Aarushhh/wikipedia-simple-splitted huggingface dataset:
The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation in the Mascarene Islands. It includes Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon as well as Mauritius. It was formerly ruled by the European countries: France, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, but is now independent from these all European Colonies.

Port Louis is its capital. In the 2000 census, the country had a population of 1,178,848 people. The country is prosperous, and trades mainly with South Africa and Indian Sub Continent.
The island of Mauritius was the home of the dodo.

Location 
The island is in the southwest Indian Ocean. It is about  east of Madagascar. The country includes the island of Mauritius as well as the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands along with the French island of Réunion  to the southwest.
Flag
The Mauritian flag is made up of four colours of equal width. 
The colours represent the following:
 Red represents freedom and independence,
 Blue is for their Indian Ocean which surrounds the island,
 Yellow for the sun, and 
 Green for their agriculture.
History 
Mauritius, an island of volcanic origin sheltered by barriers of coral reefs forming natural, safe, crystal clear lagoons, has long been a dream destination. Known to the Arabs as early as the 10th century, but officially explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch in the 17th century. The Dutch were the ones who named the island in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU. 
Mauritius was occupied successively by the Dutch (1598-1712) and later by the French (1715-1810). The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing the Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane.
Related pages
 List of rivers of Mauritius
 Mauritius at the Olympics
 Mauritius national football team

References 

1968 establishments
 
 
Commonwealth member states
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 movie directed by Frank Capra. It inspired the story similar to A Christmas Carol.

Cast
 James Stewart as George Bailey
 Donna Reed as Mary Hatch
 Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter

Other websites 

 
 Essay on the deeper meaning of the movie 
 Excerpts from Ray Carney's analysis of the movie.

1946 drama movies
American drama movies
Movies based on books
Christmas movies
English-language movies
Movies set in New York (state)
Paramount movies
United States National Film Registry movies
Movies directed by Frank Capra
Djibouti (officially called the Republic of Djibouti) is a country on the eastern coast of Africa. The capital city is also called Djibouti.

Djibouti gained its independence from France on June 27, 1977. The country was created out of the French Somaliland (later called the French Territory of the Afars and Issas), which was created in the 1800s as a result of French colonialism in Africa.

In 2020, about 920,000 people lived there. It is one of the least populous countries in Africa. Two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar people, account for most of the people living in the country.

Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. It is also a member of the Arab League, as well as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
History
The history of Djibouti goes back thousands of years when it was part of the Sabean Empire (Ethiopia) to a time when Djiboutians traded hides and skins for the perfumes and spices of ancient Egypt, Pakistan, and China. Through close contacts with the Arabian peninsula for more than 1,000 years, the Somali and Afar tribes in this region became among the first on the African continent to accept Islam. Djibouti is a Muslim country which regularly takes part in Islamic as well as Arab meetings.

The country is close to a narrow part of the Red Sea so it is considered an important area from a military viewpoint.
Djiboutians 
The Djiboutians () are the people inhabiting or originating from Djibouti (including their diaspora). The country is mainly composed of two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar. It has many languages - though Somali and Afar are the most widely spoken ones, Arabic and French serve as the official languages. There is a small Djiboutian diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Geography
Djibouti is near to the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Awdal of Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east.

In the Great Rift Valley the rift between the African Plate and the Somali Plate meet the Arabian Plate. This makes a geologic tripoint that is the lowest place in Africa.

Djibouti has eight mountain ranges with peaks of over 1,000 m (3,281 ft). The Mousa Ali range is the country's highest mountain range.

The Grand Bara desert covers parts of southern Djibouti.
Most species of wildlife are found in the northern part of the country, in the ecosystem of the Day Forest National Park. This forest area is the main habitat of the endangered and endemic Djibouti francolin (a bird).

Administrative divisions 

Djibouti is divided into six administrative regions, with Djibouti city representing one of the official regions. It is further subdivided into twenty districts.

Religion
The people of Djibouti are mostly Muslim. Islam is observed by 94% of Djibouti's population (about 740,000) (2010 estimate). The remaining six percent follow Christianity.

The Republic of Djibouti names Islam as the only state religion. The Constitution of 1992 provides for the equality of citizens of all faiths as well as the freedom to practise any religion.

Sports
Association football is the most popular sport in Djibouti. The country became a member of FIFA in 1994. They have only played in qualifying rounds for both the African Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup.
Transportation 
The country is linked to Ethiopia by way of the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway.

Gallery

References

Other websites
 
 

 
French-speaking countries
Least developed countries
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
1977 establishments in Africa
Mauritania is a country in northwest Africa. The capital city, which is also the biggest city in the country, is Nouakchott. It is on the Atlantic coast. Its president is General Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

At 1,030,700 km² (397,929 mi²), Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia). It is similar in size to Egypt. The land is flat in most places.

Demographics

Religion

Mauritania is almost 100% Muslim, most of whom are Sunni.  People can be killed in Mauritania for being  an atheist. On 27 April 2018, The National Assembly passed a law that allows for the death penalty for certain apostasy-related crimes.

