31.   There are no specific criteria for granting or withholding approval.

32.   Then, having forced the changes, the Vatican withheld its approval of the revised language, meaning that it had obtained concessions without abandoning its moral position.

33.   This drew the interest of state attorney general Thomas Reilly, who faxed a letter to the owners asking them to withhold approval pending an investigation.

34.   Yet the FDA withheld approval, rejecting the way Biomet conducted its clinical trials.

35.   A spokesman for Gzitic told Dow Jones Newswires the attempt to sell its stake in a stock brokerage failed when regulators withheld approval.

36.   An EU anti-trust advisory panel recommended on Friday that the European Union head office withhold approval of the Boeing Co.-McDonnell Douglas Corp. merger, sources said.

37.   Annan withheld approval for the request pending recommendations from the team.

38.   Deputies said the parliament would withhold its approval of cooperation pacts with Russia until the violence against Chechnya ceases.

39.   Diplomats said China withheld final approval until officials in Beijing could be consulted.

40.   German regulators said that under European Union rules, they had to present reasons for withholding approval and that they had found none.