While designed to provide a short-term boost to Israel's embattled prime minister, Ariel Sharon, this cynical change in administration policy will have important long-term costs.

Party officials also said the embattled prime minister was suffering from poor health.

Mr. Zedillo stood side by side with Mr. Espinosa at a convention as governing party officials showered the embattled minister with praise.

Poland's embattled leftist prime minister, Leszek Miller, said yesterday that he would call for early general elections amid growing suspicions about his role in a political corruption scandal.

He then showed up late this afternoon to greet Italy's embattled prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, as he landed on the president's helicopter pad for an overnight visit.

Only the royal massacre keeps the embattled prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, off the front page.

A5 Lebanon Premier Steps Down Lebanon's embattled pro-Syrian prime minister stepped down, saying he had failed to win the cooperation of the opposition.

But he is widely expected to back his embattled prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, who insists that the law be put into effect.

Viktor Orban, the embattled Hungarian prime minister, did not create the problem with foreign currency loans, which is also an issue in other East European countries like Poland.

Julia Gillard, the embattled prime minister, has staked her reputation on the policy, and is desperate for it to pay off.