Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-09-02

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

CONTENTS

THURSDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 1999

[01] HEADLINES

[02] HARPAS POST MORTEM

[03] WESTON

[04] MOSCOW CYPRUS

[05] PEACE TC

[06] MIDEAST

[07] KOSOVO BLOCK

[08] TURKEY QUAKE

[09] TURKEY QUAKE TURPAS

[10] QUANTAS DAMAGED

[11] ELDIK MINISTER

[12] DISY ANASTASIADES

[13] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES

-- New US State Department Coordinator for Cyprus, Thomas Weston is holding contacts in Moscow on the Cyprus problem.

-- Moscow appears reserved concerning the resumption of the Cyprus peace talks before the OSCE summit in Constantinople in November.

--Prospects for the signing of a new Israeli-Palestinian peace deal today hung by a thread while each side waited for the other to make the first move to end an impasse over the emotive issue of Palestinian prisoners.

And

-- Rescue teams admitted defeat today after digging for more than 10 hours for a possible survivor trapped under rubble 15 days after a huge earthquake devastated large swathes of north western Turkey.

[02] HARPAS POST MORTEM

His body is expected to be transported to the free areas this afternoon.

In statements to CyBC, Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner, Takis Christopoulos said a doctor of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus was supposed to be present at the post mortem.

The force is also preparing a report which it will present to the government when it is ready. He also said he is expected to hold a meeting with Harpas' children today.

[03] WESTON

He has already travelled to Paris and Brussels.

Mr Weston is expected in Cyprus on Saturday for talks with President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

He will also hold talks in Athens and Ankara.

[04] MOSCOW CYPRUS

However, it said that when a new initiative starts it is certain that it will not fail.

In statements to a delegation of the Cyprus News Agency which is visiting Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry Special Representative on Cyprus, Vladimir Tsizov said that during the OSCE meeting there will be a discussion on the Cyprus problem by heads of states.

He also said Moscow is advising the Secretary General that his next steps on Cyprus should be carefully planned, based on UN decisions and to make use of the political influence of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

[05] PEACE TC

According to the Turkish Cypriot press, representatives of organisations visited the Ledra Palace checkpoint yesterday on the occasion of the World Peace Day and handed a letter to a UN representative, calling on UNFICYP to convey it to President Clerides and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The letter supports a federal solution that would recognise the equality and interests of both communities.

[06] MIDEAST

It was unclear whether an accord could be clinched in time for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to join Palestinian President Yasser Arafat for a signing ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt, later in the day with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Asked if the showcase event was still possible in the coming hours, Israeli cabinet minister Haim Ramon told Army Radio "certainly, if the Palestinians pick up the phone."

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Israel of playing a game of brinkmanship after a spokesman for Barak said it was now up to the Palestinians to say "yes" or "no" to Israeli proposals for a deal.

[07] KOSOVO BLOCK

The protesters parked a truck across the road and set up a barricade of tyres and pieces of wood to prevent traffic from passing.

Gracanica, around 15 km south of the provincial capital Pristina and home to one of Serbia's best known Orthodox monasteries, is one of the few towns in Kosovo where Serbs make up the majority.

Locals have accused ethnic Albanians of kidnapping several members of their community over the past few weeks.

Ethnic Albanians, meanwhile, kept up their roadblock protest around the south-western town of Orahovac to stop Russian troops taking over from Dutch soldiers who have patrolled there since the KFOR peacekeeping force entered Kosovo in June.

The Albanians, who began the blockade on Monday of last week, say Russian mercenaries fought alongside Serb forces who committed atrocities in the area.

[08] TURKEY QUAKE

The volunteers earlier said they had detected possible signs of life on the basement floor of a five-storey building in the seaside town of Golcuk. However after hours of digging deep into the ruins, the operation was called off.

The town was one of the hardest hit by the 7.4 strength quake which killed at least 14,000 people when it levelled thousands of apartment blocks in towns and cities in the early hours of August 17.

Weary Turkish and U.S. rescue teams began leaving the site.

The last survivor, a toddler, was pulled out alive from the earthquake wreckage on August 23.

[09] TURKEY QUAKE TURPAS

In a statement to the stock exchange, the company said its provisional losses due to the fire and quake were 115 million dollars with a plus or minus 15 percent margin of error. It was not clear whether the figure included loss on profits.

The loss was originally estimated at around 200 million dollars including profit losses.

[10] QUANTAS DAMAGED

A Qantas spokeswoman said none of the 339 passengers or 17 crew were hurt.

Flight QF23 was making a stopover in Perth en route from Sydney to Harare in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg in South Africa.

The spokeswoman said the aircraft landed "during strong wind gusts".

Both Qantas and Australian air safety authorities were investigating the incident.

[11] ELDIK MINISTER

He was speaking after a meeting with the commander of ELDIK, Colonel Aristides Tsoumanis at the Greek Forces' headquarters.

[12] DISY ANASTASIADES

He said President Clerides informed the Political Bureau about current developments on the national problem and reiterated his views on a Cyprus settlement which remain unchanged.

[13] WEATHER

Winds will be westerly moderate, four to five beaufort and the sea slight to moderate.

Tonight, the weather will remain clear. Winds will become north-westerly light, two to three beaufort and the sea slight. Temperatures will fall to 19 C inland, 21 C on the coasts and 16 over the mountains.

The fire hazard remains extremely high in all forest areas.

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