The business will have more than 100,000 employees, revenues of over $21bn, operating cash flow of $9bn, and income of almost $3bn. Together, they serve the two largest states, California and Texas, and will have 30 miilion phone lines.The merged company will take the SBC name and be led by SBC chairman and chief executive officer Edward E Whitacre Jr. The merger gives the companies greater size and financial power to offer a broader range of services, something made possible by the law.The two companies are among seven formed from the 1984 break-up of the old Bell System monopoly. Negotiations on the final status of Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as the future of 144 Jewish settlements, are to begin in May.

Mr Peres was speaking as he left for a visit to Oman, the second by an Israeli Premier to the Gulf Arab state in less than two years AP. Jerusalem – Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said yesterday that he would hold a referendum on any final peace agreement with the Palestinians. His pledge appeared aimed at undecided voters in forthcoming elections who fear that he would make too many concessions to the Palestinians. The joining of the two regional Baby Bell phone companies is the most dramatic deal since Congress deregulated the industry on 8 February, and analysts believe it is a harbinger of similar gigantic combinations to come.
SBC said the merger would create the second-largest telecommunications company by market value in the US, and the merger is the first of its kind between two former Bell System companies. The gates opened to a new wave of mega-mergers in the US telecommunications sector yesterday as SBC Communications and Pacific Telesis Group agreed to merge in a $16.7bn (pounds 11bn) deal, becoming the second-largest company in the sector behind AT & T.

Terms and Conditions are as previously published and are available upon request.Hotel Name Grade Short Break Extra Night(cost per person) (cost per person)PARIS:Baccarat 2 pounds 109 pounds 33Royal Navarin 2 pounds 109 pounds 33Royal Magenta 2 pounds 109 pounds 33Cheverny 3 pounds 129 pounds 44Appia 3 pounds 129 pounds 44Cusset 3 (superior) pounds 139 pounds 54Brebant 3 (superior) pounds 139 pounds 54The Garden Elysee 4 pounds 155 pounds 70Copthorne Commodore 4 (superior) pounds 179 pounds 99BRUSSELS:The Cascade 2 pounds 109 pounds 36The Vendome 3 pounds 119 pounds 42The Bedford 4 pounds 125 pounds 46token 3. Your four tokens, application form and cheques should be sent to: Independent/Swinards UK Ltd, 26a Bank Street, Ashford, Kent TN23 1BA.Bookings for both our offers can be made from 3 April – 10 May 1996 Travel is available from 29 April – 3 June 1996. Your hotel availabiltiy and travel arrangements will be checked and the booking price confirmed You will be asked to pay by cheque/credit card to Swinards. Your travel arrangements will be checked and the booking price confirmed.

You will be asked to pay by cheque/credit card to European Passenger Services Limited. If you are paying by cheque you will be given details of where to send your cheque to. Your four tokens and application form should be sent to: Independent/Eurostar, PO Box 4AP, London W1A 4AP.To book your Short Break to either Paris or Brussels, simply select the hotel at which you would like to stay, then call 01233 646181 (9am – 5.30pm Mon-Fri). On Wednesday 3 April we will print an application form which you must complete and send with your tokens. Today we are printing Token 3; Token 4 will be printed in tomorrow’s Independent.How to BookTo book your Eurostar 2 for 1 day return trip to either Paris, Lille or Brussels, simply call 0345 660420 (9am – 5pm Mon-Sun). For Brussels, there are mid-week supplements for three and four star hotels upwards, from pounds 8 per person per night.