Lebanon

Coordinates: 33°50′N 35°50′E / 33.833°N 35.833°E / 33.833; 35.833Lebanon (/ˈlɛbənɒn, -nən/ LEB-ə-non, -⁠nən; Arabic: لُبْنَان, romanized: lubnān, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [lɪbˈneːn]; French: Liban), officially the Republic of Lebanon (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية) or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. 　It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lies to its west across the Mediterranean Sea; its location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has contributed to its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious diversity. 　It is part of the Levant region of the Middle East. 　Lebanon is home to roughly five million people and covers an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi), making it the second smallest country in continental Asia. 　The official language of the state is Arabic, while French is also formally recognized; Lebanese Arabic is used alongside Modern Standard Arabic throughout the country. 　The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back to 5,000 BCE. 　From c. 　3200–539 BC, it was home to the flourishing Phoenician civilization before being annexed by various Near Eastern empires. 　In 64 BC, the Roman Empire conquered the region, and the region became a major center for Christianity under the Byzantine Empire. 　In the 7th century, the Muslim conquest of the Levant established caliphal rule. 　The 11th century saw the start of the Crusades and the establishment of Crusader States in the region only for it to be later reclaimed by the Ayyubids and Mamluks before being ceded to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. 　Under Sultan Abdulmejid I, the first Lebanese protostate took form in the 19th century as the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, created as a home for the Maronite Christians under the Tanzimat reforms. 　Following the Ottoman Empire's collapse after World War I, the five Ottoman provinces constituting modern-day Lebanon came under the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, under which its French-ruled predecessor state of Greater Lebanon was established. 　Following the invasion and occupation of the French Third Republic by Nazi Germany during World War II, French rule over the region weakened. 　Upon gaining its independence from Free France in 1943, Lebanon established a unique confessionalist form of government, with the state's major religious sects being apportioned specific political powers. 　Lebanon initially was relatively stable. 　This stability was short-lived and was ultimately shattered by the outbreak of large-scale fighting in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990) between various political and sectarian factions. 　During this period, Lebanon was also subjected to overlapping foreign military occupations by Syria from 1976 to 2005 and by Israel from 1985 to 2000. 　Since the end of the war, there have been extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. 　Lebanon is a developing country, ranking 112th on the Human Development Index. 　It has been classified as an upper middle income state. 　However, the Lebanese liquidity crisis, corruption as well as recent events have precipitated the collapse of currency, political instability, widespread shortages, high unemployment and poverty. 　The World Bank defined the economic crisis in Lebanon as one of the worst in the world since the 19th century. 　Despite the country's small size, Lebanese culture is renowned both in the Middle East and globally, primarily powered by its extensive diaspora. 　Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations and is a member of the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

Locomotive

A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. 　If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight. 　Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. 　However, push-pull operation has become common, where the train may have a locomotive (or locomotives) at the front, at the rear, or at each end. 　Most recently railroads have begun adopting DPU or distributed power. 　The front may have one or two locomotives followed by a mid-train locomotive that is controlled remotely from the lead unit.

Venezuela

Coordinates: 7°N 65°W / 7°N 65°W / 7; -65 Venezuela (/ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə/; American Spanish: [beneˈswela] (listen)), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. 　It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi), and its population was estimated at 29 million in 2022. 　The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas. 　The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. 　The Venezuelan government maintains a claim against Guyana to Guayana Esequiba. 　Venezuela is a federal presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District and federal dependencies covering Venezuela's offshore islands. 　Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north and in the capital. 　The territory of Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples. 　In 1811, it became one of the first Spanish-American territories to declare independence from the Spanish and to form part, as a department, of the first federal Republic of Colombia (historiographically known as Gran Colombia). 　It separated as a full sovereign country in 1830. 　During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until the mid-20th century. 　Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments, as an exception where most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships, and the period was characterized by economic prosperity. 　Economic shocks in the 1980s and 1990s led to major political crises and widespread social unrest, including the deadly Caracazo riots of 1989, two attempted coups in 1992, and the impeachment of a President for embezzlement of public funds charges in 1993. 　The collapse in confidence in the existing parties saw the 1998 Venezuelan presidential election, the catalyst for the Bolivarian Revolution, which began with a 1999 Constituent Assembly, where a new Constitution of Venezuela was imposed. 　The government's populist social welfare policies were bolstered by soaring oil prices, temporarily increasing social spending, and reducing economic inequality and poverty in the early years of the regime. 　However, poverty began to increase in the 2010s. 　The 2013 Venezuelan presidential election was widely disputed leading to widespread protest, which triggered another nationwide crisis that continues to this day. 　Venezuela has experienced democratic backsliding, shifting into an authoritarian state. 　It ranks low in international measurements of freedom of the press and civil liberties and has high levels of perceived corruption. 　Venezuela is a developing country and ranks 113th on the Human Development Index. 　It has the world's largest known oil reserves and has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil. 　Previously, the country was an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, but oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues. 　The excesses and poor policies of the incumbent government led to the collapse of Venezuela's entire economy. 　The country struggles with record hyperinflation, shortages of basic goods, unemployment, poverty, disease, high child mortality, malnutrition, severe crime and corruption. 　These factors have precipitated the Venezuelan migrant crisis where more than three million people have fled the country. 　By 2017, Venezuela was declared to be in default regarding debt payments by credit rating agencies. 　The crisis in Venezuela has contributed to a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation, including increased abuses such as torture, arbitrary imprisonment, extrajudicial killings and attacks on human rights advocates. 　Venezuela is a charter member of the UN, Organization of American States (OAS), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), ALBA, Mercosur, Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) and Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI).

