Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-07-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] AKSAM CONSTANTINOPLE

[03] PSEUDO PARL

[04] BASES RETURN

[05] MIDEAST

[06] IRAQ BOMB

[07] ITALY EU

[08] NIGERIA DEATHS

[09] ARRESTS ILLEGAL

[10] WEATHER Tuesday 1/07/2003

[01] HEADLINES

-- The area south of Larnaca International Airport, known as Beta-8, used by the British as a firing range up until 1974, was returned to the Cyprus Republic during a ceremony this morning at the Foreign Ministry in the presence of High Commissioner, Lyn Parker.

-- A Palestinian gunman attacked an Israeli army checkpoint and was shot dead today in another blow to a ceasefire declared by Palestinian factions under international pressure to uphold a shaky new peace plan.

And, --A U.S. military vehicle blew up in central Baghdad today, and one witness said U.S. troops pulled four badly wounded soldiers from the burning car.

[02] AKSAM CONSTANTINOPLE

According to the Turksih newspaper "Aksam" of Constantinople, US President George Bush told Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis during their meeting on 25 June that he will reach the issue with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr. Simitis said that following the signing of the accession treaty of Cyprus with the EU, the island's status has changed therefore some changes are necessary on the Annan Plan.

According to Aksam, Mr. Simitis said Mr. Denktash is an obstacle to a solution of the Cyprus problem and proposed a plan similar with the one that the Americans proposed in the case of Yasser Arafat.

[03] PSEUDO PARL

The so called "law" was supported by the illegal deputies of the National Unity, the Democratic Party and the Reform Action while the Communal Liberation party and the Republican Turkish Party voted against.

The so called "law" provides for Koinotikhs Apeleyqerwshs kai toy Repoymplikanikoy Toyrkikoy.

Meanwhile, according to an agreement signed in Ankara yesterday Turkey will grant the illegal regime a loan totalling 148 million dollars.

[04] BASES RETURN

The area which is eight kilometres south of Larnaca Internaitonal Airport was used as an air bomb range since 1974 and was cleaned up six times since 1985.

Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that with today's technology it is certain that there are no mines in the area. He also said there are plans to make use of the area by the local administration and the Cyprus Tourism Organisation.

[05] MIDEAST

The West Bank attack reported by the Israeli army occurred as the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers prepared for a meeting to weigh further steps on the "road map" to peace drawn up by a U.S.-led group of international mediators.

Israel pulled forces back from much of the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Monday, restoring general free movement for Palestinians for the first time in two-and-a-half years under a U.S.-mediated disengagement deal meant to advance the road map.

[06] IRAQ BOMB

The armoured car exploded near al-Mustansiriyah University in the heart of the capital.

A Reuters reporter who arrived on the scene shortly after the attack said an American and an Iraqi car were on fire.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Some witnesses said the Iraqi car blew up next to the U.S. vehicle while others said a rocket-propelled grenade was used in the attack.

U.S. soldiers cordoned off the area and began to investigate. They refused to comment on the incident.

Earlier in the day, a U.S. soldier was lightly wounded when a military convoy was attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade near Baghdad airport.

U.S. forces have come under fire almost daily in recent weeks in mainly Sunni Muslim central Iraq, a stronghold for ousted President Saddam Hussein when he was in power.

At least 22 U.S. and six British troops have been killed by hostile fire since U.S. President George W. Bush declared major combat in Iraq over on May 1.

[07] ITALY EU

But cooperation will not come easily to two men who are on different sides of the political divide and have a track record of personal animosity that stretches beyond simple ideology.

The country that holds the EU presidency sets the political agenda for the bloc and has to work hand-in-hand with the Brussels-based Commission to coordinate policy.

Italy faces a particularly busy semester, with a tight timetable to wrap up negotiations on Europe's historic new constitution and ambitious schemes to kick start the EU economy.

[08] NIGERIA DEATHS

A police spokesman said the four were shot in a suburb of the inland capital Abuja, where police fired teargas and battled protesters yesterday.

On Monday, riot police fired live rounds into the air and used teargas to quell violence as a general strike paralysed the world's eighth biggest oil exporting nation, shutting ports, banks, shops and petrol stations. Unionists torched barricades.

Nigerian trade unionists vowed to push the strike into a second day today, triggering mounting concern over the West African state's more than two million barrels a day of oil exports.

The strike was sparked by President Olusegun Obasanjo's decision to raise fuel prices by over 50 percent on June 20. Re-elected for a second term in disputed elections in April, the President also faces heated political debate over a hike he says is essential to the economy.

[09] ARRESTS ILLEGAL

During their statement, the two allegedly confessed to arriving in the area by boat in an effort to find a better life.

Police said the boat which brought the two syrians to Cyprus contained another eight to ten persons who are believed to be hiding in the area.

Meanwhile, nine Turks and four kurds were arrested today for illegally entering the Republic.

In another development, thirty-eight illegal immigrants, who were located yesterday off Cyprus' eastern coast traveling in two fishing boats, were deported to Syria last night.

[10] WEATHER

Temperatures will reach 38 C inland, 32 C on the south coast and 30 over the west and mountainous areas.

Tonight, the weather will remain clear but thin mist and low cloud will form in some areas.

Winds will be westerly to north-westerly light, two to three beaufort and the sea calm to slight. Temperatures will fall to 22 C inland and on the south coast, 20 C on the west and 18 over the mountains.

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