But they'd heard some frightening rumors.

Rumors tend to fly freely in Culiacan.

The rumors of its demise are always greatly exaggerated.

His absence gave birth to all sorts of rumors.

Rumors raced around the city the next day that the police had released all those accused of Sviridov s murder (as it happens, the rumors were true). Spontaneous protests erupted in front of police headquarters, but the police did not intervene.

Then a number of years went by, and there were a lot of rumors about bird flu.

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet.

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet.

Now Russians wonder what has happened to their leader s face. His new smooth faced appearance has sparked rumors of Botox, or even plastic surgery.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren't troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren't troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

Whether or not recent rumors of bilateral US Iran talks prove true, such initiatives should be welcomed. While the big players remain preoccupied with their internal changes, the region continues to smolder.

The euro was in serious trouble, buffeted by rumors of imminent banking collapses. Bond yields in southern Europe were rising, and a pervasive sense of apprehension and fear cloaked governments in European capitals.

Less than two weeks into the recovery process, UNICEF expressed concern over rumors of orphaned children becoming victims of trafficking, and States began taking measures to prevent traffickers from exploiting the already devastated victims.

When asked whether they were a couple, Royal replied, Our lives belong to us. Similarly, in response to rumors that President elect Nicholas Sarkozy s wife had left him, a spokesman for Sarkozy said, That s a private matter.

So, as rumors fly of secret marriage ceremonies either already concluded or in the works, could the trouble brewing in India over the French president s very public love life be behind the rush to have the couple legally wed?

Chen s personal wealth grew conspicuously shortly after he assumed office, but no one could produce hard evidence of his corruption back then. His political supporters initially brushed aside the mushrooming rumors of his self enrichment as opposition KMT propaganda.

BRUSSELS The recent death in Brussels of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi finally brings to light what lay behind his mysterious two month disappearance from public life. Ethiopia s government had strenuously denied rumors of serious ill health caused by liver cancer.

If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in al Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little.

If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in al Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little.

Today, it seems all but certain that Berlusconi will never be elected President of Italy, the post to which he has always aspired. Moreover, rumors are rife that he is now being attacked for his behavior by members of his own party.

Kifaya s action is especially bold in the midst of a government crackdown to prepare the way for the succession of Mubarak s son, Gamal. For example, a recent law mandates punishment for anyone who spreads rumors that Gamal is to be the next president.

Had they mobilized with you, they would have added only to your difficulties, and they would have spread rumors in your midst, trying to sow discord among you. Some of you are avid listeners to them. God is Aware of the wrongdoers.

Had they mobilized with you, they would have added only to your difficulties, and they would have spread rumors in your midst, trying to sow discord among you. Some of you are avid listeners to them. God is Aware of the wrongdoers.

The case went to the local court, where the judge ruled it an accidental traffic disturbance and gave the driver a two year suspended sentence. The judge's ruling spurred rumors that he went easy on her because her husband was related to senior provincial officials.

BEIJING Earlier this year, rumors of China s impending financial doom triggered by either a housing market crash or local government debt defaults were rampant. But, in recent months, the economy has stabilized, leaving few doubts about China s ability to grow by more than 7 this year.

Whispered reports are even more lurid. Zhou is said to have plotted to murder his first wife, and there are rumors that at the height of last year s scandal involving disgraced former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, he attempted to assassinate Xi in the leadership compound at Zhongnanhai.

Indeed, in Mashad on March 21, Ayatollah Khamenei said, There were some rumors that I support a special candidate for the presidential elections. But I have one vote, and I would not determine a certain candidate because the people themselves should choose their candidates based on their own knowledge.

A Muslim man was beaten to death by a mob in a small town an hour from New Delhi in response to rumors that he had slaughtered and eaten a cow, sacred to Hindus. Another man died after being attacked by villagers who believed he was involved in cattle smuggling.

In May, he admitted during a live television broadcast that he suffers from a kidney ailment, but sought to quell rumors that he was terminally ill by insisting that fears for his health are greatly exaggerated and politically motivated. There are plenty of world leaders in less than perfect health.

Is this a short term phenomenon, and will we see an early return to rapid financial sector growth as soon as the world economy recovers? Already the market is full of rumors that guaranteed bonuses are returning, that hedge funds are making double digit returns, and that activity is reviving in the private equity market.

Yar Adua insists that he s fine and that his trips to Germany for medical treatment, during the election campaign last year and again this April, have been unfairly politicized. But there are plenty of unanswered questions about his kidney condition and rumors that he may even have Churg Strauss Syndrome, a life threatening autoimmune disease.

While accurate attribution of the ultimate source of a cyber attack is sometimes difficult, the determination does not have to be airtight. To the extent that false flags are imperfect and rumors of the source of an attack are widely deemed credible (though not legally probative), reputational damage to an attacker s soft power may contribute to deterrence.

Later this week, demonstrations calling for the government's resignation are planned, and it will become obviously more difficult for the government to continue to function. There are already rumors about a palace coup within Kadima, aimed at replacing Olmert with either the deputy prime minister, the veteran Shimon Peres, or the popular foreign minister, Tzipi Livni.

On September 25, the South Korean media reported rumors that Kim Kyong hui, the sister of the late Dear Leader, Kim Jong il and the aunt of North Korea s twenty something leader Kim Jong un was seriously ill. The reports have not been confirmed, but her name was missing from the list of attendees at a recent Supreme People s Assembly.

Moreover, the manner in which the Bush administration unveiled its withdrawal plan has weakened the credibility of the US Korean alliance. America's unilateral announcement has fuelled rumors to the effect that withdrawal must have something to do with the rising tide of anti Americanism in South Korea, and especially with the country's reluctance and delay in dispatching an additional 3,600 of its own soldiers to Iraq.

Perhaps the reports were somewhat naïve in omitting any reference to the many rumors in Brazil regarding widespread corruption in relation to the contract (of course, US diplomats may have mentioned these issues elsewhere). Nevertheless, it seems safe to say that Dassault and France will probably win the contract, and that this will be seen as a milestone on the road to US irrelevance in South America.

Many feared that the example of the coup in Niger could encourage Nigeria s military to move at the height of the country s crisis in executive authority over President Umaru Yar Adua s prolonged absence. In fact, rumors of coup plotting in Nigeria prompted military officers to restrict the movements of soldiers, and may have spurred the political elite to reach the consensus that installed Goodluck Jonathan as acting president.

Such rumors may well turn out to be true, for the heart of the scandal now concerns the taped conversations between a paid escort and Berlusconi during their romps in his Sardinian villa on the big bed given to him by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. A downfall plotted to happen on a Kremlin supplied bed would be a denouement that not even one of Berlusconi s TV channels could dream up.

Rumors suggest that the US is likely to insist on maintaining the perverse selection process in which it gets to pick the World Bank s president, simply because, in this election year, Obama s opponents would trumpet loss of control over the choice as a sign of weakness. And it is more important for the US to retain that control than it is for emerging and developing countries to obtain it.

Regional and international events have also emboldened the Egyptian opposition, not only to press for reform, but to focus on amending the constitution's articles that pertain to the presidency. Mubarak has been re elected four times, and rumors have persisted that he will either seek a fifth six year term or establish a hereditary republic and groom his 41 year old son, Gamal, to succeed him, like Syria's Hafez al Assad and son, Bashar.