Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-11-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] HEADLINES

[02] PRESIDENT ATHENS

[03] TASSOS PRESSER

[04] IACOVOU

[05] MIDEAST

[06] IRAQ

[07] BRITAIN BULGARIA

[08] IRELAND

[09] GREECE WARPLANE

[10] WEATHER THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2003

[01] HEADLINES

He already met Archbishop Christodoulos and Greek Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis, who awarded him the Golden Medal of the Parliament.

--The committees which are dealing with the changes to the Annan plan are very close to their completion, said today Foreign Minister George Iacovou.

--Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today it was "clear" Israel would have to give up some occupied territory but would speed up construction of a West Bank barrier it deems vital to its security

And --The head of Iraq's Governing Council met the country's most revered Shi'ite Muslim cleric today to try to overcome his objections to a new U.S. road map for the return of sovereignty to Iraqis

[02] PRESIDENT ATHENS

He already met Archbishop Christodoulos and Greek Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis, who awarded him the Golden Medal of the Parliament.

The Archbishop expressed the church of Greece's continued support to Cypriot hellenism, noting it will stand by Cyprus until the completion of expectations of the people.

On his part, President Papadopoulos expressed Cyprus' gratitude for the firm support of the church of Greece and the Archbishop himself in the struggle of the people of Cyprus.

[03] TASSOS PRESSER

For this reason the "From Day to Day" news peogramme will begin at two. The President and his entourage will depart from Athens at seven this evening.

[04] IACOVOU

In statements to CyBC, Mr. Iacovou predicted the work will be completed before the illegal elections in the occupied areas.

Mr,. Iacovou further said that during President Tassos Papadopoulos' talks in Athens with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, there were identical views on the changes that are required and their final form.

He reiterated that the Greek Cypriot side is ready to enter talks whenever the UN Secretary-General convenes them.

[05] MIDEAST

"It is clear that in the end we will not be in all the places where we are now," the right-wing premier told editors in a speech, adding however that Israel is accelerating the fence and won't stop it because it is essential to the security of the state.

Palestinians who launched an uprising in 2000 say the barrier, by diverging from Israel's border inside the West Bank, is a bid to annex territory. The United States says the barrier could prejudice the outcome of its "road map" peace plan.

Mr. Sharon, longtime patron of Jewish settlements on territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war, had hinted in recent days that Israel could not keep it all if it wanted to unblock peacemaking with Palestinians.

[06] IRAQ

While planning for the transition, the United States said it would send thousands more Marines next year to fight insurgents it blames for violence against the occupying forces.

In the latest attack guerrillas fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Italy's Baghdad embassy overnight. No one was hurt.

The approval of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is reported to believe the plan is insufficiently Islamic and sidelines the role of Iraqis, is crucial for winning backing for the U.S. timetable from Iraq's 60 percent Shi'ite Muslim majority.

A spokesman for Jalal Talabani, current president of the U.S.-backed Governing Council, said he would argue to Sistani that the transition plan -- which envisages a sovereign government by July and democratic elections by the end of 2005 -- deals with the cleric's objections.

Facing mounting casualties, the United States agreed this month to a new timetable under which regional caucuses will select an interim assembly by the end of May. The assembly will in turn pick a transitional government to take over sovereignty from occupying powers by July.

Meanwhile, attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Italian embassy in Baghdad late on Wednesday, but there were no casualties.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the embassy was damaged, but no one was hurt in the attack, which came two weeks after suicide bombers in southern Iraq killed 19 Italian members of the U.S.-led occupation force in Italy's worst military death toll since World War Two.

[07] BRITAIN BULGARIA

The Foreign Office had said early today that the embassy was being closed for 24 hours "as a result of information received". But it was reopened after a few hours.

The National Intelligence Service chief confirmed there were no indications of terrorist threats to the British embassy or any other foreign mission in Bulgaria.

The U.S. embassy was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday today.

[08] IRELAND

The Catholic IRA guerrillas' political ally Sinn Fein and Protestant preacher Ian Paisley's hardliners both made gains on their moderate rivals, according to the exit poll after yesterday's elections to Northern Ireland's suspended power-sharing assembly.

If final results due tomorrow leave those parties dominant, it would be tough to quickly revive the dormant assembly -- centrepiece of the 1998 Good Friday peace pact -- as Mr. Paisley has refused to work with Sinn Fein.

[09] GREECE WARPLANE

The mirage 2000 fell in an area near the islet of Kalogiri and the two pilots, who were on a training flight, used the automatic ejection system and were picked up by an airforce helicopter.

Yesterday a one-seat Alfa Seven Corsair crashed in an uninhabited area in the Andrabida area. The pilot was also rescued.

[10] WEATHER

Tonight it will be mainly clear but passing cloud might give some rain over the mountains. Winds will be north-westerly to north-easterly light, two to three beaufort and the sea slight. Temperatures will fall to eight degrees inland, 11 on the coasts and five over the mountains.

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