21.   Also Wednesday, Israeli troops prepared to hand over to Palestinian control three more military government offices in the villages of Yatta, Qabatiyeh and Kharbata.

22.   Amid an eerie calm, Afghan troops prepare for battle.

23.   Army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said government troops were preparing to launch a rescue.

24.   As U.S. troops prepare for action, European leaders are seeking to calm nerves and tone down the rhetoric.

25.   As government troops prepare to storm the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna, relief agencies in the war zone face mounting accusations that their work is aiding the guerrillas.

26.   Belgian troops prepared Sunday to leave for Central Africa to assist in a possible evacuation of foreigners from insurgency-troubled Zaire.

27.   British troops were preparing to follow an age-old tradition in which officers serve dinner to the troops on Christmas.

28.   Federal troops were preparing to storm the police station, according to the official Russian news agency ITAR-Tass.

29.   French troops were preparing to enter the areas of Brazzaville heaviest hit by urban warfare on Tuesday to evacuate foreigners unable to reach the airport.

30.   Government troops prepared Monday for a second consecutive day of attacks on Tamil rebel territory.