Input: The U.S. embassy in Athens, the consulates general in Athens and Thessaloniki and all U.S. government offices in Greece will be closed on Monday, September 2 in observance of Labour Day, a U.S. national holiday, the embassy said.

U.S.

Athens

Athens

Thessaloniki

U.S.

Greece

U.S.

Labour Day


Input: -- George Georgiopoulos, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4

George Georgiopoulos

Athens Newsroom


Input: ND PARTY PICKS SPOT THOMSON, BOLD/OGILVY, MATHER FOR AD CAMPAIGN.

ND

BOLD/OGILVY, MATHER

AD

SPOT THOMSON


Input: ATHENS 1996-08-29

ATHENS


Input: Greek conservative New democracy party picked Bold/Ogilvy and Mather advertising companies for its pre-election campaign and Spot Thomson to help party president Miltiadis Evert on communication strategy, it said in a statement.

Greek

New democracy

Bold/Ogilvy and Mather

Spot Thomson

Miltiadis Evert


Input: Spot Thomson will also be responsible for the campaign TV and radio spots, it said.

Spot Thomson


Input: -- Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4

Dimitris Kontogiannis

Athens Newsroom


Input: Rugby star once linked to Princess Diana divorces.

Diana


Input: LONDON 1996-08-29

LONDON


Input: Former England rugby captain Will Carling, whose marriage broke down after he was romantically linked to Princess Diana, was divorced by his wife on Thursday, just 24 hours after Diana and Prince Charles divorced.

England

Will Carling

Diana

Diana

Prince Charles


Input: The Times newspaper said Diana was not named in the divorce petition heard by a court in Surrey, southern England.

The Times

Diana

Surrey

England


Input: But Julia Carling, a television presenter, is said to have blamed Diana for the problems in her marriage and she has repeatedly mocked the princess on her breakfast television programme.

Julia Carling

Diana


Input: Diana met Will Carling at an exclusive gymnasium in London.

Diana

Will Carling

London


Input: He has always insisted that they were just friends.


Input: London LIFFE futures APT closing prices.

London

LIFFE


Input: LONDON 1996-08-29

LONDON


Input: London International Financial Futures Exchange automated pit trading (APT) tabular details:

London International Financial Futures Exchange


Input: CONTRACT (MONTH) APT CLOSE SETTLEMENT PREVIOUS SETTLE


Input: LONG GILT (SEP) (1/32) 107-12 107-10 107-06


Input: SHORT STERLING (SEP) 94.26 94.26 94.26


Input: GERMAN GOVT BOND (SEP) 97.42 97.38 97.34

GERMAN


Input: EUROMARK (SEP) 96.84 96.83 96.83

EUROMARK


Input: ITALIAN GOVT BOND (SEP) 115.62 115.58 115.32

ITALIAN


Input: EUROLIRA (SEP) 91.37 91.36 91.33

EUROLIRA


Input: EUROSWISS (SEP) 97.79 97.80 97.82

EUROSWISS


Input: FTSE 100 (SEP) 3,894.00 3,894.00 3,941.50

FTSE 100


Input: Zaire installs first election delegates.

Zaire


Input: KINSHASA 1996-08-29

KINSHASA


Input: A total of 116 delegates to Zaire's National Election Commission (CNE) were formally installed on Thursday, launching another phase of the Central African nation's much-delayed democratic transition.

Zaire

National Election Commission

CNE

Central African


Input: The 116, representing political parties in the capital Kinshasa, will help organise a voter census, a constitutional referendum planned for January and efforts to brief potential voters on what balloting involves.

Kinshasa


Input: A total of 9,446 delegates will be deployed throughout Zaire's 11 provinces for the elections, which must be held by July 1997 under the transitional constitution.

Zaire


Input: Presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections are planned for May.


Input: " We can meet the required deadlines for organising the elections.


Input: All that is needed is for everyone to show goodwill, " Commission spokesman Yoka Lye Mudaba told reporters.

Commission

Yoka Lye Mudaba


Input: Delegates to the commission from the other 10 provinces will be installed progressively from next week with the provinces of North and South Kivu, Maniema, Shaba and Bandundu having priority, he said.

North

South Kivu

Maniema

Shaba

Bandundu


Input: The installation of delegates was initially scheduled for July.


Input: Officials said lack of funding had delayed the process.


Input: President Mobutu Sese Seko, who seized power in a 1965 coup, introduced a multi-party system in 1990 but Zaire's transition has lagged well behind that of other states in the region.

Mobutu Sese Seko

Zaire


Input: In the past, Mobutu has been elected without opposition.

Mobutu


Input: Nigeria would not refuse Commonwealth officials.

Nigeria

Commonwealth


Input: LAGOS 1996-08-29

LAGOS


Input: Nigeria would not object to a visit by Commonwealth officials but insists its suspension from the organisation be resolved before any other questions are addressed, Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi said on Thursday.

Nigeria

Commonwealth

Tom Ikimi


Input: Ikimi reiterated his position that the Commonwealth had no mandate to send a fact-finding mission.

Ikimi

Commonwealth


Input: " The request I have received is for their officials to come and talk to my officials.


Input: We cannot object to people wanting to visit Nigeria, " Ikimi told Reuters by telephone from the capital Abuja.

Nigeria

Abuja

Ikimi

Reuters


Input: " The fundamental problem we have with the Commonwealth is our unfair suspension.

Commonwealth


Input: Any discussions we have at ministerial level will be a continuation of what we began in London on that.

London


Input: Before that is accomplished we cannot address anything else. "


Input: Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth in November after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists in defiance of international pleas for clemency.

Nigeria

Commonwealth

Ken Saro-Wiwa


Input: A meeting of Commonwealth ministers in London on Wednesday said it planned to send a team of senior officials to Nigeria as soon as possible to persuade Abuja to accept a fact-finding mission.

Commonwealth

London

Nigeria

Abuja


Input: The timing of that mission has yet to be determined.


Input: The latest diplomatic row between Nigeria's military government and the club of Britain and its former colonies erupted over the terms of a visit by Commonwealth ministers to discuss Nigeria's suspension.

Nigeria

Britain

Nigeria

Commonwealth


Input: Nigeria said they would be restricted to a two-day meeting with government officials, but the Commonwealth said it wanted to hold meetings with people outside the government and called off the visit.

Nigeria

Commonwealth


Input: Dutch Queen Beatrix to visit S. Africa in October.

Dutch

Beatrix

S. Africa


Input: JOHANNESBURG 1996-08-29

JOHANNESBURG


Input: Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands will pay a four-day state visit to South Africa in October, the first by a ruling Dutch monarch, the South African foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Beatrix

The Netherlands

South Africa

Dutch

South African


Input: She will be accompanied by several officials who will sign a cultural agreement with South Africa, where the Dutch were the first European settlers in 1652.

South Africa

Dutch

European


Input: The queen will be accompanied by her husband Prince Claus on the September 30 to October 3 visit.

Claus


Input: Senegal bans guns ahead of local elections.

Senegal


Input: DAKAR 1996-08-29

DAKAR


Input: With tension rising among Senegal's political parties ahead of local elections on November 24, the interior ministry on Thursday banned the carrying of guns and ammunition until the end of the year.

Senegal

interior ministry


Input: " It is forbidden for holders of permits for weapons of all categories to transport the said arms and their ammunition outside their homes, " the statement said.


Input: It said the ban applied to Senegalese nationals and foreign residents.

Senegalese


Input: Chad parliamentary election set for November 24.

Chad


Input: N'DJAMENA 1996-08-29

N'DJAMENA


Input: Chad's President Idriss Deby has signed a decree fixing November 24 as the date for parliamentary elections, state radio said on Thursday.

Chad

Idriss Deby


Input: Nomads will vote at mobile polling stations around the vast Central African country between November 20 and 24.

Central African


Input: The electoral commission said the new 125-member national assembly would be installed on February 10.


Input: Deby took power in an armed uprising in 1990.

Deby


Input: He won 69 percent of votes in the second round of presidential elections on July 3, 1996 ..


Input: His supporters will contest the parliamentary election in a coalition of 30 mainly small parties, the Republican Front, led by Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement.

Republican Front

Patriotic Salvation Movement

Deby


Input: PRESS DIGEST-Ivory Coast-Aug 29.

Ivory Coast


Input: ABIDJAN 1996-08-29

ABIDJAN


Input: These are significant stories in the Ivorian press on Thursday.

Ivorian


Input: Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Reuters


Input: FRATERNITE MATIN

FRATERNITE MATIN


Input: -Cabinet meeting establishes five new administrative regions and four new departments as part of government decentralisation policy.


Input: LA VOIE

LA VOIE


Input: -Members of parliament seek higher pay and more benefits.


Input: The speaker of parliament, Charles Bauza Donwahi, will meet President Henri Konan Bedie on September 3 to discuss their request.

Charles Bauza Donwahi

Henri Konan Bedie


Input: -Deputy director of animal health department Douati Alphonse says his agents have seized 46 tonnes of illicit pork in a two-week operation to ensure compliance with a ban imposed after an outbreak of swine fever.

Douati Alphonse


Input: LE JOUR

LE JOUR


Input: -Raphael Lakpe, publisher of the daily Le Populaire, was released on Wednesday evening after three days in custody and will appear in court on Thursday morning.

Raphael Lakpe

Le Populaire


Input: -Cabinet meeting appoints Colonel Severin Konan Kouame as gendarmerie commander, replacing General Joseph Tanny, who has been appointed secretary-general of the National Security Council.

Severin Konan Kouame

Joseph Tanny

National Security Council


Input: -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90

Abidjan


Input: NATO releases Serb police, crisis easing-NATO.

NATO

NATO

Serb


Input: SARAJEVO 1996-08-29

SARAJEVO


Input: NATO forces released a group of Bosnian Serb policemen late on Thursday and a tense confrontation appeared to be easing, an alliance spokesman said.

NATO

Bosnian Serb


Input: " The situation in Mahala seems to be very much on its way toward resolution.

Mahala


Input: My understanding is the (Serb) police have been released ...

Serb


Input: In Zvornik, we think the situation is winding down as well, " NATO spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Max Marriner told Reuters.

Zvornik

NATO

Reuters

Max Marriner


Input: NATO troops detained 65 Bosnian Serb policemen early on Thursday after they attacked Moslem refugees returning to homes in Mahala, a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's internal boundary line.

NATO

Bosnian Serb

Moslem

Serb-controlled

Mahala

Bosnia


Input: In apparent retaliation for NATO's detention of the Serbs, an angry Serb mob including policemen trapped six unarmed U.N. police monitors and three local aides in their office in the town of Zvornik, east of Mahala.

NATO

U.N.

Serbs

Serb

Zvornik

Mahala


Input: Marriner said NATO forces confiscated 25 long-barreled AK-47 automatic assault rifles from the detained Serbs before setting them free.

Marriner

NATO

Serbs


Input: " Local radio and television there (in Zvornik) are advising people to step back and take it easy.

Zvornik


Input: We think that when the word about how things are going in Mahala which is about 35 minutes away by road reaches Zvornik that should help, " Marriner said.

Mahala

Zvornik

Marriner


Input: Storm kills 11 at Macedonian religious festival.

Macedonian


Input: SKOPJE 1996-08-29

SKOPJE


Input: At least 11 people were killed and 60 others injured on Thursday when lightning struck a group of people attending a religious festival in Macedonia, police and municipal officials said.

