New men with article meet resistance at new direction (8)

I believe the answer is:

northern

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But I can't explain it at all! Could you help me understand?

(Other definitions for northern that I've seen before include "See 9 Across" , "Relating to Belfast, say" , "- Ireland; - lights" , "London Underground line represented in black" , "in Scotland?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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