Language

Afro-Asiatic languages 
Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Mauritania. Hassaniya is the Arabic dialect that is widely spoken throughout the country. It is mostly used in daily life.
Berber languages 
There are also some Berber languages that are spoken in Mauritania. In de south Zenaga is spoken and close to the border with Mali in the southeast Tamasheq (a variety of Tuareg) is spoken. Zenaga is only spoken by a few hundred peoples and seems to be close to disappearance.

Foreign languages 
As Mauritania is a former colony of France, it is now part of the Francophonie. French is spoken including African French and Maghreb French.

Niger-Congo languages 
There are several Niger-Congo languages that are spoken in Mauritania. These are Wolof, Soninke, Pulaar and Bambara.

Economy 

Mauritania is rich in natural resources but has a low GDP. Many people living in Mauritania depend on farming and livestock. Mauritania has a large deposit of iron ore, which is almost half of the country's total exports.

References

Other websites

 

 
Least developed countries
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
North African countries
Lake Huron is one of North America's five Great Lakes. It is the third one up from the mouth. Like Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior, it is also part of the boundary between the USA and Canada. The Huronian glaciation, billions of years ago, is named for the lake.

Lake Huron is more than 200 miles (325 km) long and is as much as 750 feet (230 m) deep. Many boats and ships go back and forth on Lake Huron, carrying useful things such as iron ore.

Lake Huron borders the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of Michigan. There are no large cities on Lake Huron, but there are some small cities such as Sarnia, Ontario and Bay City, Michigan. 

The water that flows out of Lake Huron goes through a river that flows past Detroit, Michigan. The water then flows into Lake Erie on its way to the ocean.
On 1996 an hurricane-like storm appeared on Lake Huron, while the National Hurricane Center was not sure to call it a hurricane or not. Because the storm formed over Lake Huron and that it did not get a name from the NHC, many people nicknamed the storm, "Hurricane Huron".

Huron, Lake
Huron, Lake
Huron, Lake
Lakes of the United States
Reunion could mean:

Architecture
 Reunion Arena, an indoor arena in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas
 Reunion Tower, a building located in Dallas, Texas, United States

Computer science
 Reunion (genealogy software), a genealogy application for the Apple Macintosh

Movies
 Reunion (movie), a movie directed by Jerry Schatzberg based on a screenplay written by Harold Pinter

Gaming
 The Reunion (MMOG), a multiplayer online game
 X³: Reunion, a computer game produced by Egosoft and released late 2005,
 Reunion, a space strategy game developed by Amnesty Design in 1994. The game was released on Amiga and PC (DOS).

Geography
 Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean
 Reunion District, Dallas, Texas, United States
Literature
 Force Heretic: Reunion, the third novel in a three-part story by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
 Knights of the Old Republic: Reunion, a two-part story arc in the Knights of the Old Republic series of comic books
 Reunion (Buffy comic), a comic based on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
 Reunion (novel), a science fiction novel by Alan Dean Foster
 Reunion (novella), a novella by Fred Uhlman
 Reunion (play), a play by David Mamet
 Reunion (The Mediator), a YA novel by Meg Cabot
Music
 Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dektette - Reunion, a 1988 album by the American jazz singer Mel Tormé
 Re-union, a Dutch duo who performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
 Reunion (album), a live album released by metal group Black Sabbath in 1997
 Réunion (album), an electronic music album by The Flashbulb
 Reunion (band), a pop music group best known for their 1974 hit song "Life Is a Rock"
 Reunion (Temptations album), a 1982 album by The Temptations for the Gordy label
 Reunion: A Decade of Solas, the reunion album of Irish-American Celtic group, Solas, in 2006
 Doomed for Live - Reunion 2002, a live album by Candlemass
 Reunion Records, a Contemporary Christian music label home to artists like Michael W. Smith, Casting Crowns, and Joy Williams
 www.ReunionStudio.org, a netlabel with free electronic music for download
 The Reunion, a rap album by Capone-N-Noreaga
 Reunion, an instrumental dedicated to Dana Reeve composed by British musician Nick Hinton
Television
 Reunion (TV series), a 2005 television series on FOX starring Matthew St. Patrick and Sean Faris
The Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, rises more than 2,631 metres (8,632 ft) above sea level and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. It most recently erupted on 2 January 2010. Before that, the most noticeable was during April 2007, when the lava flow was estimated at 3,000,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu yd) per day.  The Piton de la Fournaise is created by a hotspot volcano, which also created the Piton des Neiges and the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues.
The Piton des Neiges volcano, the highest point on the island at 3,070 metres (10,070 ft) above sea level, is northwest of the Piton de la Fournaise. Collapsed calderas and canyons are southwest of the mountain. Like Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Piton des Neiges is an extinct volcano. Despite its name, snow (French: neige) practically never falls on the summit.

