Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-03-17

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Iran may have weapons able to hit British forces in Cyprus and

Afghanistan

[02] Omirou: Europe cannot tolerate occupation

[03] UN envoy to brief Security Council on Cyprus

[04] Efforts to combat unemployment continue

[01] Iran may have weapons able to hit British forces in Cyprus and Afghanistan

Burt also highlighted concern over Iran`s missile programme after Prime Minister David Cameron said last week it appeared to be seeking an intercontinental ballistic missile force in the Middle East with 200-300 medium range missiles, including the Shahab 3 that has been tested to hit targets at a distance of 2,000 km.

``To put this into perspective, Cyprus and UK troops in Afghanistan fall within that range with Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia,`` he said.

Iran, he concluded, is taking a ``grave risk`` if it does not end its banned nuclear programme and show the world it is not seeking to acquire the bomb.

He said UK authorities were on alert for possible terrorist activity of Iranian agents against British targets.

[02] Omirou: Europe cannot tolerate occupation

Omirou, who was speaking at an event in the Greek town of Larissa, organized by the Cypriot Organization there, said that Cyprus “can not and should not remain the only divided country in Europe, when Europe itself is on the path of unification”.

“Europe can no longer tolerate the presence of an occupation army – Turkish - in a country which constitutes part and equal member - Cyprus”, he underlined.

The House President said that the Greek Cypriot side demands the restoration of the human rights of all Cypriots, which have been violated by the Turkish army during the 1974 invasion against the island.

[03] UN envoy to brief Security Council on Cyprus

The decision for a briefing via teleconference was taken by the UN Secretariat and the British Presidency of the Council, given that the issue of the report was delayed by 12 days. Ban`s report was unofficially distributed to the UNSC members last Monday, 12 March.

On his part, Downer is not expected to submit to the UNSG a report on the UN-backed negotiating process prior to the Easter holidays or maybe by the end of April, when the international organization is expected to clarify his next steps on the negotiations, which began on September 2008.

As things stand, the possibility for Downer to propose the convening of an international conference on Cyprus is considered unlikely, but he is expected to make suggestions on how the process will continue until the presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus scheduled for February 2013.

[04] Efforts to combat unemployment continue

Addressing a seminar, Charalambous said unemployment rose due to the effects of the global financial crisis, the fact that the labour market in Cyprus had changed since 2004, especially after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, since the labour market was no longer regulated, and due to the structural problems the crisis highlighted.

Charalambous referred to the policies and programmes promoted by the Ministry of Labour to support employment and reduce unemployment, and that things would have been much worse had such programmes not been adopted.

``The key to combating unemployment and reversing this difficult situation is growth,`` she said, adding that great opportunities would be opening in the sector of hydrocarbons and already studies were being carried out to determine future needs in employment.

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