Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 01-01-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] PAPAPETROU

[03] HASIKOS

[04] VIOLENCE

[05] GUIDES

[06] STOCK

[07] MIDEAST

[08] INDIA

[09] WORLD

[10] WEATHER MONDAY 29 JANUARY 2001

[01] HEADLINES

--- The ballistic testing of reserves' guns will be discussed today between Minister of Defence Socratis Hasikos and Minister of Justice and Public Order Nicos Koshis, in the presence of ministry officers.

--- Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during a confrontation near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip today.

--- Rescuers picking through the rubble of India's worst earthquake rescued a woman aged 90 today but fear of collapsing buildings, fresh tremors and disease tracked their every move.

And

--- Indonesian police fired teargas as thousands of protesting students tried to storm parliament, where legislators were considering an inquiry into corruption scandals linked to President Abdurrahman Wahid.

[02] PAPAPETROU

The President is expecting the immediate setting of a date for the sixth round of proximity talks.

Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said today that the President made these positions clear during his meeting this morning with UN Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de Soto.

President Clerides said he was ready to participate in a fresh round of talks.

According to Mr. Papapetrou, the UN envoy briefed the President on views expressed by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

Mr. Papapetrou said it was obvious that the Turkish side was insisting on undermining the talks.

Mr. de Soto did not submit any new ideas to the two sides and did not give any indication on his next moves, noting only that he would convey to the UN chief the views of the two sides.

[03] HASIKOS

Mr. Hasikos told CyBC that the ballistic testing will determine the identity of each and every weapon, so that the authorities will be able to tell which gun a bullet was fired from.

He said the theft of guns had not reached levels to cause concern, and that out of 28 weapons stolen over the past ten years, 21 had been retrieved.

[04] VIOLENCE

Special teams began evaluating the damage this morning and cleaning up the stadium.

GSP stadium director Phivos Constantinides said that most damages would be repaired by the weekend.

An Omonia official said his team would pay for repair works.

Meanwhile, a Police spokesman dismissed allegations that the force had not carried out its mission properly, noting that three persons had been arrested and more arrests may be on the way.

[05] GUIDES

The conference is under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

Minister of Commerce Nicos Rolandis today stressed the importance of tourism for the island's economy and the great contribution of Cypriot tourist guides.

[06] STOCK

Traded value reached 6,7 million pounds, compared to 12,5 million pounds on Friday.

[07] MIDEAST

Sources said the 21-year-old was shot in the stomach when troops and stone-throwing protesters clashed near the settlement of Neve Dekalim in Gaza.

An Israeli security source said, based on a preliminary investigation, that an Israeli soldier opened fire at an armed Palestinian during clashes with Palestinians using both stones and guns near the Khan Younis refugee camp.

The death, following at least three days of relative calm, raised the toll to at least 313 Palestinians, 48 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs who have been killed since the Palestinian uprising for independence began in late September.

Police also said four Palestinians were stopped in their car and then detained by the army near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, also in Gaza.

[08] INDIA

Survivors of Friday's disaster, which has killed up to 20.000 people and has made thousands more homeless, wavered between fear and numb resignation as the full impact of the tragedy unfolded in the ancient coastal town of Bhuj and elsewhere.

Villagers said government aid had not yet arrived in some outlying places.

But as the international and local relief operation gathered pace, Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, said that India had declined his country's offer of help.

The earthquake, measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale by the US Geological Survey, was expected to cost the country billions of dollars in reconstruction costs.

Most people spent the night around bonfires, some with white bundles next to them containing bodies of relatives and friends.

Elsewhere in the Sub-continent, fear of quakes kept residents jittery. People fled their homes in panic in the Indian high-tech capital Bangalore today when mild tremors measuring 4,3 on the Richter scale struck.

[09] WORLD

- - - -

Indonesian police fired teargas as thousands of protesting students tried to storm parliament, where legislators were considering an inquiry into corruption scandals linked to President Abdurrahman Wahid.

It is the biggest demonstration in Jakarta in the 15 months since Wahid became the first democratically-elected leader of the giant archipelago which straddles some of the world's most strategic sea-lanes.

- - - -

Tanzanian security forces patrolled deserted streets on the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar after at least 37 people died in a weekend of violence.

The worst of the violence was on the small island of Pemba, where opposition protesters fought running battles with police to protest about alleged fraud in elections last year.

- - - -

Tens of thousands of holy men in northern India shed their traditional fanfare and quietly led pilgrims to the Ganges river for a sin-cleansing dip, the fourth auspicious day of a six-week mega festival.

The akharas or Hindu monastic orders said they dropped the musical bands that previously accompanied them during the Maha Kumbh Mela or Grand Pitcher Festival in deference to the thousands of victims of a massive earthquake last Friday.

- - - -

Red Cross officials from the two Koreas began talks at the North Korean resort of Mt Kumgang, aiming to thaw stalled plans for reunions of families divided for over 50 years by their heavily land-mined border.

South Korea's delegation expected to discuss an agreement to establish a permanent meeting place for divided families as well as allowing them to exchange letters.

- - - -

Ukrainian coastguards said they had found eight bodies and 29 survivors from a ferry which sank in a storm in the Black Sea.

They quoted survivors as saying the 1.200 tonne Pamyat Mercuria, a converted survey ship, had sunk on Friday on its way to the Crimean port of Yevpatoria from Istanbul and that passengers and crew had taken to the lifeboats.

[10] WEATHER

Winds will be easterly, light to moderate, three to four beaufort, over moderate seas.

Tonight will be generally clear.

Winds will be northeasterly, light to moderate, three to four beaufort, over moderate seas.

Temperatures will drop to 5 degrees inland, to 7 along the coast, and to 1 over the mountains.

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