Other websites 
 Facts about Reunion 
 Pictures of Reunion Island
Great Lakes
Geography of Michigan
Geography of New York (state)
Geography of Ohio
Geography of Pennsylvania
Lakes of Canada
Geography of Ontario
Lakes of the United States
Mali (Bambara:  ߡߊߟߌ, Fula: 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, ), officially the Republic of Mali (; Bambara: ߡߊߟߌ ߞߊ ߝߊߛߏߖߊߡߊߣߊ); Fula: 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, ) is a landlocked country (a country entirely surrounded by land) in West Africa. Mali is bordered by Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Physical features of Mali include the Sahara desert in the north, with the Niger River and Sénégal River in the southern part of the country. As of a July 2021 estimate, Mali has a population of approximately  million people. Mali has a total area of . Most of the people live in the southern part of the country. Mali's capital and most populated city is Bamako.
History
The Mandé people founded several kingdoms in the Sahel. This was a big area that included Mali. These kingdoms included the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. Timbuktu was an important city in these empires because a lot of trade across the Sahara Desert went there. Timbuktu was also a good place for learning. The Songhai Empire became much smaller after a Moroccan attack in 1591.

France invaded Mali in 1880. After that, France owned Mali. France gave Mali the names French Sudan and the Sudanese Republic. At some times it also included other nearby countries. In early 1959, Mali and Senegal united and they became the Mali Federation. They became independent from France on June 20, 1960. Senegal left the Mali Federation a few months later. The Republic of Mali, with Modibo Keïta as the first president, left the French Community on September 22, 1960.
There was a coup in Mali in 1968. Modibo Keïta lost his job and was put in prison. Mali was then ruled by Moussa Traoré until 1991. He treated the country badly, and so there was another coup in 1991 after protests against the government, and a new constitution was made.  The leader of the country was then Amadou Toumani Touré.  

In 1992, Alpha Oumar Konaré won Mali's first democratic election.  President Konaré won again in 1997 and he made big political and economic changes.  In 2002, Amadou Toumani Touré won the election and he started his second term as head of state.  He was a retired general and was the military leader of the 1991 coup.  Today, Mali is one of the least stable countries in Africa.

Regions and cercles

Mali is divided into 10 regions and 1 district. The country is further divided into 49 cercles, containing 288 "arrondissements" and 703 communes.
The regions and district are:
 Gao
 Kayes
 Kidal
 Koulikoro
 Ménaka
 Mopti
 Ségou
 Sikasso
 Taoudenni
 Tombouctou (Timbuktu)
 Bamako (capital district)

Geography

Mali is the world's 24th-largest country. The area of the country is 1,240,000 km² (478,734 mi²). Mali and South Africa are about the same size. It is two times bigger than Texas.

Most of Mali is part of the Sahara Desert. Mali is does not have any sea coast. It is landlocked.  Mali does not have many mountains. Flat areas in the north are covered by sand. Savanna is around the Niger River in the south. The climate is dry. The dry season is hot and dusty. There are many natural resources in Mali, including gold, uranium, phosphates, kaolinite, salt, and limestone.

Economy

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. 65% of its land area is desert or something similar. There have been several long droughts over the last hundred years. Therefore, most economic activity is near the Niger River.
About 10% of the people are nomads and 80% of workers have jobs in farming and fishing. Industry is mainly to process farm products. Women also do pottery and the pots are bought and taken to markets. Many foreign tourists like the traditional methods which the women use to make the pots. 

Mali's main export is cotton, so if the price of cotton changes, Mali's economy is affected a lot. Mali also receives a lot of financial help from other countries. 

In 1997, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended a programme for changing the economy and the government followed this. Several international companies started exploring for larger amounts of gold in 1996-1998, and the Malian government thinks that Mali will become an important gold exporter soon.

Demographics

There are several ethnic and religious groups in Mali.
 Mandé (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke): 50%
 Peul (Fula/Fulani): 17%
 Voltaic: 12%
 Songhai: 6%
 Tuareg and Moor: 10%
 Others: 5%
These religions are common in Mali.
 Islam: 90%
 Traditional Mali Beliefs: 9%
 Christianity: 1%

Culture

About 90% of people from Mali follow Sunni Islam, but they do not always forget their traditional religions. Muslims have their own schooling system. The number of Muslims from Mali who go to Mecca is increasing and some study in Arab countries. About 1% of the people are Christians. When Mali was under French control, Christian teachers were sent to Islamic areas.

The language of Mali under French rule was French, but now not many people outside towns can read or write this language. However, about 60% of the people use other languages well. Many people can read and write in Bamanakan (the most popular spoken language). This language has its own alphabet, called N'Ko. Other people can read and write in Arabic, after going to an Islamic school. One of the oldest universities in the world is Sankore University in Timbuktu.  It began in the 1400s.
Famous musicians from Mali include kora player Toumani Diabaté, and the guitarist Ali Farka Touré, who has died.

