AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
New or Modern Persian is spoken today and was first written down in the 9th century, during the Samanid Empire, which was the first Muslim Persian kingdom and was based in Central Asia. The earliest writers of New Persian included poets like Rudaki, and Ferdowsi, who wrote an epic, a very long poem, called the "Shahname", translated as the "Book of Kings" in English. It has myths and historical stories from before the Arabs conquered Persia.
Many other famous writers in Persian language were poets too, a few being Saadi, Hafez, Rumi. The Persian language has been very important one for literature. After Arabic, it was the second most common written language in Muslim countries, especially in the East.
Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark. It is also the largest city in Denmark. In 2014, 1,246,611 people lived in the urban area. Copenhagen is on the island of Zealand and the smaller island named Amager.
Founded as a Viking fishing village. Copenhagen was built in the 12th century A.D. and got City rights in 1254. A few years later, it was destroyed nearly completely. In 1443, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark. In 1801, there were more than 100,000 inhabitants in Copenhagen for the first time. In the 1960s, more than 700,000 people lived in Copenhagen Municipality, and today there are 528,000 inhabitants in the municipality. Near the city centre there is the famous Freetown Christiania.
Copenhagen is divided into 10 districts. The districts are:
The Nepali language is the official language of Nepal. Besides Nepal it is spoken in India, Bhutan and parts of Burma. In the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal also it is an official language. This language is also known as Gorkhali Language or Khaskura. It is believed to have originated from the ancient Sanskrit language from which it takes many words. It is written in Devanagari style of writing which is similar to Hindi. It is spoken throughout Nepal and is the mother tongue of more than half of the population. It is also used by the Government of Nepal for all official purposes. In Nepal it is compulsory to study Nepali language as a subject until Grade 10 (High School).
Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal. It is the largest city of Nepal. The population of the city is about 1.003 million. It has many Buddhist and Hindu temples and palaces.
Kathmandu has a humid subtropical climate ("Cwa" in the Köppen climate classification).
Kathmandu is home to several international and regional organizations.
International Buddhist Meditation Center operates in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.
Nepali could mean:
11th century
The 11th century was the century from 1001 to 1100.
Note: years before or after the 11th century are in "italics".
10th century
The 10th century was the century from 901 to 1000.
Note: years before or after the 10th century are in "italics".
9th century
The 9th century was the century from 801 to 900.
Note: years before or after the 9th century are in "italics".
8th century
The 8th century was the century from 701 to 800.
Note: years before or after the 8th century are in "italics".
7th century
The 7th century was the century from 601 to 700.
Note: years before or after the 7th century are in "italics".
6th century
The 6th century was the century from 501 to 600.
Note: the 6th century officially started in 501.
5th century
The 5th century was the century from 401 to 500.
Note: years before or after the 5th century are in "italics".
4th century
The 4th century was the century from 301 to 400.
Note: years before or after the 4th century are in "italics".
The Republic of Zambia is a country in southern Africa. It shares its borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. It was called Northern Rhodesia and it is currently named after the Zambezi River. Zambia is a undiscovered tourist hub home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The might Victoria falls. Zambia is a melting pot of culture and diversity yet to be appreciated with at least 72 spoken languages.
The capital of Zambia is Lusaka, which is also the largest city in the country. Edgar Lungu is the current president. Its motto is "One Zambia, One Nation" and its national anthem is "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free". Its official language is English.
Zambia originated from Northern Rhodesia which was a colony of Great Britain. In 1964 Zambia became an independent country. The first president was Kenneth Kaunda, who ruled Zambia for 27 years with his party UNIP. Zambia was a one party democracy. UNIP was the only legal party and all other parties were banned.
After protests, democratic elections were held in 1991. Kenneth Kaunda lost the elections and gave away his power in an orderly manner to his successor Frederick Chiluba, a former union leader.
Zambia is now a multi-party democracy. It has had three democratic elections since 1991. The latest presidential election was in 2016, which was won by edger lungu against hakahende hichilema.
In the 1960s, Zambia was making a lot of money because of the copper deposits that were mined in Copperbelt province. When copper became cheaper in the 1970s, the economy got worse because people in Zambia were not making as much money from selling copper.
Today, Zambia is a poor country. It does not have many industries. Copper is still its main export. Commercial farming in Zambia is starting to make more money.
Zambia is divided into nine provinces. Each province is divided into several districts. There are 72 districts all together. The provinces are:
The important places in Zambia are:
Benin (officially called the Republic of Benin) is a country in Africa. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo. The government is based in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Most people live on the small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin.
Because Benin was colonized by France and is still close to it, the official language of Benin is French. Languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism. This is followed closely by Islam, Vodun, and Protestantism.
Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
From the 17th to the 19th century, Benin was ruled by the Kingdom of Dahomey. It was called the Slave Coast by white people from as early as the 17th century, because of the large number of slaves shipped from Porto-Novo, Cotonou, and other ports to European colonies in the Americas.
After slavery was made illegal, France fought a war against Dahomey and took over the kingdom. They renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained official independence from France. From 1972 to 1990 a Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed. The current Republic of Benin was formed in 1991.
Benin is a narrow country in west Africa. The country measures about at its widest point. It is between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Benin is bordered by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south.
The highest point is Mont Sokbaro at .
Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists who want to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys. Historically Benin has been a home for the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, "Lycaon pictus";
Benin's climate is hot and humid. Yearly rainfall in the coastal area averages 1300 mm or about 51 inches. Benin has two rainy and two dry seasons per year. The main rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less strong rainy period from late September to November. The main dry season is from December to April, with a short cooler dry season from late July to early September. In Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is ; the minimum is .
Benin is divided into 12 Departments. Then it is divided into 77 communes.
Beninese literature had a strong oral tradition long before French became the main language. Felix Couchoro wrote the first Beninese novel, "L'Esclave" in 1929.
Singer Angélique Kidjo and actor Djimon Hounsou were both born in Cotonou, Benin. Composer Wally Badarou and singer Gnonnas Pedro are also from Benin.
In the 2010 census, 27.2% of the population of Benin were Christian, 24.4% were Muslim, 17.3% practiced Vodun, 6% other traditional local religious groups, 1.9% other religious groups, and 6.5% have no religious affiliation.
The literacy rate in Benin is one of the lowest in the world. In 2002 it was said to be 34.7%. At one time the education system was not free.
Beninese cuisine is known in Africa for its exotic ingredients and flavorful dishes. Beninese cuisine has lots of fresh meals with a variety of sauces. In southern Benin cuisine, the most common ingredient is corn. It is often used to prepare dough which is mainly eaten with peanut- or tomato-based sauces. Fish and chicken are the most common meats used in southern Beninese cuisine however Beef, goat, and bush rat are also eaten. The main food in northern Benin is yams. The northern provinces use beef and pork meat which is fried in palm or peanut oil or cooked in sauces. Cheese is used in some dishes. Couscous, rice, and beans are commonly eaten, along with fruits such as mangoes, oranges, avocados, bananas, kiwi fruit, and pineapples.
Meat is usually expensive. Meals are usually light on meat and generous on vegetable fat. Smoked fish is commonly prepared in Benin. Many people have outdoor mud stoves for cooking.
The Dominican Republic (Spanish: "República Dominicana") is a country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola; the other country on the island is Haiti. Its capital, and largest city, is Santo Domingo. The national language is Spanish.
The country was part of the Spanish empire until the late 18th century. In the 19th century France, Spain and Haiti controlled it at various times, and later it was independent. It was occupied by the United States from 1916 to 1924. The Dominican Republic is a presidential democratic republic. The country has a tropical climate but modified by elevation and the "trade winds" (winds that come from the northeast, from the Atlantic Ocean).
The island of Hispaniola was discovered by Christopher Columbus on December 5th, 1492, but the first time that he saw part of the present Dominican Republic was on January 4th, 1493 when he saw a headland that he named "Monte Cristi" ("Mountain of Christ"). That mountain is called now "El Morro" and is near the city of Monte Cristi.
From Monte Cristi, Columbus went east along the north coast of the island and on 6 January, after visiting the Samaná Bay, he went back to Spain. In his second trip to America, he founded the first European city in the continent, "La Isabela", near the present city of Puerto Plata.
Later, Bartholomew Columbus founded the city of Santo Domingo, the oldest permanent European city in the Americas. From here, many Spaniards went to conquer other islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico). Because Cuba was closer to the continent, many people moved there from Hispaniola, and then to the continent. Because of that, the population of the island grew very slowly. By the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, Spain gave the western third of the island to France and kept the eastern part, and so the island had two different colonies: the French "Saint-Domingue" and the Spanish "Santo Domingo". In 1795, France got the whole island but they could only control the eastern part because Haiti became independent very soon. In 1809, the French government gave back the old colony of "Santo Domingo" to Spain.
On 1 December 1821, the Spanish lieutenant governor José Núñez de Cáceres declared the independence from Spain. The new country had the name "Estado Independiente del Haití Español" ("Independent State of Spanish Haiti"). But on 9 February 1822, the Haitian army occupied the country and stayed for 22 years. Juan Pablo Duarte founded a secret society, "La Trinitaria", to fight for the Dominican independence. The Haitian occupation ended on 27 February 1844, when the inhabitants of the eastern part of the Hispaniola made a new country named "República Dominicana" ("Dominican Republic"). From 1861 to 1865, the country was again a Spanish colony. On 16 August 1863 began the "Restoration War" when the Dominicans fought to be free again. That war ended in 1865 when the Spanish left and the Dominican Republic was again an independent country.
The country was occupied by the United States from 1916 to 1924. In 1930, Rafael Trujillo became the president of the country through a coup d'état. Trujillo was a cruel dictator, killing thousands of people, among them many Haitians. Trujillo was killed in 1961. After the death of Trujillo, Juan Bosch was elected in 1962 and became, in 1963, the first elected president since 1930. But was Bosch was in power for only seven months. In 1965, there was a civil war between those that wanted Bosch back on power and those that were opposed to him. Then the country was invaded again by the United States.
Since the end of the civil war, the presidents of the Dominican Republic have been:
The Dominican Republic is a presidential democratic republic. The government is divided in three branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive branch is made up of the President, the Vice President and the Ministers who are called "Secretaries of State". The President is chief of state and head of government and is elected every 4 years. He nominates the cabinet. The current president is Danilo Medina Sánchez.
The Legislative branch makes the laws and is made up of the Congress, which is in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Congress is divided into two groups: the Senate, with 32 members (one for every province and one for the National District), and the Chamber of Deputies with 178 members.
The Judicial branch is made up of the courts of the country, including the Supreme Court of Justice.
The Dominican Republic is a constitutional democracy ruled by a president. The president is elected every 4 years. The current president is Danilo Medina Sánchez, of the PLD.
There are 3 important political parties in the Dominican Republic:
There are several mountain chains in the Dominican Republic. The four main chains, from North to South, are:
Between those mountains, there are several important valleys, such as:
There are other smaller valleys in the mountains: Constanza, Jarabacoa, Bonao, Villa Altagracia.
The four most important rivers of the Dominican Republic are Yaque del Norte, Yuna, Yaque del Sur and Ozama. There are many lakes; the largest is the "Lake Enriquillo", in the "Hoya de Enriquillo".
The country has a tropical climate but modified by elevation and the "trade winds" (winds that come from the northeast, from the Atlantic Ocean). At sea level, the average temperature is 25°C, with small changes from one season to another. In the highest mountains, the temperature in winter can be as low as 0°C.
There are two wet seasons: April-June and September-November. The most dry period is from December to March. Rainfall varies greatly; eastern regions, like the Samaná Peninsula, get an average of over 2,000 mm in a year, but less than 500 mm fall in the southwest (Hoya de Enriquillo).
From June to November, hurricanes are frequent and can do much damage in the island.
The Dominican Republic has a total population, estimated for July 2009, of 9,650,054 inhabitants, for a density of 236.30 inhabitants per km².
About 64% of Dominicans live in cities and towns and 87% of people that are 15 years old or more can read and write.
The two largest cities are Santo Domingo (the capital city) with 1,817,754 inhabitants, and Santiago, in the Cibao Valley and with 908,250 inhabitants.
The ethnic composition of Dominicans is around 45% Mulatto, 40% Black, and 15% White
The Dominican Republic is divided into 31 provinces. The national capital Santo Domingo de Guzmán is in the "Distrito National" that is like a province and elects one Senator.
The Dominican Republic has a mixed economy based mainly on agriculture, services (including tourism and finance), trade and money sent from the many Dominicans that live in other countries (United States, Europe). Agricultural production (mainly sugarcane, with smaller amounts of coffee, cacao, and tobacco) was the main economic activity but now is in third place after tourism and manufacturing in "zonas francas" ("free zones" where the industries do not pay taxes and all the production is sent to other countries).
Mining is also important, mainly ferronickel (nickel with iron) and gold.
The Dominican Republic suffers from poverty, with 83.3% of the population living below the poverty line in 2012. The wealth distribution is uneven: the richest 10% gets nearly 40% of national income.
The culture of the Dominican Republic, like in other Caribbean countries, is a mix of Taíno, African and European (mainly Spanish) cultures.
There are not many Taíno traditions in the modern Dominican culture; many places keep their Taíno names: Dajabón, Bánica, Haina, Yaque, Samaná, etc. Also many objects, plants and animals have a Taíno origin and their names have been included in other languages; for example: "canoa" (canoe, a small boat), "hamaca" (hammock, a simple bed), "maíz" (maize, corn), "yuca" (cassava, that comes from the Taíno word "casabe", a kind of cassava bread eaten in the Caribbean), and "batata" (sweet potato).
That mix of different traditions created a culture that is known as Creole (in Spanish: "Criolla"), common to all countries in the Caribbean, Louisiana and some parts of South America and Central America.
In the Dominican Republic, only Spanish is spoken, however; there are 3 major languages that are also spoken such as Haitian Creole, Samana English, and the West African Yoruba language known as Lucumi spoken by few. There is a local dialect or patois which is spoken by all Dominicans - see Dominican Spanish Creole.
