1.   From time to time, authorities step forward to ease the burden of incomprehension.

2.   At a news conference, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa confirmed later that Japanese authorities stepped into foreign exchange markets to weaken the yen.

3.   Can our monetary authorities step out of their own shadow?

4.   Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa confirmed that Japanese authorities stepped into foreign exchange markets to weaken the yen.

5.   Meanwhile, the dollar declined against the yen amid speculation financial authorities may step into the foreign exchange market to prop up the Japanese currency, traders said.

6.   Slovene authorities have stepped up security here and along the borders to prevent extremists from entering the country to cause trouble during the one-day meeting.

7.   Israeli businessmen suggested to Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu Meddein two weeks ago that the self-rule authority step into the breach to provide a service closer to home.

8.   Vietnamese authorities stepped in last November to stop a campaign launched by the Buddhist church to help victims of flooding in the Mekong delta.