The Japanese press, on the other hand, has largely shied away from any direct contemplation of the death of the four students, two teachers and three crew members who remain lost at sea.

In recent years, major studios have largely shied away from the classics, although they once pursued them with a passion.

Mr. Bush has largely shied away from that longstanding demand, but things may be changing.

Until recently, both advocates and government officials have largely shied away from the problem.

Abdullah's speech comes at a time when the Bush administration - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in particular - has indicated a new willingness to pursue an Arab-Israeli peace initiative, a project from which the administration has largely shied away in the past six years.

It is a highly visible role for someone who, since joining the Bloomberg administration in 2001, has largely shied from the spotlight.

Until tonight, Mr. Pataki and his top aides had largely shied away from entering into the argument between officials in New Jersey and New York.

The last leader of the Soviet Union, now 80, has become increasingly critical of the Kremlin, but he had largely shied away from direct personal criticism of Mr Putin.

With the large number of states moving their election dates up to Mini-Tuesday for the 2008 election cycle, pundits have largely shied away from using the term again, instead choosing to reappropriate the term "Super Tuesday" to better represent the primaries held on that approximate date.

But a number of attendees said they mainly viewed the cartoons as an indicator of the tensions facing the surging Muslim population in Europe, adding that American papers had largely shied away from publishing them.