Word: though
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...Moreover, though Beijing plays up the voyages as a triumphant Chinese adventure, the journeys had a distinctly Muslim character. Zheng practiced Islam, as did Ma Huan, the main chronicler aboard the ships. It's likely they were guided to their many ports of call, such as Malacca, India's Malabar coast and Malindi in Kenya, by Muslim pilots of Arab, Indian or African extraction. "They were essentially following maritime routes that had been in use by people in the Indian Ocean for ages," says Wade. Many academics argue that the popular Arab-Persian tale of the Seven Voyages of Sinbad...
...recent years, though, Beijing has come under criticism for an approach to Africa that is perhaps more bloodless than it is cuddly. China's support of autocratic regimes, from Zimbabwe to Sudan - where Beijing effectively built up an oil industry from scratch - has exposed the Asian giant to accusations of turning a blind eye to human-rights abuses as it goes about securing natural resources and political influence. China has pumped billions of dollars into infrastructure projects throughout the continent, tying up key contracts in resource-rich states like Angola and the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo...
...question, though, is whether Pope Benedict XVI is poised to deal with it for them - perhaps by taking over the Legion and installing new leadership from outside the order. A number of U.S. bishops already bar the Legion from operating in their dioceses. This month Benedict is expected to receive the first report of a five-bishop team he sent out last year to investigate the Legion around the world. Sources familiar with the probe say it's meant in part to determine if others in the order have committed sexual abuse and whether the order's current leadership...
...remains to be seen if Iraq's leaders have learned from their mistakes. Though all the major parties, realizing that it is impossible to govern without reaching beyond their own base, formed multisectarian and multiethnic coalitions for election, their commitment to compromise and unity will be tested in the weeks ahead. (See pictures of the U.S. troops in Iraq...
Northern Ireland's Troubles may have officially ended, but it's a strange kind of peace. On Feb. 4, Catholic and Protestant parties in the province finally reached an agreement on policing, one of the most divisive issues between the two sides. Relations, though, remain frosty, and sectarian violence has made a worrying return. This week, as local politicians move to finalize major new legislative powers, the very foundations of power sharing are shifting again...