The official religion is Roman Catholicism but there is freedom of religion. Protestant groups are important, representing about 15% of the total population. Each year major festivities called "fiestas patronales" are held. They are Catholic festivities in honor of the Patron saints of the towns and villages; it is a Spanish tradition to associate every town with a Catholic saint. The festivities includes church services, street parades, fire works, dance contests and other activities. Dominican Voodoo or Santeria is also practiced in large numbers as well as Dominican Palo, Dominican Kongo religion, and others.
African culture has the strongest influence in Dominican culture, especially in language, religion, food, and music.
"Notes":
Navassa Island
Navassa Island, or La Navase in Haitian Creole, is a small island without anyone living on it in the Caribbean Sea. It is located ninety miles south of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The United States government claims the two-square-mile island as a territory of the United States, and it is under control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The island is also claimed by Haiti.
Some sailors sailing with Christopher Columbus named Navassa in 1504, because no fresh water could be found there.
A captain named Peter Duncan gave it to the U.S. in the late 1850s, for the purpose of guano mining. After a rebellion in 1889, and the Spanish-American War of 1898, the mining was put to an end.
With the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, Navassa became important again, because of a lighthouse being built there. After World War II, no one lived on it again.
In 1996, Navassa's light was put out of use, and the island was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Three years later in 1999, the Fish and Wildlife Service received ownership of the island.
Navassa became a U.S. insular area in October 1857, when a representative of the Baltimore Fertilizer Company took possession of the island in the name of the United States pursuant to the Guano Act of August 18, 1856 (Title 48, U.S. Code, sections 1411-19). In 1889 the island's actual operation passed to the Navassa Phosphate Company. All operations were abandoned in 1898, when the island became effectively uninhabited.
Navassa Island is three square miles in area. Navassa lies about one hundred miles south of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, about thirty miles west of Cape Tiburon, Haiti, at the southwest entrance to the Windward Passage, east of Kingston, Jamaica. Navassa's climate is marine and tropical.
Its terrain is a raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating, ringed by vertical white cliffs, approximately nine to fifteen yards high. Navassa's environment is mostly exposed rock. However, it has enough grassland to support goat herds. Dense stands of fig-like trees and scattered cactus also exist. Only one tenth of the island's land is meadows or pastures. Navassa has no ports and only off-shore anchorage.
In 1976, the U.S. Coast Guard determined that the lighthouse on Navassa was no longer of any value to the U.S. Government and was ceasing its exercise of any interest in the island. However, the U.S. Coast Guard's ceasing to administer Navassa's use did not have any bearing at all on the United States sovereignty over the island, which remained constant regardless of the administering Federal agency or office. Consequently, under the provisions of Title 43, U.S.Code, section 1458, the Department of the Interior assumed responsibility for the civil administration of the U.S. insular area.
Acting under the authority that the Secretary of the Interior delegated to him in Secretary's Order No. 3205 (January 16, 1997) and Amendment No. 1 (January 14, 1998) to Secretary's Order No. 3205 and in fulfillment of his responsibilities as the civil administrator of the United States insular area of Navassa Island, the Director of the Office of Insular Affairs advises all persons interested in visiting Navassa Island that, having made a preliminary review of the island's ecology, he has decided indefinitely not to allow visits to the island and its surrounding waters until he has received a further assessment of the island's environment and conservation status. As used in this notice, the term "surrounding waters" includes the waters surrounding Navassa Island seaward to a line twelve (12) nautical miles distant from Navassa Island's coastlines. The Director of the Office of Insular Affairs intends that nothing in this notice shall deny or impair the right of innocent passage in the waters surrounding Navassa Island.
On September 2, 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Navassa Island Wildlife Refuge as an overlay. As of December 3, 1999, the Office of Insular Affairs ceased to have any administrative responsibility for Navassa. A Secretary's order of that date transferred full administration of Navassa from the Office of Insular Affairs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Blink-182 is a popular California pop punk band formed in 1992. Currently, the band members are Mark Hoppus (bass, vocals), Travis Barker (drums), and Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals). The band was originally created by Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Scott Raynor. They quickly became popular for their exciting concerts and immature humour.
The band played lots of concerts after releasing their first album "Cheshire Cat" in 1995. The band signed with MCA Records to distribute its second album, "Dude Ranch", in 1997. In 1998, the band got rid of Scott Raynor and replaced him with drummer Travis Barker. The band's next two albums, "Enema of the State" (1999) and "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" (2001), were very popular and successful both on the radio and on MTV. For their fifth album, "Blink-182" (2003), the band changed their musical style. After DeLonge quit the band in 2005, Hoppus and Barker suspended the band. The members of the band came together again in 2009 to create their sixth album, "Neighborhoods", which was released in 2011. In 2015, DeLonge quit the band again and was replaced by Matt Skiba of the band, Alkaline Trio. The band's seventh album, "California", was released on July 1, 2016.
Blink-182 is considered to be very important to the development of pop punk. The band's combination of pop music melodies with fast-paced punk rock made them popular on the radio. The band has sold over thirteen million albums in the United States, and over 50 million albums around the world. In 2011, "The New York Times" wrote that, "no punk band of the 1990s has been more influential than Blink-182."
Tom DeLonge, who played guitar, had been friends with Ann Hoppus while living in San Diego. He had often complained about wanting to start a band. Ann then introduced Tom to her younger brother, Mark Hoppus, who played bass. They later found drummer Scott Raynor to complete the band. The original name the band chose was blink. After an Irish techno band that had the same name threatened to sue them, they added on the "182". Fans still refer the band as simply "Blink".
In 1998, midway through a North American tour, Raynor left the band to continue his education. It was also rumoured that Raynor was forced to leave the band due to his drinking problem. Travis Barker, who had been drumming for The Aquabats at the time, played drums for Blink for the rest of the tour. Tom and Mark were so impressed that they had Barker become the band's full-time drummer.
In February 2005, the band announced that they were going to take a break for a while. DeLonge went on to create the band Angels & Airwaves, while Hoppus and Barker created the band +44.
During the 2009 Grammy Awards, the members of Blink-182 said that the band would be getting back together.
In 2016, Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio joined the band to take DeLonge's place. They released a new album, "California", in 2016.
Demos:
Albums Released:
They also made a "Greatest Hits" album in 2005. That album contained two songs that had not been released in the United States before, "Not Now" and "Another Girl Another Planet". "Another Girl Another Planet" was a cover song; it was first sung by The Only Ones.
Doctor Who is a BBC science fiction television series. The series is about an alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor". In her space-time ship, the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), the Doctor and her companions travel through space and time.
The television series ran from 1963–1989 and started running again in 2005. It is the longest running science fiction television series in the world.
There were two "Doctor Who" movies made in the 1960s. Peter Cushing played the Doctor in these movies, but he was not the Doctor in the television series. In 1996, there was also a television movie starring Paul McGann. There have been many other versions of "Doctor Who" in books, comics, games, other shows, music videos, remixes, fan fiction, documentaries, the news, in magazines, toys, cosplay, decorations, on the internet, on radios, on DVDs, on Bluray, On other disc formats and other forms of entertainment.
The story is about a person who calls themselves "The Doctor". They travel in their space-time-ship TARDIS ("Time And Relative Dimension In Space"), with which he can go anywhere in time and space. Because of an error in its "chameleon circuit", the outside of the TARDIS always looks like a 1960s-style British police public call box (similar to a blue telephone box), but on the inside the TARDIS is much bigger.
The Doctor is an alien, a "Time Lord" from the planet Gallifrey. At first, they travelled only with their granddaughter Susan Foreman. Later, the Doctor took other people with them. They are usually called "companions" or "assistants". The Doctor and their companions travel through space and time, have a lot of adventures, and often save many people.
Some people think that it is not okay to call the Doctor "Doctor Who", but there is no mistake. The character was named Doctor Who in the titles until the Fifth Doctor, and after the 2005 restart the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, is called Doctor Who in the titles too. The Second Doctor once signed a letter as "Dr W.".
"Doctor Who" was first shown in 1963, with William Hartnell as the Doctor. When Hartnell left the show in 1966, the writers came up with the idea that the Doctor would "regenerate" (at the time called "renewal") and transform into the Second Doctor, who was played by Patrick Troughton. In 1970, when Jon Pertwee took over as the Third Doctor, the series switched from black-and-white to colour. Before 1978, the BBC would sometimes throw away episodes they did not need. As a result, 97 of the 851 episodes are missing (however some of these have since been animated, since audio recordings of all missing episodes exist).
Seven actors played the Doctor from 1963 until 1989, when the series stopped. In 1996, the BBC teamed with Fox Broadcasting Company and Universal Pictures to create a film version, in which Paul McGann played the Eighth Doctor. It was hoped that the film would lead to a new series, but this did not happen.
Instead, the series started again in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor. He was replaced by David Tennant at the end of the series. The actor who now plays the Doctor is Jodie Whittaker, who joined the show in the 2017 Christmas episode.
In the "Guinness World Records", "Doctor Who" is listed as the longest running science fiction television series in the world. In 2013, it celebrated its 50th birthday with a special episode.
The Doctor is the central character of "Doctor Who". They are an alien, a "Time Lord" from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor often takes other people with them, who are usually called "companions", "assistants" or "friends" (or, due to a misunderstanding, "partners"). They are most often human. The current companions are Yasmin Khan (as played by Mandip Gill), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) and Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh).
