61.   In November, he met Shell officials in a vain attempt to have the multinational suspend its activities in Nigeria.

62.   A dozen children lob stones from slingshots over the rooftops in a vain attempt to hit the soldiers.

63.   At least a dozen vain attempts by regional leaders were made over the course of the conflict to bring it to an end.

64.   Family members gathered outside the prison in a vain attempt to learn what had gone on inside and to learn the identity of the victims.

65.   Local farmers would attack them in a vain attempt to ward them off, often risking their lives in a last-ditch attempt to defend their modest livelihoods.

66.   Meanwhile, depositors furiously pound the windows of their banks, in a vain attempt to reclaim their savings that have been frozen by the government for months.

67.   Panicking refugees fled toward the border where Zairean policemen fired into the air in a vain attempt to halt the crowds.

68.   One of his colleagues dived into the sea in a vain attempt to rescue him.

69.   Police had made a vain attempt to intervene.

70.   Sitting in the warm coziness of her kitchen, she squeezed her eyes in a vain attempt to hold back the tears.