1.   Bowing to opposition demands, President Lee Teng-hui apologized in person Thursday for violent crime in Taiwan, but rejected demands to fire the premier.

2.   The promise came amid reports Saturday that Milosevic had fired his premier and was preparing to purge other key aides.

3.   The promise came amid reports that Milosevic had fired his premier and was preparing to purge other key aides.

4.   Yeltsin, who fired popular premier Yevgeny Primakov last week, gets up to three chances to nominate a new prime minister.

5.   But Emmanuel Gasana, chief of staff of President Pasteur Bizimungu, told AFP the premier had been fired by the president in a move approved by parliament.

6.   It suggested that the president be endowed with the power to appoint and fire the premier.

7.   The last sacking of a government was in November when Leghari fired premier Benazir Bhutto.