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<HTML>    HONG KONG AP  Gold in Hong Kong opened at U.S. dlrs 293.95 an ounce on Wednesday up 50 U.S. cents from Tuesday's close of U.S. dlrs 293.45.  UR; 0- 
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<HTML>    BELGRADE Yugoslavia AP  The government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic accused Kosovo rebels Tuesday of endangering the province's shaky peace warning it won't tolerate continued attacks ``no matter what the price.''    In a statement sent to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe the government blasted international efforts to include the rebels in the peace process for effectively ``legalizing the terrorists.''  UR; ``Insolent criminal activity pick up 3rd graf pvs. 
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<HTML>    SIDON Lebanon AP  Hezbollah guerrillas carried out four attacks against Israeli and allied militiamen in south Lebanon Tuesday killing one fighter security officials said.    The victim was a member of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army who was killed in an explosion outside the town of Jezzine said the officials.    Another explosion in Jezzine 20 kilometers 12 miles north of Israel's panhandle wounded another SLA militiaman said the officials speaking on customary condition of anonymity.    Guerrillas also targeted joint SLA-Israeli military positions in the Lebanese villages of Blatt and Sojod both about 500 meters yards north of the Israeli border. No casualties were reported said the Lebanese officials.    They confirmed the attacks were carried out by Hezbollah.    The Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah or Party of God said in statements its guerrillas targeted outposts belonging to SLA and Israeli troops in the central and western sectors of an Israeli-occupied enclave in South Lebanon.    The attacks came amid mounting tension in Lebanon following Israeli threats to bomb the capital Beirut to avenge the deaths of Israeli soldiers. Seven Israelis have been killed by guerrillas in south Lebanon since mid-November.    Hezbollah of the Party of God is leading a guerrilla battle to oust the SLA and Israeli soldiers from an enclave that Israel has occupied in south Lebanon since 1985.    Israel claims the occupation is needed to protect its northern towns from attack but the frequent deaths of Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon has raised debate in Israel about maintaining the occupation.  UR; prvs/rk/vj 
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<HTML>    MONTREAL AP  Quebec's pro-independence government was re-elected but won only about 43 percent of the popular vote likely dampening its zest for holding a secession referendum any time soon.  UR; The outcome pickup 2nd graf 6th Ld-Writethru
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<HTML>    BONN Germany AP  Germany should lift its ban on the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK a Greens politician said Tuesday arguing that it has increased tensions between Germany's Turkish and Kurdish residents.    Angela Beers urged the new government to use the opportunity created by the arrest in Rome of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan to push for a political solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. PKK guerrillas have been fighting for a homeland in Turkey since 1984.     UR; Pickup 3rd graf `Germany's 1993 ...'    
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<HTML>    JERUSALEM AP - Archeology one of Israel's biggest tourist attractions suffered a blow Tuesday when most of the country's excavations were shut down.    The Israel Antiquities Authority halted its salvage digs after the Supreme Court ruled that developers and building contractors cannot be billed for the costs of these excavations.    In the country of Jesus and King Solomon Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin it is almost impossible to start a building or a road without uncovering ancient remains.    In the archeological sense Israel is the one of the most crowded countries in the world with some 25000 known sites excavated or still waiting to be dug up.    Ahead of most construction projects the Antiquities Authority carries out a salvage dig. In response to a petition from a developer the Supreme Court ruled Sunday that the government not the builder must bear the costs of the salvage digs.    In response the Antiquities Authority decided Tuesday to halt all salvage digs which account for about 300 of the 350 excavations carried out in Israel each year.    ``We have no budget for salvage digs'' said Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Osnat Gouez.    Major digs open to the public like those in Jerusalem Caesarea and Beit Shean have been drastically curtailed for lack of government funding Gouez said.  UR; jk-kl
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<HTML>    MOSCOW AP  A Russian helicopter Tuesday rescued a three-man television crew that had been stranded on a remote Arctic island by bad weather and was running out of food and other supplies officials said.    A helicopter from the Ministry of Emergency Situations evacuated the trio which included a Russian a Japanese and an Australian who had been making a documentary on polar bears. The crew was taken to the port of Pevek a ministry spokesman said.    The crew arrived on Wrangel Island on Sept. 2 and intended to leave Oct. 15 but were delayed by bad weather. The weather also prevented the Emergency Situations Ministry from sending a rescue helicopter.    The three were holed up in a cabin on the island's northeast coast about 550 kilometers 350 miles west of Alaska.    Their food supplies were running out raising concerns about the men. Residents of a village about 130 kilometers 80 miles from the hut attempted to take emergency supplies to the crew but were defeated by bad weather.    The temperature on the island has been around minus 30 Celsius minus 22 Fahrenheit with a strong wind.    The Japanese crew member Tatsuhiko Kobayashi developed complications from a recent eye operation Russia's ORT television reported.    Emergency officials earlier offered to try to rescue the crew by snow tractor but the three reportedly turned down the offer because they would have been forced to leave most of their equipment behind ORT television reported.    Kobayashi is an employee of NHK the Japanese television company. The Australian is cameraman John McGuiness. The name of the Russian was not available.    ren
