In the north-west, the principality of Polotsk increasingly asserted the autonomy of Belarus'.

The Supreme Court's decision not to hear this appeal comes as the Bush administration is increasingly asserting the right to conduct law enforcement in secret.

Since the Second World War, Gibraltar has increasingly asserted its own individual identity.

As her reputation blossomed, she increasingly asserted her independence.

The past two decades have seen Indo-Martiniquais people increasingly asserting the distinctively Indian aspects of their heritage (a phenomenon known as "indianité").

Yet even as revolutions pushed the secular world toward democracy, the papacy over the centuries increasingly asserted the rights of bishops to control every aspect of church life.

The artist's essential indifference to materials and to sensuousness of any sort increasingly asserts itself.

However, the Manchus increasingly asserted independence, and managed to conquer all of China in 1644.

But a group of moderate Senate Republicans, who are increasingly asserting their independence, quashed the bill.

Even trademark holders are increasingly asserting ownership claims over their marks, based on laws originally intended to prevent consumer confusion.