21.   France scuppered his plan to organise ministerial talks on obstacles to world trade in sectors not covered by the recent GATT agreement, such as financial services and investments.

22.   Following unsuccessful ministerial talks last October in Washington, the United States threatened to take sanctions against Japan.

23.   Gutteres also said that Portugal was committed to seeing social and human rights issues brought up at the ministerial talks of the World Trade Organization in Singapore next December.

24.   He said the fact that London and Dublin ruled out any ministerial level talks with Sinn Fein, did not help to set the peace process back on track.

25.   India and China will be welcomed as full dialogue partners of ASEAN before annual ministerial talks begin in mid-week, officials said Sunday.

26.   A dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over two islands can still be brought before the international court of justice should ministerial talks fail, an Indonesian leader said Wednesday.

27.   A raging dispute over some islands in the East China Sea is expected to top the agenda for the ministerial talks.

28.   A spokesman for Prime Minister John Major said Sinn Fein could not be invited to ministerial talks before making concessions on decommissioning weapons.

29.   Ahead of the ministerial talks, negotiators of the two countries met intermittently here on Thursday and Friday.

30.   And a spokesman for Prime Minister John Major said Sinn Fein could not be invited to ministerial talks until they had made some concession on decommissioning.