1.   A U.N. official, Lakhdar Brahimi of Algeria, is preparing the groundwork for talks among the Afghan factions.

2.   Then it prepared the groundwork for change by holding a series of intensive, two-day workshops for all of our management professionals.

3.   To prepare the groundwork for another certification of Mexico, both U.S. and Mexican officials have been touting their success in combating the drug trade.

4.   Dr Mahathir was preparing the groundwork for a downward revision of the growth forecast of the economy a few days later by his deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

5.   Her comments capped several days of increasingly harsh comments by officials that seemed to prepare the groundwork for a crackdown against more than a month of daily protests.

6.   It calls for the creation of a civilian administration intended to prepare the groundwork for a future autonomous government.

7.   Mired in self-doubt, the European Union hopes to prepare the groundwork this weekend for a bigger and more flexible Union with a stronger, united foreign policy.

8.   Some Greek, Italian and American advance forces are already there preparing the groundwork.

9.   The comments by Mirjana Markovic capped several days of increasingly harsh comments by officials that seemed to prepare the groundwork for a crackdown.

10.   The company, said Khalid, is now preparing the groundwork for its projects and hopes that this will be in place once the economy picks up again.