1.   It all seemed a thousand miles from the nearest town, though in actuality it might be only five or six.

2.   They have purged thousands from the upper levels of the civil service.

3.   A MAN behind a building firm that has taken thousands from customers for work that has remained undone was bouncing cheques to suppliers last spring.

4.   And he wanted to create a much more restrictive welfare program that would ultimately remove thousands from assistance.

5.   By driving tens of thousands from their homes, he has radicalized the local population behind the separatists.

6.   Farther south, areas east of Managua have been inundated by rampaging flood waters, driving thousands from their homes.

7.   He first encountered the treasure, he says, as an enigmatic item, part of a lot of thousands from an overseas dealer.

8.   Her mother was let out of prison to attend the funeral, which drew thousands from the Portuguese community.

9.   In Colombia, conflict over land has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.

10.   Marauding pro-Indonesia militiamen have murdered hundreds of East Timorese and forced thousands from their homes since the independence vote.