Belgium

The Kingdom of Belgium /ˈbɛldʒəm/ (help·info) is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO.^[5] Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 10.7 million.

Additional info

.be

.be is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Belgium. The domain became active in 1989 and was administrated by Pierre Verbaeten of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In 2000, the control of the TLD was transferred to DNS Belgium. As of late 2005, more than 470,000 domains were registered.^[1]

.eu

.eu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the European Union (EU). Launched 7 December 2005, the domain is available for organisations and citizens in EU member states. The TLD is administered by EURid, a consortium consisting of the national ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Sweden, Italy and the Czech Republic. Trademark owners were able to submit registrations through a sunrise period, in an effort to prevent cybersquatting. Full registration started on 7 April 2006.^{[citation needed]}

1920 Summer Olympics

The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. The 1920 Games were awarded to Antwerp to honor the people of that city after the suffering they endured during World War I.^[1]^[2] The initial choice for the site of the Games had been Budapest, Hungary.

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC (consisting of the Arab members of OPEC, plus Egypt and Syria) proclaimed an oil embargo "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war; it lasted until March 1974.^[1] OAPEC declared it would limit or stop oil shipments to the United States and other countries if they supported Israel in the conflict. With the US actions seen as initiating the oil embargo, the long-term possibility of embargo-related high oil prices, disrupted supply and recession, created a strong rift within NATO; both European nations and Japan sought to disassociate themselves from the US Middle East policy. Arab oil producers had also linked the end of the embargo with successful US efforts to create peace in the Middle East, which complicated the situation. To address these developments, the Nixon Administration began parallel negotiations with both Arab oil producers to end the embargo, and with Egypt, Syria, and Israel to arrange an Israeli pull back from the Sinai and the Golan Heights after the fighting stopped. By January 18, 1974, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had negotiated an Israeli troop withdrawal from parts of the Sinai. The promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was sufficient to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. By May, Israel agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights.^[1]

1979 oil crisis

The 1979 (or second) oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979, allowing the Ayatollah Khomeini to gain control. The protests shattered the Iranian oil sector. While the new regime resumed oil exports, it was inconsistent and at a lower volume, forcing prices to go up. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations, under the presidency of Dr. Mana Alotaiba increased production to offset the decline, and the overall loss in production was about 4 percent.^[2] However, a widespread panic resulted, driving the price far higher than would be expected under normal circumstances.

1 E10 m²

To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions , areas between 10,000 km² and 100,000 km² are listed here. See also areas of other orders of magnitude.

2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis

The 2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis is a major financial crisis that hit Belgium from mid-2008 onwards. Two of the country's largest banks - Fortis and Dexia - started to face severe problems, exacerbated by the financial problems hitting other banks in the world. The value of their stocks, as well as the stocks of most other Belgian companies plunged. The government tried to control the situation by bailing-out banks and guaranteeing bank deposits. Eventually Fortis was split into two parts - the Dutch one was nationalized, while the Belgian one was sold to the French bank BNP Paribas.

2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups is currently under way. These will be the 21st and 22nd editions of the FIFA World Cup. The bidding procedure to host both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest.^[1] The executive committee of FIFA will announce their decision on the two editions in December 2010.^[2] Candidates have applied for either or both of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, but the 2022 hosts will not be chosen from the same continent as the 2018 hosts.^[3]

24 Hours of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans) is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance, it is organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and runs on a circuit containing closed public roads that are meant not only to test a car and driver's ability to be quick, but also to last over a 24 hour period.

Aalst, Belgium

Aalst (French: Alost) is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 19 miles northwest from Brussels. It is located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade, Meldert, Moorsel, and Nieuwerkerken-Aalst. The current mayor of Aalst is Ilse Uyttersprot, from the CD&V (Christian-Democrats) Party. The town has a long-standing feud with Dendermonde (situated north along the same river), which dates back from the Middle Ages.

