Word: southern
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Prospects for al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, and the political figures who stood at the edge of it have steadily dimmed since last spring, when government forces of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the de facto victors in battles with the Mahdi Army across southern Iraq and Baghdad. Weeks of fighting in the early months of 2008 ended in a stalemate. Since then, Iraqi security forces have rounded up scores of Sadrists with the help of U.S. troops, effectively hollowing out the movement's street power and political influence. Meanwhile, the vast popularity that al-Sadr...
Provincial balloting in southern Iraq on Jan. 31 will probably reveal how much life remains in the Sadrist movement. If candidates tied to the movement fail to make a decent showing in cities such as Basra, Amarah, Najaf and Karbala, the Sadrists' only official political power will be in the Iraqi parliament, where they hold 28 of 275 seats...
...recent months at least two other officials have been targeted by similar posses. In November Lin Jiaxiang, an official with the Marine Affairs Bureau, allegedly followed an 11-year-old girl into the bathroom of a restaurant in the southern city of Shenzhen and grabbed her by the neck. In a video recorded by a restaurant security camera, the official acknowledged to the girl's family that he had grabbed her but said his government position meant there was nothing her family could do about it. The official resigned after a public outcry. Police investigated but declined to file charges...
Either way, Morales' main concern is that a larger portion of the lithium profits remain at home to better the lives of people for whom electricity and paved roads are rare and electric cars non-existent. "We are very excited about the prospects," says Delia Alejo of the Southern Highland Regional Federation of Women Peasants, which represents the farmers of Rio Grande, near the pilot plant. "This is going to bring great development." It could if Americans are as serious as they say about trading in an old foreign energy supply...
...sudden plunge in exports has taken its toll on China's industrial heartland - southern Guangdong province. Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, believes some 60,000 businesses closed in the region, and the government estimates about 10 million migrant workers are unemployed. The downturn has put "huge stress on the job market," says Credit Suisse economist Dong Tao, which "could cause some social unrest. That's my worry...