EU rejects German call to boycott British lamb .


The European Commission said on Thursday it disagreed with German advice to consumers to shun British lamb until scientists determine whether mad cow disease can be transmitted to sheep .

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Germany 's representative to the European Union 's veterinary committee Werner Zwingmann said on Wednesday consumers should buy sheepmeat from countries other than Britain until the scientific advice was clearer .

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" We do n't support any such recommendation because we do n't see any grounds for it , " the Commission 's chief spokesman Nikolaus van der Pas told a news briefing .

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He said further scientific study was required and if it was found that action was needed it should be taken by the European Union .

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He said a proposal last month by EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler to ban sheep brains , spleens and spinal cords from the human and animal food chains was a highly specific and precautionary move to protect human health .

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Fischler proposed EU-wide measures after reports from Britain and France that under laboratory conditions sheep could contract Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE ) -- mad cow disease .

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But Fischler agreed to review his proposal after the EU 's standing veterinary committee , mational animal health officials , questioned if such action was justified as there was only a slight risk to human health .

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Spanish Farm Minister Loyola de Palacio had earlier accused Fischler at an EU farm ministers ' meeting of causing unjustified alarm through " dangerous generalisation . "

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Only France and Britain backed Fischler 's proposal .


The EU 's scientific veterinary and multidisciplinary committees are due to re-examine the issue early next month and make recommendations to the senior veterinary officials .

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Sheep have long been known to contract scrapie , a brain-wasting disease similar to BSE which is believed to have been transferred to cattle through feed containing animal waste .

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British farmers denied on Thursday there was any danger to human health from their sheep , but expressed concern that German government advice to consumers to avoid British lamb might influence consumers across Europe .

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" What we have to be extremely careful of is how other countries are going to take Germany 's lead , " Welsh National Farmers ' Union ( NFU ) chairman John Lloyd Jones said on BBC radio .

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Bonn has led efforts to protect public health after consumer confidence collapsed in March after a British report suggested humans could contract an illness similar to mad cow disease by eating contaminated beef .

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Germany imported 47,600 sheep from Britain last year , nearly half of total imports .


It brought in 4,275 tonnes of British mutton , some 10 percent of overall imports .


Rare Hendrix song draft sells for almost $ 17,000 .


A rare early handwritten draft of a song by U.S. guitar legend Jimi Hendrix was sold for almost $ 17,000 on Thursday at an auction of some of the late musician 's favourite possessions .

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A Florida restaurant paid 10,925 pounds ( $ 16,935 ) for the draft of " Ai n't no telling " , which Hendrix penned on a piece of London hotel stationery in late 1966 .

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At the end of a January 1967 concert in the English city of Nottingham he threw the sheet of paper into the audience , where it was retrieved by a fan .

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Buyers also snapped up 16 other items that were put up for auction by Hendrix 's former girlfriend Kathy Etchingham , who lived with him from 1966 to 1969 .

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They included a black lacquer and mother of pearl inlaid box used by Hendrix to store his drugs , which an anonymous Australian purchaser bought for 5,060 pounds ( $ 7,845 ) .

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The guitarist died of a drugs overdose in 1970 aged 27 .


China says Taiwan spoils atmosphere for talks .


China on Thursday accused Taipei of spoiling the atmosphere for a resumption of talks across the Taiwan Strait with a visit to Ukraine by Taiwanese Vice President Lien Chan this week that infuriated Beijing .

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Speaking only hours after Chinese state media said the time was right to engage in political talks with Taiwan , Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told Reuters : " The necessary atmosphere for the opening of the talks has been disrupted by the Taiwan authorities . "

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State media quoted China 's top negotiator with Taipei , Tang Shubei , as telling a visiting group from Taiwan on Wednesday that it was time for the rivals to hold political talks .

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" Now is the time for the two sides to engage in political talks ...


that is to end the state of hostility , " Thursday 's overseas edition of the People 's Daily quoted Tang as saying .

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The foreign ministry 's Shen told Reuters Television in an interview he had read reports of Tang 's comments but gave no details of why the negotiator had considered the time right for talks with Taiwan , which Beijing considers a renegade province .

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China , which has long opposed all Taipei efforts to gain greater international recognition , was infuriated by a visit to Ukraine this week by Taiwanese Vice President Lien .

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China says time right for Taiwan talks .


China has said it was time for political talks with Taiwan and that the rival island should take practical steps towards that goal .

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Consultations should be held to set the time and format of the talks , the official Xinhua news agency quoted Tang Shubei , executive vice chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits , as saying late on Wednesday .

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German July car registrations up 14.2 pct yr / yr .


German first-time registrations of motor vehicles jumped 14.2 percent in July this year from the year-earlier period , the Federal office for motor vehicles said on Thursday .

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The office said 356,725 new cars were registered in July 1996 -- 304,850 passenger cars and 15,613 trucks .


The figures represent a 13.6 percent increase for passenger cars and a 2.2 percent decline for trucks from July 1995 .

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Motor-bike registration rose 32.7 percent in the period .


The growth was partly due to an increased number of Germans buying German cars abroad , while manufacturers said that domestic demand was weak , the federal office said .

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Almost all German car manufacturers posted gains in registration numbers in the period .


Volkswagen AG won 77,719 registrations , slightly more than a quarter of the total .


Opel AG together with General Motors came in second place with 49,269 registrations , 16.4 percent of the overall figure .

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Third was Ford with 35,563 registrations , or 11.7 percent .


Only Seat and Porsche had fewer registrations in July 1996 compared to last year 's July .

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Seat posted 3,420 registrations compared with 5522 registrations in July a year earlier .


Porsche 's registrations fell to 554 from 643 .


GREEK SOCIALISTS GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO PM FOR ELECTIONS .


The Greek socialist party 's executive bureau gave the green light to Prime Minister Costas Simitis to call snap elections , its general secretary Costas Skandalidis told reporters .

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Prime Minister Costas Simitis is going to make an official announcement after a cabinet meeting later on Thursday , said Skandalidis .

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


BayerVB sets C$ 100 million six-year bond .


The following bond was announced by lead manager Toronto Dominion .


TYPE STRAIGHT ISS PRICE 100.92 PAY DATE 24.SEP.96


S&P = DENOMS ( K ) 1-10-100 SALE LIMITS US / UK / CA

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GOV LAW GERMAN HOME CTRY = TAX PROVS STANDARD


MGT / UND 0.275 SELL CONC 1.60 PRAECIP =


NOTES BAYERISCHE VEREINSBANK IS JOINT LEAD MANAGER


Venantius sets $ 300 million January 1999 FRN .


The following floating-rate issue was announced by lead manager Lehman Brothers International .


BORROWER VENANTIUS AB ( SWEDISH NATIONAL MORTGAGE AGENCY )


AMT $ 300 MLN SPREAD - 12.5 BP MATURITY 21.JAN.99


TYPE FRN BASE 3M LIBOR PAY DATE S23.SEP.96


LAST MOODY AA3 ISS PRICE 99.956 FULL FEES 10 BP


LISTING LONDON DENOMS ( K ) 1-10-100 SALE LIMITS US / UK / JP / FR

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NEG PLG YES CRS DEFLT NO FORCE MAJ IPMA 2


GOV LAW ENGLISH HOME CTRY SWEDEN TAX PROVS STANDARD


Port conditions update - Syria - Lloyds Shipping .


Port conditions from Lloyds Shipping Intelligence Service --


LATTAKIA , Aug 10 - waiting time at Lattakia and Tartous presently 24 hours .

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Israel plays down fears of war with Syria .


Israel 's outgoing peace negotiator with Syria said on Thursday current tensions between the two countries appeared to be a storm in a teacup .

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Itamar Rabinovich , who as Israel 's ambassador to Washington conducted unfruitful negotiations with Syria , told Israel Radio it looked like Damascus wanted to talk rather than fight .

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" It appears to me the Syrian priority is still to negotiate .


The Syrians are confused , they are definitely tense , but the general assessment here in Washington is that this is essentially a storm in a teacup , " he said .

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Rabinovich is winding up his term as ambassador .


He will be replaced by Eliahu Ben-Elissar , a former Israeli envoy to Egypt and right-wing Likud party politician .

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Israel on Wednesday sent Syria a message , via Washington , saying it was committed to peace and wanted to open negotiations without preconditions .

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But it slammed Damascus for creating what it called a dangerous atmosphere .


Syria accused Israel on Wednesday of launching a hysterical campaign against it after Israeli television reported that Damascus had recently test fired a missile .

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It said its arms purchases were for defensive purposes .


" The message that we sent to ( Syrian President Hafez al- ) Assad is that Israel is ready at any time without preconditions to enter peace negotiations , " Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy told Israel Radio in an interview .

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Tension has mounted since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in June vowing to retain the Golan Heights Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war .

