41.   A UPI correspondent said the ministry had contacted their Beijing bureau earlier in the day to deliver the same message.

42.   A violent explosion rocked central Algiers around midday on Monday, an AFP correspondent said here.

43.   AFP correspondents said military planes flew several passes over Grozny, drawing machine-gun fire from Chechen defence forces on the ground.

44.   All roads leading to the Baraksat district were closed to traffic and the areas was sealed off, an AFP correspondent said.

45.   AFP correspondents said military planes flew several sorties over Grozny, drawing machine-gun fire from Chechen defence forces on the ground.

46.   AFP correspondents said Russian military planes flew several sorties over Grozny, drawing machine-gun fire from Chechen forces on the ground.

47.   AFP correspondents said that the clashes late Saturday outside the prefecture involved anarchists, including masked protesters who said they came from Germany.

48.   All roads leading to the Baraksat district were closed to traffic and the area was sealed off, an AFP correspondent said.

49.   An AFP correspondent said Arafat arrived by helicopter from Gaza and was welcomed by thousands of townspeople along with wellwishers who had flocked from surrounding villages.

50.   An AFP correspondent said he saw several charred victims after the blast went off as the city was preparing for the Sabbath holiday.