Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 02-05-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] President

[02] National Council

[03] Hospital meat

[04] Mideast

[05] Southasia

[06] World

[07] Cannes

[08] Weather MONDAY 27 MAY 2002

--- President of the Republic Glafcos Clerides has reiterated that the UN Secretary General has set June as a target date for developments in the Cyprus problem and pointed out that there should be progress by the end of June.

--- Minister of Health Frixos Savvides has ordered an investigation into how eight tonnes of lamb are consumed in hospitals, as no patient is given a lamb dinner.

--- Israeli troops swept back into Bethlehem today and kept a military grip on another West Bank city, Qalqilya, in raids that followed a new wave of Palestinian suicide bomb attacks.

And

--- Six Pakistanis were killed and at least 16 wounded when Indian troops in disputed Kashmir fired mortars at villages across the border in Punjab province.

[01] President

The President added, however, that direct talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash may continue until December.

After the inauguration of the Tamassos dam, President Clerides was asked to comment on a State Department official's statement, that the United States were focusing on a solution to the Cyprus problem before the island's accession to the European Union.

President Clerides said he was not aware of these statements.

Regarding the Turkish research vessel "Sismik", which is off the coast of Kyrenia, the President said the government was monitoring its moves and making the appropriate representations.

[02] National Council

On the agenda is the President's recent visit to Athens, where he met with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis to discuss developments in the Cyprus problem and possible scenarios.

[03] Hospital meat

The investigation was ordered after a daily newspaper reported that every year, eight tonnes of lamb are ordered for hospital meals.

Mr. Savvides told CyBC that he should have been informed of the issue before the press.

[04] Mideast

Witnesses and Palestinian security sources said dozens of jeeps and armoured troop carriers had entered Bethlehem and surrounding villages before dawn, about 24 hours after the army ended an earlier raid in the area just south of Jerusalem.

An Israeli military source said troops had entered Manger Square at the heart of Bethlehem to prevent militants taking refuge in the Church of the Nativity, built on the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus was born.

Tensions have risen following the four Palestinian suicide bomb attacks last week and the Israeli raids, denting hopes of world leaders reviving peacemaking after 20 months of conflict since the Palestinians rose up against Israeli occupation.

The army said the new raids were designed to "safeguard the gains" of a more than month-long offensive in the West Bank which it said was intended to root out militants.

But Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said such raids could delay reforms of his Palestinian Authority which are sought by Israel and world leaders.

Arafat, who last week promised legislative and presidential elections by next winter, demanded yesterday that Israel "finish quickly the siege of all our cities and towns in the West Bank and Gaza" to facilitate preparations for the voting.

[05] Southasia

The firing, said by one Pakistan official to be the heaviest in weeks, comes during heightened tensions between the nuclear-capable rivals following a raid on an Indian army camp in Kashmir. India says Pakistan militants carried out that attack.

A resident in Charwa village near Sialkot said a woman and a girl were killed and four other people wounded when Indian troops fired heavy mortars.

Last night, four people were killed and 12 wounded when Indian troops fired mortars at Thatti Kalan village, 16 km east of Sialkot city. A dozen houses were also destroyed.

The official said three people wounded in a nearby village on Saturday had died in hospital, taking the death toll from Indian mortar fire that day to 10.

The firing was the latest in a series of exchanges between India and Pakistan which have massed around a million troops on their border since a bloody attack on the Indian parliament in December. India blamed that attack on Pakistan-based Islamic militants.

[06] World

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf addresses the nation today, the third day of planned missile tests nuclear rival India has called provocative and which have stoked fears of war.

- - - -

In Bogota, hard-line independent Alvaro Uribe, who promises to get tough with Colombia's Marxist rebels after failed peace talks, stormed to a landslide victory in the country's presidential election.

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Taiwan investigators prepare to recover the black boxes of a China Airlines plane that broke into four and plunged into the sea, killing all 225 people on board, in Asia's third major air disaster in six weeks.

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In the United States, several people were feared drowned after a number of vehicles plunged from a bridge into the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma when a large span collapsed after being struck by a barge.

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NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has reportedly detected water ice under the surface of the planet, according to scientific papers to be published this week, a finding that could be a giant step in exploration of Mars.

[07] Cannes

It was the first time that Polanski, director of such classics as "Chinatown", "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby", has taken the top prize at the world's most famous film festival.

He said he was honoured and moved to receive this prestigious prize for a film which represents Poland.

Polanski was born in France to Jewish parents but later returned to Poland, where his mother died in a concentration camp.

Finland's Kati Outinen won the award for best actress for her performance in "The Man Without a Past", as a Salvation Army officer who falls in love with a man who has lost his memory.

The award for best actor went to Belgium's Olivier Gourmet, who starred as a carpenter forced into an awkward relationship with an adolescent who murdered his son in "Le Fils" ("The Son").

[08] Weather

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

Tonight will be mainly clear, with fine mist and low clouds in some areas.

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

Temperatures will drop to 16 degrees inland and along the coast, and to 13 over the mountains.

Tomorrow will be generally fine with a few local clouds.

Winds in the morning will be northwesterly, light, two to three beaufort, and in the afternoon southwesterly, moderate, four beaufort, and locally five beaufort.

Seas will be slight to moderate in the afternoon.

Temperatures will reach 30 degrees inland, 28 along the south coast, 26 along the west coast, and 25 over the mountains.

On Wednesday, the weather will be fine with a slight increase in temperatures.

The fire hazard is high in all forest areas.

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