61.   Deputies to Kamei and Pena will meet early Thursday in Los Angeles, followed by the ministerial consultations, said the ministry official, who declined to be named.

62.   Each time, the bank failed to tell ministry officials of systematic efforts by the bank to hide the losses.

63.   Economic ministry officials held its first meeting in Caracas with members of a technical mission from the IMF, which arrived in Venezuela yesterday.

64.   Environmental ministry officials yesterday said they were recommending that the channel be closed for dredging.

65.   Environment ministry officials met Friday to recommend measures to make the channel safer while dredging is completed.

66.   Excluding the added costs from the consumption tax, real spending will be almost flat, ministry officials said.

67.   Families began to run away, and ministry officials began to seize land and irrigation pumps.

68.   Final recommendations are expected to be released later today by environment ministry officials overseeing the channel.

69.   Final recommendations are expected to be released later today by environment ministry officials, though approval would also be needed from other government departments.

70.   Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka and senior ministry officials said the reserves will be enough to cope with future banking failures.