References

Other websites

 
1960 establishments in Africa
Least developed countries
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
Chief Joseph (1840 – September 21, 1904; whose real name was Hinmaton-Yalaktit) was the chief of the Nez Perce Native Americans, a tribe that lived in what is now the Pacific Northwest of the United States. 
His father was the leader of the Nez-Perce before him, and his mother was a member of this tribe too.

When Joseph was young, his father always told him not to trust white men, he actually had problems with settlers. When his father died, Joseph became chief of the tribe, who resided in plateaus in Northeast Oregon, Southeast Washington and Western Idaho.

The turning point in their relationship to white men was the gold rush in 1863. It gave the US Government the opportunity to reduce their reservation to a small area in Idaho. Then, with the new waves of white men settling in the West, the Government wanted to drive Nez-Perces away from their territory.
Chief Joseph was extremely sad: this place was the tribe's territory where their ancestors were buried. In spite of that, he wanted to avoid conflict and remain in peace. In 1873 he decided to negotiate with the US Government. He travelled all the way to Washington D.C. and spoke to President Ulysses S. Grant. But he only got mean looks and little attention.

So a war began in 1877. The living conditions of Chief Joseph's tribe were awful: they had no food and no blankets. Some people were freezing to death. But the Nez-Perces impressed their enemy thanks to all the battles they won. Many men died on both sides. That's why Joseph decided to surrender. He gave up fighting in 1877.
He was destroyed by the death of his people, and also extremely disappointed: he felt betrayed by white people. He knew he could not trust them anymore. He was tired of being considered a savage. He felt it was not fair for people who were born on the same land to be treated differently. He delivered a lot of speeches on this subject, which are still really good examples of eloquence. But he did not feel listened to, and when he died in his reservation in 1904, the doctor said he "died from sadness". He was buried in Colville Native American Burial Ground, in Washington State.

References

Native American people
1840 births
1904 deaths
Seychelles is an African country in the Indian Ocean. Its capital city is Victoria. The official languages are Creole, English, and French. It is a republic is made up of 115 islands.

Seychelles and the islands to the south, Madagascar and Mauritius, all had legal slavery and were part of the slave trade. Most of the people are descendants of freed slaves, who make up about 90% of the population. Many of them also are descended from slave owners who abused their ancestors. There are small minorities of immigrants from Europe, China and India. Most people are Roman Catholics, about 90% of them. About 8% are Protestants.

Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, and Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles has an estimated population of 86,525.  It is the smallest population of any African state.
History 
It is thought that Arab sailors first saw the islands in the 7th century. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered the islands in 1502, and called them Three Brothers (), but he did not visit the islands. The British East India Company visited the islands, but they did not settle there.

Geography
Seychelles is to the northeast of Madagascar and about  east of Kenya. The number of islands in the archipelago is often given as 115 but the Constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155. 

According to the president of Nauru, the Seychelles has been ranked the ninth most endangered nation due to flooding from climate change.

Some of the districts in Seychelles include: Anse Boileau, Takamaka and Cote D’Or.

Subdivisions
Subdivisions 

Seychelles is divided into twenty-five administrative regions. Eight of the districts make up the capital of Seychelles.  They are called Greater Victoria. Another 14 districts are considered the rural part of the main island of Mahé.  There are two districts on Praslin and one on La Digue which also include  satellite islands.   The rest of the Outer Islands are not considered part of any district.

Mahé
Bel Air
La Rivière Anglaise (English River)
Les Mamelles
Mont Buxton
Mont Fleuri
Plaisance
Roche Caiman
Saint Louis
Victoria

Anse aux Pins
Anse Boileau
Anse Etoile
Au Cap
Anse Royale
Baie Lazare
Beau Vallon
Bel Ombre
Cascade
Glacis
Grand'Anse Mahé
Pointe La Rue
Port Glaud
Takamaka

Praslin
Baie Sainte Anne (Anse Volbert)
Grand'Anse Praslin (Grande Anse)
La Digue and remaining Inner Islands
La Digue (Anse Réunion)
Economy 
During the plantation era, cinnamon, vanilla, and copra were the main exports. In the 1960s, about 33% of the working population worked at plantations, and 20% worked in the public or government sector. In 1971, with the opening of Seychelles International Airport, tourism became a serious industry.
Flora and fauna 
Like many fragile island ecosystems, the Seychelles had loss of biodiversity during early human history. This included the disappearance of most of the giant tortoises from the granitic islands.  There was also the extinction of species such as the chestnut flanked white eye, the Seychelles Parakeet, the Seychelles Black Terrapin and the saltwater crocodile. However, extinctions were far fewer than on islands such as Mauritius or Hawaii. This was partly due to a shorter period of human occupation being only since 1770. The Seychelles today is known for success stories in protecting its flora and fauna. The rare Seychelles Black Parrot, the national bird of the country, is now protected.
The granitic islands of Seychelles are home to about 75 endemic plant species. There are a further 25 or so species in the Aldabra group. Particularly well-known is the Coco de Mer, a species of palm that grows only on the islands of Praslin and neighbouring Curieuse. The jellyfish tree is to be found in only a few locations on Mahe. This strange and ancient plant is in a genus of its own (Medusagynaceae). Other unique plant species include the Wright's Gardenia Rothmannia annae found only on Aride Island Special Reserve.

