71.   France will not take part in a new multinational force to protect Kurds in northern Iraq, the French foreign ministry announced here on Friday.

72.   French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe discussed Bosnia with his British counterpart Douglas Hurd by telephone on Thursday, the foreign ministry announced.

73.   His ministry Tuesday announced the Mont Blanc tunnel would be opened to car and light vehicle traffic from this coming Saturday, and to heavy trucks sometime after mid-March.

74.   In Jerusalem, the foreign ministry announced Israel was opening an interests section in Morocco.

75.   In Seoul, the South Korean foreign ministry announced Hwang had left Beijing.

76.   Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will make a state visit to Kenya during the first week of September, the Kenyan foreign ministry announced Thursday.

77.   In Vienna, the foreign ministry announced an international conference would be held in the Austrian capital on Friday to discuss the implementation of the Brcko ruling.

78.   Israel will be officially represented for the first time at an international tourism fair in Morocco from Thursday, the tourism ministry announced.

79.   A Dutch UN military observer arrested in connection with the incident has also been released, the Dutch defence ministry announced in The Hague.

80.   A Bahraini air force pilot defected to Qatar in a helicopter on Monday, the Qatari foreign ministry announced.