Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 01-11-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] Clerides NY

[03] Casou London

[04] Turkish mps

[05] Papa Cem

[06] Greece Turkey

[07] Terror law

[08] Afghan wrap

[09] Weather Philippines

[10] Asteroids

[11] Tailer

[12] Weather lunchtime THURSDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2001

[01] HEADLINES

Foreign minister Ioannis Casoulides assured that the Cyprus government will reject any settlement that could lead to the legitimization of the islands' partition,

Afghan opposition commanders said they would launch an offensive today, to capture the strategic northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif from the ruling Taliban,

The Earth is much less likely to be wiped out by a big asteroid than previously thought,

AND

Two football team mascots, battle it out in Bury.

[02] Clerides NY

On the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting, he will meet UN Secretary General Kofi Anan, his special advisor on the Cyprus problem Alvaro De Soto and the co-ordinator for the Cyprus problem at the State Department Thomas Weston.

He will also hold a working lunch with the representatives of the five permanent member states of the Security Counci and is expected to brief world leaders at the meeting over the latest developments in the Cyprus issue.

In statements just after his arrival and quizzed over the prospects of reuming settlement talks, President Clerides stressed that the point is not only the Turkish side returning to the table of negotiations, but also negotiate on the substance of the issues.

He added that there is no such indication, for either of these things, noting in order for Kofi Anan, to invite the two sides to talks once again, he has to be certain of a positive response by both.

In light of his meeting later today, with Thomas Weston, President Clerides stressed that the United States have assured the government, that the Cyprus problem will not be marginalised, following the September 11th events.

The same assurance, he added, has been given by Britain.

[03] Casou London

Speaking last night in London, at a dinner hosted by the Greek Cypriot brotherhood, for Cyprus Independence Day normally celebrated on the first of October, Casoulides reiterated the Cyprus governments' adherence to the good will mission of the UN Secretary General in seeking a viable solution of the Cyprus problem.

The foreign minister added that the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, were never geographically separated until the turkish invasion of 1974, when the Greek Cypriots were forced to leave their homes.

He further stressed that Cyprus is closely co-operating with Britain and other countries in the declared war against terrorism and remarked that the solution of regional problems, such as the Cyprus issue and the Middle East question, will strengthen the international anti-terrorist alliance.

In his address, British deputy foreign minister Peter Hein reiterated London's position that the solution of the Cyprus problem, is not a precondition for Cyprus' EU accession.

Casoulides today left for New York, where he will join President Clerides.

[04] Turkish mps

According to reports in the turkish-cypriot press, 126 mps from various parties, said that such a discussion is justified, because the issue is going through a crucial phase.

They said that such a discussion, will produce positive results regarding Euro-turkish relations and strategic decisions have to be made.

[05] Papa Cem

Papandreou and Cem signed three new agreements aiming at increasing security and trust between the two countries.

According to our correspondent in Athens, Greek and Turkish foreign ministry officials are discussing the implementation of Trust Building measures, with the aim of reducing tensions in the area.

The two officials held a join press conference and around two, Ismail Cem is expected to meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

[06] Greece Turkey

The team will be set up by the Greco-turkish businessmen Council and made up of businessmen, former ambassadors and mass media representatives of both countries.

Greek foreign minister Yiorgos Papandreou and his turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, noted that this kind of cooperation is particularly important at this critical time for humanity, following the September 11th attacks on the United States.

[07] Terror law

Attorney General Alekos Markides said that there will no serious implications from the removal of the clause, because the role of fighting terror funding will be taken up by the existing police unit of foghting economic crime.

Under a special clause, liberation movements will be exempted from any sanctions stemming from the anti-terrorist law.

[08] Afghan wrap

U.S. planes roared over the capital, Kabul, through the night en route to drop their bombs on Taliban frontline positions just north of the city on day 33 of the war to punish the Taliban and flush out their guest, Osama bin Laden.

CNN reported that the Taliban's stronghold in the southern city of Kandahar was the target of a fierce all-night bombardment that focused on what were believed to be Taliban positions to the west of the city.

The capture of Majar-i-Sharif would be a major prize for the Northern Alliance because Mazar-i-Sharif straddles crucial supply routes to Kabul in the south and also commands the most important airfield in the north of the country.

[09] Weather Philippines

The missing included 11 miners who were trapped when a tunnel collapsed.

Tropical storm Lingling unleashed flash floods, triggered landslides, and plunged cities and towns into darkness after knocking out power lines.

It forced thousands of people to flee their homes .

The storm, with winds gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour, was much weaker than Hurricane Michelle which lashed Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas with winds of up to 217 kph earlier this week. Michelle killed 16 people in Central America and five in Cuba

But Lingling has been more deadly because of the flash floods it brought in its wake.

[10] Asteroids

According to a team of scientists at Princeton University, the odds are only about 1 in 5,000 that an asteroid big enough to wipe out civilization will hit the Earth in the next 100 years, far lower than previous estimates of 1 in 1,500.

Research on asteroids that have hit the Earth in the past, shows that a collision with a large asteroid half a mile or 1 km in diameter could kill a quarter of the world's population.

The Princeton team, estimated the solar system contained about 700 thousand asteroids that size, about one-third the number in earlier estimates.

[11] Tailer

Bury's Robby the Bobby, named in honour of Bury-born Sir Robert Peel, founder of the modern police force, clashed with Cardiff's Bartly the Bluebird, named after Bart Wilson, the founder of the Welsh club.

Bartly appeared to come off worse as he lost his foam head in the scuffle, but stewards were soon on hand to split up the feuding duo and they were led to opposite ends of the ground.

It is not the first time Bobby has been in trouble. He was reprimanded for showing his backside to Stoke City supporters visiting Gigg Lane in September.

[12] Weather lunchtime

Winds will be moderate to strong southwesterly, four to five beaufort, over moderate seas.

Tonight, local showers are expected.

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

Temperatures will fall to 13 degrees inland, and 7 on the mountains.

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