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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-10-22Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] EUROSTAT - CYPRUS - FISCAL SURPLUSCyprus recorded a fiscal surplus of 537 million euro or 3.5% as a GDP percentage in 2007, according to Eurostat data. This positive development is attributed to the increased public revenues. The analysis of Eurostat data leads to the observation that Cyprus is the second best performer among Euro area countries after Finland, which presented a surplus 5.3% of GDP.Cyprus public debt also recorded a significant decrease in 2007, falling from 64.6% of GDP to 59.5%. This is the first time in five years Cyprus achieves a reduction of public debt below 60% of GDP. According to Eurostat data, public revenues increased from 42.4% in 2006 to 46.5% in 2007, while public expenditure fell to 43% of GDP compared to 43.4% in 2006. In 2007, the government deficit of both the euro area and the EU27 fell compared with 2006, while the government debt increased in absolute terms. In the euro area, the government deficit decreased from 1.3% of GDP in 2006 to 0.6% in 2007, and in the EU27 it fell from 1.4% to 0.9%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio fell from 68.5% at the end of 2006 to 66.3% at the end of 2007, and in the EU27 from 61.3% to 58.7%. [02] IATR MEETING - CYBER TERRORISMThe view that more international cooperation is needed in order to combat cyber terrorism dominated discussions on the 2nd day of the Fourth International Conference on Terrorism and Electronic Media, organised by the International Academy of Television and Radio. Addressing a round table discussion on Cyber terrorism: realities and myths, the Head of Division of the Non-Commercial Partnership Russian Association for Electronic Communications, Yury Akinshin said that today internet is a leading source for creating terrorist threats as more than 7.500 sites linked with terrorist organisations are registered on the worldwide web.He pointed out that cyber terrorism is a cyber crime, but also noted at the same time that not every cyber crime is a terrorist activity. Akinshin underlined that as some of the terrorist threats are common for the world internet society, there is an increasing need for international cooperation to combat these phenomena, adding that for the time being there are only a few legal channels available for this purpose. Deputy Executive Director of IATR, Isabella Pashinyan, analysed the various methods used to deal with internet sites promoting terrorism and indicated that the responsibility for combating cyber terrorism should be assigned to the highest international level. Nadezda Nikishina, IATR Programme Coordinator, reiterated the need for immediate action to create the necessary legal environment on international level in order to fight cyber terrorism. [03] RADIOMARATHON - CHILDREN - CHARITYThe 19th Radiomarathon for children with special needs exceeded every expectation this year as donations so far have reached 2.4 million euro. The event, which began officially on Sunday, is organised by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and Marfin Popular Bank. Radiomarathon ended at midnight last night but donations keep pouring in. Cyprus Airways will carry out a fund-raising flight on October 26 to the Greek island of Lesbos and on October 31 November 3, a fund-raising cruise to Rhodes will take place.Head of Marfin Popular Bank Public Relations Costas Arhimandritis told CNA today that this years Radiomarathon was one of the most successful and this was mainly because of the large number of volunteers. In essence, it is the volunteers who have held the Radiomarathon, he remarked. Arhimandritis said like every year, the charity was embraced by the people and children of Cyprus who participated in all events. Many communities also held events to collect funds at their initiative. A total of 54 kiosks were open until midnight, while 14 piggy-bank cars toured communities to collect money and military cars stopped at military camps for donations. Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |