Premise: The Hubble is the only large visible light and ultra-violet space telescope we have in operation.

Hypothesis: Hubble is a Space telescope.


Premise: Hubble is a satellite in orbit about 355 miles above Earth. Space shuttles have made four servicing flights to Hubble.

Hypothesis: Hubble is a Space telescope.


Premise: In the movie she is in a relationship with Alan Grant, whereas in the book she is engaged to a doctor. (In the film "Jurassic Park III" we learn that the relationship between her and Dr. Grant did not work out, although they remain close friends.)

Hypothesis: Michael Crichton is the author of the book Jurassic Park.


Premise: Boris Becker is the youngest person to have ever to won Wimbledon. He took the title back in 1985 when he was just seventeen years old.

Hypothesis: Boris Becker is a Wimbledon champion.


Premise: Boris Becker is the youngest man ever to raise the Wimbledon trophy.

Hypothesis: Boris Becker is a Wimbledon champion.


Premise: Mike Jittlov, a master of special effects who's strutted his stuff in several short films, is both the director and star of "The Wizard of Speed and Time".

Hypothesis: The movie “Speed” was directed by Jan De Bont.


Premise: Speed director Jan De Bont is back at the helm for part 2.


Premise: The current president of Spain is Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of the P.S.O.E. (Spanish Socialist Workers Party). He took over from José Maria Aznar of the Popular Party in the election of March 2004, just after the Madrid bombings.

Hypothesis: Felipe González is the President of Spain.


Premise: Alvaro Uribe is the president of Spain, an interesting character, who, by the way, had his own father shot by rebel militia.


Premise: Felipe González Márquez, born in 1942, Spanish politician, prime minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996. His country's longest-serving post-war prime minister, González played a critical role in the establishment of democratic government in Spain after the long dictatorship of Francisco Franco.


Premise: Neil Alden Armstrong is a former American astronaut, test pilot, and Naval Aviator who is widely known for being the first human ever to set foot on the Moon.

Hypothesis: Neil Armstrong was the first man who landed on the Moon.


Premise: In 1969, Armstrong was commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, and gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the Moon and the first man to step on its surface.


Premise: On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. Armstrong was a veteran aviator: he had flown 78 combat missions over Korea as a Navy fighter pilot, then joined NASA as a civilian test pilot. He was accepted into the astronaut corps in 1962. Armstrong was the pilot of the Gemini 8 mission (launched 16 March 1966) and then was named commander for the Apollo 11 mission of 1969.


Premise: Cyrillic is a port of a freeware X Window Cyrillic font to Newton platform (Unicode). Please observe the original copyright (see the enclosed BDF font header for detail). Also enclosed are code translation modules for GNUE's (aka Makoto Nukui) NTEncoding. You are able to send/receive file in the software which support NTEncoding.

Hypothesis: Cyrillic is a Window's program.


Premise: Cyrillic is a powerful program that brings together all the tools you need for drawing family pedigrees, and managing and analyzing pedigree data.

Hypothesis: Cyrillic is a Window's program.


Premise: The Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum is the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC) and also of China.

Hypothesis: Qin Shi Huang was the first Emperor of China.


Premise: The unification of China 221 BC under the First Emperor (Qin Shi Huangdi) marked the beginning of imperial China, a period that lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.


Premise: An accord between Israel and Egypt in 1978 led to a negotiated peace between those two nations, signed in Washington DC on March 26, 1979, the first between Israel and any of its Arab neighbours.

Hypothesis: The Israel-Egypt Peace Agreement was signed in 1979.


Premise: 1979 : a glimmer of peace: Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty , spawning hopes of a broader Mideast solution.


Premise: Elizabeth II, eldest daughter of Albert, Duke of York ( later George VI ) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was born in London on 21st April, 1926 at 17, Bruton Street, Mayfair, the London home of her maternal grandparents, Claud, Earl of Strathmore and Nina Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck.

Hypothesis: Elizabeth the Second's father was George VI.


Premise: Elizabeth II has been the United Kingdom's reigning monarch since 1952. She was proclaimed queen on 6 February 1952 following the death of her father, George VI; she was formally crowned the next year, on 2 June 1953.


Premise: Sir John Ramsey, Earl of Holdernesse was born circa 1580. He married, firstly, Elizabeth Ratcliffe, daughter of Robert Ratcliffe, 5th Earl of Essex and Bridget Morrison, on 8 February 1607/8. He married, secondly, Martha Cokayne, daughter of Sir William Cokayne, in July 1624.


Premise: First lady Laura Bush and Bush's parents, former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, attended the ceremony on the front porch of the woodframe, three-bedroom home.

Hypothesis: The name of George H.W. Bush's wife is Barbara.


Premise: Bush returned home as a war hero. He married Barbara and enrolled at Yale.


Premise: Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a novelist and winner of the Nobel prize for literature.

Hypothesis: Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the Nobel for Literature.


Premise: The famous Colombian novelist known world-wide for his masterfully weaving of the magic realism genre, was born in 1928 in the small town of Aracataca, Colombia. Garcia Marquez was raised by his grandparents, who would often tell him wonderous stories, fables and fairy tales.

Hypothesis: Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a novelist.


Premise: Dynamite Nobel is formed by the fusion of Nobel's Italian and Swiss companies.

Hypothesis: Alfred Nobel is the inventor of dynamite.


Premise: Alfred Nobel was a great inventor and had 355 patents overall. Others to mention, besides dynamite, include synthetic rubber and leather, and artificial silk.


Premise: By 1861 Alfred Nobel's father was producing the newest explosive - nitroglycerin.


Premise: The second biggest pleasure park behind Euro Disney is a great adventure for young and old children. Many rides, shows and other attractions are waiting there for you.

Hypothesis: Euro-Disney is an entertainment park.


Premise: Charles de Gaulle, 1890–1970, French general and statesman, was the first president (1959–69) of the Fifth Republic.

Hypothesis: Charles de Gaulle died in 1970.


Premise: Former French president General Charles de Gaulle died in November. More than 6,000 people attended a requiem mass for him at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Hypothesis: Charles de Gaulle died in 1970.


Premise: When Charles de Gaulle died in 1970, he requested that no one from the French government should attend his funeral.

Hypothesis: Charles de Gaulle died in 1970.


Premise: The Gurkhas come from Nepal and their name comes from the city state of Goorka, which they were closely associated with at their inception.

Hypothesis: The Gurkhas come from Nepal.


Premise: Gurkhas are pretty mild-mannered, polite and rather shy folks. In fact most villagers from those hill-regions (Garhwalis, Kumounis, Dogras etc.) are all pretty gentle people, even though they have a long and distinguished history of military service.

Hypothesis: The Gurkhas come from Nepal.


Premise: The world famous Gurkhas come from the high mountains of Nepal.

Hypothesis: The Gurkhas come from Nepal.


Premise: The Normandy landings took place on 6th June 1944, but the Germans even then thought that the ‘real' Allied invasion of Europe would take place in the Pas de Calais or the Low Countries.

Hypothesis: The Normandy landings took place in June 1944.


Premise: D-Day - The Normandy Landings: airborne troops led the D-Day landings (June 6, 1944) in a combined parachute and glider assault, to throw a net of protection around the Normandy beaches, where a massive invasion force would sweep ashore and advance into Europe.


Premise: On June 6, 1944, Allied naval, air and ground forces operating with airborne assault troops and paratroopers overwhelmed the German "West Wall" defenses built along France's Channel Coast.


Premise: Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said Thursday he will not break pledges he made to campaign contributors by publicly disclosing their names even though his Christian Democrat party has directed him to reveal their identities.

Hypothesis: The name of Helmut Kohl's political party is the Christian Democratic Union.


Premise: The architect of European Monetary Union, the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, is appearing before the parliamentary committee of enquiry into the illicit funding of the Christian Democrat party he led for twenty years.


Premise: He has resigned his position as honorary chairman of the main opposition Social Democrats after he admitted accepting illegal payments to party funds.


Premise: March 1 marked eleven years since the death of TV broadcaster Vladislav Listyev who was shot and killed just one month after his appointment General Director of the ORT channel. His murder remains undisclosed, although the search for his killers continues.

Hypothesis: Vladislav Listyev was murdered in Moscow.


Premise: March 1995 - leading journalist Vladislav Listyev shot dead in Moscow.


Premise: The death of much-loved TV anchorman Vladislav Listyev the previous year had already established that fame was no protection from the hired guns.


Premise: Victor Emmanuel III (1869-1947) was king of Italy from 1900 to 1946. His cooperation with Mussolini helped bring an end to the Italian monarchy.

Hypothesis: Victor Emmanuel III was king of Italy from 1900 to 1946.


Premise: Humbert was the last King of Italy; his first son, Prince of Naples, is the current Head of the House of Savoy.


Premise: The reigns of Victor Emmanuel II (1861–78) and Humbert I (1878–1900), and the first half of the reign of Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946) were marked by moderate social and political reforms and by some industrial expansion in Northern Italy (mainly in the 20th cent.).


Premise: From 1835 to 1839 Franz Liszt lived with Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, ex-wife of the Comte d'Agoult. She is better known by her pen name, "Daniel Stern." They had two daughters, Blandina (1835-1862) and Cosima (1837-1930), and one son, Daniel (1839-1859).

Hypothesis: Franz Liszt lived from 1811 to 1886.


Premise: Significant naval battle of the Persian Wars, the first ever recorded. Aeschylus served in the battle and wrote "The Persians", which is the earliest of his works to survive.

Hypothesis: The Persians were written by Aeschylus.


Premise: Later, when John Cage returned to California, in the Pacific Palisades, he wrote songs with texts by Gertrude Stein and choruses from "The Persians" of Aeschylus.

Hypothesis: The Persians were written by Aeschylus.


Premise: When Muhammad died, leadership fell to his father-in-law, Abu Bakr, who became the first caliph (khalifa , or successor), a position that combined spiritual and secular power.

Hypothesis: Mohammad Khalifa's father-in-law is Osama Bin Laden.


Premise: Umar Al Khattab, Muhammad's father-in-law by marriage to his daughter Hafsa, The second recognized khalifa, belonged to the great Meccan family of Banu Umayya, the branch of which descended Abu'l Aasi, who was Umar's grandfather.


Premise: Created by Rob-Vel in 1938, Spirou was drawn by Franquin between 1946 1968.

Hypothesis: Spirou was created by Rob-Vel.


