Word: blocs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...funded both liberal parties, Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces (SPS), and, Duma sources claim, also gave money to the Communists, the second most powerful party in the lower house. The idea seemed to be that a strong showing by the three parties would create a Duma bloc that could, if required, outvote the Kremlin-backed parties...
...challenge to Pakistan's shaky, secular government is the last thing Musharraf needs, but the mullahs are pushing a showdown. The Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a political bloc of six religious groups, intends to set up a morality police to enforce Islamic virtue, raising cries among human-rights activists against the "Talibanization" of the province. But popular support for the change is evident: even before the law imposing Shari'a was passed, Islamic youths roamed the town of Peshawar tearing down billboards featuring images of unburqa'd women. The religious parties warned Musharraf not to interfere. "We will resist...
...plans to implicate him in the scandal, although Attorney General José Souto de Moura insists he is not a suspect. Party spokesman Manuel Alegre said there could be no democracy if "everyone is listening in on everyone else." Francisco Louça, spokesman for the minority Left Bloc Party, described the phone tapping as Portugal's "judicial Watergate." But the Attorney General maintained that the police had acted within their powers. He told reporters: "I myself could be [tapped] whether or not I was under suspicion, if the conversation would help discover the truth...
...however, has proven surprisingly resilient. A 1997 study by a South Korean think tank that compared North Korea to communist-bloc countries before they collapsed concluded the North could have suffered the same fate - in 1992. The regime "is surviving and will continue to survive for the time being," said Kim Sung Chull, one of the report's authors. One reason is that Kim is supported by an élite group of military officers, party cadres and security officials who haven't been as affected by the economic collapse as the general population and who see their fate linked...
...appears to have changed the terms of discussion at the Council. The antiwar bloc led by France, Russia and Germany looks intent on cooperating with the U.S. and its coalition partners, having responded positively last week to their call for a revival and expansion of the UN oil-for-food program to meet Iraq's humanitarian needs. Still, important differences remain, and the sanctions issue may be the last opportunity for the antiwar Europeans to exert any leverage. France said this week that the coalition forces have primary responsibility for maintaining security in Iraq, and that the UN's role...