31.   The United States and the European Union, meanwhile, kept up pressure on Arafat to continue his crackdown on Islamic militant groups.

32.   Sporadic gunfire echoed from Shiite Moslem villages near the Bahraini capital Manama Thursday as security forces continued a crackdown on demonstrators, residents told AFP.

33.   The announcement came as Algerian authorities continued their crackdown against Moslem fundamentalists, killing nine extremists in separate raids on Friday and Saturday.