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Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-04-21Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
0930:CYPPRESS:01[01] EU-Cyprus parliamentary committee meetsNicosia, Apr 21 (CNA) -- Relations between the European Union and Cyprus will come under scrutiny at this week's meeting of parliamentarians from the European Parliament and the island's House of Representatives.The 13th meeting of the joint parliamentary committee will take place on Thursday and Friday this week to hear views on the accession negotiations, the participation of Turkish Cypriots in membership talks, structural funds and pre-accession strategy funding, common foreign and security policy and the environment. Nine Euro MPs from seven countries are expected to attend the joint meeting, co-chaired by Cypriot deputy Tassos Papadopoulos and Belgian deputy Philippe Monfils, who will address the opening session of the JPC meeting. Representatives of the current rotating EU presidency (Britain), the EU Commission and the government of the Republic of Cyprus will make statements on the political situation in Cyprus and EU-Cyprus relations. The issue of missing persons in Cyprus and the situation of enclaved Greek Cypriots, living in the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, will also be on the agenda of the two-day meeting. Deputies will also exchange views on the European Mediterranean Process. CNA MM/GP/1998ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY1020:CYPPRESS:02[02] Slight tremors in southern CyprusNicosia, Apr 21 (CNA) -- Five slight tremors were registered earlier this morning by the Geological Survey Department, near the southern town of Limassol.No injuries or damage has been reported so far. The epicentre of the tremor was on land, some 40 miles north of Limassol. Most of the tremors measures between 3.5 and 4.5 on the Richter scale. A spokesman for the Department, Kyriakos Solomi, told CNA the possibility of having more seismic activity is rather remote. CNA MM/GP/1998ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY1115:CYPPRESS:03[03] British to carry exercises amid protestsNicosia, Apr 21 (CNA) -- British troops, serving with the two military bases Britain maintains in Cyprus, will train during the next couple of days in the Akamas peninsula amid growing protests from local environmentalists and organised groups, who oppose the presence of the British on the island.Some eighty infantrymen of the battalions based at Episkopi and Dhekelia will train on Wednesday and Thursday in groups of 30 using live ammunition, firing rifles and machine guns, and practicing infantry skills. This week's exercises go ahead after the British bases turned down a one-off alternative training location the government of the Republic of Cyprus has offered. British Bases training specialists said the area offered, west of the capital Nicosia, near Asinou, "was found to be too small for live-fire training to take place safely." A Bases press release said the weapons used present "virtually no hazard to the environment and stringent regulations will, as always be enforced to preserve and protect the landscape." The Akamas peninsula, on the northwestern tip of the island, is an area of unique natural beauty and in the recent past local environmentalists have stepped up their protests against the continuation of the exercises. A press release by one of these groups opposing Britain's presence here said they would protest by all legal means the exercises and try and prevent them. Discussions between the government and the authorities of the Bases continue to find an alternative location for the British soldiers to train to replace Akamas. British army, in Cyprus at the two military bases Britain has retained since it granted the island its independence in 1960, has the right to 70 days training but generally takes place for 35 in a six-square kilometre area. CNA MM/GP/1998ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY1230:CYPPRESS:04[04] AKEL delegation to Cuba and SpainNicosia, Apr 21 (CNA) -- A delegation of Cyprus' leftwing AKEL, headed by the party's General Secretary, Dimitris Christofias, left today for Cuba for meetings with government and Communist Party officials.Participating in the delegation is also deputy Nicos Katsourides, member of the Party's Central Committee. The visit takes place at the invitation of Cuba's Communist Party. The situation in the two countries and international issues will be among the issues to be discussed during the visit. Speaking to the press at Larnaca airport before the delegation's departure, Christofias said the aim of the trip is to further strengthen relations between the two countries. "We will express our solidarity with Cuba and bring back the solidarity of the people of Cuba with Cyprus' struggle", Christofias added. He pointed out that solidarity with the people of Cuba "is essential at a time when its strong neighbour (United States) is putting pressure on the country". On its return from Cuba, AKEL's delegation will visit Madrid to meet the leadership of the Spanish communist party. AKEL is the second-largest political party of Cyprus with 19 seats in the 56-member House of Representatives. CNA GG/GP/1998ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCYCNA ENDSCyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |