51.   Rugova also supports independence, and on Friday he called on Washington and the Europeans to back that call.

52.   Prime Minister John Howard has backed Australian calls for England to hand over the Ashes urn, the symbol of supremacy for cricket matches between the nations.

53.   Several leading Premier League players backed calls for a walkout in solidarity with lower-paid players in the lower divisions.

54.   Santer said he backed calls to ensures exchange-rate stability between the Euro-currency and nations that do not immediately qualify.

55.   Several council members backed his call, including Mauritius and Cameroon.

56.   Several leading Premier League players have backed calls for a walkout in solidarity with lower-paid players in the lower divisions.

57.   Soares also threatened to fire government employees who back calls by separatists for a referendum on independence.

58.   That depends on whether another opposition party, the Komei, forms an alliance with the governing Liberal Democratic Party or whether it backs opposition calls to dissolve Parliament.

59.   The Australian government has rejected this but has unofficially backed calls for a mass consumer boycott on French goods.

60.   The Catholic Church later backed his call.