1.   A layer of insulation surrounds the tank, and the entire unit is enclosed in a sheet-metal jacket.

2.   Like everything else about Cuba, layers of ambiguity surround Old Havana restoration, an initiative with the clout of law, business and the military.

3.   They sawed it open to reveal the thickly marbled meat, surrounded by layers of fat so white it could have been coconut.

4.   In a matter of weeks, troops have erected cell blocks, interrogation rooms, a hospital, all surrounded by layers of razor wire.