21.   The government has softened the headscarves ban at religious-oriented high schools to the dismay of the military, which regards the scarves as a political statement.

22.   The government gradually softened its position, with the initial suspicion developing into the latest promise of dialogue.

23.   The government gradually softened its position on the truce, with the initial suspicion developing into a promise of dialogue.

24.   The Indonesian government softened its stand on East Timor after the May ouster of authoritarian President Suharto, who had ordered the invasion of the territory.

25.   But the Peruvian president maintained that progress does not mean his government is softening its position.

26.   They have responded with a series of rolling strikes which cost millions of dollars in lost production, until the government softened its hard-line stance last week.

27.   They responded with a series of rolling strikes which calls millions of dollars of losses before the government softened its hardline stance.

28.   The Zimbabwe government Wednesday further softened a proposed media law expected to be passed by parliament before key presidential elections in March.

29.   Patten, in a newspaper interview, denied that the Hong Kong government was softening its stance towards the Provisional Legislature.