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Spratly Islands

(Encyclopedia)Spratly Islands, group of about 100 low islands and coral reefs in the central South China Sea, intersecting busy shipping lanes. The whole group is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and parts ar...

Kennedy, Robert Francis

(Encyclopedia)Kennedy, Robert Francis, 1925–68, American politician, U.S. Attorney General (1961–64), b. Brookline, Mass., younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and son of Joseph P. Kennedy. A graduate o...

Song Ba

(Encyclopedia)Song Ba sông bä [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in the Annamese Cordillera, central S Vietnam, and flowing S past An Khe to Krong Pa, then SE past Son Hoa to the South China Sea at Tuy ...

Geneva Conference

(Encyclopedia)Geneva Conference, any of various international meetings held at Geneva, Switzerland. Some of the more important ones are discussed here. 1 International conference held Apr.–July, 1954, to restore ...

Gaddis, William

(Encyclopedia)Gaddis, William, 1922–98, American novelist, b. New York City. An erudite master of satire and black comedy, he was both praised and criticized for his avant-garde techniques—repetitions, multiple...

Cleland, Max

(Encyclopedia) Cleland, Max, 1942-2021, American politician, b. Atlanta, GA, as Joseph Maxwell Cleland, Stetson Univ. (B.A., 1964), Emory Univ. (M.A., 1968). Cleland enlisted in the Army in 1965 and served in Vie...

mechanized warfare

(Encyclopedia)mechanized warfare, employment of modern mobile attack and defense tactics that depend upon machines, more particularly upon vehicles powered by gasoline and diesel engines. Central to the waging of m...

Air Force, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Air Force, United States Department of the, military department within the U.S. Dept. of Defense (see Defense, United States Department of). The Air Force traces its roots to the founding of the Aeron...

Dong Nai

(Encyclopedia)Dong Nai or Donnai both: dôngˈnīˈ [key], river, c.300 mi (480 km) long, rising as the Da Dung in the mountains of S central Vietnam. It flows SW past Bien Hoa and joins with the Saigon River below...

Tay Ninh

(Encyclopedia)Tay Ninh tā nĭn [key], city, S Vietnam, NW of Ho Chi Minh City. It is the center of the Cao Dai, a politically active religious group that was suppressed by South Vietnamese forces after an armed in...