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Sunday, 22 December 2024
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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 00-11-22Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
[01] HEADLINES--- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, has warned that if Turkey is allowed to hinder Cyprus' accession to the European Union, then Ankara would use similar methods to achieve its own membership.--- Mr. Kasoulides, said today that the Republic of Cyprus would make representations to the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, regarding the latter's interview with a Greek newspaper. --- Israeli tank fire killed at least four Palestinians outside a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip today. And --- Election officials, facing a Monday deadline, are racing today to hand count disputed Florida ballots that may decide the US presidential election, as Republicans seek a way to reverse a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering the inclusion of the recounted votes. [02] KasoulidesMinister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, has warned that if Turkey is allowed to hinder Cyprus' accession to the European Union, then Ankara would use similar methods to achieve its own membership.Speaking last night at an event in London hosted in honour of British MPs for the 40th anniversary of Cyprus' independence, Mr. Kasoulides stressed that Ankara's stance could obstruct the island's accession, if negotiations were concluded within the year 2002, without a solution to the Cyprus problem. He noted, however, that Turkey could not be given veto rights. Mr. Kasoulides added that Ankara is aware of the Helsinki conclusions and that it must persuade Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to achieve an honourable compromise on the Cyprus problem, so that a united Cyprus could become a member of the 15-nation bloc. [03] ProdiMinister of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Kasoulides, said today that the Republic of Cyprus would make representations to the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, regarding the latter's interview with a Greek newspaper.In his interview, Mr. Prodi questioned whether Cyprus could become a member of the European Union, without a prior solution to the Cyprus problem. Mr. Kasoulides told London Greek Radio that he had given instructions to the Republic's Permanent Representative in Brussels to make the complaint. The Foreign Minister also wondered why Mr. Prodi tried to give his own interpretations to the Helsinki conclusions. [04] ImmigrantsA meeting took place this morning under President Glafcos Clerides, to examine ways of combating the influx of illegal immigrants.The Chief of Police, Head of the Cyprus Information Service, Ministers of the Interior and Justice, as well as the Permanent Secretaries of the two Ministries, took part in the meeting. They decided on a series of measures, including strengthening the Police force with two more patrol boats and the National Guard with three more helicopters. They also decided to create a place in Larnaca to host 300 illegal immigrants at a time, apart from the area in the Central Prisons. Furthermore, the improvement of bilateral agreements with Lebanon and Syria was decided and so Minister of the Interior Christodoulos Christodoulou will be visiting the neighbouring countries, to discuss ways of strengthening the agreements. Mr. Christodoulou said that on Monday he would meet with the Ambassadors of Lebanon and Syria, so as to make the necessary arrangements for his trips, scheduled for December. President Clerides also gave orders to speed up the procedure for purchasing a powerful radar system. [05] StockCyprus Stock Exchange Director, Nontas Metaxas, expressed certainty that all would go well when the Stock Exchange reopened tomorrow at its new premises.Mr. Metaxas told CyBC that tests had been carried out yesterday and that all systems were working perfectly, adding that another test would be carried out today, in the form of a mock Stock Exchange meeting. He added that everything was moved to the IMC building in very little time, without any problems. Mr. Metaxas also said that the Stock Exchange would be able to implement its development programmes and meet its commitments towards the investors. Meanwhile, the Vice-President of the Brokers Union, Stavros Agrotis, said he was satisfied with the work done. He told CyBC that yesterday's tests went well and congratulated the management and the Council of the Stock Exchange for doing a good job. Referring to the fact that the Stock Exchange had to close for three days while moving and setting up its systems at its new premises, Mr. Agrotis said the break must have given investors the chance to rest and invest tomorrow wiser. [06] MideastIsraeli tank fire killed at least four Palestinians outside a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip today.A senior Palestinian police officer said Israeli tanks opened fire on two Palestinian civilian vehicles near the Jewish settlement of Morag. The Israeli army said it was checking the report. Army Radio reported the Palestinians apparently had tried to enter the heavily guarded settlement of Morag in the southern