Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-01-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] ALVARO WESTON

[03] RUSSIAN ENVOY

[04] TURKEY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

[05] KISOS PAPS

[06] EDI CLERIDES

[07] IRAQ

[08] KOREA

[09] SHARON

[10] BAKOYIANI

[11] KEROSENE

[12] FARMERS

[13] WEATHER THURSDAY 16 JANUARY 2003

[01] HEADLINES

-- Russian Cyprus envoy Vladimir Prygin has expressed support for a just, viable and comprehensive settlement in Cyprus and praised the constructive approach the Greek Cypriot side displays at the UN-led peace talks.

-- Turkey's National Assembly President, Bulent Aric claimed that for there to be a solution to the Cyprus problem the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriots will have to be recognised.

-- U.N. arms experts launched an aerial and ground inspection of a military base of exiled Iranian rebels today.

And, * South Korea said today it was prepared for a worst-case scenario that included war on the peninsula if diplomacy failed to resolve the crisis over the North's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.

[02] ALVARO WESTON

Later today, Mr. de Soto will meet Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and is expected to see Russian deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov, who is in the Greek capital to see his Greek counterpart Tasos Yiannitsis.

Mr. Chizhov has served in the Russian embassy here for years and was later on appointed Moscow's special envoy for Cyprus.

US State Department special coordinator for Cyprus, Ambassador Thomas Weston, is also in Athens to see Mr. Papandreou. Later today he arrives on the island for meetings with President Glafcos Clerides, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and others.

[03] RUSSIAN ENVOY

Speaking after a meeting with President Glafcos Clerides here today, Prygin said Moscow wishes to see a ''productive and substantive'' round of negotiations, which began here today, leading to a mutually acceptable agreement.

The President thanked Prygin for Russia's firm support in the peace effort for a solution.

[04] TURKEY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Speaking during an illegal visit to the occupied areas, heading a parliamentary delegation, he also said the Turks will not be persuaded by the games of the Annan plan which contain dangers for the Turkish side.

[05] KISOS PAPS

The decision places the Movement in an alliance with opposition left-wing AKEL party and the Democratic Party. Social Democrats' President Yiannakis Omirou said the decision could create a new situation in the pre-election scene.

[06] EDI CLERIDES

The party took the decision with 107 out of 110 participants voting in favour of supporting President Clerides, who is currently serving his second term in office. During the vote there were three abstentions.

The United Democrats backed their decision by saying that the Greek Cypriot side should negotiate a Cyprus settlement ''with the person who is at the rudder today''.

[07] IRAQ

On the eve of the 12th anniversary of the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi officials said a team of experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission drove to Mujahideen Khalq base in Karkh some 20 km (12 miles) from Baghdad.

Another team flew helicopters over the site as the inspection proceeded on the ground. It was the second Mujahideen position to be scrutinised by the experts this week.

Iraq has allowed several thousand well-armed Mujahideen Khalq fighters to be based on its soil since the 1980s. The group claims credit for sporadic guerrilla attacks against Iran.

A Mujahideen spokesman had welcomed the first visit and said the group was ready for more to dispel once and for all Iranian charges that it was hiding banned weapons.

The inspectors said they would resume interviews of Iraqi scientists soon.

Meanwhile, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix arrived in Brussels today to brief European Union officials on the progress of his efforts to rid Iraq of suspected weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Blix said he would speak to reporters after meeting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the 15-nation bloc's foreign policy committee, as well as European Commission and European Parliament officials. In earlier statements, Mr. Blix said that Iraq needed to provide more evidence to the U.N. inspectors to avoid war.

[08] KOREA

Defence Minister Lee Jun told parliament that war would be unavoidable if diplomacy failed, even as Washington's top envoy for Asia warned that settling the issue would be a long, slow process.

Communist North Korea earlier poured scorn on the latest U.S. offers of aid in return for abandoning its nuclear programmes, but Japan's foreign minister and South Korea's president-elect said they saw signs Pyongyang wanted talks to end the crisis.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, flitting between Asian capitals to drum up support for Washington's stance on North Korea, said he had held "very good" talks with officials from China -- one of Pyongyang's few allies -- but that he did not expect a swift solution.

[09] SHARON

Opposition Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna ruled out entering another bloc led by Sharon's right-wing Likud, a move analysts said backfired amid public concern about a continued Palestinian uprising and a possible war over Iraq.

A survey commissioned by the liberal daily Ha'aretz saw Likud winning 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset in the January 28 election, up from 27 predicted in a January 9 poll by the paper after Likud was tainted by a funding scandal.

Labour, which briefly surged to 24 seats in forecasts on the strength of reports of vote-buying within Likud and illicit election funding under Mr. Sharon's auspices, is now expected to take 20 seats, Ha'aretz said. Other polls had similar results.

[10] BAKOYIANI

Accompanied by a 12-member delegation, Bakoyianni will be received tomorrow by Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and meet House President Demetris Christofias and political party leaders.

[11] KEROSENE

The new price will be valid until the ten million pound surplus from the increase in the consumers tax on kerosene, is spent.

[12] FARMERS

They will pay however VAT on the price of diesel which will later be returned to them. The decision will be submitted to the House of Representatives for approval.

[13] WEATHER

Tonight, the weather will remain clear with some frost forming in Troodos. Winds will be northerly, two to three beaufort and the sea slight. Temperatures will fall to six degrees inland, eight on the coasts and one over the mountains.

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