51.   President Hosni Mubarak predicted Wednesday that Israel and the PLO would soon seal a deal to extend Palestinian self-rule overcoming remaining hurdles at their marathon negotiations.

52.   Ross left Israel on Tuesday after three weeks of marathon negotiations and told reporters on Wednesday he believed the Israelis and Palestinians can resolve their final differences over Hebron.

53.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto expressed his great relief after being informed of the result of marathon negotiations between the two countries over the issue in Vancouver, Canada.

54.   Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic are to meet Wednesday at a US military base in Ohio for expected marathon negotiations.

55.   Spanish Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato said early Friday after marathon negotiations EU finance ministers have reached a compromise deal on the French budget deficit deadline.

56.   Talks on ending the war in the Balkans continued into the wee hours Monday after marathon negotiations, but officials say a deal is not yet at hand.

57.   The agreement to submit the settlement terms to a vote on Thursday was clinched late Tuesday between the HHI management and union after marathon negotiations, the company said.

58.   The division of the island is currently being discussed by its Greek and Turkish communities in marathon negotiations, the outcome of which remains uncertain.

59.   The Israeli-PLO accord was initialled at Taba, Egypt, on Sunday after marathon negotiations.