Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 00-10-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Headlines

[02] Ivanov

[03] US Cyprus

[04] Morillon

[05] Stock

[06] Trees

[07] Mideast

[08] World

[09] Painting

[10] Weather WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2000

[01] Headlines

--- US Minister of Defence, William Cohen, said that President Bill Clinton will continue his efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and will exert positive pressure on both sides to bridge their gap.

--- A proposed resolution, attached to the report by French EuroMP Philippe Morillon on Turkey's European Union accession application, calls for the withdrawal of all Turkish troops from Cyprus.

--- Trading on the Cyprus Stock Exchange was briefly interrupted today after an anonymous caller phoned to say a bomb had been placed in the building.

And

--- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed ways to end two weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in a surprise meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak today.

[02] Ivanov

Mr. Ivanov's schedule has not yet been publicised, but he is expected that he will also meet with non-governmental officials.

The Russian Minister will also sign a cooperation memorandum during his stay.

He is expected to leave the island tomorrow morning.

[03] US Cyprus

Mr. Cohen noted that Mr. Clinton had encouraged the two sides to participate in the fourth round of UN-led proximity talks on the Cyrpus problem.

He said that another round of talks is to take place in November, adding that the United States feel optimistic from the progress made so far.

[04] Morillon

The report was adopted by the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday.

The proposed resolution, which is expected to be discussed at the European Parliament Plenary Session next month, urges Turkey to contribute towards creating a good climate in which to carry out Cyprus settlement negotiations.

It adds that the aim is to achieve a viable, just and comprehensive settlement on the island, in compliance with UN resolutions.

It also expresses hope that this will be achieved during the fifth round of proximity talks, to begin on November 1 in Geneva.

[05] Stock

The call came as stocks plunged across the board by 2.61 percent to a new year low of 342 points.

Police ordered the evacuation of the building in central Nicosia to search the premises.

Sources said the caller used a mobile phone to make the threat and that the number had been recorded.

[06] Trees

The Department announced that it would offer pine, cypress, poplar, cedar, eucalyptus, acacia and other trees.

Those interested must apply in writing by December 11.

[07] Mideast

A statement from Mr. Barak's office said the two men were meeting in Jerusalem to continue the talks they held yesterday.

Diplomats said Mr. Annan and European Union envoy Javier Solana, who each saw Mr. Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat yesterday, were trying to persuade them to agree on an investigation into the bloodshed that could serve as a starting point for resuming dialogue.

A Barak-Arafat summit in Paris collapsed last week over a Palestinian demand for an international inquiry. Mr. Barak said yesterday that he preferred a US-Israeli-Palestinian probe.

The Israeli army reported an easing of violence in the West Bank yesterday for the first time since the start of clashes that have killed at least 90 people, all but five of them Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.

The United Nations Children's Fund said 22 children under the age of 18 had been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the violence, which has also crippled peace efforts.

While the UN chief, Mr. Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov have shuttled between Barak and Arafat, US President Bill Clinton has been pressing the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to hold a summit in the next few days, despite Egypt's public reluctance to host such a meeting.

[08] World

- - - -

Yugoslavia's reformers faced fresh political and social turmoil as allies of ousted leader Slobodan Milosevic stalled the transition to democracy by pulling out of talks to set up a new government.

The ultra-nationalist Radical Party and the Socialist Party of Serbia, still headed by Milosevic, were angry that workers and students were allowed to stage their own mini-revolts across the country, sweeping away loyalists of the old regime from lucrative state posts in firms and universities.

- - - -

Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance took an early lead in an acrimonious parliamentary poll, seen as a key test for President Chandrika Kumaratunga's plan to end the 17-year Tamil separatist war.

Officials said the coalition won four of the five areas for which results were declared in an election marred by murder, bombing and rigging, and tinged with sadness after the death of the world's first woman prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

- - - -

Oil prices probed higher as nerves jangled over rising Middle East tensions and consumers shivered through an early cold spell in the US northeast.

- - - -

The United States and North Korea held their highest-level meeting ever, seeking to ease tensions a half century after they fought each other in the Korean War.

- - - -

President Bill Clinton signed into law a historic bill granting permanent normal trade relations to China and dispatched his top trade negotiator for urgent talks with Premier Zhu Rongji in hopes of settling disputes that threaten Beijing's entry to the World Trade Organization.

Approved by the US Congress over stiff opposition from labour and human rights groups, the legislation ends a 20-year annual ritual of reviewing China's trade status and guarantees Chinese goods the same low-tariff access to the US market as products from nearly every other nation.

- - - -

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has granted an amnesty to people who committed politically-motivated crimes in the violent run-up to parliamentary elections earlier this year.

The amnesty for any politically-motivated crime committed during January 1 2000 to July 31 2000 does not apply to murder, rape and theft. But legal experts said it would pardon such crimes as assault, arson, public violence and extortion. Britain deplored the move.

- - - -

The United States blocked the election of Sudan to the prestigious UN Security Council, helping Mauritius win a two-year term instead along with Colombia, Ireland, Norway and Singapore.

[09] Painting

The early work by the Italian master, who later unleashed his talents on the Sistine Chapel and the dome of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, was discovered in the library of Castle Howard in northeast England.

Sotheby's auction house said the three-quarter length "Mourning Woman" belongs to a small group of large-scale figure studies the artist is believed to have made between 1495 and 1505.

Its value reflects its rarity at a cool six to eight million pounds.

With the insurance costs to display the work at the castle in Yorkshire verging on the astronomical, the trustees of Lord Howard of Henderskelfe's will want a British museum, gallery or other institution to put it on public view.

Sotheby's said the work found at Castle Howard, dated at around 1505, was only the second major drawing by Michelangelo to be discovered in the last 25 years.

[10] Weather

Winds will be westerly, moderate, four beaufort, to strong, five beaufort, along the coast, over slight to moderate seas.

Tonight will be cloudy.

Winds will be northwesterly, light, two to three beaufort, over slight seas.

Temperatures will drop to 15 degrees inland, to 17 along the coast, and to 11 over the mountains.

The fire hazard is high in all forest areas.

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