They all share a taste for art that stems from the intellect. This week's shows underline a search for meaning through the study of banality; the process of contemplating these works may allow the viewer - if he or she is lucky - to discover a new level of reality that underlies the surface of life. Russia says it cannot withdraw its troops by the end of the year because it has no housing for them at home - a fact that everyone accepts as true But the Balts have run out of patience. The Italian debt problem remains unmanageable, the Italian government remains very weak, and a combined lira devaluation of 7 per cent is far from decisive. The priorities have been perilously wrong,' said Mr Bubis, whose family died in the Nazi camps.Hoyerswerda, Rostock, Molln - Mr Bubis lists the worst violence against foreigners over the past 18 months, and the 'huge mistakes made by the authorities in holding back, looking on, passing light sentences' One thing has led to another.

GENERAL MOTORS yesterday hit back at critics of the safety of its pick-up trucks. IF, as expected, Terry Venables is appointed England manager tomorrow, the Football Association will have blundered into an over- hasty appointment. Substitutes not used: Gibson, Ward (gk).Referee: R Bigger (Norfolk).. The company is clearly responding to the dapper young Ulsterman who worships at the shrines of military history and marketing theory. 'I have been interested in military history since I was a kid, and I would love to be running an army in battle,' he says. THE CITY doesn't quite know what to make of 3i. In the equities markets, derivatives offer exposure to shares at a lower cost than buying the shares themselves.The new financial instruments have been judged a great success by the banks and securities houses that market them. JUST as Halkopous refused to wait respectfully at a corner while the old guard of hurdling caught him up, so his trainer, Mark Tompkins, declined to attend jump racing's holy place on Saturday dressed like an ex-cavalry officer, as many aspiring Cheltenhamites are inclined to do New horse, new man.

We need very firm guidelines which enable an efficient, precise system which follows the spirit of judgments we have seen.'. If we finish with most points, we'll be champions.'Gary Penrice, the Queen's Park Rangers striker, has suffered another fracture, in a training session, of the leg he broke at Middlesbrough on 9 January, and misses the rest of the season.Leicester yesterday admitted that if they reach the First Division play-offs - for which they are on course - they will have to stage home games at Coventry or Nottingham Forest. Mr Ciampi, 72, announced that his 'absolute priority' would be electoral reform. Last night US AC-130 gunships were reported to have attacked the area near the residence of General Aideed for the third night in a row.Yesterday's killing was the latest round in the growing confrontation between Somalis and UN troops, whose mission is to keep the peace and ensure the timely arrival of food relief. However you would not need the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes to work out that Thomson is the favoured tour operator.