11.   China is also trying to secure long-term agreements to buy copper and copper concentrate from foreign producers to shield domestic users from price swings.

12.   Democrats said they hoped to secure agreement on measures to reduce class size and increase school construction.

13.   Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, a longtime Uzbek warlord, said Thursday that he had secured the agreement of senior Taliban leaders in Kunduz after two days of talks.

14.   He also secured an agreement with Iscor Ltd., an iron and steel company, to manage part of its pension fund in a global equity portfolio.

15.   He told Sweeney that he had actually said his father was trying to secure agreements, not obtain signatures.

16.   Holbrooke had hoped to secure an agreement from the Kosovo Liberation Army rebels to take down barricades along main routes in the province.

17.   It must secure interconnection agreements with state-owned TPSA, its main rival, for example.

18.   Last Sunday, the Clinton administration tried to overcome these differences, securing an agreement in Munich that disagreements would be submitted to an international arbitrator.

19.   More than one deal with a theme restaurant had foundered before he secured an agreement with Planet Hollywood.

20.   No deadline has been set for securing an agreement and White House aides said the talks would continue as long as they are making progress.