As a Gallifreyan, the Doctor looks human on the surface. However, there are differences. For example, they have two hearts. Also, if badly injured or dying, they can "regenerate". During the "regeneration", their body heals and renews itself. Then, they take on a different appearance and personality. They are the same person (sort of) with the same memories and knowledge. But, they look different and has a new personality. Because of this, the Doctor can be played by different actors. And in over fifty years, this is why the character has not actually "changed".
Up until now, the Doctor has regenerated fourteen times, and each "incarnation" was played by a different actor (except for the Tenth Doctor, who used up two regenerations by channeling excess regeneration energy after healing to his old hand that had been chopped of in The Christmas Invasion). (Numbers refer to incarnations that used up regenerations).
The Doctor has been played by other actors in other media: theatre plays, parodies, etc. These are not officially part of the "Doctor Who" story.
The movies "Dr. Who & the Daleks" and "Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D." star Peter Cushing as a human scientist named "Doctor Who". Shortly after it was announced that the series would return from its nineties hiatus, Richard E. Grant voiced The Doctor in an animated serial. The BBC issued press releases identifying Grant as the "ninth Doctor" but this was later disregarded by the revived BBC television series.
Sometimes different incarnations of the Doctor meet each other. Usually episodes with several Doctors are made when the program celebrates an anniversary. In 1973, when the show was 10 years old, the episode "The Three Doctors" was shown. It had the first three Doctors.
In 1983, there was the 20th anniversary special. "The Five Doctors". Patrick Troughton, John Pertwee, Peter Davison and Richard Hundall (replacing William Hartnell) played The Doctor. Tom Baker refused to play in it, so they used the old footage of the incomplete "Shada" episode to show him.
In 1985, there was the episode "The Two Doctors", with the Second and the Sixth Doctors.
The fifth Doctor met the tenth incarnation in mini-episode named "Time Crash". It was aired in 2007.
The Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors met each other in the 50th anniversary special on November 23, 2013. That was the first time the War Doctor was seen. That special had short appearances by all the other Doctors with the use of old, recycled footage. It also had a mysterious version of the Doctor from the far off future played by Tom Baker. The Eighth Doctor also made a return in 2013 for a 50th anniversary special mini-episode.
On August 4, 2013, Peter Capaldi was revealed as the actor who would play the Twelfth Doctor.
On July 16, 2017, it was revealed that Jodie Whittaker would replace Capaldi as the Doctor. She is the first female Doctor.
The TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is the Doctor's time machine. It can travel to any point in time and space, but the Doctor can never fully control it. The Doctor explains that TARDISes are not built, but they are grown like plants. The TARDIS is alive and has a mind of its own. In the episode "The Doctor's Wife" when the Doctor is able to communicate directly with its mind, the TARDIS explains that it did not always take him where he wanted to go but that "I always took you where you needed to go."
The TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the outside, which is commented on by almost everyone who enters. On the inside, the TARDIS looks like a giant spaceship, but on the outside it looks like a police telephone box. These telephone boxes were still a common sight in many British cities when the series first began in 1963, but after the walkie-talkie was invented they were no longer needed. They were used by the police as workstations - and people could also use them to call the police.
The Doctor stole the TARDIS from a Time Lord museum when he began his travels. It was described as being a rather old "Type 40" model, whereas the best version is the "Type 70" used by the upper class Time Lords. The TARDIS has a device called the "chameleon circuit" which is supposed to change its shape on the outside to allow it to disguise it. In the very first story, this device stopped working and left the TARDIS stuck in the shape of a police box.
The farthest the Doctor has ever travelled in the TARDIS is to the Big Bang (the beginning of the Universe) and 100 trillion years into the future (the end of the Universe) (in the episode "Utopia"). The inside of the TARDIS is much bigger than its outside (it is "dimensionally transcendental"). It has a lot of different rooms. The most important of which is the "console room" where the Doctor pilots the TARDIS.
The Doctor usually takes other people with them, who are usually called "companions" or "assistants". The Doctor and their companions travel through space and time, have a lot of adventures, and often save many people. The character of the companion was there so that the people watching the series could identify and feel close to a character. The companions were often present-time humans, so people could feel close to them, and they knew as much as the viewers. Because of this, the Doctor could explain things to their companions, and at the same time to the viewers. Almost all the Doctor's companions have been human, or human-looking aliens. Two companions were robots.
Overview: The BBC's link to a visual summary of Dr Who's opponents:
The Master is a renegade Time Lord. He is the Doctor's nemesis. He was conceived as "Professor Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes". The character first appeared in 1971, played by Roger Delgado. He continued in the role until his death in 1973. The Master was briefly played by Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers until Anthony Ainley took over. He continued to play the character until Doctor Who's "hiatus" in 1989. The Master returned in the 1996 television movie of "Doctor Who", played by Gordon Tipple in the ultimately unused pre-credits voiceover, then Eric Roberts. The Master was in the three-part finale of the 2007 series, portrayed by Derek Jacobi. He regenerated into John Simm at the end of the episode "Utopia". Simm next appeared in the last (and two-part) episode of the Tenth Doctor in 2009/2010. He then regenerated off-screen into a "Time Lady" (Michelle Gomez), who returned for the Twelfth Doctor's first series in 2014.
