Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-04-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] PAPS EU

[03] PROTOPAPAS TURKEY

[04] EU FLAG

[05] TC MEASURES GREEK TV

[06] SIMITIS VISIT

[07] MIDEAST

[08] IRAQ

[09] CHINA SARS

[10] MIST AIRPORT

[11] WEATHER WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL 2003

[01] HEADLINES

- The flag of the European Union has been raised at all ministries and public buildings as of today.

-- Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, arrives on the island tomorrow afternoon, inaugurating his tour to the ten new EU member states.

-- Israeli troops enforcing a curfew on Palestinians during the Jewish Passover holiday killed a young Palestinian man in the West Bank city of Tulkarm today.

And, -- Declaring that life is improving in Baghdad one week after U.S. forces marched in, Washington shifted its focus today from combat to reconstruction and urged an end to U.N. economic sanctions on Iraq.

[02] PAPS EU

He said that was Turkey's problem, and not Cyprus'.

He described yesterday as the most historic day of the Republic since independence. He returns from Athens later this evening.

[03] PROTOPAPAS TURKEY

He said that if Turkey wishes to face the truth, it should accept the fact that the Republic of Cyprus signed yesterday the Accession Treaty to the EU, and should start working on settling the Cyprus issue, strengthening Turkey's european course.

[04] EU FLAG

Special ceremonies were held today to mark the hoisting of the EU flag.

At the Foreign Ministry attending the ceremony were EU ambassador, Adrian Van der Meer and Acting Foreign Minister, Andreas Christou European Commission Delegation.

[05] TC MEASURES GREEK TV

Reading from a document and saying it is a copy of the measures which the members of the National Council have in their possession, the Greek Television reporter said that Turkish Cypriots are entitled to benefit from Accession, independent of the occupation which was imposed on them.

Among the measures are: - Allowing Turkish Cypriots in the free areas to work and to lift restrictions in the movement of tourists between the occupied and free areas. - Recognition of the universities and institutions in the occupied areas and allowing Turkish Cypriots to bring products to the free areas.

Efforts will be undertaken so that during the Euro Elections of 2004 all the people of Cyprus, including Turkish Cypriots, can vote.

[06] SIMITIS VISIT

Mr. Simitis, in his capacity as chairman of the European Council will arrive on the island tomorrow at seven and will be welcomed at the Rizoelia round about by the people of Larnaca. On Saturday he will hold talks with President Tassos Papadopoulos and will address a special session of the House.

A spokesman of the Greek Embassy told CyBC that Mr. Simitis expressed a desire to be informed on the views of the Turkish Cypriot opposition. The meeting can be held at the residence of the Greek Ambassador on Saturday afternoon.

Leader of the Republican Turkish Party, Mehmet Ali Talat said he will meet Mr. Simitis without asking Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. Communal Liberation Party leader, Husseyin Angolem;i will also meet Mr. Simitis. The invitation was however rejected by the leaders of the turkish cypriot parties which participate in the illegal "government".

[07] MIDEAST

Palestinian witnesses and medics said the 21 year old was shot several times after being spotted on a Tulkarm street by Israeli forces. They said the man had no connection with Palestinian militants fighting against Israel for independence since September 2000.

An Israeli army spokesman said the man was shot after he threw two petrol bombs at patrolling troops and as he was preparing to light up a third.

Military sources said troops and armoured vehicles also surrounded a Tulkarm hospital after receiving intelligence that a militant suspected of organising suicide bombings against Israelis was hiding inside.

Palestinian witnesses said troops were preventing anyone from going in or out of the hospital. An army spokesman denied this, saying the hospital's work was not being obstructed.

Israel imposed a general closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, banning Palestinian travel within and in and out of the territories with curfews in some places, during the Passover period following warnings of attacks planned by militants.

[08] IRAQ

The White House said the United States would propose a U.N. resolution to end the controversial 13-year-old sanctions "in the near future" and America's U.N. ambassador, John Negroponte, said Washington envisioned a "step-by-step procedure".

The sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait barred all trade with Baghdad but to relieve hardship on the Iraqi people, a U.N. programme was established in 1996 that allowed Iraq to sell oil to buy food and essentials.

"Now that Iraq is liberated, the United Nations should lift sanctions on that country," President George W. Bush said yesterday.

General Tommy Franks, who directed the U.S.-British war that ousted Saddam Hussein, flew to Baghdad airport where the runways are still pockmarked with craters from U.S. bombs.

He met troops and military commanders and gave Bush a progress report via videoconference from one of Saddam's abandoned palaces.

Although relatively calm, there was sporadic violence and looting in Baghdad and a desperate shortage of electricity, water and medical care in the shattered capital.

General Franks said water and power were being restored and hospitals were beginning to function again after days of anarchy.

Australia also judged that the war was winding down and announced that most of the 2,000 military personnel it sent to the Gulf to support U.S. and British forces would start returning home in May.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Chalabi, a leader of the opposition Iraqi National Congress and a favourite with the Pentagon, became the first major exile politician to return to Baghdad since Saddam's fall.

Mr. Chalabi would meet community and religious leaders and coordinate his activities with Jay Garner, the retired American general overseeing the effort to rebuild Iraq. "

U.S. officials announced steps to put Iraq's civil service back to work, saying the interim U.S. administration would pay Iraqi civil servants within days.

The U.S. military said it hoped to get Iraqi oil fields pumping at two thirds of prewar levels within eight weeks.

Meanwhile, at the United Nations, Syria circulated a draft resolution in the Security Council to help transform the Middle East into a "zone free of weapons of mass destruction."

[09] CHINA SARS

The WHO said the capital, Beijing, may have five times the official number of 40 deaths after visiting hospitals run by the military "which seems to have its own system of reporting", said Wolfgang Preiser of the WHO team.

WHO Executive Director for Communicable Diseases David Heymann said the team estimated there were at least 50 SARS patients in one military hospital alone.

SARS has killed at least 65 people and infected 1,445 in mainland China -- nearly half of the world's cases -- since it first surfaced in southern Guangdong province in November.

The virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has been carried by air travellers to 23 countries, infecting more than 3,400 people and killing about 160 worldwide.

[10] MIST AIRPORT

A total of 350 passengers were affected.

Commuinications and Works minister, Kikis Kazamias said that a decision was taken to purchase the necessary equipment so that aircraft can land during low visibility with the use of lazer beams.

[11] WEATHER

Winds will be south-westerly to westerly light, two to three beaufort and the sea slight. Temperatures will reach 25 C inland, 23 on the coasts and 17 over the mountains,

Tonight, the high cloud will continue to cover the area, reducing visibility due to the dust and increased humidity. Local rain might fall. Winds will be north-westerly to north-easterly light, two to three beaufort, gradually turning to north-easterly to easterly moderate, four beaufort and locally five beaufort. The sea will be slight, gradually becoming moderate.

Temperatures will fall to 12 C inalnd, on the west coast and mountains and 15 C on the south and east coast.

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