Narathiwat

Town, extreme southern Thailand, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Narathiwat is a minor port inhabited largely by Malay Muslims. Fishing and shipping are the main activities. The surrounding area is heavily planted in coconuts, rice, and rubber. Pop. (1985 est.) 36,956.

Biblical Literature

Exegesis, or critical interpretation, and hermeneutics, or the science of interpretive principles, of the Bible have been used by both Jews and Christians throughout their histories for various purposes. The most common purpose has been that of discovering the truths and values of the Old and New Testaments by means of various techniques and principles, though

Celaya, Battle Of

(April 1915), decisive military engagement in the wars between revolutionary factions following the Mexican Revolution of 1911. One of the bloodiest battles in Mexican history, it was fought at Celaya, Gua najuato state, between the forces of Álvaro Obregón and Pancho Villa. In the course of the civil wars, Venustiano Carranza and Villa had eclipsed the other revolutionary

Arab Bank For Economic Development In Africa

French  Banque Arabe Pour Le Développement Économique En Afrique (BADEA) , Arabic  Al-bank Al-'arabi Lil-tatawur Al-iqtisadi Fi Afriqiya  bank created by the Arab League summit conference in Algiers, in November 1973, to finance development projects. In 1975 BADEA began operating by supplying African countries with technical assistance. All members of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) are eligible as recipients, except those countries belonging to the Arab League. BADEA includes all members of the Arab

Rouget De Lisle, Claude-joseph

Author of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. A lowly army officer and only a moderate republican, Rouget de Lisle never wrote anything else of significance. He composed both the words and music of “La Marseillaise” for his comrades in 1792 while stationed at Strasbourg; it was originally called “Chant de guerre de l'armée

Computers, The Atanasoff-Berry Computer

It was generally believed that the first electronic digital computers were the Colossus, built in England in 1943, and the ENIAC, built in the United States in 1945. However, the first special-purpose electronic computer may actually have been invented by John Vincent Atanasoff, a physicist and mathematician at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), during 1937–42. (Atanasoff

Aequi

Ancient people of Italy originally inhabiting the region watered by the tributaries of the Avens River (modern Velino). Long hostile to Rome, they became especially menacing in the 5th century BC, advancing to the Alban Hills. Although repulsed by the Romans in 431, the Aequi were not completely subdued by Rome until the end of the Second Samnite War (304 BC), when they received civitas

Sa'id Pasha

Sa'id, the fourth son of the viceroy Muhammad 'Ali Pasha, was educated in Paris and, in 1854, succeeded 'Abbas I as viceroy of Egypt. He was influenced by Western forms of landownership, and,

Goncharov, Ivan Aleksandrovich

Goncharov was born into a wealthy merchant family and, after graduating from Moscow University in 1834, served

Switzerland, Neutrality and internal challenges

During the 1850s the young republic clashed with Prussia over sovereignty in Neuchâtel, but the Prussian king finally renounced his hereditary rights to the former principality. Otherwise, Switzerland's foreign relations were relatively untroubled in the 19th century. The country adopted a policy of armed but cautious neutrality as the best strategy for a nation

Puente-genil

Town, Cordova province, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Andalusia, southern Spain, located south of Cordova city, on the Cordova–Málaga railway. An agricultural centre, Puente-Genil produces olive oil, quince and other fruit jellies, linen, and insecticides. It takes its name from the bridge (puente) over the Genil River connecting the two sections

Tafsir

The science of explanation of the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam, or of Qur'anic commentary. So long as Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was alive, no other authority for interpretations of the Qur'anic revelations was recognized by Muslims. Upon his death, however, commentaries were needed because the text, when it achieved written form, lacked historical sequence in the

Kiel, Treaty Of

(Jan. 14, 1814), the peace treaty ending the hostilities between Denmark and Sweden during the Napoleonic Wars. By the treaty, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden, thus ending the union initiated in 1380 and further reducing Denmark's status as a Baltic and European power. By the accession of Norway, Sweden was partially compensated for the loss in 1809 of Finland and the Åland Islands to Russia;

Hawthorn, John Michael

Hawthorn won his first motorcycle race at 18, turned to sports cars at 21, and two years later, driving a Cooper–Bristol, defeated Juan Manuel Fangio at Goodwood. In 1953, driving for Ferrari, he won the French Grand Prix from Fangio; in 1955 he won the tragic Le

Anticholinesterase

Any of several drugs that prevent destruction of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase within the nervous system. Acetylcholine acts to transmit nerve impulses within the parasympathetic nervous system—i.e., that part of the autonomic nervous system that tends to induce secretion, to contract smooth muscles, and to dilate

