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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 07-10-15Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] GOVERNMENT - REVISED PROPOSAL - CROSSING POINTSThe Cyprus government has submitted a new revised proposal to the UN to facilitate the opening of a crossing point in the capital, leading to the northern Turkish occupied areas, and of another crossing point on the north-west of the country.The proposal was handed by Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon during their September meeting in New York, Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas announced here Monday. Palmas said the proposal provides for an agreement between the Turkish military and the National Guard (the Republics armed forces) that the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) will exercise to the full the mandate it has received from the Security Council in the buffer zone, as this area is marked out in UNFICYP maps. According to the revised proposal, the crossing point at Ledra street in Nicosia will open without any side laying down any terms or preconditions on UNFICYP. Furthermore, pending an agreement to determine precisely the ceasefire line of the Turkish occupation forces and the National Guard, which will define the limits of the buffer zone in the area, the two military sides will agree that UNFICYP will fully exercise its mandate from the Security Council in that area of the buffer zone as this is marked out in UNFICYP maps. The crossing point will open as soon as the practical arrangements meet all necessary safety precautions, as set out by UNFICYP, after consultations with the interested parties. In addition to the above, the proposal also provides for a crossing point in the Pyrgos-Limnitis area to open as soon as possible and in any case by the end of 2007. Palmas explained that the new element in the proposal is that, despite differences regarding the exact limits of the ceasefire lines, the Greek Cypriot side will accept the UNFICYP map in order to open the Ledra street crossing point, until an agreement is reached between the UN and the two military sides. He added that the government was ready to open the Pyrgos-Limnitis crossing point as soon as infrastructure work in the area is completed. The Spokesman recalled that following a UN brokered agreement in July last year with the Turkish Cypriot side, President Papadopoulos conveyed to the UN a set of proposals, providing for the demining of the buffer zone and Cyprus in general, the demanning of sensitive areas and the withdrawal of military forces from such areas. ``Our proposals remain on the table and we are ready to discuss them,`` Palmas said, adding that ``it is important at this moment to implement the July 8 agreement without further delay.`` Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. President Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed on 8 July 2006, during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of UN official Ibrahim Gambari, to begin a process of bicommunal discussions on issues that affect the day-to-day life of the people and concurrently those that concern substantive issues, both contributing to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. [02] HOUSE PRESIDENT - MORPHOU MUNICIPALITYCyprus House President Demetris Christofias has expressed regret that Turkey is still hampering the implementation of a UN-brokered agreement to help resume negotiations towards a political settlement. He also pointed out that the Turkish side must be persuaded to work sincerely towards the implementation of the agreement and to relinquish its objective to upgrade the status of the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime, in Turkish occupied Cyprus.The agreement was reached on July 8, 2006, between Cyprus President Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat during a meeting in Nicosia in the presence of UN official Ibrahim Gambari. Christofias was speaking during a meeting on Monday with dignitaries invited by the Municipality of Morphou to attend the anti-occupation events organised by the Municipality. A press release issued by the House said that Christofias briefed the foreign guests on the latest developments in the Cyprus question. He noted the insistence of the international community and especially the Security Council permanent members and the Secretary General on the need to implement the July agreement. A two state solution in Cyprus, an objective outlined by Turkeys President during his recent illegal visit to the occupied areas, constitutes a blatant violation of international law, the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and the UN relevant resolutions and cannot be accepted under any circumstances, Christofias stressed. [03] CYPRUS SHELTER - DWARF HIPPOPOTAMI FOSSILSAyia Napa`s Municipal Council intends to construct a shelter to house new findings, unearthed showing dwarf hippopotami, scientifically called ``Phanurios minor,`` which, as a Greek Paleontologist points out, are the last to be discovered in Europe and the Mediterranean. Ayia Napa Mayor Antonis Tsokkos has told CNA that the Municipal Council is committed to erect a shelter on site as well as a path which will allow locals and tourists to visit the location and get a close look at the findings.``We have already given instructions to the Municipal engineer to design the shelter and when the plans are finalised, they will be presented to the Municipal Council for approval,`` he said. These hippos are believed to have arrived in Cyprus some 250,000 years ago. They came from the region of Alexandretta, which at that time was the closest land to the island of Cyprus. The new findings were discovered at a site in Ayia Napa in the Famagusta district, in southeastern Cyprus, during an excavation carried out by a twelve-member team of the University of Athens Historic Geology and Paleontology Faculty, under the supervision of Deputy Professor George Theodorou and Geologist Ioannis Panagides, Senior official of the Cyprus Geological Survey Department. [04] CYPRUS RALLY - FINISHCypriot drivers Charalambos Timotheou and Pambos Laos in their Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX have won the Cyprus Rally, round 6 of the 2007 FIA Middle East Championship (MERC), making Timotheou the first Cypriot driver to win the islands leading international sports event since 1991. Defending Middle East and P-WRC champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and co-driver Chris Patterson secured second place in their Subaru Impreza, finishing the event 1 minute 18.7 seconds behind Timotheou.Current Middle East Championship leader Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi of the UAE and co-driver Nicky Beech steered their Team Abu Dhabi-backed Subaru Impreza to fourth place overall, retaining their Championship lead, but by a reduced margin of 9 points over Al-Attiyah. The 2007 Cyprus Rally was also an official round of the 2007 FIA Historic Rally Championship and nine Historic Cyprus Rally competitors began the Rally on Saturday morning. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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