Macedonia


Input: Police in Berovo, 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Skopje, said there were around 15,000 people gathered around the town's cathedral when the lightning struck the group during a thunderstorm.

Berovo

Skopje


Input: Kornblum, Milosevic discuss election crisis.

Kornblum

Milosevic


Input: Peter Greste

Peter Greste


Input: BELGRADE 1996-08-29

BELGRADE


Input: U.S. envoy John Kornblum met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday in an effort to defuse a growing crisis surrounding Bosnia's post-war elections.

U.S.

Bosnia

John Kornblum

Slobodan Milosevic

Serbian


Input: The American diplomat arrived in Belgrade two days after international organisers postponed municipal elections in Bosnia due to irregularities in the registration of Serb refugee voters.

American

Serb

Belgrade

Bosnia


Input: " We discussed the decision to postpone the municipal elections and I made clear it was primarily the manipulation of voter registration by the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb republic) which led to this development, " Kornblum said after three hours of talks.

Republika Srpska

Bosnian Serb

Kornblum


Input: But he said the United States still believed it was important to go ahead with national elections in Bosnia as scheduled on September 14 to bolster the peace process.

United States

Bosnia


Input: Kornblum gave no indication that he had won any specific commitment from Milosevic, the patron of the Bosnian Serbs, to rectify any abuses in the registration process.

Kornblum

Milosevic

Bosnian Serbs


Input: Bosnia's Moslem political parties have urged their refugees to boycott the elections until irregularities with voter registration are resolved.

Bosnia

Moslem


Input: Human rights workers say Serbian and Bosnian Serb authorities coerced refugees to register only in Serb-held territory in Bosnia to solidify the results of wartime expulsions and military conquest.

Serbian

Bosnian Serb

Serb-held

Bosnia


Input: Serbian officials have denied any abuses occurred during a 10-day registration period and the Bosnian Serbs, angry at the postponement of municipal elections, have threatened to hold local polls on their territory without the international community's blessing.

Serbian

Bosnian Serbs


Input: Kornblum said only elections endorsed by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would be legitimate.

Kornblum

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe

OSCE


Input: " As we have said publicly before, if there is any effort to do so (hold local elections) these elections will not be valid, " he said. "


Input: The elections which are valid are those conducted by the international community under the management of the OSCE. "

OSCE


Input: After meeting Milosevic, Kornblum flew to the Croatian capital Zagreb.

Milosevic

Kornblum

Croatian

Zagreb


Input: He was due to head to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka on Friday to meet Bosnian Serb acting president Biljana Plavsic and Bosnian Serb opposition leaders.

Bosnian

Bosnian Serb

Bosnian Serb

Banja Luka

Biljana Plavsic


Input: He also planned to travel to Sarajevo to oversee the formal dissolution of the separatist Croat mini-state in western Bosnia.

Sarajevo

Bosnia

Croat


Input: U.N. police, relief workers and NATO officers have reported a rise in political violence across Bosnia in the run-up to the September 14 elections.

U.N.

NATO

Bosnia


Input: Voters will be choosing a three-member presidency and a parliament to rule over a loose union of Bosnia, comprised of a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation.

Bosnia

Serb

Moslem-Croat


Input: Gazprom rises to 2,901.48 rbls at auction.

Gazprom


Input: MOSCOW 1996-08-29

MOSCOW


Input: A stake of 10 million shares in Russian gas monopoly RAO Gazprom was sold at auction on Thursday at an average 2,901.48 roubles a share, up from 2,891.00 roubles a week ago, the Federal Securities Corporation (FFK) said.

Russian

RAO Gazprom

Federal Securities Corporation

FFK


Input: Starting price at the auction was 2,746 roubles a share and the 40 lots sold for between 2,840 and 2,998 roubles a share, the FFK said in a statement.

FFK


Input: The stake represented 0.042 percent of Gazprom's capital.

Gazprom


Input: The FFK said that since auctions began, 139.75 million shares, equivalent to 0.59 percent of Gazprom, have changed hands.

FFK

Gazprom


Input: Gazprom, Russia's biggest company by market capitalisation, has massive reserves and potentially huge earnings.

Gazprom

Russia


Input: However, its 23.6 billion shares are highly illiquid and management permission is required to sell them.


Input: Gazprom has recently tightened these rules, making it harder for shareholders to sell to whoever they want, when they want.

Gazprom


Input: The company has organised regular auctions of its shares to create an orderly market in the paper.


Input: At the first auction on March 6, shares sold for an average 406.6 roubles each, and prices have been rising steadily since then, but the rise in price this week and last was much less than in previous auctions.


Input: On the Russian Trading System, Gazprom shares rose 25 percent on Thursday to $0.375 from $0.300, after falling by over a third earlier this week.

Russian Trading System

Gazprom


Input: -- Artyom Danielyan, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520

Artyom Danielyan

Moscow Newsroom


Input: Serbian policeman shot dead in Kosovo province.

Serbian

Kosovo


Input: BELGRADE 1996-08-29

BELGRADE


Input: A policeman has been shot dead in Serbia's troubled Kosovo province, Serbian police said on Thursday.

Serbia

Kosovo

Serbian


Input: It was the fifth attack on police this month in the southern province, a hot spot of ethnic tension where the Albanian majority have boycotted Serbian institutions and set up their own, which are considered illegal by Belgrade.

Albanian

Serbian

Belgrade


Input: The slain policeman Ejup Bajgora, 42, was an Albanian who had served in the Serbian police and state security since 1987, police told the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug.

Ejup Bajgora

Albanian

Serbian

Yugoslav

Tanjug


Input: He was shot on Wednesday afternoon as he stepped off a bus near his family home in the village of Donje Ljupce in the municipality of Podujevo.

Donje Ljupce

Podujevo


Input: Just hours before Wednesday's shooting, three hand grenades were thrown at a police station in Celopek.

Celopek


Input: They caused damage but no casualties, police said.


Input: The Serbian authorities blame Albanian dissidents for the recent spate of attacks.

Serbian

Albanian


Input: None of the attackers has been caught.


Input: Kosovo's autonomy was revoked in 1987 and Serb police forces cracked down on Albanian protests.

Kosovo

Serb

Albanian


Input: Albanian moderates want autonomy restored but hardliners want to join up with neighbouring Albania.

Albanian

Albania


Input: The Serbs, who make up 10 percent of the province's 1.8 million people, claim Kosovo as the cradle of their culture.

Serbs

Kosovo


Input: Viral meningitis epidemic kills 10 in Romania.

Romania


Input: BUCHAREST 1996-08-29

BUCHAREST


Input: Viral meningitis has killed 10 people in Romania's capital Bucharest this month in what doctors said on Thursday was the worst epidemic of its type in the country for a decade.

Romania

Bucharest


Input: Some 170 middle-aged and elderly people with the disease were being treated in hospital, doctors said.


Input: Doctor Emanuil Ceausu, head of Bucharest's Victor Babes hospital for infectious diseases, said the epidemic had been caused by a virus yet to be identified.

Emanuil Ceausu

Bucharest

Victor Babes


Input: Illness from viral meningitis lasts around a week.


Input: It affects the gastro-intestinal tract, causing high fever, headache and vomiting.


Input: In 1986 Romania suffered an epidemic of the more dangerous bacterial meningitis which has killed some 15,000 people in central Africa this year.

Romania

Africa


Input: Serbia's Zastava workers protest enters 9th day.

Serbia

Zastava


Input: BELGRADE 1996-08-29

BELGRADE


Input: Workers at Serbia's Zastava arms factory entered the ninth day of their protest over unpaid wages on Thursday with management accused them of rejecting talks.

Serbia

Zastava


Input: " The workers keep on gathering in the centre of the town, " the factory's general manager Vukasin Filipovic told Reuters. "

Vukasin Filipovic

Reuters


Input: But they do not want to talk to anyone. "


Input: " They want to discuss in public, at their protest meetings, " Filipovic said. "

Filipovic


Input: And that is impossible. "


Input: The Zastava works in the central town of Kragujevac is the backbone of Serbia's defence industry, supplying the army with a whole range of weapons.

Zastava

Kragujevac

Serbia


Input: Its workers are staging protests in the town's main square demanding June and July wages and last year's holiday pay.


Input: On Wednesday, the union demanded the resignation of the factory manager.


Input: But Filipovic said he would not quit under pressure. "

Filipovic


Input: We can talk about it and I am prepared to take all the consequences of mismanagement if any. "


Input: Venezuela FinMin to make statement midday Thursday.

Venezuela


Input: CARACAS 1996-08-28

CARACAS


Input: Venezuelan Finance Minister Luis Raul Matos Azocar will make an " important announcement " on Thursday at 1230 local/1630 GMT at a Central Bank press conference, the Finance Ministry said.

Venezuelan

GMT

Luis Raul Matos Azocar

Central Bank

Finance Ministry


Input: The press conference replaces Matos's scheduled appearance at an IMF-hosted seminar Thursday on Venezuela's economic reform program, Venezuelan Agenda.

Matos

IMF-hosted

Venezuelan Agenda

Venezuela


Input: -- Caracas newsroom, 582 834405

Caracas


Input: Colombia police find marijuana on ship.

Colombia


Input: BOGOTA, Colombia 1996-08-29

BOGOTA

Colombia


Input: Police said they found 35 metric tons of marijuana on Thursday on a ship preparing to set sail for the Netherlands from Colombia's Caribbean port of Cartagena.

Netherlands

Colombia

Caribbean

Cartagena


Input: They said the drug had been packed into a shipping container and was surrounded by ground coffee.


Input: No arrests had been made, a police spokesman said.


Input: Venezuela non-oil exports rise 10.6 pct in July.

Venezuela


Input: CARACAS 1996-08-29

CARACAS


Input: Venezuela's non-traditional exports, which exclude oil and iron, rose 10.6 percent in July to reach $334 million compared to $302 million in June, according to the Central Office of Statistics and Information (OCEI).

Venezuela

Central Office of Statistics and Information

OCEI


Input: " The rise was due to the end of exchange controls, " OCEI said.

OCEI


Input: Foreign exchange controls were removed April 22 as part of a wider IMF-sponsored program.

IMF-sponsored


Input: Nevertheless, exports over the first seven months of the year were 16.8 percent lower than during the same period last year, at $2.240 billion compared to $2.693 billion.


Input: Over the seven months, the private sector accounted for 76 percent of total exports, with " common metals " the strongest export sector accounting for $951 million, or 42.5 percent of total exports.


Input: " Chemical products " came next with a 13 percent share, then " transport materials " with nine percent, and finally foods, drinks and tobacco with 6.3 percent.


Input: Colombia was the chief market for Venezuela's non-traditional exports with 27.4 percent.

Colombia

Venezuela


Input: The U.S. followed with a 24.6 percent share.

U.S.


Input: -- Caracas newsroom, 582 834405 REUTER JPR

Caracas

REUTER


Input: Buenos Aires fraud cops held in extortion racket.

Buenos Aires


Input: BUENOS AIRES, Argentina 1996-08-29

BUENOS AIRES

Argentina


Input: Thirteen senior police officers from the fraud squad of Buenos Aires province have been arrested on charges of running an extortion racket, security officials said on Thursday.

Buenos Aires


Input: They included all the top officers from the fraud division of the north of Buenos Aires province, including Commissioner Juan Carlos Lago.