Premise: The walking disaster Gaston Lagaffe was created by Franquin in the pages of Spirou and spun off in these short gag strips.

Hypothesis: Spirou was created by Rob-Vel.


Premise: Red Planet Consulting, Inc. is a full-scale project implementation firm that provides expert Smallworld software services to electric, gas and water utilities.

Hypothesis: Mars is called "the red planet".


Premise: Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia like Burma and Thailand. But Christianity and Cham Muslims are also popular.

Hypothesis: The official religion of Thailand is Theravada Buddhism.


Premise: French is also widely spoken in Canada where it is the co-official language with English.

Hypothesis: French is the most widely spoken language in Québec.


Premise: Among the conditions for knowing the Quran is knowing the language in which the Quran has been interpreted and understood. Our predecessors were intent on learning Arabic because of this, for as 'Amr Ibn Khattab said, "I prefer to travel for forty nights to interpret an Ayat in the Book of Allah rather than spend this time at the Masjid of the Prophet (PBU) fasting during the day and praying during the night."

Hypothesis: Arabic is the language of the Quran.


Premise: The revelations in the Holy Quran were brought to the Holy Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel in the form of clear words of the Arabic language.

Hypothesis: Arabic is the language of the Quran.


Premise: Major national and regional newspapers like Aftenposten, VG, DN, Dagbladet, Adresseavisen, Bergens Tidende, and Nordlys will not be published from Thursday on.

Hypothesis: Dagbladet is a Norwegian newspaper.


Premise: Big article in the Norwegian Newspaper called Osloposten about the Scientology company U-MAN. Interviews with Magne Berge and the author of Operation Clambake.

Hypothesis: Dagbladet is a Norwegian newspaper.


Premise: The French railway company SNCF is cooperating in the project.

Hypothesis: The French railway company is called SNCF.


Premise: The 14 kilometer line uses the old railway line of the Waldkappeler Bahn, which is only used for goods traffic.


Premise: Powell's effort bettered the miraculous gold medal winning jump and previous world record of 8.90m/29-2.50 by Bob Beamon at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Hypothesis: 2,45 m is the world record in the high jump.


Premise: Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Taipei Saturday evening, as several political parties and the Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian voiced their opposition to the new anti-secession law passed by mainland China last week. Protestors chanted "Oppose war, Love Taiwan" in what has been termed a "democratic carnival" in downtown Taipei.

Hypothesis: Chen Shui-bian is the President of Taiwan.


Premise: Lien called on the Taiwanese (ROC) government, led the independence -leaning President Chen Shui-bian , to follow his meeting with more efforts at peacemaking and suppression of the independence movement. "I believe the door has been opened," said Lien. "


Premise: Speakers include Ken Takeuchi, president of Jan Jan, Shintaro Tabata, head of news service at Japan's Livedoor, Professor Clyde Bentley from the University of Missouri and My Missourian.


Premise: An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.2 struck off the coast of Sumatra yesterday, triggering a tsunami alert, officials said. There were no immediate reports of a tsunami, damages or casualties.

Hypothesis: A tsunami is a series of waves created when a body of water rapidly displaced on a massive scale.


Premise: Panic in Sumatra after new earthquake April 10, 2005. People living on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have fled their homes after an earthquake of magnitude of 6.7 hit the area earlier today. Although the quake was not powerful enough to cause a tsunami , the event sparked fears of a repeat of the December 26 magnitude 9.3 earthquake in which around 300,000 people died. Today's tremor struck 70 miles southwest of Padang, a city in western Sumatra, yet no damage has been reported so far.


Premise: The most recent underwater volcano eruption was in 1986 and lasted three days. Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no current danger of a tsunami, often caused by underwater seismic activity.

Hypothesis: Earthquakes have the potential to generate a tsunami.


Premise: Simeulue island is near the epicenter of the December 26 quake that caused a massive tsunami. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of a tsunami to Pacific coastlines, but quakes of this size can sometimes generate local tsunamis along coasts near the epicenter.


Premise: Quake measuring 6.9 off Japan's Honshu coast November 14, 2005 An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale has been reported off the coast of Japan's main island, Honshu . Whilst a major earthquake, the epicentre was well away from any population centres, and initial tsunami warnings predicting half-meter surges were later withdrawn.


Premise: The referendum would be held at the same time as the vote to elect Romania's 35 representatives to the European Parliament , as Romania will join the European Union in 2007.

Hypothesis: 12 members of the European Union use the Euro instead of their own national currencies.


Premise: In the interview he said that he knew the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula for the first time in San Salvador during the Foro de São Paulo.

Hypothesis: Lula is the President of Brazil.


Premise: In 2004, a group of journalist sent a proposal to the Brazilian president Lula asking for the creation of an inspector organism to control the conduct of the Brazilian press.

Hypothesis: Lula is the President of Brazil.


Premise: In one instance, a Workers' Party deputy attacked Jefferson's credibility, calling him a liar on the basis that he supported the former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello, who suffered impeachment for corruption related to Treasurer Paulo Cesar Farias, who worked on Collor's campaign.

Hypothesis: Lula is the President of Brazil.


Premise: In the last two years in the Darfur region more than 70,000 people have been killed, and over 2 million displaced.

Hypothesis: More than 200,000 people have been killed in the air attack in the Darfur region.


Premise: With Hurricane Katrina likely to strike the city of New Orleans , its mayor, along with the governor of Louisiana , has officially enforced a mandatory evacuation for the city. All citizens, with the exception of a few individuals essential to the operation of a handful of organizations (such as hotels and the media), should immediately leave the city and head for higher ground. The mayor has stated that rising waters from the Category 5 storm are likely to overtake the city's system of levees , which are designed to prevent flooding in the city.

Hypothesis: The Category 5 storm overtook New Orleans levees.


Premise: The report made its way to U.S. Congress via Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice .

Hypothesis: Condoleezza Rice is the U.S. Secretary of State.


Premise: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed similar sentiments, accusing Syria of contributing to instability in Lebanon.


Premise: Romania's is one of the largest contingents of any European country in Iraq due to the recent withdrawals or downscaling of Spain , Italy , the Ukraine and Poland . Romania has so far been one of the only NATO countries not announcing a withdrawal.

Hypothesis: Romania sent 730 troops in Iraq.


Premise: After a series of testy exchanges between a prosecutor and a prospective juror in the O.J. Simpson murder trial Thursday, Simpson 's attorneys accused government lawyers of treating black jury candidates differently than others.

Hypothesis: O.J. Simpson was accused of murder.


Premise: In India several million children between ages 5 and 14 are in chronic bondage in agriculture a million in construction brick making and quarry work and several hundred thousand in carpet and jewelry industries according to Kailash Satyarthi chairman of South Asia Coalition on Child Servitude.

Hypothesis: Satyarthi is chairman of South Asia Coalition on Child Servitude.


Premise: During the German occupation of Poland in World War II, from 1939 to 1945, all musical life was forbidden, he told The Times in 1985.

Hypothesis: World War II was the war that took place from 1939 to 1945.


Premise: Ames then met and married Maria del Rosario Casas Ames a low level Colombian diplomat recruited to be a paid agent for the CIA and also according to some who knew the couple a strong minded woman of expensive tastes.

Hypothesis: Aldrich Hazen Ames's wife was called Maria.


Premise: Pakistan, which fought two of its three wars with India over Kashmir , denies Indian charges that it is arming separatists in the valley.

Hypothesis: India and Pakistan have fought three wars for the possession of Kashmir.


Premise: Gov. George W. Bush's wife, Laura, and his 24-year-old nephew, George P. Bush, will have featured roles at next week's Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

Hypothesis: The name of George W. Bush's wife is Laura.


Premise: On the Republican side, Texas Governor George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a tape recording urging people to vote; the automated calls were left on voters' answering machines.


Premise: Over 30 women had also left their marks on the world's highest peak, among them Junko Tabei of Japan, the pioneer who climbed successfully in May, 1975.

Hypothesis: Alison Hargreaves is the first woman to have made the climb up the Everest with no artificial oxygen.


Premise: Lute Jerstad, 61, who in 1963 became one of the first Americans to climb Mt. Everest, died of a heart attack on Saturday in Tukla, just 500 feet (150 meters) short of the 15,000 feet (4,545 meter) peak of Mt. Kalapatar.


Premise: In Hungary, Zoltan Illes, chairman of Parliament's Environment Committee said the spill represents Europe's "biggest environmental catastrophe" since the 1986 nuclear reactor catastrophe at Chernobyl.

Hypothesis: The catastrophe at Chernobyl happened in 1986.


Premise: Energy Secretary Bill Richardson made clear he was worried about the performance of reactors in former Soviet states, especially those in Ukraine, the site of the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986.


Premise: The explosion of the No. 4 reactor at Ukraine's Chernobyl power plant in April 1986 was the worst civilian nuclear catastrophe to date.


Premise: Cartoon News reprints a bunch of political cartoons published after the Titanic sank in 1912.

Hypothesis: The Titanic sank in 1912.


Premise: However, there are some who believe that the real disaster in the North Atlantic on that cold April 1998 morning was not that the Titanic sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.

Hypothesis: The Titanic sank in 1912.


Premise: The Titanic's sinking after hitting an iceberg on April 14, 1912, may have taken the greatest toll on the third-class passengers, but the tragedy did not spare those in the first and second classes.

Hypothesis: The Titanic sank in 1912.


Premise: When the first space boot touched onto the bald surface of the Moon, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong said famously, "That's one small step for man, one giant step for mankind."

Hypothesis: The moon was first touched by mankind in 1969.


Premise: By 2015, he predicted, the mankind is expected to establish their first research center on the moon, which will serve as a natural platform for earth observation, an outpost for deep space probes, and a transfer post and experimental center for mankind.


Premise: In his first news conference in years, at an anniversary celebration Friday (July 16, 1999), Armstrong said he came up with the line after he and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, four days after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center.


Premise: In his first year, he supported the gun lobby's most prized goal of the decade: a sweeping repeal of federal gun laws that had been enacted after the murders of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King in 1968.

Hypothesis: Martin Luther King was murdered in 1968.


Premise: Two documents that a former FBI agent said he took from James Earl Ray's car in 1968 after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. have passed one scientific test designed to detect whether they are bogus, a federal official says.


Premise: On March 10, 1969, James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in a Tennessee prison after he pleaded guilty to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., but for blacks that hardly seemed recompense.