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<HTML>    KHARTOUM Sudan AP  The United Nations World Food Program has sent some 2500 tons of relief aid for hungry civilians in war-torn southern Sudan a U.N. official said Tuesday.    A convoy of seven river barges carrying relief material left the river port of Kosti 300 kilometers miles 195 south of Khartoum on Monday to distribute the aid to people along the Nile river the WFP representative in Khartoum Mohammed Saleheen said in a statement.    ``The barges' convoy is the lifeline for half a million hungry people along the Nile river corridor'' the statement said.    It said WFP teams will distribute relief to some 33 locations under government and rebel control until the convoy reaches the southern strategic town of Juba early January.    Juba a provincial capital about 1200 kilometers 744 miles south of the Sudanese capital Khartoum is the largest town in southern Sudan still under government control.    Saleheen said the WFP intends to send more aid in the coming months via the Nile as it is much cheaper than air transport.    The WFP used to drop 9500 tons of food a month at a cost of dlrs 30 million into the south in the world's largest aid operation.    Aid workers estimate about 1.5 million people are facing severe food shortages in southern Sudan mainly in Bahr el-Ghazal province as a result of drought and fighting.    The government and the rebels agreed in October to extend by three months a cease-fire to allow food to reach civilians caught in the war with the rebels in the south.    Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for 15 years pitting Christian and animist rebels fighting for more autonomy against the government in the Muslim Arab north. About 1.5 million people have died in the war and famines caused by the fighting.  UR; mo-my/vj 
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<HTML>    MOSCOW AP  Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov will visit India later this month for talks on political relations and trade the government said Tuesday.    Primakov's visit will replace a trip by Boris Yeltsin that was canceled in November because of the Russian president's poor health.    Primakov will visit India Dec. 20-23 but no details were provided on his itinerary. Moscow and New Delhi have had close political and trade ties for many years.    ren
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<HTML>    KIEV Ukraine AP  Ukraine's leftist-dominated parliament on Tuesday failed to ratify a deal with the World Bank on providing risk guarantees for foreign creditors.    The vote came the same day a delegation from the World bank arrived in Ukraine to review projects in the former Soviet republic and discuss new loans for the next 18 months the bank's Kiev office said.    Lawmakers in the 450-seat parliament voted 167-74 to reject the five-year agreement which the government and the World Bank signed last February the Interfax news agency reported.    The deal would have allowed the Cabinet to provide guarantees to foreign creditors or investors to protect them from possible losses or other risks linked with political and economic instability.    The agreement mostly concerned Ukraine's agricultural sector and the guarantees were to be backed by a special World Bank fund with the annual quota for Ukraine set at dlrs 120 million.    Red tape corruption and the slow pace of reforms have made many investors wary of Ukraine despite its large size and 51 million-strong population.    Parliament's finance committee chairman Valeriy Alioshyn said the failure to ratify the document stemmed from lawmakers' ``general negative attitude to any deals that have to do with foreign loans'' according to Interfax.    Alioshyn added that many deputies also erroneously linked the World Bank agreement to the government's earlier practice of guaranteeing foreign loans for individual Ukrainian companies many of which subsequently failed to repay them.    While in Ukraine Paul Siegelbaum World Bank director for Ukraine and Belarus is to meet with President Leonid Kuchma Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko and other top government officials.    The World Bank suspended cooperation with Ukraine in March following the International Monetary Fund's decision to freeze aid to Ukraine because of stalled economic reforms.    The IMF finally approved a dlrs 2.2 billion loan in September after the government took steps toward reform and the World Bank resumed its cooperation as well granting dlrs 950 million in loans for several projects.    Ukraine had already received more than dlrs 1.5 billion from the World Bank since it became a member in 1992.    vl/sms/adc 
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<HTML>    OSLO Norway AP  The Norwegian state telephone company Telenor ASA on Tuesday announced that it was buying a 25-percent stake in Russia's largest cellular telephone provider Vimpel Communications for dlrs 160 million.    Vimpel which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange has Russian government licenses to provide mobile telephone coverage to areas inhabited by 100 million people.    According to a news release from Telenor Vimpel plans to use the extra stock capital to help expand its GSM fiber-optic and Internet services. Telenor said the company has about half the cellular phone market in Moscow.    ``The investment in Vimpel is in keeping with our strategic ambitions in Russia'' Tormod Hermansen head of Telenor.    The deal is contingent on approval by 75 percent of Vimpel's shareholders and the Russian government. The sale could be completed by June 1.    Vimpel reported an operating profit of dlrs 61 million last year on a turnover of dlrs 306 million.    dm-jh 
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<HTML>    ATHENS Greece AP  Gas stations began running dry Tuesday with deliveries halted by a customs strike.    A court was expected to rule on a government request to declare the strike illegal and order workers back to their posts.    Many filling stations had ``no gasoline'' signs hanging from the pumps. At others motorists formed long lines to fill up their vehicles.    Greeks worry about shortages of gasoline and heating oil as tankers and trucks were unable to unload their cargo because of the five-day strike which began Monday.    Union officials called the strike to protest government plans to unify pension funds from various agencies.    The walkout is just one of many planned strikes around Greece this week. There is growing labor union opposition to government austerity plans aimed at qualifying Greece for the European Union's single currency club by 2001.    Doctors at state-run hospitals also began strikes on Monday. Railway workers are scheduled to participate in work stoppages beginning Wednesday. Civil aviation workers also plan work stoppages which could disrupt flights.    A trolley strike that was to begin Tuesday was called off but bus drivers tax officials and school teachers are still planning walkouts.    tt-bm
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<HTML>    DIYARBAKIR Turkey AP  An 18-year-old woman set off a hand grenade strapped to her body Tuesday in a busy shopping street killing herself and injuring nine people said the governor of this province in the heart of the 14-year-old Kurdish war for autonomy.    Nafiz Kayali governor of Diyarbakir province refused to say whether the woman was a Kurdish rebel Anatolia a Turkish news agency reported.    Female Kurdish militants have in the past carried out suicide bomb attacks in Turkey.    The blast occurred in the town of Lice in southeastern Turkey.    Private television NTV reported that one of the injured was a soldier.    The attack could discredit claims by rebel Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan who was detained in Rome last month that the group is renouncing violence in the struggle for autonomy for Kurds.    Last month a Kurdish woman died setting off a bomb near a military garrison that wounded two others.    Close to 37000 people have been killed since Ocalan's group began fighting in 1984.    sf-ht-fd 
