Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-10-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] PAPS GUL

[03] GUL ATHENS

[04] IACO GUL

[05] IACOVOU WESTON

[06] MIDEAST

[07] IRAQ US

[08] IRELAND BRITAIN

[09] INDIA VIOLENCE

[10] WEATHER Thusday 21/10/03

[01] HEADLINES

-- Cyprus foreign Minister George Iacovou expressed the view that turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's visit to Athens will not produce any specific results for Cyprus.

-- Israel's army said today there would be no let-up in its hunt for Islamic militants after it killed 10 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and wounded about 100 in a day of air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

And

-- Britain announced long-delayed elections to Northern Ireland's powersharing assembly today in a move expected to trigger a dramatic act of disarmament by the Irish Republican Army guerrilla group

[02] PAPS GUL

Welcoming Abdullah Gul, George Papandreou said his visit takes place within the framework of exchanging visits and is a proof of the steady will of the two sides to continue on the road opened a few years ago, the road to solving important issues.

Mr. Papandreou said both countries have opened a new chapter in their relations and have contributed to alleviating tension in the region. At the same time they are establishing cooperaiton and are trying to solve important issues.

The Greek Foreign minister said they will discuss the Cyprus problem, Greco-turkish relations, Turkey's EU course and developments in the Balkans, the Middle East and the Iraqi crisi.

They also discuss cooperation issues in view of the Athens Olympic Games.

[03] GUL ATHENS

From 2000 and afterwards, he said, Athens and Ankara have signed many agreements which have been put into implementation, adding that during every new meeting, more measures to build trust between the two countries are decided.

During his visit to Athens, he said, together with his counterpart George Papandreou will review steps taken and decide how to proceed in the future.

[04] IACO GUL

Speaking to CyBC, Mr. Iacovou said the visit was scheduled and is part of the meetings taking place every six months between the two ministers.

Although he said he did not expect anything specific, Mr. Iacovou did not rule out some announcements by Turkish Cytpriot leader Rauf Denktash on the issue of Famagusta, in an effort to secure votes for the forthcoming illegal elections in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus.

[05] IACOVOU WESTON

Speaking to CyBC, Foreign Minister George iacovou expressed the view that the US Coordinator will not ask for a list adding that the changes which the Greek Cypriot side wants will be tabled at the negotiations after they are discussed at the National Council.

Mr. Iacovou said Mr. Weston's contacts aim at finding out from the governments of Greece, Turkey and Cyprus the developments on various issues.

Another aim of Mr. Weston's new tour is the voting in the occupied areas since the Americans believe that negotiations will resume after the illegal elections.

[06] MIDEAST

Palestinian militant groups vowed to avenge the raids. In one attack on a refugee camp, a helicopter gunship chasing suspected militants in a car fired a missile into a crowd of people, killing seven civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also piled pressure on the Palestinians to crack down on militants behind a wave of suicide bombings by renewing a threat to remove Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in a speech to parliament on Monday.

The casualties were inflicted in five air raids over a 12-hour period and followed an ambush by gunmen who killed three Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and the launch of eight makeshift rockets from Gaza into Israel on Sunday.

The violence dealt a new setback to a U.S.-backed peace "road map" intended to end three years of conflict since Palestinians rose up for statehood.

[07] IRAQ US

A Reuters correspondent said U.S. soldiers fired a few shots in the air to disperse a furious crowd at a complex of government buildings in Baghdad that includes the oil, electricity, trade and irrigation ministries.

There were no reports of casualties.

Dogs are considered unclean in Islamic culture.

Sniffer dogs are routinely used to search employees for explosives at government ministries as a precaution against bomb attacks.

[08] IRELAND BRITAIN

Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern were expected to travel to Belfast to seal a deal analysts say may be the most significant political event since the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which effectively ended 30 years of sectarian violence in the British-ruled province.

"The date for elections is set for November 26," a spokeswoman for Mr. Blair said.

London and Dublin have spent weeks trying to broker a deal between Sinn Fein, the political ally of the Roman Catholic IRA, and the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party led by David Trimble.

Unionists have demanded major moves towards disarmament by the IRA and a commitment the group will stop activities such as training and intelligence-gathering, which the IRA has considered outside the scope of its 1997 ceasefire which led to the peace accord.

[09] INDIA VIOLENCE

At least three motorcycles were set on fire and several police vans stoned when about 500 men took to the streets in the western part of the city.

A Police spokesman said the protesters had been dispersed and the area was peaceful after almost four hours of trouble.

The spokesman had no details of the death, but the Zee News television channel said the man died after being beaten by police during a raid on an illegal gambling den in the area on Monday.

[10] WEATHER

Tonight it will be clear with north-westerly to north-easterly light winds, two to three beaufort. The sea will be calm to slight. Temperatures will fall to 17 C inland, on the west coast and mountains and 18 over the east coast.

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