The freshwater crab genus Seychellum is endemic to the granitic Seychelles. There are a further 26 species of crabs and 5 species of hermit crabs that live on the islands.

The Aldabra Giant Tortoise now lives on many of the islands of the Seychelles. The Aldabra population is the largest in the world. These unique reptiles can be found even in captive herds. 

There are several unique varieties of orchids on the Islands.
The marine life around the islands, especially the more remote coral islands, can be spectacular. More than 1,000 species of fish have been recorded. Since the use of spearguns and dynamite for fishing was banned in the 1960s, the wildlife is unafraid of snorkelers and divers. Coral bleaching in 1998 has damaged most reefs, but some reefs show healthy recovery.

The main natural resources of the Seychelles are fish, copra, cinnamon, coconuts, salt and iron.

References

Other websites

 Pictures of Seychelles 

 
English-speaking countries
French-speaking countries
Gondwana
1976 establishments in Africa
Commonwealth member states
A square mile (sometimes written mi² ) is a British and American unit of measurement of area. It is the area inside a square that has each side equal to one statute mile (5,280 feet or 1,760 yards). This way of talking about area is often used to say how much land there is on a farm, or in a city or country, for example.

One square mile is just less than 2.6 square kilometres.
Imperial units
Units of area
A Region is the name for one of 25 areas into which the land is divided in Peru. 

Provinces of Peru

 Name of the region (capital of the region)

 Tumbes (Tumbes)
 Piura (Piura)
 Lambayeque (Chiclayo)
 La Libertad (Trujillo)
 Ancash (Huaraz)
 Lima (Huacho)
 Callao (Callao)
 Ica (Ica)
 Arequipa (Arequipa)
 Moquegua (Moquegua)
 Tacna (Tacna)
 Cajamarca (Cajamarca)
 Huánuco (Huánuco)
 Pasco (Cerro de Pasco)
 Junín (Huancayo)
 Huancavelica (Huancavelica)
 Ayacucho (Ayacucho)
 Apurímac (Abancay)
 Cusco (Cusco)
 Puno (Puno)
 Amazonas (Chachapoyas)
 San Martín (Moyobamba)
 Ucayali (Pucallpa)
 Madre de Dios (Puerto Maldonado)
 Loreto (Iquitos)
    *     Lima Province (Lima)
Togo is a small country in West Africa.  It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. The capital city Lomé is located along the Gulf of Guinea. In 2016, about 7.5 million people lived there. The official language is French. Togo was a hub of the Atlantic slave trade for Europeans. Togo was a part of the Slave Coast. Many Togolese descendants live in the Americas. The country is known for Voodoo. Togo is also known for its various flora and fauna. Monkeys, snakes, and lizards are numerous in many areas in Togo.
History 
From the 11th century to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions: the Ewé from the east, and the Mina and Guin from the west; most of them settled in coastal areas. The Portuguese explored the area in the late 15th century. As Togoland, it became a protectorate of Germany in 1884. After World War I, Togo was ceded to the French. Togo gained independence from French rule in the 1960s. General Gnassingbé Eyadéma became the military leader in 1967. When Eyadéma resigned in 2002 and later died in 2005, his son, Faure Gnassingbe became president. In June 2022, Togo joined the Commonwealth of Nations.
Economy 
The economy of this small African country is based on agriculture. Agriculture provides jobs for 65% of the labor force according to the CIA Factbook. Agricultural products include coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, and sorghum. Industries include phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement, handicrafts, textiles, and beverages.

Government 
The president of Togo is elected for 5 years. The president is also the commander of the armed forces. The president also has the right to begin legislation and dissolve parliament.
After Togo's independence from France, General Gnassingbé Eyadéma became the military leader. When Eyadéma died in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbe became president.  During his re-election campaign, he helped get port concessions in Lomé extended for Bolloré Groupe from 10 to 35 years in exchange for help from the group's public relations subsidiary Havas.  In a 26 Feb 2021 civil hearing at the Paris judicial court, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, along with associates Gilles Alix and Jean-Philippe Dorent, pleaded guilty to corrupt practices in Togo.  The President of the court rejected the negotiated plea bargain and ordered that the three be tried in criminal court.  In the same trial, Bolloré SE was fined $12 million.

Regions
Togo is divided into 5 regions.  The regions are divided into 30 prefectures and 1 commune.  From north to south the regions are Savanes, Kara, Centrale, Plateaux and Maritime.

Cities
The largest cities in Togo are:

Religion
Religion

About 51% of the population has local beliefs, 29% is Christian, and 20% Muslim.

Food and drink 
The Togolese enjoy many foods including tropical fruits, pastries, and many different products made from peanuts. Major drinks include tea, coffee, and wine. Togolese often snack on plantains and French donuts or beignets.

