World News Briefs
June 3, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 GMT)Several tourists injured in Sicilian volcano blast
STROMBOLI, Italy (CNN) -- The volcano on the tiny Sicilian island of Stromboli erupted briefly but violently over the weekend, blasting out thick smoke and lava. Seven tourists were slightly injured.
The explosion on the island in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea occurred near the central crater late Saturday. Gas, rocks and lava flew out for about 12 seconds. Smoke was still visible on the mountainside Sunday morning.
The blast torched the tall, dry reeds and brush that fill the volcano's old lava channels. Residents put out the blaze before it could reach the island's few hamlets. Tourists outnumber the 400 residents on the island.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related site:
Turks kill Greek soldier on Cyprus
NICOSIA, Cyprus (CNN) -- Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said Monday that an unarmed 19-year-old Greek Cypriot soldier killed by Turkish troops earlier in the day had ignored calls to stop.
"This was a very saddening event. Nobody wants to see events like that repeated," Denktash said. "But this regrettable event occurred because a soldier crossed through the border and did not stop as he was ordered. Despite all warnings, he kept going."
Stelios Panayi, a refugee from the Turkish-occupied village of Kythrea in north Cyprus, was shot twice on the tense "Green Line," a U.N.-controlled no-man's-land that splits the Mediterranean island.
"He entered the buffer zone and started talking to a Turkish soldier . . . another Turkish soldier close by shot him," Greek Cypriot defense ministry official Andreas Charides said.
Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides condemned the shooting as "cold-blooded murder." The incident came on the day British diplomat Sir David Hannay was due to arrive in a fresh effort to work toward a Cyprus settlement.
About 1,200 U.N. peacekeepers have patrolled the 180-kilometer (112 miles) Green Line dividing the Mediterranean island since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion followed an abortive coup by Greek Cypriot supporters of union with Greece.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Major parties retain share in Greek Cypriot elections - May 26, 1996
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