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<HTML>    MADRID Spain AP  Chilean Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza said Tuesday a Spanish judge's attempt to extradite Augusto Pinochet has polarized his homeland but does not pose a threat to Chilean democracy.    Insulza began a round of talks Tuesday with Spanish officials attempting to convince them to drop the extradition request so Pinochet can go home.    The foreign minister came here Monday after a four-day visit to Britain where he tried to persuade the Labor Party government not to extradite the 83-year-old former dictator.    Insulza met Tuesday morning with Luis Lopez Supreme Court vice president and Juan Ignacio Barrero president of the Senate and was scheduled to meet later in the day with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Foreign Minister Abel Matutes.    ``Democratic stability in Chile is not at risk'' Insulza said after his meeting with Barrero but urged a quick solution because ``it's affecting my country very much.''    Shortly after arriving in Madrid Monday Insulza said that the political climate in Spain would make a fair trial for Pinochet impossible.    Insulza said Pinochet could be tried in Chile if he is allowed to go home. Pinochet has immunity from prosecution in Chile. Critics say that even if this were lifted he would appear before a military court packed with his supporters.    Acting on a Spanish judge's request police arrested Pinochet on Oct. 16 at a London clinic where he was recuperating from an operation. He faces charges of murder torture and genocide in Spain.    British Home Secretary Jack Straw has 10 more days to decide whether to go ahead with extradition proceedings.    A Chilean government report says 3197 people were murdered or disappeared at the hands of the police after Pinochet seized power in a military coup that toppled democratically elected President Salvador Allende.    mr/krt
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<HTML>    LONDON AP  Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport and former Nos. 1 Martina Hingis Steffi Graf and Monica Seles have confirmed their participation in next month's Australian Open.    The International Tennis Federation said Tuesday that Venus and Serena Williams Anna Kournikova Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez were among other top women's names entered in the first Grand Slam event of 1999.    Davenport will go into her first Grand Slam as the reigning No. 1 player while No. 2 Hingis will be seeking her third straight Australian title.    The Melbourne tournament runs Jan. 18-31.    sw    
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<HTML>    ADELAIDE Australia AP  Englishman Nick Faldo has a blunt assessment of 1998 prior to his win with David Carter in the World Cup of golf last month in New Zealand.    ``It has been great  for the last two weeks'' Faldo said Wednesday after a practice round at the Australian Open. ``Previously it was lousy. At least it has turned around I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.''    In October Faldo's 12-year marriage to his second wife Gill formally ended in divorce. Earlier in the month Faldo 41 said that he and his American girlfriend Brenna Cepelak were ending their three-year relationship.    Faldo has struggled on the US Tour this year but says he has gained confidence after firing mentor David Leadbetter and employing Chip Koehkle.    ``When there is a lot flying around it is difficult to feel good about your golf game and focus on it'' Faldo said Wednesday when asked about his problems off the golf course.    He feels confident about his chances in the Australian Open although perhaps not as optimistic as Peter Thomson the five-time British Open champion who redesigned Royal Adelaide and has tipped Faldo to win.    ``I didn't play very well today so I'll go out later and try to work on some things'' Faldo said.    ``The rough is very thick in some places. You can miss the fairway by a yard  and you are aiming at a fairway that is 23 yards wide  and you are unplayable still 200 yards from the green. I think that is probably unnecessary.''    Faldo says he's working on a few different things under Koehkle.    ``The swing has been a bit out of synch the arm and body swing'' said Faldo. ``We have been trying to find what I lost over the last couple of seasons which was the feeling in my right hand through impact.    ``It wasn't coming in the same as it used to in the early 1990s. That really was a key for me.''    Faldo admits he's not hitting as many practice balls as he used to.    ``I prefer productive practice'' says Faldo. ``Ten years ago I used to hit 1500 a day. Physically I couldn't do that now. I'd rather go down there for an hour and work on exactly what I've got to work on.''    Faldo a three-time U.S. Masters and British Open champion says he has 11 months of golf planned for 1999.    ``Next year I am trying to do both tours European and U.S. and make the Ryder Cup team'' said Faldo. ``The goals are still the same  being No. 1 and winning events. Winning as much as possible. That's what I want to get back to.'' djp     
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<HTML>    HAVANA AP  Christmas in Cuba is back for good.    The Communist Party used the entire front page of Cuba's only daily newspaper Granma on Tuesday to recommend that ``from this year on'' Dec. 25 should be a be holiday in Cuba formally re-establishing a custom abolished in 1969.    The proposal is sure to be adopted by the Communist country's government.    The government granted a Christmas holiday last year as a one-time favor to Pope John Paul II who visited in January. But at the time it balked at declaring the measure permanent.    Cuba abolished the Christmas holiday in 1969 saying it interfered with the mobilization of manpower for the sugar harvest.    The party declaration insisted that the abolition of the holiday was not inspired by any anti-religious sentiment.  UR; However the 7th graf pvs 
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<HTML>    KUWAIT AP  Former U.S. President George Bush drew cheers from American soldiers on Tuesday when he visited their camp north of Kuwait City U.S. Embassy officials said.    Journalists were not allowed to cover the event but U.S. diplomats quoted Bush as telling the 2000 troops and civilian employees at Camp Doha: ``I know why I get such enthusiastic reception  because you know you're going home.''    Most of the soldiers in the audience have been taking part in Intrinsic Action a desert exercise that started in August and is scheduled to end later this month.    Several hundred of the soldiers are stationed on a long-term basis at the camp to maintain military equipment prepositioned in Kuwait to defend against any Iraqi aggression.    Bush is idolized in Kuwait as hero of the 1991 Gulf War which ended Iraq's seven-month occupation of the country.    Speaking from a stage covered with camouflage netting Bush told the American soldiers he wanted to ``drop by and say thank you'' to members of the military that showed in 1991 they were the ``finest fighting force in the world'' the U.S. diplomats said. They insisted that their names not be used.    Bush was on his third visit to Kuwait. Although it is a private one he met with the emir Sheik Jabar al-Ahmed al-Sabah and was to attend a dinner with Kuwaiti dignitaries and businessmen. He leaves early Wednesday.    When Bush first came to Kuwait in April 1993 authorities uncovered a plot to assassinate him. Two Iraqis were sentenced to death in connection with the plot and several others were given prison terms.    Bush earlier visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  UR; de-eap