Buenos Aires

Juan Carlos Lago


Input: Police were seeking a 14th officer.


Input: La Nacion newspaper said the officers were suspected of demanding bribes of $50,000 to $500,000 from companies being investigated for tax evasion in order to " lose " their files.

La Nacion


Input: The credibility of the Buenos Aires provincial police, the largest force in Argentina, has been undermined this year by scandals that included the indictment of three officers for links to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre and the arrest of an entire drugs squad for drug trafficking.

Buenos Aires

Argentina

Jewish


Input: Alberto Piotti, security chief of Buenos Aires province, told local television that 3,600 dishonest officers had been purged from the force's ranks in the past five years.

Alberto Piotti

Buenos Aires


Input: " It is an ongoing task.


Input: And these investigations into police corruption are only possible because there are people brave enough to denounce them, " Piotti said, promising a major overhaul of the provincial police next month.

Piotti


Input: Brazil gov't set to send 1997 budget to Congress.

Brazil

Congress


Input: BRASILIA 1996-08-29

BRASILIA


Input: Brazilian Planning Minister Antonio Kandir will submit to a draft copy of the 1997 federal budget to Congress on Thursday, a ministry spokeswoman said.

Brazilian

Antonio Kandir

Congress


Input: Congress is constitutionally obliged to approve the budget by the end of year but regularly fails to meet that requirement.

Congress


Input: Mexico same-day Cetes rates rise on nervousness.

Mexico

Cetes


Input: MEXICO CITY 1996-08-29

MEXICO CITY


Input: Mexico's same-day Cetes rates rose 50 basis points to 24.25 percent on nervousness over a new round of attacks by guerrillas in two southern states, dealers said.

Mexico

Cetes


Input: " There are people who are taking advantage of the news to put pressure on rates, however, there are enough players who will buy and that will keep rates from rising too much, " said one dealer.


Input: Co-ordinated guerrilla attacks in two southern states overnight that left at least 13 people dead have caused nervousness in Mexico's financial markets.

Mexico


Input: Bank notes and acceptances, including pagares, rose 46 basis points to 25.10 percent.


Input: Dealers said that the volume of longer-term government paper declined due to market nervousness.


Input: At least 13 people were killed when scores of masked rebels struck at police and military posts in Oaxaca and Guerrero states overnight in the biggest assaults in more than two years, officials said on Thursday.

Oaxaca

Guerrero


Input: Maturing credits are seen at 2.209 billion pesos, and there is an oversupply of 684 billion pesos from the primary auction.


Input: Dealers estimate that the shortfall will increase due to the inflow of funds before the end of the month.


Input: --- Patricia Lezama, Mexico City newroom (525) 728 9554

Patricia Lezama

Mexico City


Input: Tension builds in Mexican state ahead of elections.

Mexican


Input: [CORRECTED 05:53 GMT]

GMT


Input: CHILPANCINGO, Mexico 1996-08-28

CHILPANCINGO

Mexico


Input: Pre-electoral bickering flared on Wednesday in the troubled western Mexican state of Guerrero as some opposition politicians demanded the army pull out of the area ahead of an upcoming state poll.

Mexican

Guerrero


Input: The mayor of Acatepec, a small town some 310 miles (500 km) south of Mexico City, sent a letter to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission complaining the army's heavy presence in the town would interfere with the Oct. 6 election.

Acatepec

Mexico City

Mexico

National Human Rights Commission


Input: Mayor Antonio Gonzalez Garcia, of the opposition Revolutionary Workers' Party, said in Wednesday's letter that army troops recently raided several local farms, stole cattle and raped women.

Mayor Antonio Gonzalez Garcia

Revolutionary Workers' Party


Input: The letter was signed by some 200 area residents and indigenous leaders.


Input: Some electoral watchdog groups also said the presence of the army, which has fanned out across the state in the past month in search of a new guerrilla group, was likely to intimidate voters and had stirred up tension in the state.


Input: A French group of electoral observers, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme, concluded the army presence exerted a heavy psychological pressure on local farmers and would prevent a fair vote.

French

Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme


Input: Up for grabs in the election are the state legislature and 75 town halls.


Input: (Corrects to show elections are not for governor).


Input: Despite the criticism, acting state Gov.


Input: Angel Aguirre pledged the elections will be free and fair and said he did not expect any trouble from the elusive new guerrilla group, the Popular Revolutionary Army.

Angel Aguirre

Popular Revolutionary Army


Input: " The electoral process has been proceeding in accordance with the new state electoral law, " Aguirre said, adding that the poll would be " an exercise in true democracy. "

Aguirre


Input: Brazil police arrest wanted Italian man-report.

Brazil

Italian


Input: SAO PAULO, Brazil 1996-08-28

SAO PAULO

Brazil


Input: Brazilian authorities on Wednesday arrested a 47-year-old Italian man wanted in Italy for ties to the leftist Red Brigade guerrilla group of the 1970s, local television said.

Brazilian

Italian

Italy

Red Brigade


Input: TV Globo said the Supreme Federal Tribunal ordered the arrest of Luciano Pessina, a political scientist who owns two Rio de Janeiro restaurants, based on an extradition request from the Italian government.

TV Globo

Supreme Federal Tribunal

Luciano Pessina

Rio de Janeiro

Italian


Input: The report, which could not be independently verified on Wednesday night, said Pessina was sentenced in Italy to eight years and 11 months in prison for robbery and illegal weapons and explosives possession.

Pessina

Italy


Input: Globo quoted Pessina's lawyer as saying he had already been imprisoned in Italy and, when freed, travelled to Brazil.

Globo

Pessina

Italy

Brazil


Input: Seven churches slam Brazil rural violence, impunity.

Brazil


Input: BRASILIA 1996-08-28

BRASILIA


Input: Seven churches joined voices on Wednesday to condemn the " day-to-day violence " of Brazil's rural hinterland and the government's failure to punish those responsible for massacres of landless peasants.

Brazil


Input: " In the name of Jesus, we want to bring your attention to what is going on in the Brazilian countryside, " two church umbrella groups said in a Letter to the Brazilian People.

Jesus

Brazilian

Brazilian


Input: The letter from National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil and the Coordinate of Ecumenical Service was sent to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso after a seminar on endemic violence gripping rural Brazil.

National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil

Coordinate of Ecumenical Service

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Brazil


Input: Thirty-six people have died so far this year in conflicts over land in the Brazilian countryside, including 19 landless peasants massacred by police in April in the northern state of Para.

Brazilian

Para


Input: " The problem of land is one of the most serious facing Brazil, " said Lucas Moreira Neves, president of the Catholic church's National Conference of Bishops of Brazil.

Brazil

Lucas Moreira Neves

Catholic

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil


Input: The letter made reference to massacres of landless peasants in August 1995 and April 1996, which claimed the lives of 27 landless peasants.


Input: Thai official flees Hong Kong after passport scam.

Thai

Hong Kong


Input: HONG KONG 1996-08-29

HONG KONG


Input: A Thai consular official has fled Hong Kong after being questioned by anti-corruption police in connection with soliciting bribes to issue a passport, Hong Kong government radio said on Thursday.

Thai

Hong Kong

Hong Kong


Input: The unnamed suspect left the British colony after being detained and then freed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the radio said.

British

Independent Commission Against Corruption

ICAC


Input: The man was released after his arrest on Tuesday, pending further inquiries, the ICAC said in a statement.

ICAC


Input: The anti-graft body was discussing the case with the Thai government, especially the suspect's status, it said.

Thai


Input: It is not clear if the fugitive had diplomatic status in Hong Kong, and officials from the Thai Consulate were not available for comment.

Hong Kong

Thai


Input: The arrest came after the ICAC received a complaint that the man had demanded a bribe of HK$ 100,000 (US$ 12,940) to issue a Thai passport, the ICAC said.

ICAC

ICAC

HK$

US$

Thai


Input: At the time of his arrest, ICAC officers seized HK$ 100,000, it added.

ICAC

HK$


Input: The ICAC has kept a close eye on passport scams after a U.S. official was jailed for trafficking fake Honduran passports as part of an immigration racket aimed at Chinese.

ICAC

U.S.

Honduran

Chinese


Input: Thai poll shows military wants PM Banharn out.

Thai

Banharn


Input: BANGKOK 1996-08-29

BANGKOK


Input: Thailand's powerful military thinks the government is dishonest and Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa's resignation might solve the nation's political and economic woes, an opinion poll showed on Thursday.

Thailand

Banharn Silpa-archa


Input: Nearly half the 1,617 military personnel surveyed in the Rajapat Institute poll suggested that Banharn resign, while about 28 percent thought he should dissolve parliament and 24 percent thought a cabinet reshuffle could resolve the government's problems.

Rajapat Institute

Banharn


Input: Banharn, who leads a six-party, 13-month-old coalition government, faces a no-confidence debate in parliament next month.

Banharn


Input: The prime minister, who has already lost one coalition partner this month, is expected to have a tough battle in the debate because of infighting in his own party and warnings of more pullouts by other coalition partners.


Input: The poll, conducted earlier this month after Banharn's coalition completed one year in office, showed the military would prefer General Chatichai Choonhavan -- a former prime minister who was ousted in a military coup in February 1991 -- as prime minister.

Banharn

Chatichai Choonhavan


Input: Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, head of coalition member the New Aspiration Party, was the second choice for prime minister, the poll showed.

Chavalit Yongchaiyudh

New Aspiration Party


Input: Banharn came in last on the list of proposed leaders with less than one percent of the votes.

Banharn


Input: Nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed thought the government was dishonest and insincere, and 65 percent blamed the government's poor performance for the country's economic slowdown.


Input: The opinion of the military in Thailand, which has seen 17 coups or attempted coups since the country switched to parliamentary democracy from absolute monarchy in 1932, always carries weight in the political scene, despite officials' vows to distance the military from politics.

Thailand


Input: Hamas cleric jailed in Israel hospitalised briefly.

Hamas

Israel


Input: JERUSALEM 1996-08-29

JERUSALEM


Input: Israeli prison officials took jailed Islamic militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to hospital briefly on Thursday for medical tests, officials said.

Israeli

Islamic

Hamas

Ahmed Yassin


Input: " This evening Sheikh Yassin completed medical checks and returned to Ramle prisons authority medical centre, " said a spokesman for Israel's internal security ministry.

Yassin

Ramle

Israel


Input: A prison official said Yassin had a mild case of pneumonia.

Yassin


Input: The 60-year-old Moslem cleric, jailed by Israel since 1989, is serving a life sentence for ordering attacks by Hamas guerrillas against Israeli targets.

Moslem

Israeli

Israel

Hamas


Input: The ailing Yassin is the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist Hamas group which has killed scores of Israelis in suicide attacks aimed at wrecking Israel-PLO peace deals.

Yassin

Hamas

Israelis

Israel-PLO


Input: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has demanded that Israel release Yassin -- who is confined to a wheelchair -- on humanitarian grounds.

Palestinian

Yasser Arafat

Yassin

Israel


Input: Israel said last month after it recovered the body of a soldier abducted by Hamas seven years ago that it would consider freeing Yassin.

Israel

Hamas

Yassin


Input: Moroccan King meets former Israel PM Peres.