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Israeli-Syrian peace talks have been deadlocked over the Golan since 1991 despite the previous government 's willingness to make Golan concessions .

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Peace talks between the two sides were last held in February .


" The voices coming out of Damascus are bad , not good .


are full of expressions and declarations that must be worrying ...


this artificial atmosphere is very dangerous because those who spread it could become its prisoners , " Levy said .

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" We expect from Syria , if its face is to peace , that it will answer Israel 's message to enter peace negotiations because that is our goal , " he said . "

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Israel 's Channel Two television said Damascus had sent a " calming signal " to Israel .

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Netanyahu and Levy 's spokesmen said they could not confirm it .


The television also said that Netanyahu had sent messages to reassure Syria via Cairo , the United States and Moscow .

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Polish diplomat denies nurses stranded in Libya .


A Polish diplomat on Thursday denied a Polish tabloid report this week that Libya was refusing exit visas to 100 Polish nurses trying to return home after working in the North African country .

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Up to today , we have no knowledge of any nurse stranded or kept in Libya without her will , and we have not received any complaint , " the Polish embassy 's charge d'affaires in Tripoli , Tadeusz Awdankiewicz , told Reuters by telephone .

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Poland 's labour ministry said this week it would send a team to Libya to investigate , but Awdankiewicz said the probe was prompted by some nurses complaining about their work conditions such as non-payment of their salaries .

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He said that there are an estimated 800 Polish nurses working in Libya .


Two Iranian opposition leaders meet in Baghdad .


An Iranian exile group based in Iraq vowed on Thursday to extend support to Iran 's Kurdish rebels after they were attacked by Iranian troops deep inside Iraq last month .

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A Mujahideen Khalq statement said its leader Massoud Rajavi met in Baghdad the Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran ( KDPI ) Hassan Rastegar on Wednesday and voiced his support to Iran 's rebel Kurds .

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" Rajavi emphasised that the Iranian Resistance would continue to stand side by side with their Kurdish compatriots and the resistance movement in Iranian Kurdistan , " it said .

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A spokesman for the group said the meeting " signals a new level of cooperation between Mujahideen Khalq and the Iranian Kurdish oppositions " .

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Iran heavily bombarded targets in northern Iraq in July in pursuit of KDPI guerrillas based in Iraqi Kurdish areas outside the control of the government in Baghdad .

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Iraqi Kurdish areas bordering Iran are under the control of guerrillas of the Iraqi Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan ( PUK ) group .

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PUK and Iraq 's Kurdistan Democratic Party ( KDP ) the two main Iraqi Kurdish factions , have had northern Iraq under their control since Iraqi forces were ousted from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War .

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Clashes between the two parties broke out at the weekend in the most serious fighting since a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire last year .

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Mujahideen Khalq said Iranian troops had also been shelling KDP positions in Qasri region in Suleimaniya province near the Iranian border over the last two days .

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It said about 100 Iraqi Kurds were killed or wounded in the attack .


Both Iran and Turkey mount air and land strikes at targets in northern Iraq in pursuit of their own Kurdish rebels .

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A U.S.-led air force in southern Turkey protects Iraqi Kurds from possible attacks by Baghdad troops .

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Saudi riyal rates steady in quiet summer trade .


The spot Saudi riyal against the dollar and riyal interbank deposit rates were mainly steady this week in quiet summer trade , dealers in the kingdom said .

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" There were no changes in Saudi riyal rates .


The market was very quiet because of summer holidays , " one dealer said .


The spot riyal was put at 3.7504 / 06 to the dollar .


One-month interbank deposits were at 5-1/2 , 3/8 percent , three months were 5-5/8 , 1/2 percent and six months were 5-3/4 , 5/8 percent .

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One-year funds were at six , 5-7/8 percent .


Israel approves Arafat 's flight to West Bank .


Israel gave Palestinian President Yasser Arafat permission on Thursday to fly over its territory to the West Bank , ending a brief Israeli-PLO crisis , an Arafat adviser said .

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The president 's aircraft has received permission to pass through Israeli airspace but the president is not expected to travel to the West Bank before Monday , " Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters .

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Arafat had been scheduled to meet former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Thursday but the venue was changed to Gaza after Israel denied flight clearance to the Palestinian leader 's helicopters .

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Palestinian officials accused right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to stop the Ramallah meeting by keeping Arafat grounded .

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Arafat subsequently cancelled a meeting between Israeli and PLO officials , on civilian affairs , at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank .

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Abu Rdainah said Arafat had decided against flying to the West Bank on Thursday , after Israel lifted the ban , because he had a busy schedule in Gaza and would not be free until Monday .

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Arafat to meet Peres in Gaza after flight ban .


Yasser Arafat will meet Shimon Peres in Gaza on Thursday after Palestinians said the right-wing Israeli government had barred the Palestinian leader from flying to the West Bank for talks with the former prime minister .

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" The meeting between Peres and Arafat will take place at Erez checkpoint in Gaza and not in Ramallah as planned , " Peres ' office said .

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Palestinian officials said the Israeli government had barred Arafat from overflying Israel in a Palestinian helicopter to the West Bank in an attempt to bar the meeting with Peres .

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused opposition leader Peres , who he defeated in May elections , of trying to undermine his Likud government 's authority to conduct peace talks .

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Afghan UAE embassy says Taleban guards going home .


Three Afghan guards brought to the United Arab Emirates last week by Russian hostages who escaped from the Taleban militia will return to Afghanistan in a few days , the Afghan embassy in Abu Dhabi said on Thursday .

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" Our ambassador is in touch with the UAE foreign ministry .


Their return to Afghanistan will take place in two or three days , " an embassy official said .

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" The embassy is issuing them travel documents for their return to their homeland .


There is no objection to their travel , " he added .


The three Islamic Taleban guards were overpowered by seven Russian aircrew who escaped to UAE state Sharjah last Friday on board their own aircraft after a year in the captivity of Taleban militia in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan .

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The UAE said on Monday it would hand over the three to the International Red Crescent , possibly last Tuesday .

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When asked whether the three guards would travel back to Kandahar or the Afghan capital Kabul , the embassy official said : " That has not been decided , but possibly Kandahar . "

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Kandahar is the headquarters of the opposition Taleban militia .


Kabul is controlled by President Burhanuddin Rabbani 's government , which Taleban is fighting to overthrow .

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The embassy official said the three men , believed to be in their 20s , were currently in Abu Dhabi .

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The Russians , working for the Aerostan firm in the Russian republic of Tatarstan , were taken hostage after a Taleban MiG-19 fighter forced their cargo plane to land in August 1995 .

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Taleban said its shipment of ammunition from Albania was evidence of Russian military support for Rabbani 's government .

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Moscow said the crew 's nationality was coincidental .


Numerous diplomatic attempts to free the seven failed .


The Russians , who said they overpowered the guards -- two armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles -- while doing regular maintenance work on their Ilyushin 76 cargo plane last Friday , left the UAE capital Abu Dhabi for home on Sunday .

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Iraq 's Saddam meets Russia 's Zhirinovsky .


Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has told visiting Russian ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky that Baghdad wanted to maintain " friendship and cooperation " with Moscow , official Iraqi newspapers said on Thursday .

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" President Saddam Hussein stressed during the meeting Iraq 's keenness to maintain friendship and cooperation with Russia , " the papers said .

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They said Zhirinovsky told Saddam before he left Baghdad on Wednesday that his Liberal Democratic party and the Russian Duma ( parliament ) " are calling for an immediate lifting of the embargo " imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait .

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Zhirinovsky said on Tuesday he would press the Russian government to help end U.N. trade sanctions on Iraq and blamed Moscow for delaying establishment of good ties with Baghdad .

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" Our stand is firm , namely we are calling on ( the Russian ) government to end the economic embargo on Iraq and resume trade ties between Russia and Iraq , " he told reporters .

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Zhirinovsky visited Iraq twice in 1995 .


Last October he was invited to attend the referendum held on Iraq 's presidency , which extended Saddam 's term for seven more years .

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These are some of the leading stories in the official Iraqi press on Thursday .


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


- Iraq 's President Saddam Hussein meets with chairman of the Russian liberal democratic party Vladimir Zhirinovsky .

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- Turkish foreign minister says Turkey will take part in the Baghdad trade fair that will be held in November .

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- A shipload of 12 tonnes of rice arrives in Umm Qasr port in the Gulf .

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These are the leading stories in the Beirut press on Thursday .


- Confrontation is escalating between Hizbollah and the government .


- Prime Minister Hariri : Israeli threats do no serve peace .


- Parliament Speaker Berri : Israel is preparing for war against Syria and Lebanon .

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The three main lists have been prepared .


- Continued criticism of law violation incidents -- which occurred in the Mount Lebanon elections last Sunday .

