41.   Twenty French gendarmes are already in Mostar, southern Hercegovina, where they have begun the mission of training and supervising local police.

42.   UN disarmament chief Rolf Ekeus began a mission here on Thursday to obtain weapons secrets promised by Iraq after the defection of a senior official.

43.   Zinni began his mission after Washington had already started intensifying its efforts for peace.

44.   The deputy head of the UN disarmament commission said Wednesday he had been snubbed by the Iraqi government when he began his weapons mission to Baghdad four days ago.

45.   The French firm Sofrerail in May began a mission to repair three broken-down Alsthom locomotives, and train technicians in maintenance, using brand-new tools sent from France.

46.   The Japanese delegation began its mission in Damascus and visited the Syrian side of the Golan on Wednesday, before travelling on to Lebanon and Jordan.

47.   The Japanese delegation began its mission in Syria where it visited the Syrian side of the Golan Heights on Wednesday.

48.   The Israeli army was reportedly preparing to deploy tanks around West Bank trouble spots as Ross began his mission by meeting Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Morocco.