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peccary

(Encyclopedia)peccary pĕkˈərē [key], small wild pig, genus Tayassu, the only pig native to the Americas. Although similar in appearance to Old World pigs, peccaries are classified in a family of their own becau...

Port Moresby

(Encyclopedia)Port Moresby môrzˈbē [key], town (1990 pop. 193,242), capital of Papua New Guinea, on New Guinea island and on the Gulf of Papua in the National Capital District. Rubber, gold, copra, and natural g...

Touré, Ahmed Sékou

(Encyclopedia)Touré, Ahmed Sékou sāˈko͞o to͞orāˈ [key], 1922–84, Guinean political leader, president (1958–84) of the republic of Guinea. From a poor family, Touré was labor union activist, becoming ge...

Guinea, archaic term for Africa's west coast

(Encyclopedia)Guinea gĭnˈē [key], an archaic term for the west coast of Africa. In its widest sense it has been applied to the region from Angola to Senegal. Parts of the region bore names originating in early c...

Owen Stanley Range

(Encyclopedia)Owen Stanley Range, mountain chain, c.300 mi (480 km) long, SE Papua New Guinea, on New Guinea island. It rises to Mt. Victoria (13,363 ft/4,073 m). The region, drained by several small rivers, is lar...

Cabral, Amilcar

(Encyclopedia)Cabral, Amilcar amēlˈkär kəbräl [key], 1924–73, revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau. Returning ...

Economic Community of West African States

(Encyclopedia)Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), organization established in 1975 to increase economic cooperation and development in West Africa. Members include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C...

Gambia, river, Africa

(Encyclopedia)Gambia, river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising on the Fouta Djallon, N Guinea, W Africa, and flowing generally northwest through SE Senegal then west, bisecting The Gambia, to the Atlantic Ocean at B...

Nipah virus

(Encyclopedia)Nipah virus, RNA virus of the genus Henipavirus, family Paramyxoviridae, that rarely infects humans but can cause deadly encephalitis. In humans, the virus typically incubates for 4 to 14 days before ...

Condé, Alpha

(Encyclopedia)Condé, Alpha älˈfä kōnˈdā [key], 1938–, Guinean political leader, president of Guinea (2010–). He lived in France from the age of 15, attended the Sorbonne, and was a professor at the Univ....