1.   University officials describe the merger as an economic lifeline for the prestigious but financially ailing medical center.

2.   A ministry official described the report as groundless.

3.   A US State Department official described the meeting as a step in the direction of normalization of relations.

4.   Officials described the termination as the largest weapons contract ever to be cancelled by the Defence Department.

5.   Later, officials described the meeting between the businessmen and members of the government-in-exile as extremely positive.

6.   The official Kenya News Agency described the meeting as a courtesy call, during which Botha delivered a message from South African President de Klerk.

7.   Hong Kong officials described the accord as a major breakthrough and predicted that it would take between two and three years to clear the camps.

8.   Government officials described the demonstration as illegal and provocative and the work of a few priests who are intent on politics and subversion.

9.   One Bank of England official described it as the biggest scandal since the South Sea Bubble.

10.   But Union officials have described security as sloppy.