101.   The high court on Wednesday handed setbacks to Silvio Berlusconi with a ruling against election reform and a decision that threatens his media empire.

102.   The Liberal Party remained the largest force in the Congress, whose agenda is expected to include political and election reform in addition to war and peace matters.

103.   The statement also urged parliament to pass election reforms and called for early elections to bring fresh blood into politics.

104.   There are at least two bipartisan legislative proposals in the Senate to set up federal matching grants for election reforms, and there are similar proposals in the House.

105.   White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president has been clear in his support for election reform.

106.   Patten has been reviled by Beijing, and virtually sidelined from the transition process, since he engineered election reforms that led to the LegCo ballot.