Related pages
List of rivers of Togo
Togo at the Olympics
Togo national football team

References

 
Least developed countries
French-speaking countries
Commonwealth member states
Today, Bad Religion has fourteen studio albums, two EPs, three compilation albums, one live recording, and two DVDs. Some critics think that their 1988 album Suffer is one of the most important punk rock albums of all time,. People began to notice Bad Religion after their 1993 album Recipe for Hate, which was number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Their next album, Stranger Than Fiction, had the band's well-known hits "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected", did well and was the only Bad Religion album to get gold status in the US.  Brett Gurewitz left in 1994. Bad Religion was not as well known after that and did not sell many albums until The Process of Belief in 2002. Brett Gurewitz came back in 2001, and worked with them on their four most recent albums. The band is planning to make another album in 2012.
They are known for their smart use of style, comparisons, word choice, imagery, and voice harmonies (which they call "oozin aahs.) Lyrics sometimes have to do with their emotions or their opinion of society.

Lyrics and ideology
Most of Bad Religion's lyrics are written by Greg Graffin or Brett Gurewitz. Sometimes, but often, they will co-write a song. Other band members, such as Jay Bentley, also write songs, but very rarely.

Brett Gurewitz says he tried to copy The Germs singer Darby Crash early on in Bad Religion's career.  "He wrote some intelligent stuff, and didn't shy away from the vocabulary, which I thought was cool."  Bad Religion also uses voice harmonies.  The Adolescents influenced them with their three-part voice harmonies. Bassist Jay Bentley says, "Seeing The Adolescents live, it was so brilliant. So, in a way, the Adolescents influenced us into saying we can do it too, because look, they're doing it."
Social and political issues
Many of Bad Religion's songs are about what they think are social problems, but they do not blame causes of these problems to any single person or group. Greg Graffin thinks that the politics in the United States can make it hard to talk about the problems.

The band is sometimes direct about the things they want to say. Brett Gurewitz said he was angry at former U.S. president George W. Bush and that The Empire Strikes First is about him.  "Our whole album is dedicated to getting Bush out of office. I'm not a presidential scholar but I don't think you'll find a worse president in the history of the United States. He's probably one of the worst leaders in the history of world leaders. I just hate the guy."
Religion
Despite the name of the band, the members say they are not anti-religious. Greg Graffin says that more often than not, the band likes to use religion to represent anything that does not let a person be free. Their songs are more about being against everyone being the same than against religion or God. But Greg Graffin is an atheist.  He helped write the book 'Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?' The band's bassist Jay Bentley has stated that he has spiritual beliefs. Brett Gurewitz is a "provisional deist."

Band members
Band members

Current members
 Greg Graffin – lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, acoustic guitar, songwriter (1979 – 1984, 1986 – present)
 Brett Gurewitz – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, songwriter (1979 – 1983, 1986 – 1994, 2001 – present)
 Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals (1979 – 1982, 1986 – present)
 Greg Hetson – lead guitar, rhythm guitar (1984, 1986 – present)
 Brian Baker – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1994 – present)
 Brooks Wackerman – drums, percussion (2001 – present)

Discography

Other websites 
 Official Website
 The Bad Religion Page Fan website, established 1995.
 Bad Religion Videos  Live videos and Bootlegs

References
References

Bad Religion
1980s American music groups
1990s American music groups
2000s American music groups
2010s American music groups
American punk bands
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1979
1979 establishments in California
Musical groups disestablished in 1984
1984 disestablishments in the United States
1980s disestablishments in California
Musical groups established in 1985
1985 establishments in California
1979 in the United States
American pop music groups
Atlantic Records artists
Hardcore punk
Musical groups established in 1980
Musicians from California
The Meat Puppets are an alternative/punk rock group from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. They were formed in 1980 by Curt Kirkwood (vocals, guitars), his brother Cris (bass) and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The band is probably best known for their 1994 radio hit "Backwater".

The band went on indefinite hiatus in 2001 as Curt formed two band projects Eyes Adrift (with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh) and Volcano (also with Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh). He also released a solo album. His brother Cris was in prison from August 2004 to 21 months.

In 2006, the Meat Puppets reformed and released a new album, Rise to Your Knees in 2007.

As of November 2009, Shandon Sahm is back as the drummer in the Meat Puppets. He replaces Ted Marcus, who was a member from 2006. 

The band was chosen by Animal Collective to perform their album Up on the Sun live at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in May 2011.