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<HTML>    TOKYO AP  U.S. spy satellites have detected North Koreans preparing to launch another missile and Tokyo has been warned a Japanese newspaper reported Wednesday.    The North Koreans have been moving parts of their new Taepo Dong missile from storage to the launch pad since about Nov. 20 the Yomiuri newspaper reported citing Japanese government sources that had received word from the United States.    Japan is worried that the North is likely to launch another missile later this year said the Yomiuri Japan's largest daily in a front-page article.    Government spokesman Hiromu Nonaka acknowledged Wednesday that Tokyo was aware of ``some kind of movement'' in North Korea. He would not elaborate.    Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi confirmed Japan had received ``various information'' about a North Korean launch in the works but Kyodo News agency quoted him as saying ``I have not heard that it has been confirmed.''    The Defense Agency would not comment on the Yomiuri report.    Japanese were unnerved by the firing of a rocket by North Korea on Aug. 31. Believed to be a test of its Taepo Dong the rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean proving the communist nation can strike any part of the country.    Japan has a peaceful rocket program but no spy satellite of its own and must rely on the United States for information about the threat from North Korean missiles.    A joint missile defense system with the United States has been proposed and Japan approved a plan to put four spy satellites into orbit by 2002.    North Korea which says it put a satellite in orbit with the August firing has denounced Japan's spy satellite plan calling it a ``dangerous military action.''    The Radiopress agency in Tokyo monitoring North Korean reports said Korean Central Radio reported Tuesday that the scientists who worked on the launch were awarded medals.    When asked last week about recent reports of more possible North Korean missile tests U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen declined comment.  UR; yk-km 
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<HTML>    ORLANDO Florida AP  Even when she had to go 20 extra holes to win the U.S. Women's Open Se Ri Pak had a way of making golf look easy  smooth swing remarkable patience and unwavering concentration.    If only the rest of her life were that simple.    The past six weeks have offered a glimpse of how the brightest star in women's golf since Nancy Lopez ultimately may not have enough space  not to mention freedom  for her potential to blossom.    During the LPGA Tour Championship in Las Vegas the 20-year-old rookie hit balls for Butch Harmon and played nine holes with his most important client Tiger Woods. Shortly thereafter reports surfaced that Pak would leave swing coach David Leadbetter at the end of the year to join Harmon's stable.    But late last week Pak was back on the range in Orlando Florida with Leadbetter at her side and her father nodding his approval.    ``They want to continue our relationship'' Leadbetter said. ``Everything was blown out of proportion. According to her they want me to help her to get to No. 1.''    This was confirmed by Pak in a release issued by Samsung the Korean electronics giant that sponsors Pak and ultimately calls all the shots.    ``My intentions were misinterpreted'' Pak said. She added that she enjoyed playing with Woods and meeting Harmon but then expressed ``great appreciation'' for Leadbetter.    Leadbetter who earlier this year received a letter from Nick Faldo terminating their relationship sounded as much relieved as he was perplexed. He has traveled the world having worked for Faldo and Nick Price Ernie Els and Greg Norman. Still he has never come across a situation like this one.    ``It's quite hard to make out'' he said. ``She has a lot of complex things in her life and the Korean mentality is a little different than what seems to be normal in the West. She's got so many people involved  a manager Samsung has another set of managers family friends an uncle a father who doesn't speak English. It's a tough deal.''    Imagine what it has been like for Pak.    Expectations in South Korea may be higher than anything Woods ever faced in America after he won the Masters. At least two dozen Korean photographers followed her every move this year especially after she won the LPGA Championship and the U.S. Open.    That was one reason Pak was reluctant to go home for a week of blockbuster celebrations the last week of October.    The news conference upon her arrival at the airport had to be stopped after 10 minutes because of the crowd. Her face was plastered on the front pages of almost every major newspaper. She was the lead item on the television news.    ``While I am here I want to take a rest no matter what'' Pak said. ``Going shopping and gossiping with friends that's what I want the most.''    Fat chance. Her week was loaded down with appearances and golf tournaments a parade and a medal ceremony with the president. Small wonder that Pak spent most of the week in a hospital recovering from a cold and exhaustion.    She wound up pulling out of the Japan Classic which in effect ended any chance Pak had of catching Annika Sorenstam in the points race for player of the year.    But then the way her whirlwind season had been going she didn't have much of a kick left in her. During one stretch this season Pak played 11 out of 13 weeks. After winning the Open she played the next four tournaments.    ``That really did her in'' Leadbetter said. ``She was playing on momentum and adrenaline and everybody wanted her to play. It was way too much. She wasn't working out she lost her fitness level. All these were contributing factors.''    Pak hasn't won since beating Dottie Pepper down the stretch to capture the Giant Eagle Classic on July 26. In her final nine tournaments of the year she finished inside the top 10 only once and her scoring average was 71.9 nearly one stroke higher than her first 18 tournaments.    ``It doesn't matter how good a horse is you can't race it every week'' Leadbetter said.    And that's why his next piece of advice may have more to do with ``shopping and gossiping'' than alignment and hip rotation. While playing golf with Woods Pak says she was inspired how to enjoy golf and how to enjoy life.    ``We can't forget that she's just a kid'' Leadbetter said.    That's an important reminder for Pak  and everyone around her. 
