Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 01-11-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Headlines

[02] Christofias

[03] Kasoulides

[04] HasikosTsak

[05] Fontaine

[06] Afgan

[07] Mideast

[08] World

[09] Stock

[10] Yiorkatzi

[11] Lemis

[12] Accident

[13] Pileup

[14] Weather THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2001

[01] Headlines

--- Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulides said the letters Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash sent to President Clerides for a face-to-face meeting were an effort to bring the Turkish side out of its diplomatic isolation.

--- The Taliban agreed today to surrender the besieged northern enclave of Kunduz, leaving the embattled militia in control only of their southern strongholds, which they have vowed to defend to the death.

And

--- Four Palestinian boys were killed in the Gaza Strip today when one of them kicked an unexploded Israeli tank shell as they walked to school.

[02] Christofias

Mr. Christofias also said the meeting would be a test for the UN, its Secretary General and the Security Council.

Speaking last night on his return to Cyprus from Stockholm, Mr. Christofias said the UN chief and his representative would be able to arrive at their own conclusions after the face-to-face talks.

[03] Kasoulides

He said this isolation was brought about by Mr. Denktash's refusal to accept the UN chief's invitation to continue the UN process for a comprehensive settlement.

Speaking on his return last night from a trip to New York and Brussels, Mr. Kasoulides said the whole thing was a bluff by Mr. Denktash.

He said that if the Greek Cypriot side dismissed the meeting, then Mr. Denktash would try to expose President Clerides internationally, as the one refusing talks.

[04] HasikosTsak

The meeting took place in the sidelines of the Foreign and Defence Ministers session of EU member states on matters concerning the European army.

Mr. Hasikos told the Turkish Minister that the Greek Cypriot side wanted an honest dialogue to solve the Cyprus problem.

Mr. Cakmakoglu said that it was the Greek Cypriot side that had to make concessions.

[05] Fontaine

During her stay, Mrs. Fontaine will be received by President Glafcos Clerides and will meet with House President Demetris Christofias.

[06] Afgan

Kunduz Taliban commander Mullah Faizal told reporters after talks with Northern Alliance warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum that the thousands of Afghan Taliban and foreign al Qaeda fighters in Kunduz were ready to surrender.

Capturing Kunduz would allow the Northern Alliance to open up routes into Tajikistan. But the city's strategic value was not the main factor in the bitter defence of Kunduz: the besieged forces were simply fighting for their lives.

The Northern Alliance says Afghan Taliban troops in the city have been ready to surrender for days, but their Pakistani, Arab and Chechen comrades, linked to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, were fighting to the death, fearing Northern Alliance forces would show them little mercy if they surrendered.

[07] Mideast

A 22-year-old farmer was also injured in the blast near a school in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, which has been a flashpoint for violence in nearly 14 months of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation.

Palestinian officials initially said a tank attack killed the boys, aged seven to 14, two of whom were brothers. But they later said the shell had lain on the ground for up to two days.

The deaths underlined the problems facing US mediators who arrive in the region next week to try to forge a ceasefire to bolster Arab support for the coalition the United States has formed since September's attacks on New York and Washington.

[08] World

- - - -

The US war in Afghanistan looked more and more like a manhunt for bin Laden as the Pentagon's chief said he would rather take the Saudi-born Islamic militant dead than alive.

President George W. Bush told US troops in an eve-of-Thanksgiving pep talk that bin Laden and all who helped him were their target.

- - - -

A 94-year-old woman from rural Connecticut town became the fifth person in United States to die from inhalation anthrax in a baffling case reviving fears of bioterrorism following the September airliner attacks on New York and Washington.

- - - -

A key UN panel gave up trying to draft a new global anti-terrorism treaty before the end of the year; Secretary-General Kofi Annan had pushed hard for the new convention as the centerpiece of the world body's global assault on terrorism following the September attacks that killed several thousand in the United States.

- - - -

All the 35 foreign followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement detained for demonstrating on Tiananmen Square have left China.

- - - -

Troops have seized six Muslim rebel camps in the southern Philippines and the death toll in four days of fighting has risen to about 160.

- - - -

Malaysians of all races stood for hours in the tropical heat to pay homage to their late King Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah.

- - - -

Japan's farm ministry said it may slaughter all of the 5,000-some cows that had been fed meat-and-bone meal, a day after a second case of mad cow disease was found in Japan.

[09] Stock

Traded value dropped to nine million pounds, compared to 16 yesterday.

[10] Yiorkatzi

In her annual report, Mrs. Yiorkatzi points to weaknesses regarding the economic handling of public and local authority finances.

Mrs. Yiorkatzi told reporters that the greatest weaknesses were found in planning and coordinating huge development projects.

Her report has also been submitted to the House of Representatives and has been given to publicity.

This is the first time that citizens can have immediate and fast access to the report, which appears on the Auditing Service website, at www.audit.gov.cy

[11] Lemis

Lemis was shot dead yesterday evening in Larnaca, where he had been residing for the past two years.

Police said the murder was an act of vengeance.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lemis, owner of a pub, was shot three times by a hooded person, while he was in a Larnaca shop.

Lemis had been in trouble with the police and had been imprisoned on several occasions.

Police chief Andreas Angelides said that all possibilities are being investigated thoroughly, in an effort to determine the killer's motive.

He said investigations were not easy, as the victim had been involved in various crimes himself.

Mr. Angelides noted that Lemis was not under police protection and that furthermore he had reacted strongly to any standard police investigations.

[12] Accident

Police said Ioannou lost control of his car near the village of Koutrafas and hit a cypress tree, which snapped.

Ioannou, who was not wearing a seat belt, had to be extracted from his car by the Fire Brigade.

[13] Pileup

Two people were lightly injured.

Police said that just after eight o'clock 15 cars were involved in three separate accidents at a point on the highway just after Latsia towards Nicosia.

At nine o'clock, another four cars collided near the weighing station in the Latsia area.

[14] Weather

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

Temperatures will drop to 6 degrees inland, to 8 along the coast, and to 1 over the mountains.

Frost may form in mountain areas.

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