Word: major
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...better position to capitalize, given its dominant position in China's booming instant-messaging business. According to estimates by Analysys International, nearly 70% of China's 400 million Internet users use instant-messaging, and of those, 80% use Tencent's system, known as QQ. That's the major reason that Tencent's market capitalization is bigger than Baidu's, and an insider at the company acknowledges that search "is very much" a target of opportunity...
...mandate to take the lead in post-election coalition negotiations. Meanwhile, the slow vote counting is doing little to inspire confidence, with each announcement of partial results sparking another round of posturing, jockeying, and rumors, one of which held that Maliki had been shot in the leg. All the major coalitions have complained of electoral fraud, though most Western observers say that for now there appears to be little evidence of serious vote-rigging. Still, Ahmed Chalabi, the former Pentagon favorite now aligned with the Sadrists, has demanded that all allegations be thoroughly investigated before final result are published...
...know there is discomfort in terms of the cuts being made at the city level and in the schools," says Bing. "And then [Bobb] gets a major increase. That was very unfortunate, to have that come into the conversation...
...election campaign had raised hopes that Iraqis were ready to move beyond the chaos and violence that had plagued their country since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. The major political blocs appeared to have recognized that no single ethnic group or sect could govern peacefully and effectively without making alliances across traditional fault lines. The big parties put forward diverse coalitions preaching national unity, even if each retained a core identity well known to voters: Maliki's State of Law coalition ran on a law-and-order platform but drew primarily from a moderate Shi'ite base; Allawi's Iraqiya...
...Another major stumbling block in the negotiations to form a government will be the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and the other disputed areas in northern Iraq. In a surprising turnaround, the Kurdish parties appear to have lost Kirkuk by a slim margin to Allawi's list, which has taken a hard line against Kurdish claims to the city. Since Maliki - whose current government was installed with Kurdish support, but dragged its feet on Kurdish claims to Kirkuk - now has fewer possible partners to form a government, he may find himself more dependent on them than ever. And that would...