41.   His successor at the defence ministry will be General Ilan Biran, former commander of the central region of Israel which includes the West Bank.

42.   Hundreds of people were evacuated as a forest fire continued its rampage north of Athens, destroying hundreds of homes and other buildings, the defence ministry said Saturday.

43.   However, despite the apparent battle readiness on the borders, the defence ministry has agreed to let some soldiers go on leave to visit their families.

44.   However in Paris, the French defence ministry said French forces had not fired any shots Saturday.

45.   However, according to the defence ministry, the EU programme has not gone to the heart of the problem.

46.   Hussein has been accused by the defence ministry of spreading the ideas of the banned Moslem militant group Jamaa Islamiyya.

47.   However, the defence ministry agreed Sunday that the US bombing campaign should continue until the last pockets of al-Qaeda and Taliban resistance were crushed.

48.   However, the defence ministry said guerrillas withdrew without being able to take away the guns with them.

49.   However, the spokesman of the defence ministry here, General Fred Chijuka, said that he was not aware of the issue.

50.   However, there was no immediate confirmation from the Croatian defence ministry or state-run media.