Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 04-07-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] TORCH IN CYPRUS

[03] TORCH LIMASSOL

[04] PANAGOPOULOS TORCH

[05] TORCH BEARER

[06] TC FLAME

[07] IACOVOU MEASURES

[08] MIDEAST

[09] SWEDEN LINDH

[10] AFGHAN ACCIDENT

[11] IRAQ

[12] WEATHER THURSDAY 8 JULY 2004

[01] HEADLINES

The Flame arrived at eight in the morning at Paphos airport and was received by President of the Cyprus Olympic Committee, Kikis Lazarides.

--Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that on Tuesday the final decision by the government will be taken concerning the measures proposed by the European Commission for Turkish Cypriots, especially on the direct trade with the Turkish occupied north,

--Israeli troops killed at least seven Palestinians today in the fiercest fighting in northern Gaza since the army invaded 10 days ago to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel.

And

--Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh's killer Mijailo Mijailovic is mentally ill and needs treatment instead of jail, a high court ruled today, overturning a lower court's life sentence for murder.

[02] TORCH IN CYPRUS

The Flame arrived at eight in the morning at Paphos airport and was received by President of the Cyprus Olympic Committee, Kikis Lazarides.

A ceremony was held in the presence of Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades, Greece's Amvbassador in Nicosia, Paphos Mayor, the Bishop of Paphos and other officials.

The boat was taken via sea to Paphos Harbour and the official ceremony was held at the Medieval Castle.

Mr. Lazarides said the reason the flame will not pass from the occupied areas is because of the regime's stance.

He also said the Cyprus Olympiuc Committee wanted to convey the message of unity in Cyprus and made every effort for the flame to pass through the occupied areas but unfortunately, the aim was not achieved.

The flame travelled Petra tou Romiou, or Aphrodite's birthplace and then Apollo's Temple.

[03] TORCH LIMASSOL

The flame will arrive in Nicosia at five twenty today and at six will pass from the Presidential Palace and then the House of Representatives and at seven it will be carried to the Nicosia Municipality by torch bearer, first lady Fotini Papadopoulou.

For two hours it will pass from the capital's central streets before ending up at D'avila moat where a ceremony will be held around nine this evening.

Tomorrow it will be taken to Paralimni and Larnaca where it will depart at around two in the afternoon.

The torch is being held aloft by a total of 145 torch bearers.

CybC is covering the event with live programmes and special documentaries. It will air live tonight's ceremony at D'Avila on CyBC 1.

[04] PANAGOPOULOS TORCH

In statements at Paphos Airport, he said Cypriot hellenism feels proud for the unique events that are taking place on the island. He said that the flame sends a message of brotherhood and cooperation to all the peoples.

[05] TORCH BEARER

He said the Torch Relay is a unique moment for Greek Cypriots and a historic event.

[06] TC FLAME

In a press conference, he criticised those who stopped the passing of the flame in the Turkish occupied north.

[07] IACOVOU MEASURES

He told CyBC that the government is disappointed and not satisfied by the measures noting their announcement was expected and added that the government's suggestions were not taken into consideration.

[08] MIDEAST

Palestinian witnesses in the town of Beit Hanoun said five of the dead were gunmen, including Nahed Abu Odah, local commander of the armed wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas, and two were non-combatants.

Colonel Avi Levy, commander of Israeli forces in the area, said his men reported eight or nine Palestinians were killed and that one soldier was wounded.

Violence has surged in Gaza in the run-up to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planned withdrawal of settlers and soldiers from the area by the end of next year, as Palestinian militants and the army vie for supremacy.

[09] SWEDEN LINDH

The high court's verdict is a victory for Mr. Mijailovic's defence lawyer, who appealed the lower court's ruling and got a new team of psychiatrists to examine his client's state of mind after initial mental checks found him sane enough to go to jail.

The second evaluation deemed Mr. Mijailovic mentally ill and recommended treatment at an institution instead of imprisonment.

The first examination, which served as a basis for the lower court's March 23 verdict in favour of the prosecutor, found Mr. Mijailovic sane enough to go to jail.

He has admitted to stabbing Lindh repeatedly with a knife in a downtown Stockholm department store in September but has denied intent to kill.

The brutal attack on Lindh, a 46-year-old mother of two widely tipped before her death as Sweden's next prime minister, evoked painful memories in Sweden of the 1986 assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme. That crime remains unsolved.

[10] AFGHAN ACCIDENT

Most of the passengers in the bus were refugees who had recently returned from neighbouring Iran.

Millions of Afghans still live as refugees abroad, mostly in Pakistan and Iran, but many have returned since the U.S.-led forces overthrew the fundamentalist Taliban in late-2001.

[11] IRAQ

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered no more workers to go to Iraq after Arabic Al Jazeera television said gunmen had seized a Filipino there and threatened to kill him unless Manila withdrew its troops within 72 hours.

Relatives of Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun said they had no news of his whereabouts, though Beirut's U.S. embassy said it had credible information the marine was in Lebanon.

Hassoun went missing from his unit on June 21 and is thought to have been kidnapped. On Tuesday, his relatives in north Lebanon said they had received word he had been released.

Kidnappers have seized dozens of foreigners since April to press demands for foreign troops to leave Iraq, to deter foreigners from working with U.S. forces or to extract ransom.

Iraq's interim government, determined to crush foreign Islamist militants and Iraqi insurgents, announced a new security law yesterday giving itself powers to declare martial law in defined areas for periods of up to 60 days.

[12] WEATHER

Tonight weather conditions will remain the same but locally there will be thin mist and low cloud. Winds will be light, two to three beaufort and the sea calm to slight. Temperatures will fall to 21 C. The fire hazard is very high in all forest areas.

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