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, thus wielding political power over the sovereign state and its subject peoples. In an absolute monarchy, the transmission of power is two-fold, hereditary and marital; as absolute governor, the monarch’s authority is not legally bound or restricted by a constitution.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi (Arabic: أبو ظبي‎ Abū ẓabī, literally Father of gazelle^[3]) is the capital of, and the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The city proper, making up an area of 67,340 km² (26,000 sq mi), had an estimated population of 860,000 in 2007.^[4]

Adolphe Sax

Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax (November 6, 1814 – February 4, 1894^[1]) was a Belgian musical instrument designer and musician who played the flute and clarinet, and is best known for inventing the saxophone.

AfDB

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa. The Group comprises the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). AfDB provides loans and grants to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries (RMC) in Africa. It is owned and funded by member governments, and has a public-interest mandate to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development.

Afghanistan

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South-Central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia,^[5]^[6] South Asia,^[7]^[8] or the Middle East.^[9] It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.

Afterlife

The afterlife (also referred to as life after death or the hereafter) is the idea that the consciousness or mind of a being continues after physical death occurs. In many popular views, this continued existence often takes place in a spiritual or immaterial realm. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics. Deceased persons are usually believed to go to a specific realm or plane of existence after death, typically believed to be determined by a god, based on their actions during life. In contrast, the term reincarnation refers to an afterlife in which only the "essence" of the being is preserved, and the "afterlife" is another life on Earth or possibly within the same universe.

Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique

The Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT, French for Agency of cultural and technical cooperation) was founded in 1970 and was the precursor to what is now the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

Ajman

Ajmān (or Ujman; Arabic: عجمان‎ ‘ajmān) is one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With an area of just 260 square kilometres, Ajman is the smallest emirate by area. Its seat of government is Ajmān, which is surrounded to its north, south, and east by Sharjah.^[1]

Albania

Albania

/ælˈbeɪniə/ (help·info) (Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria, Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia or Shqypnia), officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo^[a] to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

Albert Claude

Albert Claude (August 24, 1899 – May 22, 1983) was a Belgian biologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974. He studied medicine at the University of Liege (Belgium). During the winter of 1928-29 he worked in Berlin, first at the Institut für Krebsforschung, and then at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology, Dahlem. In the summer of 1929 he joined the Rockefeller Institute. While working at Rockefeller University in the 1930s and 1940s, he used the electron microscope to make images of cells which deepened the scientific understanding of cellular structure and function. He discovered the chloroplasts in the cell.

Algeria

Algeria (Formal Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā’ir; ), officially the People's Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. In terms of land area, it is the largest country on the Mediterranean Sea, the second largest on the African continent^[6] and the Arab world after Sudan, and the eleventh-largest country in the world.^[7]

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War (1939-1945).^[1] The Allies became involved in World War II either because they had already been invaded or were directly threatened with invasion by the Axis or because they were concerned that the Axis powers would come to control the world.^[2] After 1941, the leaders of the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States of America, known as "The Big Three",^[3] held leadership of the Allied powers. France, before its defeat in 1940 and after Operation Overlord in 1944, as well as China^[4]^[1]^[5] at that time, were also major Allies.^[6] Other Allies included Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippine Commonwealth, Poland, the Union of South Africa, and Yugoslavia.^[7]

Alo (Wallis and Futuna)

Alo, also known unofficially as Tu`a or the Kingdom of Futuna,^[1] is one of three official chiefdoms of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna, which encompasses the eastern two thirds (53 km² out of 83 km²) of Futuna Island, and mostly uninhabited Alofi Island (32 km², pop. 2) 2 km to the southeast. The total area of the chiefdom is 85 km², with a population of 2993, in nine villages, as of the census of July 22, 2003. The capital is the village of Mala'e (pop. 238). The largest village is Ono (pop. 738). The current Tuigaifo, or King, of the Kingdom of Alo is Petelo Vikena, whose coronation took place on November 6, 2008, in the small village of Alo.^[2]

Amazon Standard Identification Number

The Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is a unique identification number assigned by Amazon.com and its partners for product identification within the Amazon.com organization.^[1]

Anatomy

Anatomy (from the Greek ἀνατομία anatomia, from ἀνατέμνειν ana: separate, apart from, and temnein, to cut up, cut open. Also from the Greek word "anatome"--ana: apart, tome: to cut-->To cut apart.) is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy (zootomy) and plant anatomy (phytotomy). In some of its facets anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology,^[1] through common roots in evolution.

