41.   The airline had booked passengers on flights between Osaka and Jakarta, expecting the route to be approved by Tokyo ready for operations to start on Wednesday.

42.   The department head told the television that a decontamination operation would start on Wednesday.

43.   The joint operations offically started on Tuesday although they are believed to still be limited to high-level negotiations, with US troops yet to enter the field.

44.   The operation started Saturday night when three Rangers were injured when militants attacked an armoured personnel carrier.

45.   The operation could start in two villages as early as Tuesday, an army source said.