--- fastest_cvsup.bak	Sat Nov  5 14:48:17 2005
+++ fastest_cvsup	Sat Nov  5 14:48:46 2005
@@ -295,6 +295,7 @@
 
       # extract the country name and the rest (what a mess!)
 
+      s/^<a[^>]+><\/a>//;
       if ( m/^(\w+)(\s{1}\w+)?\s*(.*)/s ) {
         my $country = $1.$2; # for two word names
         my $mess = $3;       # the rest