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Monday, 23 December 2024
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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-02-11Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
[01] HeadlinesThe UN Secretary General Kofi Anan is expected in Cyprus on the 26th of February, following visits to Turkey and Greece,President of the republic Glafkos Clerides stated that there is a historic opportunity to solve the Cyprus issue in the next few months and called for unity on the political leadership, so that they can build on the foundations set, and NATO states met again today in the hope of healing an angry rift over preparations for war in Iraq that has rocked the foundations of the world's most powerful and durable military alliance. [02] Anan NicosiaThe UN Secretary General Kofi Anan is expected in Cyprus on the 26th of February, following visits to Turkey and Greece. According to the Cyprus news agency, Mr Anan will arrive in late afternoon from Athens. In Nicosia, UN press spokesman Brian Kelly, called to comment on Mr Anan's visit, replied that he has no such information at present. Mr Kelly stressed that if there is anything to announce, it will be done so at UN headquarters in New York.[03] CasoulidesMeanwhile, foreign minister Ioannis Casoulides, in statements to our station, said that the United Nations, strengthened by the international community, are determined to proceed with intensive negotiations, with the hope of an agreement by the deadline set by the Secretary General. Casoulides said that he does not expect a solution by the end of February or the start of March, despite important developments and strong moves by the international community. He also expressed the view that there will be developments on the Cyprus issue, when Tayip Erdogan takes over the post of prime minister in Turkey and when the Iraqi crisis ends. Ioannis Casoulides also said that officially, no intention of submittion a revised, third solution plan, has been declared to the Greek-cypriot side. However, he added, the United Nations seem to be seriously considering this possibility. He expressed the hope that the UN are taking into account the fact that anything outside the nature and balance of the existing plan, will meet with the opposition of the Greek-cypriot side.[04] Denktash bayramThe Turkish-cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, in a message on the celebration of the Bayram festival, he said that there is no Turkish cypriot that does not want a solution of the Cyprus issue, but he is not prepared to agree to something that will lead to situations in the past. Denktash said that if the principle of the sovereign state is lost, that it will be difficult to regain them. The Turkish cypriot daily Kibris wrote that Turkish cypriots will not celebrate the bayram festival as enthusiastically as other years, because of severe economic hardships and uncertainty about the future. The Kurban bayram begins today.[05] NATO IraqNATO states met again today in the hope of healing an angry rift over preparations for war in Iraq that has rocked the foundations of the world's most powerful and durable military alliance.International faultlines over Iraq yawned wide yesterday as NATO doves France, Belgium and Germany held up military deployments for NATO member Turkey intended to protect it from Iraqi retaliation if U.S. troops attack Iraq from Turkish soil. The three European states argued that to send Turkey AWACS surveillance planes, Patriot missiles and anti-chemical and biological warfare teams would be a premature signal that war had begun and diplomatic efforts to solve the crisis were over. Separately, France, Russia and Germany jointly set out in Paris their alternative to U.S. war plans; more arms inspections in Iraq, more diplomacy and more time. All three are members of the U.N. Security Council and France and Russia have veto powers that could kill any new U.N. resolution authorising war. Laying bare a split with France, U.S. President George W. Bush said he was disappointed with its role over Turkey, calling the move "shortsighted." [06] Turkey SaddamTurkey has offered a safe haven to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if he steps down to prevent a U.S.-led war.Aides to the prime minister were not immediately available for response to the report. Foreign Ministry officials had no immediate comment. The mass-circulation daily Milliyet said Prime Minister Abdullah Gul had made the offer to Iraq's number two, Taha Yasin Ramadan, during a secret visit he made to Ankara this month. NATO member Turkey is reluctantly gearing up for a war in neighbouring Iraq that it fears could destabilise the region and damage its own fragile economy. Turkish officials have previously denied any efforts to encourage Saddam to step down. [07] Britain secBritain stepped up security today against potential attacks by al Qaeda, drafting hundreds of troops into Heathrow airport and other sites around London.Police said the measure was precautionary and designed to coincide with the end of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha, being celebrated in mosques across Britain this week. Metropolitan police said heightened security would be most visible at London's biggest airport, Heathrow, and was connected to "a potential threat to the capital". The use of troops to support police is not unusual in Britain and was used for years in Northern Ireland to deal with the threat from Irish Republican Army guerrillas. But this is the first time the army has been posted at Heathrow since 1994, when the IRA tried to launch a mortar attack on the airport. Some 450 troops are expected to guard the airport. [08] F-16 AfghanCoalition fighter planes dropped laser-guided bombs in central Afghanistan after U.S. special forces came under attack from machinegun fire and rocket grenades.The planes targeted three caves and at least five armed men in the Baghran valley after the soldiers were attacked yesterday morning. U.S. A-10 aircraft were called in to help a U.S. convoy after it came under attack from heavy machinegun fire and grenades. About 13,000 U.S.-led coalition troops are in Afghanistan hunting remnants of the former Taliban regime and the al Qaeda network blamed for the September 11th attacks. [09] TailerMost brides-to-be are nervous before they walk down the aisle. But Gai was flapping as she stepped on to the stage for her wedding.She was a chicken. Her owner had matched her with Gook, a rooster decked out in a smart, red bow-tie for a mass pet wedding ceremony in Bangkok in the run-up to Valentine's Day. "No man should be alone, so I brought Gook along today so he could have a wife too", said the cock's owner, Jitleda Bunbok. Hundreds of spectators turned out to watch Gook and Gai tie the knot in front of television crews and photographers, in a group wedding that also featured miniature poodles, rabbits, and cats. [10] WeatherIt will be mainly fine this afternoon, with patchy clouds. Winds will be light northeasterly to southeasterly, force three to four, over slight seas. Temperatures will reach 15 degrees inland, 17 on the coasts and four on the mountains. Tonight, local showers are expected. Winds will be moderate to strong, easterly to northeasterly over moderate seas and rough seas in windward areas. Temperatures will fall to five degrees inland, seven on the coasts and one on the mountains.Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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