Andorra

Andorra

/ænˈdɒrə/ (help·info), officially the Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra,^[4] is a small country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of 468 km² (181 sq mi) and an estimated population of 84,484 in 2008. Its capital is Andorra la Vella. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, French, and Portuguese are also commonly spoken.

André Delvaux

André, Baron Delvaux was a Belgian film director and widely regarded as the founder of the Belgian national cinema. Born 21 March 1926 in Heverlee, he died on 4 October 2002 in Valencia, Spain.

André Franquin

André Franquin (January 3, 1924 – January 5, 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.

Andreas Vesalius

Andreas Vesalius (Brussels, December 31, 1514 - Zakynthos, October 15, 1564) was an anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica (On the Workings of the Human Body). Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy.

Anheuser-Busch InBev

Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V./S.A. (AB InBev) is a publicly traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA.^{[citation needed]}

Ankole

Ankole, also referred to as Nkore, is one of four traditional kingdoms in Uganda. The kingdom is located in the southwestern Uganda, east of Lake Edward. It was ruled by a monarch known as The Mugabe or Omugabe of Ankole. The kingdom was formally abolished in 1967 by the government of President Milton Obote, and is still not officially restored.^[1]The people of Ankole are called Banyankole (singular: Munyankole) in Runyankole language, a Bantu language.

Anthony van Dyck

Sir Anthony van Dyck (many variant spellings;^[2] 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draftsman, and was an important innovator in watercolour and etching.

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda (Spanish for "Ancient" and "Bearded") is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands — Antigua (pronounced /ænˈtiːɡə/) and Barbuda(/bɑrˈbjuːdə/) — and a number of smaller islets. All are close neighbors within the middle of the Leeward Islands, and are located roughly 17 degrees north of the equator.

Antwerp

Antwerp (

/ˈæntwɜrp/ (help·info), Dutch:

Antwerpen [ˈɑntˌʋɛrpə(n)] (help·info), French: Anvers) is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 (as of 1 January 2008)^[1] and its total area is 204.51 km² (78.96 sq mi), giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km². The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,449 km² (559 sq mi) with a total of 1,190,769 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.^[2]

Antwerp Six

The Antwerp Six refers to a group of influential avantgarde fashion designers graduating from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980-1981. At the academy they were taught by Linda Loppa. The fashion collective presented a distinct radical vision for fashion during the 1980s that established Antwerp as a notable location for fashion design. The breakthrough occurred in 1988 as the group rented a truck and set out for London fashion fair with respective collections. Martin Margiela, another Belgian contemporary, was not actually part of the group that showed in London although he is often mistakenly described as one of the Antwerp Six: he had moved to Paris, where he worked initially for Jean Paul Gaultier.

Arab League

ISO 4217 codes bracketed:
Algerian dinar (DZB)
Bahraini dinar (BHD)
Comorian franc (KMF)
Djiboutian franc (DJF)
Egyptian pound (EGP)
Iraqi dinar (IQD)
Jordanian dinar (JD)
Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)
Lebanese livre (LL, LBP)
Libyan dinar (LYD)
Mauritanian ouguiya (MRO)
Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Omani rial (OMR)
Qatari riyal (QAR)
Saudi riyal (SAR)
Somali shilling (SOS)
Sudanese pound (SDD)
Syrian pound (SYP)
Tunisian dinar (TND)
United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)

Ardennes

The Ardennes (pronounced /ɑrˈdɛn/; Dutch: Ardennen) is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and old mountains formed on the Givetian (Devonian) Ardennes mountains^[1], primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région), and geologically into the Eifel. In Wallonia, the word 'Ardenne' in the singular is commonly used for the Belgian part of the region and in the plural for the French one. Ardenne is the origin of the great industrial period of Wallonia, the second of the world (18th, 19th and 20th centuries). In France, the word 'Ardennes' in the plural, together with the definite article, is commonly used to refer to the French Department of that name.

Area

Area is a quantity expressing the two-dimensional size of a defined part of a surface, typically a region bounded by a closed curve. The term surface area refers to the total area of the exposed surface of a 3-dimensional solid, such as the sum of the areas of the exposed sides of a polyhedron. Area is an important invariant in the differential geometry of surfaces.^[1]

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina, pronounced [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous.

