1.   Pope John Paul II told a Bosnian delegation Thursday that he wanted to visit the shattered republic as soon as possible.

2.   Fourteen outside nations said they would join the peacekeeping mission in the shattered former Yugoslav republic.

3.   It has quickly become a lifeline for the shattered republic, delivering hordes of refugees home and bringing Russian soldiers out.

4.   Prospects for reconstructing the shattered republic are uncertain.

5.   Tikhomirov issued the ultimatum in Grozny, capital of the shattered republic, after returning from a Security Council meeting in Moscow.

6.   When Tikhomirov issued his ultimatum, the accord already seemed in tatters because Russian troops were largely ignoring a deadline to remove their checkpoints in the shattered republic.

7.   Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev accused Russia on Sunday of stalling on the peace process and on economic reconstruction in the shattered breakaway republic.

8.   Chechen rebels and Russian negotiators said Monday they were close to an accord on a Russian troop withdrawal from the shattered republic by the end of August.

9.   Moscow promised to pursue peace in Chechnya on Friday, despite the sacking of its main negotiator Alexander Lebed, but independence fighters in the shattered republic remained wary.