41.   When the Mir suffered a string of accidents last year, the Americans expressed skepticism about its safety and debated the wisdom of sending up another astronaut.

42.   In the past two weeks, Serb forces have suffered a string of defeats by the Moslem-led Bosnian Army and Bosnian Croat forces.

43.   But the fighters have begun to suffer a string of military reversals after former defence minister Ahmed Shah Masood Masood launched an intense guerrilla war against them.

44.   The purchase of jet trainers is crucial for the IAF, which has suffered a string of crashes in recent years.

45.   The Cambodian army has suffered a string of battlefield defeats this year at the hands of the Khmer Rouge rebels, who control large stretches of western Cambodia.