61.   That scandal centers on allegations that two senior ministry bureaucrats were wined and dined by financial institutions in exchange for tipping them off about surprise ministry inspections.

62.   Syria also denied the CNN report, with a senior foreign ministry official saying it was baseless.

63.   The EU mission was led by Jan de Bock, a senior foreign ministry for Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

64.   The government has replaced a senior foreign ministry official as its liaison with the United Nations in Kosovo, citing health reasons, the Beta news agency reported Monday.

65.   The idea, Decha said, is part of the education policy of his Chat Thai Party which has already been agreed upon by all senior ministry officials.

66.   The ministers decided they would meet at least once a year, while senior ministry specialists would meet every three months.

67.   The scandal centers on allegations that two senior ministry bureaucrats were wined and dined by financial institutions in exchange for tipping them off about surprise ministry inspections.

68.   The statement said Talhami met senior Russian foreign ministry officials.

69.   The U.S. economic slowdown may have hurt Japanese exports during the month, a senior ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

70.   The warning was delivered by a senior Chinese foreign ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.