Word: blocs
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...demanded a recount - even though the election was certified by U.N. observers as largely aboveboard. The incumbent has also won from the Supreme Court an interpretation of Iraq's constitution that could prevent Allawi from having first bite at forming a new government. The constitution requires that the "bloc" with the most seats be given 30 days to form a ruling coalition, but in response to al-Maliki's inquiry, the court has ruled that bloc doesn't mean electoral slate, but rather the alliances as they present themselves when the parliament is seated, toward the end of April...
...Maliki could mend the rift in the Shi'ite vote and cut a deal with the INA (which won 70 seats), that combination alone would put him just four seats shy of a majority - a difference he could easily make up by resuming his alliance with the Kurdish bloc, which garnered 43 seats. It may not be that easy, of course, because both the key element of the INA - the supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr - and the Kurdish leadership have been antagonized by al-Maliki's leadership and would prefer to see him gone. They could yet try and make...
...while he is no Ali, Pacquiao is an effective speaker, telling crowds about his family's struggle with poverty in an intimate, conversational style. "No notes," he explains. "You speak from deep in your heart. It's easy." Pacquiao is also devout, which could win the support of bloc-voting church groups. "The most important thing as a leader is your relationship with God," he tells the crowd while campaigning in Kiamba, where many people wear T-shirts bearing the boxer's face and the slogan, in English, "For God and Country...
...heirs of the al-Nahayan clan is divided among several groups within the family; the President, Sheik Khalifa, who does not have any full brothers, and Crown Prince Sheik Mohammed, who along with his five full brothers from a common mother, Sheika Fatima bint Mubarak, form the most powerful bloc within the clan. The sons of Sheika Fatima (the late Sheik Zayed's third wife) control the defense, intelligence, national security and foreign affairs portfolios, as well as the chairmanship of Abu Dhabi's second largest sovereign wealth fund (the International Petroleum Investments Co., or IPIC) and Mubadala, the state...
Asia matters for America. After Canada and Mexico, China is the third biggest consumer of American goods, followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the 10-country bloc that under U.S. prodding was founded in the 1960s as a bulwark against communism. The global recovery from the Great Recession has been led by China, India and Indonesia. Asia would like to see its efforts appreciated...