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- Financial negotiations between Lebanon and Pakistan .


- Hariri to step into the election battle with an incomplete list .


- Maronite Patriarch Sfeir expressed sorrow over the violations in Sunday ' elections .


CME live and feeder cattle calls range mixed .


Early calls on CME live and feeder cattle futures ranged from 0.200 cent higher to 0.100 lower , livestock analysts said .

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The continued strong tone to cash cattle and beef markets should prompt further support .


Outlook for a bullish cattle-on-feed report is also expected to lend support and prompt some bull spreading , analysts said .

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However , trade will likely be light and prices could drift on evening up ahead of the report .


Cash markets are also expected to be quiet after the record amount of feedlot cattle traded this week , they said .

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Kindercare says debt buy to hit Q1 results .


KinderCare Learning Centers Inc said on Thursday that a debt buyback would mean an extraordinary loss of $ 1.2 million in its fiscal 1997 first quarter .

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The company said that during the quarter , which began June 1 , it bought $ 30 million par value of its outstanding 10-3/8 percent senior notes due 2001 .

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The notes were bought for $ 31.5 million .


Philip Maslowe , chief financial officer of the preschool and child care company , said the buyback " offered an opportunity to reduce the company 's weighted average interest costs and improve future cash flows and earnings . "

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-- Lehman analyst Blake Bath started Southern New England Telecommunciations Corp with an outperform rating , his office said .

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-- The analyst set a 12-month price target of $ 45 and a fiscal 1996 year earnings estimate of $ 3.09 per share , his office said .

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-- The analyst also set an earnings estimate for the 1997 year , but the figure was not immediately available .


-- Southern New England closed at 38-1/2 Wednesday .


-- E. Auchard , Wall Street bureau , 212-859-1736


( In Thousands , except per share data )


Greek socialists give PM green light for election .


The Greek socialist party 's executive bureau gave Prime Minister Costas Simitis its backing if he chooses to call snap elections , its general secretary Costas Skandalidis told reporters on Thursday .

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Prime Minister Costas Simitis will make an official announcement after a cabinet meeting later on Thursday , said Skandalidis .

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


PRESS DIGEST - France - Le Monde Aug 22 .


These are leading stories in Thursday 's afternoon daily Le Monde , dated Aug 23 .


-- Africans seeking to renew or obtain work and residence rights say Prime Minister Alain Juppe 's proposals are insufficient as hunger strike enters 49th day in Paris church and Wednesday rally attracts 8,000 sympathisers .

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-- FLNC Corsican nationalist movement announces end of truce after last night 's attacks .


-- Shutdown of Bally 's French factories points up shoe industry crisis , with French manufacturers undercut by low-wage country competition and failure to keep abreast of trends .

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-- Secretary general of the Sud-PTT trade union at France Telecom all the elements are in place for social unrest in the next few weeks .

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Well repairs to lift Heidrun oil output - Statoil .


Three plugged water injection wells on the Heidrun oilfield off mid-Norway will be reopened over the next month , operator Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap AS ( Statoil ) said on Thursday .

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The plugged wells have accounted for a dip of 30,000 barrels per day ( bpd ) in Heidrun output to roughly 220,000 bpd , according to the company 's Status Weekly newsletter .

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The wells will be reperforated and gravel will be pumped into the reservoir through one of the wells to avoid plugging problems in the future , it said .

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Finnish April trade surplus 3.8 billion markka - NCB .


Finland 's trade surplus rose to 3.83 billion markka in April from 3.43 billion in March , the National Customs Board ( NCB ) said in a statement on Thursday .

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The value of exports fell one percent year-on-year in April and the value of imports fell two percent , NCB said .

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April ' 96 March ' 96 Jan-April ' 96 Jan-April ' 95


The January-April 1995 import figure was revised from 39,584 million markka and the export figure from 55,627 million markka .


The Bank of Finland earlier estimated the April trade surplus at 3.2 billion markka with exports projected at 14.5 billion and imports at 11.3 billion .

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The NCB 's official monthly trade statistics are lagging behind due to changes in customs procedures when Finland joined the European Union at the start of 1995 .

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Dutch state raises tap sale price to 99.95 .


The Finance Ministry raised the price for tap sales of the Dutch government 's new 5.75 percent bond due September 2002 to 99.95 from 99.90 .

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Tap sales began on Monday and are being held daily from 07.00 GMT to 15.00 GMT until further notice .

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The ministry had raised 2.3 billion guilders from sales of the new bond by the close of trade on Wednesday .

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German farm ministry tells consumers to avoid British mutton .


Germany 's Agriculture Ministry suggested on Wednesday that consumers avoid eating meat from British sheep until scientists determine whether mad cow disease can be transmitted to the animals .

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" Until this is cleared up by the European Union 's scientific panels -- and we have asked this to be done as quickly as possible -- ( consumers ) should if at all possible give preference to sheepmeat from other countries , " ministry official Werner Zwingmann told ZDF television .

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" I do not want to say that there is a concrete danger for consumers , " he added . "


There are too many holes in what we know , and these must be filled very quickly . "


Bonn has led efforts to ensure consumer protection tops the list of priorities in dealing with the mad cow crisis , which erupted in March when Britain acknowledged humans could contract a similar illness by eating contaminated beef .

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The European Commission agreed this month to rethink a proposal to ban the use of suspect sheep tissue after some EU veterinary experts questioned whether it was justified .

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EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler had proposed banning sheep brains , spleens and spinal cords from the human and animal food chains after reports from Britain and France that under laboratory conditions sheep could contract Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE ) -- mad cow disease .

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But some members of the EU 's standing veterinary committee questioned whether the action was necessary given the slight risk to human health .

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The question is being studied separately by two EU scientific committees .


Sheep have long been known to contract scrapie , a similar brain-wasting disease to BSE which is believed to have been transferred to cattle through feed containing animal waste .

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British officials say sheep meat is perfectly safe to eat .


ZDF said Germany imported 47,600 sheep from Britain last year , nearly half of total imports .

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It brought in 4,275 tonnes of British mutton , some 10 percent of overall imports .


After the British government admitted a possible link between mad cow disease and its fatal human equivalent , the EU imposed a worldwide ban on British beef exports .

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EU leaders agreed at a summit in June to a progressive lifting of the ban as Britain takes parallel measures to eradicate the disease .

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million NEC World Series of Golf after the first round

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Thursday at the 7,149 yard , par 70 Firestone C.C course


66 Paul Goydos , Billy Mayfair , Hidemichi Tanaka ( Japan )

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70 Tim Herron , Duffy Waldorf , Davis Love , Anders Forsbrand

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( Sweden ) , Nick Faldo ( Britain ) , John Cook , Steve Jones , Phil

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71 Ernie Els ( South Africa ) , Scott Hoch

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72 Clarence Rose , Loren Roberts , Fred Funk , Sven Struver


( Germany ) , Alexander Cejka ( Germany ) , Hal Sutton , Tom Lehman

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73 D.A. Weibring , Brad Bryant , Craig Parry ( Australia ) ,

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Stewart Ginn ( Australia ) , Corey Pavin , Craig Stadler , Mark

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74 Paul Stankowski , Costantino Rocca ( Italy )


75 Jim Furyk , Satoshi Higashi ( Japan ) , Willie Wood , Shigeki

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77 Wayne Westner ( South Africa ) , Steve Schneiter


SOCCER - GLORIA BISTRITA BEAT 2-1 F.C. VALLETTA .


Gloria Bistrita ( Romania ) beat 2-1 ( halftime 1-1 ) F.C. Valletta ( Malta ) in their Cup winners Cup match , second leg of the preliminary round , on Thursday .

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Gloria Bistrita - Ilie Lazar ( 32nd ) , Eugen Voica ( 84th )

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F.C. La Valletta - Gilbert Agius ( 24th )


Gloria Bistrita won 4-2 on aggregate and qualified for the first round of the Cup winners Cup .

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HORSE RACING - PIVOTAL ENDS 25-YEAR WAIT FOR TRAINER PRESCOTT .


Sir Mark Prescott landed his first group one victory in 25 years as a trainer when his top sprinter Pivotal , a 100-30 chance , won the Nunthorpe Stakes on Thursday .

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The three-year-old , partnered by veteran George Duffield , snatched a short head verdict in the last stride to deny Eveningperformance ( 16-1 ) , trained by Henry Candy and ridden by Chris Rutter .

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Hever Golf Rose ( 11-4 ) , last year 's Prix de l ' Abbaye winner at Longchamp , finished third , a further one and a quarter lengths away with the 7-4 favourite Mind Games in fourth .

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Pivotal , a Royal Ascot winner in June , may now be aimed at this season 's Abbaye , Europe 's top sprint race .

