Fierce fighting erupted yesterday when Chechen rebels apparently expelled Russian forces from the town of Argun and harried them in the town of Shali

Fierce fighting erupted yesterday when Chechen rebels apparently expelled Russian forces from the town of Argun and harried them in the town of Shali. Fierce fighting erupted yesterday when Chechen rebels apparently expelled Russian forces from the town of Argun and harried them in the town of Shali. The rebels were reported to have blocked the military command headquarters and the railway station in Argun. Russia's military reported that up to 300 rebel fighters had blocked the two sites. The military also encountered stiff resistance from well-armed Chechen fighters in Grozny despite high casualties suffered by the rebels, the Russian Defence ministry said.Russian television showed armoured personnel carriers lumbering up snowy slopes to occupy the heights around Vedeno, the stronghold of the Chechen warlord, Shamil Basayev.

Helicopter gunships rocketed rebel positions in the northwestern Staropromyslovsky district, supporting ground attacks, and the military claimed some 100 militants had been killed.Also Monday, the Interfax news agency said federal jets flew 50 attack sorties in the last 24 hours around the village of Vedeno and the Argun gorge, deep in the southern mountains where the Russians have yet to take control.Attack helicopters made more than 60 sorties to hit rebel strongholds and support Russian ground troops, Interfax said.. It was not known how many hostages were held in the school, but said federal forces were trying to free them.The fighting in Argun, Gudermes and Shali - all seized by Russia weeks ago - underscored how difficult it will be for federal forces to gain control of Chechnya, with the rebels able to attack deep into Russian-held territory.Russia began the campaign to retake Chechnya in September in response to invasions into a neighboring territory by Chechen militants and four bomb blasts that killed about 300 people in Moscow and two other Russian cities.Heavy street fighting raged in the capital Grozny, with helicopter gunships rocketing rebel positions.The Defense Ministry said that its forces were still encountering stiff resistance from well-armed Chechen fighters in Grozny, but insisted that the rebels were suffering high casualties. But military sources said there was still heavy fighting in the town.According to ITAR-Tass, rebels were also holding hostages in a school in Gudermes, east of Argun and the largest Chechen city the Russians claimed to control. He said federal troops were "mopping up" Argun, an indication that scattered groups of rebels were still putting up resistance in the area.Kazantsev said Russian troops also gained the upper hand in Shali, located 12 miles southeast of Grozny. But Russian forces did not stop ground operations around Grozny despite the weekend lull.After steadily retreating over the last few months, the rebels have gone on the offensive in the past week in Grozny and other parts of Chechnya.Russian commanders said their troops had gained the upper hand in Argun and Shali, but reports from the area said the rebels were still fighting for the two towns.Col Gen. Viktor Kazantsev claimed that Russian forces on Monday pushed back a force of 300 rebels who attacked Argun, located 9 miles east of the capital Grozny."The federal troops are in full control of the situation within the town," Kazantsev said. The rebels launched attacks to take the towns of Argun and Shali, which were captured last month by Russian forces.An Interior Ministry spokesman said rebels killed 26 Russian soldiers and wounded 30 during the last 24 hours.

Russia has claimed for weeks that its losses are no more than one or two a day, despite persistent reports by soldiers in Chechnya that casualties are much higher.Russian Defense Igor Sergeyev said a temporary lull in bombing of the capital Grozny for Orthodox Christmas was over. Russian forces battled to hold on to two key towns under heavy attack by Chechen rebels, and Moscow admitted for the first time that its forces had suffered major losses. With its offensive to take Chechnya stalled, the Russian military has been forced on the defensive by Chechen rebels in recent days. Often they will fail, but when they land and succeed it is extraordinary.". Russian forces battled to hold on to two key towns under heavy attack by Chechen rebels, and Moscow admitted for the first time that its forces had suffered major losses. "If you were a pen pusher or a number-cruncher and you were given a musical about furry animals dressed up as cats, to poems by T S Eliot, and directed by the then director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, you would have perhaps said: 'I don't think I fancy that'."It's terribly important that for the interest of theatre we are willing to take on new ideas and try them out. He said his acquisition "has got enormous implications for keeping the theatre in the hands that it should be kept in, and not in the hands of pen-pushers and number crunchers".He said he would take risks, citing the decision by the promoter Bernard Delfont to get Cats to the New London and the "daft" idea to stage Les Miserables as example of risk-taking. Instead, RUG will have non-executive directors, as will NWEP, alongside a new non-executive chairman.Lord Lloyd-Webber also insisted yesterday that he will maintain the West End's diversity and not allow the theatres to be dominated by his own shows.

Those changes will include increased use of the Internet to sell tickets, Lord Lloyd-Webber said. "I think we are going to see a complete revolution in the way people buy tickets for theatre, and I think theatre has got to move with the times."Bill Taylor, RUG's managing director, and the main broker of the deal, has gone to some lengths to maintain the company's business identity Lord Lloyd-Webber will not sit on its board. Although Stoll Moss's present management, including its chief executive Richard Johnston, will be kept, the deal raises doubts about the future for Stoll Moss's 700 staff.The main logic behind the deal is to secure much greater efficiency in ticketing, promotions and merchandising. RUG will remain independent, keeping control of existing sales, royalties and ownership of its musicals. He already has major interests in several theatres, including the Prince of Wales, The Strand and the Prince Edward. He is also a friend of Janet Holmes à Court, the prominent Australian businesswoman who owned Stoll Moss after the death of her husband, the cattle baron and businessman Robert Holmes à Court.One of Sir Cameron's biggest shows, Miss Saigon , is on at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane He stages The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's.