But freedom for all South Africans was, he said, the way forward, irrespective of their ethnic ties.

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Turkey's ethnic and religious ties with its Azeri cousins have long weighed heavily in its Caucasus policy.

ECONOMIST: A large NATO country ponders a bigger role in the Caucasus

As with many others, ethnic and personal ties (he is an Assyrian Christian) already determine whom he will choose among the swarm of parties and coalitions on the ballot.

ECONOMIST: Some registering, much squabbling

Residents of Mashkel have close ties with ethnic Balochs in Iran's Sistan province.

BBC: The remote corner of Pakistan flattened by an earthquake

Ultimately, however, Ng's competitive edge lies in his ties to the ethnic Chinese community.

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The division of Bosnia and creation of a new "Republica Srpska" is a major concession to the Bosnian Serbs, who would have their own government, their own constitution and even their own special ties abroad to their ethnic brethren in Belgrade.

CNN: Balkan Conflict: 'Light of peace" still long way off

In South-East Asia, for instance, most business is still controlled by a small number of ethnic-Chinese tycoons, who cultivate close ties to local governments and to each other.

ECONOMIST: Antitrust in Asia: Regulation speed | The

As the pollsters point out, the party not only needs to free itself from some of the more extreme ties of the Christian Right but must simultaneously broaden its social and ethnic base.

ECONOMIST: There is still life. Harmony is another matter

Yet today the new ties that bind nations are based not on coercion--a lashing together of explosive ethnic mixes like Danzig and Yugoslavia--but on enlightened and mutual self-interest, promising greater stability and prosperity.

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