11.   Former defence minister Guy Coeme is also under investigation.

12.   Former defence minister Heinz Kessler and two other former senior officials were given prison sentences, but they have remained free pending an appeal to the Constitutional Court.

13.   Former defence minister in the apartheid era, Magnus Malan, said this week that he knew of no military operation which could be interpreted as a political crime.

14.   Former defence minister Sharad Pawar, who earlier had made no secret of his prime ministerial ambitions, was seen as a leading candidate.

15.   Former Georgian defence minister Tengiz Kitovani, who heads the front, was among those arrested, Georgadze said.

16.   General Sani Abacha, a former defence minister, has ruled Nigeria since seizing power in a coup last November and will preside over the council.

17.   Former defence minister Ariel Sharon was among the Israelis who entered the Tomb via a special entrance set aside for Jews, correspondents said.

18.   Former defence minister Ragim Gaziyev, who escaped from prison soon after his arrest, was sentenced in his absence.

19.   Former defence minister who led the alliance at a time of enormous change with the ending of the Cold War.

20.   Former French defence minister Francois Leotard on Monday demanded an explanation from Gaullist Prime Minister Alain Juppe for wire-taps placed on the phones of two of his former aides.