51.   Patasse, who attended the summit, did not comment.

52.   Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakstan, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan were also attending the summit.

53.   A human rights group has asked French President Jacques Chirac to lobby for individual freedom in Vietnam, where he will attend a summit later this week.

54.   A rebel leader, Arthur Ngoma, was scheduled to attend the summit as an observer, but he could not immediately be reached for comment.

55.   A South African foreign affairs spokesman said he knew of no invitation to attend the summit.

56.   A spokeswoman said Major would make the two-day visit after attending a summit of European Union and Asian states in the Thai capital Bangkok.

57.   A South African foreign affairs spokesman said Wednesday he knew of no invitation to attend the summit.

58.   Abdullah, who is in Iran to attend the summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference, is the highest Saudi official to visit Tehran since the revolution.

59.   A rebel leader, Arthur Ngoma, attended the summit as an observer, but he could not immediately be reached for comment.

60.   African leaders have been invited to attend the summit, and NEPAD is expected to be the main topic.