Trieste, Italy, November 18, SPA -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconibegan hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a day of talksTuesday, with the current global economic crisis expected to featurehigh on the agenda. The discussions, taking place in the north eastern ItalianAdriatic Sea port of Trieste, were to be followed by a joint newsconference scheduled for around 1430 GMT, DPA reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/608824