21.   The charges are widely viewed as a political maneuver to keep Ranariddh from mounting a strong election challenge.

22.   The day before, Bush held a well-publicized meeting with Rice and talked with reporters at some length about the election challenges and his hopes for a Bush administration.

23.   The long-time leader of the southern Russian republic of North Ossetia faced a tough election challenge on Sunday in a race closely watched by the Kremlin.

24.   Under pressure from Khamenei, moderates close to the president backed down Wednesday on plans to mount an organised election challenge to conservative hardliners.

25.   Yeltsin is facing a tough election challenge from Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who has accused the government of pursuing ruinous economic policies.

26.   Yeltsin is facing a tough election challenge from Zyuganov, who has accused the government of pursuing ruinous economic policies.