Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 06-11-07

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] CYPRUS PRESIDENT - CROATIA - OFFICIAL VISIT

[02] ALMUNIA - CYPRUS - MALTA EMU

[03] IMF CYPRUS

[04] FRENCH JOURNALISTS - ILLEGAL REGIME - RELEASED

[01] CYPRUS PRESIDENT - CROATIA - OFFICIAL VISIT

President Papadopoulos, who arrived in Zagreb on Monday night, begins his contacts on Tuesday morning with talks with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.

On President Papadopoulos` arrival at the Mesic`s office, an official red carpet welcoming ceremony will be held, with a military band playing the national anthems of the two countries and the inspection of a guard of honour, followed by the introduction of the delegations of the two Presidents.

After a private meeting between Presidents Papadopoulos and Mesic, they will award decorations to each other and will then hold bilateral talks with the delegations.

Furthermore, Cypriot Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Photis Photiou and Croatian Minister of Culture Bozo Biskupic will sign a bilateral agreement on culture in the presence of the two Presidents.

During his stay in Zagreb, President Papadopoulos is expected to meet with Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, the leadership of the parliament and Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, and will address an economic forum organised by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and will attend a state dinner hosted in his honour by Mesic.

On November 8 President Papadopoulos and his entourage will depart for Split, where Mayor Zvonimir Puljic will present him with the keys of the city. He will also meet with Prefect of Split-Dalmatia Ante Sanader.

On November 9 President Papadopoulos will depart for Rome, where he will meet with Pope Benedict XVI

[02] ALMUNIA - CYPRUS - MALTA EMU

The Spanish Commissioner said the two countries fulfill the criteria for the accession in the eurozone adding that the governments of Cyprus and Malta should submit at the beginning of next year their applications for accession. In April the Commission and the European Central Bank will issue their decision.

[03] IMF CYPRUS

The statement was made at the end of the preliminary conclusions of an IMF mission visit to Cyprus, which underlined that robust economic activity has been safeguarded by prudent economic policies, with the reduction in the fiscal deficit laying the foundation for a flourishing Cypriot economy.

However, safeguarding the economy against adverse shocks and taking full advantage of the opportunities available to Cyprus will require continued efforts to address short term risks and medium term pressures, the conclusions noted.

Highlighting four issues that the Cypriot economy faces, Alexander W. Hoffmaister, assistant to the Director and Mission Chief said that Cyprus is well placed to benefit from adopting the euro since it is Cypruss largest trading partner, and trade linkages with the euro area are to strengthen further the introduction of the euro.

He said that the targeted adoption date implies that Cyprus would be evaluated against the Maastricht criteria sometime in the first half of 2007 with the exchange rate locked in at a rate determined in consultation with the European Council.

[04] FRENCH JOURNALISTS - ILLEGAL REGIME - RELEASED

Their illegal abduction has been condemned by the European Federation of Journalists, the Cyprus Journalist`s Union and Turkish Cypriot journalists.

German-French public channel ARTE reporter David Muntaner and cameraman Frederic Bak, both French nationals, were illegally arrested Sunday accused of filming a military zone area at the fenced off town of Varosha, occupied by the Turkish army.

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