31.   Israeli officials closed Ben Gurion International Airport to foreign airlines.

32.   Japanese officials have closed the loophole that allowed Nomo to sign with the Dodgers.

33.   Last Wednesday, six days after the reporter visited the plant, Agriculture Department officials finally closed the Waldron operation for repeatedly violating sanitation regulations.

34.   Local officials have only closed agency offices here and in Pyatigorsk, a southern Russian city that has received Jewish refugees from Chechnya.

35.   Meanwhile, two education officials close to Crew said that school districts in several cities, including Oakland and San Francisco, had expressed interest in hiring him.

36.   Now, officials close to Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, including Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, say they will endorse any Queens site.

37.   Officials close to Arafat say he cannot allow Israel to remain in control of an important West Bank city and expect to win it in the election.

38.   Officials closed the center Wednesday afternoon, and employees were ordered to report Thursday to the Kansas City Health Department for interviews and antibiotics.

39.   Officials also closed high-rises and other potential targets.

40.   Officials closed Opa-locka West Airport and used it as a refueling station for police helicopters.