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Saturday, 20 April 2024
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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-06-13Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] UN SENIOR OFFICIAL - CYPRUS TALKSMichele Montas, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, has announced that Lynn Pascoe, UN Undersecretary for political affairs, will visit Cyprus for meetings with Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.Speaking in New York, Montas said that Pascoe will be in Cyprus on June 17 and will hold separate meetings with Christofias and Talat. She added that so far the programme of the visit is not yet finalised, adding that as things stand Pascoe`s schedule includes only separate meetings with the two leaders. A UN official told CNA that a dinner between Pascoe, Christofias and Talat, proposed by Pascoe, is not ruled out. However diplomatic sources suggest that the Turkish side is said to have declined an invitation to such a dinner, expressing in this manner discontent over the fact that the UN SG`s report and the Security Council resolution on the renewal of UNFICYPs mandate, approved earlier today, do not include references to the so-called ``isolation`` of the Turkish Cypriots. Speaking to CNA, UNFICYP Spokesman in Cyprus, Jose Diaz said Pascoe arrives in Cyprus on Monday night and on Tuesday will have separate meetings with Christofias and Talat. Regarding the possibility of a dinner between Pascoe, Christofias and Talat, Diaz said that the programme is still to be finalised, adding that ``what I can tell you definitely that he will meet separately with both of them.`` Pascoes visit to the island aims to review the work done so far at the ongoing discussions between Cypriot experts at the seven technical committees and the six working groups, which deal with issues such as governance, the economy, territory and property. These committees have been set up after the 21 April meeting between Christofias and Talat. The objective of the committees is to prepare the ground for substantive negotiations between the two community leaders, leading to a comprehensive settlement, which will reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Christofias and Talat are expected to meet again in the second half of June and examine the results of the progress and determine whether or not to start fully-fledged negotiations. [02] UNFICYP RESOLUTIONThe UN Security Council has approved resolution 1818, extending the mandate of the UN Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another six months. The Council calls at the same time on the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities to begin expeditiously fully-fledged negotiations towards a political settlement.The resolution was approved after a three-hour delay, because the US permanent representative requested the reopening of the debate on the resolution, which had already been agreed by the 15 members of the Council. The request, according to diplomatic sources, aimed to meet a Turkish demand to include a reference to two constituent states, as noted down in the joint statement issued after the May 23 meeting between Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The Republic of Cyprus had already given its consent to the text of the resolution through a statement of its Permanent Representative Ambassador Andreas Mavrogiannis. The other 14 members of the Council, barring the US, supported Cyprus` position that any further debate would violate the regulations of the Security Council. [03] EU HEALTHY WORKPLACES CAMPAIGNEvery year 5,720 people die in the European Union as a consequence of work-related accidents, according to EUROSTAT figures. In addition, the International Labour Organisation estimates that 159,500 workers in the EU die every year from occupational diseases. Taking both figures into consideration, it is estimated that every three-and-a-half minutes somebody in the EU dies from work-related causes and according to the European Commission, this is the message of ``Healthy Workplaces. Good for you. Good for business`` the Europe-wide information campaign on risk assessment, launched by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).The campaign focuses especially on high-risk sectors such as construction, healthcare and agriculture, and on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. It will run over two years (2008-09). ``Every occupational accident and disease is one too many``, says Vladimír Spidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. ``Even if they don`t result in fatalities, the consequences are unacceptable, both for the people concerned and for the economy. Every year, millions of workers in the EU are involved in accidents which force them to stay at home for at least three working days at an enormous cost to the economy. Risk assessment is the key to reducing these figures. But it can only be the first step - implementation must follow.`` The Healthy Workplaces campaign highlights the necessity for risk assessment in line with the Community Strategy for Health and Safety at Work (2007-2012), which aims to cut work-related accidents over this period by a quarter across the EU. [04] GSSE 2009 - CYPRUSCyprus is preparing in earnest to host next years Games of Small States in Europe and hopes to organise the best ever Games, with the highest number of participants and the best facilities, according to the organisers of the Games. Cyprus goal is to host in the beginning of June 2009 the best GSSE ever, the President of the Cyprus Olympic Committee, Kikis Lazarides, has said.Speaking at a press conference after the conclusion of the meeting of the Executive and Technical Committees of the GSSE, Lazarides stated that our goal is a perfect competition, with the involvement of the whole of Cyprus and especially the youth of our country. He noted that the XIII GSSE is a matter of national importance and that the Organisational Committee is happy to enjoy the support of the government of Cyprus and all the sports authorities. According to the preliminary inscription of athletes that will take part in Cyprus 2009, as submitted at the meeting of the Technical Committee, there will be a total of 1,136 competitors, a new record high as the previous record was 793 athletes in Andorra 2005. After Cyprus, the largest delegation will be that of Luxembourg with 173 athletes participating in the Games. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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