The Daleks are one of the most powerful races in the Doctor Who history. They are the Doctor's worst enemies. They cry "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!" when they are about to kill someone. They look like small tanks or very large pepper pots. They first appeared in the first season episode "The Daleks". A more recent episode was "" (2019). They are not robots, but horrible aliens kept in a metal casing. They were mutated from Kaleds by their creator Davros during a war on their planet, Skaro. They can not be easily hurt by guns because their casing reflects or destroys the bullets.
Cybermen are another enemy of the Doctor. They are one of their worst enemies. In the original series, they come from the planet Mondas. In the new series, some of them come from a parallel universe. Cybermen travel across the universe taking people and turning them into machines. They stomp around saying "DELETE!". They kill by electrocution. They are partially vulnerable to the metal gold, and can be killed by gold bullets. They change their look over time, but stay recognizable by "handlebars" on their heads, and tear drops in their eyes.
The Doctor has faced them many times. The first was in "The Tenth Planet" (William Hartnell's last episode). A more recent episode was "World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls" (the last two episodes of Peter Capaldi's last season).
The Sontarans are a group of aliens, bred in clone batches, that believe in war over anything else. They must face their enemy in combat because of their weak spot on the back of their neck, the probic vent. They have been said to look like baked potatoes.
The Doctor first met them in "The Time Warrior" (Jon Pertwee). They have been on the show and its spinoffs repeatedly.
The Sea Devils and the Silurians lived in the time of the dinosaurs until the catastrophe of the Moon's approach drove them into hibernation. They slept longer than planned and emerged late in the 20th century. The human scientist who discovered the Silurians estimated their era incorrectly. A later "Doctor Who" story said that they should have been classified as the Eocenes. A second species of hibernating Earth reptiles lived primarily underwater. They were labeled "sea devils" by a frightened, superstitious construction worker who encountered them.
The Ice warriors are a species of war-like alien. They previously lived on the planet Mars and ate Martian fish. When their home planet became too hot for them to live in, they moved to planets such as Peladon.
The Time Lords are the alien race which the Doctor belongs to. They have two hearts. They can avoid dying by "regeneration" (transforming their bodies). The Time Lords were in some episodes in the classic series. Sometimes they were allies of the Doctor (at one point he became their president). Other times they were enemies. The Time Lords came from the planet Gallifrey.
When the series returned in 2005, the Time Lords had disappeared in the "Time War". This was a very big war with the Daleks. The Doctor explained that he stopped the war by destroying Gallifrey, killing all of the Time Lords and Daleks. He believed he was the last of the Time Lords, until he discovered that the Master had also survived. Jenny, who was created artificially in "The Doctor's Daughter," is not a true Time Lord. For many years, the Doctor felt sorry for destroying Gallifrey. In the 2013 episode "The Day of the Doctor", the Doctor learns that he did not actually destroy his planet, but that he had moved it to another universe.
As of 2018, the Doctor has been played by fourteen actors. They are William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, John Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker.
When Time Lords are dying, they "regenerate." This causes a Time Lord's body to completely change, healing itself at the same time. Each time this happens, Time Lords have a different appearance and a different personality. Even with such big changes, Time Lords do not become different people, and will keep their memories each time they "regenerate." This periodic change makes them live a very long time.
A Time Lord is believed to only be able to regenerate 12 times. This means that Time Lords can have a total of 13 different incarnations. This line became stuck in the public consciousness despite not often being repeated, and was recognised by producers of the show as a plot obstacle for when the show finally had to regenerate the Doctor a thirteenth time. The episode "The Time of the Doctor" depicted the Doctor acquiring a new cycle of regenerations, starting from the Twelfth Doctor, due to the Eleventh Doctor being the product of the Doctor's twelfth regeneration from his original set.
A criminal incarnation of the Doctor was somehow spawned between his 12th and final lives - the 'Valeyard'. It tried to sacrifice the sixth Doctor so that he could obtain more "regenerations," allowing himself to live even longer.
The Master was already in his 13th life when he was introduced to the series. His 14th and 15th (and possibly later) incarnations were obtained by taking over the bodies of innocent victims. When the character returned to the show in 2007, the Master was in his 16th (or later) incarnation. Soon, he regenerates into his (~)17th incarnation. Later, he explains that the Time Lords resurrected him to be a great soldier when the Time Lords were fighting the Daleks in the Time War. It is likely that, having been resurrected, he had 12 more regenerations available to him.
