The World : 2 Cypriots Freed in Beirut
Two Cypriot engineering students abducted in Muslim West Beirut in April were released in good health and flown home, only hours after two freed French hostages returned to Paris. A Cypriot government spokesman said Stavros Yiannaki and Panayotis Tirkas were freed after the “personal mediation” of Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, in response to an appeal by Cypriot President Spyros Kyprianou. In Paris, French television journalists Philippe Rochot and Georges Hansen were met by Premier Jacques Chirac on their arrival at Orly Airport.
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