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Prescott , reluctant to go into the winner 's enclosure until the result of the photo-finish was announced , said : " Twenty-five years and I have never been there so I thought I had better wait a bit longer . "

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He added : " It 's very sad to beat Henry Candy because I am godfather to his daughter . "

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Like Prescott , Jack Berry , trainer of Mind Games , had gone into Thursday 's race in search of a first group one success after many years around the top of his profession .

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Berry said : " I`m disappointed but I do n't feel suicidal .


He ( Mind Games ) was going as well as any of them one and a half furlongs ( 300 metres ) out but he just did n't quicken . "

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HORSE RACING - NUNTHORPE STAKES RESULTS .


Result of the Nunthorpe Stakes , a group one race for two-year-olds and upwards , run over five furlongs ( 1 km ) on Thursday :

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1. Pivotal 100-30 ( ridden by George Duffield )


2. Eveningperformance 16-1 ( Chris Rutter )


3. Hever Golf Rose 11-4 ( Jason Weaver )


Favourite : Mind Games ( 7-4 ) finished 4th


Distances : a short head , 1-1/4 lengths .


Winner owned by the Cheveley Park Stud and trained by Sir


Value to winner : 72,464 pounds sterling ( $ 112,200 )


$ 450,000 Toshiba Classic tennis tournament on Wednesday


1 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario ( Spain ) beat Naoko Kijimuta ( Japan )

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4 - Kimiko Date ( Japan ) beat Yone Kamio ( Japan ) 6-2 7-5

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Sandrine Testud ( France ) beat 7 - Ai Sugiyama ( Japan ) 6-3 4-6

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8 - Nathalie Tauziat ( France ) beat Shi-Ting Wang ( Taiwan ) 6-4

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Waldbaum Hamlet Cup tennis tournament on Wednesday ( prefix


1 - Michael Chang ( U.S. ) beat Sergi Bruguera ( Spain ) 6-3 6-2


Martin Damm ( Czech Republic ) beat 6 - Younes El Aynaoui

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Karol Kucera ( Slovakia ) beat Hicham Arazi ( Morocco ) 7-6 ( 7-4 )

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SOCCER - DALGLISH SAD OVER BLACKBURN PARTING .


Kenny Dalglish spoke on Thursday of his sadness at leaving Blackburn , the club he led to the English premier league title in 1994-95 .

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Blackburn announced on Wednesday they and Dalglish had parted by mutual consent .


But the ex-manager confessed on Thursday to being " sad " at leaving after taking Blackburn from the second division to the premier league title inside three and a half years .

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In a telephone call to a local newspaper from his holiday home in Spain , Dalglish said : " We came to the same opinion , albeit the club came to it a little bit earlier than me . "

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He added : " If no one asked , I never opened my mouth .


I have stayed out of the way and let them get on with the job .


The club thought it ( the job ) had run its course and I came to the same conclusion . "

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Dalglish had been with Blackburn for nearly five years , first as manager and then , for the past 15 months , as director of football .

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CRICKET - ENGLISH COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES .


English County Championship cricket matches on Thursday :


At Weston-super-Mare : Durham 326 ( D. Cox 95 not out ,


At Colchester : Gloucestershire 280 ( J. Russell 63 , A. Symonds

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At Cardiff : Kent 128-1 ( M. Walker 59 , D. Fulton 53 not out ) v

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At Leicester : Leicestershire 343-8 ( P. Simmons 108 , P. Nixon


At Northampton : Sussex 368-7 ( N. Lenham 145 , V. Drakes 59 not

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out , A. Wells 51 ) v Northamptonshire .


At Trent Bridge : Nottinghamshire 392-6 ( G. Archer 143 not

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At Worcester : Warwickshire 255-9 ( A. Giles 57 not out , W. Khan

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At Headingley : Yorkshire 305-5 ( C. White 66 not out , M. Moxon


CRICKET - ENGLAND V PAKISTAN FINAL TEST SCOREBOARD .


third and final test between England and Pakistan at The Oval on


N. Hussain c Saeed Anwar b Waqar Younis 12

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To bat : R. Croft , D. Cork , A. Mullally

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Bowling ( to date ) : Wasim Akram 25-8-61-1 , Waqar Younis


Pakistan : Aamir Sohail , Saeed Anwar , Ijaz Ahmed ,

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Inzamam-ul-Haq , Salim Malik , Asif Mujtaba , Wasim Akram , Moin

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Khan , Mushtaq Ahmed , Waqar Younis , Mohammad Akam

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SOCCER - FERGUSON BACK IN SCOTTISH SQUAD AFTER 20 MONTHS .


Everton 's Duncan Ferguson , who scored twice against Manchester United on Wednesday , was picked on Thursday for the Scottish squad after a 20-month exile .

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Glasgow Rangers striker Ally McCoist , another man in form after two hat-tricks in four days , was also named for the August 31 World Cup qualifier against Austria in Vienna .

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Ferguson , who served six weeks in jail in late 1995 for head-butting an opponent , won the last of his five Scotland caps in December 1994 .

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Scotland manager Craig Brown said on Thursday : " I 've watched Duncan Ferguson in action twice recently and he 's bang in form .

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Ally McCoist is also in great scoring form at the moment . "


Celtic 's Jackie McNamara , who did well with last season 's successful under-21 team , earns a call-up to the senior squad .

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CRICKET - ENGLAND 100-2 AT LUNCH ON FIRST DAY OF THIRD TEST .


England were 100 for two at lunch on the first day of the third and final test against Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday .

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SOCCER - KEANE SIGNS FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT WITH MANCHESTER UNITED .


Ireland midfielder Roy Keane has signed a new four-year contract with English league and F.A. Cup champions Manchester United .

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" Roy agreed a new deal before last night 's game against Everton and we are delighted , " said United manager Alex Ferguson on Thursday .

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tennis tournament on Wednesday ( prefix number denotes


Daniel Nestor ( Canada ) beat 1 - Thomas Muster ( Austria ) 6-3 7-5

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Mikael Tillstrom ( Sweden ) beat 2 - Goran Ivanisevic ( Croatia )

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3 - Wayne Ferreira ( South Africa ) beat Jiri Novak ( Czech

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4 - Marcelo Rios ( Chile ) beat Kenneth Carlsen ( Denmark ) 6-3 6-2

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6 - MaliVai Washington ( U.S. ) beat Alex Corretja ( Spain ) 6-4

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7 - Todd Martin ( U.S. ) beat Renzo Furlan ( Italy ) 7-6 ( 7-3 ) 6-3

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Mark Philippoussis ( Australia ) beat 8 - Marc Rosset


9 - Cedric Pioline ( France ) beat Gregory Carraz ( France ) 7-6


Patrick Rafter ( Australia ) beat 11 - Alberto Berasategui


Petr Korda ( Czech Republic ) beat 12 - Francisco Clavet ( Spain )

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Daniel Vacek ( Czech Republic ) beat 13 - Jason Stoltenberg

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Todd Woodbridge ( Australia beat Sebastien Lareau ( Canada ) 6-3

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Alex O'Brien ( U.S. ) beat Byron Black ( Zimbabwe ) 7-6 ( 7-2 ) 6-2

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Bohdan Ulihrach ( Czech Republic ) beat Andrea Gaudenzi ( Italy )

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Tim Henman ( Britain ) beat Chris Woodruff ( U.S. ) , walkover

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South African provincial side Boland said on Thursday they had signed Leicestershire fast bowler David Millns on a one year contract .

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Millns , who toured Australia with England A in 1992/93 , replaces former England all-rounder Phillip DeFreitas as Boland 's overseas professional .

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SOCCER - EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS ' CUP RESULTS .

