1.   John Kerry beat back a stiff challenge from Republican Gov.

2.   Allan faces stiff challenges in Europe, where Coke is having trouble with sales in Germany and Turkey.

3.   America Online, he says, does face a stiff challenge.

4.   At another level, he has concluded that directors like himself face a stiff challenge in adapting theater to the new times.

5.   But analysts said the new MSN likely will pose a stiff challenge to the proprietary AOL, which recently said it was losing subscribers to the Internet.

6.   But Bush also said he believes he faces a stiff challenge this fall.

7.   But even his champions said that Fuchs faces a stiff challenge in moving from television to the rarified world of music.

8.   But even his champions said that Fuchs faced a stiff challenge in moving from television to the rarified world of music.

9.   But the chains also know they face a stiff challenge and a real threat to their profits from home theater systems, DVD players and cable television.

10.   But the government has yet to define precise terms of competition in the high-speed Internet market, where Bezeq expects a stiff challenge from cable companies.