21.   Gen. Doan Khue, the defense minister, and Phan Van Khai, the vice prime minister, are considered frontrunners for the presidency and premiership, respectively.

22.   General Likulia Bolongo will be the new defense minister and also a vice prime minister.

23.   His corruption conviction and six-year prison term bar the former deputy prime minister from politics for at least a decade.

24.   His message was read by Nebojsa Covic, a Serbian deputy prime minister.

25.   ITAR-Tass said the agreement was announced after a meeting between Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and his vice prime minister.

26.   Its founder, Thaksin Shinawatra, is a former deputy prime minister with ambitions of becoming prime minister when Thailand holds an election next year.

27.   Japanese prime minister en route to Beijing for talks.

28.   Mierlo, who is also deputy prime minister, told Soeharto his government planned to establish a trade facility to guarantee Indonesian imports.

29.   Morin says Shawinigan residents feel a degree of pride that a native son became prime minister and predicts a Chretien victory.

30.   Movladi Udugov, whom Maskhadov has said will be a first deputy prime minister, said a new government could be named within two weeks.