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Cup qualifying round , second leg soccer matches on Thursday :


In Tirana : Flamurtari Vlore ( Albania ) 0 Chemlon Humenne

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Scorers : Lubarskij ( 50th minute ) , Valkucak ( 54th )


In Bistrita : Gloria Bistrita ( Romania ) 2 Valletta ( Malta ) 1

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Gloria Bistrita - Ilie Lazar ( 32nd ) , Eugen Voica ( 84th )

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In Chorzow : Ruch Chorzow ( Poland ) 5 Llansantffraid ( Wales ) 0

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Scorers : Arkadiusz Bak ( 1st and 55th ) , Arwel Jones ( 47th ,

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own goal ) , Miroslav Bak ( 62nd and 63rd )


In Larnaca : AEK Larnaca ( Cyprus ) 5 Kotaik Abovyan ( Armenia )

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Scorers : Zoran Kundic ( 28th ) , Klimis Alexandrou ( 41st ) ,

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Milenko Kovasevic ( 60th , penalty ) , Goran Koprinovic ( 82nd ) ,

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In Siauliai : Kareda Siauliai ( Lithuania ) 0 Sion


Nyva Vinnytsya ( Ukraine ) 1 Tallinna Sadam ( Estonia ) 0 ( 0-0 )

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In Bergen : Brann ( Norway ) 2 Shelbourne ( Ireland ) 1 ( 1-1 )

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Brann - Mons Ivar Mjelde ( 10th ) , Jan Ove Pedersen ( 72nd )

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In Sofia : Levski Sofia ( Bulgaria ) 1 Olimpija ( Slovenia ) 0


In Vaduz : Vaduz ( Liechtenstein ) 1 RAF Riga ( Latvia ) 1 ( 0-0 )

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In Luxembourg : US Luxembourg ( Luxembourg ) 0 Varteks Varazdin


Scorers : Drazen Beser ( 63rd ) , Miljenko Mumler ( penalty ,

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In Torshavn : Havnar Boltfelag ( Faroe Islands ) 0 Dynamo

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In Prague : Sparta Prague ( Czech Republic ) 8 Glentoran


Scorers : Petr Gunda ( 1st and 26th ) , Lumir Mistr ( 19th ) ,

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Horst Siegl ( 24th , 48th , 80th ) , Zdenek Svoboda ( 76th ) , Petr

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In Edinburgh : Hearts ( Scotland ) 1 Red Star Belgrade

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In Rishon-Lezion : Hapoel Ironi ( Israel ) 3 Constructorul


In Anjalonkoski : MyPa-47 ( Finland ) 1 Karabach Agdam

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In Skopje : Sloga Jugomagnat ( Macedonia ) 0 Kispest Honved

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Add Hapoel Ironi v Constructorul Chisinau


Rishon - Moshe Sabag ( 10th minute ) , Nissan Kapeta ( 26th ) ,

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Constructorol - Sergei Rogachev ( 42nd ) , Gennadi Skidan


SOCCER - GOTHENBURG PUT FERENCVAROS OUT OF EURO CUP .


IFK Gothenburg of Sweden drew 1-1 ( 1-0 ) with Ferencvaros of Hungary in the second leg of their European Champions Cup preliminary round tie played on Wednesday .

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Gothenburg go through 4-1 on aggregate .


SOCCER - BRAZILIAN CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS .


matches in the Brazilian soccer championship .


TENNIS - NEWCOMBE PONDERS HIS DAVIS CUP FUTURE .


Australian Davis Cup captain John Newcombe on Thursday signalled his possible resignation if his team loses an away tie against Croatia next month .

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The former Wimbledon champion said the immediate future of Australia 's Davis Cup coach Tony Roche could also be determined by events in Split .

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" If we lose this one , Tony and I will have to have a good look at giving someone else a go , " Newcombe was quoted as saying in Sydney 's Daily Telegraph newspaper .

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Australia face Croatia in the world group qualifying tie on clay from September 20-22 .


Under Newcombe 's leadership , Australia were relegated from the elite world group last year , the first time the 26-time Davis Cup winners had slipped from the top rank .

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Since taking over as captain from Neale Fraser in 1994 , Newcombe 's record in tandem with Roche , his former doubles partner , has been three wins and three losses .

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Newcombe has selected Wimbledon semifinalist Jason Stoltenberg , Patrick Rafter , Mark Philippoussis , and Olympic doubles champions Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde to face the Croatians .

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The home side boasts world number six Goran Ivanisevic , and Newcombe conceded his players would be hard-pressed to beat the Croatian number one .

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" We are ready to fight to our last breath -- Australia must play at its absolute best to win , " said Newcombe , who described the tie as the toughest he has faced as captain .

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Australia last won the Davis Cup in 1986 , but they were beaten finalists against Germany three years ago under Fraser 's guidance .

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Open badminton tournament on Thursday ( prefix number denotes


9/16 - Luo Yigang ( China ) beat Hwang Sun-ho ( South Korea ) 15-3

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Jason Wong ( Malaysia ) beat Abdul Samad Ismail ( Malaysia ) 16-18

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P. Kantharoopan ( Malaysia ) beat 3/4 - Jeroen Van Dijk

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Wijaya Indra ( Indonesia ) beat 5/8 - Pang Chen ( Malaysia ) 15-6

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3/4 - Hu Zhilan ( China ) beat Nunung Subandoro ( Indonesia ) 5-15

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9/16 - Hermawan Susanto ( Indonesia ) beat 1 - Fung Permadi ( Taiwan )

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1 - Wang Chen ( China ) beat Cindana ( Indonesia ) 11-3 1ama ( Japan ) beat Margit Borg ( Sweden ) 11-6 11-6

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Sun Jian ( China ) beat Marina Andrievskaqya ( Sweden ) 11-8 11-2

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5/8 - Meluawati ( Indonesia ) beat Chan Chia Fong ( Malaysia ) 11-6

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Gong Zhichao ( China ) beat Liu Lufung ( China ) 6-11 11-7 11-3

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Zeng Yaqiong ( China ) beat Li Feng ( New Zealand ) 11-9 11-6

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5/8 - Christine Magnusson ( Sweden ) beat Ishwari Boopathy


2 - Zhang Ning ( China ) beat Olivia ( Indonesia ) 11-8 11-6

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TENNIS - REVISED MEN 'S DRAW FOR U.S. OPEN .


U.S. Open tennis championships beginning Monday at the U.S .


National Tennis Centre ( prefix denotes seeding ) :


1 - Pete Sampras ( U.S. ) vs. Adrian Voinea ( Romania )

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Jiri Novak ( Czech Republic ) vs. qualifier


Magnus Larsson ( Sweden ) vs. Alexander Volkov ( Russia )

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Mikael Tillstrom ( Sweden ) vs qualifier


Qualifier vs. Andrei Olhovskiy ( Russia )


Mark Woodforde ( Australia ) vs. Mark Philippoussis ( Australia )


Roberto Carretero ( Spain ) vs. Jordi Burillo ( Spain )


Francisco Clavet ( Spain ) vs. 16 - Cedric Pioline ( France )

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9 - Wayne Ferreira ( South Africa ) vs. qualifier


Karol Kucera ( Slovakia ) vs. Jonas Bjorkman ( Sweden )


Alex Corretja ( Spain ) vs. Byron Black ( Zimbabwe )


David Rikl ( Czech Republic ) vs. Hicham Arazi ( Morocco )

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Sjeng Schalken ( Netherlands ) vs. Gilbert Schaller ( Austria )


Grant Stafford ( South Africa ) vs. Guy Forget ( France )


Fernando Meligeni ( Brazil ) vs. 7 - Yevgeny Kafelnikov ( Russia )


4 - Goran Ivanisevic ( Croatia ) vs. Andrei Chesnokov ( Russia )


Scott Draper ( Australia ) vs. Galo Blanco ( Spain )


Renzo Furlan ( Italy ) vs. Thomas Johansson ( Sweden )


Hendrik Dreekman ( Germany ) vs. Greg Rusedski ( Britain )


Andrei Medvedev ( Ukraine ) vs. Jean-Philippe Fleurian ( France )


Jan Kroslak ( Slovakia ) vs. Chris Woodruff ( U.S. )


Qualifier vs. Petr Korda ( Czech Republic )


Bohdan Ulihrach ( Czech Republic ) vs. 14 - Alberto Costa

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12 - Todd Martin ( U.S. ) vs. Younnes El Aynaoui ( Morocco )

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Andrea Gaudenzi ( Italy ) vs. Shuzo Matsuoka ( Japan )


Mats Wilander ( Sweden ) vs. Tim Henman ( Britain )


Paul Haarhuis ( Netherlands ) vs. Michael Joyce ( U.S. )


Michael Tebbutt ( Australia ) vs. Richey Reneberg ( U.S. )


Jonathan Stark ( U.S. ) vs. Bernd Karbacher ( Germany )


Stefan Edberg ( Sweden ) vs. 5 - Richard Krajicek ( Netherlands )


6 - Andre Agassi ( U.S. ) vs. Mauricio Hadad ( Colombia )


Marcos Ondruska ( South Africa ) vs. Felix Mantilla ( Spain )


Carlos Moya ( Spain ) vs. Scott Humphries ( U.S. )


Jan Siemerink ( Netherlands ) vs. Carl-Uwe Steeb ( Germany )


David Wheaton ( U.S. ) vs. Kevin Kim ( U.S. )


Nicolas Lapentti ( Ecuador ) vs. Alex O'Brien ( U.S. )


Karim Alami ( Morocco ) vs. 11 - MaliVai Washington ( U.S. )


13 - Thomas Enqvist ( Sweden ) vs. Stephane Simian ( France )


Guillaume Raoux ( France ) vs. Filip Dewulf ( Belgium )


Mark Knowles ( Bahamas ) vs. Marcelo Filippini ( Uruguay )


