play down

Officials have played down the prospect of a change in strategy; Germany has so far resisted a fresh round of growth-boosting initiatives.

The Treasury played down suggestions that it was making emergency contingency plans to shore up Lloyds let alone nationalise the bank.

Each side played down killings that occurred in its own ranks, and blamed the "enemy" for its lost sons and daughters.

Some countries have played down the question of concurrent partnerships, a particular cause of trouble in parts of Africa.

He played down the scope of the uprising, adding that it was the work of a foreign conspiracy.

But Mr Sharma played down the defeats, insisting India was not trying to compete with China.

But on Tuesday he played down the remarks, describing them as "a bit of hyperbole" .

The doctor played down the serious nature of the poor man's illness.

Van Persie's manager wants his skipper to stay for the long-term but he played down the matter at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

European officials have led calls for the topic to be put up for discussion, but Japanese and US officials have played down the issue.

Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall.

A ruling that supports individual gun rights would force both to tackle gun control, an issue their party has played down in recent years.

The central bank played down the threat from deflation, a threat it had emphasised earlier this year.

French officials also played down speculation that the subject would be raised at the meeting.

He played down rumours of an imminent departure for Senderos and played his cards close to his chest over Campbell.

During a week-long tour of China this month, Mr Snow publicly played down tensions over the currency.

The bank had originally played down the theft, revealed last December, saying that fewer than 10 clients were involved.

But in congressional testimony on Wednesday, central bank chairman Ben Bernanke played down the possibility of a government takeover.

Earlier, officials said they worried that the reactor itself had been damaged, but later played down the possibility.

Ford, the only U. S. automaker operating without emergency government support, played down the concerns.

He has played down the country's economic problems and warned that anyone contributing to a perception of crisis would be punished.

In a rare statement on the subject on its website last week, the NDRC played down the recent corn imports.

Since then, demands to break administrative barriers and geographical division, played down growing calls administrative economy.

U. S. officials played down the likelihood of a substantial communique after Saturday's meeting of finance ministers.

Rafa Benitez's agent has played down reports his client is being lined up to replace Ciro Ferrara as Juventus coach.

As the Communist Party prepares for a five-yearly congress next month, it is not surprising that such incidents are played down.

Mr. Obama acknowledged that the United States once played down the issue, but now recognized its gravity.

The Pentagon earlier played down the confrontation, striking a more low-key tone than during the incident two months ago.

Although with the next meeting only three weeks away, he played down the chances of another move so soon.

Kenneth Huang, reportedly at the centre of a proposed takeover of Liverpool, has played down links with the Premier League club.

Experts have played down the dangers, arguing that the isotope of nitrogen known as nitrogen-16 lasts for only five seconds.

Mr Ouyang played down the company's problems, saying "not a lot of employees were laid off" .

But an adviser played down suggestions that her appearance today was intended to boost her credibility for a future presidency bid.

'Misperceptions'The company has played down any ties to either the military or China's government.

Meanwhile, Dalglish played down media suggestions Carroll could be in line to make his Liverpool debut against West Ham United this weekend.

Two apparent Liverpool striking targets have played down talk of a move to Anfield to stay at their current clubs.

Christine Lagarde, French trade minister, yesterday played down the significance of the decision to restart talks.

In a news conference Wednesday, Mr. Feng played down the possibility of "effective" human-to-human transmission.

Turkish diplomatic sources have played down any expectations of a breakthrough in bilateral relations.

Seoul's unification ministry played down the threat, saying the newspaper was not stating Pyongyang's official position.

The opposition Democratic People's Progressive party played down the political significance of the visit.

But Mr. Hu ahead of his trip played down inflation as a factor in exchange-rate policy.

The court ruled that Deutsche's health warnings to Ille were inadequate and played down the risk of loss.

Rafa Benitez has played down speculation suggesting Liverpool are interested in bringing Michael Owen back to Merseyside.

Bernanke played down worries that recent commodity price rises pose an inflation threat in the United States.

A Chinese government official on Sunday played down the significance of the strong export numbers.

However, others played down the move, characterising it as part of the posturing ahead of the negotiations.

BARCELONA coach Frank Rijkaard has played down talk of a move for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

Mr Bernanke played down the threat from the subprime mortgage market and highlighted a new risk to growth from weak business investment.

Boeing officials played down those problems, describing them as a routine part of developing a new airplane.

Both Taiwan and China have played down the political implications of the forthcoming talks.

The rumours have been played down by European intelligence agencies, which describe the threat as "non-specific" .

Mrs Clinton's campaign, unsurprisingly, played down the results, pointing to Mr Obama's bigger efforts in those states.

GM played down the significance of its auditors' conclusions.

With $3 billion invested by Carlyle in about 50 Chinese firms, Mr. Rubenstein played down the significance of the problems at the two firms.

Senior U. S. defense officials played down the chances of Defense Secretary Robert Gates visiting China this year.

Roy Hodgson has played down Rafa Benitez's return to Merseyside, amid reports he could head back to Liverpool.

Responding to the Greenpeace statement on Tuesday, Dr. Gennadi G. Onishchenko, Russia's chief sanitary doctor, played down the danger.

In a possible sign of negotiations to come, Google last week played down the importance of newspaper content.

The state-owned media were quick to portray Cairo's anti-government demonstrators as lawless troublemakers and played down their impact.

Mr Sarkozy played down the significance of the banks' participation in the aid package.

America has denounced the leak as endangering soldiers' lives, but played down the revelations.

The White House played down any differences among Mr. Obama's advisers.

An administration official played down the North Korean statement, saying it followed a pattern of public posturing in advance of newtalks.

He also played down any differences in policy between the US and Europe regarding deficit reduction.

David Cameron, UK premier, played down expectations of progress: "I'm not saying the G20 is in its heroic phase. "

Marx's more human aspects have been played down by both his detractors and his supporters.

At the same time, Mr. Schmidt played down the company's clout with the administration.

I slipped off my tank top and skirt and played down on my towel.

Health officials played down the potential health risks from the contamination.

Ryanair spokesman, Stephen McNamara, later played down the toilet charge idea.

RIM played down any talk that QNX might be used as RIM's next-generation operating system.

Bernanke played down a sharp increase in the U. S. trade deficit in the second quarter.

Government economists have played down the idea of booming consumer demand.

Washington has played down the significance of the exercise.

But the 28-year-old has played down his chances of title success and insists he could be upstaged by the competition.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, on a visit to Italy, played down suggestions of U. S. -Israeli tension.

Right-of-centre politics has played down the importance of taxing higher incomes, arguing that only spending cuts can reduce the deficit.

A spokesman for the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy played down the importance of the text.

He played down concerns about any financial impact on Pacnet or regional telecom operators from the damaged cables.

Whatever Van Basten's merits, Van der Sar played down the prospects for the new -look Netherlands in Germany.

Japan can be a place where bad news is avoided, or played down.

Chinese authorities on Monday played down the slowing growth.

Optimists, including the Chinese authorities, played down the seriousness of the problem.

General Pace played down concerns that tensions across the Taiwan Strait could lead to war.

In one report China's Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei apparently played down a visit to Pyongyang by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Soderbergh played down speculation that he was planning to retire from filmmaking.

Mr Koumura played down the likelihood of resolving a long-running dispute with China over claims to gas resources in the East China Sea.

He played down any need to nationalize American banks, without specifically ruling out the option.

Speaking after the ECB's council left its main interest rate unchanged at 1 per cent, Mr Draghi played down the divisions.

Amazon, wary of provoking state or federal authorities, has played down this advantage.

Khatibi played down any hopes of a swift economic recovery in the world, predicting "ups and downs. "

Mourinho also played down the seriousness of John Terry's injury.

Officials, however, played down talk of full bank nationalisation.

Team boss Stefano Domenicali played down the rumours, insisting the onus is on Ferrari to give its drivers better equipment.

Didier Drogba was delighted with his hat-trick but played down the achievement following Chelsea's 3-1 win over Levski Sofia.

But the chances of further action should not be played down.

' As for rebalancing the world economy, he played down China's role, saying 'I don't think the responsibility is half-half.

Toyota played down the prospect of losing its top ranking.

Quoted by Serbia's B92 news website, he played down any practical advantages offered by the law.

Played down the defect to protect the troops' morale.

U. S. officials played down expectations on Mr. Bosworth's discussions.

Several officials played down the prospect of holding those North-South talks soon because of reluctance on both sides.

Democrats played down the numbers.

After leaving an Arctic air base to join this week's war games , Mr Putin, 52, played down his simulated bombing raid.

In the past, the Pentagon has sometimes played down incidents involving Chinese ships.

West Brom defender Jonas Olsson has played down his on-field spat with Steven Gerrard in Liverpool's 2-0 win at The Hawthorns.

General Xu Caihou, China's No. 2 military official, played down the weapon's significance.

Juventus coach Didier Deschamps has played down a touchline row with Pavel Nedved during yesterday's 1-0 victory over Pescara.

Stern played down prospects of reaching a deal this week.

The local news media have played down Japan's slip to third place.

I have now instead of me, and he also played down slowly in my world.

The government at first played down their importance, saying they were just ordinary criminal gangs peddling drugs.

Days ago, Mercedes' F1 boss Norbert Haug played down reports he is openly hinting at a McLaren seat for Rosberg in 2010.

But leaders have played down expectations that it will step in to buy up vast amounts of sovereign debt.

Mr Li played down reports that his company plans to buy Volvo or Saab.

Obama has played down the possibility that a health care overhaul would cause large numbers of people to change doctors and insurers.

Ask BP, which initially played down last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.