31.   Usov accused the Russian government of breaking the law by sanctioning the construction at Sosnovy Bor without a preliminary environmental assessment.

32.   Civil defence officials said their preliminary assessment indicated the cause of the fire was arson.

33.   Donor nations and major multilateral institutions are due to meet in Tokyo later this month to reach agreement on the preliminary assessment plan.

34.   Yuan said it was not yet known which underwriters might be involved but confirmed some firms had undertaken preliminary assessment work, without naming them.

35.   NASA will give a preliminary assessment of the problem later Thursday.

36.   Six people have died and three people have been injured in the floods, according to the preliminary assessment.

37.   The decision came after preliminary assessments, MTI quoted Ford programme director David Hulse as saying.