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<HTML>    LISBON Portugal AP  Leading scorers in the Portuguese first-division soccer league after Monday's 13th-round games:    Mario Jardel FC Porto 15    Elpidio Silva Braga 10    Nuno Gomes Benfica 9    Ion Timofte Boavista 7    Demetrios Montanini Campomaiorense 7    Ivaylo Yordanov Sporting 7    cp
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<HTML>    PHOENIX AP  A judge ruled that Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall is eligible to swim in an international competition despite a marijuana-related suspension that is scheduled to run through Dec. 12.    U.S. federal court Judge Roger Strand issued a temporary restraining order Monday allowing Hall to compete but set a hearing for 7:15 a.m. 1415 GMT Tuesday to give FINA swimming's world governing body a chance to respond.    FINA secretary Gunnar Werner said he would argue that Hall's appeal should be dismissed and the remainder of his suspension upheld. Werner said the court should have no jurisdiction in the case.    In addition the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration of Sport CAS issued a ruling Monday rejecting Hall's request for a temporary restraining order.    ``Our position is that FINA rules are prevailing in a case like this'' Werner said Tuesday in a telephone interview from Sweden. ``Our position is the court in the U.S. is not competent. The last instance of appeal is the CAS. Also FINA has its seat in Switzerland and is covered by Swiss law.''    What if the U.S. court rules in Hall's favor?    ``I think we would have to accept that'' Werner said. ``The only thing we could do is appeal and that would take too long. We would have to live with such a decision.''    Werner said the case underscores the continuing battle between international sports federations and national courts especially in the United States over who controls sport.    ``Our position is that FINA rules should prevail all around the world'' he said. ``But what can we do if a national court makes a ruling? We can only fight for our position.''    Hall who lives in Phoenix won gold medals as part of the U.S. 400-meter freestyle and 400 medley relay teams in the 1996 Atlanta Games. He also won silver medals in the 50 and 100 freestyle.    He was scheduled to compete in Tuesday's World Cup competition and later this week in the U.S. Open Competition both in College Station Texas.    His attorneys argued that both competitions are essential to Hall's preparation and qualification for the 2000 Olympics and to his efforts to secure endorsement contracts.    A ruling denying Hall permission to compete would be ``devastating not only to his career but financially'' attorney Ed Hendricks told Strand during a one-hour hearing.    Hall was temporarily suspended in July after FINA said he tested positive for marijuana during a May 15 competition in Phoenix. That prevented Hall from swimming in the Goodwill Games and the U.S. Senior Nationals.    The federation delayed the suspension in August to allow a hearing after Hall appealed the sanction.    During a Nov. 6 hearing Hall received a three-month suspension from FINA's doping panel for testing positive for marijuana. That suspension was effective Nov. 12.    FINA then deducted two of the three months already served by Hall during the temporary suspension which left him with 30 more days to serve.
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<HTML>    JOHANNESBURG South Africa AP  Activists across the globe marched in the streets distributed condoms and held benefit concerts Tuesday to try to halt the spread of AIDS which will kill millions of people this year alone.    Underscoring events on World AIDS Day was this sobering fact: Although powerful new medicines are helping industrialized countries win the battle against the disease it has reached epidemic proportions in continents where people can't afford the drugs.    About 33.4 million people around the world are infected with HIV two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In Asia and the Pacific 700000 people become infected with HIV per year.    In sub-Saharan Africa the 1998 death toll from AIDS is expected to be 2 million. Nearly 6 million more people will become infected this year  1.7 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.    ``In the case of HIV/AIDS the difference in wealth becomes literally matter of life and death'' decried Mary Robinson the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.    From bars in Hong Kong to parks in South Africa activists preached safe sex. People pinned red ribbons on lapels to express solidarity in the fight against AIDS. In San Juan Puerto Rico more than 3000 people formed a human red ribbon.    ``It's important to be here to urge people to say `No' to AIDS and to protect themselves'' said Carlos Baerga a free agent baseball player most recently with the New York Mets. Those whose loved ones died from AIDS planned to toss carnations into the Atlantic Ocean in their memory.     In India where up to 5 million people are HIV positive hundreds of schoolchildren marched beside prostitutes in New Delhi to draw attention to the epidemic.    Israelis and Palestinians handed out condoms and literature to passengers departing Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv.     In Ivory Coast thousands of children wearing T-shirts with anti-AIDS slogans and bouncing inflated condoms like beach balls marched through the streets of Abidjan.     In Kenya children wearing black T-Shirts that said ``Stop AIDS'' distributed condoms and pamphlets on AIDS prevention in Dandora an eastern Nairobi slum.     In Hong Kong's nightspots activists handed out coasters with pictures of a condom on one side and a safe-sex message on the other.     In Tokyo Japan's Health Ministry held rallies and concerts in a central square.     In Moscow a contraceptive company's employees sheathed in red yellow or green ``condom suits'' handed out condoms in Pushkin Square.     In Pretoria South Africa clowns painted red AIDS ribbons on people's faces as drum majorettes entertained a crowd.    Underneath it all was a life-and-death message: Practice safe sex of face the consequences.    ``Come and witness the reality of AIDS. See the devastation in our community. See the fresh graves'' South African President Nelson Mandela told hundreds of people in a village in KwaZulu-Natal province where an estimated 25 percent of adults are infected with HIV.    But considering the enormity of the problem the call to action worldwide was muted.    In some countries like Zimbabwe where an estimated 23 percent of the population is infected with HIV World AIDS day passed with little fanfare. Countries in southern Africa have been slow to recognize the unfolding tragedy and have little resources to fight it.    It was only in October that the South African government launched an AIDS awareness program. Already more than 3 million South Africans are infected. This year an estimated 168000 have died from AIDS.    The vast majority of those infected in Africa and other developing regions cannot afford the drugs that are prolonging life among AIDS patients in the West.    In Washington President Bill Clinton announced dlrs 10 million in emergency grants to help children orphaned by AIDS in poorer nations. Much more assistance would be needed to help turn the tide.    Actress Sharon Stone speaking at the United Nations in New York urged parents to accept that they cannot control their children's urge to have sex  and to provide them with condoms so they don't join the 7000 young people who are infected every day with HIV.    Stone who campaigns for the American Foundation for AIDS Research spoke at a U.N. discussion on AIDS and youth.    ``If you truly truly love your children you need to supply condoms in a place in your home at a quantity that makes it a non-judgmental situation for them to have them'' she said. 
