Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation: News in English, 03-10-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] headlines

[02] TRUCKERS STRIKE

[03] PRESIDENT TRUCKERS

[04] PAPADOPOULOS

[05] ERDOGAN CYPRUS

[06] IRAQ

[07] ARAFAT ILL

[08] INDONESIA CRASH

[09] WEATHER Thursday 9/10/03

[01] headlines

-- Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos said Cyprus firmly supports the UN efforts for a Cyprus settlement, adding that the proposals and improvements it is seeking do not lead to the collapse of the Annan Plan.

-- Twin attacks in Baghdad killed a Spanish diplomat and at least eight Iraqis today, exactly half a year since U.S. troops occupied the city.

And

-- At least 54 people, most of them schoolgirls returning from a holiday in Bali, were killed when their bus burst into flames after colliding with a truck and a minivan in Indonesia's East Java

[02] TRUCKERS STRIKE

The truckers will be informed on the reply which Communications and Works Minister Kikis Kazamias gave in response to their demands.

In his reply, Mr. Kazamias said there are positive elements in the truckers' demands which could be the basis for a discussion on October 14. He called on the drivers to look at his response in a positive manner and lift their strike action.

Finance Minister Markos Kyprianou said the economic cost of the continued strike is great.

[03] PRESIDENT TRUCKERS

He also expressed the hope the truckers will respond positively to the assurances given by the Communications and Works minister to the truckers' demands.

With good will, the President said, the government will handle any problems caused to the truckers, noting that although he respects the workers' rights to resort to strike action, they should too realise that it is affecting the economy.

[04] PAPADOPOULOS

Addressing the international conference for European Ombudsmen, President Papadopoulos expressed the hope that through negotiations without preconditions, there will be an improvement of certain parametres of the Annan pla, without making a solution functional and viable.

[05] ERDOGAN CYPRUS

During his illegal visit, Mr. Erdogan will announce plans which Turkey is scheduling for the occupied areas.

[06] IRAQ

A suicide car bomber crashed through the gates of a police station, killing at least three policemen and five civilians and wounding scores in the blast.

In another part of town, Jose Antonio Bernal, a Spanish air force sergeant attached to the embassy, was gunned down as he left his home. Spain has around 1,300 troops in Iraq and backed the U.S.-led war.

Occupation forces and diplomats in Baghdad have become targets of what the Americans consider elements loyal to ousted President Saddam Hussein, who is still on the run.

The instability has prompted the United States to ask for outside help in calming Iraq, but has made other key countries -- many of whom opposed the war -- even more reluctant.

The United Nations has been pulling out staff since its headquarters was twice hit by suicide bombs, the first of which killed 22 people in August including top U.N. diplomat, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Thursday's attack on a police station in a poor district once known as Saddam City is the bloodiest since then, and another setback for U.S. President George Bush's hopes of building a stable, democratic and U.S.-friendly Iraq.

[07] ARAFAT ILL

"He is not dying," a Palestinian official close to the 74-year-old President Arafat told Reuters, denying a report in the British newspaper The Guardian that he had a mild heart attack last week.

A senior aide said an Egyptian medical team headed by President Hosni Mubarak's private physician had examined Mr. Arafat at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The aides said as a result of the illness, Mr. Arafat did not eat solid foods for 10 days and could not even keep soup down.

Arafat had lost a lot of weight but his appearance had improved over the past three days and he has been more alert.

In remarks to the Palestinian daily al-Quds today, Mr. Arafat said he had suffered stomach pains but was recovering and intends to attend a session later in the day of the Palestinian parliament, where the new emergency cabinet will be presented.

Israeli army roadblocks and patrols in and around Ramallah have kept Mr. Arafat confined to his battered Muqata compound for the past two years.

[08] INDONESIA CRASH

The bus was taking the children from Bali to their school in Yogyakarta when the accident occurred on a coastal highway 830 km east of the capital Jakarta, late last night.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known though Indonesia has a poor record for traffic accidents.

Television footage of the scene on national news channels on Thursday showed the bus and truck completely gutted by fire.

Police said it appeared the bus had been hit from in front by the truck, while the van had ploughed into its rear.

The bus driver and his assistant survived the crash, although they were badly injured. The driver of the truck was still missing while the man at the wheel of the minivan was being treated in hospital.

[09] WEATHER

Tomorrow it will be cloudy with the possibility of some rain. Winds will be south-westerly light, two to three beaufort and the sea slight. Temperatures will fall to 17 C inland and on the west coast, 19 over the south and east and 15 over the mountains.

The fire hazard remains very high in all forest areas.

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