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Bevin, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Bevin, Ernest bĕvˈən [key], 1881–1951, British labor leader and statesman. An orphan who earned his own living from childhood, he began a long career as a trade union official when he became secr...

Arafat, Yasir

(Encyclopedia)Arafat, Yasir or Yasser yäsērˈ ärˈäfät; –sər [key], 1929–2004, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the coordinating body for Palestinian organizations, and head of Al Fa...

Pearson, Lester Bowles

(Encyclopedia)Pearson, Lester Bowles, 1897–1972, Canadian diplomat and political leader, b. Ontario prov. He served in the Canadian army in World War I. Pearson taught history at the Univ. of Toronto from 1924 to...

West Bank

(Encyclopedia)West Bank, territory, formerly part of Palestine, after 1949 administered by Jordan, since 1967 largely occupied by Israel (2005 est. pop. 2,386,000), 2,165 sq mi (5,607 sq km), west of the Jordan Riv...

Ghitani, Gamal al-

(Encyclopedia)Ghitani, Gamal al-, 1945–2015, Egyptian novelist and journalist. He studied Oriental carpet design and apprenticed as a carpet maker before turning to journalism. A strong supporter of human rights,...

Zefat

(Encyclopedia)Zefat zĕfˈät [key], town (1994 pop. 21,600), NE Israel. One of Israel's four holy cities, it has a thriving artists' colony and many museums and ancient synagogues. Ceramics, diamonds, and handicra...

Suez Canal

(Encyclopedia)Suez Canal, Arab. Qanat as Suways, waterway of Egypt extending from Port Said to Port Tawfiq (near Suez) and connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and thence with the Red Sea. The can...

Bunche, Ralph Johnson

(Encyclopedia)Bunche, Ralph Johnson bŭnch [key], 1904–71, U.S. government official and UN diplomat, b. Detroit, Ph.D., Harvard, 1934. He taught political science at Howard Univ. (1928–40). In government servic...

Bashir, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-

(Encyclopedia)Bashir, Omar Hassan Ahmed al- ōˈmär häˈsän äˈmĕd äl-bäshērˈ [key], 1944–, Sudanese military and political leader, president of Sudan (1994–2019). He graduated from the Sudanese milita...

Port Said

(Encyclopedia)Port Said bo͝or [key], city (1986 pop. 469,533), NE Egypt, a port on the Mediterranean Sea at the entrance to the Suez Canal. It is a fueling point for ships using the canal and is the site of the ma...