1.   Months of secret talks with the rebels finally resulted in the release of the hostages.

2.   LOYALIST politicians are involved in secret talks with senior Northern Ireland Office officials in a bid to halt the recent upsurge in violence, it was claimed today.

3.   SECRET talks were held yesterday between United States and North Korean representatives as Washington urged Pyongyang to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

4.   As a special assistant to Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance during the Carter administration, he held secret talks in Havana aimed at normalizing relations with Cuba.

5.   BellSouth and Sprint had previously held secret talks about a merger, negotiations that led nowhere.

6.   A series of developments, including secret talks between the British government and the IRA and between Dublin and London had culminated in the Downing Street Declaration.

7.   British Prime Minister John Major is thought to have started secret talks with Siemens in a bid to secure the plant.

8.   British officials have in the past conducted secret talks with Sinn Fein leaders but have never sat down openly at the same table with them.

9.   British officials have in the past conducted secret talks with Sinn Fein leaders, but never before have they sat down openly at the same table with them.