61.   Numerous casualties were reported in the second straight daylight raid on the capital of the separatist republic.

62.   On Wednesday, Yeltsin offered new freedoms to the separatist republic in a power-sharing plan that defines Chechnya as a sovereign state within the Russian Federation.

63.   President Boris Yeltsin may meet with the Chechen leader next week in an apparent effort to ease tensions between Russia and the separatist republic.

64.   Politicians in Moscow have since criticized the provision as vague and dangerous and insisted that the separatist republic remain part of Russia.

65.   Russia began its staged pullout of troops from Chechnya on Monday by withdrawing a regiment of Interior Ministry troops from the separatist republic, news reports said.

66.   Russian forces shelled and bombed Chechen rebels on Tuesday while promising to go ahead with plans to withdraw thousands of troops from the separatist republic.

67.   Russian guns shelled a strategic village outside the Chechen capital for a third day Thursday, but fighting eased as a thick fog settled over the separatist republic.

68.   Russian troops closing in on the Chechen capital hammer surrounding regions with artillery Friday, while the leader of the separatist republic agrees to resume peace talks with Moscow.

69.   Rybkin has won praise from both sides for his conciliatory approach to normalizing relations between Russia and the separatist republic.

70.   Rebels have vowed to continue waging a guerrilla campaign outside the capital of the separatist republic.