Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 02-01-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] attgen appeal

[03] cabinet eac

[04] argentina

[05] mideast

[06] afghanistan

[07] pak-ind

[08] quake afgh

[09] aussie fires

[10] weather THURSDAY 3 JANUARY 2002

[01] HEADLINES

The Government Spokesman today rejected all reports of a possible cover-up over the EAC meter-reading scam;

Argentina's fifth president in the space of two weeks calls for a cross-party government;

The US Middle East envoy holds new contacts in the region;

The Afghan capital prepares for the deployment of an International Security Assistance Force;

Islamic militants based in Pakistan decide to move to Kashmir;

An earthquake hits central and south Asia, felt from Tajikistan in the north to India in the east;

and...

Bushfires continue to blaze from the mountains to the sea along Australia's east and south coasts.

[02] attgen appeal

In the appeal, it's stated that the 3,750 pound fine is blatantly inadequate given that the gynaecologist in question amassed some 16,750 pounds, and that the District Court did not fully and with all seriousness correctly assess the case.

It's further mentioned that the case essentially concerned the procurement of financial gain and the exploitation, on the part of a professional, of human suffering and the burning desire of childless couples to have a family.

Attorney-General Markides also postulates that the District Court wrongly took as a mitigating factor the fact that the biological mothers and the childless couples involved in the case were not prosecuted.

Meanwhile, a story appearing in today's press mentioning that the Supreme Court has rejected the Attorney-General's appeal was this morning described by Supreme Court sources as "erroneous".

[03] cabinet eac

Describing previous reports of a possible cover-up as "ridiculous and unfounded", Mr Papapetrou noted that the Cabinet itself was today briefed on the matter, and that during the meeting President of the Republic Glafkos Clerides gave clear and explicit instructions for the launching of a full and total investigation into the case.

[04] argentina

An advisor to the new populist president told Reuters that financial measures could mean a 30-40% devaluation of the Argentine peso from the current one-to-one analogy to the US dollar, which has turned the country into a virtual dollar zone where most home loans and major contracts are in greenbacks.

Devaluation could bankrupt millions since they would need more pesos, in which wages are paid, to cancel dollar debts. But it is also seen as possibly the only way to end a four-year slump which has impoverished a country with the highest incomes in Latin America, and pushed up unemployment to 18.3%.

The 60-year-old Duhalde, a former vice-president and former governor of Buenos Aires province, is expected to present his economic plan tomorrow. The plan will also have to deal with the moratorium declared by Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, who was president for a week before quitting, on part of Argentina's 132 billion dollar public debt.

[05] mideast

According to State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, envoy Anthony Zinni aims to bring about a lasting ceasefire, encourage a Palestinian crackdown on militants, and discuss with Israel steps to make life easier for the Palestinian people. He is scheduled to meet Israeli officials today and Palestinian officials tomorrow, before ending his current visit and returning to Washington early next week.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army today said that it was withdrawing its forces from the West Bank cities of Jenin and Ramallah, and would continue to ease restrictions on Palestinian areas.

A Voice of Palestine radio correspondent confirmed that troops had left Jenin, but a Palestinian security source said that Israeli forces still remained in three neighbourhoods of Ramallah, from where Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is, for all intents and purposes, banned from leaving.

[06] afghanistan

The 25-strong team from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Romania met British troops at the force's headquarters in a dilapidated former sports club in the centre of Kabul.

Some 300 British troops have moved into the base to prepare for a UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force under British General John McColl, backing the interim government that replaced the Taliban. The force, to be known as ISAF, is expected to swell to about 4,500 troops in the next few weeks and begin patrolling by the middle of this month.

The deployment follows an agreement initialled on Monday by McColl and Afghan Interior Minister Yunis Qanuni, with the formal signing expected sometime over the next few days.

[07] pak-ind

Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee however yesterday rattled his sabre, saying that every available weapon would be used for purposes of defence, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair is heading for the region for talks with the main players.

In Pakistan, an official of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, one of two groups blamed for last month's suicide attack against the Indian parliament, said it was moving its offices into Indian-ruled Kashmir to escape a Pakistani crackdown. At the same time, Jaish denied responsibility for a grenade attack yesterday that wounded 20 people at a crowded junction in Kashmir's main town of Srinagar.

[08] quake afgh

The quake sent families running from their homes in the capital of Tajikistan to the north and rattled Pakistan and India to the east, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Scientists from the seismic centre in the northern Pakistan city of Peshawar said the quake -- which struck at 0705 GMT -- measured 5.8 on the Richter scale with its epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan. An official with the India Meteorological Department put the scale of the quake at 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Takhar and adjacent Badakhshan were struck twice by earthquakes in 1998 which killed some 8,500 people and destroyed tens of thousands of houses. They measured 6.1 and 6.9 on the Richter scale.

[09] aussie fires

While fires in Sydney's leafy northern suburbs were contained, others burnt out of control in the Blue Mountains west of the city and along the coast, again threatening homes.

Some 10,000 firefighters are facing fires, many lit by arsonists, on fronts totalling 2,000 km. The fires have destroyed 160 homes and burned an area twice the size of greater London, but there have been no deaths.

Meanwhile, public anger at arsonists blamed for lighting many of the fires is rising. Sydney's "The Daily Telegraph" today front-paged with the heading "Black Christmas Fires, 21 Lucifers," along with silhouettes of 21 males, one as young as nine, arrested for arson. Police had, at the latest report, arrested 22 people.

[10] weather

Gradually increasing cloud cover is forecast for this evening, leading to rainy spells throughout the island, as well as snow or freezing rain in mountainous and semi-mountainous regions. Winds will abate to light west-to-northwesterlies, 3BF, on moderate to rough seas, while temperatures will drop to 3C inland, 6C in coastal regions, and minus 3C on the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains.

Tomorrow's forecast includes much of the same, with rain and isolated thunderstorms expected throughout the island, as well as snow and freezing rain in mountainous and semi-mountainous regions.

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