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Korea

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Korea kôrēˈə, kə– [key], Korean Hanguk or Choson, region and historic country (85,049 sq mi/220,277 sq km), E Asia. A peninsula, 600 mi (966 km) long, Korea separates the Sea of Japan (c...

Australian aborigines

(Encyclopedia)Australian aborigines, indigenous peoples of Australia. The first modern humans in Australia probably came from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago, most likely sometime between 55,000 and 10...

Fälldin, Thorbjörn

(Encyclopedia)Fälldin, Thorbjörn (Nils Olof Thorbjörn Fälldin), 1926–2016, Swedish political leader, prime minister of Sweden (1976–78, 1979–82). A member of the Center party, he was first elected to the ...

Syria

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Syria sērˈēə [key], officially Syrian Arab Republic, republic (2015 est. pop. 18,735,000), 71,467 sq mi (185,100 sq km), W Asia. It borders on Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea in the west,...

pension

(Encyclopedia)pension, periodic payments to one who has retired from work because of age or disability. Pensions, originally thought of as charity, are now viewed as an essential part of the social responsibility o...

John II, Spanish king of Castile and León

(Encyclopedia)John II, 1405–54, Spanish king of Castile and León (1406–54), son and successor of Henry III. He was little interested in government, which he entrusted to his favorite Alvaro de Luna. Literature...

Fairbanks

(Encyclopedia)Fairbanks, city (2020 pop. 32,515), Fairbanks North Star Borough, E central Alaska, on the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana; inc. 1903. F...

English, Bill

(Encyclopedia)English, Bill (Simon William English), 1961–, New Zealand political leader. First elected to parliament in 1990, English held several ministerial positions and served as leader of the National party...

Czechoslovakia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Czechoslovakia chĕsˈkōslōvĕnˌskō [key], former federal republic, 49,370 sq mi (127,869 sq km), in central Europe. On Jan. 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (see Slovaki...

Northern Cape

(Encyclopedia)Northern Cape, province (2011 pop. 1,145,861), 144,015 sq mi (372,889 sq km), NW South Africa. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, Northern Cape was created from the northern po...

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