Moroccan

Israel

Peres


Input: SKHIRAT, Morocco 1996-08-29

SKHIRAT

Morocco


Input: King Hassan of Morocco met former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres on Thursday at the coastal resort of Skhirat, 20 km (12 miles) south of Rabat, an official source said.

King Hassan

Shimon Peres

Morocco

Skhirat

Rabat

Israeli


Input: " Mr Shimon Peres, who is on a purely private and family visit to Morocco, was received on Thursday by his Majesty King Hassan at the royal palace of Skhirat, " the source said.

Shimon Peres

King Hassan

Morocco

Skhirat


Input: Accompanied by his wife and grandson, Peres arrived in Morocco on August 25.

Peres

Morocco


Input: Peres is expected to fly home on Friday, officials said.

Peres


Input: Scandal hits Clinton campaign at vital moment.

Clinton


Input: Michael Conlon

Michael Conlon


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-29

CHICAGO


Input: President Bill Clinton's triumphal appearance at the Democratic convention, a vital moment in his bid for a second term, was marred on Thursday by the resignation of a top adviser in a reported sex scandal.

Bill Clinton

Democratic


Input: Clinton was at work on the nomination acceptance speech that will launch his 10-week re-election campaign when political strategist Dick Morris abruptly announced his resignation on Thursday.

Clinton

Dick Morris


Input: The tabloid Star magazine reported the married Morris had a lengthy affair with a $200-an-hour prostitute who he allowed to eavesdrop on telephone conversations with Clinton, and with whom he shared White House speeches before they were made.

Star magazine

Morris

Clinton

White House


Input: " Dick Morris is my friend, and he is a superb political strategist, " Clinton said in a written statement. "

Dick Morris

Clinton


Input: I am and always will be grateful for the great contributions he has made to my campaigns and for the invaluable work he has done for me over the last two years. "


Input: Morris declined to address the allegations directly in his resignation statement but said he was quitting to avoid becoming a campaign issue.

Morris


Input: The surprise development captivated the thousands of reporters at the convention and clearly worried some Democrats, who had planned a triumphal celebration of Clinton's lead over Dole in the opinion polls.

Democrats

Clinton

Dole


Input: Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, called it a " big bump " in the way of the Clinton campaign.

Dianne Feinstein

Clinton

California

Democrat


Input: " It comes at the worst possible time on one of the biggest days for the president, " Feinstein said.

Feinstein


Input: Clinton was to deliver his acceptance speech at the final session of the Democratic Convention opening at 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT).

Clinton

Democratic Convention

GMT


Input: The 50-year-old president has been dogged for years by allegations of financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct and questionable judgment in selecting his advisers.


Input: Republicans hope to seize on the " character " issue to bolster Clinton's challenger Bob Dole in the final weeks of the campaign.

Republicans

Clinton

Bob Dole


Input: Speaking in Santa Barbara, California, Dole did not directly refer to the sexual scandal but said the departure of Morris, who had advised Clinton to chart a more centrist political course, would make Clinton drift back to the left.

Santa Barbara

California

Dole

Morris

Clinton

Clinton


Input: " Morris has been trying to make President Clinton a Republican, now maybe he'll revert to the liberal Democrat that he really is, " Dole told reporters.

Morris

Clinton

Dole

Republican

Democrat


Input: Clinton will hit the road on Friday for a bus tour across several states in his fight to become the first Democratic incumbent re-elected to a second term since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Clinton

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Democratic


Input: Aides said Clinton planned to spend most of Thursday in his hotel room several miles (km) from the convention hall working on his speech.

Clinton


Input: It was apparently neglected on his long " whistle-stop " train trip to the convention, during which he revelled in contact with friendly crowds across the country's heartland.


Input: He was also hoarse and was giving his voice a rest.


Input: But first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told ABC television, " He's really fired up. "

Hillary Rodham Clinton

ABC


Input: " He wants to outline to the American people what he thinks has been accomplished in the last four years, and what he would like to see done in the next four years, " she said.

American


Input: " He's very excited about this convention ...


Input: He's excited about the campaign.


Input: But more than that, he's very resolute about what he wants to do. "


Input: " I don't take anything for granted.


Input: I always expect elections to get close.


Input: I expect to have a great deal of up and down days between now and then, " she said of the November 5 election date.


Input: Clinton is leading Dole by as much as 15 points according to some polls.

Clinton

Dole


Input: The campaign pits Dole, a man of quick and withering wit and long-time public service, but stilted speaking style, against the glib and confident Clinton, who has perfected a style that makes direct eye contact with his audience.

Dole

Clinton


Input: Montana weekly muni bond indices-Piper Jaffray.

Montana

Piper Jaffray


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: The following Montana tax-exempt municipal bond indices were compiled by Piper Jaffray Inc for the week ending August 30.

Montana

Piper Jaffray Inc


Input: Previous


Input: 8/30 Week Change


Input: Year A-rated Gen'l Obligation 4.45% 4.40% +0.05


Input: 10 Year A-rated Gen'l Obligation 4.90% 4.90% -----


Input: 15 Year A-rated Gen'l Obligation 5.40% 5.35% +0.05


Input: 20 Year A-rated Gen'l Obligation 5.55% 5.50% +0.05


Input: 30 Year A-rated Housing Rev 6.05% 6.00% +0.05


Input: -- U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650

U.S. Municipal Desk


Input: Researchers report progress in muscular dystrophy.


Input: PHILADELPHIA 1996-08-29

PHILADELPHIA


Input: University of Pennsylvania researchers on Thursday said a new gene-therapy technique for treating muscular dystrophy disease had shown progress in laboratory animals.

University of Pennsylvania


Input: Word of the findings, to be published in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal " Human Gene Therapy, " came in advance of the annual Jerry Lewis Labour Day weekend telethon to raise money for muscular dystrophy research.

Human Gene Therapy

Jerry Lewis Labour Day


Input: Several hurdles must be overcome before the method is used in human trials.


Input: Nevertheless, " a treatment based on the new strategy .... may have the potential to benefit many patients, " the University of Pennsylvania Medical Centre said in a release.

University of Pennsylvania


Input: Muscular dystrophy is a fatal illness in which the body's muscle tissue degenerates and is replaced by fat.


Input: Death strikes in early adulthood.


Input: Individuals with the disease have a non-working version of a gene responsible for producing a crucial muscle protein called dystrophin.


Input: In the study at the University's Institute for Human Gene Therapy, researchers altered a common-cold virus to carry a version of the working dystrophin gene.

Institute for Human Gene Therapy


Input: The virus, which also was altered to minimise its susceptibility to the immune system, was then injected into the muscle cells of mice bred to lack dystrophin genes.


Input: In the experiment, between 30 to 40 percent of the muscle fibers in one group of mice produced dystrophin for two weeks before diminishing.


Input: Similar results had been obtained previously in test-tube cell cultures, but not in live animals, the university said.


Input: The university said methods are still needed to make enough of the altered virus to treat humans, to further decrease the immune-system response to the virus, and to deliver the virus to human muscle tissue.


Input: Export Business-Grain/oilseeds complex.


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-29

CHICAGO


Input: Grain and oilseed exports reported by USDA and private export sources.

USDA


Input: WHEAT SALES-Taiwan Flour Mills Assn bought 98,000 tonnes of U.S. No.1 or No.2 wheat from Cargill, Mitsui, Continental and Louis Dreyfus Corp for shipment from the Pacific Northwest.

Taiwan Flour Mills Assn

Cargill

Mitsui

Continental

Louis Dreyfus Corp

U.S.

Pacific Northwest


Input: For Sept 10-30: 16,300 tonnes of dark northern spring (DNS) at $212.00; 7,000 of hard red winter (HRW) at $205.10; 2,700 of western white (WW) at $202.65.


Input: For Sept 20-Oct 10: 19,500 of DNS at $212.25, 10,000 of HRW at $204.74, 4,500 of WW at $199.71.


Input: For Sept 25-Oct 20: 23,500 of DNS at $212.25, 9,600 HRW at $204.74, 4,900 WW at $199.56.


Input: WHEAT SALES-The Commodity Credit Corp of USDA bought 18,278 tonnes of dark northern spring (DNS) wheat from Cargill Inc at $195.79 per tonne, FOB, for donation to Nicaragua.

Commodity Credit Corp of USDA

Cargill Inc

Nicaragua


Input: Shipment is for Nov 15-Dec 10.


Input: WHEAT/BARLEY SALE-The Japanese Food Agency said it bought 20,000 tonnes of U.S. dark northern spring wheat, 20,000 of Canadian western red spring wheat, 20,000 of Australian standard white wheat and 20,000 of Australian feed barley at its weekly tender, all for October shipment.

Japanese Food Agency

U.S.

Canadian

Australian

Australian


Input: SOYBEAN SALES-The Taichung division of Taiwan's Breakfast Soybean Procurement Assn bought 108,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans.

Taichung division

Breakfast Soybean Procurement Assn

Taiwan

U.S.


Input: Bunge sold the first shipment and Cargill the second, traders said.

Bunge

Cargill


Input: For Nov 11-25 from the U.S. Gulf or Nov 26-Dec 10 from PNW it paid $0.8584 per bushel over CBOT January soybeans and for Dec 6-20 or Dec 21-Jan it paid $.8787 over CBOT January.

U.S. Gulf

PNW


Input: -Pakistan bought 31,412 tonnes of PL-480 No.2 yellow soybeans from Cargill Inc for $303.19 per tonne, FOB U.S. Gulf, agents for the buyer said.

Pakistan

U.S. Gulf

Cargill Inc


Input: The soybeans were for Oct 15-30 shipment.


Input: BARLEY TENDER-The Cyprus Grain Commission said it invited offers September 3 to supply 25,000 tonnes of feed barley, with shipment for Sept 25-Oct 10 from Europe or Sept 15-30 from North America.

Cyprus Grain Commission

Europe

North America


Input: MARKET TALK-Sri Lanka plans to import up to 400,000 tonnes of rice by the end of this year to meet a crop shortfall caused by drought and rising demand, government officials said on Thursday.

Sri Lanka


Input: MARKET TALK-USDA net change in weekly export commitments for the week ended August 22, includes old crop and new crop, were: wheat up 595,400 tonnes old, nil new; corn up 1,900 old, up 319,600 new; soybeans down 12,300 old, up 300,800 new; upland cotton up 50,400 bales new, nil old; soymeal 54,800 old, up 100,600 new, soyoil nil old, up 75,000 new; barley up 1,700 old, nil new; sorghum 6,200 old, up 156,700 new; pima cotton up 4,000 bales old, nil new; rice up 49,900 old, nil new ...

USDA


Input: USDA Thursday forecast U.S. agricultural exports in fiscal year 1997 would decline to $58 billion, down $2 billion from the record $60 billion seen for fiscal 1996.

USDA

U.S.


Input: Oilseed exports are expected to rise by $800 million and livestock, poultry and fruits and vegetables are seen gaining more than $1 billion.


Input: USDA pegged U.S. wheat exports at 25.0 million tonnes in fiscal 1997 versus 32.0 million tonnes the prior year ...

USDA

U.S.


Input: The European Union agreed on Thursday to increase by 300,000 tonnes the quota of German intervention barley available for export, France ONIC said.

European Union

ONIC

German

France


Input: The EU's grain panel will add two tranches of 150,000 tonnes each to the existing allocation, it said.

EU


Input: -- Chicago newsdesk 312-408-8720--

Chicago


Input: USDA gross cutout hide and offal value.