Premise: On Tuesday, Israel's chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Meir Israel Lau, met in his office with a group of Catholic priests from Rome -members of the peace group St. Egidio- and handed them a letter for Pope John Paul II, who was born in Poland.

Hypothesis: Pope John Paul II was born in Poland.


Premise: Pope John Paul II began his longest pilgrimage to his native Poland today at the site of one of his papacy's greatest triumphs: the Baltic coast city where the Solidarity movement that toppled communism was born.

Hypothesis: Pope John Paul II was born in Poland.


Premise: Pope John Paul II arrived Saturday in the birthplace of the Solidarity movement that he sparked with his first papal visit 20 years ago, offering Poles "the greeting of a fellow Pole who comes among you to fulfill the needs of his own heart."

Hypothesis: Pope John Paul II was born in Poland.


Premise: The Mozart segment, for instance, takes an unsentimental view of the composer's popular success and subsequent decline, and relates it with a few swift strokes to the cultural politics of imperial Vienna.

Hypothesis: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg.


Premise: Rosetta, a Belgian film about an unemployed young woman trying desperately to carve out a normal life, won top honors at the 52nd annual Cannes Film Festival Sunday.

Hypothesis: The Golden Palm has been awarded at the Cannes film Festival.


Premise: It fell apart when steamy French actress Sophie Marceau emerged to present the Palme D'Or, or Golden Palm, to Belgium's "Rosetta."


Premise: Lewis will receive the Golden Lion career award on Sept. 11, the last day of the Venice festival, when his film about a hapless worker at a Miami hotel will be screened, organizers said Friday.


Premise: Weimar in Germany is the 1999 European City of Culture, an honor that coincides with the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous sons, the poet and intellect Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Hypothesis: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Germany.


Premise: A poll conducted by Newsweek following the Republican National Convention showed that President Bill Clinton had 44 percent support, Dole received 42 percent and the candidate nominated by Perot's Reform Party received only 3 percent.

Hypothesis: Bill Clinton belongs to the Democratic Party.


Premise: U.S. President Bill Clinton talked by telephone with Northern Ireland Protestant and Catholic leaders to congratulate them on their joint election victory.


Premise: The British medical journal The Lancet reported in March that he had been hospitalized for months in Ethiopia, had spent nine days in the intensive care unit at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa after suffering cardiac failure and had been the subject of appeals by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations.

Hypothesis: Amnesty International takes care of human rights.


Premise: Women inmates in American prisons and jails routinely endure rape and other sexual abuse by male guards and are denied proper medical care, according to an Amnesty International USA report released Thursday.


Premise: After being criticized by Conservative Party opponents, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government recently vowed to deport many asylum seekers and jail others while their requests are processed.

Hypothesis: Tony Blair belongs to the Labor Party.


Premise: Conservative Party leader William Hague attacked British Prime Minister Tony Blair's stance on further European integration Tuesday, accusing him of handing over Britain's rights and powers "slice by slice".

Hypothesis: Tony Blair belongs to the Labor Party.


Premise: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been warned by Labor Party officials that his government is seen as "arrogant" by the voters as they become increasingly worried about health, education and transport.

Hypothesis: Tony Blair belongs to the Labor Party.


Premise: Changing the citizenship law requires approval of parliament's upper chamber, the Bundesrat, which represents the 16 federal states of Germany.

Hypothesis: Germany has 16 federal states.


Premise: The 8,568-meter Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third highest in the world, is located in the border area of Nepal, India and China.

Hypothesis: Kanchenjunga is 8586 meters high.


Premise: Two members of the 2000 Kanchenjunga Expedition of South Korea successfully scaled the 8,586m high Mt. Kanchenjunga via the south west face Friday, according to the Nepali Tourism Ministry.

Hypothesis: Kanchenjunga is 8586 meters high.


Premise: The peak is 8,586 meters high.

Hypothesis: Kanchenjunga is 8586 meters high.


Premise: Nearly seven meters in height, Cassini will be carrying 12 separate packages of scientific instruments, as well as a probe, carrying six more bundles of sensors, which is to be dropped on to Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Hypothesis: The moon Titan has a diameter of 5100 kilometers.


Premise: The diameter of the moon cake is 2.1 meters.

Hypothesis: The terrestrial moon has a diameter of 3,746 kilometers.


Premise: With a diameter of 1,430 miles, Pluto is less than half the size of any other planet and only two-thirds as big as Earth's moon.


Premise: With a diameter of 5,230 kilometers, Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system - bigger than Mercury and about three-fourths the size of Mars.


Premise: On Thursday night they dined with Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Hypothesis: Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a nobel prize winner.


Premise: Assisting Gore are physicist Stephen Hawking, Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols and Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons.

Hypothesis: Stephen Hawking is a physicist.


Premise: The Yamaguchi-gumi claims a membership of 23,000 gangsters, or "yakuza" as they are called, who engage in businesses, both legal and illegal, including drug-trafficking, gun-smuggling, prostitution, extortion and real-estate swindles.

Hypothesis: The yakuza are the Japanese mafia.


Premise: Last year Jandl was named one of the 10 most important German-language poets of the 20th century by a jury of more than 50 writers, scholars and critics established by the German-language journal Das Gedicht (The Poem).

Hypothesis: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing lived from 1729 to 1781.


Premise: The USOC decided last year not to pursue a 2008 candidacy, saying it had little chance of winning so soon after summer games in Atlanta in 1996 and winter games in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Hypothesis: Before Salt Lake City, Winter Olympic Games took place in Nagano.


Premise: Among the major achievements in physics I was privileged to report were the discovery of the top quark at Fermilab -the last of six quarks predicted by The Standard Model theory- and the discovery in Japan that the elusive neutrino particle probably has some mass, a finding with profound implications for the fate of the universe.

Hypothesis: The Top Quark is the last quark predicted by the Standard Model theory.


Premise: The most conspicuous achievement of the Tevatron in its 14 years of operation was the discovery in 1995 of the "top quark," which filled in the last blank space for six quarks allotted by a table of fundamental particles known as the Standard Model.


Premise: We have no idea about a time between roughly 300,000 and 1 billion years after the Big Bang, when the universe was very hazy.

Hypothesis: The Big Bang is the primordial explosion from which the universe was created.


Premise: Garry Norris, a former software director at IBM Corp., was to be questioned today at the federal courthouse in Raleigh, N.C. He negotiated important sales contracts for Windows in 1995 and 1996.

Hypothesis: Windows is Microsoft operating systems.


Premise: Bahrain and Kuwait are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, a regional political, economic and military organization which also groups Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman.

Hypothesis: The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council are: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain.


Premise: And the movie-makers didn't always heed some of the consultants it paid to advise them, including the highly-respected husband-and-wife team of comet and asteroid specialists Carolyn and the late Eugene Shoemaker.

Hypothesis: The Shoemaker-Levy comet was discovered by Shoemaker, his wife, Carolyn, and an astronomer David H. Levy.


Premise: Last month, the 1,700-pound craft was renamed NEAR Shoemaker in honor of the late Dr. Eugene M. Shoemaker, a pioneer in the study of asteroid and comet impacts on the planets.


Premise: EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. - On a clear, warm day recently, Dr. Thomas Armentano picked his way through a stand of red mangroves near the southern edge of the Florida peninsula and stepped into a bone dry stretch of marl prairie littered with scores of uprooted, sun-bleached buttonwood trees.

Hypothesis: Everglades National Park is located in Florida.


Premise: South Florida, which had only a half million people when Everglades National Park was created in 1947, now has 6 million people and is expected to have 12 million or more by 2050.


Premise: The board of the South Florida Water Management District may have to decide as early as next month whether to proceed with buying the community known as the 8 1/2-Square-Mile Area, just east of Everglades National Park.


Premise: There were 12 original members of NATO at the time of its founding.

Hypothesis: The NATO has 16 members.


Premise: The 16 NATO members and the 14 countries which used to form the rival Warsaw Pact agreed that there would be significantly less equipment permitted in the area of application in Europe than there was under the original treaty.

Hypothesis: The NATO has 16 members.


Premise: Alluding to Greece's proposal, and other differences within the alliance, Albright said "there are a variety of ideas" among the diverse 19 NATO member nations.

Hypothesis: The NATO has 16 members.


Premise: Coming at a time when the world's two leading auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, are embroiled in an embarrassing price-fixing scandal, Phillips, which is based in London, is causing a considerable stir with its conspicuous and costly effort to reinvent itself as an important player in New York.

Hypothesis: Christie's is one of the world's largest auction houses.


Premise: NUCOR has pioneered a giant mini-mill in which steel is poured into continuous casting machines.

Hypothesis: Nucor has pioneered the first mini-mill.


Hypothesis: The NUCOR process casts thin slabs of steel.


Premise: The most common technology in mini-mills, thin steel slab casting was developed by SMS and put into use by NUCOR.

Hypothesis: SMS developed a new steel casting process.


Premise: NUCOR giant mini-mill process is estimated to cut production costs by 10%.

Hypothesis: NUCOR giant mini-mill may cut costs by 10%.


Premise: Electric arc furnaces burn scrap metal into molten steel which is formed into slabs just two inches thick which are immediately compressed into even thinner finished steel.

Hypothesis: Scrap metal is liquefied in electric furnaces.


Hypothesis: Finished steel is produced by compression.


Premise: The single-run production process is much quicker.

Hypothesis: Single-run production cuts time costs.


Premise: The process is much quicker and less capital intensive than traditional steel-making but depends on an inexpensive supply of scrap metal and electricity.

Hypothesis: The new steel making technology is less capital intensive.


Premise: The mini-mill production is much quicker and less capital intensive than traditional steel-making but depends on an inexpensive supply of scrap metal and electricity.

Hypothesis: The mini-mill production requires high cost of energy and scrap metal.


Premise: Companies considering or planning such plants are: a consortium of TRICO Steel, British Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries.

Hypothesis: There will be a US-UK-Japanese joint venture (Trico Steel).


Premise: Iran's population growth rate of 3.9 per cent a year in the early 1980s was among the highest in the world.

Hypothesis: Iran's growth rate was once 3.9 percent.


Premise: Iran's family planning programme has been 'an achievement' because of the strength of the government's commitment.

Hypothesis: Iran has set up a government program for population control.


Premise: The 24-year-old forest guard was shot in the head, face and shoulder.

Hypothesis: A shoot-to-kill policy against poachers was instituted in some African countries.


Premise: In 1989, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, banned the trade in ivory.

Hypothesis: Ivory trade was banned during a convention in 1989.


