Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 00-09-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] FERRY

[03] FERRY 2

[04] TURK

[05] IMMIGRANTS

[06] NAXOS

[07] ILLEGALS

[08] AKEL

[09] DIKO

[10] FISH

[11] GERMANY

[12] TRUDEAU

[13] WEATHER FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2000

[01] HEADLINES

The death toll from the Express Samina ferry disaster has risen to 72,

Another tragedy at sea was narrowly averted in Naxos,

The Turkish captain of the trawler ferrying the 266 illegal immigrants to Cyprus admitted that he set sail from Lebanon,

Akel wants a retraction of Kofi Anan's statements at the New York proximity talks,

And the agriculture minister will request compensation for fishermen whose work has been hampered by dolphins.

[02] FERRY

According to the chief of operations the bodies are those of five women and one man who where found sitting in the ship's seats wearing life preservers.

Divers found no fuel leaks from where the ship is resting 38 metres below the surface, but there are fears the number of missing may reach 15.

[03] FERRY 2

They include the captain, the second in command, an officer cadet and the helmsman.

[04] TURK

Twenty-one year old Farah Mohammed Ibrahim named the ship's owners who are Lebanese living in Syria.

He also named three other Syrian partners who have been tracked down by Lebanese authorities.

In his statement to court, the ship's owners gave orders that he was to take the immigrants to Crete's eastern shores, despite the fact that the immigrants were led to believe they would land in southern Italy.

The immigrants had payed between two and four thousand dollars each for the trip.

Court ordered an eight day remand against Ibrahim.

[05] IMMIGRANTS

Mr. Christodoulou said the trafficker's final destination is usually Greece, Cyprus and Italy.

As far as Lebanon's willingness to accept the 266 immigrants back to its territory, the Minister said Lebanese authorities are cooperating and that he is optimistic that they will abide by the bilateral agreement.

A three-person Lebanese delegation is expected to arrive in Cyprus today to collect new evidence.

[06] NAXOS

Reports said the ferry Express Artemis ran aground inside the island's harbour.

The ferry's engines shut off leaving it ungoverned inside the harbour in gale force winds.

The captain's and his crew's efforts prevented the worst from happening after they managed to regain control of the ferry.

The ferry's 1088 shocked passengers disembarked from the ship which was eventually moored to the dock with the aid of tug boats.

[07] ILLEGALS

The immigrants where given food and water and set sail for Syria, pulled out of Cyprus territorial waters by a police tug boat.

The immigrants however, cut the tug boat line once they realised they were being pulled out to sea and dropped anchor 18 nautical miles outside Cyprus territorial waters.

Later, they again tried to return to Cyprus shores, but were intercepted by a police cutter.

[08] AKEL

In an announcement, the party criticised President Clerides' written statement yesterday, calling it an overt effort to justify the government's handling of the situation after Kofi Annan's statements.

Akel also stated that Mr. Anan's initial statement and the UN Secretariat's actions are a serious deviation from the world body's positions on the Cyprus issue.

[09] DIKO

Mr. Papadopoulos called on all party friends, members and officials to turn their full attention to the conference so that it may mark a new beginning in the party's bid to play a leading role in the island's political affairs.

Party Vice Presidential candidate Nicos Cleanthous said he believes Diko, in its effort to surpass its internal crisis, has also undertaken to consolidate the forces of the centre.

[10] FISH

No way has been found so far to keep dolphins away from the fishing areas.

Mr. Themistocleous made the pledge at a Pancyprian Professional Fishermen's Assosiation meeting.

The Agriculture Minister also agreed to look into the possibility of reducing the number of professional fishing licenses from 500 to 400.

[11] GERMANY

No one was injured by the blast, which left a crater that was several metres deep and forced officials to shut the airport.

The bomb exploded at the small regional airport in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia just hours before Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was due to land there tday for a private visit in the nearby state of Hesse, authorities said.

The bomb, which was buried beneath the runway, blew up only minutes after a passenger plane had landed. Authorities said vibrations from the plane may have set off the ageing bomb.

[12] TRUDEAU

Erudite, suave and flamboyant to the point of arrogance, Trudeau was first elected prime minister in 1968 on a wave of "Trudeaumania" in a country that had been averse to political celebrities.

The charismatic millionaire from Montreal remained in power until 1984, except for a nine-month gap in 1979-80.

In addition to Parkinson's Disease, Mr. Trudeau suffered from prostate cancer.

A state funeral was expected to be held for Trudeau in Montreal.

[13] WEATHER

This afternoon will be mainly fine, but cloudy periods may produce some isolated showers.

Winds will be mainly southwesterly light to moderate, 3 to 4 beaufort with moderate seas.

Tonight will remain fine by light, isolated showers are expected to fall mainly on the coasts.

Winds will be mainly northwesterly light to moderate, 3 to 4 beaufort with moderate seas.

The temperature will drop to 15 degrees inland, 17 on the coasts and 10 in the highest mountains.

The fire hazard is great in all forest areas.

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