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<HTML>    AMERICAN LEADERS    NEW YORK AP-Sales 4 p.m. price and net change of the 10 most active American Stock Exchange issues trading nationally at more than 1.  UR;  Name       Volume  Last  Chg. SPDR          8768800 117 13-16 Up 1 11-16 EchoBay         1280200    2 1-8  Up  1-16 Keane           1173200   295-8  Up    7-8 NaborsInd        1049000   13 3-4  Up    1-2 Organogen s       976500  14 9-16  Up  1  FstAustPrm       931500  5 15-16  Up  1-16 Hasbro          736200   37 3-8  Up  2 1-8 Cablevsn s         654200   42 7-8  Up  1 1-2 GreyWolf         613400   1 1-16  Up  1-16 ViacomB         592900  65 11-16  Down    7-8 
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<HTML>    WARSAW Poland AP  Signaling further problems with an arms contract with Israeli companies a defense ministry spokesman said Tuesday that Israel failed to arrange tests of its NTD missiles in November as requested.    Poland wanted the tests held in November so that its experts could watch the missiles intended to arm Polish-made Huzar helicopters perform in local terrain and weather conditions.    ``We have been ready all along but the Israeli side did not name a date'' said Capt. Andrzej Adamczyk spokesman for deputy Defense Minister Romuald Szeremietiew. Adamczyk said there was no date set for the tests.    Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek's government planned to discuss the issue at a Cabinet-meeting Tuesday but decided to wait a week when Buzek and Industry Minister Jerzy Steinhof return from a visit to Mexico.    Following years of negotiating with several potential partners Poland last year awarded the dlrs 800 million contract to Israel's Rafael and Elbit Systems Ltd. to equip the Huzar helicopters in line with NATO requirements.    Poland which plans to join NATO in April selected the Israeli companies over the U.S. company Boeing.    Under the deal which required approval from both governments Rafael would supply the Huzar with anti-tank NTD missiles and Elbit would provide electronic integrating systems.    But Poland's Solidarity-led government which took office shortly after the agreement was signed criticized the handling of the tenders by its ex-communist predecessors and demanded missile tests. It also decided to seek another tender for the integrating systems but has set no date for it.    ms-tsc 
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<HTML>    BRUSSELS Belgium AP  The European Commission had good news Tuesday for pet lovers planning to move to Britain or Ireland: rabies will soon disappear from the EU which may prod both countries to end their tough pet quarantine laws.    ``It can be confidently predicted rabies will be eliminated from the EU within the not too distant future the commission said.    It said only 30 cases were reported in 1998 in Germany the EU's most infected country down from 3534 in 1991.    The commission granted dlrs 3.5 million to a campaign to eradicate rabies altogether and ``contribute to dismantling quarantine for pets when they and their owners travel to the United Kingdom or Ireland.''    Newcomers to both countries must board their pets for six months in quarantine kennels as part of strict anti-rabies laws.    Dog and cat lovers say that is expensive and cruel.    As an alternative Britain is already considering a plan to insert microchips under the skin of pets so they can be identified by an electronic scanner on arrival. Each pet would also have a passport-style document listing vaccinations against diseases.    However that would apply only to pets from other EU countries.    Americans and other non-Europeans would still have to put their animals into quarantine.    The commission's anti-rabies campaign contribution is part of a total expenditure of 50.75 million European currency units dlrs 58.4 million to help combat a dozen or so animal diseases such as Classical and African swine fever scrapie and brucellosis in cows sheep and goats.    ``Funding of most programs will be concentrated on compensating farmers for the slaughter of infected animals'' the Commission said.  UR; rw    
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<HTML>    TEGUCIGALPA Honduras AP  Honduras has lowered the official death toll from Hurricane Mitch by 1350 and suspended a governor after investigators couldn't verify hundreds of deaths she reported in her remote northwestern area.    The new death toll of 5657 was compiled after the government sent teams to verify reports from regions across Honduras the Interior Secretariat announced Tuesday.    Aid workers and journalists began questioning Honduras' estimated death toll after figures jumped drastically Nov. 2 the same day that news broke of a landslide in Nicaragua that covered two villages and killed up to 2000 people.    That day Honduras' official death toll jumped from 600 to 5000. Later authorities raised the figure to 6400 then last week to 7007.    The revised Honduras death toll lowers the overall death toll for the hurricane to 9071.    Luis Torres spokesman for the committee overseeing the relief effort told The Associated Press that ``all the information is being verified by the mayors' offices the army the police public and private rescue groups and the authorities of the 18 provinces of the country.''    Federal authorities also announced Tuesday that they had suspended Gov. Lucila Esperanza Barahona de Castro of the Santa Barbara department near the Guatemala border after investigators could verify only 282 of the 1159 deaths reported in her area.    Authorities cited by the newspaper El Heraldo said the suspension was standard procedure during an inquiry.    Barahona said she couldn't have falsified the numbers because she didn't even give a death toll to the federal government.    ``I don't know what source gave them the numbers'' she said.    In addition to the 5657 dead Honduras said it had verified 8058 missing 12272 injured and 1.4 million homeless throughout the country. 
