51.   In Washington, two top China experts voiced optimism Wednesday about the handover but warned that the issue could derail still-fragile US-China relations.

52.   Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin voiced optimism Sunday about the Middle East peace process but criticized PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat for failing to crack down on terrorism.

53.   Israelis and Palestinians voiced optimism on Sunday after their first meeting in a new round of peace talks aimed at settling the final issues of Palestinian self-rule.

54.   And Israeli officials are again voicing optimism.

55.   Asked if he was confident Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would go ahead and implement the accords, Mubarak voiced optimism.

56.   Before the meeting Friday, both Clinton and Republicans voiced guarded optimism over ending the budget impasse.

57.   Both sides voiced optimism before the start of a first round of three-days of talks, which will be held amid a news blackout.

58.   But both Rubin and McCaffrey voiced optimism about prospects for Mexican involvement in the border drug war.

59.   But cash-strapped Iraq, the second biggest oil power, has voiced optimism over an agreement, which it hopes would gradually remove the embargo.

60.   But Japanese Trade Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto voiced less optimism over reaching an accord by the deadline.