A Time Lord can choose not to regenerate. It appears that the process happens all on its own when a Time Lord is dying. But, it can be stopped if the Time Lord does not want to regenerate. This was seen when the (~)17th incarnation of the Master chose to die from a gunshot wound instead of living on as a prisoner in the Doctor's TARDIS.
A Time Lord's body makes a huge amount of energy when regenerating. There is so much of this "regeneration energy" that a Time Lord can regrow a body part that gets removed, as long as it happens soon enough after regenerating. When the Doctor regenerated into his 10th incarnation, his hand was cut off in a sword fight. Because it had been less than 15 hours since he had regenerated into this incarnation, he was able to quickly grow a new hand.
If a Time Lord has kept a part of his or her body that had been removed (like the 10th Doctor's hand, from before), it can be used to keep a Time Lord from changing during regeneration. The 10th incarnation of the Doctor kept the hand that was cut off in the sword fight in a jar on board the TARDIS. Eventually, he was shot by a Dalek, and his body began the regeneration process. After his body had finished healing, but before his body could change into a new one, the Doctor sent all of the extra energy into the hand in the jar.
Concentration camp
A concentration camp (or internment camp) is a place where a government forces people to live without trial. Usually, those people belong to groups the government does not like. The term means to confine (keep in a secure manner) "enemy citizens in wartime or terrorism suspects".
Some governments put people in concentration camps because they belong to a certain religion, race, or ethnic group.
Usually, people are sent to concentration camps without having had a trial or being found guilty of a crime.
Sometimes, governments send people to concentration camps to do forced labor or to be killed. For example, concentration camps were run by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. The Nazis used concentration camps to kill millions of people in The Holocaust and force many others to work as slaves. However, many other countries have used concentration camps during wars or times of trouble.
The first modern concentration camps in the United States were created in 1838. Around this time, the United States was getting bigger. However, Native Americans lived in the lands that the United States wanted to take over.
In 1830, the United States Congress and President Andrew Jackson had passed a law called the Indian Removal Act. This law said that all Native Americans had to leave the United States and move to "Indian Territory," west of the Mississippi River. However, many Cherokee people would not leave their lands. In May 1838, the United States government decided to force the Cherokee to leave the United States.
First, soldiers forced about 17,000 Cherokee people, and 2,000 of their African-American slaves, into concentration camps, where they had to live during the summer of 1838. 353 Cherokee people died in the camps from dysentery and other diseases. Finally, the Cherokee were forced to travel to the area that is now Oklahoma. (At the time, Oklahoma was not in the United States.) The government also forced other Native American tribes to leave their lands and move west.
Soon, many people from the United States started to move west. Now the United States was moving into Native American lands again. Starting around the 1860s, many Native American tribes fought back. These fights are now called the Indian Wars. The United States government reacted by forcing Native Americans to leave their lands again and move into concentration camps. The government called these camps "Indian reservations." (They were called "reservations" because some land had been put aside, or "reserved," for the Native Americans.) However, Native Americans were not allowed to leave their reservations. On some reservations, many people, especially children, died from hunger and sickness.
During the American Civil War in the 1860s, soldiers who had been captured were sometimes put in camps. These camps were meant to be prisoner of war (POW) camps, with good conditions. However, as the war went on, both the Union and the Confederacy captured more enemy soldiers. The camps became very crowded, with terrible conditions. There was not enough food, and many men died from hunger. Also, there was also very little sanitation, which made it easy for diseases to spread. Many prisoners died from these diseases.
The deadliest prisoner of war camp during the Civil War was Andersonville prison. Andersonville was run by the Confederate States Army. At Andersonville, about one quarter of the prisoners died.
Conditions at the Union's prisoner of war camps were also very bad. At four different Union camps, at least 15% of the prisoners in the camps died. At a camp called Fort Pulaski, Union soldiers starved 600 Confederate prisoners of war on purpose. 46 of them died. The Union soldiers did this to get revenge for how Union prisoners were treated at Andersonville Prison.
By the end of the Civil War, about 30,000 Union soldiers, and about 26,000 Confederate soldiers, had died in prisoner of war camps.
In the late 1800s, Cuba was a colony of the Spanish Empire. This meant Spain controlled Cuba. When Cuban people tried to rebel and fight for independence from 1895 to 1898, Spain created concentration camps and sent many Cuban people to live in them. This was called the "Reconcentrado" ("Reconcentration") Policy.
The people fighting for Cuban independence were guerrilla fighters. They did not wear military uniforms and could hide themselves in groups of civilians. They could also camp and hunt, without needing help from anybody to survive. To keep the guerrilla fighters from being able to do these things, the Spanish government decided to put Cuban people in concentration camps. The idea was that in the camps, Cuban people could be 'protected' by the Spanish Army until the Spanish Empire won the war. However, this idea did not work. At least 30% of the Cuban people in the camps died from hunger, disease, bad sanitation, and not having medicines. Also, the concentration camps did not help the Spanish win the war.