1.   And in what appears to be a futile bid to keep recession at bay, we have shopped.

2.   Regardless of what happens with Global One, Sommer insisted that his futile bid for Telecom Italia had not lessened his interest in international acquisitions.

3.   Seven years ago, Yevgeny Primakov was racing around the Middle East in a futile bid to stop the Persian Gulf war.

4.   Others sported straw hats in a futile bid to keep their hair clean.

5.   Police said the firearm jammed and the man ran off, after pounding the gun several times against a counter in a futile bid to get it working again.

6.   Thai police briefly detained two Amnesty International activists Wednesday in a futile bid to prevent a news conference on human rights abuses in China.