61.   The Chinese gave Simens the contract days after U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested that the U.S. look at renewing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

62.   The Canada visit is part of a wider North Korean thaw, which includes the resumption of food aid by Japan and the establishment of diplomatic ties with Italy.

63.   The information was enough to convince administration officials that now was a good time to restore diplomatic ties with Vietnam.

64.   The institute is a nominally private organization that handles American relations with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

65.   The Israeli government says it will consider further steps, like severing diplomatic ties to the Palestinian Authority, as it briefly did last month.

66.   The move is the first such agreement in the Asian country involving U.S. funds since President Clinton restored diplomatic ties earlier this month.

67.   The road to true diplomatic ties could still be long.

68.   The remarks came after Japan and North Korea agreed in Beijing last week to resume negotiations on establishing diplomatic ties, after a lapse of five years.

69.   The State Department asked the Swedish government, which has maintained diplomatic ties to Yugoslavia, to relay the U.S. request that the soldiers be released.

70.   The sister-city proposal comes amid a blooming of contacts between the former enemies, who established diplomatic ties last month.