The latest flashpoint came in February, when C.S.N. told five athletic clubs that were built decades ago on company land that it was considering taking the areas back.

Their debate, at Pace University in Manhattan, was the latest flashpoint in a primary campaign that has, at times, more closely resembled reality television than a Senate race.

The latest flashpoint is the petition drive, which collected 30,332 signatures and needed only 20,000 - to force the "strong mayor" measure onto the city ballot in May.

The latest flashpoint occurred Monday, when Mr. Golub and his lawyer, Norman Siegel, protested the officials' decision to lock him and staff out of their office.

The recent decisions about Lafayette and Tilden provide the latest flashpoints for months of friction between the Education Department and immigrant families and their advocates.

Oman, ruled by a powerful family dynasty, is the latest flashpoint in unfolding crisis that is challenging authoritarian governments across the Middle East.

Refugees and wounded children are easier to find than the truth in this mountain region, the latest flashpoint in the conflict between the Kremlin and assertive Soviet republics.

Both goalkeepers raced from their box to the scene of the latest flashpoint to pour fuel on the fire.

The latest flashpoint is a four-hour ABC mini-series, "Anne Frank," to be shown on May 20 and May 21.