Quantity

Quantity or amount is a property that can exist as a multitude or magnitude, which illustrate discontinuity and continuity. 　Quantities can be compared in terms of "more", "less", or "equal", or by assigning a numerical value multiple of a unit of measurement. 　Mass, time, distance, heat, and angle are among the familiar examples of quantitative properties. 　Quantity is among the basic classes of things along with quality, substance, change, and relation. 　Some quantities are such by their inner nature (as number), while others function as states (properties, dimensions, attributes) of things such as heavy and light, long and short, broad and narrow, small and great, or much and little. 　Under the name of multitude comes what is discontinuous and discrete and divisible ultimately into indivisibles, such as: army, fleet, flock, government, company, party, people, mess (military), chorus, crowd, and number; all which are cases of collective nouns. 　Under the name of magnitude comes what is continuous and unified and divisible only into smaller divisibles, such as: matter, mass, energy, liquid, material—all cases of non-collective nouns. 　Along with analyzing its nature and classification, the issues of quantity involve such closely related topics as dimensionality, equality, proportion, the measurements of quantities, the units of measurements, number and numbering systems, the types of numbers and their relations to each other as numerical ratios.

Clause

In language, a clause is a constituent that comprises a semantic predicand (expressed or not) and a semantic predicate. 　A typical clause consists of a subject and a syntactic predicate, the latter typically a verb phrase composed of a verb with any objects and other modifiers. 　However, the subject is sometimes unvoiced if it is retrievable from context, especially in null-subject language but also in other languages, including English instances of the imperative mood. 　A complete simple sentence includes a single clause with a finite verb. 　Complex sentences contain multiple clauses including at least one independent clause (meaning, a clause that can stand alone as a simple sentence) coordinated either with at least one dependent clause (also called an embedded clause) or with one or more independent clauses.

Pursued

Pursued is a 1947 American Western film directed by Raoul Walsh with cinematography by James Wong Howe, written by Niven Busch, and starring Theresa Wright and Robert Mitchum. 　The supporting cast features Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan Hale Sr., and Harry Carey Jr. 　The music is by Max Steiner and the picture was shot on location in Gallup, New Mexico.

Ranch

A ranch (from Spanish: rancho) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. 　It is a subtype of a farm. 　These terms are most often applied to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Western Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. 　People who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. 　Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as horses, elk, American bison, ostrich, emu, and alpaca. 　Ranches generally consist of large areas, but may be of nearly any size. 　In the western United States, many ranches are a combination of privately owned land supplemented by grazing leases on land under the control of the federal Bureau of Land Management or the United States Forest Service. 　If the ranch includes arable or irrigated land, the ranch may also engage in a limited amount of farming, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as hay and feed grains. 　Ranches that cater exclusively to tourists are called guest ranches or, colloquially, "dude ranches". 　Most working ranches do not cater to guests, though they may allow private hunters or outfitters onto their property to hunt native wildlife. 　However, in recent years,[when?] a few struggling smaller operations have added some dude ranch features such as horseback rides, cattle drives, and guided hunting to bring in additional income. 　Ranching is part of the iconography of the "Wild West" as seen in Western movies and rodeos.

