Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 02-11-25

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] CYPRUS

[03] PAPAPETROU CYPRUS

[04] CLERIDES REFUGEES

[05] YAKIS CYPRUS

[06] MIDEAST BETHLEHEM

[07] IRAQ

[08] MISS WORLD FEMINISTS

[09] HOLY SYNOD

[10] WEATHER MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2002

[01] HEADLINES

-- Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said efforts now will concentrate on Cyprus' accession to the European Union since the timeframe which the Secretary-General gave for negotiating his plan for Cyprus have been overturned.

-- Turkey's new Foreign Minister, Yasar Yaklis, said Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash is expected to announce in the next few days that he is ready to start negotiations based on the UN planf or a Cyprus settlement.

-- The Israeli army withdrew to the fringes of Bethlehem today after reoccupying the West Bank biblical city for three days and arresting dozens of suspected Palestinian militants.

And, -- United Nations weapons inspectors head for Iraq today to begin a mission already clouded by Iraqi accusations that it is a pretext for a U.S. attack.

[02] CYPRUS

As the timetable is approaching, the Secretary-General is still waiting the Turkish side's reply whether it accepts his plan as a basis for negotiation.

Kofi Annan's special advisor, Alvaro de Soto, will hold talks with Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and he will also visit Athens and Ankara for a new round of contacts.

US Special Coordinator for Cyprus, Thomas Weston will also visit Athens and Ankara while the Cyprus problem is also on the top of the agenda of Greece's Foreign Minister, George Papandreou during talks in London and Washington this week.

[03] PAPAPETROU CYPRUS

In statements to CyBC, Mr. Papapetrou said the time left is very little and every day that goes by there is even less chance for negotiations to take place.

The Spokesman said that the situation is still uncertain as far as the turkish side is concerned because one says the plan is negotiable, the other says it is not.

Mr. Papapetrou said that irrespective of the Cyprus problem's course, Cyprus will enter the EU and the Copenhagen decision will be positive, without containing any footnotes or asterisks.

[04] CLERIDES REFUGEES

In the morning he received a delegation of the Pancyprian Refugees Union which says it accepts the plan as a basis for negotiation, despite the many negative elements it contains.

[05] YAKIS CYPRUS

Speaking to Turkish journalists in New York after visiting the ailing Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Yakis said that as soon as Mr. Denktash announces his reply, the procedure, foreseen in the UN Secretary-General's plan for a Cyprus settlement will take effect.

The Turkish Cypriot authorities never closed their doors to the negotiations and Turkey supports this completely, the Turkish Foreign Minister said.

[06] MIDEAST BETHLEHEM

During the operation Israeli soldiers blocked access to the Church of the Nativity -- in what it called an effort to stop militants taking refuge in the shrine as happened during a reoccupation of Bethlehem in April.

Border police were telling residents a curfew remained in effect, but taxis and pedestrians were re-emerging after seeing no more troops in the area.

The army had no immediate comment. It has repeatedly blockaded and reoccupied West Bank cities to combat a two-year-old Palestinian uprising for statehood.

[07] IRAQ

The group of 17 inspectors were expected to leave Larnaca today and be the first to go to Iraq since inspections ceased in 1998.

An advance team of logistics experts have been in Baghdad since last week, preparing the ground for a resumption of inspections scheduled for November 27.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is part of the inspection effort with U.N. agency UNMOVIC said the inspectors know where they want to go.

Iraq is obliged by a toughly worded Security Council resolution to permit unfettered access to the inspections team. Yesterday , Iraqi authorities made public an angry letter to the United Nations over the resolution's terms.

[08] MISS WORLD FEMINISTS

After plans to stage the show in Nigeria sparked Christian-Muslim riots that killed at least 175 people, the organisers moved it to Britain but flew into a storm of protest at home too.

They could also have trouble finding a major venue for the pageant on the planned date of December 7 -- the Royal Albert Hall and Earls Court in London are already booked.

Oscar-winning actress turned parliamentarian Glenda Jackson led the calls for the contest to be halted saying the best thing to do after such fratricide and blood-letting is to cancel the whole competition.

Australian feminist Germaine Greer said the prospect of staging the contest in London was "horrifying" while writer Muriel Gray said the girls will be wearing swimwear dripping with blood.

The Nigerian government had thrown its weight behind the Miss World pageant, hoping to show Nigeria in a good light and boost tourism.

However the plan misfired as rioting broke out last week in the mainly Muslim city of Kaduna after a newspaper enraged Muslims by saying the Prophet Mohammad would probably have married a Miss World contestant.

[09] HOLY SYNOD

Health Minister Frixos Savvides was expected to attend the meeting to hand over the report which was translated into Greek.

Today's meeting is considered decisive because reports say the Holy Synod might declare the Archbishop's throne vacant and place Paphos Metropolitan Chrysostomos deputy, and decide whether elections for new Archbishop will take place after developments on Cyprus or the February 2003 presidential elections.

Some clergymen support immediate elections to enable the church speak with one strong voice in the critical days to come.

The medical report on Archbishop Chrysostomos suggests the communication problem he is facing is irreversible and there are only slight chances his health will improve.

[10] WEATHER

Tonight, the weather will be with north-westerly light winds, two to three beaufort. The sea will be slight. Temperatures will fall to 10 C inland, 12 C on the coasts and seven over the mountains. The fire hazard remains very high in all forest areas.

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