1.   He was also reported to have said that Romania would downgrade its ties with the PLO.

2.   Underscoring the point, Egypt, a key U.S. partner in the Arab world, downgraded its ties with Israel to protest its week-long offensive.

3.   Philippine President Fidel Ramos downgraded ties with Singapore last week by recalling his ambassador to the republic after Singapore refused to stay the execution of Flor Contemplacion.

4.   An Afghan diplomat said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia apparently decided to downgrade ties with Kabul because the Taliban militia is harboring Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

5.   An Afghan diplomat said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia apparently decided to downgrade ties with Kabul because the Taliban militia was harboring Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

6.   Before the start of the closed session, parliament deputies said they would call for downgrading ties with Germany.

7.   Earlier this month Saudi Arabia, one of the few countries that supports the Taliban, downgraded ties with the hard-line militia that rules nearly all of Afghanistan.

8.   Filipino Communists have threatened to kill Singaporeans here, and some headline-seeking politicians have called for downgrading diplomatic ties.

9.   In a bid to cool public anger, Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Singapore by withdrawing his ambassador to the city-state.

10.   Ramos has downgraded diplomatic ties with Singapore and set up a panel to investigate whether Mrs. Contemplacion was wrongly convicted of murder, as many Filipinos believe.