Todd Woodbridge ( Australia ) vs. qualifier


Kris Goossens ( Belgium ) vs. Sergi Bruguera ( Spain )


Javier Frana ( Argentina ) vs. 3 - Thomas Muster ( Austria )


8 - Jim Courier ( U.S. ) vs. Javier Sanchez ( Spain )


Jim Grabb ( U.S. ) vs. Sandon Stolle ( Australia )


Patrick Rafter ( Australia ) vs. Kenneth Carlsen ( Denmark )


Jason Stoltenberg ( Australia ) vs. Stefano Pescosolido ( Italy )


Arnaud Boetsch ( France ) vs. Nicolas Pereira ( Venezuela )


Carlos Costa ( Spain ) vs. Magnus Gustafsson ( Sweden )


Jeff Tarango ( U.S. ) vs. Alex Radulescu ( Germany )


Qualifier vs. 10 - Marcelo Rios ( Chile )


15 - Marc Rosset ( Switzerland vs. Jared Palmer ( U.S. )

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Martin Damm ( Czech Republic ) vs. Hernan Gumy ( Argentina )


Nicklas Kulti ( Sweden ) vs. Jakob Hlasek ( Switzerland )


Cecil Mamiit ( U.S. ) vs. Alberto Berasategui ( Spain )


Vince Spadea ( U.S. ) vs. Daniel Vacek ( Czech Republic )

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David Prinosil ( Germany ) vs. qualifier


Qualifier vs. 2 - Michael Chang ( U.S. )


BASEBALL - ORIOLES ' MANAGER DAVEY JOHNSON HOSPITALIZED .


Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson will miss Thursday night 's game against the Seattle Mariners after being admitted to a hospital with an irregular heartbeat .

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The 53-year-old Johnson was hospitalized after experiencing dizziness .


" He is in no danger and will be treated and observed this evening , " said Orioles team physician Dr. William Goldiner , adding that Johnson is expected to be released on Friday .

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Orioles ' bench coach Andy Etchebarren will manage the club in Johnson 's absence .

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Johnson is the second manager to be hospitalized this week after California Angels skipper John McNamara was admitted to New York 's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday with a blood clot in his left calf .

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Johnson , who played eight seasons in Baltimore , was named Orioles manager in the off-season replacing Phil Regan .

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He led the Cincinnati Reds to the National League Championship Series last year and guided the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 .

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Baltimore has won 16 of its last 22 games to pull within five games of the slumping New York Yankees in the American League East Division .

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BASEBALL - MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER WEDNESDAY 'S GAMES .


standings after games played on Wednesday ( tabulate under won ,


lost , winning percentage and games behind ) :


BASEBALL - MAJOR LEAGUE RESULTS WEDNESDAY .


Baseball games played on Wednesday ( home team in CAPS ) :


BASEBALL - GREER HOMER IN 10TH LIFTS TEXAS PAST INDIANS .


Rusty Greer 's two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning rallied the Texas Rangers to a 10-8 victory over the Cleveland Indians Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series between division leaders .

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With one out , Greer hit a 1-1 pitch from Julian Tavarez ( 4-7 ) over the right-field fence for his 15th home run .

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" It was an off-speed pitch and I just tried to get a good swing on it and put it in play , " Greer said . "

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The crowd was behind him and it was intense . "


The shot brought home Ivan Rodriguez , who had his second double of the game , giving him 42 this season , 41 as a catcher .

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He joined Mickey Cochrane , Johnny Bench and Terry Kennedy as the only catchers with 40 doubles in a season .

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The Rangers have won 10 of their last 12 games and six of nine meetings against the Indians this season .

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The American League Western leaders have won eight of 15 games at Jacobs Field , joining the Yankees as the only teams with a winning record at the A.L. Central leaders ' home .

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Cleveland lost for just the second time in six games .


The Indians sent the game into extra innings in the ninth on Kenny Lofton 's two-run single .

O B-ORG O O O O O O O O O O B-PER I-PER O O O O


Ed Vosberg ( 1-0 ) blew his first save opportunity but got the win , allowing three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 1 2/3 scoreless innings .

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Dean Palmer hit his 30th homer for the Rangers .


In Baltimore , Cal Ripken had four hits and snapped a fifth-inning tie with a solo homer and Bobby Bonilla added a three-run shot in the seventh to power the surging Orioles to a 10-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners .

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The Mariners scored four runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game 5-5 but Ripken led off the bottom of the inning with his 21st homer off starter Sterling Hitchcock ( 12-6 ) .

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Bonilla 's blast was the first time Randy Johnson , last season 's Cy Young winner , allowed a run in five relief appearances since coming off the disabled list on August 6 .

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Bonilla has 21 RBI and 15 runs in his last 20 games .


Baltimore has won seven of nine and 16 of its last 22 and cut the Yankees ' lead in the A.L. East to five games .

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Scott Erickson ( 8-10 ) laboured to his third straight win .


Alex Rodriguez had two homers and four RBI for the Mariners , who have dropped three in a row and 11 of 15 .

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He became the fifth shortstop in major-league history to hit 30 homers in a season and the first since Ripken hit 34 in 1991 .

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Chris Hoiles hit his 22nd homer for Baltimore .


In New York , Jason Dickson scattered 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings in his major-league debut and Chili Davis belted a homer from each side of the plate as the California Angels defeated the Yankees 7-1 .

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Dickson allowed a homer to Derek Jeter on his first major-league pitch but settled down .

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He was the 27th pitcher used by the Angels this season , tying a major-league record .


Jimmy Key ( 9-10 ) took the loss as the Yankees lost their ninth in 14 games .

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California played without interim manager John McNamara , who was admitted to a New York hospital with a blood clot in his right calf .

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In Boston , Mike Stanley 's bases-loaded two-run single snapped an eighth-inning tie and gave the Red Sox their third straight win , 6-4 over the Oakland Athletics .

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Stanley owns a .367 career batting average with the bases loaded ( 33-for-90 ) .


Boston 's Mo Vaughn went 3-for-3 with a walk , stole home for one of his three runs scored and collected his 116th RBI .

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Scott Brosius homered and drove in two runs for the Athletics , who have lost seven of their last nine games .

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In Detroit , Brad Ausmus 's three-run homer capped a four-run eighth and lifted the Tigers to a 7-4 victory over the reeling Chicago White Sox .

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The Tigers have won consecutive games after dropping eight in a row , but have won nine of their last 12 at home .

O B-ORG O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


The White Sox have lost six of their last eight games .


In Kansas City , Juan Guzman tossed a complete-game six-hitter to win for the first time in over a month and lower his league-best ERA as the Toronto Blue Jays won their fourth straight , 6-2 over the Royals .

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Guzman ( 10-8 ) won for the first time since July 16 , a span of six starts .

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He allowed two runs -- one earned -- and lowered his ERA to 2.99 .


At Minnesota , John Jaha 's three-run homer , his 26th , capped a five-run eighth inning that rallied the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-7 victory over the Twins .

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Jaha added an RBI single in the ninth and had four RBI .


Jose Valentin hit his 21st homer for Milwaukee .


SOCCER - COCU DOUBLE EARNS PSV 4-1 WIN .


Philip Cocu scored twice in the second half to spur PSV Eindhoven to a 4-1 away win over NEC Nijmegen in the Dutch first division on Thursday .

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He scored from close range in the 54th minute and from a bicycle kick 13 minutes later .


Arthur Numan and Luc Nilis , Dutch top scorer last season , were PSV 's other marksmen .

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Ajax Amsterdam opened their title defence with a 1-0 win over NAC Breda on Wednesday .

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NEC Nijmegen 1 ( Van Eykeren 15th ) PSV Eindhoven 4 ( Numan 11th ,

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SOCCER - SHARPSHOOTER KNUP BACK IN SWISS SQUAD .


Galatasaray striker Adrian Knup , scorer of 26 goals in 45 internationals , has been recalled by Switzerland for the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan in Baku on August 31 .

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Knup was overlooked by Artur Jorge for the European championship finals earlier this year .

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But new coach Rolf Fringer is clearly a Knup fan and included him in his 19-man squad on Thursday .

O O O B-PER I-PER O O O B-PER O O O O O O O O O O O


Switzerland failed to progress beyond the opening group phase in Euro 96 .


Goalkeepers - Marco Pascolo ( Cagliari ) , Pascal Zuberbuehler ( Grasshoppers ) .

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Defenders - Stephane Henchoz ( Hamburg ) , Marc Hottiger ( Everton ) , Yvan Quentin ( Sion ) , Ramon Vega ( Cagliari ) Raphael Wicky ( Sion ) .