Armenia

Armenia

/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (help·info) (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated: Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe,^[8] it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

Arrondissements of Belgium

The federalized country Belgium geographically consists of 3 regions, of which only Flemish Region and Walloon Region are subdivided into 5 provinces each; the Brussels-Capital Region is neither a province nor is it part of one.

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau (French pronunciation: [aʁ nuvo], anglicised to /ˈɑrt nuːˈvou/) is an international movement^[2] and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905).^[3] The name 'Art nouveau' is French for 'new art'. It is also known as Jugendstil, German for 'youth style', named after the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, and in Italy, Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularized the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms.^[4] Art Nouveau is an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.^[5]

AsDB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members (as of 2 February 2007)^[2], 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

Ashanti

Ashanti, or Asante, are a major ethnic group of Ashanti Region in Ghana. They are an Akan people who speak Twi, an Akan language similar to Fante. For the Ashanti (Asante) Empire see Asanteman.

Ath

Ath (Dutch: Aat) is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The Ath municipality includes the old communes of Lanquesaint, Irchonwelz, Ormeignies, Bouvignies, Ostiches, Rebaix, Maffle, Arbre, Houtaing, Ligne, Mainvault, Moulbaix, Villers-Notre-Dame, Villers-Saint-Amand, Ghislenghien (Dutch: Gellingen), Isières, Meslin-l'Evêque, and Gibecq.

Australia

Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪljə/ ə-STRAYL-yə or /ɒˈstreɪljə/ o-STRAYL-yə,^[7] or more formally as /ɔːˈstreɪliə/ aw-STRAY-lee-ə), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent (the world's smallest),^[8]^[9] the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.^N4 Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the southeast.

Australia Group

The Australia Group is an informal group of countries (now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to identify those of their exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons . The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first meeting in Brussels in September 1989. It now has 41 members, including all OECD members except Mexico, the European Commission, all 27 EU member states, Croatia, Ukraine and Argentina. The name comes from Australia's initiative to create the group. Australia manages the secretariat.

Austria

Austria

/ˈɔːstriə/ (help·info) (German:

Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German:

Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people^[3] in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,872 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,797 metres (12,457 ft).^[6] The majority of the population speaks German,^[7] which is also the country's official language.^[1] Other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.^[6]

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (pronounced /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ (

listen); Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), formally the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia,^[4] it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhichevan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest. The Nagorno-Karabakh region in the southwest of Azerbaijan proper declared itself independent from Azerbaijan in 1991, but it is not recognized by any nation and considered a legal part of Azerbaijan.

BBC News

BBC News is the department of the BBC responsible for news and current affairs output. The world's largest broadcast news organisation,^[1] it generates each day about 120 hours of radio and television, as well as online news coverage.^[2] The service maintains 44 foreign news bureaux and has correspondents in almost all the world's 240 countries.

BBC Sport

BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand (discontinued in early 2007), Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing and the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP, TYO: 8665) is one of the largest global banking groups in the world, headquartered in Paris with its second global headquarters in London^[3]. It was created through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas. In 2008 it was ranked as the 13th largest company in the world by Forbes and the largest in France. In April 2009, BNP Paribas purchased a 75 percent stake in Fortis Bank, the Belgian banking business making BNP the eurozone's largest bank by deposits held.^[4]

Bahrain

Bahrain, officially Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn, literally: "Kingdom of the Two Seas"), is a small island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain via the King Fahd Causeway, which was officially opened on 25 November 1986. Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain.

Bakelite

Bakelite (pronounced /ˈbеɪkɨlaɪt/), or polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, is an early plastic. It is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from an elimination reaction of phenol with formaldehyde, usually with a wood flour filler. It was developed in 1907–1909 by Belgian chemist Dr. Leo Baekeland.

Barbados

Barbados (pronounced /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz, bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/), situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian continental island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom, and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Located at roughly 13° North of the equator and 59° West of the prime meridian, it is considered a part of the Lesser Antilles. Its closest island neighbours are Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines to the west. To the south lies Trinidad and Tobago—with which Barbados now shares a fixed official maritime boundary—and also the South American mainland. Barbados's total land area is about 430 square kilometres (166 square miles), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher in the country's interior. The highest point in Barbados is Mount Hillaby in the parish of Saint Andrew.