References
References  
 

1980s American music groups
1990s American music groups
2000s American music groups
2010s American music groups
American punk bands
Musical groups from Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Musical groups established in 1980
1980 establishments in the United States
1990s establishments in Arizona
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
1996 disestablishments in the United States
Musical groups established in 1999
1999 establishments in the United States
Musical groups disestablished in 2002
2002 disestablishments in the United States
Disestablishments in Arizona
Musical groups established in 2006
2006 establishments in the United States
2000s establishments in Arizona
20th-century establishments in Arizona
Biography 
Ted Bundy was born in 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, USA. He lived with his mother Louise Cowell and grandfather Sam Cowell when he was a child. Bundy and his mother moved to Washington where she married a man named John Culpepper Bundy. As a child in Washington, Bundy was a good student and went to church often, yet he found it hard to make friends and he began stealing. As a young man, Bundy became involved in politics and got together with a woman named Diane Edwards, known better by the pseudonym Stephanie Brooks. She left him, and he went on his own for a while. After seeing that he had improved, she got back together with him, but he proposed and left her a few days later. This is when the murders began. The people that Bundy would murder were much like this lady: young, white skinned (Caucasian), and with long dark hair parted in the middle.
Bundy had antisocial personality disorder. He went on trial on June 25 until July 31 for the murders he had committed. He was sentenced to 3 death sentences, and was going to be executed by the electric chair. In the time he was in prison and waiting to be executed he helped the police investigate other murders and in 1988 he admitted to having killed eight more women than he was tried for. Bundy was executed by the use of the electric chair at the Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989. He was 42 years old.

References 

American kidnappers
American rapists
Executed American serial killers
People executed by electric chair
People from Burlington, Vermont
People with antisocial personality disorder
1946 births
1989 deaths
A longboard is a type of skateboard. It is often longer than a regular skateboard. Longboard are made in many different shapes. They are often  faster than regular skateboards. This is because of the size of the wheel and what the board is made of. Longboards are commonly used for cruising, traveling and downhill racing. Downhill racing is known as longboarding. Longboard 'dancing' and 'freestyle' are also popular. In this, the rider uses skateboard-like motions and steps up and down the board.
History 
The first longboards were made by Preston Nichols in the 1940s and 50s. They replaced surfing when the waves were too dull. Early skaters made boards out of planks of wood and roller skates. It was called "Sidewalk Surfing". Longboards were first sold in 1959. Makaha, Jack's and Hobie were the first sellers. These early longboards were crude. They had wheels made of metal. Clay wheels were used later to make them safer. Longboarding became popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It had become much less popular by 1965. Longboarding started becoming popular again in 1972 when Frank Nasworthy and the Cadillac Wheel Company create the urethane longboard wheel. Urethane wheels let skaters move much faster than they could before. Reverse kingpins(RKP) also made them more stable.
These changes made the boards more stable. They helped downhill longboarding grow into a sport. The International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) was its governing body. The cutout deck was added in the 1990s. It had sections cut out around the wheels. This stopped the wheels from touching the board during hard turns. There has been many changes to longboard technology because of the many different ways people ride them. Modern longboard decks can be made from many materials. These include fiberglass composites, aluminum and carbon fiber.

Dimensions
Dimensions

Most boards are  in length. Widths vary from . Longboard are made in many shapes. These include pintails, swallowtails, flat-nose riders, drop-through decks, drop decks and boards with the same shape as a regular skateboard. Pintails have looser trucks and larger wheels. They are better suited for carving or a "smooth" feel. Drop decks and drop throughs let the rider be closer to the ground. This gives them a lower center of gravity which increases stability. This also makes the boards better for downhill racing. Mid-length boards,  have many different uses. They have more weight and bulk. This makes them move with a fluid motion by providing more momentum. The longboard's design lets rider make big turns or quick short carves. These movements are similar to the motions of surfers or snowboarders.

References

Skateboarding
Graffiti is marks, scratching or drawings made on a surface on a public place. It is often created with paint or spray paint (paint that is sprayed from a can). A single mark could be called a graffito but the word graffiti is usually used, meaning that there is more than one mark.

Graffiti can take the form of art, drawings or words. When done without a property owner's permission it can be considered vandalism. Sometimes it is just a person's name or a rude word. Sometimes it is a public political protest because graffiti is illegal without permission.

Types 
There are lots of different types of graffiti, and some people call some things graffiti that other people would not.
In some kinds of graffiti, people write their name in different ways. It is usually not their real name. Sometimes people write the name of their crew, which is a group of friends who write together. Small writing like a signature is called a tag. Bigger writing that is very round and has an outline is called a throw up. A graffiti writing with lots of detail is called a piece, which is short for masterpiece.

Some graffit is made of pictures. This can be a small picture or a large mural.

Graffiti can be legal or illegal. Some towns have walls that anyone is allowed to paint on. Sometimes the government or a business will pay someone to paint, to attract tourists or advertise something. Some graffiti artists like Keith Haring became very famous.

History
History 

Paintings were done on cave walls over 40,000 years ago in Australia. The oldest graffiti that used writing was in the Roman Empire, people wrote messages on walls. It wasn't considered vandalism, instead people saw it as just a way to talk to one another.

In the 1700s and 1800s in the United States, some people began to write "monikers" on trains. Monikers were pictures and fake names. One famous moniker was Bozo Texino.

