1.   The prosecution say Mr Probyn was laying the ground for his defence as the search for his wife continued.

2.   A House committee cancels debate on a controversial nuclear waste storage bill, laying the ground for a fierce battle on the House floor.

3.   Indeed, his own last-minute machinations, though wrenching, appear to have laid the ground for a smooth succession.

4.   Mobutu has laid no ground for a smooth transition.

5.   Resentment for this exploitation has laid the ground for independence movements and outbreaks of violence.

6.   That last experience, he said, brought him a deeper understanding of God and laid the ground for his attraction to the Woodstock synagogue.

7.   These talks produced the agreement for mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO, laying the ground for Palestinian self-rule.

8.   Thus was the ground laid for the famous monkey trial.

9.   Displaying gruesome photographs of chopped body parts, prosecutors on Monday laid the grounds to seek the trial of a Briton charged with dismembering a South African tourist.

10.   Displaying gruesome photographs of chopped body parts, prosecutors on Monday laid grounds to seek the trial of a Briton charged with dismembering a South African tourist here.