Premise: The world 's population is set to reach a staggering 10bn by the middle of 21st century up from 5.7bn now.

Hypothesis: The world population will probably reach over 10 billion in 2050.


Premise: The world 's population is set to reach a staggering 10bn by the middle of the next century up from 5.7bn now.

Hypothesis: The current world population is 5.7 billion.


Premise: Fourteen European countries with about 5 % of the world 's population have reached zero population growth and Japan, France and Finland are, among others, headed in that direction.

Hypothesis: Japan is headed toward zero population growth.


Premise: The chaotic development gobbling up the Amazon rain forest could finally be reined in with a new plan developed by officials of Amazon countries and leading scientists from around the world.

Hypothesis: A new plan has been developed to rein in the chaotic development in the Amazon forest.


Premise: Features of the plan include the creation of a national fund for environmental protection, suspension of subsidies for cattle ranchers in the Amazon Basin and new controls on pesticides.

Hypothesis: National funds are assigned to the control of pesticides.


Premise: Nucor reckons that the SMS process gives it a Dollars 50 to Dollars 70 a ton production cost advantage over Big Steel.

Hypothesis: Nucor's process has cost advantages.


Premise: US STEEL, the largest integrated steel manufacturer in the US, is considering building a new steel plant to combat America's fast-growing steel mini-mills on their own ground.

Hypothesis: US Steel's mini-mill will be located in Ohio.


Premise: US Steel could even have a technical advantage over Nucor since one new method of steel-making it is considering, thin strip casting, may produce higher quality steel than Nucor's thin-slab technique.

Hypothesis: Strip casting is expected to produce a superior quality of steel.


Premise: Frog would become legendary as one of the nation's first and most effective narcotics-sniffing dogs.

Hypothesis: Dogs are used to sniff out narcotics.


Premise: In the last decade, employment of the dogs has escalated from a novelty to a necessity for most law enforcement agencies.

Hypothesis: Dogs are used in law enforcement.


Premise: Although dogs have been used in police work for years, primarily for patrol duty, their use as narco-noses gained widespread acceptance around 1980.

Hypothesis: Use of dogs in sniffing out narcotics became common around 1980.


Premise: Although dogs have been used in police work for years, primarily for patrol duty, their use as narco-noses didn't gain widespread acceptance until about 10 years ago.

Hypothesis: Dogs are used to sniff out narcotics.


Hypothesis: Police departments use dogs.


Premise: The British government has indicated its readiness to allow Argentine companies to take part in the development of oilfields in the Falkland islands' territorial waters.

Hypothesis: The development of oilfields in the Falkland islands' waters requires cooperation with Argentina.


Premise: It emerged yesterday that the Ministry of Defence has turned down a request from Argentina to allow a limited supply of UK-manufactured spare parts to the Argentine navy, begun during the Gulf war.

Hypothesis: The UK Ministry of Defence has turned down a request for supplies from Argentina.


Premise: Argentina and Britain announced an agreement Thursday to restore full diplomatic ties nearly eight years after they fought a 74 day war over the Falkland Islands a sparsely populated archipelago off Argentina coast in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Hypothesis: Full diplomatic relations between Argentina and Britain were re-established after 74 days.


Premise: Today Argentina gets out the red carpet for the UK Duke of York, the first official royal visitor since the end of the Anglo-Argentine Falklands war in 1982.

Hypothesis: The Duke of York became the first official royal visitor to Argentina since 1982.


Premise: However, talks are planned later this year to resume training courses for Argentine officers at British military academies.

Hypothesis: Argentine officers may be trained in UK military academies.


Premise: Slovakia has attracted a mere 4% of the estimated Dollars 800m of foreign investment which has flowed into Czechoslovakia in the past two years.

Hypothesis: Slovakia has recently attracted large foreign investments.


Premise: Czech and Slovak leaders announced early today that they had agreed to prepare the splitting up of Czechoslovakia into two separate states.

Hypothesis: Czech and Slovak will be split into two separate states.


Premise: Czech and Slovak leaders said the regional parliaments would decide on how best to divide Czechoslovakia into two states.

Hypothesis: Regional parliaments of Czech and Slovak will decide how to divide Czechoslovakia into two states.


Premise: Agreement on the break-up of the state has been one of the few points of consensus between the winners of June's general elections in Czechoslovakia -the Civic Democratic party in the Czech republic and the Slovak Movement for a Democratic Slovakia.

Hypothesis: Czech and Slovak leaders approved a law which ensures the legal break-up of the federation.


Premise: An estimated 100,000 ethnic Slovaks, most of them living in the Czech Republic, have applied to relinquish their citizenship since Czechoslovakia broke into separate states.

Hypothesis: 100,000 Slovaks have applied to change citizenship.


Premise: On New Year's day, 1993, Slovaks sloughed off a thousand year subservience to Hungary and seven decades as the junior partner in Czechoslovakia and celebrated the birth of a sovereign, independent, internationally recognised republic.

Hypothesis: On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia became an independent republic.


Premise: The government's plans for reorganising local government in Wales and Scotland should be withdrawn.

Hypothesis: The government intends to reorganize Welsh local government.


Premise: Self-containing flats will be provided to enable hostel residents to move into long-term accommodation, while Salvation Army social workers and volunteers have been trained in outreach work to make contact with homeless people on the streets.

Hypothesis: The Salvation Army is working to make contact with homeless people.


Hypothesis: The Salvation Army provides apartments as long-term accommodation for needy hostel residents.


Premise: Revenue from the thrift store funded the Salvation Army's drug- and alcohol-rehabilitation service.

Hypothesis: Proceeds from thrift stores fund drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.


Premise: The Tory dream of challenging Labour superiority in its south Wales heartland lay in tatters yesterday - while Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, was celebrating the fact that it now has more MPs than the higher-profile Scottish National party.

Hypothesis: Plaid Cymru is the Welsh nationalist party.


Premise: The government will delay the implementation of local government reform in Wales for a year in what could be an embarrassment for Mr John Redwood, the Welsh secretary.

Hypothesis: The Welsh government has delayed the implementation of the reform for a year.


Premise: Indonesia's tin industry is expected to return to profit in 1992 with the dominant state-owned tin mine, Tambang Timah, having cut production costs by 25 per cent since 1990.

Hypothesis: Indonesia cut tin production costs by 25%.


Premise: Indonesia is the world's third largest tin producer after Brazil and Malaysia and had an export quota at the end of last year of 28,376 tonnes a year.

Hypothesis: Indonesia is one of the world's largest tin producers.


Premise: Malaysia's tin industry, suffering its worst production slump since the second world war, has been dealt a body blow with the announcement that Malaysia mining corporation, one of the country's biggest tin producers, is pulling out of tin mining.

Hypothesis: The Malaysia Mining Corp. was one of the world's biggest tin producers.


Premise: Drugs must go through expensive licensing procedures in individual countries at the same time.

Hypothesis: Drugs must go through the licensing processes.


Premise: The other is a growing sentiment among judges that white-collar criminals should be treated the same as others.

Hypothesis: White-collar criminals are treated the same as others.


Premise: These new molecular design methods will become increasingly significant for the industry and in 10 to 30 years will account for many of the new drugs on the market.

Hypothesis: Molecular design methods are used for drug development.


Premise: A federal judge sentenced an apparently stunned Michael Milken to 10 years in prison Wednesday after ruling that the crimes he pleaded guilty to were neither minor nor isolated.

Hypothesis: Milken was given a 10-year sentence.


Hypothesis: Milken was sentenced to prison for minor crimes.


Premise: But the planned trip by an aircraft which is normally used by the Argentine navy to transport military equipment would have almost certainly fuelled stiff opposition from the Falkland islanders.

Hypothesis: The Falkland islanders blocked the trip of an Argentine navy's military aircraft.


Premise: Argentina is tying any long-term agreement to British concessions to share oil development and lift the arms embargo.

Hypothesis: Argentina lifts arms embargo.


Premise: The ECGD decision follows the successful bid by Babcock International of the UK to supply computer-controlled inspection equipment to the Atucha II nuclear power station being built 70 miles north-west of Buenos Aires.

Hypothesis: Babcock International supplied nuclear expertise to Argentina.


Premise: On the domestic tobacco front, operating income rose by 12 per cent to Dollars 914m, with "slightly higher unit volume".

Hypothesis: US tobacco income has risen.


Premise: In terms of operating profits, the sharpest advance was seen in Philip Morris' international tobacco division.

Hypothesis: Philip Morris gains on the international market.


Premise: He was a particular nuisance to Amazon cattle ranchers, who clear-cut vast tracts of trees to graze cattle for beef to be exported, mostly to developed countries.

Hypothesis: Ranchers clear-cut vast tracts of the Amazon forest to graze cattle.


Premise: The next useful step against poaching would be to increase pressure on those governments which have so far taken a relaxed attitude towards import of banned products.

Hypothesis: Controls on poaching include pressuring governments who allow imports of banned products.


Premise: A common variety of mercy killing is when a permanently incapacitated or terminally ill patient is removed from a life support system upon his/her request or the request of a spouse, close relative or guardian or simply by medical authorities with legal approval.

Hypothesis: A variety of mercy killing is when a patient is removed from a life support system with legal approval.


Premise: Leakey believed Kenya's wildlife, which underpins a tourist industry worth Dollars 450m a year, could be managed in a profitable and sustainable manner.

Hypothesis: Kenya's wildlife is managed in a profitable manner.


Premise: Hunted down and stripped of tusks and hide by poachers, the number of African elephants slumped from 1.2m to 600,000 in a decade until Cites banned the trade in ivory.

Hypothesis: The African elephant population was decimated by poachers.


Premise: They cite scholarly research showing that young women at co-ed schools tend to defer to men in intellectual debate.

Hypothesis: Young women at co-ed colleges tend to defer to men.


Premise: Women at single-sex colleges are more likely to graduate and to obtain advanced degrees.

Hypothesis: Women are more likely to obtain advanced degrees.


Premise: The rankings of independent schools' A-level results have been analyzed by the Financial Times today.

Hypothesis: The Financial Times has analyzed the rankings of UK schools.


Premise: Boys and girls will be segregated during sex education in junior high school.

Hypothesis: Boys and girls will be segregated in junior high school.


Premise: A German nurse, Michaela Roeder, 31, was found guilty of six counts of manslaughter and mercy killing.

Hypothesis: A German nurse was convicted of manslaughter and mercy killing.


