Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 04-01-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] SIMITIS PAPS

[03] FINANCE FUEL

[04] CYPRIOTS MALTA

[05] IRAQ JAPANESE

[06] IRAQ DEATH

[07] BIRDFLU

[08] ARTS BAFTAS

[09] WEATHER MONDAY 19 JANUARY 2004

[01] HEADLINES

--Finance Minister Markos Kyprianou considers unjustified the accusations against the government for increasing the price of fuel.

-- Japanese troops entered Iraq from Kuwait today to begin Japan's most controversial and risky deployment since World War Two.

and

-- An eight-year-old girl has been confirmed as the fifth person to die in Vietnam from an outbreak of bird flu, while nine other children with respiratory ailments are being tested for the virus.

[02] SIMITIS PAPS

Their meeting, also attended by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Tasos Yiannitsis, Greek Ambassador to Cyprus Christos Panagopoulos, Cyprus Foreign Minister Georgios Iacovou, Cyprus Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides, the Director of Papadopoulos' Diplomatic Office, Ambassador Tasos Tzionis and Cyprus Ambassador to Greece Leonidas Pantelides, started at 1200 local time.

Earlier President Papadopoulos and his aides met with Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos

[03] FINANCE FUEL

Speaking before departing to Brussels today, Mr. Kyprianou said the recent increase in the price of fuel has nothing to do with the increase in the government's income which has not imposed any taxation on fuel apart from the one agreed by the former government of Glafcos Clerides.

[04] CYPRIOTS MALTA

The finnish government presented a bill to Parliament providing that at least for the first two years, citizens of the eight countries of the eastern and central europe will have no right to work in Finland. The bill does not have any exclusion or restrictions for the citizens of Malta and Cyprus.

[05] IRAQ JAPANESE

An advance party of soldiers that will prepare the ground for the deployment of about 1,000 troops crossed the border in a convoy of about 12 jeeps and military vehicles.

The dispatch marks a historic shift away from Japan's purely defensive postwar security policy and poses a huge political risk for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whose government could be rocked if, as many expect, casualties occur.

The troops will be based in the mainly Shi'ite southern city of Samawa, where they will conduct reconstruction and humanitarian operations.

Security was tight in Tokyo after media reports said late last year that al Qaeda had warned Japan that it would attack the heart of the capital as soon as Japanese troops set foot in Iraq.

[06] IRAQ DEATH

In a statement, the US army said the soldier died on Sunday from wounds sustained in a bomb attack in the town of Samarra, 100 km north of Baghdad.

The death brought to 347 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action since the start of the war to oust Saddam Hussein. Including non-combat deaths, the toll stands at 501.

[07] BIRDFLU

The girl, from the northern province of Ha Tay, died on Saturday. She was taken to hospital in Hanoi on January 15 after first showing symptoms on January 11, the World Health Organisation said on Monday.

The WHO says there has been no sign the disease is being spread between humans. Its victims are believed to have caught it from infected chickens and eating cooked chicken and eggs is safe.

But experts are worried there might be a mixing of the avian flu with a human flu and a new, contagious deadly disease could sweep out of Asia, a year after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome emerged and killed about 800 people around the world.

South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have also reported outbreaks of bird flu but Vietnam has been the hardest hit. Besides the five confirmed deaths there have been seven deaths suspected to have been caused by avian flu.

[08] ARTS BAFTAS

Starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, the film scooped 13 nominations, one more than "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the last in the fantasy trilogy.

"Girl With A Pearl Earring, starring Colin Firth as the painter Vermeer, was nominated in 10 categories.

One big surprise at the BAFTAS -- widely seen as a pointer to the Oscars -- was the omission in the Best Actress category of Kidman, who swept all before her last year with "The Hours."

Instead, this year's two tipped leading ladies were Uma Thurman and Scarlett Johansson.

Cold Mountain co-star Law was pitted against Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Bill Murray and Benicio Del Toro in a hotly contested battle for the Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

The other top Cold Mountain nominations were for Best Film, Best Director for Anthony Minghella and Best Supporting Actress for Rene Zellweger.

Lord of the Rings could end its three years of box office success on a triumphant note -- especially for Ian McKellen who plays the wizard Gandalf. He is up for the Best Supporting Actor award.

The battle for Best Film award offered an intriguing mix: Cold Mountain and Lord of the Rings were joined in the last five by the Russell Crowe naval saga "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," "Lost in Translation" with Bill Murray and Tim Burton's "Big Fish."

[09] WEATHER

Tonight it will be mainly clear with local cloud. Winds will be north-westerly to north-easterly light, two to three beaufort and the sea calm to slight. Temperatures will fall to four degrees inland, seven on the coasts and two over the mountains.

The depth of snow on Mt. Olympus is 55 cm and 45 over Troodos square.

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