Facebook

Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. 　Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students. 　Membership was initially limited to Harvard students, gradually expanding to other North American universities and, since 2006, anyone over 13 years old. 　As of July 2022, Facebook claimed 2.93 billion monthly active users, and ranked third worldwide among the most visited websites as of July 2022. 　It was the most downloaded mobile app of the 2010s. 　Facebook can be accessed from devices with Internet connectivity, such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. 　After registering, users can create a profile revealing information about themselves. 　They can post text, photos and multimedia which are shared with any other users who have agreed to be their "friend" or, with different privacy settings, publicly. 　Users can also communicate directly with each other with Facebook Messenger, join common-interest groups, and receive notifications on the activities of their Facebook friends and the pages they follow. 　The subject of numerous controversies, Facebook has often been criticized over issues such as user privacy (as with the Cambridge Analytica data scandal), political manipulation (as with the 2016 U.S. elections) and mass surveillance. 　Posts originating from the Facebook page of Breitbart News, a media organization previously affiliated with Cambridge Analytica, are currently among the most widely shared political content on Facebook. 　Facebook has also been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction and low self-esteem, and various controversies over content such as fake news, conspiracy theories, copyright infringement, and hate speech. 　Commentators have accused Facebook of willingly facilitating the spread of such content, as well as exaggerating its number of users to appeal to advertisers.

Anchor

An anchor is a device, normally made of metal[citation needed], used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. 　The word derives from Latin ancoracode: lat promoted to code: la , which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυραcode: ell promoted to code: el (ankȳracode: ell promoted to code: el ). 　Anchors can either be temporary or permanent. 　Permanent anchors are used in the creation of a mooring, and are rarely moved; a specialist service is normally needed to move or maintain them. 　Vessels carry one or more temporary anchors, which may be of different designs and weights. 　A sea anchor is a drag device, not in contact with the seabed, used to minimise drift of a vessel relative to the water. 　A drogue is a drag device used to slow or help steer a vessel running before a storm in a following or overtaking sea, or when crossing a bar in a breaking sea.

Gentleman

A gentleman (Old French: gentilz hom, gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. 　Originally, gentleman was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the rank of gentleman comprised the younger sons of the younger sons of peers, and the younger sons of a baronet, a knight, and an esquire, in perpetual succession. 　As such, the connotation of the term gentleman captures the common denominator of gentility (and often a coat of arms); a right shared by the peerage and the gentry, the constituent classes of the British nobility. 　Therefore, the English social category of gentleman corresponds to the French gentilhomme (nobleman), which in Great Britain meant a member of the peerage of England. 　In that context, the historian Maurice Keen said that the social category of gentleman is "the nearest, contemporary English equivalent of the noblesse of France." 　In the 14th century, the term gentlemen comprised the hereditary ruling class, which is whom the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt (1381) meant when they repeated: When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? 　In the 17th century, in Titles of Honour (1614), the jurist John Selden said that the title gentleman likewise speaks of "our English use of it" as convertible with nobilis (nobility by rank or personal quality) and describes the forms of a man's elevation to the nobility in European monarchies. 　In the 19th century, James Henry Lawrence explained and discussed the concepts, particulars, and functions of social rank in a monarchy, in the book On the Nobility of the British Gentry, or the Political Ranks and Dignities of the British Empire, Compared with those on the Continent (1827).

Tobacco

Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. 　More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chief commercial crop is N. tabacum. 　The more potent variant N. rustica is also used in some countries. 　Dried tobacco leaves are mainly used for smoking in cigarettes and cigars, as well as pipes and shishas. 　They can also be consumed as snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, and snus. 　Tobacco contains the highly addictive stimulant alkaloid nicotine as well as harmala alkaloids. 　Tobacco use is a cause or risk factor for many deadly diseases, especially those affecting the heart, liver, and lungs, as well as many cancers. 　In 2008, the World Health Organization named tobacco use as the world's single greatest preventable cause of death.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (UK: /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn, -ˈdʒæn/ (listen), US: /ˌɑːzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn, ˌæz-/; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan [ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. 　It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. 　Baku is the capital and largest city. 　The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918 and became the first secular democratic Muslim-majority state. 　In 1920, the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan SSR. 　The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the same year. 　In September 1991, the ethnic Armenian majority of the Nagorno-Karabakh region formed the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. 　The region and seven surrounding districts are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, pending a solution to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE, although became de facto independent with the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994. 　Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the seven districts and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to Azerbaijani control. 　Azerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic. 　It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the Organization of Turkic States and the TÜRKSOY community. 　Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 182 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement, the OSCE, and the NATO PfP program. 　It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the CIS, and the OPCW. 　Azerbaijan is also an observer state of the WTO. 　The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is nominally Muslim, but the constitution does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are secularist. 　Azerbaijan is a developing country and ranks 91st on the Human Development Index. 　It has a high rate of economic development, literacy, and a low rate of unemployment. 　However, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, in power since 1993, has been accused of authoritarian leadership under the leadership of both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev, and deteriorating the country's human rights record, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on press freedom and political repression.