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<HTML>    MOSCOW AP  With Russia's leaders urgently seeking financial help International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus began two days of talks in Moscow today on Russia's frozen loan agreement with the IMF.    Camdessus met with Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov today and was scheduled to hold broader talks with government officials Wednesday.    ``I want to get better acquainted with the prime minister'' Camdessus told reporters. ``I presume we will be having interesting conversations.''    President Boris Yeltsin who is in a hospital being treated for pneumonia spoke with Primakov by telephone today about the talks with Camdessus.    In the Netherlands meanwhile former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin sought to reassure international investors that Russia would survive its economic problems.    He told an international business conference that his country's economic woes were ``far from desperate'' adding: ``European companies are still with us. They are not leaving Russia.''    Russia is seeking further installments on an IMF bailout package that was reached in the summer but was held up after the government devalued the ruble and defaulted on some of its debts in August. The IMF has said Russia must come up with a realistic recovery plan before more money will be released.    Camdessus is not expected to announce any breakthroughs but his visit gives Russia an opportunity to make its case and lobby for fresh funds.    The bailout package totals 22.6 billion and also involves the World Bank and the Japanese government but Russia has so far received only about 5 billion.    An IMF mission left town last week saying the government's revenue forecast for next year was overly optimistic. It also disapproved of the government's intention to lower taxes and offer subsidies to ailing industries.    If the Russian government doesn't receive foreign help soon it will probably have to start printing money which would drive up inflation.    ``I hope that the IMF would be able to make a decision to provide aid to Russia that would allow us to avoid hyperinflation'' Oleg Sysuyev a top presidential aide was quoted as saying today by the Interfax news agency.    The government has been delaying a debate on next year's budget as it struggles to find ways to come up with enough money to meet its expenses. The Cabinet again delayed the discussion this week but insisted the delay was not connected with Camdessus' visit.    However the Russian media claimed the government put off action on the budget because it is still hoping for the IMF loans.    ``Everyone understands that budget parameters remain vague and their clarification depends on Camdessus' visit'' the business daily Kommersant said today.    Former Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko who was on a trip to the United States this week said Russia wouldn't be able to pay 17.5 billion in foreign debt that comes due next year.    ``The IMF must realize that and accept compromises with Russia in reaching agreements on restructuring foreign debts'' Kiriyenko said at New York University on Monday according to the Interfax news agency. 
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<HTML>    BANGKOK Thailand AP  When Thailand's economic bubble burst once-successful property developer Patcha Punprom found herself in the position of many Thais  dreams shattered and facing bankruptcy.    One night haunted by unpaid bills she overdosed on sleeping pills. Her mother saved her and put her in touch with a suicide hot line.    ``I am broke and cannot afford my bills'' Patcha 28 told a worker at the hot line. ``All the time I want to die because it will end my problems.''    Patcha isn't alone in her despair. Thailand's economic collapse last year is being blamed for the doubling of the suicide rate a frightening development in a country renowned for an easygoing attitude toward life and where everything seemed to be getting better during the go-go early 1990s.    Take the case of a would-be engineer who jumped from a 12th-story apartment in the middle of Bangkok last weekend. He left behind puzzled parents who can hardly understand how it happened to their family.    They told police that their son was under heavy stress after a year of fruitless job-hunting. As a postgraduate student he had high hopes for his future and could not accept being unemployed.    He was one of 2 million Thais that the recession the worst in decades has left jobless. Health authorities credit it with feeding rising drug abuse violence and suicides.    ``Spreading stress and despair have triggered an alarming rise in suicide and violence especially among men who are the traditional breadwinners'' said Somchai Chakrabhand deputy director general of the Department of Mental Health.    The main reasons for suicide used to be a broken heart chronic mental problems or disappointment related to home and school Somchai said. All those troubles still exist now joined by recession.    Two suicides are reported each day in the Thai capital  usually by poisoning shooting hanging or leaping from a building Somchai said.    Last month a 62-year-old farmer hanged himself from a tree outside Government House where Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and his Cabinet work after months of quiet protest.    Debt-stricken Chum Sakhorn took his life to protest the government's indifference in helping him recover his farm from what he considered unscrupulous businessman and corrupt bureaucrats. The suicide became an embarrassing political issue then blew over.    A total of 560 suicides were recorded in Thailand between July 1997 when the economic crisis began and June  double that of previous years. Somchai estimates the financial crisis was behind 24 percent of the deaths. Three-quarters of the victims were men.    Heavy publicity given suicides seems to be prompting more people to kill themselves. Endlessly repeated television footage of a suicidal woman who fell to her death from a rooftop during a bungled rescue bid was followed by four similar suicide attempts the next day.    The account of a debt-ridden nurse who forced her 8-year-old son to take insecticide before strangling herself received wide media coverage.    Within hours Bangkok police recorded three more suicides all men who were caught up in job and financial troubles. One jumped in front of a train another leaped from a five-story building and a third threw himself to a busy street from a pedestrian overpass.    Hundreds of hot lines have been set up at government hospitals and health centers. The Mental Health Department has urged the media to be more sensitive in reporting suicide.    The department and police have been discussing the formation of special units to deal with suicide threats. Each unit would be made up of psychologists police fire fighters and paramedics. 
