1.   The French government did not sign the agreement.

2.   The government signed a number of accords with neighbouring Namibia after the latter gained its independence in March.

3.   The Vietnamese government has signed an agreement with the UN Development Programme intended to help conserve biodiversity, to be financed by the Global Environment Facility.

4.   The Japanese and Chinese governments have signed an agreement to carry out joint tests on equipment to desulphurize coal in Chinese power plants.

5.   A day earlier, however, the government had signed an international agreement to give restitution to slave laborers under the Nazis.

6.   But on Monday the two governments signed their first formal agreement to share information and evidence related to drug smuggling.

7.   Even if an accord can be reached before the election, the government will not sign a comprehensive peace deal before then, Israeli officials said.

8.   He did not say where the weapons originated, but noted that the Bosnian government has recently signed secret arms agreements with Turkey, Malaysia and Iran.

9.   In what the administration viewed as a move forward, the Chinese government signed the covenants last year.

10.   Late last year the Russian government signed the two major international laws that protect copyrights, the Bern Convention and the Geneva Phonograms Convention.