USDA


Input: DES MOINES 1996-08-29

DES MOINES


Input: The hide and offal value from a typical slaughter steer for Thursday was estimated at $9.76 per cwt live, up $0.03 when compared with Wednesday's value.


Input: -USDA

USDA


Input: Help-wanted ad index fell in July.


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: The help-wanted advertising index fell in July, the Conference Board said Thursday, reflecting the uneven nature of the nation's labour markets.

Conference Board


Input: The monthly index fell to 83.0 in July against a reading of 85.0 in June, the private business research group said.


Input: In July, the volume of help-wanted advertising fell in five of the nine U.S. regions.

U.S.


Input: " The labour market has been expanding throughout 1996, but in a very uneven pattern, " Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said. "

Conference Board

Ken Goldstein


Input: Recent want-ad figures indicate that conservative hiring plans are keeping job growth below the rate of overall economic activity. "


Input: With 2.5 percent gross domestic product growth expected for 1996, new job growth should slowly lower the unemployment rate over the rest of the year.


Input: " With the unemployment rate staying close to about 5.5 percent over the last two years, there is a good chance the rate will slowly drop to about 5.0 percent by the end of the year, " Goldstein said.

Goldstein


Input: The July index matched the reading for July, 1995.


Input: The greatest declines in the volume of help-wanted advertising were in the New England, Mountain and West South Central regions.

New England

Mountain

West South Central


Input: The greatest increase was in the East North Central region.

East North Central


Input: Police seek suspects in Atlantic City jewel heist.

Atlantic City


Input: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. 1996-08-29

ATLANTIC CITY

N.J.


Input: Atlantic City police said Thursday they were seeking two men and two women in connection with a $690,000 theft of jewelry and cash from a guest of the Showboat Hotel and Casino.

Atlantic City


Input: Capt.


Input: Richard Andrews said police were seeking a man shown on a hotel videotape carrying a suitcase resembling the victim's. "

Richard Andrews


Input: We want to talk to him, " Andrews said of the man.

Andrews


Input: A second man and two women also were being sought.


Input: The thefts occurred Sunday when the victim, New York jewelry wholesaler Jerry Schein, left three suitcases in a closet at Somerset Jewellers in the hotel while he checked out.

New York

Jerry Schein

Somerset Jewellers


Input: While he was gone, two women in their mid-twenties and an older man entered the jewelry store and tried to distract store owner Charles McGilley.

Charles McGilley


Input: When Schein returned two of the suitcases were missing.

Schein


Input: They contained $650,000 in jewelry and $40,000 in cash, Andrews said.

Andrews


Input: He said the man on the videotape did not match the description given by the jewelry store owner.


Input: O.J. Simpson hints at more supporting evidence.

O.J. Simpson


Input: Jackie Frank

Jackie Frank


Input: WASHINGTON 1996-08-29

WASHINGTON


Input: O.J. Simpson said on Thursday he was financially broken by his defence against murder charges but he was hopeful new evidence to support him would be available for a civil trial next month.

O.J. Simpson


Input: The former football star was found not guilty by a criminal trial jury last October of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in June 1994.

Nicole Brown Simpson

Ronald Goldman


Input: He now faces a civil suit brought by families of the victims who hold him responsible for the deaths.


Input: He told reporters a court order not to talk about his case kept him from detailing how he has fulfilled his pledge to find the killers.


Input: But he added without elaborating, " hopefully we will see some things come out in this next trial. "


Input: The judge in the civil trial has imposed a sweeping gag order that prohibits lawyers, witnesses and parties to the case from discussing it with the media or elsewhere in public.


Input: " I would love to speak about everything, " said Simpson, who vowed after his acquittal to find the killers and offered a substantial reward.

Simpson


Input: His lawyers have said his defence in the civil trial that starts Sept.


Input: 17 will be that he did not kill the victims.


Input: Simpson said at the hotel news conference his plans include eventually writing another book.

Simpson


Input: He added that he has had job offers but more have come from abroad than at home.


Input: " I'm broke.


Input: I am not crying the blues.


Input: I can get along just fine, " he said. "


Input: Whatever you want to send me, I need. "


Input: He again accused the news media of erroneous reporting on his case but did not signal any plans for lawsuits as he did on Wednesday in an address at a jam-packed Washington church.

Washington


Input: Contrary to news reports, Simpson said, he has received support from both blacks and whites.

Simpson


Input: He again dismissed charges that he had distanced himself from the black community during his successful football and commercial career, only to seek their support after he faced murder charges.


Input: A crowd of 2,000 paid $10 a head to hear the former star running back for the Buffalo Bills professional football club and a Football Hall of Fame member on Wednesday night.

Buffalo Bills

Football Hall of Fame


Input: The crowd in the church was wildly supportive, showering Simpson with gifts and praise.

Simpson


Input: But outside, dozens of protesters from the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence called for the church to support victims of violence instead.

D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence


Input: Clinton adviser Morris announces resignation.

Clinton

Morris


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-29

CHICAGO


Input: President Bill Clinton's top political strategist Dick Morris resigned on Thursday, saying he did not want to become an issue in Clinton's re-election campaign.

Bill Clinton

Dick Morris

Clinton


Input: In a written statement, distributed by the Clinton campaign, Morris avoided comment on published allegations that he had engaged in a year-long affair with a $200-an-hour prostitute.

Clinton

Morris


Input: The statement from Morris said that he had submitted his resignation on Wednesday night. "

Morris


Input: While I served I sought to avoid the limelight because I did not want to become the message.


Input: Now, I resign so I will not become the issue, " he said.


Input: The announcement followed a report in the weekly supermarket tabloid Star magazine, reprinted in Thursday's editions of the New York Post, that the married adviser had hired a 37-year-old prostitute on a weekly basis while visiting Washington to advise Clinton on his re-election campaign.

Star magazine

New York Post

Washington

Clinton


Input: " I will not subject my wife, family or friends to the sadistic, vitriol of yellow journalism.


Input: I will not dignify such journalism with a reply or an answer.


Input: I never will, " his statement said.


Input: It was distributed to reporters at the press centre of Clinton's Democratic convention headquarters just hours before the president was to address the delegates accepting the party's nomination for a second four-year term in the White House.

Clinton

Democratic

White House


Input: U.S. surgeon investigated for discarding foot.

U.S.


Input: CHARLESTON, S.C. 1996-08-29

CHARLESTON

S.C.


Input: Health officials said on Thursday they were investigating the discovery of an amputated foot on a beach near Charleston to determine whether a local surgeon had improperly disposed of infectious waste.

Charleston


Input: The foot, which washed up on Sullivan's Island beach this month, was amputated three years ago from a child whose legs were deformed.

Sullivan's Island


Input: The foot had to be removed so the infant could be fitted with a prosthesis.


Input: An orthopedic surgeon was given permission by the child's parents and the hospital to keep the foot for research and educational purposes.


Input: Health officials said the surgeon told authorities he stored the foot in his freezer at home, but the freezer recently broke down and the contents spoiled.


Input: The surgeon, who apologised for the incident, said he decided to put the foot in a crab trap to remove the flesh.


Input: The foot later washed up on the beach.


Input: Florida cop disguised as shrub nabs bad guys.

Florida


Input: MIAMI 1996-08-29

MIAMI


Input: It was a bush that bagged the bad guys.


Input: When four would-be robbers, armed and masked, showed up to rob a Checker's restaurant in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Pembroke Pines on Tuesday, they had no idea the shrub near the drive-through window was toting a shotgun.

Checker's

Fort Lauderdale

Pembroke Pines


Input: Detective Earl Feugill, camouflaged as a shaggy green bush, ordered them to freeze. "

Earl Feugill


Input: They were quite surprised, " he told the Miami Herald.

Miami Herald


Input: Feugill said he made the hot, heavy suit, which he first used in the Marines, by attaching strips of burlap to a camouflage outfit.

Feugill

Marines


Input: Green and black face paint completed his disguise.

Green


Input: He was staking out the restaurant after a series of robberies at local fast-food places.


Input: Pembroke Pines police said five people were arrested as a result of the 90-minute stakeout, including the four robbers and a restaurant employee who was allegedly prepared to let them in a back door.

Pembroke Pines


Input: U.S. DLA sets tin price at $2.7975 per lb.

U.S. DLA


Input: WASHINGTON 1996-08-29

WASHINGTON


Input: The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency set Thursday's offering price for stockpile tin at $2.7975 per lb, versus $2.7775 per lb yesterday.

U.S. Defense Logistics Agency


Input: Key Clinton aide resigns, NBC says.

Clinton

NBC


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-29

CHICAGO


Input: Dick Morris, the Republican political consultant who reshaped U.S. President Bill Clinton's reelection campaign, has resigned, MS-NBC News reported Thursday.

Dick Morris

Bill Clinton

Republican

MS-NBC News

U.S.


Input: Morris drew the ire of liberal Clinton aides for repositioning the president in the political centre.

Morris

Clinton


Input: There was no immediate comment on the report from the White House.

White House


Input: U.S. corn gluten meal steady-higher, feed flat.

U.S.


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-29

CHICAGO


Input: U.S. corn gluten feed prices were flat while meal values were steady to firmer on Thursday.

U.S.


Input: Dealers noted a seasonal pickup in meal demand.


Input: CHICAGO AREA MILLS (dollars per short ton)

CHICAGO AREA MILLS


Input: Gluten feed 21 pct bulk Spot-117.00 unc


Input: Gluten feed pellets Spot-unq


Input: Gluten meal 60 pct bulk rail Spot-320.00 up 5


Input: DECATUR, IL/CLINTON AND CEDAR RAPIDS, IA

DECATUR

CLINTON AND CEDAR RAPIDS

IL

IA


Input: Gluten feed 18 pct pellets Spot-117.00 unc


Input: Gluten meal 60 pct bulk Spot-310.00 unc


Input: (Chicago newsdesk 312-408-8720)

Chicago


Input: EU barley sale worth $145/T, for Saudi-sources.

EU

Saudi


Input: PARIS 1996-08-29

PARIS


Input: A European Union sale of 234,324 tonnes of German intervention barley is worth some $145 per tonne fob Germany and is mostly destined for Saudi Arabia, European grain sources said on Thursday.

European Union

German

European

Germany

Saudi Arabia


Input: The EU's cereals management committee sold 234,324 tonnes of German intervention barley at a minimum price of 105.07 Ecus per tonne.

EU

German

Ecus


Input: Saudi Arabia provisionally bought 800,000 tonnes of optional-origin barley at an August 21 tender at prices between $160 and $162 including cost, insurance and freight, traders said last week.

Saudi Arabia


Input: But European grain traders and officials said the Saudis might reduce the purchase to 600,000 tonnes.

European

Saudis


Input: Traders have said a substantial part of the deal was likely to come from the European Union, which enjoys a supply and freight advantage over other producers.

European Union


Input: But subtracting freight costs, the equivalent fob price of the deal is around $142, well below the $149 per tonne floor price which the EU put on its barley as news of the deal emerged last week.

EU


Input: Last Thursday the EU sold 34,277 tonnes of German intervention barley at a minimum price of 109.36 Ecus per tonne, which was seen as worth $149 per tonne fob.

EU

German

Ecus


Input: -- Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432

Paris


Input: French shipyard workers march against job cuts.

