21.   Surrounded by his Cabinet and soldiers loyal to his government, Ratsiraka called on soldiers and police to forget their differences and join the council.

22.   The parliament and the vice president refused to step down, while opposition leaders calling for the full adoption of Islamic law refused to join his council.

23.   The LDK said Thursday it would join the council under an agreement that provides an additional seat to its ally, the Albanian Demo-Christian party.

24.   To avert a war, opponents said, Ramos should submit the agreement to a plebiscite to determine which of the provinces want to join the council.

25.   To join the council, Ukraine must first amend its constitution and change some of its laws to make both comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.

26.   When Syria joined the council in January, Wehbe asked for regular briefings on the Middle East, an initiative he said was praised Tuesday by other council members.

27.   Like Germany, it is seeking to close the book on World War II and join the council as a permanent member.

28.   Marzieh joined the council last September, in Paris.

29.   Other participants include the United States, Japan, Russia, South Korea as well as China which joined the council in December.

30.   Persson invited Holbrooke to join the council during a visit to Washington in early August.