41.   The groups asked Norway to arrange a meeting, and the foreign ministry in turn asked the council to act as host, with government backing, he said.

42.   The ministry asks expeditions to report Everest climbs to authorities, but groups often post details on their Web sites first.

43.   The ministry has asked for police help in determining how many such children there might be, the newspaper Asahi reported.

44.   The ministry has asked the aircraft manufacturer to assist in the probe to establish if the incident was due to technical problem or human error.

45.   The ministry in turn asked for a report from the attorney general of the Santo Domingo Appeals Court.

46.   The ministry will ask EGAT to consider shutting the plant down for good.

47.   The justice ministry has asked prosecutors to investigate.

48.   The ministry has asked the Pasteur Institute and the Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to send experts to the worst-affected provinces.

49.   The ministry has asked the U.S. exporter, through the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, to explain why the chemical was not washed from the apples.

50.   The ministry will ask fiscal authorities to revise existing laws and draft new ones to ease the burden of rebuilding harbor and rail businesses, officials said.