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Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 00-03-22Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation at <http://www.cybc.com.cy/>CONTENTS
WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2000 [01] HEADLINESCyprus' EU harmonisation efforts may be experiencing certain delays, but House of Representatives deputies deny that the blame is theirs;Both the Democratic Rally and left-wing AKEL react, in their own different ways, to claims that Cyprus' Chief EU-negotiator enjoys excessive powers; As of yesterday, fewer residents of the island will be going abroad for heart surgery; Unidentified gunmen shoot and kill the Armenian leader of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region; Pope John Paul calls for a Palestinian homeland; NATO is deploying drone aircraft in the skies over Kosovo; Investors' panic appears to have set in at the Cyprus Stock Exchange; Britain's Chelsea is facing Italy's Lazzio on CyBC's First Television Channel tonight; and... For all those who believe elephants can't paint, our tailer offers a different perspective! [02] EU HARMONISATIONCyprus' parliamentary parties are in full agreement that the island's EU-harmonisation efforts are not proceeding as quickly as they should, but reject the laying of blame on the House of Representatives.Specifically, Democratic Rally Chairman Nikos Anastassiades emphasised the need to speed up the procedures, including an increase in the Value Added Tax, but also stressed the imperative need for the House to carry out checks and controls on all relevant legislation. On the other end of the political spectrum, left-wing AKEL spokesman Nikos Katsourides noted that while the House HAS passed a number of harmonisation-related bills, it did so without studying them in great detail because of pressures to expedite the entire process. The matter was also touched upon by House Finance Committee Chairman and Democratic Party Deputy Markos Kyprianou, who said that the executive branch of the government, due to its tardiness in sending the bills to the House, is solely to blame for the observed delays. As regards the proposed increase in the Value Added Tax, Markos Kyprianou said that consultations are stilll being held, adding that his party is willing to endorse an increase, provided that counter-measures are also taken. [03] ANASTASIADES VASSILIOUDemocratic Rally Chairman Nikos Anastassiades today denied that members of his party and cabinet ministers are disgruntled over the alleged concentration of excessive powers in the person of Cyprus' Chief EU-negotiator, George Vassiliou.Expanding on the matter, the DISY chief voiced the opinion that there should be no complaints, given that Mr Vassiliou needs these powers in order to fulfil his mandate. In closing, Nikos Anastassiades said that from the moment Cyprus' EU-accession course was decided upon, all should unite in order to realise this goal. [04] CHRISTOFIAS VASSILIOUThe issue of George Vassiliou's powers was also posed to AKEL Secretary-General Demetris Christofias who, however, refrained from taking a stand, saying that any authority granted to Cyprus' Chief EU-negotiator is purely a matter between the President of the Republic and parties represented in the government.Asked about yesterday's meeting with US Ambassador to Nicosia Donald Bandler, and specifically if the US is promoting a property-compensation plan within the scope of an overall Cyprus solution framework, Demetris Christofias said that that was not the impression he was left with, adding that what WAS discussed during the meeting were measures which, according to US policy, should be advanced irrespective of any progress in efforts towards a solution. These would include the restoration and repair of religious and cultural sites, such as the Karpass peninsula's Apostolos Andreas Monastery and Larnaka's mosque of Hala Sultan. The AKEL Secretary-General was speaking just prior to leaving for Athens, where he is scheduled to hold talks with the Greek Foreign Minister. [05] HEART OPERATIONThe number of heart patients residing in Cyprus whose going abroad has, until very recently, been considered necessary, is to be drastically lowered following the commencement of operation of a branch of the American Heart Institute in Nicosia.According to a relevant press release, some 250-300 heart patients, out of the estimated 800 needing an operation every year, will be catered for at the Instutute, while another 200 or so will be operated at the Nicosia General Hospital. The cost of five-and-a-half thousand pounds per operation will be shouldered by the state following an agreement signed between Cyprus' Health Ministry and the American Heart Institute, considered one of the most advanced heart-surgery foundations in the world. [06] WORLD IN BRIEFTime now for a brief overview of the major News stories from around the world...Yerevan sources told Reuters News Agency that as yet unidentified gunmen shot and wounded the Armenian leader of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh early this morning, and also said that his arch-rival has been arrested as a suspect. Pope John Paul made an impassioned plea for a Palestinian homeland this morning, at the start of a historic visit to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, while further north, two pro-Israeli militiamen were wounded by a roadside bomb explosion in the eastern sector of the Jewsih state's south Lebanon occupation zone. NATO has announced plans to deploy remote-controlled drone aircraft in the skies over Kosovo, exactly a year ago this week since it launched its 78 days of air strikes to drive Serbian security forces out of the region. Russia appears to be heading for a weekend presidential election with one less candidate, but the withdrawal of a liberal challenger is unlikely to dent Acting President Vladimir Putin's prospects of winning the race. And US President Bill Clinton still lacks a firm schedule for his weekend trip to Islamabad, amid speculation that the delay is related to a White House push for him to address the Pakistani nation. [07] CYPRUS STOCK EXCHANGEToday's activity at the Cyprus Stock Exchange was marked by a sheer drop of 20 points in the General Price Index, closing at 482.4, down by 4.06% as compared to yesterday.The total volume of trading meanwhile experienced only a marginal decrease, reaching 17.4 million pounds to yesterday's 17.5. Brokers assess that the drop in today's General Price Index was largely due to widespread panic among investors, who proceeded to sell their shares at any price, given their uncertainty over the measures taken by the government in order to reverse the bourse's downwards trend. [08] CYBC TRANSMISSIONSCyBC's First Television Channel will be linking up with London's Stanford Bridge at 9:45 tonight, for a live transmission of the UEFA Champions League match between home team Chelsea and Italy's Lazzio.Videotaped highlights from the other three UEFA fixtures scheduled for today will be broadcast after the end of the game. That's tonight, at a quarter-to-ten, on CyBC's First Television Channel. [09] TAILERToday's tailer takes us to the world of art, and while the paintings in question may not exactly be Picassos, examples of elephant artistry fetched a pretty penny during a Tuesday-night benefit auction at New York's Christies, at the same time raising questions about the meaning of art.The auction of 50 paintings by seven Asian elephants raised more than 30 thousand dollars, as bidding wars erupted over the abstract pieces featuring broad brush strokes and bold colours. With prices starting at 350 dollars, a deep-blue painting by six-year-old Indian elephant Ganesh, considered one of the savants of the elephant art world, fetched the highest bid of 21 hundred dollars. The auction was organised by Moscow-born artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid organised the auction to raise awareness and funds for Asian elephants, whose numbers have dwindled after a ban on the logging of teak left the animals and their life-long companions and trainers without a livelihood. One wonders if there are also any plans to form an elephant wind and percussion orchestra! [10] WEATHERGradually increasing cloud cover is forecast for this afternoon, with the possibility of scattered showers in areas. Winds will be moderate southwesterlies, on slight to moderate seas, while temperatures are not expected to exceed 18C inland and along the coasts, and 9C at higher altitudes.Generally overcast conditions are forecast for this evening, with rainy spells and isolated thunderstorms throughout the island, as well as snow over the highest mountain peaks. Winds will remain moderate southwesterlies, 4BF, with stong gusts of up to 5BF, on moderate seas, while temperatures will drop to 5C inland, 7C in coastal regions and minus 2C on the higher reaches of the Troodos mountains. The depth of snow on Mount Olympus is 15cm, and 5cm in Troodos Square. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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