Permanently

Permanently is the third studio album by American country music singer Mark Wills. 　Released in 2000 on Mercury Nashville Records, the album produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart: "Back at One", "Almost Doesn't Count", and (Everything There Is to Know About You", which peaked at Nos. 2, 19, and 33, respectively. "Back at One" was originally recorded by Brian McKnight, and "Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy. 　The album itself peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 23 on The Billboard 200, making for Wills's highest peaks on these two charts. 　In addition, Permanently received RIAA gold certification for U.S. shipments of 500,000 copies.　[citation needed]

Deals

Deals (previously stylized as DEAL$) was an American chain of discount variety stores owned by Dollar Tree. 　The chain operated more than 221 stores located in shopping centers, malls (until 2015), and urban areas in 19 states throughout the United States. 　Each store stocked a variety of products including national, regional, and private-label brands, and accepted manufacturers' coupons. 　Departments found in a Deals store included health and beauty, food and snacks, party, seasonal décor, housewares, glassware, dinnerware, household cleaning supplies, candy, toys, gifts, gift bags and wrap, stationery, craft supplies, teaching supplies, and books. 　The majority of Deals stores also sold frozen foods and dairy items such as milk, eggs, pizza, ice cream, frozen dinners, and pre-made baked goods.

Midfielder

GK CB CB RB LB RWB LWB CDM CDM RM LM CM CM RAM LAM CAM CAM RW LW CF CF ST ST A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. 　Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. 　As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. 　There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments. 　The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used; the unit of these players on the pitch is commonly referred to as the midfield. 　Its name derives from the fact that midfield units typically make up the in-between units to the defensive units and forward units of a formation. 　Managers frequently assign one or more midfielders to disrupt the opposing team's attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. 　Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match. 　Midfielders arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch. 　Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards to create scoring chances.

Riders

Riders can refer to Leicester Riders, a British basketball team Riders (Cooper novel), a book by Jilly Cooper Riders (1993 film), a British film based on the book Saskatchewan Roughriders, a Canadian football team Steal (film), a 2002 American action film also called Riders "Riders", a group of police officers involved in misconduct in Oakland, California; see Allen v. City of Oakland

Delaware

Coordinates: 39°00′N 75°30′W / 39.0°N 75.5°W / 39.0; -75.5 (State of Delaware) Delaware (/ˈdɛləwɛər/ (listen) DEL-ə-wair) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. 　The state takes its name from the adjacent Delaware Bay, in turn named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor. 　Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and some islands and territory within the Delaware River. 　It is the second-smallest and sixth-least populous state, but also the sixth-most densely populated. 　Delaware's largest city is Wilmington, while the state capital is Dover, the second-largest city in the state. 　The state is divided into three counties, having the lowest number of counties of any state; from north to south, they are New Castle County, Kent County, and Sussex County. 　While the southern two counties have historically been predominantly agricultural, New Castle is more urbanized, being part of the Delaware Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area centered on Philadelphia. 　Although included in the Southern United States by the Census Bureau, Delaware's geography, culture, and history combine elements of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the country. 　Before its coastline was explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Delaware was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. 　It was initially colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael, near the present town of Lewes, in 1631. 　Delaware was one of the Thirteen Colonies that took part in the American Revolution. 　On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, and has since been known as The First State. 　Since the turn of the 20th century, Delaware is also a de facto onshore corporate haven, in which by virtue of its corporate laws, the state is the domicile of over half of all New York Stock Exchange-listed business and over three-fifths of the Fortune 500.

Thai

Look up thai, Thai, Thái, thaï, Thaï, þai, Thai.　, or thài in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. 　Thai or THAI may refer to: Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand Thai script Thai (Unicode block)

