Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-07-25

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

CONTENTS

[01] headlines

[02] Documents

[03] Top Secret

[04] Accident

[05] Mines

[06] Varosha

[07] Denks

[08] Mideast

[09] ETA

[10] Chechens

[11] Doctor

[12] weather FRIDAY 25/07/2003

[01] headlines

Police are looking into another batch of confidential documents that turned up outside the education ministry,

The government has welcomed Rauf Denktash's proposal to remove Turkish mines in and around Nicosia,

The UN Security Council rebuffed Rauf Denktash's threats to colonise Famagusta,

And a five-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed outside Jenin.

[02] Documents

The documents were were found by a citizen who handed them over to Politis newspaper.

Police investigators confiscated the papers.

Politis editor-in-chief Andreas Paraschos said the documents were in the trash for at least two to three weeks, while a large bulk was disposed of at the Kotsiatis landfill.

He said none of the documents were photocopied, but a cursory look found that they dealt with Cabinet decisions, trips by ministers and other sensitive issues.

[03] Top Secret

This from Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides who also confirmed that more secret documents were found in the Education Ministry's parking lot and were handed over to Politis.

Mr. Chrysostomides insisted that there was no uniform policy on how to dispose of such documents.

He cited the fact that the former Health Minister handed over an archive, while the ex-Education Minister said he ordered his archive destroyed. Meanwhile, Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades said he was unaware of documents found in his ministry's trash, insisting that no file from his office had been thrown away.

He said there were no classified documents in his office when he took charge of the ministry, something that his predecessor, Ouranios Ioannides has corroborated. Former Defence Minister Socrates Hasikos said policy or not, the real issue is the way the documents were disposed of.

He insisted that Health Minister Dina Akkelidou resign, but dismissed allegations of sexist remarks directed at her.

Hitting back, Mrs. Akkelidou accused Mr. Hasikos of rushing to judgement and of playing judge and jury before the probe into the scandal is completed.

Mrs. Akkelidou's predecessor, Frixos Savvides, said this could have happened to anyone.

Mr. Savvides said Mrs. Akkelidou showed trust and leadership, but the fact remains that instead of ensuring the documents' destruction, they ended up in bin liners piled in her ministry.

[04] Accident

Lambros Lambrou, originally from occupied Famagusta, was killed when his lorry plunged down an embankment on the Kalo-Chorio to Louvara road.

Police said Lambrou was flung from the lorry's cabin, suffering fatal head injuries.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

[05] Mines

An official statement said the government considers demining a very important issue and has repeatedly urged the Turkish side to accept simultaneous mine removal from both sides of the buffer zone.

The statement said despite the refusal of the Turkish side, the government included unilateral demining in the package of support measures geared towards Turkish Cypriots.

The government is consulting with the UN and the European Union to follow through with its committment to demine.

The UN has been asked to arrange the speedy removal of the mines, while the EU has been approached to finance the effort.

The statement also noted that Rauf Denktash's proposal only deals with demining in and around Nicosia, and not through all 180 kilometres of the buffer zone.

[06] Varosha

In statements, the Council's Spanish president said the body also urges both sides to re-start Cyprus settlement talks based on the Annan plan as indicated in resolution 1475.

Rauf Denktash's threats to colonise Famagusta were discussed by the Security Council last night following strong remonstrations by the island's permanent representative to the UN, George Kasoulides.

The Cypriot diplomat conveyed to the Security Council the government's concerns over Denktash's threats.

[07] Denks

Speaking in Constantinople, the Turkish Cypriot leader said the moment the Greek Cypriot side applied to join the EU, Turkey should have reacted.

He added that the then Turkish Foreign Minister had pledged a strong reaction, but nothing came of it.

Rauf Denktash said the Grek Cypriot side wanted to join the bloc to counteract Turkey's rights on the island.

He also claimed that the US administration is threatening countries that want to recognise the occupation regime with a financial aide embargo.

[08] Mideast

The shooting was at a checkpoint at the entrance to Barta'a village, just southwest of the West Bank city of Jenin.

Five-year-old Mahmoud Qabha died immediately from a gunshot wound after a soldier on an armoured vehicle fired at his father's vehicle.

One of his sisters was shot in the hand and another sister was wounded also, the witness said.

The girls were taken to hospital in the nearby Israeli city of Afula.

The Israeli army was checking the report.

The incident occurred hours before Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was due to hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, during which he was expected to ask Bush to put pressure on Israel to remove West Bank checkpoints.

[09] ETA

The bomb went off in the entrance of the courthouse in Estella, Navarre, wounding a young man driving past in a van.

Navarre is a northern province claimed by separatists as a part of a greater Basque homeland.

The bomb exploded after a caller claiming to represent ETA telephoned a warning to a motorway accident and breakdown service.

Another two home-made bombs blew up in the troubled Basque country earlier.

The latest blasts followed two explosions in Spanish seaside resorts on Tuesday, wounding 13 people, in what authorities called the start of ETA's traditional summer bombing campaign aimed at undermining the crucial tourist sector.

[10] Chechens

The General Prosecutor's office in Moscow said five explosive belts had been found in an overnight search at a wooden shack outside the capital.

Chechen women bombers strap the belts around themselves in attacks.

The breakthrough followed a bomb attack at an open-air rock festival in Moscow on July 5 in which two women, said to be Chechens, blew themselves up, killing 14 people and themselves. A 15th victim died on Thursday.

[11] Doctor

The Greek Cypriot man donated his bone marrow to 27-year-old Umit Toutlou who was unable to find a suitable match among his four siblings.

Following the successful transplant surgery, Toutlou said that he has now gained a brother he would like to meet.

Regulations, however, say that Toutlou cannot meet the donour for at least a year.

[12] weather

Temperatures will reach 37 degrees inland, 35 on the south coast, 30 in the west and 28 in the highest mountains.

Chance of gog and low cloud tonight mainly on the coasts.

Winds will be westerly to northwesterly light, force 2 to 3, with slight seas.

Temperatures will drop to 24 degrees inland and the south coast, and to 21 in the west and highest mountains.

A reminder that the fire hazard is extremely high in all forest areas.

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