Opening Session Thursday The congress holds its opening session on Thursday amid promises that it will be a fresh and more open legislative forum.

But other hunger strikers have begun eating again amid reported promises of release in the near future.

The current leadership came to power amid promises to play hardball with the media conglomerates that many writers feel have been taking advantage of them for decades.

For many workers, some who worked for free for months amid constant promises of being paid for a "product we believed in", have lost their marriages, careers and life savings.

In a move that was to be reflected in his later business life, Davies left Pippa Dee amid a boardroom struggle and broken promises from other directors.

Bucking the negative trend were mainland Chinese shares, which rose amid promises by Beijing to channel more bank lending to struggling entrepreneurs.

Maybe, others ventured, this moment recalled President Nixon's invasion of Cambodia - "extension of the fight amid promises of withdrawal," as a German columnist put it.

But he yielded amid promises by Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Klerk to consider some of his demands after the election.

The farewells between villagers and pirates were somewhat muted by the lingering effects of the mead, but Hrolf's crew took their leave in friendly fashion, amid promises to return soon.

The major banks were nationalized in 1969 amid promises of loans to rural areas and secure jobs, especially for the lower classes.