Bulgaria

Bulgaria (/bʌlˈɡɛəriə, bʊl-/ (listen); Bulgarian: България, romanized: Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. 　It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. 　Bulgaria covers a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), and is the sixteenth-largest country in Europe. 　Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city; other major cities are Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas. 　One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Neolithic Karanovo culture, which dates back to 6,500 BC. 　In the 6th to 3rd century BC the region was a battleground for ancient Thracians, Persians, Celts and Macedonians; stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45. 　After the Roman state splintered, tribal invasions in the region resumed. 　Around the 6th century, these territories were settled by the early Slavs. 　The Bulgars, led by Asparuh, attacked from the lands of Old Great Bulgaria and permanently invaded the Balkans in the late 7th century. 　They established First Bulgarian Empire, victoriously recognised by treaty in 681 AD by the Eastern Roman Empire. 　It dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic script. 　The First Bulgarian Empire lasted until the early 11th century, when Byzantine emperor Basil II conquered and dismantled it. 　A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire, which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). 　After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife, the empire disintegrated and in 1396 fell under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. 　The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 resulted in the formation of the third and current Bulgarian state. 　Many ethnic Bulgarians were left outside the new nation's borders, which stoked irredentist sentiments that led to several conflicts with its neighbours and alliances with Germany in both world wars. 　In 1946, Bulgaria came under the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc and became a socialist state. 　The ruling Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power after the revolutions of 1989 and allowed multiparty elections. 　Bulgaria then transitioned into a democracy and a market-based economy. 　Since adopting a democratic constitution in 1991, Bulgaria has been a unitary parliamentary republic composed of 28 provinces, with a high degree of political, administrative, and economic centralisation. 　Bulgaria is a developing country, with an upper-middle-income economy, ranking 68th in the Human Development Index. 　Its market economy is part of the European Single Market and is largely based on services, followed by industry—especially machine building and mining—and agriculture. 　Widespread corruption is a major socioeconomic issue; Bulgaria ranked as the most corrupt country in the European Union in 2018. 　The country also faces a demographic crisis, with its population slowly shrinking, down from a peak of nearly nine million in 1988, to roughly 6.5 million today. 　Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Council of Europe; it is also a founding member of the OSCE, and has taken a seat on the United Nations Security Council three times.

Armor (hydrology)

In hydrology and geography, armor is the association of surface pebbles, rocks or boulders with stream beds or beaches. 　Most commonly hydrological armor occurs naturally; however, a man-made form is usually called riprap, when shorelines or stream banks are fortified for erosion protection with large boulders or sizable manufactured concrete objects. 　When armor is associated with beaches in the form of pebbles to medium-sized stones grading from two to 200 millimeters across, the resulting landform is often termed a shingle beach. 　Hydrological modeling indicates that stream armor typically persists in a flood stage environment.

Torture

Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. 　Some definitions are restricted to acts carried out by the state, but others include non-state organizations. 　Torture has been carried out since ancient times. 　In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western countries abolished the official use of torture in the judicial system, but torture continued to be used throughout the world. 　A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. 　Since the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non-scarring or psychological methods to provide deniability. 　Torturers are enabled by organizations that facilitate and encourage their behavior. 　Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners or during armed conflict has received disproportionate attention. 　Judicial corporal punishment and capital punishment are sometimes seen as forms of torture, but this label is internationally controversial. 　Torture aims to break the victim's will and destroy their agency and personality. 　It is one of the most damaging experiences that a person can undergo and can also negatively affect perpetrating individuals and institutions. 　Public opinion research has shown general opposition to torture. 　Torture is prohibited under international law for all states under all circumstances and is explicitly forbidden by several treaties. 　Opposition to torture stimulated the formation of the human rights movement after World War II, and torture continues to be an important human rights issue. 　Although its incidence has declined, torture is still practiced by some countries.

Seminary

A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry. 　The English word is taken from the Latin seminarium, translated as seed-bed, an image taken from the Council of Trent document Cum adolescentium aetas which called for the first modern seminaries. 　In the United States, the term is currently used for graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for high schools.

Dame

Dame is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zealand, with the masculine form of address being Sir. 　It is the female equivalent for knighthood, which is traditionally granted to males. 　Dame is also style used by baronetesses in their own right. 　A woman appointed to the grades of the Dame Commander or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint John, Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Most Honourable Order of the Bath, the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Royal Victorian Order, or the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire becomes a dame. 　A Central European order in which female members receive the rank of Dame is the Imperial and Royal Order of Saint George. 　Since there is no female equivalent to a Knight Bachelor, women are always appointed to an order of chivalry. 　Women who are appointed to the Most Noble Order of the Garter or the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle are given the title of Lady rather than Dame.

Graphics

Graphics (from Ancient Greek γραφικός (graphikós) 'pertaining to drawing, painting, writing, etc.　') are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. 　In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, in typesetting and the graphic arts, and in educational and recreational software. 　Images that are generated by a computer are called computer graphics. 　Examples are photographs, drawings, line art, mathematical graphs, line graphs, charts, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other images. 　Graphics often combine text, illustration, and color. 　Graphic design may consist of the deliberate selection, creation, or arrangement of typography alone, as in a brochure, flyer, poster, web site, or book without any other element. 　The objective can be clarity or effective communication, association with other cultural elements, or merely the creation of a distinctive style. 　Graphics can be functional or artistic. 　The latter can be a recorded version, such as a photograph, or interpretation by a scientist to highlight essential features, or an artist, in which case the distinction with imaginary graphics may become blurred. 　It can also be used for architecture.