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<HTML>    TURIN Italy AP  Juventus top manager Luciano Moggi on Tuesday defended as ``well grounded'' the club decision to stay a single day in Istanbul for the politically tinged Champions League match against Turkey's Galatasaray.    The Italian league champions who need a victory against the Turkish team to keep qualifying chances alive in the most titled European soccer competition decided to travel to Istanbul on the match day Wednesday and return home immediately after the game.    UEFA Europe's soccer governing body which requires teams to arrive the day before of European Cup matches was critical of Juventus decision.    ``Juventus feels there are well grounded motives for failing to conform to UEFA directives'' said Moggi the general director of the Turin team which is owned by the Agnelli family of auto tycoons.    Juventus confirmed on Tuesday its travel plans for the match already postponed by one week after Italy's refusal to extradite a Kurdish rebel leader prompted anti-Italian demonstrations in Turkey.    Several Juventus players who had initially refused to travel to Instanbul bowed to the club decision to play Galatasaray but criticized the UEFA stand.    ``We have been forced to play a game conditioned by political motives'' said No.1 keeper Angelo Peruzzi.    Team captain Antonio Conte said Tuesday that the Italian government and UEFA left the Italian team alone.    ``UEFA and the Italian government have claimed that there are no secutiry problems in Istanbul ... but as far as we know no UEFA and government representatives will be in Istanbul Wednesday'' Conte told the Italian news agency ANSA.    Italian culture minister Giovanna Melandri invited to attend the game by her Turkish counterpart said Tuesday she had not yet taken a final decision about traveling to Istanbul.  UR; pv 
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<HTML>    CARTAGENA Colombia AP  U.S. counternarcotics operations currently based in Panama will move to Puerto Rico and elsewhere when Washington completes its troop pullout from Panama next year a senior U.S. commander said Tuesday.    ``In a certain sense you can look at Puerto Rico as a partial replacement for Panama'' said Marine Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm chief of the U.S. Southern Command with responsibility for Latin America during a meeting of regional defense ministers.    Wilhelm was accompanying U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen who said the United States had ``not made much progress to date'' in deciding which other Latin American and Caribbean countries would share in hosting the relocated counter-narcotics forces.    Negotiations to maintain a U.S. troop presence for anti-narcotics purposes in Panama were scuttled in September setting U.S. officials on a search for alternatives. All U.S. troops must leave the country by Dec. 31 1999 when the Panama canal reverts to Panamanian control.    Panama was considered the ideal base for drug interdiction due to its central location along shipment routes between Andean cocaine- and heroin-producing countries and the United States. Currently U.S. AWACs radar planes track drug flights through the region from Howard Air Force Base in Panama. The facility will be closed in May.    Wilhem didn't say which other countries might accept a U.S. presence saying only that they were in the southern Caribbean Central America and ``the Andean ridge''  which includes Colombia Bolivia Ecuador and Peru. 
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<HTML>    TOKYO AP  Japan Tobacco Inc. has decided to take part in the dlrs 206 billion settlement between U.S. states and the tobacco industry for health care reimbursements.    Japan Tobacco will chip in about dlrs 1.4 million a year starting in 2000 as its share in the settlement reached last month between 46 states and four major U.S. tobacco companies but its share may increase over the years spokesman Yoshiro Go said Wednesday.    Japan Tobacco will also comply with other provisions of the settlement including restrictions on advertising and the targeting of minors but such terms will not affect its business in Japan he said.    Although it has not been sued in the United States Japan Tobacco decided to join the settlement Monday because that was seen as a better business decision in the long term Go said.    Japan Tobacco sells about 800 million cigarettes a year in the United States for a market share of about 0.15 percent.    At home where it sells 256 billion cigarettes a year or about 77 percent of the market it is facing four lawsuits over alleged tobacco-related illnesses.  UR; yk 
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http://tangra.si.umich.edu/clair/testhtml/APW19981201.1357.txt.body.html
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<HTML>    LONDON AP  Holders Chelsea were knocked out of the League Cup Tuesday as Premier League rival Wimbledon won 2-1 in a quarterfinal match on goals by Robbie Earle and a penalty 15 minutes from time by Michael Hughes.    Chelsea's player-coach Gianluca Vialli scored with six minutes remaining to make the final minutes interesting.    It was a bad night for French defender Frank Leboeuf as Chelsea's 19-game unbeaten string ended.    Leboeuf gave away a free kick from which Earle headed the Dons in front after 19 minutes. And his misery was compounded at the end when he brought down Marcus Gayle to hand the home side a penalty which Hughes converted.    ``If we win the next round we will be at Wembley but there is no point looking so far forward'' said Hughes. ``We are a small club and have no money to buy 5 or 6-million pound players. But we have quality players here and we work very hard for each other.''    In Tuesday's other League Cup quarterfinal the first division's first-place team Sunderland defeated second-division Luton 3-0 to reach the semifinals of the League Cup for the first time in 14 years.    Sunderland took a 1-0 lead on Marvin Johnson's own-goal five minutes before the half. Michael Bridges made it 2-0 in the 89th and Niall Quinn made it 3-0 in second-half injury time.    In an F.A. Cup first-round replay Notts County won 3-0 over semi-pro side Hendon. In another first-round replay Kidderminster and Plymouth played a 0-0 draw after extra time with Kidderminster winning 5-4 on penalties.    scw     
<A HREF="APW19981201.0583.txt.body.html">APW19981201.0583.txt.body.html</A>
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<DOCNO>000-02-000433</DOCNO>
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http://tangra.si.umich.edu/clair/testhtml/APW19981201.0583.txt.body.html
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<HTML>    WELLINGTON New Zealand AP  Bowing to public opposition New Zealand's government on Tuesday deferred buying a third Australian naval frigate but leased 28 U.S. fighter planes and authorized a major army equipment upgrade.    The decision surprised some observers convinced Prime Minister Jenny Shipley's minority National Party government would push ahead with the frigate purchase despite opinion polls showing 75 percent of voters opposed the deal.    Shipley announced the replacement of the 30-year old Skyhawk fleet with 28 F-16 fighter planes leased from the United States for 200 million New Zealand dollars U.S. dlrs 105 million.    The government will upgrade the army with 500 more men and re-equip it with modern equipment at a cost of 500 million New Zealand dollars US dlrs 265 million she said.    The Labor opposition cast immediate doubt on the F-16 fighter deal warning it might not honor any agreement between New Zealand and the United States to lease the planes if it wins government.    A general election is due before November 1999 and Labor presently holds a 16 percent lead in opinion polls.    The re-equipment decisions triggered the resignation of independent legislator Deborah Morris trimming the government's majority to 61-59 in the 120-seat Parliament.    Shipley and Defense Minister Max Bradford said they had decided against the Australian frigate purchase for cost reasons.    But Shipley said the government had also ``listened to New Zealand'' and taken into account public opinion against a further frigate purchase. Two were bought by a Labor government in the late 1980s.    The decision not to buy a third frigate leaves a question mark over whether New Zealand will retain a three-frigate navy once its aging Leander-class frigate is decommissioned in about 2005.    A decision will need to be made by 2002.    Bradford said the government's top priority had been to re-equip the army. He had not been able to convince Cabinet colleagues that the government could afford to upgrade the army while also buying another frigate and leasing the F-16 fighters.     
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