Word: centralization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...influenced Greek thought as much as Greek styles had an impact on local art. Excavation of the earth around Masjid-i-No Gumbad, a 9th century brick mosque thought to be the oldest still standing in the world, could illuminate many of the mysteries regarding Islam's spread to Central Asia. In 1978, a Russian archaeologist uncovered a vast trove of gold ornaments in a 2nd century nomad necropolis. The find, which included a collapsible crown, golden daggers and thousands of jeweled buttons, "speaks to the riches of the trade routes across Afghanistan," says Brendan Cassar, UNESCO's culture specialist...
...While estimates of this illicit trade vary widely, government authorities put it at as high as $4 billion, roughly on par with the country's drug trade. This hurts not only historians and archaeologists who are just starting to understand the country's important role in the development of Central Asian civilization - many experts say that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites - but also Afghans themselves...
...valuation of a mortgage bond like Jupiter is a white-hot argument. Most Wall Streeters agree that a large number of such bonds--amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps trillions--are worth far less than their stated, or par, value. How much less is central to resolving the financial crisis. In early February, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he wanted to start a public-private partnership to buy up toxic assets. Banks hold tens of billions of dollars in mortgage bonds, and as the bonds fell in value or were wiped out completely, they erased precious capital...
REOPENED Five years after the atrocities committed within its walls shocked the world, Abu Ghraib now touts modern amenities and humane treatment of its inmates. The renovated jail, rechristened Baghdad Central Prison, formally reopened...
...Kyrgyzstan BYE-BYE, BASE Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted to unilaterally terminate a U.S. lease on Manas Air Base (above), the only such facility left in central Asia, depriving Washington of a crucial staging point for troops, munitions and cargo destined for Afghanistan. Moscow, which has opposed America's presence in the region, pledged over $2 billion in loans to bolster Kyrgyzstan's faltering economy shortly before the decision was made, though both parties insist that the aid was not contingent on the base's closure. U.S. negotiators hope Manas will be reopened in the future, pending further financial discussions...