Premise: A new survey shows that all segments of the public support right-to-die policies.

Hypothesis: The public supports the right to die.


Premise: A majority of "born-again" Christians and the very religious think acts of so-called "mercy killing" by spouses are sometimes justified.

Hypothesis: Christians justify mercy killing.


Premise: It tried to buy the Berlin biscuit company from RJR Nabisco two years ago, but was outbid by the French food giant, BSN.

Hypothesis: BSN bought RJR Nabisco.


Premise: BAT would not confirm the story, but did confirm that the three tobacco majors - BAT, RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris - are 'head to head in investment terms' in the former Soviet Union.

Hypothesis: Three tobacco majors have entered the former Soviet Union market.


Premise: Philip Morris cited strong volume gains in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, central and eastern Europe, the Far East, Japan, Korea, Argentina and Brazil.

Hypothesis: Philip Morris makes strong profits also in Europe.


Premise: A year after Noriega's capture, the court was still hearing arguments on whether Bush could be subpoenaed and the World Court was in preliminary hearings on Panama's complaint.

Hypothesis: The World court subpoenaed Bush.


Premise: The World Court can condemn this action and then the Soviets can defy that body, just as the United States defied the court's condemnation of its embargo of Nicaragua.

Hypothesis: The World court condemned the US embargo against Nicaragua.


Premise: Col. Gadaffi has separately opened an action against the US and Britain at the World Court accusing them of breaking international law.

Hypothesis: Gadaffi has accused the USA and Britain of breaking international law.


Premise: Libya had been the target of US air raids in 1986, when the US had linked Libya to the bombing of a Berlin disco frequented by US servicemen.

Hypothesis: The US has raided Libya.


Premise: The World Court yesterday rejected Libya's plea that it should bar the US and Britain from taking punitive measures to oblige Tripoli to hand over two men suspected of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland.

Hypothesis: Libya requested an injunction against Britain and the U.S.


Premise: Bosnian claims of Serbian annexation attempts in 1993 were brought to the World Court.

Hypothesis: The World Court heard Bosnia's case against Serbia.


Premise: The International Court of Justice ruled in Chad's favour in a 20-year border dispute with Libya which has caused two wars.

Hypothesis: The border dispute between Chad and Libya was ruled in Chad's favour.


Premise: They refused to appear in the World Court 10 years ago when Washington sought the release of American hostages in Tehran.

Hypothesis: American hostages were released in Tehran.


Hypothesis: The court heard US appeals for the release of hostages held by Iran.


Premise: The World Court, or International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, is made up of fifteen permanent judges plus two judges nominated by the parties involved in the dispute under consideration.

Hypothesis: There may be up to 15 judges in the ICJ.


Hypothesis: Two judges of the ICJ are nominated by the parties involved.


Premise: The World Court has no power to enforce its orders but its decisions have traditionally carried some diplomatic weight.

Hypothesis: The decisions of the World Court carry diplomatic weight.


Premise: One of the earliest and longest standing decisions of the ICJ involved the Corfu Channel incident in 1946 when two British destroyers struck Albanian-laid mines while exercising their right of passage through Corfu Channel.

Hypothesis: The dispute between Albania and the UK about the Corfu incident lasted a long time.


Premise: The ICJ ruled in 1948 that Albania should pay Britain 843,947 pounds.

Hypothesis: In 1948 the ICJ ruled in favour of Albania.


Premise: A dispute between Honduras and El Salvador over their borders was settled by a compromise devised by the ICJ in 1992.

Hypothesis: Honduras and El Salvador were in dispute over their borders.


Premise: Experts estimate that only 5% to 10% of stolen artworks ever finds its way back to the owners.

Hypothesis: Only 5% to 10% of stolen art ever gets returned to the owners.


Premise: Twenty-eight French masterpieces seized by the Nazis during World War II, including paintings by Monet, Renoir and Gauguin, have been found in a cupboard at a Berlin museum, a news magazine reported today.

Hypothesis: Masterpieces seized by Nazis were found in Berlin.


Premise: The ALR was founded by a consortium of leading auction houses (Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips).

Hypothesis: Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips founded the ALR.


Premise: The City Council recently budgeted $7,300 to pay for training Officer Ron Inman and his dog Waldo.

Hypothesis: The City Council paid $7,300 to train a dog.


Premise: The international Human Genome Project is stimulating rapid advances in laboratory automation.

Hypothesis: The Human Genome Project benefits from advances in laboratory automation.


Premise: The three partners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce cloned cells required for genetics research.

Hypothesis: Robots help scientists clone cells.


Premise: The ICRF system then 'picks' healthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the cells to dishes for further growth and analysis.

Hypothesis: The ICRF system picks cells for further growth and analysis.


Premise: The biggest user of automation technology is the electronics industry, especially for making factory laptop computers.

Hypothesis: Automation technology is used in making laptop computers.


Premise: Robots are now available for loading and unloading memory tapes and schedulers for pre-arranging the flow of work through a computer over a period of time.

Hypothesis: Corporate IT departments use robots for loading and unloading memory tapes.


Premise: Robots are being used in automobile final assembly work and paint spraying and suppliers hope to be able to develop these markets now that the technology has been proven.

Hypothesis: Robots are used in assembly work.


Premise: One of the most innovative features of the Thamesport's system is the control of remote peripherals.

Hypothesis: Thamesport's system cannot control remote peripherals.


Premise: The system supervises the movement of all machinery within the port, including the five monster ship-to-shore 'robot' cranes and the 14 gantry cranes, which unload the containers from the ships.

Hypothesis: Robots are used at sea terminals to move containers from ships.


Premise: The government will delay the implementation of local government reform in Wales for a year in what could be an embarrassment for Mr. John Redwood, the Welsh secretary.

Hypothesis: The Welsh government has delayed any legislation regarding proposed changes.


Premise: The Labour leader plans to use a long-planned interview on BBC radio to mount a strong defence of his plans to set up a Scottish parliament and a Welsh assembly.

Hypothesis: The British Labour party had long supported demands by Scotland and Wales for independent assemblies.


Premise: The government is pressing ahead with plans to reform the structure of local government in Wales by holding shadow elections to new unitary authorities as early as next year.

Hypothesis: Shadow elections will be held next year.


Premise: It is expected that a Welsh parliament would be set up in the first year of an incoming Labour government.

Hypothesis: A Welsh parliament will be set up within one year.


Premise: Many British schools experimented with coeducation but returned to its former status as a boys' school.

Hypothesis: Some British schools experimented with single-sex education.


Premise: The Salvation Army operates the shelter under a contract with the county.

Hypothesis: The Salvation Army collaborates with the county.


Premise: Every night of the year a minimum of 140 men who would otherwise be homeless, and who are homeless when they come to us are sleeping in clean beds in the Salvation Army's two Adult Rehabilitation Centers here in the Valley.

Hypothesis: Homeless men may sleep in the Salvation Army's rehabilitation centers in the Valley.


Premise: In England Salvation Army social workers and volunteers have been trained in outreach work to make contact with homeless people on the streets.

Hypothesis: The Salvation Army has trained homeless people as social workers.


Premise: Revenue from the thrift store funded the Salvation Army's drug- and alcohol-rehabilitation service.

Hypothesis: Thrift stores fund rehabilitation services.


Premise: Food pantries are operated directly in various cities such as Los Angeles, California.

Hypothesis: The Army operates food pantries in California.


Premise: In the US the Salvation Army offers shelters for the homeless in most areas of the country.

Hypothesis: The US Army provides shelters for the homeless.


Premise: The Salvation Army paid for the transportation; it often provides an incentive contribution to charitable fundraisers to urge others to reach a stated goal.

Hypothesis: The Salvation Army arranges transportation for donated materials.


Premise: At times of hurricanes in Florida the Salvation Army raises and forwards funds to other relief agencies as well as providing clothing, blankets and food to the afflicted on its own.

Hypothesis: The Salvation Army provides aid to victims of hurricanes.


Premise: A second round of talks between the newly elected Czech and Slovak leaders on the future of the Czechoslovak federation ended in deadlock last night.

Hypothesis: A series of negotiations between Czech and Slovak were unsuccessful.


Premise: After nine hours of talks, Mr. Vaclav Klaus admitted no agreement had been reached with Mr. Vladimir Meciar.

Hypothesis: Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar reached an agreement.


Premise: Already hard hit by the collapse of Comecon markets and the end of the Cold War, the disintegration of the highly integrated Czechoslovak economy has led to a sharp drop in trade with the Czech republic.

Hypothesis: Czech markets have collapsed.


Premise: The Czech and Slovak republics have been unable to agree a political basis for their future coexistence in one country.

Hypothesis: The Czech and Slovak republics do not agree to coexist in one country.


Premise: A new interim federal government, to be made up of Czechs and Slovaks in equal measure will oversee the separation of the state.

Hypothesis: Interim federal government will be equally made up by Czechs and Slovaks.


Premise: The newly-elected leaders of the Czech and Slovak republics have agreed to try to form quickly an interim federal government despite deep differences over the future federal state revealed at their first meeting.

Hypothesis: The Czech and Slovak republics agreed to form an interim federal government.


Premise: In Slovakia, Mr. Vladimir Meciar whose nationalist Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) just failed to win an overall majority in the Slovak National Council, has to choose between Mr. Jozef Prokes or the Democratic Left Party.

Hypothesis: Vladimir Meciar must choose between Prokes and the Democratic Left Party.


Premise: Slovakia's economic difficulties during the reforms fueled an emerging nationalism.

Hypothesis: Slovak nationalism was fueled by economic difficulties.


Premise: In the fall of 1992 the leaders worked on the law for dividing Czechoslovakia.

Hypothesis: The law for the division of Czechoslovakia was discussed in 1992.


Premise: In November, the Czech and Slovak parliaments voted to split into two independent republics in January 1993.

Hypothesis: Czech and Slovak parliaments agreed to become independent republics in January 1993.


Premise: The split left the Czech Republic free to pursue its drive towards a free-market economy.

Hypothesis: The Czech Republic pursues a free market economy.


Premise: Slovakia was saddled with a high concentration of heavy industry geared to the Soviet market.

Hypothesis: Slovakia's heavy industries were geared to the Soviet market.


Premise: After years of battling between oil companies, the Ecuadorian government decided to collaborate with indigenous groups.

Hypothesis: The Ecuadorian government collaborated with indigenous groups.


Premise: In Brazil, the Amazon basin covers 2 million square miles, a region 12 times as large as California.