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture, starting in the early 17th century in Italy, took the humanist Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical, theatrical, sculptural fashion, expressing the triumph of absolutist church and state. New architectural concerns for color, light and shade, sculptural values and intensity characterize the Baroque. But whereas the Renaissance drew on the wealth and power of the Italian courts, and was a blend of secular and religious forces, the Baroque was, initially at least, directly linked to the Counter-Reformation, a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself in response to the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) is usually given as the beginning of the Counter-Reformation.

Barotseland

Barotseland is a region in the western part of Zambia, and is the homeland of the Lozi people or Barotse who were previously known as Luyi or Aluyi. Its heartland is the Barotse Floodplain on the upper Zambezi River, also known as Bulozi or Lyondo, but it includes the surrounding higher ground of the plateau comprising all of what is now the Western Province of Zambia. In pre-colonial times, Barotseland included some neighbouring parts of what are now the Northwestern, Central and Southern Province as well as Caprivi in northeastern Namibia and parts of southeastern Angola beyond the Cuando or Mashi River.

Baudouin I of Belgium

Baudouin (French: Baudouin Albert Charles Léopold Axel Marie Gustave de Belgique or Dutch: Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Marie Gustaaf van België) (7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) reigned as King of the Belgians, following his father's abdication, from 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the eldest son of King Leopold III (1901-1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905-1935). Having had no children, the crown passed on to his brother, Albert II of Belgium, upon his death. Baudouin is the French form of his name, the form most commonly used outside Belgium; his Dutch name is Boudewijn. Very rarely, his name is anglicized as Baldwin.

Bayreuth

Bayreuth (German pronunciation: [baɪˈɾɔʏt]; local (Upper Franconian) dialect: [ba(ː)ˈɾaɪ̯t]; English: /beɪˈruːθ/) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. It is the capital of Upper Franconia and has a population of 73,048 citizens (2008).

Belarus

Belarus

/ˈbɛləruːs/ (help·info) (Belarusian: Беларусь or Biełaruś, Russian: Беларусь) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe,^[3] bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mahilyow (Mahiloŭ) and Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of the country is forested,^[4] and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.

Belgae

The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain. They gave their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, and later, to the modern country of Belgium.

Belgian Air Component

The Air Component, formerly the Belgian Air Force, is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. The current commander is Major-General Claude Van de Voorde, appointed on 23 July 2009.

Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo (French: Congo Belge, Dutch:

Belgisch-Kongo (help·info)) was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and the dawn of Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.^[3]

Belgian French

Belgian French (French: français de Belgique) is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian colonies, can also be considered an offshoot of Belgian French. Belgian French and the French of northern France are almost identical, but there are a few distinct phonological and lexical differences.

Belgian Grand Prix

The Belgian Grand Prix (Dutch: Grote Prijs van België, French: Grand Prix de Belgique, German: Großer Preis von Belgien) is an automobile race, part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated with motor sport since the very early years of racing. To accommodate Grand Prix motor racing, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps race course was built in 1921 but it was only used for motorcycle racing until 1924. After the 1923 success of the new 24 hours of Le Mans in France, the Spa 24 Hours, a similar 24 hour endurance race, was run at the Spa track.

Belgian Labour Party

The Belgian Labour Party, called Belgische Werkliedenpartij (BWP) in Dutch (English translation: Belgian Workers' Party) and Parti Ouvrier Belge (POB) in French, was the first socialist party in Belgium, founded in 1885.

Belgian Land Component

The Land Component (French: Composante Terre, Dutch: Landcomponent), formerly the Belgian Army, is the land-based service of the Belgian Armed Forces. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Eddy Testelmans.

Belgian Medical Component

The Medical Component (Dutch: Medische Component, French: Composante Médicale) is the medical service of the Belgian Armed Forces. It provides medical support for the Belgian Armed Forces and its operations, participates in humanitarian aid and provides certain services to the civilian society. The current Commander of the Medical Component is Brigade General Danielle Levillez.

Belgian Naval Component

The Naval Component (Dutch: Marinecomponent, French: Composante Maritime) of the Belgian Armed Forces, formerly the Belgian Navy, is the naval service of Belgium.