1.   Republican presidential hopefuls have all claimed that they would take a firmer stance towards Moscow.

2.   In its first annual report, the NRA spelt out its intention to maintain a tough watchdog stance towards the water companies.

3.   After a NATO bombing raid prompted the Bosnian Serbs to take hostages, U.S. officials reconsidered their stance towards Milosevic and Frasure was dispatched with new orders.

4.   Cases abound showing that Beijing has toughened its already hardline stance towards Hong Kong, despite hopes in some quarters of the community for a return to pragmatism.

5.   It is said to have made frequent changes to its negotiating position, while pursuing a tough stance towards current purchases of Kazakh gas.

6.   Perhaps only because Telmex has more to gain by changing its once-aggressive stance towards its competitors.

7.   Politicians espousing independence and a more confrontational stance towards Beijing were battered in the polls.

8.   Mr Wan added that while banks were taking a more conservative stance towards property project financing, the government should be more flexible in implementing its land sales program.

9.   Netanyahu continued to strike a conciliatory stance towards the opposition Labor Party in speeches at a Likud convention, possibly aiming to draw it into a joint government.

10.   Shortly after taking office in May Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar announced he was reversing the friendly stance towards Castro maintained by the former Socialist government of Felipe Gonzalez.