French


Input: RENNES 1996-08-29

RENNES


Input: About 3,500 naval shipyard workers marched in the centre of the northern port town of Cherbourg on Thursday to protest against defence restructuring, a union official said.

Cherbourg


Input: The local police headquarters did not give a figure but said 1,800 workers at the Cherbourg yeard had stopped work.

Cherbourg


Input: A cutback plan could slim their numbers to 1,700 from 4,200.


Input: Several hundred workers also marched in the western town of Indre where 500 or 1,600 jobs are at risk.

Indre


Input: PRESS DIGEST-Pakistan-August 29.

Pakistan


Input: Following are some of the main stories in Thursday's Pakistani newspapers:

Pakistani


Input: DAWN

DAWN


Input: -The government has decided to transfer the entire distribution network of electricity to foreign managements to curtail losses of billions of rupees.


Input: -The government has suffered a loss of 11 billion rupees due to tax holidays at industrial estates in Hub and Gadoon.

Hub

Gadoon


Input: -High Court officials have unearthed police-run human cages at Tando Allahyar near Hyderabad.

Tando Allahyar

Hyderabad


Input: Some 27 people were rescued from the private jail set up by the police.


Input: -Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif renewed a pledge to oust the Pakistan People's Party government headed by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Nawaz Sharif

Benazir Bhutto

Pakistan People's Party


Input: BUSINESS RECORDER

BUSINESS RECORDER


Input: -Gas prices may go up by five percent to increase the rate of return of Sui Southern Gas and Sui Northern Gas companies.

Sui Southern Gas

Sui Northern Gas


Input: -Japan is importing 80 percent of cotton yarn from Pakistan every year.

Japan

Pakistan


Input: -The government has blamed sugar technologists for not supporting a long-term programme of research and development to increase production of sugarcane.


Input: FINANCIAL POST

FINANCIAL POST


Input: -Armed robbers pillaged 70 barrels of crude oil from a well near Gujar Khan on Wednesday.

Gujar Khan


Input: -Pakistan will pay an additional bill of $244 million as private power projects with capacity of 3,225 megawatt go on-line by 1998/99.

Pakistan


Input: THE NATION

THE NATION


Input: -The government is facing extreme difficulties in meeting its revenue collections targets for 1996/97.


Input: -Mohib Textile Mills has defaulted to nearly 23 development finance institutions, foreign and local banks, leasing companies and modarabas (Islamic mutual funds).

Mohib Textile Mills

Islamic


Input: -Investment Minister Asif Ali Zardari expressed keenness for a close working relationship with Japanese companies so that investment from Japan can multiply.q

Asif Ali Zardari

Japanese

Japan


Input: -Karachi Stock Exchange index falls by 7.84 points.

Karachi Stock Exchange


Input: THE NEWS

THE NEWS


Input: -The prime minister's special economic assistant Shahid Hasan Khan said privatisation of thermal power plants, power generation from private plants and management contracts of Area Electricity Boards would help achieve 6.5 percent GDP growth.

Shahid Hasan Khan

Area Electricity Boards


Input: -Pakistan's Muslim Commercial Bank, Vital Information System, and Duff and Phelps of the U.S. are likely to announce a strategic alliance with Bangladesh's only credit rating company -- Credit Rating and Information Systems Ltd -- next month.

Pakistan

U.S.

Bangladesh

Muslim Commercial Bank

Vital Information System

Duff and Phelps

Credit Rating and Information Systems Ltd


Input: -The Sindh High Court issued an ad-interim order restraining the Privatisation Commission from handing over Javedan Cement to Dadabhoy Investment (pvt) Ltd until it can consider a legal challenge mounted by unions to the deal.

Sindh High Court

Privatisation Commission

Javedan Cement

Dadabhoy Investment (pvt) Ltd


Input: THE MUSLIM

THE MUSLIM


Input: -Pakistan and Iran have agreed to expand and strengthen political, trade and economic relations.

Pakistan

Iran


Input: -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757

Islamabad


Input: Salang tunnel reopened linking Kabul with north.

Salang

Kabul


Input: SALANG TUNNEL, Afghanistan 1996-08-29

SALANG

Afghanistan


Input: The Salang tunnel linking Kabul with northern Afghanistan was formally reopened to traffic on Thursday under an agreement between the government and an opposition militia, witnesses said.

Salang

Kabul

Afghanistan


Input: They said dozens of trucks began moving through the tunnel from both directions after the road reopened.


Input: The Salang tunnel, the main supply route for Soviet troops when they were occupying Afghanistan in the 1980s, had been closed since 1994 when northern militia leader General Abdul Rashid Dostum rebelled against the Kabul government.

Salang

Afghanistan

Kabul

Soviet

Abdul Rashid Dostum


Input: Witnesses said wrecked tanks and vehicles littered both sides of the heavily-mined road.


Input: Mines had been removed from the road itself, but experts of the Halo Trust mine clearance agency said it would take a week to clear the roadsides.

Halo Trust


Input: Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Qotbuddin Hilal officiated at the reopening ceremony, which was delayed by several hours while the two sides argued about a mutual release of prisoners.

Afghan

Qotbuddin Hilal


Input: Two Indians to die for killing 23 bus passengers.

Indians


Input: NEW DELHI 1996-08-29

NEW DELHI


Input: India's Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced two men to death after finding them guilty of killing 23 bus passengers, including children.

India

Supreme Court


Input: It said the two, after robbing the passengers, burnt them alive by sprinkling the bus with petrol and setting it on fire in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in 1993.

Andhra Pradesh


Input: " We have no doubt that this is one of the rarest of the rare cases, not merely due to the number of innocent human beings roasted alive by the appellants, but the inhuman manner in which they plotted the scheme and executed it, " Justice K.T. Thomas said in the verdict by a panel of three judges.

Justice K.T. Thomas


Input: Elephant tramples woman to death in Nepal.

Nepal


Input: KATHMANDU 1996-08-29

KATHMANDU


Input: A rampaging elephant dragged a sleeping 72-year-old woman from her bed and trampled her to death in the third such killing in two months, Nepal police said on Thursday.

Nepal


Input: The elephant crashed into Hari Maya Poudels house in Madhumalla village earlier this week while she was asleep, they said.

Hari Maya Poudels

Madhumalla


Input: The beast dragged the woman 30 feet (nine metres) away from her bed and trampled her to death, a police official told Reuters in the Himalayan kingdoms capital Kathmandu.

Reuters

Himalayan

Kathmandu


Input: In the past two months elephants have killed three people in remote areas of east and central Nepal.

Nepal


Input: Elephants are protected under Nepali law, which provides for jail sentences of up to 15 years for convicted elephant killers.

Nepali


Input: Sri Lankan rebels overrun police post, kill 24.

Sri Lankan


Input: COLOMBO 1996-08-29

COLOMBO


Input: Tamil Tiger rebels overran an isolated police post in Sri Lanka's northeast early on Thursday killing 24 policemen, defence officials said.

Tamil Tiger

Sri Lanka


Input: A large group of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels stormed the Kudapokuna police post, just north of Welikanda, 200 km (125 miles) from Colombo, before dawn, they said.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

LTTE

Kudapokuna

Welikanda

Colombo


Input: " The entire post was overrun, " said a defence official.


Input: It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties among the rebels, who are fighting for independence for minority Tamils in the Indian Ocean island's north and east.

Tamils

Indian Ocean


Input: It is the second time in three days that the rebels attacked police.


Input: Suspected Tamil Tigers on Tuesday hurled hand grenades at a police vehicle in a crowded market in the army-controlled northern town of Vavuniya, killing at least two policemen.

Tamil

Tigers

Vavuniya


Input: More than a dozen people, including several police who were working undercover, were wounded in the attack.


Input: Vavuniya is just south of the northern mainland area controlled by the LTTE.

Vavuniya

LTTE


Input: The government says more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year.


Input: Vicorp Restaurants names Sabourin CFO.

Vicorp Restaurants

Sabourin


Input: DENVER 1996-08-29

DENVER


Input: Vicorp Restaurants Inc said it has named Richard Sabourin as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Vicorp Restaurants Inc

Richard Sabourin


Input: The company said Sabourin is the former president and chief executive at Bestop Inc of Boulder, Colo.

Sabourin

Bestop Inc

Boulder

Colo.


Input: It said Craig Held has also joined the company as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

Craig Held


Input: -- New York Newsdesk 212 859 1610

New York Newsdesk


Input: SoCal Edison sees 2 power lines back today.

SoCal Edison


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: Southern California Edison Co said it expected two 220 kilovolt (KV) power lines in southern California to resume service later today after being shut late Wednesday because of a wildfire raging north of Los Angeles.

Southern California Edison Co

California

Los Angeles


Input: " They are expected to be placed in service later today, " said company spokesman Steve Conroy, adding repair crews have been removing smoke and other fire-related residues, which had settled on the two lines.

Steve Conroy


Input: The shutdown of the 220 KV lines reduced by 500 megawatts (MW) the amount of power which the area received from SoCal Edison's 1,200 MW Sierra hydroelectric facility, he said.

SoCal Edison

Sierra


Input: Conroy noted two 500 KV and another 220 KV line running from the Sierra plant to Los Angeles remained in operation, and continued to carry some of the production from Sierra to the region.

Conroy

Sierra

Los Angeles

Sierra


Input: On Monday, the two 500 KV transmission cables were taken out of service, also for cleaning, for about a day.


Input: Containment of the fire has been difficult because of the hot, arid, windy weather in the region, Conroy said.

Conroy


Input: " The fires keep moving back because of the winds, " he said, forcing the utility to shut those transmission lines for a second time this week.


Input: Local authorities charged a teenager for starting the blaze.


Input: In four days, the fire destroyed 20,000 acres of forest land.


Input: -- R Leong, New York Power Desk +1 212 859 1622

R Leong

New York Power Desk


Input: Dreyfus Strategic Munis monthly $0.056/shr.

Dreyfus Strategic Munis


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: Monthly


Input: Latest Prior


Input: Amount $0.056 $0.056


Input: Pay Sept 27


Input: Record Sept 13


Input: NOTE: Full name of company is Dreyfus Strategic Municipals Inc.

Dreyfus Strategic Municipals Inc


Input: Sierra Semiconductor jumps on exit plan.

Sierra Semiconductor


Input: Martin Wolk

Martin Wolk


Input: SEATTLE 1996-08-29

SEATTLE


Input: Sierra Semiconductor Corp jumped 23 percent Thursday on the expectation the company would emerge as a smaller but more profitable operation after its planned exit from the computer modem business.

Sierra Semiconductor Corp


Input: The San Jose, Calif., company was up 2-1/8 at 11-3/8 after its announcement Wednesday that it planned to pull out of the highly competitive modem-chip business and focus instead on the fast-growing market for computer networking equipment.

San Jose

Calif.


Input: " Certainly the company will be a much smaller company now, but it will be a more profitable business, " said analyst Elias Moosa of Roberston Stephens & Co.

Elias Moosa

Roberston Stephens & Co


Input: But analysts noted that Sierra still has much painful work ahead of it, including cutting as many as 150 jobs from its workforce, which currently has 500 people, and building up the business of its PMC-Sierra unit, which makes routing devices and chipsets for high-speed computer networks.

Sierra

PMC-Sierra


Input: The company has announced plans to take a charge against earnings of $50 million to $80 million to write down the value of assets and inventories and cover severance payments.


