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refugee

(Encyclopedia)refugee, one who leaves one's native land either because of expulsion or to escape persecution. The legal problem of accepting refugees is discussed under asylum; this article considers only mass disl...

commune, in medieval history

(Encyclopedia)commune kômˈyo͞on [key], in medieval history, collective institution that developed in continental Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Because of the importance of the commune in municipal g...

crude oil

(Encyclopedia)crude oil: see petroleum.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

(Encyclopedia)Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), organization that seeks to upgrade moral life, especially through abstinence from alcohol. The National WCTU of the United States was founded (1874) in Cleve...

Freeport, city, Bahamas

(Encyclopedia)Freeport, city, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. A popular resort area, it developed out of a 1955 agreement between the Bahamian colonial government and a...

League of Women Voters

(Encyclopedia)League of Women Voters, voluntary public service organization of U.S. citizens. Organized in 1920 in Chicago as an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, it had as its original...

Great Lakes, lakes and region, E Africa

(Encyclopedia)Great Lakes, group of freshwater lakes lying along the Great Rift Valley, E Africa, including Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa, Turkana, Albert, Kivu, and Edward. Lakes Victoria, Albert, and Edward e...

LPG

(Encyclopedia)LPG: see liquefied petroleum gas. ...

alpaca

(Encyclopedia)alpaca ălpăkˈə [key], partially domesticated South American mammal, Lama pacos, of the camel family. Genetic studies show that it is a descendant of the vicuña. Although the flesh is sometimes us...

Ragusa, city, Italy

(Encyclopedia)Ragusa rägo͞oˈzä [key], city (1991 pop. 67,535), capital of Ragusa prov., SE Sicily, Italy. Refined petroleum and asphalt are produced in the city. Nearby is the site of the ancient town of Hybla ...