It was almost a violent calm in the face of the recent offer.

The overtures - like the recent offer for a free second cellular phone - may win her over to a longer-term relationship.

He said the most recent offer was for $500 million, which he turned down.

But he confirmed that the board was considering the recent offer of the Brentwood site.

Had the government put the most recent offer on the table before the strike ballots there would have been positive grounds for negotiation.

And then there are the recent offers of work from Hollywood studios.

The Nymex said its most recent offer amounted to about $95,000 a seat.

He declined a recent offer of $300 for Linda, a 3-year-old, however, he said, because "she cost me more than that to raise."

That amount then fell to $500 million, and the most recent offer was for a total of just $300 million, people close to the talks said.

This is in clear contrast to the recent offer from the United States to southern Africa.