51.  Three weeks ahead of presidential elections, opposition groups in Ivory Coast took a tougher stand Thursday and called on their members to defy an official ban on demonstrations.

52.  Turkey, which wields influence over the Moslems of the Caucasus, has adopted a tougher stand condemning the Russian intervention.

53.  It was a big personal victory for the embattled president who has been faced with steady pressure from Washington to take a tougher stand against the illegal drug trade.

54.  Netanyahu has pledged to take a tougher stand in Middle East peace talks than Peres, leader of the left-wing Labor Party.

55.  Presidential envoy Stuart Eizenstat was in Mexico City Wednesday to press for a tougher stand against Cuba.

56.  Secretary of State Warren Christopher urged the international community Monday to take a tougher stand against the Moslem fundamentalist groups Hamas and Hezbollah by ending their access to funds.

57.  That tougher stand has been accompanied by a worsening of the economic crisis, with a majority of Nigerians living in poverty.

58.  The Philippines should take a tougher stand against international terrorism but must guard against threatening human rights and democracy, a senior US official and Filipino legislators said Wednesday.