Word: regions
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...Black Friday alone, preliminary figures indicate that sales rose a modest 0.5%, to $10.66 billion from $10.6 billion a year ago, according to ShopperTrak, a research firm that tracks activity at more than 50,000 retail outlets. Sales fluctuated by region, with the West scoring the biggest increase at 4.7%. This was followed by the Midwest, where sales rose 1.3%, and the South, which posted a 0.6% gain. The Northeast took the biggest hit, with sales tumbling 4.9%. ShopperTrak co-founder Bill Martin reiterated his earlier projection of a 1.6% sales increase for 2009's holiday season...
...publicly accused Ampatuan. He did not join the convoy, but filled it with female relatives, including his wife and two sisters, and supporters, as well as a large group of journalists to cover his candidacy. "Among the conventions that govern clan and political-related violence in the region is that women, children and the elderly are off-limits as targets," wrote Manuel Quezon III, a prominent political commentator, on his website. Besides those connected to the Mangudadatus, 27 local journalists were among the dead. The victims also included two lawyers and 15 people entirely unconnected with Mangudadatu: they were...
...startling because it is so mundane: rebels in eastern Congo apparently have no trouble circumventing the punishing U.N. sanctions aimed at bringing an end to the years of fighting in the lawless region, according to a new U.N. report released this week. One way they do it is by moving money through Western Union...
...down on their financial and political support networks," said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert who had helped to draft previous versions of the U.N. findings. "The report says this is a deeper problem than going after them with an army. These guys are colluding with military officials throughout the region - the head of intelligence in Burundi, senior army commanders, important gold traders." (Read: "A Glimmer of Hope in Africa...
...peacekeeping mission in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC. The operation began in 2000 as a way of monitoring the end of a five-year civil war in Congo, but the violence has dragged on for years and the U.N. has been unable to rid the region of insurgents, some of whom crossed the border from Rwanda after the genocide of the 1990s. After taking the lead role in fighting the rebels in 2004 and 2005, the peacekeepers have shifted their mission to supporting the Congolese army, providing fuel, transport, logistics and other help...