The competition among New Jersey's 615 school districts is fierce to recruit more minority teachers and to bring more men into elementary classrooms.
Despite fierce opposition from the minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, and a unanimous "no" from her members on a procedural motion leading up to the House vote, some 57 Democrats eventually held their noses and joined Republicans in passing the final bill.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, outlining plans to "get France working again," announced Wednesday that Gaz de France, or GDF, will begin selling off a minority stake despite fierce objections from unions.
But hostility toward the Albanian-dominated nation that declared independence in 2008 remains fierce among the Serb minority in Kosovo.
In recent weeks, the military has carried out a fierce offensive against the Karen minority, driving refugees across the border into Thailand.
The competition for qualified women and minority candidates is fierce.
Last year plans to allocate land surrounding Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, for development prompted fierce demonstrations from members of Oromo minority, the country's largest ethnic group.
But Mr Sirisena – his former friend and Health Minister – defected from the ruling party in November, and gathered the support of other defecting politicians, opposition parties and many of Sri Lanka's ethnic minorities, making the election a fierce political battle.
Lesley Dahlkemper and Jill Fellman, the minority on the board, mounted a fierce assault on the conservative majority – you could barely breathe in the room for acrimony.