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Midfielders - Alexandre Comisetti ( Grasshoppers ) , Antonio Esposito ( Grasshoppers ) , Sebastien Fournier ( Stuttgart ) , Christophe Ohrel ( Lausanne ) , Patrick Sylvestre ( Sion ) , David Sesa ( Servette ) , Ciriaco Sforza ( Inter Milan ) Murat Yakin ( Grasshoppers ) .

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Strikers - Kubilay Turkyilmaz ( Grasshoppers ) , Adrian Knup ( Galatasaray ) , Christophe Bonvin ( Sion ) , Stephane Chapuisat ( Borussia Dortmund ) .

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ATHLETICS - IT 'S A RECORD - 40,000 BEERS ON THE HOUSE .


Spectators at Friday 's Brussels grand prix meeting have an extra incentive to cheer on the athletes to world record performances -- a free glass of beer .

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A Belgian brewery has offered to pay for a free round of drinks for all of the 40,000 crowd if a world record goes at the meeting , organisers said on Thursday .

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It could be one of the most expensive rounds of drinks ever .


Two world records are in serious danger of being broken at the meeting -- the women 's 1,000 metres and the men 's 3,000 metres .

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scores in the German Open golf championship on Thursday ( Britain


64 David J. Russell , Michael Campbell ( New Zealand ) , Ian

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Woosnam , Bernhard Langer ( Germany ) , Ronan Rafferty , Mats

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Lanner ( Sweden ) , Wayne Riley ( Australia )


65 Eamonn Darcy ( Ireland ) , Per Nyman ( Sweden ) , Russell Claydon ,

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Mark Roe , Retief Goosen ( South Africa ) , Carl Suneson

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66 Stephen Field , Paul Lawrie , Ian Pyman , Max Anglert

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( Sweden ) , Miles Tunnicliff , Christian Cevaer ( France ) ,

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Des Smyth ( Ireland ) , David Carter , Lee Westwood , Greg

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Chalmers ( Australia ) , Miguel Angel Martin ( Spain ) ,

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Thomas Bjorn ( Denmark ) , Fernando Roca ( Spain ) , Derrick

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67 Jeff Hawksworth , Padraig Harrington ( Ireland ) , Michael

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Welch , Thomas Gogele ( Germany ) , Paul McGinley ( Ireland ) ,

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Gary Orr , Jose-Maria Canizares ( Spain ) , Michael Jonzon

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( Sweden ) , Paul Eales , David Williams , Andrew Coltart ,

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Jonathan Lomas , Jose Rivero ( Spain ) , Robert Karlsson


( Sweden ) , Marcus Wills , Pedro Linhart ( Spain ) , Jamie

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Spence , Terry Price ( Australia ) , Juan Carlos Pinero ( Spain ) ,

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SOCCER - UEFA REWARDS THREE COUNTRIES FOR FAIR PLAY .


Norway , England and Sweden were rewarded for their fair play on Thursday with an additional place in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup competition .

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Norway headed the UEFA Fair Play rankings for 1995-96 with 8.62 points , ahead of England with 8.61 and Sweden 8.57 .

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The rankings are based on a formula that takes into account many factors including red and yellow cards , and coaching and spectators ' behaviour at matches played at an international level by clubs and national teams .

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Only the top three countries are allocated additional places .


CRICKET - POLICE COMMANDOS ON HAND FOR AUSTRALIANS ' FIRST MATCH .


Armed police commandos patrolled the ground when Australia opened their short tour of Sri Lanka with a five-run win over the country 's youth team on Thursday .

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Australia , in Sri Lanka for a limited overs tournament which also includes India and Zimbabwe , have been promised the presence of commandos , sniffer dogs and plainclothes policemen to ensure the tournament is trouble-free .

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They are making their first visit to the island since boycotting a World Cup fixture in February because of fears over ethnic violence .

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Australia , batting first in Thursday 's the warm-up match , scored 251 for seven from their 50 overs .

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Ricky Ponting led the way with 100 off 119 balls with two sixes and nine fours before retiring .

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The youth side replied with 246 for seven .


Australian coach Geoff Marsh said he was impressed with the competitiveness of the opposition .

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" We were made to sweat to win , " he said .


ONE ROMANIAN DIES IN BUS CRASH IN BULGARIA .


One Romanian passenger was killed , and 14 others were injured on Thursday when a Romanian-registered bus collided with a Bulgarian one in northern Bulgaria , police said .

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The two buses collided head on at 5 o'clock this morning on the road between the towns of Rousse and Veliko Tarnovo , police said .

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A Romanian woman Maria Marco , 35 , was killed .


The accident was being investigated , police added .


OFFICIAL JOURNAL CONTENTS - OJ L 211 OF AUGUST 21 , 1996 .


( Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal )


Corrigendum to Commission Regulation ( EC ) No 1464/96 of 25 July 1996 relating to a standing invitation to tender to determine levies and / or refunds on exports of white sugar ( OJ No L 187 of 26.7.1996 )

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Corrigendum to Commission Regulation ( EC ) No 658/96 of 9 April 1996 on certain conditions for granting compensatory payments under the support system for producers of certain arable crops ( OJ No L 91 of 12.4.1996 )

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Commission Regulation ( EC ) No 1663/96 of 20 August 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables END OF DOCUMENT .

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In Home Health to appeal payment denial .


In Home Health Inc said on Thursday it will appeal to the U.S. Federal District Court in Minneapolis a decision by the Health Care Financing Administration ( HCFA ) that denied reimbursement of certain costs under Medicaid .

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The HCFA Administrator reversed a previously favorable decision regarding the reimbursement of costs related to the company 's community liaison personnel , it added .

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The company said it continues to believe the majority of the community liaison costs are coverable under the terms of the Medicare program .

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" We are disappointed with the administrator 's decision but we continue to be optimistic regarding an ultimate favorable resolution , " Mark Gildea , chief executive officer , said in a statement .

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In Home Health said it previously recorded a reserve equal to 16 percent of all revenue related to the community liaison costs .

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Separately , In Home Health said the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis ruled in its favor regarding the reimbursement of certain interest expenses .

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This decision will result in the reimbursement by Medicare of $ 81,000 in disputed costs .


" This is our first decision in federal distrct court regarding a dispute with Medicare , " Gildea said . "

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We are extremely pleased with this decision and we recognize it as a significant step toward resolution of our outstanding Medicare disputes . "

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Oppenheimer Capital to review Oct. div .


Oppenheimer Capital LP said on Thursday it will review its cash distribution rate for the October quarterly distribution , assuming continued favorable results .

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The company , which reported improved first quarter earnings for the period ended July 31 , 1996 , declared a quarterly distribution of $ 0.65 per partnership unit for the quarter ended July .

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Best Products Co Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Levy said Thursday he expected the company 's second-quarter results to be similar to the $ 34.6 million loss posted in the first quarter .

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He also told Reuters before the retailer 's annual meeting that the second quarter could be better than the first quarter ended May 4 . "

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The second-quarter results are expected to be released in September .


Levy said seeking bankruptcy protection was not under consideration .


Best emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 1994 after 3-1/2 years .

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" Bankruptcy is always possible , particularly when you lose what we are going to lose in the first half of this year , " Levy said . "

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But this is not something we are striving to do . "


The Richmond-based retailer lost $ 95.7 million in the fiscal year ended February 3 .


That was the second-largest loss in the company 's history .


Levy said that Best planned to open two new stores this fall .


The company announced in March that it was closing seven stores and backing out of nine new lease agreements .


At the time , Best said it did not plan to open any new stores this fall .


It currently operates 169 stores in 23 states .


For last year 's second quarter , which ended July 29 , 1995 , Best posted a loss of $ 7.1 million , or $ 0.23 per share , on sales of $ 311.9 million .

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Measles exposure can lead to bowel disease - study .


Women who get measles while pregnant may have babies at higher risk of Crohn 's disease , a debilitating bowel disorder , researchers said on Friday .

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Three out of four Swedish babies born to mothers who caught measles developed serious cases of Crohn 's disease , the researchers said .

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Dr Andrew Wakefield of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine and colleagues screened 25,000 babies delivered at University Hospital , Uppsala , between 1940 and 1949 .

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Four of the mothers had measles while pregnant .


" Three of the four children had Crohn 's disease , " Wakefield 's group wrote in the Lancet medical journal .

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Crohn 's is an inflammation of the bowel that can sometimes require surgery .


It causes diarrhoea , abdominal pain and weight loss .


The researchers said the three children involved had especially severe cases .


Exposure to viruses can often cause birth defects .


Most notably , women who get rubella ( German measles ) have a high risk of a stillborn baby .

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All the key numbers - CBI August industrial trends .


Following are key data from the August monthly survey of trends in UK manufacturing by the Confederation of British Industry ( CBI ) .