Hypothesis: The Amazon basin is as large as California.


Premise: Plant manioc in combination with nitrogen-fixing legumes will protect weak soils.

Hypothesis: Soil replenishment technologies have been developed.


Premise: Agroforestry has proved to be one of the most productive uses of cleared Amazon land.

Hypothesis: Agroforestry represents a productive use of cleared Amazon land.


Premise: By giving this land an economic function we are preventing further incursion into the Amazon.

Hypothesis: Incursions in the Amazon have an economic function.


Premise: Brazil's annual losses are between 10 and 20 million acres within the Amazon and 2.5 million acres outside the Amazon.

Hypothesis: Millions of acres within the Amazon are destroyed each year.


Premise: Loggers clear cut large tracts of rain forest to sell wood without replacing trees.

Hypothesis: Trees in the rain forest are cut without being replaced.


Premise: Experiments with establishing fast growing eucalyptus tree farms to supply wood pulp were developed.

Hypothesis: Fast growing eucalyptus trees were planted to supply wood pulp.


Premise: A former executive of Digital Equipment Corp. and two others pleaded guilty Tuesday to siphoning nearly $300,000 from the computer company.

Hypothesis: A former executive of Digital Equipment Corp. siphoned nearly $300,000 from the company.


Premise: Leona Helmsley, the self-proclaimed queen of a luxury hotel chain, was sentenced Tuesday to four years in federal prison.

Hypothesis: Leona Helmsley was given a four year sentence.


Hypothesis: Leona Helmsley is the owner of a luxury hotel chain.


Premise: In a security fraud case, Michael Milken was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Hypothesis: Milken was imprisoned for security fraud.


Premise: Prosecutions tended to be more aggressive and sentences tended to be longer for financial crimes with many victims and massive losses of money, as in the Minkow case.

Hypothesis: Sentences for financial crimes tend to be longer.


Hypothesis: Bilking a large number of people out of millions of dollars can lead to sentences that vary from ten to twenty years.


Premise: The judge in the Milken case said that the 10-year sentence she imposed on Milken was intended to make an example of him.

Hypothesis: Prison term for Michael Milken was intended to make him an example.


Premise: Only firm evidence of the link between conservation and economic development can maintain people's commitment to Campfire, says Cherry Bird, wildlife coordinator for Hurungwe district.

Hypothesis: Campfire helps rural communities make money from animals which had been poached as pests.


Premise: Villagers involved are actively discouraging wildlife poaching, confiscating snares, reporting poaching incidents and guarding against bush fires which are used to flush out animals but also destroy vegetation.

Hypothesis: Zambian villagers set up security committees to prevent poachers entering their area.


Premise: The government's plans for reorganising local government in Wales and Scotland should be withdrawn, leaders of the Assembly of Welsh Counties and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said yesterday.

Hypothesis: Welsh associations want a directly elected Welsh assembly rather than the unitary reorganization.


Premise: Even though there is some evidence that support for an assembly - a centrepiece of nationalist demands - is gaining ground in Wales, it is doubtful if even half the population would.

Hypothesis: It is predicted that as of 1994, a referendum on independence in Wales would probably receive less than 50% support from its people.


Premise: A specialist firm on the New York stock Exchange was fined $480,350 for securities fraud by a judge who said he imposed the sentence as a deterrent.

Hypothesis: One judge said that the nearly half million dollar fine he levied on a specialist firm on the New York Stock Exchange was done as a deterrent.


Premise: A Los Angeles federal court judge Monday imposed a 15-year prison sentence on David A. Feldman of Palos Verdes.

Hypothesis: A Los Angeles federal judge imposed a 15-year prison sentence on David A. Feldman.


Premise: It emerged yesterday that the Ministry of Defence has turned down a request from Argentina to allow a limited supply of UK-manufactured spare parts to the Argentine navy, begun during the Gulf war.

Hypothesis: Military cooperation during gulf war stopped.


Premise: Military ties between the two countries have been governed officially by an arms embargo imposed by Britain on Argentina following the outbreak of the Falklands war in 1982.

Hypothesis: The British Arms embargo began in 1982 and continued through 1994.


Premise: Argentine President Carlos Menem has ordered an 'immediate' investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by British troops during the 1982 Falklands War.

Hypothesis: Argentina demanded an investigation of alleged war crimes during the Falklands War.


Premise: Mr Guido di Tella, Argentine foreign minister, met representatives of British companies and financial institutions.

Hypothesis: Foreign Minister Guido De Tella went to the UK.


Premise: The British government has indicated its readiness to allow Argentine companies to take part in the development of oilfields in the Falkland islands' territorial waters.

Hypothesis: The British government is ready to allow Argentine companies to participate in the development of oilfields.


Premise: Bush and Clinton, who ran against each other in 1992, have worked together since leaving office. They helped raise funds for recovery from 2004's Asian tsunami and 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Hypothesis: Both Bush and Clinton helped raise funds for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.


Premise: Unwrapping a new version of Microsoft's now-standard Windows operating system is generally an event of major proportions.

Hypothesis: A new version of Microsoft's now-standard Windows operating system has been unwrapped.


Premise: Here's what the new Microsoft operating system has and why you may want to wait Flip screens: among the additions to Windows Vista are new ways to look at what windows are open.

Hypothesis: The new Microsoft operating system is called Windows Vista.


Premise: Vista comes not only with improved security, but also with easier ways for parents to decide how they want their children to use the computer. With more people using digital cameras than ever, Microsoft has built photo management software into Vista, making it easier to share and fix photos, burn them to CDs, and give them "tags" or labels that make them easier to find later on.

Hypothesis: Vista is provided with photo management software.


Premise: If yet another conflict were to develop before the force can be bolstered, it would take longer to fight and cost more American casualties than otherwise might be expected.

Hypothesis: America is strained by two ongoing wars.


Premise: Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this month recommended that the Army's troop strength be increased by 65,000 soldiers, to a total of 547,000 worldwide and the Marines be increased by 27,000 to 202,000.

Hypothesis: The Defense Secretary suggested that the Army's troop should be increased to 547,000 soldiers.


Premise: Almost half of the Army increase already has been achieved under a temporary program that Gates said would be made permanent; the full increase is to be achieved within five years.

Hypothesis: The Army increase will be achieved within 5 years.


Premise: The Army's preliminary estimate is that it would cost 70 billion to increase its size and the funds would be spread over budget years 2009 through 2013.

Hypothesis: The Army's increase will probably cost 70 billion.


Premise: Fighting the war in Iraq on top of the war in Afghanistan has left ground forces in a weakened state of readiness. That is, some units are below the standard measure used to determine if they are ready to fight a conventional, high-intensity war.

Hypothesis: There is a high-intensity war between Iraq and Afghanistan.


Premise: Belarus will now pay 53 a tonne for oil it imports, instead of the 180 Russia had previously demanded, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said.

Hypothesis: Belarus imports 53 tonnes of oil from Russia.


Premise: The agreement came after about 10 hours of negotiations between Mr Fradkov and his Belarussian counterpart, Sergei Sidorsky.

Hypothesis: Mr Fradkov and Sergei Sidorsky found an agreement after 10 hours of negotiations.


Premise: Officials from the two countries reached "a balanced solution, corresponding to the interests of both countries", Mr Fradkov said in televised comments, adding that the talks had been "hard".

Hypothesis: Mr Fradkov reached a balanced solution.


Premise: Supplies sent through the Druzhba pipeline were halted for three days after Minsk increased the transit tax for oil which passed through the country.

Hypothesis: Transit tax for oil was increased by Minsk.


Premise: The dispute between the two former Soviet countries came after Moscow forced Belarus to accept a major increase in the cost of gas supplies to the country in late December.

Hypothesis: Moscow increased the cost of gas supplies to Belarus.


Premise: Russia later imposed a hefty duty on oil exports to Belarus, claiming its neighbour was costing it up to 4bn in lost revenues each year.

Hypothesis: Russia decreased the cost of oil exports to Belarus.


Premise: In retaliation, Belarus slapped a 45-per-tonne transit tax on oil shipments from Russia, but withdrew it earlier on Wednesday after tense top-level government talks between both sides.

Hypothesis: Tense government talks occurred between Belarus and Russia.


Premise: There has been some speculation in the Russian media that enemies of Mr Putin may have had a hand in Mr Litvinenko's death, to put the Kremlin in a bad light. Mr Litvinenko was a vehement critic of Mr Putin.

Hypothesis: Mr Putin is a vehement critic of Mr Litvinenko.


Premise: In a wide-ranging, marathon news conference, Mr Putin said Russia was now one of the world's most powerful economies, with a rapid growth rate - about 6.9 in 2006 - and declining inflation.

Hypothesis: According to Mr Putin, Russia is one of the most powerful economies in the world.


Premise: Under the constitution Mr Putin has to stand down in 2008, after serving two terms. But he has now become so powerful and popular that it is widely assumed whoever he names as the preferred candidate will win the election, the 's Richard Galpin reports from Moscow.

Hypothesis: Putin will win the 2008 elections.


Premise: More than 1,000 members of the Russian and foreign media registered for the news conference, which has become an annual event.

Hypothesis: More than 1,000 members from Russia registered for the news conference.


Premise: Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has reversed its opposition to the morning-after pill and agreed to sell it in 3,700 pharmacies. The decision follows a successful campaign against the retailer in Illinois and Massachusetts, which enacted laws requiring pharmacists to fill prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive.

Hypothesis: Wal-Mart is largest retailer of the world.


Premise: Last week, the attorney general of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, turned up the pressure when he said the state would no longer extend its insurance plan for its 188,000 employees to cover prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart unless the chain agreed to stock the pills.

Hypothesis: The attorney general of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal has 188,000 employees.


Premise: The morning-after pill, which must be taken within 72 hours of having sex, is still not available without a prescription in America despite recommendations from the scientific advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration, because of opposition from anti-abortion activists.

Hypothesis: The morning-after pill can be obtained by prescription only.


Premise: In Massachusets, three Boston women successfully sued Wal-Mart last month for violating state regulations that require pharmacies to stock all commonly prescribed medications.

Hypothesis: Wal-Mart has violated state regulations.


Premise: Wal-Mart's belated decision is seen as an important victory at a time when women's organisations fear abortion rights are under threat.

Hypothesis: Women's organisations are fighting against abortion rights.


Premise: Last month, South Dakota moved to ban all abortion in the state, even in cases of rape and incest. Mississippi is considering similar legislation.

