21.   Political crisis grips country.

22.   A man in central Japan collapsed and died after drinking canned tea that investigators suspect was part of a string of poisonings gripping the country, police said Thursday.

23.   An ancient Albanian code dictating an eye for an eye has revived in the anarchy gripping the country.

24.   As the month-old scandal continues to grip the country, the governing Democratic Liberal Party is being portrayed as a hotbed of corruption.

25.   As layoffs increase, prices rise and troubled financial institutions are shut down by the government, a crisis of confidence has gripped the country.

26.   But he cautioned that the worst of the slowdown, which has gripped the country since last summer, may not be over.

27.   Chernomyrdin warned that swift action was vital to try to stem the crisis and he appealed for an end to the political squabbling that has gripped the country.

28.   Government officials said spending increases next year have to be kept to a minimum because of the deepening economic crisis gripping the country.

29.   He said other major security threats are the proliferation of nuclear materials and the possible social consequences of the economic crisis gripping the country.

30.   He was wanted for questioning in the slaying of a journalist, a case that had gripped the country for more than a year.