1.   To be sure, in the immediate aftermath of the attacks the economy almost literally ground to halt.

2.   But the reconciliation ground to halt last year amid tension between North Korea and the United States, a key ally of South Korea.

3.   The WTO is on the verge of grinding to halt over the deadlock in choosing a new director general, and some members have called it a crisis situation.

4.   Both sides feared the procedure might completely grind to halt if another judge become indisposed during the trial, perhaps making it necessary to start again.

5.   Traffic in the Chechen capital practically ground to halt and there were fewer traders than usual at the central market.

6.   Lights went out and water pumps ground to halt across Lebanon as electricity supplies were again rationed Tuesday after Israeli warplanes attacked two power stations outside Beirut.

7.   Talks between Israel and Syria and Lebanon have ground to halt, and no progress has so far been made in reviving them.