11.   The decision not to require the bank to sell both stakes was taken by Finance Minister Dan Meridor and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the ministry.

12.   There were no accidents in Japan related to these defects, the ministry said.

13.   They said their ministries and banks had been looted by the Taliban, and asked for an ad hoc budget to buy items as basic as stationery.

14.   Two-thirds of these bonds will be auctioned to banks and securities companies, the rest to be sold through a syndicate of underwriters, the ministry said.

15.   Wong said the ministry and China Internet plan to develop similar networks all over China and are discussing a joint venture to develop the network.

16.   Police and civil defense personnel were trying to find survivors, the ministry said.

17.   A drop-off in demand for public housing loans also weighed on May housing starts, the ministry said.

18.   A drop-off in demand for public housing loans weighed on February housing starts, the ministry said.

19.   A helicopter, four coast guard vessels and several private boats sailing in the area were searching for the missing plane, the ministry said.

20.   A Kenyan diplomat who beat a journalist during a demonstration at his embassy left Sweden following an official protest, the foreign ministry said Friday.