Input: Scott Randall of Soundview Financial Group said the company likely would have difficulty selling its modem-chip business.

Scott Randall

Soundview Financial Group


Input: " Once you announce your intention to exit a business, it becomes a complete buyer's market, " he said.


Input: And he said that while the company is focusing on the fastest-growing part of its business, the market for networking chips has begun to attract the attention of much-larger players such as International Business Machines Corp.

International Business Machines Corp


Input: " As the market develops the question is, are they able to make that transition to be a much larger company? "


Input: Randall said.

Randall


Input: Other analysts were more bullish, even though the company is expected to shrink to slightly more than half its current size in sales.


Input: " It's a positive strategic move, " said Miles Kan of Hambrecht & Quist.

Miles Kan

Hambrecht & Quist


Input: " The modem business is a low-margin, commodity business, " he said.


Input: The company's PMC-Sierra unit generated $33 million of the company's $117 million in sales in the first half of the year, compared with $45 million in sales of modem chips, Kan said.

PMC-Sierra

Kan


Input: But the PMC unit is far more profitable, he said.

PMC


Input: Sierra's stock has fallen from a high of nearly $25 this year as the computer chip sector has been battered by falling prices and concern about slowing demand.

Sierra


Input: -- Seattle bureau 206-386-4848

Seattle


Input: Housecall shares sink after profit warning.

Housecall


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: Shares in home healthcare services company Housecall Medical Resources Inc fell more than 50 percent on Thursday after the company said it expected a net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter.

Housecall Medical Resources Inc


Input: Morgan Stanley said it downgraded the stock to underperform from outperform.

Morgan Stanley


Input: Housecall was off 7-3/8 to 7-1/8 in morning trading.

Housecall


Input: The Atlanta-based company went public in April at $16 a share.

Atlanta-based


Input: Wall Street had expected the company to earn $0.17 a share in its fourth quarter, ended June 30, according to First Call.

Wall Street


Input: Housecall said fourth quarter earnings and revenues were expected to fall short of expectations.

Housecall


Input: It said its non-Medicare infusion therapy, hospice and nursing services businesses failed to meet budgeted revenues.

non-Medicare


Input: It also cited a limitation on Medicare reimbursement for some services provided during the quarter.

Medicare


Input: First Alliance net income slips.

First Alliance


Input: IRVINE, Calif. 1996-08-29

IRVINE

Calif.


Input: First Alliance Corporation and Subsidiaries

First Alliance Corporation and Subsidiaries


Input: Quarter ended June 30 Six Months ended June 30


Input: 1996 1995 1996 1995


Input: Unaudited


Input: Total revenue


Input: 17,024,000 18,174,000 31,834,000 24,137,000


Input: Total expense


Input: 7,718,000 6,828,000 14,668,000 13,091,000


Input: Net Income 9,167,000 11,175,000 16,909,000 10,880,000


Input: Net Income Per


Input: Share 0.86 1.05 1.59 1.02


Input: Weighted average number of


Input: shares outstanding


Input: 10,650,407 10,650,407 10,650,407 10,650,407


Input: Pro Forma:


Input: Historical income before income


Input: tax provision


Input: 9,306,000 11,346,000 17,166,000 11,046,000


Input: Pro forma income tax


Input: provision 3,820,000 4,658,000 7,047,000 4,534,000


Input: Pro forma net


Input: income 5,486,000 6,688,000 10,119,000 6,512,000


Input: Pro forma net income


Input: per share 0.37 0.45 0.68 0.44


Input: Pro forma weighted average


Input: number of shares


Input: outstanding 14,775,000 14,775,000 14,775,000 14,775,000


Input: Oasis singer heads for U.S. after illness.

Oasis

U.S.


Input: LONDON 1996-08-29

LONDON


Input: Liam Gallagher, singer of Britain's top rock group Oasis, flew out on Thursday to join the band three days after the start of its U.S. tour.

Liam Gallagher

Britain

U.S.

Oasis


Input: Gallagher made his usual obscene gestures and swore at journalists as he prepared to fly from London's Heathrow airport to Chicago.

Gallagher

London

Heathrow

Chicago


Input: " I hate you f... ing lot, yet you're always asking me too many things.


Input: I'm not a supermodel you know, " he said.


Input: On Monday, just 15 minutes before his flight was due to depart, Liam decided not to travel with the rest of the group, which includes his brother Noel.

Liam

Noel


Input: Liam caught a taxi back to London saying he had " problems at home ".

Liam

London


Input: He was believed to be suffering from laryngitis and said he had to go house-hunting with actress girlfriend Patsy Kensit.

Patsy Kensit


Input: When they first heard that Liam had not flown out with the band at the start of the tour, many U.S. fans asked for refunds on their concert tickets.

Liam

U.S.


Input: The group began the U.S. tour, which is scheduled to last until September 18, with a concert in Chicago on Tuesday at which Noel Gallagher filled in for his brother as lead singer.

U.S.

Chicago

Noel Gallagher


Input: Slough Estates helps lift property sector.

Slough Estates


Input: LONDON 1996-08-29

LONDON


Input: A strong set of interim results and an upbeat outlook from Slough Estates Plc helped to boost the property sector on Thursday.

Slough Estates Plc


Input: Shares in Slough, which earlier announced a 14 percent rise in first-half pretax profit to 37.4 million stg, climbed nearly six percent, or 14p to 250 pence at 1009 GMT, while British Land added 12-1/2p to 468p, Land Securities rose 5-1/2p to 691p and Hammerson was 8p higher at 390.

Slough

British Land

Land Securities

Hammerson

GMT


Input: Traders said positive comment from investment banks Merrill Lynch and SBC Warburg also fueled the gains.

Merrill Lynch

SBC Warburg


Input: One dealer said positive stances from Merrill Lynch and SBC Warburg were the key factors behind the gains.

Merrill Lynch

SBC Warburg


Input: A spokesman for Merrill Lynch said the bank was preparing to issue a note on the sector. "

Merrill Lynch


Input: We have been very positive (on property), " he said, adding: " On a technical basis it is our most favoured sector. "


Input: SBC Warburg issued an update on the property sector on Thursday, saying that most of the predictions it made at the start of the year were being realised.

SBC Warburg


Input: " In the property market it is a case of so far, so good, " a member of SBC Warburg's property team said.

SBC Warburg


Input: SBC Warburg said it is maintaining its forecast for five percent growth in rental incomes during 1996, but it has shaved its forecast for capital growth to five percent from six.

SBC Warburg


Input: The spokesman said SBC Warburg has also put an " add " recommendation on Slough Estates' shares, but added that this " is a general move, not because of the results. "

SBC Warburg

Slough Estates


Input: Slough's chairman Sir Nigel Mobbs added to the bullish mood in the sector, saying in a statement that " with the prospect of a period of steady economic growth and low inflation ahead, there is good reason to believe that the property sector should continue its improvement. "

Slough

Nigel Mobbs


Input: -- Jonathan Birt, London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717

Jonathan Birt

London Newsroom


Input: Canada's international travel account gap shrinks.

Canada


Input: OTTAWA 1996-08-29

OTTAWA


Input: Higher spending by foreign visitors and less Canadian tourist spending abroad cut the deficit in Canada's international travel account by 26.5 percent in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

Canadian

Canada

Statistics Canada


Input: The deficit fell to a seasonally adjusted C$ 715 million in the second quarter from C$ 973 million in the first, as foreigners spent a record C$ 3.00 billion seasonally adjusted while Canadians reduced their spending abroad by 5.1 percent to C$ 3.72 billion.

C$

C$

C$

Canadians

C$


Input: -- Reuters Ottawa Burea (613) 235-6745

Reuters Ottawa Burea


Input: Jordanian PM Kabariti meets Arafat in West Bank.

Jordanian

Kabariti

Arafat

West Bank


Input: RAMALLAH, West Bank 1996-08-29

RAMALLAH

West Bank


Input: Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti began talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank on Thursday on the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.

Jordanian

Palestinian

Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti

Yasser Arafat

West Bank

Middle East


Input: Kabariti flew by helicopter to Palestinian-ruled Ramallah and after a brief arrival ceremony went into talks with Arafat.

Kabariti

Arafat

Palestinian-ruled

Ramallah


Input: The prime minister's visit, his first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots earlier this month, came against the backdrop of a Palestinian general strike in the West Bank and Gaza.

Jordan

West Bank

Gaza

Palestinian


Input: Arafat called the four-hour strike, which ended at noon (0900 GMT) to protest against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.

Arafat

GMT

Israeli

Jerusalem


Input: Jordan's official state news agency Petra said Kabariti would hold discussions " on the latest developments in the peace process and bilateral cooperation ".

Jordan

Petra

Kabariti


Input: Iran says five spy networks destroyed, 41 held.

Iran


Input: TEHRAN 1996-08-29

TEHRAN


Input: Iranian security forces have broken up five espionage rings in northwestern Iran and arrested 41 people on charges of spying for unnamed countries, a daily newspaper said on Thursday.

Iranian

Iran


Input: Jomhuri Eslami quoted the West Azerbaijan province security chief as saying those held confessed to gathering confidential information, photographing strategic sites, doing propaganda against state officials and " spreading pan-Turkism ".

Jomhuri Eslami

West Azerbaijan

pan-Turkism


Input: It was not clear if they were the same five spy rings, allegedly led by Turkish diplomats, that Iran said in April it had broken up in the same area, which borders Turkey.

Turkish

Iran

Turkey


Input: The April arrests were announced shortly after a row in which Tehran asked Ankara to withdraw four Turkish diplomats accused of spying, and Turkey expelled four Iranian diplomats for their alleged links to killings of Iranian exiles.

Tehran

Ankara

Turkey

Turkish

Iranian

Iranian


Input: Ties between the two neighbours, strained also over a military accord between Turkey and Israel which drew strong Iranian objections, have improved since Islamist Necmettin Erbakan took over as Turkish prime minister in June.

Turkey

Israel

Iranian

Islamist

Turkish

Necmettin Erbakan


Input: The daily Iran on Thursday quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan as saying agents arrested 137 people for allegedly spying for Iraq, the United States and other unnamed countries in the Iranian year which ended on March 19.

Iran

Iraq

United States

Ali Fallahiyan

Iranian


Input: Mideast Gulf oil outlook-India holds the key.

Mideast Gulf

India


Input: DUBAI 1996-08-29

DUBAI


Input: India will continue to hold the key to the middle distillates product market in the Middle East Gulf in the short term, traders in the region said on Thursday.

India

Middle East Gulf


Input: They said premiums on high quality jet kerosene have widened to around $1, and are likely to remain strong in the near term.


Input: " On the jet kerosene side we must be cautious about quality.


Input: Some are commanding a very good premium of 95 cents to one dollar.


Input: It's been 99 cents to Korea.

Korea


Input: This will stay at this sort of price premium for a while, " one said.


Input: " But for normal jet the weakened demand is quite noticeable, the premium is around 45-50 cents.


Input: The differential is not normally as wide as this, " he added.


Input: Another put the premium for jet kerosene at between 65 and 75 cents.


Input: One trader said despite the fact that some kerosene was in storage at Dubai ports, demand looked to exceed supply in the near term.

Dubai


Input: Jet kerosene was assessed at $27.40-$27.70 a barrel fob Gulf on Thursday, up from $27.22 last week.