Modern graffiti was made famous in New York City in the early 1960s and 1970s by the children of the working class. They called it "writing" and called themselves "writers." At first they wrote on trains, but when the New York Subway started to make it harder, writers moved into the city to write on walls instead.
In a 1971 New York Times article, Norman Mailer first used the term "graffiti" was first used to refer to the new kind of art people were painting on trains. This period of the early 1970s is known as the "Original School." Later in the 1980s, the next generation of graffiti artists is known as "Old School."

References

Other websites 
 Graffiti.CX  Online Graffiti Contest 
 Graffiti art on train
 Graffiti.org.br 
 Walls & bridges from south Belgium
 How to remove graffiti?
 Remove Graffiti From Different Surfaces?
 Graffiti art or vandalism
Appellation d'origine controlée (AOC, "controlled designation of origin") is a French phrase which shows that a product comes from a certain area.  

Some products must come from a certain area and be made in a certain way in order to have the name of the product.  The most famous example is champagne, which must be fermented in the bottle and be made in the Champagne region of France.

The French government set up the Institut national des appellations d'origine  et de la qualité (INAO, "National institute of controlled designation of origin") in 1935 to oversee the system.  Although usually linked with wines, the start of the system of protecting the name of goods started in the 15th century when the French parliament defined what could be called Roquefort cheese.   

AOCs are most often found in connection with:
 Wine regions (like Bordeaux Entre-Deux-Mers AOC)
 Some ciders
 Some cheeses (like Roquefort) and Parmesan (in Italy)

References

Marketing
French food
Distillation is a process where a mixture made of two or more liquids (called "components") with different boiling points can be separated from each other.  The mixture is heated until one of the components boils (turns to a vapor).  The vapor is then fed into a condenser, which cools the vapor and changes it back into a liquid that is called distillate.  What remains in the original container is called the "residue".  This is a physical separation process and not a chemical reaction.   Fractional distillation (using a distillation column with more than two outlets) can be used to improve the separation.  An oil refinery uses fractional distillation to purify crude oil, separating several different liquids for different uses.   

This has been used for a long time, to distill alcohol and produce alcoholic drinks.  Distillation is a commonly used operation in many industries.
Distillation can be done anywhere, whether it's in a house or a laboratory, but in most countries it is illegal to distill alcohol without a license. Illegally distilled alcoholic drinks are in some places called moonshine.

Distillation is also the main way of desalination of water. In this case the salt is a solid that is in solution with the water. In alcohol distillation or  petroleum distillation, the things to be separated from their solution are two or more distillation liquids.

Gallery

References

Laboratory techniques
A lawyer (also called an "advocate", "attorney", "barrister", "counsel", "counsellor", or "solicitor") is someone who practices law. A lawyer has earned a degree in law, and has a license to practice law in a particular area. 

If people have any problem regarding the law, they can contact a lawyer for advice.  A legal problem is referred to as a case.  A person can hire a lawyer to start a case against someone else, or to help with a case that has been started against them.  If the case goes to court, the lawyer will represent their client in court.  The lawyer will use their knowledge of the law to convince the court that the client is on the right side of the argument.  Lawyers also help people "settle out of court," which means that both sides of the argument agree to resolve the dispute ahead of time so that they will not have to go to trial.
When a person is accused of a crime, the person has a defense lawyer to try to show they have not committed a crime.  The lawyer arguing that they did do the crime is called the prosecutor.

Lawyers also prepare legal documents for their clients. Examples: buying or selling property or making a will (testament). Certain lawyers (called "commissioners of oaths" in England) can take legally binding witness statements which can be presented to the court.

Lawyers work in different settings.  Some work by themselves, while some work in law firms.  Some lawyers work for hospitals and private companies. Lawyers who work for private companies are usually called in-house counsel.

Lawyers generally charge a fee for the work that they do, but sometimes advice is offered freely, which is called "pro bono," meaning "for the public good."  In many countries, if a person is accused of a crime and unable to pay for a lawyer, the government will pay a lawyer to represent them using tax money.

Law occupations
Loreto is Peru's most northern region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is the nation's biggest region.  It is also one of the least populated ones, because of its remote location in the Amazon rainforest. Its capital is the city of Iquitos.

Boundaries
 Northwest: Ecuadorian provinces of Sucumbíos, Orellana, Pastaza and Morona-Santiago
 North: Colombian department of Putumayo
 Northeast: Amazonas Department, also in Colombia
 East: Brazilian states of Amazonas and Acre
 South: Ucayali and Huánuco regions
 West: San Martín and Amazonas regions

Administrative divisions
The region is divided into eight provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 53 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parenthesis, are:
 Maynas (Iquitos)
 Alto Amazonas (Yurimaguas)
 Datem del Marañón (San Lorenzo)
 Loreto (Nauta)
 Mariscal Ramón Castilla (Caballococha)
 Putumayo (San Antonio del Estrecho)
 Requena (Requena)
 Ucayali (Contamana)
Other websites 

 INEI Peru