCIALIST - DIKO

[08] EDEK SIZOPOULOS

[09] KURD DETAINED

[10] CYPRUS STOCK EXCHANGE

[11] TAILER

[12] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES

House President and DIKO Chairman Spyros Kyprianou is in hospital for at least one week;

We have a look at news from around the world in brief;

Local efforts towards the formation of a new social-democratic movement are not crowned with much success;

Trading at the Cyprus Stock Exchange proceeded normally today;

and...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair disappoints romantically-inclined Italians.

[02] CLERIDES SIMITIS

The two heads of government are expected to discuss the latest developments over the Cyprus Issue, given the UN Secretary-General's invitation for proximity talks to be held on December 3rd in New York, as well as the stance to be adopted by Greece as regards Turkey's EU-accession bid at next month's European Union summit in Helsinki. Prime Minister Simitis is also expected to brief President Clerides on his talks with US President Bill Clinton and Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Returning to Cyprus this afternoon, the President of the Republic will in turn begin his briefings of the island's political leaders tomorrow, while at the same time preparing in earnest for the UN-sponsored proximity talks, concentrating on the four points specified by the UN Secretary-General: the issues of safety, territory, property rights and distribution of powers.

[03] DENKTASH

If, Mr Denktash went on to say, the Americans have prepared such a scenario as mentioned by Glafkos Clerides, then this would further increase Turkish-Cypriot misgivings and lack of trust in the United States.

Insecurities coming to the fore, Mr Denktash also expressed the hope that the UN Secretary-General's invitation does not form part of a conspiracy to pressure the Turkish-Cypriots into accepting an American plan over which the Greek side, as he said, is already well-informed.

[04] ANNAN CY

Specifically, and following a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the UN Secretary-General told Reuters, in a direct quote, that "This is a complicated and a difficult problem. We have not solved this for a long time, and I think there should not be unrealistic expectations."

[05] SPYROS HOSPITAL

Today, the attending doctor told our station that even though Mr Kyprianou had a peaceful night, he is expected to remain in hospital for another week, given a history of chronic pulmonary disease.

As a result, House President Kyprianou's visit to Israel, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed.

[06] WORLD IN BRIEF

US President Bill Clinton arrived in Bulgaria last night on a two-day visit during which he is expected to thank the Balkan nation for its support of NATO during the Kosovo war, and help prod along its fledgling economic reforms.

A Pakistani judge said this morning that deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif should be held in jail until his next court appearance on Friday, but there was still no indication of when formal charges would be laid.

Russian forces, eight weeks into their offensive in Chechnya, are moving methodically through villages and towns in the separatist region and are closing in on its capital Grozny, with, at the latest report some 80% of it being sealed off.

And... The launch of China's first unmanned spacecraft may have limited commercial and military benefits for Beijing, but national pride and the status of President Jiang Zemin are the biggest winners.

[07] SOCIALIST - DIKO

The statement was made by DIKO Spokesman Andreas Constantinou yesterday, when asked to comment on the results of EDEK's extra-ordinary conference as well as the Socialist Party's proposals regarding co-operation with DIKO.

Mr Constantinou refrained from elaborating on his statement, saying merely that the Democratic Party's position on the issue is well-known and, since nothing new has emerged, DIKO sees no point in discussing unspecified or vague matters.

[08] EDEK SIZOPOULOS

Commenting on progress to date, the EDEK official said that in spite of concessions and compromises made by his party, the formation of a new social-democratic movement in conjunction with other centrist parties of the island was not possible, but added that EDEK's invitation to Spyros Kyprianou's Democratic Party remains open.

[09] KURD DETAINED

In his plea to to the Larnaka District Court, 20-year-old Mehmet Bazek admitted entering the Republic of Cyprus through the port of Kyrenia and staying in the occupied areas for thirteen days before deciding to cross over into the government-controlled territory, only to be apprehended in the Ayios Nikolaos British Base Area on November 9th and placed in custody.

[10] CYPRUS STOCK EXCHANGE

Today's volume of trading reached 37 million 400 thousand pounds, a drop of almost six-and-a-half million pounds from Friday's high. The exact value of today's general price index was not immediately available due to a technical problem at the Stock Exchange, but according to all indications, it was on an upswing.

A total of ten organisations and companies abstained from today's trading, with the number expected to increase to 14 by tomorrow.

[11] TAILER

Speaking to Italian journalists on the sidelines of the weekend's global economic conference in Florence, Tony Blair said, in a direct quote, "In reality, I think that it's probably British. I can't be absolutely sure. But let's not go into that becuase I'd get into details that are too embarrassing." As a footnote, he suggested that they work it out "on their own".

Doing just that, British tabloids calculated that the child was conceived during an overnight stay at Scotland's Balmoral Castle in September. Always keen on catchy titles, the "Mirror" piped in with the headline "A Babe of Balmoral", while the "Sun" headed its strory with the title "Highland Fling gives Blairs a 'Royal Baby'".

[12] WEATHER

By tonight, however, cloud cover is expected to increase, with the possibility of scattered showers throughout the island. Fog is also expected to form in areas. Winds will turn to light northeast-to-northwesterlies, 2-3BF, on slight seas, while temperatures will drop to 15C inland and in coastal regions, and 10C on the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains.

The fire hazard remains extremely high in all forest areas.

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