Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 99-06-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES 17 JUNE 99

[02] BRILL DIMENSION

[03] YUGOSLAVIA TALKS

[04] CONTAMINATED FOOD

[05] G8 COLOGNE

[06] VASILIOU ACCESSION

[07] ROLANDIS INDUSTRY

[08] EMBRYO CLONE

[09] WEATHER

[01] HEADLINES 17 JUNE 99

Talks on the role of Russian forces in Kosovo continue with no signs of agreement,

The contaminated food scandal is now out of control in many countries,

Diplomatic contacts on the Cyprus problem are gearing up,

The G8 will take up the global economy during their summit meeting tomorrow,

Harmonisation comes at a price, says George Vassiliou,

Local Industry will be bolstered, says Nicos Rolandis,

And U.S. scientists have managed to clone a human embryo.

[02] BRILL DIMENSION

In the morning, party leaders were informed by Acting Foreign and Finance Minister Takis Clerides on the results of his meetings with U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brill.

The political leaders decided to send a memorandum to the American embassy protesting Mr. Brill's stance towards the Acting President of the Republic and the parties.

Spyros Kyprianou said the American ambassador's reply was unsatisfactory.

Acting DISY President Panayiotis Dimitriou stressed the need for the misunderstanding to be resolved right away, while EDEK President Vassos Lyssarides said that a matter of state rights arises, as well as that of a foreign embassy's behaviour towards Cypriot parties.

[03] YUGOSLAVIA TALKS

President Yeltsin said in Moscow that he told Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev to insist on a special zone which would fall under Russian control.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said categorically that NATO would not acquiesce to Russian demands.

However, both sides are hopeful that an agreement will be worked out.

In Paris, President Clinton said there are alternative solutions acceptable to the U.S.

In Kossovo, British and French military leaders say the are discovering, hour by hour, evidence of Serb atrocities against the Kossovars.

They claim that, based on the evidence, it is possible that 10,000 ethnic Albanians have been murdered, while at the same time in Moscow, Victor Chernomyrdin gave the tragic toll of the NATO bombing campaign:

Three thousand dead, five thousand wounded, two million jobless and more than 40,000 Serb refugees abandoning Kosovo.

[04] CONTAMINATED FOOD

Following the example of European Union countries, Russia has prohibited the importation of Belgian meat and dairy products.

In Cyprus, Health Minister Christos Solomis said that products which have been identified as being possibly contaminated, remain in quarantine until requested certificates arrive from Belgium.

In France, new incidents of Coca-Cola poisoning have surfaced, involving some 80 people.

As a result, France, following Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland, has prohibited the sale of Coca Cola products.

Coca Cola headquarters in the U.S. have expressed deep sorrow for the situation that has unfolded, adding that the company is taking all necessary measures to ensure that its products meet the highest quality standards.

[05] G8 COLOGNE

At the centre of the G8 talks will be the economic dimension of the war in Yugoslavia and the cost of rebuilding Kosovo and neighbouring countries to which refugees have fled.

In light of the Yugoslavian issue, the G8 countries will also deal with ways of forewarning and avoiding factors of instability.

The Cyprus problem is to be placed within this context which has provoked intense reactions by Turkey.

Its reactions, coupled with Prime Minister Ecevit's invitation to visit Washington and meet with President Clinton, are being interpreted as evidence that Ankara's policy on Cyprus is not acceptable to the international community.

[06] VASILIOU ACCESSION

This according to the head of the negotiation team, George Vassiliou.

In a press conference, Mr. Vassiliou described the estimate which raises the cost to nearly a billion Euros as theoretical.

Mr. Vassiliou said the cost of harmonisation reaches 946 million ecus, but that includes sums for programs which are considered necessary for proper state administration such as the sewer system in all cities, the bolstering of essential services, the implementation of laws and subsidies for the bolstering of different sectors, such as industry.

[07] ROLANDIS INDUSTRY

The new industry policy is made up of twelve chapters. Among them, the establishment of a Research and Development Institute for the promotion of high technology products.

Also, a Investor Service Centre will be established, called a One Stop Shop, for domestic and foreign investors.

Mr. Rolandis also announced a number of incentives for entrepreneurs.

Specifically, for the development of a free zone in Larnaca, free electricity and telecommunication services will be provided.

[08] EMBRYO CLONE

According to the British newspaper The Daily Mail, scientists working for a Massachusetts company used procedures similar to those used to clone Dolly the sheep.

The managed to create an 400-cell embryo which they destroyed two days later.

Using this method, the scientists want to create human embryos for use in the treatment of diabetes, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses relating to the nervous system.

The cloning was done in November of last year. There are suspicions that since then, the company has cloned many more other embryos that were destroyed before they turned 14 days-old.

[09] WEATHER

The sea will be slight in northerly windward areas.

The temperature will drop to 23 degrees inland and the southern coast, 21 on the western coast and 18 on the mountains.

The weather tomorrow will again be fine.

The winds in the morning will be mainly north westerly light, 2 to 3 beaufort and will turn in the afternoon southerly moderate, 4 beaufort. The sea will start off slight turning moderate later in the day in windward areas.

The temperature will reach 37 degrees inland, 32 on the southern coast, 29 on the western coast and 27 in the mountains.

Today's minimum and maximum temperatures.

Nicosia 37 and 24 Limassol 30 and 22 Larnaca 33 and 24 Paphos 29 and 21 Prodromos 27 and 17

The fire hazard is great in all forested areas.

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