1.   And with one more day to go in the nine-day conference, the fighting appears to have ended.

2.   As darkness fell, the fighting appeared to move from surrounding villages directly into town.

3.   But, the heavy fighting appears to be over and the capital is relatively calm.

4.   Despite Kremlin assurances that the end is in sight, the fighting still appears fierce, though it is shifting to new fronts.

5.   The fighting appeared to involve a Taliban unit that had taken hold of a ridge and refused to surrender.

6.   The fighting Tuesday appeared to have been joined by a small force of Special Operations commandos.

7.   The fighting also appeared to widen the division between Arafat and the Islamist group Hamas, which organized the rally.

8.   The fighting appeared to be the heaviest in several days.

9.   The fighting appeared to be waning slightly as diplomats converged in Damascus at the weekend in an effort to negotiate a temporary ceasefire.

10.   The more recent fighting appeared to signal a shift in U.S. strategy.