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Sunday, 22 December 2024
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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 00-02-07Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
MONDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2000 [01] HEADLINESThe Geneva proximity talks continued today, while the Turkish-Cypriot side is reported as adamant in its insistence on a confederation;Cyprus' Minister of Communications and Transport enters the recent fray between the island's politicians and its clergy; Tougher measures are needed to enforce the age limits in the island's entertainment establishments; All is reported calm at London's Stansted airport, where a hijacked Afghan plane landed in the early hours of this morning; 1999 saw an average of over one thousand telephone calls per day between the government-controlled and the occupied areas of the Republic; 300 British tourists can look forward to fully-paid holidays in Cyprus this year; The Cyprus Stock Exchange reverses its downward trend; and... Platform shoes, while trendy, can also be hazardous to one's safety and health. [02] GENEVA TALKSThe second round of UN-sponsored proximity talks on the Cyprus Issue between President of the Republic Glafkos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash continued in Geneva today with the two leaders holding separate meetings with the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.The agenda for today and tomorrow, the last day of the current round, provides for a recapitulation of all part-issues discussed in the proximity talks to date. According to the latest report from our on-the-scene correspondent, both President Clerides and Mr Denktash are adhering to the UN Secretary-General's request for a moratorium on any public statements. [03] T/C INTRANSIGENCERauf Denktash's advisor at the Geneva talks, Mumtaz Soysal, was quoted by a Turkish-Cypriot newspaper as saying that a confederal Cyprus settlement is the only feasible solution given the current state of affairs.In an interview carried in today's edition of "Kibris", and employing figurative language, Mr Soysal further claims that President Clerides arbitrarily "pulled a constitution out of a hat", and also postulates that the Greek-Cypriot side is attempting to present constitutional amendments as being in line with European Union institutions merely for the sake of impressions. Mumtaz Soysal goes on to say that the Greek-Cypriot administration is trying to convince the Turkish-Cypriots that the constitutional amendments under discussion are a result of European urgings, thereby fooling them into accepting the invitation to participate in Cyprus' EU-accession process as part of a bicommunal delegation. [04] AVEROF VS CLERGYMinister of Communications and Transport Averof Neophytou today entered the recent fray between the Church of Cyprus and the island's political leadership by openly criticising all those positioning themselves against a federal solution and stressed the need for unity, political courage and a sense of propriety in order to achieve a just and viable Cyprus settlement.Speaking on our station this morning, Mr Neophytou mentioned that every time that serious efforts towards reaching a solution are undertaken, certain individuals who had been silent for years appear on the scene, raising what he described as "patriotic banners" and making a lot of noise over solutions which have no relation whatsoever with the unanimous decisions of the island's political leadership. The Minister also openly wondered on how it would be possible to reach common ground, given that apart from the intransigence exhibited by Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, the government also has to deal with internal disputes of this kind. In closing, Averof Neophytou noted that patriotic hyperbole and rhetorical denials have no place in today's world, adding that Archbishop Makarios III, in his capacity as President of the Republic, had shown the political courage to accept a federal solution. [05] KOSIS JUVENILESMinister of Justice and Public Order Nikos Koshis today touched upon the issue of regulating the island's night life, particularly as regards juvenile access juveniles to discotheques and clubs.In statements to our station, Mr Koshis said that Police efforts will be stepped up, especially during the weekends, in an effort to strictly enforce age limits in all establishments. Noting that progress has been made, Cyprus' Justice and Public Order Minister also said that while the existing legislation provides only for advice to be given to under-age individuals found breaking the law, proprietors can, are and will continue to be prosecuted. At the same time however, he did concede that the current fines and penalties are not steep enough to act as a deterrent, resulting in many repeat occurences. [06] STANSTED HIJACKBritish police today vowed to talk for as long as it takes with hijackers holding an Afghan airliner at Stansted airport outside London, adding that other options would not be ruled out if passenger safety were put at risk. Police also said the Boeing 727, with 165 people on board, would not be allowed to take off again.The jet, from Afghanistan's national carrier Ariana, was seized with 186 people on board yesterday, during an internal flight from Kabul to the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The hijackers are believed to be Afghans opposed to the ruling Taleban movement. After stops at Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, the northern Kazakh town of Aktyubinsk and Moscow, the plane flew through the night to Stansted where it landed at about 0200 GMT. Airport officials are describing the scene as "calm", while Stansted is reported to have reopened for limited departures. [07] TELEPHONES UNFICYPThe United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) today released collected and collated data on last year's automated telephone calls between the two forcibly-divided parts of the island.According to the report, over 228 thousand phone calls were made from the government-controlled to the occupied areas, while calls originating in the northern part of the island and terminating in the free areas of the Republic exceeded 125 thousand, giving an average rate per day of over one thousand telephone calls, irrespective of response and duration. UNFICYP sources told our station that given its increased use, a feasibility study is currently underway to expand the network, which was first set into operation on May 26th 1998. [08] CANNABIS PAPHOSIn its continuing campaign against drugs and following a tip, Paphos police discovered 230 cannabis plants in a state forest area between Kato Pyrgos and Stavros tis Psokas.Watering and gardening equipment was also found on the scene, and investigations are continuing. [09] LIMASSOL 2000Aimed at further promoting Limassol as a tourist destination, the city's Chamber of Commerce and Industry has decided to implement a proposal dubbed "Limassol 2000", by which the local tourist industry will offer fully-paid holidays to 300 British tourists, including air fares, through two thousand overnight hotel stays during this year's winter season.The official announcement of the offer will be made during the London tourist expo this November. [10] CSEThe Cyprus Stock Exchange today reversed its recent downward slide, with the General Price Index closing at just under 637 units, up 38 from Friday's closing, while the volume of trading exceeded 29 million pounds.Today's resurgence was largely due to the investors' increased interest in banking organisations shares. In statements to our station, brokers expressed the assessment that the current upwards trend will continue over the next few days, given the imminent incorporation into the Athens bourse of at least two of Cyprus' major banking organisations. [11] TAILERAnd on to today's tailer... One wouldn't usually think of fashion trends as posing a serious safety hazard, but police in Japan seem to think otherwise, having recently targeted efforts against what they describe as a new road menace: platform shoes.The offending footwear, a must-have item for thousands of young Japanese girls, has been blamed for contributing to car accidents by slowing the time it takes for drivers to hit the brakes in an emergency. Initial tests have backed up the theory, showing that drivers wearing platform shoes take a crucial fraction of a second longer to apply the brakes than drivers wearing normal shoes. The outlandish shoes are a common sight in Japanese cities, usually on the feet of artificially-tanned teenagers who also sport dyed blonde hair, skimpy skirts and glittering eye make-up. But with the soles of some shoes reaching as high as 30cm (12 inches), health experts have warned that they can also cause painful injuries to ankles, feet and backs. Admittedly, if one wants to be weighted down and be a slave to fashion, one is free to do so, but be careful where you tread! [12] WEATHERThe weather will be generally fair this afternoon, with skies being marked by some sparse cloud. Winds will be blowing from the easterly quadrant at a breezy 3BF, leading to generally slight seas, rising to moderate in windward regions, while temperatures are not expected to exceed 14C inland, 16C along the coasts and 3C at higher altitudes.Generally fair conditions are also forecast for this evening, with winds turning to light northerlies, 2-3BF, on slight seas, and temperatures dropping to 3C inland and in the east, 5C in the west and minus 2C on the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains. Frost is also expected to form in many inland regions, while the depth of snow on Mount Olympus is 35cm, and 30cm in Troodos Square. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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