1.   All Western nationals in Kuwait are ordered to convene in three hotels, and foreign countries are ordered to close their embassies in Kuwait.

2.   Both countries closed their embassies temporarily in Gambia, Madagascar and Namibia.

3.   A few are even saying the embassy should be closed, leaving the Americans to fight their battles elsewhere.

4.   Adding to the outrage is a threat of more violence unless France bows to such impossible demands as closing its embassy in Algiers.

5.   But the United States is not closing its embassy, as it has in past crises.

6.   Earlier, Pakistan had closed Taliban embassies in Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar.

7.   He did not describe the threats that had prompted the decision to close some embassies, but he said all were being taken seriously.

8.   He said the embassies had been closed at the request of ambassadors or, in their absence, the highest-ranking local U.S. diplomat.

9.   He said the embassies had been closed at the request of ambassadors or, in their absence, the highest-ranking local American diplomat.

10.   In Khartoum, capital of the Sudan, the United States is taking the extraordinary measure of withdrawing its diplomats and closing its embassy for the foreseeable future.