31.   The report came as Clinton was to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Washington on Thursday.

32.   The report came as millions of Russians enjoyed a day off, one of the biggest holidays of the year.

33.   The report came as U.N. officials toured the West African country to determine the effect of an arms embargo and other U.N. sanctions.

34.   The report came as U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to seek support for military action against Iraq.

35.   The report came as voters in Belarus went to the polls to elect a new parliament.

36.   Both reports came as Cuban President Fidel Castro headed to an Ibero-American summit in Chile this weekend and an then to FAO meeting in Rome.

37.   The report came as a senior Chinese diplomat was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as denying the epidemic was started by contaminated food brought in by Chinese citizens.

38.   The report came as northern leaders rejected a seven-point ceasefire plan put forward by their southern counterparts.

39.   The report came as South Korea launched a naval and air exercise off the disputed islands known as Tokdo in Korean.

40.   The report came as the Chinese leadership finishes its latest campaign eulogising the work of the reform architect.