Hypothesis: In South Dakota abortion is allowed in cases of rape and incest.


Premise: There were no immediate reports of injuries, and authorities said they found no signs of fires at any other church in Greenville, which is about 75 miles east of Raleigh.

Hypothesis: Greenville is located about 75 miles east of Raleigh.


Premise: Firefighters were called to The Memorial Baptist Church shortly after 11 p.m. and found smoke billowing from its educational wing.

Hypothesis: A fire were signaled at The Memorial Baptist Church.


Premise: Dispatchers received a report of a fire at Unity Free Will Baptist Church, about a half-mile away from The Memorial, shortly before 11:30 p.m.

Hypothesis: A fire were signaled at Unity Free Will Baptist Church.


Premise: Police were also investigating a break-in at Oakmont Baptist Church, located less than a quarter-mile from The Memorial, said police Cpl. Kip Gaskins.

Hypothesis: Kip Gaskins wanted to break in at Oakmont Baptist Church.


Premise: Clinton, who tops every national poll of likely 2008 Democratic presidential contenders, has been criticized by many party activists for refusing to recant her 2002 vote authorizing military action in Iraq.

Hypothesis: Clinton receives criticism for his authorization to intervene in Iraq.


Premise: The United States told Polish leaders it wants to open formal negotiations on the possibility of locating ground-based interceptor missiles in their country as part of a larger missile defense system, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Warsaw said Monday.

Hypothesis: United States wants to enlarge their missile defense system.


Premise: The request comes after two years of exploratory talks and after the neighboring Czech Republic's prime minister said Saturday that Washington had asked to base a radar station in his country as another part of the system.

Hypothesis: A radar station will be based in Washington.


Premise: Washington has repeatedly sought to reassure Russia it has nothing to fear from the system.

Hypothesis: Russia fears the system.


Premise: Both the Czech and Polish parliaments would have to first approve the plan. Although their governments expressed their support, they are weak and face broad public opposition to the plan.

Hypothesis: Czech and Polish parliaments approve the plan.


Premise: Czech opposition parties have spoken against the defense system, and the premier's governing coalition does not have enough parliament votes to pass measures on its own.

Hypothesis: Czech opposition parties are against the defense system.


Premise: In Moscow, Andrei Kokoshin, the former Russian Security Council chief who now heads parliament's committee for ties with former Soviet bloc nations, warned that Czech approval of the plan would not pass without consequences.

Hypothesis: Andrei Kokoshin is the former Russian Security Council chief.


Premise: The U.S. will seek to field a limited number of ground-based missile defense silo launchers, with their associated interceptors, similar to those currently fielded at Fort Greely, Alaska, and to deploy an X-band radar for midcourse tracking and discrimination of ballistic missile threats out of the Middle East.

Hypothesis: The U.S. buys ground-based defense silo launchers.


Premise: The ex-president can deliver political superstardom. He's a razor-sharp political strategist. He knows the institution of the presidency. His fundraising skills are unrivaled. All that is good - perhaps too good, according to a September CNN poll, which showed his favorable rating higher than hers, 60 percent to 50 percent.

Hypothesis: Bill Clinton is a political strategist.


Premise: From now until presidential election day in 2008, the national fascination with the Clintons and their marriage will be central to the race. The media-industrial complex will again feed on the Clintons, their past and future.

Hypothesis: New elections will be held in 2008.


Premise: Beyond the sexual matters, there is Bill Clinton's perceived need for attention - adulation, even - exemplified in the story about his trip to the World Cup in Berlin this year.

Hypothesis: Clinton made a trip to the World Cup in Berlin.


Premise: In the past several months, Bill Clinton has appeared to be his wife's chief campaigner, publicly saying that she would be a great president, even better than him, because she would enter the White House with more experience.

Hypothesis: Hillary Clinton is the wife of a great president.


Premise: Fuelled by last year's rise in global oil prices and the surge in Chinese imports, it was the fifth record annual US trade deficit in succession.

Hypothesis: Chinese imports reached the fifth annual record.


Premise: The gap with China alone was $232.5bn last year, the largest imbalance the US has ever recorded with one country.

Hypothesis: There is no trade gap between China and US.


Premise: China denies the allegations, although it currently allows the yuan to trade only within a narrow band against the US dollar.

Hypothesis: China allows the yuan to trade only within a narrow band.


Premise: It has pledged to allow the yuan to float more freely in the future, but says any reform would not be rushed, as it does not want to risk destabilising the export-led Chinese economy.

Hypothesis: China has an export-led economy.


Premise: Last year the US saw exports of goods and services rise 12.8% to $1.44 trillion, while its imports gained 10.5% to $2.2 trillion, said the Commerce Department.

Hypothesis: US exports rose 10.5%.


Premise: The world's largest consumer of oil, US imports rose to a record $302.5bn last year, fuelled by the price of crude hitting record highs in the summer at the time of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hypothesis: There was a conflict between Israel and Lebanon.


Premise: Away from the Olympic site, near the bricks and timber of the Forbidden City, it is as if an alien presence has landed.

Hypothesis: Aliens have been seen near the Forbidden City.


Premise: It's very difficult to get teams from China the right to stay here for a longer period of time.

Hypothesis: It is difficult to get the right to stay in China for a long period of time.


Premise: Mexico City has a very bad pollution problem because the mountains around the city act as walls and block in dust and smog.

Hypothesis: Poor air circulation out of the mountain-walled Mexico City aggravates pollution.


Premise: Satomi Mitarai died of blood loss.

Hypothesis: Satomi Mitarai bled to death.


Premise: The national insurrection of 1794, led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko against the Russo-Prussian second partition, was brutally crushed; the ensuing third partition of Poland among Russia, Prussia, and Austria left Warsaw a provincial town of South Prussia.

Hypothesis: Warsaw became a town in Prussia.


Premise: The city Tenochtitlan grew rapidly and was the center of the Aztec's great empire.

Hypothesis: Tenochtitlan quickly spread over the island, marshes, and swamps.


Premise: Militant groups in Iraq have waged a kidnapping campaign aimed at driving out U.S. supporting companies and troops.

Hypothesis: About 70 foreigners have been abducted by militants fighting the U.S.-led occupation and reconstruction efforts in Iraq.


Premise: Massoud Emami, governor of Iran's northwestern province of Qazvin, and at least 8 others on abroad a helicopter were killed in a crash.

Hypothesis: Governor of Iran's Qazvin province, Massoud Emami, and eight others were killed


Premise: In 1541 the Turks took the Buda and held it until 1686; the city changed very little during this time.

Hypothesis: The Turks held Buda between 1541 and 1686.


Premise: Hyperhidrosis is more common than you think. This condition affects 1 out of 25 people.

Hypothesis: Asians have an even higher rate of incidence---1 of every 5 suffers from hyperhidrosis.


Premise: The Alameda Central ( Central Mall ) roughly marks the western edge of the old colonial city.

Hypothesis: The Alameda Central is west of the Zocalo.


Premise: Vanunu converted to Christianity while in prison, and has been living in an anglican cathedral in Jerusalem since his release on April 21.

Hypothesis: A convert to Christianity, Vanunu has sequestered himself at a Jerusalem church since he was freed on April 21.


Premise: The Clark County medical examiner's office said the man who was killed was 33 years old.

Hypothesis: The Clark County medical examiner's office put the dead man's age at 33.


Premise: President Nicanor Duarte Frutos asked the private sector to help the state's overwhelmed public health system.

Hypothesis: President Nicanor Duarte called the tragedy "a moment of great anguish" for his country as he visited the scene.


Premise: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened to dismiss Cabinet ministers who don't support his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Hypothesis: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon threatened to fire cabinet opponents of his Gaza withdrawal plan.


Premise: The city was traditionally inhabited by mestizos ( people of mixed European and Indian descent ) and criollos ( Mexicans of European descent ), but steady immigration from the countryside has given it a more Indian character.

Hypothesis: People known as mestizos are of mixed European and Indian descent.


Premise: Excluding restructuring costs and the associated tax impact, net income for the recent quarter would have been $4 million, Seagate said.

Hypothesis: Excluding these items, Seagate would have posted earnings of $462 million, or 93 cents a share.


Premise: The crew of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, and other early astronauts were named "Ambassadors of Exploration" in a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Hypothesis: Aldrin was one of the astronauts honored by NASA at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.


Premise: The governor of Qazvin province Massoud Emami, his deputy, the province's head of police and three crew died when a helicopter taking them to inspect the earthquake zone crashed on Saturday.

Hypothesis: Massoud Emami, governor of Iran's northwestern province of Qazvin, and at least 9 others on abroad a helicopter were killed in a crash Saturday afternoon.


Premise: Each hour spent in a car was associated with a 6 percent increase in the likelihood of obesity and each half-mile walked per day reduced those odds by nearly 5 percent, the researchers found.

Hypothesis: The more driving you do means you're going to weigh more -- the more walking means you're going to weigh less.


Premise: A Filipino truck driver held hostage in Iraq for two weeks has been freed, a day after Manila withdrew its troops in response to demands from kidnappers who had threatened to behead him.

Hypothesis: Egyptian driver Mohammed al-Gharabawi was freed after the Saudi firm he worked for met kidnappers' demands by promising to stop doing work in Iraq.


Premise: Customers are starting to feel more comfortable with open source software, and they are even more comfortable if a big company like H-P stands behind it, said Bob Bickel, vice president for corporate strategy and development at JBoss.

Hypothesis: Bob Bickel, vice president of strategy and corporate development at JBoss, said commercial use remains somewhat constrained because a CIO doesn't know whom they can turn to for support.


Premise: Some neighbors said they were forced to break windows to enter the supermarket because the doors wouldn't open.

Hypothesis: Many survivors said they were unable to open locked doors as they tried to flee the complex.


Premise: A Union Pacific freight train hit five people.

Hypothesis: A Union Pacific freight train struck five people.


Premise: The plaintiffs are also concerned by suggestions the bones may have deteriorated in the eight years since they was pulled from the sediment.

Hypothesis: The number of pieces of skeleton have grown since they've been lying in the cabinet.


Premise: Ghazi Yawar, a Sunni Muslim who lived for years in Saudi Arabia, has been picked as president of Iraq after the favored U.S. choice, Adnan Pachachi, declined to take the job.

Hypothesis: Yawer is a Sunni Muslim.