Gulf


Input: Dealers expected premiums to stick around current levels for the next two or three weeks, before they get a boost in the second half of September from demand for October cargoes.


Input: Gas oil, assessed at $24.00-$24.20 a barrel fob Gulf, was little changed on Thursday from last week's $24.10-$24.24.

Gulf


Input: " On gas oil, in the near term demand and supply are balanced to a bit short, there are some enquiries into east Africa and short covering in India, " said one trader.

Africa

India


Input: " The Indians have awarded three cargoes, but the question is whether they will come out for more, " he added.

Indians


Input: India has acquired 120,000 tonnes of diesel in three cargoes, bound for the west coast, in its October tender.

India


Input: Traders said the award could be India's lowest in recent years.

India


Input: " After IOC's very small purchase of 120,000 tonnes, I'm still suspicious that they will buy more in the second half of October, " another said.

IOC


Input: But traders see the market remaining tight in the short-term, with some surplus arising closer to October.


Input: " I see an overhang of gas oil further out, " one said.


Input: " Gas oil will remain tight in the short term up to mid-September with the premium of around $1 for 0.5 percent (sulphur material).


Input: In the second half of September and October we see the premium coming off to 70-75 cents. "


Input: Traders said there was not much demand for one percent sulphur material gas oil, with the premium at 40 to 45 cents.


Input: Egypt police catch ancient manuscript thieves.

Egypt


Input: CAIRO 1996-08-29

CAIRO


Input: Egyptian police have arrested eight people who were trying to sell an ancient copy of the Old Testament, the official al-Akhbar newspaper said on Thursday.

Egyptian

Old Testament

al-Akhbar


Input: The daily said the men had wanted to sell the undated manuscript to a Jewish group for five million pounds ($1.5 million).

Jewish


Input: Instead an undercover police officer pretended to be interested in buying it and arrested them.


Input: The newspaper did not give any details about the manuscript but said it had been relinquished to the Islamic Museum in Cairo.

Islamic Museum

Cairo


Input: New U.S. ambassador arrives in Saudi Arabia.

U.S.

Saudi Arabia


Input: DUBAI 1996-08-29

DUBAI


Input: Washington's new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler, arrived in the kingdom to take up his post, the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said on Thursday.

Washington

Saudi Arabia

U.S.

Riyadh

Fowler


Input: Fowler, a lawyer and former senator, arrived late on Wednesday, the embassy said in a statement.

Fowler


Input: President Bill Clinton earlier this month invoked special powers to appoint Fowler during the congressional recess because the Senate delayed confirming his nomination.

Bill Clinton

Fowler

Senate


Input: Fowler's predecessor Raymond Mabus returned to the United States in May.

Fowler

Raymond Mabus

United States


Input: Jordanian PM Kabariti leaves for West Bank.

Jordanian

Kabariti

West Bank


Input: AMMAN 1996-08-29

AMMAN


Input: Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti left Amman on Thursday for the West Bank town of Ramallah to hold talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.

Jordanian

Palestinian

Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti

Yasser Arafat

Amman

West Bank

Ramallah

Middle East


Input: The official state news agency Petra said Kabariti would hold discussions " on the latest developments in the peace process and bilateral cooperation ".

Petra

Kabariti


Input: The visit was Kabariti's first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots earlier this month.

Kabariti

Jordan


Input: Palestinians end four-hour strike.

Palestinians


Input: JERUSALEM 1996-08-29

JERUSALEM


Input: Palestinians reopened their shops on Thursday at the end of a four-hour strike called by President Yasser Arafat to protest against Israel's policy on Jewish settlements and Jerusalem, witnesses said.

Palestinians

Jewish

Yasser Arafat

Israel

Jerusalem


Input: Shopkeepers in Arab East Jerusalem rolled up their shutters some 10 minutes before the scheduled noon (0900 GMT) end of the stoppage.

Arab East Jerusalem

GMT


Input: Palestinian leaders called the strike, the first in the West Bank and Gaza since 1994, a warning signal that the peace process with Israel was in danger.

Palestinian

West Bank

Gaza

Israel


Input: Witnesses said most shops were closed in towns and villages in the areas, with the exception of Hebron, a West Bank city still under Israeli occupation.

Hebron

West Bank

Israeli


Input: U.S. wheat weekly export sales highlights-USDA.

U.S.

USDA


Input: WASHINGTON 1996-08-29

WASHINGTON


Input: U.S. wheat major net sales activity in the week ended Aug 22 reported by exporters for the following purchasing countries, in tonnes:

U.S.


Input: Net Sales: 1996/97 1997/98


Input: Egypt 199,900 Nil

Egypt


Input: S. Korea 149,100-A

S. Korea


Input: Japan 74,600

Japan


Input: China 55,000-B

China


Input: Indonesia 55,000-B

Indonesia


Input: A- includes 54,600 tonnes changed from unknown.


Input: B- reflects 55,000 tonnes changed from unknown.


Input: Primary Export Destinations: Egypt, Morocco, S. Korea, Yemen, Pakistan, Mexico and China.

Egypt

Morocco

S. Korea

Yemen

Pakistan

Mexico

China


Input: Keane wins contract from ING units.

Keane

ING


Input: BOSTON 1996-08-29

BOSTON


Input: Software services company Keane Inc said it had won a year 2000 compliance contract from Life Insurance Co of Georgia and Southland Life Insurance Co, both part of The Netherlands' ING Group.

Keane Inc

Life Insurance Co of Georgia

Southland Life Insurance Co

ING Group

The Netherlands


Input: The company said in a statement late on Wednesday it would conduct an enterprise assessment and strategic compliance plan for preparing all the mainframe systems of Life of Georgia and Southland Life to operate in the new century.

Life of Georgia

Southland Life


Input: The project will be managed by Keane's Atlanta office.

Keane

Atlanta


Input: " The client's goal is to complete its year 2000 conversion activities by the end of 1997, " the statement said.


Input: -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610

New York


Input: PRESS DIGEST-Wall Street Journal-Aug 29.

Wall Street Journal


Input: NEW YORK 1996-08-29

NEW YORK


Input: The National Basketball Association has sued America Online Inc, alleging that the United States' No 1 on-line service is delivering real-time information about league games without its permission, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

National Basketball Association

America Online Inc

The Wall Street Journal

United States


Input: The suit was filed on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan and is another legal skirmish over what constitutes a " broadcast " in the computer age.

Manhattan


Input: The suit contends America Online was misappropriating NBA property by providing a site containing continually updated scores and statistics of NBA games in progress.

America Online

NBA

NBA


Input: The newspaper also reported:


Input: * Baxter International Inc has reached an agreement to acquire Austria's Immuno International AG in a complex deal valued at $715 miilion.

Baxter International Inc

Immuno International AG

Austria


Input: * Boeing Co secures $5.5 billion in orders for new, larger 747s.

Boeing Co


Input: * President Bill Clinton is expected to propose a tax break on home sales.

Bill Clinton


Input: * Philip Morris Cos Inc raises dividend 20 percent.

Philip Morris Cos Inc


Input: * Salomon Brothers Inc analyst is bullish on International Business Machines Corp.

Salomon Brothers Inc

International Business Machines Corp


Input: * Sierra Semiconductor Corp puts modem chipset line up for sale and sets layoffs.

Sierra Semiconductor Corp


Input: * Red Lion Hotels Inc says it's holding merger talks with Doubletree Corp.

Red Lion Hotels Inc

Doubletree Corp


Input: * GTE Corp, Baby Bells and their allies ready to launch challenge to telecommunications reform law.

GTE Corp

Baby Bells


Input: * Economists see second-quarter gross domestic product revised down 0.1 percentage point.


Input: * President Clinton proposes five-point plan to clean up toxic waste sites.

Clinton


Input: * Securities and Exchange Commission acts to improve stock-trade prices for investors.

Securities and Exchange Commission


Input: * H&R Block Inc delays spinoff of its stake in CompuServe Corp.

H&R Block Inc

CompuServe Corp


Input: * Stock funds see cash pour in again in July.


Input: * The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department issue new guidelines for formation of doctors' networks.

Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department


Input: -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610

New York


Input: Baker made secret trip to Syria in March 1995.

Baker

Syria


Input: WASHINGTON 1996-08-29

WASHINGTON


Input: Former Secretary of State James Baker made a secret trip to Syria in March 1995 in an unsuccessful bid to break an impasse in negotiations between Syria and Israel, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

James Baker

Syria

Syria

Israel

Washington Post


Input: The paper said Baker declined to discuss the trip, but authorised an associate to confirm it took place and give an account of it.

Baker


Input: News of the secret trip came after Baker trashed the Clinton administration at the Republican National Convention two weeks ago for its efforts to nudge Syria into peace with Israel.

Baker

Clinton

Republican National Convention

Syria

Israel


Input: Baker made the March 1995 trip on the explicit understanding that it remain a secret, but after his speech at the GOP convention, Israel's outgoing ambassador Itamar Rabinovich told a reporter about it, the Post said.

Baker

Itamar Rabinovich

GOP

Israel

Post


Input: Baker was secretary of state in the Republican administration of President George Bush.

Baker

George Bush

Republican


Input: Clinton wins Democratic re-nomination.

Clinton

Democratic


Input: CHICAGO 1996-08-28

CHICAGO


Input: President Bill Clinton was formally nominated on Wednesday as the Democratic party candidate for a second four-year term in the White House.

Bill Clinton

Democratic

White House


Input: Clinton won the nomination in a traditional state-by-state roll call of votes at the party convention and will accept in a speech on Thursday.

Clinton


Input: He faces Republican challenger Bob Dole in the November 5 presidential election.

Republican

Bob Dole


Input: Beachcomber finds piece that could be TWA part.

TWA


Input: ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, N.J. 1996-08-28

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS

N.J.


Input: A foot-long piece of debris bearing markings from a commercial aircraft was found on the New Jersey shore and forwarded to TWA crash investigators in Long Island, officials said on Wednesday.

New Jersey

Long Island

TWA


Input: A person walking on the shore at Island Beach State Park found the debris and alerted police who forwarded it to Long Island, New York, where the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting an investigation.

Island Beach State Park

Long Island

New York

National Transportation Safety Board

FBI


Input: The TWA jet exploded in a deadly fireball last month, killing 230 people, crashing in the Atlantic Ocean at least 80 miles from where the debris was found Wednesday.

TWA

Atlantic Ocean


Input: Several other items have been reported found along the New Jersey shore, most of it such personal items as wallets, shoes and jewelry.

New Jersey


Input: Investigators said they still do not have enough evidence to determine whether a bomb, a missile or mechanical failure caused the crash.


Input: FEATURE-Rich new detail on U.S. Civil War unearthed.

U.S. Civil War


Input: Leila Corcoran

Leila Corcoran


Input: WASHINGTON 1996-08-29

WASHINGTON


Input: A freed black man writes to his still-enslaved wife, a mother pleads with Abraham Lincoln on behalf of her son and a maimed soldier poses for an official photograph in newly reopened records that bring the U.S. Civil War back to life.

Abraham Lincoln

U.S. Civil War


Input: Working in the basement of the National Archives, members of the Civil War Conservation Corps are organising the military records of volunteers who fought for the North so that they can be preserved on microfilm.

National Archives

Civil War Conservation Corps

North


Input: The faded documents have been stowed away in the Archives since it opened in 1935 and have rarely seen the light of day.

Archives