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Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

(Encyclopedia)Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), alliance organized (1954) under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty by representatives of Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, ...

Malik, Charles Habib

(Encyclopedia)Malik, Charles Habib, 1906–87, Lebanese statesman and educator, grad. American Univ. of Beirut, 1927, Ph.D. Harvard, 1937. After teaching philosophy at the American Univ. of Beirut (1937–45), Mali...

Assad, Hafez al-

(Encyclopedia)Assad, Hafez al- äl-äsˈsäd [key], 1930–2000, president of Syria (1971–2000). He graduated (1955) from the Syrian Military Academy and advanced through the army ranks to become a general. He s...

Habash, George

(Encyclopedia)Habash, George, 1925?–2008, Palestinian guerrilla leader. When Israel was established (1948), he fled to Lebanon, where he attended the American Univ. of Beirut (M.D., 1951). He practiced medicine i...

Adnan, Etel

(Encyclopedia) Adnan, Etel, 1925-2021, Lebanese-American author and artist, b. Beirut, Lebanon. Adnan studied at the Sorbonne and did postgraduate work at the Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, and Harvard, an...

Pisidia

(Encyclopedia)Pisidia pĭsĭdˈēə, pī– [key], ancient country of S Asia Minor, S of Phrygia and N of Pamphylia. It was a mountainous country, traversed by the Taurus range. Its warlike tribes maintained their ...

Sarkis, Elias

(Encyclopedia)Sarkis, Elias, 1924–85, president of Lebanon (1976–82). He was governor (1967–76) of Lebanon's central bank and was elected president by parliament during the bitter Lebanese civil war (1975–7...

Mohammed bin Salman

(Encyclopedia)Mohammed bin Salman, 1985–, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, b. Riyadh. The son of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, he received a law degree from King Saud Univ. (2007) and then worked in government and for...

Plaza Lasso, Galo

(Encyclopedia)Plaza Lasso, Galo gäˈlō pläˈ sä läˈsō [key], 1906–87, president of Ecuador (1948–52) and secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS; 1968–75), b. New York City. He se...

Great Rift Valley

(Encyclopedia)Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, th...