31.   Powell is expected later Thursday in New Delhi, where he will urge India to be more flexible in its military standoff with Pakistan.

32.   Sinha had justified the tax surcharge in the light of the current military standoff on the border with rival Pakistan.

33.   Taiwanese MPs on Tuesday had called on the armed forces not to provoke China so soon after a military standoff in the Taiwan Strait.

34.   The dispute escalated into a military standoff before a US-brokered accord soothed tensions.