Word: cemented
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...junta's disregard for its citizens proved itself again on May 10, when the government decided to continue with a constitutional referendum that international observers say is designed to cement its hold on power. Although the sham plebiscite was postponed for two weeks in some of the worst storm-affected areas, other devastated regions were forced to hold the vote. Thousands of soldiers were mobilized to guard polling stations; hundreds of trucks mounted with loudspeakers fanned the nation, urging citizens to vote. Critics wondered how many lives might have been saved if some of those resources had been redeployed instead...
Serbs in the northern Kosovar town of Mitrovica are not sticklers for appearances. The stained cement façades are peeling away from drab 1960s-era high-rises. Dented satellite dishes teeter on balconies. Kiosks peddling photos of local heroes like Ratko Mladic, the fugitive Bosnian Serb general indicted for war crimes, crowd out pedestrians along potholed sidewalks. But all over town there are flashes of brilliant color: red, blue and white Serbian flags fly from nearly every window, door and rusted railing...
...band of law enforcement players warming up at street level. We walked down the ramp that brought us four stories below street level to the footprint of one tower of the World Trade Center, with a giant billboard above heralding the Freedom Tower, 2012, bordered by yellow cranes and cement foundation walls. In the ceremonial square, a single large pascal candle, used at Easter and funerals to represent new life and resurrection, stood above a small reflecting pool and a symbolic plot of earth. We soon realized that there would be only the participants of the ceremony - 24 victims, survivors...
China's central government recognized early on that an investment bubble was probably forming. In 2004, for both economic and environmental reasons, authorities in Beijing began pressuring provincial and local officials to curb spending on aluminum, steel and cement factories; state-owned banks were periodically told to stop lending for industrial projects. But local officials often ignored the stop signs. More factories meant more jobs and more growth, which made them look good in the eyes of their political superiors. Not only that, but local officials, who can seize land and issue permits for new projects, were often silent partners...
...government has ordered work stoppages at construction sites, chemical plants, cement manufacturers and mines by July 20. Beijing Eastern Petrochemical will suspend production until September. The city will also ban spray painting and crack down on printing, furniture production and motor vehicle repair outlets that don't meet city standards...