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CBI MONTHLY TRENDS ENQUIRY ( a ) AUG JULY JUNE MAY


- ( a ) in percent , giving balance between those


replying " above normal " and those replying " below normal . "


The survey was conducted between July 23 and August 14 and involved 1,305 companies , representing 50 industries , accounting for around half of the UK 's manufactured exports and some two million employees .

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- Secondhand tonnage brokers reported the sale of the following vessels .


Iron Gippsland - ( built 1989 ) 87,241 dwt sold to Greek buyers for $ 30 million .

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Sairyu Maru No : 2 - ( built 1982 ) 60,960 dwt sold to Greek buyers for $ 15.5 million .

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Stainless Fighter - ( built 1970 ) 21,718 dwt sold at auction for $ 6 million .

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Some of these sales may not be final as they may be subject to inspection , survey or other conditions .

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Garlic pills do n't lower cholesterol , study finds .


Garlic pills may not lower blood cholesterol and studies that show they do may be flawed , British researchers have reported .

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A study by a team of doctors at Oxford University has found people with high blood cholesterol do not benefit significantly from taking garlic tablets .

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The study involved 115 people with high blood cholesterol levels .


They were given 900 milligrams a day of dried garlic powder or placebo tablets . "


There were no significant differences between the groups receiving garlic and placebo , " they wrote in the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians .

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Those taking part were told to eat a low-fat diet for six weeks before they started taking the pills , and their blood cholesterol measured before and after the six-week period .

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The researchers said this would make their findings more accurate .


Several studies have found garlic pills can lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol .


But the Oxford team disputed these findings and said either previous trials may have been interpreted incorrectly , those taking part were not given special diets beforehand or the duration of the studies may have been too short .

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The six-month trial was funded by the British Heart Foundation and Lichtwer Pharma GmbH , which makes Kwai brand garlic tablets .

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The study did not address whether whole garlic could affect cholesterol .


Britain gives aid to volcano-hit Caribbean island .


Britain said on Thursday it would give 25 million pounds ( $ 39 million ) of development aid to the Caribbean island of Montserrat , where much of the population living in the south has fled to avoid a volcano .

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The volcano in the Soufriere hills has erupted three times in the past 13 months and last April some 4,500 people living in the capital , Plymouth , and southern areas were evacuated to the north , where many are living in public shelters and schools .

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" This assistance will provide a fast track development programme for the designated ( northern ) safe area , " Britain 's Overseas Development Administration said in a statement .

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Britain gave 8.5 million pounds ( $ 13 million ) to Montserrat , which is one of its dependent territories , when the volcano first became active .

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Overseas Development Minister Lynda Chalker said a recent census had shown most Montserratians wanted to remain on the island . "

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The development of the north will help them to do just that , " she said .


Tennis - Philippoussis looms for Sampras in U.S. Open .


World number one Pete Sampras , seeking his first Grand Slam title of the year , and women 's top seed Steffi Graf , aiming for her third , should be able to ease into the year 's final major , which begins on Monday .

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Sampras opens the defence of his U.S. Open crown against David Rikl of the Czech Republic , while top-ranked Graf begins her title defence against Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia .

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Wednesday 's U.S. Open draw ceremony revealed that both title holders should run into their first serious opposition in the third round .

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Looming in Sampras 's future is a likely third-round date with recent nemesis Mark Philippoussis , the rising Australian who took out Sampras in the third round of the Australian Open in January .

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Sampras avenged that defeat with a straight sets win over the 19-year-old power hitter in the second round at Wimbledon and their rubber match in New York could provide some first-week fireworks .

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While only a stunning upset will keep Graf from sailing through to a predictable semifinal showdown with third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario , the German star could also be tested in the third round where she will probably face 28th-ranked veteran Natasha Zvereva of Belarus .

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There will be no repeat of last year 's men 's final with eighth-ranked Andre Agassi landing in Sampras 's half of the draw .

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Bumping Agassi up to the sixth seeding avoided the possibility that he would run into Sampras as early as the quarter-finals , but they could lock horns in the semis .

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Olympic champion Agassi meets Karim Alami of Morocco in the first round .

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Surprise second seed Michael Chang , ranked third in the world , opens against Czech Daniel Vacek , while women 's second seed Monica Seles drew American Anne Miller as her first victim .

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Second-ranked Austrian Thomas Muster , who was seeded third , did not have the luck of the draw with him .

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In the first round Muster faces American Richey Reneberg , who has been playing some of the best tennis of his career of late .

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If he survives , Muster is seeded to run into either fifth-seeded Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands or 12th-seeded American Todd Martin in the quarter-finals in Chang 's half of the draw .

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Perhaps the best , yet most unfortunate , first-round matchup of the men 's competition pits eighth seed Jim Courier against retiring star Stefan Edberg .

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The popular Swede is playing his final major tournament next week and the two-time champion 's Grand Slam farewell could well be a one-match affair .

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With the exception of a Philippoussis showdown , Sampras looks to have landed in a comfortable quarter of the draw with the likes of Frenchman Cedric Pioline and ailing French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov , who is nursing a rib injury , in his path .

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Seles , runner-up to Graf last year , is seeded to run into fifth-ranked German Anke Huber in the quarter-finals with fourth seed Conchita Martinez or eighth-seeded Olympic champion Lindsay Davenport looking like her most likely semifinal opponents .

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But Huber will be tested immediately with a first-round encounter against dangerous 18th-ranked South African Amanda Coetzer .

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Sanchez Vicario , runner-up to Graf at the French Open and Wimbledon , begins play against a qualifier in a quarter of the draw that includes young talent Martina Hingis , the 16th seed , before a probable quarter-final clash with seventh-seeded veteran Jana Novotna .

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Martinez begins play against Ruxandra Dragomir of Romania .


RTRS - Tennis - Muster upset , Philippoussis wins , Stoltenberg loses .

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Top-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria was beaten 6-3 7-5 by 123rd-ranked Daniel Nestor of Canada on Wednesday in his first match of the $ 2 million Canadian Open .

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A lefthander with a strong serve , Nestor kept the rallies short by constantly attacking the net and the tactic worked in the second-round match against Muster , playing his first match after receiving a first-round bye along with the other top eight seeds .

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The tournament also lost its second seed on the third day of play when second-seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia was beaten 6-7(3-7 ) 6-4 6-4 by unseeded Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden .

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Other seeded players advancing were number three Wayne Ferreira of South Africa , number four Marcelo Rios of Chile , number six MaliVai Washington of the United States and American Todd Martin , the seventh seeed .

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Eighth seed Marc Rosset of Switzerland was eliminated in a one hour , 55 minute battle by unseeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia .

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Philippoussis saved a match point at 5-6 in the third-set tie break before winning 6-3 3-6 7-6 ( 8-6 ) .

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Philippoussis 's compatriot , 13th seed Jason Stoltenberg , was not as fortunate .


He held one match point at 9-8 in a marathon third-set tie break but was beaten 5-7 7-6 ( 7-1 ) 7-6 ( 13-11 ) by unseeded Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic .

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" I knew I had to serve well and keep the points short and that 's what I was able to do , " said Nestor , who ranks 10th in doubles .

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There were only two service breaks in the match .


The lanky Canadian broke Muster at 4-3 in the first set and 5-5 in the second before ending the match on his third match point when the Austrian hit a service return long .

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" I probably did n't hit five ground strokes in the whole match , " said Muster , only partly joking . "

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The way he was chipping and charging and serving and volleying I did n't really get my timing playing from the baseline . "

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" He played a good match , took a few chances , and every time he was down he was able to come up with a big first serve . "

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Playing at night was not Muster 's preference . "


I asked for a day match and they gave me a night match , " he said . "


I do n't like playing under the lights but maybe it would not have made any difference . "


Ivanisevic rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the first set but then played erratically against the 44th-ranked Tillstrom , who was a surprise winner over his famous compatriot Stefan Edberg in the second round at Wimbledon .

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Ivanisevic hit 32 aces but was outplayed from the back court by the 24-year-old Tillstrom .


The sixth-ranked Ivanisevic , who lost in the final at Indianapolis to world number one Pete Sampras of the U.S. last Sunday , made a quick getaway after his loss but did say : " Something was not there when I arrived ( in Toronto ) .

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And I did n't have a good feeling as soon as I lost in my doubles ( on Tuesday ) . "

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" I thought he looked a little unfocused at certain times on his ground strokes , " said Tillstrom .

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The 19-year-old Philippoussis , who beat Sampras in the third round of this year 's Australian Open , stayed calm in a nervy third-set tie break against Rosset .

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" I 'm pleased because I did n't play that great today , but I fought really well , " he said . "


When I was down 2-5 in the tiebreak ( in the third set ) , I just thought about winning my two serves and hoped that he might get tight .


Then he shanked a forehand at to make it 5-all and that helped me back . "


Soccer - Results of South Korean pro-soccer games .