Gaza Strip. Tensions have soared in Gaza since a roadside bomb explosion on Monday killed two adults and wounded several children on a Jewish settlers' school bus, an attack that drew retaliatory Israeli missile strikes on Palestinian security targets. An 18-year-old Jewish settler was shot dead by a sniper in the Gaza Strip yesterday. The latest fatalities today raised to 255 the number of people killed in almost two months of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Most of the dead are Palestinians. In Cairo, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a day after Cairo recalled its ambassador in Israel in anger at nearly two months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed. US Defence Secretary William Cohen, on a Middle East tour, met Mubarak after the Egyptian leader saw Arafat. Cohen is due to travel later to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, in 1979. Jordan made peace with Israel in 1994 and Mauritania forged full relations with the Jewish state in 1999. [07] ElectionsElection officials, facing a Monday deadline, are racing today to hand count disputed Florida ballots that may decide the US presidential election, as Republicans seek a way to reverse a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering the inclusion of the recounted votes.The state's highest court said yesterday that manual recounts should be added to the final tally of the November 7 election until Monday at the latest -- giving Democrat Al Gore a final shot at the White House and drawing cries of foul from Republicans. Gore quickly hailed the ruling as a victory for democracy and again urged his Republican rival George W. Bush to agree to a one-on-one meeting while the fate of Florida's 25 electoral votes -- and the presidency -- was being decided. Bush has a 930-vote lead in Florida after machine counts of the 6 million ballots cast in the state in the election two weeks ago, and Katherine Harris, the Republican secretary of state in Florida, had wanted to certify him as victor on November 18. The Supreme Court blocked that plan pending its consideration of the case this week. Yesterday's ruling by the court -- six of whose seven justices were appointed by Democrats, and the seventh a joint Democratic-Republican appointee -- paved the way for results to be accepted from manual recounts of 1.7 million votes from three heavily pro-Gore counties. That is a process the Gore campaign hopes could give the vice president victory in Florida, and by extension the White House. [08] WorldAnd now for a look at other developments around the world in brief.- - - - Opposition leader of Congress Valentin Paniagua was poised to become Peru's next president as legislators debated whether to declare disgraced outgoing leader Alberto Fujimori "morally unfit" to rule. Fujimori, who incensed ministers and the opposition by resigning from Japan as a graft scandal mounted, emerged from four days of seclusion in a smart Tokyo hotel to apologize to his supporters, but said he planned to stay in Japan for now. - - - - Spain's former Health Minister Ernest Lluch was shot dead in Barcelona in an attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA. Lluch, 63, who served in the Socialist government of former Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, was shot twice in the head at the car park of his home. - - - - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin were a risk worth taking -- and Putin obliged by saying he accepted European defence plans and was willing to discuss arms control issues. - - - - Declaring that former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic must stand trial, the United Nations' chief war crimes prosecutor said that the world should insist Belgrade surrender him. - - - - UN negotiations aimed at averting potentially catastrophic climate change swung into high gear when government ministers began bargaining over ways to cut output of heat-trapping gases warming the planet. - - - - The United States said it was waiving sanctions against China for past missile technology transfers to Iran and Pakistan but imposing them on these two states for receiving the equipment. - - - - Britain said the European Union had agreed to lift an arms embargo on Croatia in recognition of the Balkan state's progress in implementing the Dayton peace deal which ended the Bosnian war in 1995. - - - - A British government bill reforming Northern Ireland's Protestant-dominated police force cleared its last hurdle before becoming law but both sides of the province's sectarian divide rejected it. - - - - The UN Security Council urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to adopt five trust-building measures and continue talks that would lead to a comprehensive peace agreement. [09] WeatherThis afternoon will be cloudy with a few local showers and isolated thunderstorms.Winds will be westerly, light, three beaufort, over slight seas. Tonight will be locally rainy. Winds will be generally northwesterly, light, three beaufort, over slight seas. Temperatures will drop to 11 degrees inland, to 13 along the coast, and to 7 over the mountains. The fire hazard remains high in all forest areas. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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