Premise: Last July, a 12-year-old boy in Nagasaki - a city just north of Sasebo - was accused of kidnapping, molesting and killing a 4-year-old by shoving him off the roof of a car garage.

Hypothesis: Last year a 12-year-old boy in Nagasaki was accused of murdering a four-year-old boy by pushing him off a roof.


Premise: Mexico City has a very bad pollution problem because the mountains around the city act as walls and block in dust and smog.

Hypothesis: Air pollution -- made up mostly of ozone, suspended particles, and sulfur dioxide -- has affected the climate by partially blocking the Sun's rays.


Premise: A plane carrying 200 French Jewish immigrants has landed in Israel, at a time of strained diplomatic relations between Israel and France.

Hypothesis: Nearly 2,000 Jews emigrate from France to Israel every year.


Premise: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has withdrawn his resignation, and agreed to stay on in his post at the urging of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Hypothesis: Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Quriea will stay in his post but did not formally withdraw his resignation.


Premise: Five people were killed in another suicide bomb blast at a police station in the northern city of Mosul.

Hypothesis: Five people were killed and 20 others wounded in a car bomb explosion outside an Iraqi police station south of Baghdad.


Premise: Japan has long sought to overturn a 1986 ban on all commercial whaling, and its proposal to allow the hunting of minke whales in the Antarctic came at the IWC's annual meeting in Italy, which, as in past years, has been dominated by the issue.

Hypothesis: Commercial whale hunting has been banned by the IWC.


Premise: The Palace of Fine Arts is the home of the famous Mexican Ballet Folklorico, which is known for its colorful costumes as well as its dancing.

Hypothesis: The downtown Palace of Fine Arts is the traditional concert and opera hall.


Premise: Landslides, collapsing houses, drowning, disease and snake bites have brought the death toll across South Asia to 1,338.

Hypothesis: Deaths from monsoon rains across South Asia hit 1,300.


Premise: The first settlements on the site of Jakarta were established at the mouth of the Ciliwung, perhaps as early as the 5th century AD.

Hypothesis: The first settlements on the site of Jakarta were established as early as the 5th century AD.


Premise: Jennifer Hawkins is the 21-year-old beauty queen from Australia.

Hypothesis: Jennifer Hawkins is Australia's 20-year-old  beauty queen.


Premise: Shrek 2 retained the top spot with $92.2 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, fending off the global-catastrophe tale "The Day After Tomorrow," which debuted with $86 million, according to studio estimates Monday.

Hypothesis: Shrek 2 retained the top spot with $92.2-million over the long weekend, fending off the global-catastrophe tale The Day After Tomorrow, which debuted with $86-million, according to studio estimates.


Premise: I'm doing everything to be prepared for the Olympics so I can achieve something for my country, she said, speaking at the country's only studio for female judo players.

Hypothesis: I'm doing everything to be prepared for the Olympics so I can achieve something for my country, she said, speaking at the country's only studio for female judokas.


Premise: The city has marked topographical contrasts: Buda is built on the higher river terraces and hills of the western side, while the considerably larger Pest spreads out on a flat and featureless sand plain on the river's opposite bank.

Hypothesis: Pest is on the opposite, east bank.


Premise: It's troubling that it took an eight-year, multimillion-dollar legal fight with a government that was bent on siding with religion over the right to study a 9,300-year-old skeleton.

Hypothesis: An 8-year fight ends over a 9,200-year-old man.


Premise: On the 35th anniversary of the first lunar landing, NASA struggled with money problems as it aimed to return to human space flight after the Columbia disaster and ultimately put people back on the moon.

Hypothesis: NASA paid tribute to America's first generation of astronauts to mark the 35th anniversary of the first moon walk.


Premise: Staten Island ferry captain Michael Gansas has refused to talk with investigators.

Hypothesis: City officials fired the captain of the crashed Staten Island ferry.


Premise: The directive, issued by Vietnam's Minister of Post and Telecommunications Do Trung Ta on Monday, is the latest in a string of measures unveiled in recent months to prevent "bad and poisonous information" being circulated online.

Hypothesis: The regulations are the latest ones in a string of recent measures aimed at cracking down on "bad information" circulated over the Internet.


Premise: The Taliban's rule from 1996 to 2001 was a dark period for Afghan athletes, especially girls and women.

Hypothesis: Rezzay came home after the Taliban were toppled by Afghan opposition forces in 2001


Premise: Mr Sadr is wanted by the U.S. in connection with the assassination of a rival cleric in April 2003.

Hypothesis: U.S. troops seized a relative and senior lieutenant to Sadr, who was also wanted for murder.


Premise: The city's main industries are construction and the production of chemicals, plastics, cement, and yarns and textiles.

Hypothesis: The city's products include chemicals, plastics, cement, yarns, and textiles.


Premise: Some bodies were found still seated in their cars, blackened from the intense heat.

Hypothesis: Badly burned bodies could be seen as they were taken away after the fire.


Premise: Combined with oil prices still hovering near $44 a barrel.

Hypothesis: The company's shares were down 44 cents.


Premise: The accidental discovery of its skull by two young men walking along the Columbia River caused a sensation, not only because of its age but also because some features did not resemble those of modern American Indians, as would have been expected then.

Hypothesis: The skeleton, among the oldest in America, bears little physical resemblance to any present-day Americans.


Premise: A suicide attacker killed 51 people when he exploded a bomb-laden vehicle outside a central Baqouba police station Wednesday.

Hypothesis: 70 people were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed sedan on a busy Baqouba street.


Premise: Google apparently doesn't handle bureaucratic paperwork as smoothly as its online search engine sorts through billions of Web pages.

Hypothesis: Google Inc. is delaying its IPO by a week because of logistical problems related to institutional investors registering to bid on the shares.


Premise: The latest French government figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 - compared with 593 for all of last year.

Hypothesis: There are growing anti-Jewish sentiments and incidents in France as more than 300 anti-Semitic attacks have been reported in France so far this year, which is more than in all of 2003.


Premise: The Dutch name Batavia remained the internationally recognized name until full Indonesian independence was achieved and Djakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital ( and its present name recognized ) on December 27, 1949.

Hypothesis: Indonesia gained independence in 1949, and the name of the city was changed to Djakarta.


Premise: Witnesses said the gunman was wearing gray pants and a tan jacket and was carrying a gray bag.

Hypothesis: Witnesses said the gunman was wearing gray pants and a tan jacket, and carrying a gray bag.


Premise: Prime Minister Allawi has sent out letters to countries that might be candidates.

Hypothesis: Prime Minister Allawi will return to Iraq in time for the country's national conference.


Premise: Several other people, including a woman and two children, suffered injuries in the incident.

Hypothesis: Several people were slightly wounded, including a woman and three children


Premise: As oil prices soared to new heights after a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, the nation's influential oil minister tried to reassure markets yesterday that OPEC would do its best to provide adequate supplies.

Hypothesis: As oil prices soared after a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, the nation's oil minister tried to reassure markets that OPEC will try to provide adequate supplies.


Premise: A Filipino hostage in Iraq was released.

Hypothesis: A Filipino hostage was freed in Iraq.


Premise: The Greek government is spending over 1 billion euros.

Hypothesis: Greece is spending over 1 billion euros.


Premise: Cinemas showing the new Harry Potter film are being issued with night vision goggles in a bid to stamp out piracy.

Hypothesis: Night vision goggles have been distributed along with the film.


Premise: The city has marked topographical contrasts: Buda is built on the higher river terraces and hills of the western side, while the considerably larger Pest spreads out on a flat and featureless sand plain on the river's opposite bank.

Hypothesis: Buda features many hills, while Pest is relatively flat.


Premise: Anthropologists say that Kennewick man's remains are part of an expanding body of evidence showing that American Indians, long thought to have been the original inhabitants of the Americas, may not have been the first people to live on the continents.

Hypothesis: Scientists say that Kennewick man's skeleton could provide valuable information about the early settling of the Americas.


Premise: The Friday before she was reported missing, Lori Hacking, 27, left work stunned and sobbing.

Hypothesis: Hacking said she had gone jogging and never showed up for work.


Premise: In terms of music, the National Philharmonic Orchestra draws large crowds.

Hypothesis: The National Philharmonic orchestra draws large crowds.


Premise: It soon became the most important city of the Americas, with jurisdiction extending well into the present United States and as far south as Panama.

Hypothesis: It soon became the most important city of the Americas.


Premise: China has virtually refused Korean demands that it correct distortions of Koguyro history.

Hypothesis: Few Koreans doubt that Koguryo belonged to Korea.


Premise: There are also tanneries, sawmills, textile mills, food-processing plants, breweries, and a film industry in the city.

Hypothesis: Movies are also made in the city.


Premise: They were greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who recently urged French Jews to flee to Israel to escape rising anti-Semitism.

Hypothesis: Sharon praised France for 'determined action' against anti-Semitism.


Premise: On hand to meet him with Mbeki were the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Health Minister, Transport Minister, Defence Minister and director general in the presidency, Reverend Frank Chikane.

Hypothesis: On hand to meet him with Mbeki were the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Health Minister, Transport Minister, Defence Minister and director general in the presidency, Rev Frank Chikane.


Premise: Japan wants to hunt more than 3,000 minke whales for meat that could be worth $300 million.

Hypothesis: Japan is the world's prime consumer of whale meat.


Premise: The GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services in the nation, rose at an annual rate of 3 percent in the second quarter, compared to a 4.5 percent rise in the first quarter.

Hypothesis: Gross domestic product, a measure of total output within the nation's borders, climbed at a 3% annual pace in the April-June period.


Premise: Scientists on Earth, too, are gathering data on Mars: researchers from the U.S. Antarctic Search for Meteorites Program announced yesterday the discovery of a Martian meteorite recovered 750 kilometers from the South Pole.

Hypothesis: A Martian meteorite was discovered by scientists in Antarctica.


Premise: The Aztec Indians founded a city on the site of modern-day Mexico City in the 14th century.

Hypothesis: The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the 13th century.


Premise: The Alameda Central, west of the Zocalo, was created in 1592.

Hypothesis: The Alameda Central is west of the Zocalo.


Premise: The death toll is worst in India, however, with 686 fatalities so far.

Hypothesis: Flooding and related problems have killed 768 people in India.


Premise: NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe presented the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury astronauts and survivors with commemorative plaques - each containing a small piece of lunar rock.

Hypothesis: NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe has said shuttle astronauts will not make a repair call to the orbiting observatory because it would be too risky.