21.   Hashimoto was sent off by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and other Cabinet ministers with a renewed public resolve to stand firm in the face of the U.S. sanctions threat.

22.   Haider said Monday the Freedom Party would continue to pressure the government to hold a referendum on what Austrians think of the sanctions threat.

23.   However, leaders said the sanctions threat could be revived if countries persistently failed to help.

24.   However, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on Thursday downplayed the U.S. sanctions threat, saying it was a hype created by his political archrival Djindjic.

25.   In addition, the Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica, on Thursday downplayed the U.S. sanctions threat, saying it was a hype created by his political archrival Djindjic.

26.   In New York, meanwhile, there were already signs that the sanctions threat might end up being removed.

27.   In the face of the sanctions threat, the Japanese car makers have been slowing or cutting production of targeted automobiles.

28.   Italian officials warned the escalating trade spat could harm farmers on both sides of the Atlantic and appealed for the United States to back away from the sanctions threat.

29.   Japanese press reports also played up the fact that the United States had backed off on its sanctions threat.

30.   Norway even defied world opinion, faced protests and braved sanction threats so it could resume commercial whale hunting last year despite a global ban.