1.   As things stand at the moment, I have no intention of becoming a candidate myself.

2.   As things stand, ministers who oversee large state industries enjoy free accommodation at five-star hotels and foreign travel.

3.   But it has not toppled them, and as things stand it seems to be fading.

4.   Where do things stand in terms of the budget?

5.   Now, look, here is how things stand.

6.   As things stood when he became minister, the empire created wholly new regiments and divisions when it expanded its forces in wartime.

7.   And that is more or less where things now stand in the war between the American painter R.B. Kitaj and British art critics.

8.   As things now stand, the bloodshed has diminished but not stopped.

9.   As things now stand, the US is virtually powerless to combat these new weapons of war.

10.   As things stand now there is no one with authority to make a decision who is not compromised by conflicts of interest or outside influences.