Hoorne, Filips Van Montmorency, Graaf Van

A gentleman-in-waiting at the court of the Holy Roman emperor Charles V,

Performing Arts, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

One of the most original and most perfectly achieved films of the year, Aleksandr Sokurov's Russky kovcheg (Russian Ark) used digital resources to make a 96-minute film in a single shot as the camera explored the endless galleries of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Pavel Lungin's Oligarkh (Tycoon) was a ferocious portrayal of corruption that instilled and linked big

Fabritius, Barent

He was the son of a schoolmaster and at first became a carpenter, whence his Latinized name Fabritius (from Latin faber, “carpenter”). His early works, dating from the 1650s, are based on Rembrandt's style of the 1640s, with deepened use of colour and of light and shade. He

Ezion-geber

Modern  Tall al-Khalifah  seaport of Solomon and the later kings of Judah, located at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba in what is now Ma'an muhafazah (governorate), Jordan. The site was found independently by archaeologists Fritz Frank and Nelson Glueck. Glueck's excavations (1938–40) proved that the site had been a fortified settlement surrounded by strong walls from the 10th to the 4th century BC. It was almost

Frelinghuysen, Frederick Theodore

Frelinghuysen was born into a family that had long been prominent in politics. Left an orphan at the age of three, he was adopted by his uncle, Theodore Frelinghuysen. He graduated from Rutgers College in 1836, studied law in his uncle's law office,

Alaska, Education

Education is compulsory through the eighth grade or until age 16 and is administered by a state board and a commissioner of education. Correspondence study is available for high school work through the State Department of Education. There are several federal schools on military bases. The University of Alaska, founded as a land-grant institution in 1917, operates campuses

Radar, Antennas

A widely used form of radar antenna is the parabolic reflector, the principle of which is shown in cross section in Figure 4 (A). A horn antenna or other small antenna is placed at the focus of the parabola to illuminate the parabolic surface of the reflector. After being reflected by this surface, the electromagnetic energy is radiated as a narrow beam. A paraboloid, which

Igor's Campaign, The Song Of

Also translated  Lay of Igor's Campaign , Russian  Slovo o polku Igoreve  masterpiece of Old Russian literature, an account of the unsuccessful campaign in 1185 of Prince Igor of Novgorod-Seversky against the Polovtsy (Kipchak, or Cumans). As in the great French epic The Song of Roland, Igor's heroic pride draws him into a combat in which the odds are too great for him. Though defeated, Igor escapes his captors and returns to his people. The tale was

Port Colborne

City, regional municipality of Niagara, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies a few miles south of Welland on the north shore of Lake Erie at the upper entrance of the Welland Ship Canal and opposite Humberstone Lock; at 1,381 feet (421 m) long it is one of the world's largest lift locks. The first settlement of 1832 was known as Gravelly Bay; it was later renamed in honour of Sir John Colborne,

Guadalcanal

Largest island of the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. With an area of some 2,047 square miles (5,302 square km), it is of volcanic origin with a mountainous spine (Kavo Range) that culminates in Mount Makarakomburu (8,028 feet [2,447 m]), the highest point in the country. Many short, rapid streams, including the Mataniko, Lunga, and Tenaru, tumble from the wooded mountains to the coast,

La Follette, Robert M

Resigning as governor in 1906, he was elected to the Senate at a time when that institution was widely believed to be a refuge for millionaires. La Follette acquired instant fame as a new type of senator, one who was not controlled by “the interests,” and in his first three years there La Follette achieved the passage of laws aimed against the freight rates, labour policies,

Adams

Town (township), Berkshire county, northwestern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Greylock (3,491 feet [1,064 metres]), on the Hoosic River, 15 miles (24 km) north of Pittsfield. The town of North Adams is 5 miles north. Founded by Quakers in 1766, it was known as East Hoosuck until 1778, when it was incorporated and renamed for the Revolutionary War hero Samuel Adams. Local limestone and marble

Scandinavian Literature, Norwegian

In the 1890s established Norwegian writers came under fire from the new generation. The manifesto of new ideas was an essay published in 1890 in the periodical Samtiden (“The Present Age”) by Knut Hamsun, “Fra det ubevidste Sjaeleliv” (“From the Unconscious Life of the Mind”), which demanded attention to what was individual and idiosyncratic rather than typical. Hamsun was impatient

Rada'

(Arabic: “to suckle”), in Islam, a legal relationship established between children when they are nursed by the same woman, the result being that they are forbidden to intermarry. Such a prohibition was prevalent in Arabian society even before Islam. Arabs equate such kinship with true blood relationship. In Mecca, the Arabs had a custom, still retained, of hiring professional