Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. Its capital is
Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel
(Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of
its 207,600 km2 (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic
sectors are agriculture and manufacturing. Until the 20th century, the
lands of modern day Belarus belonged to several countries.
The parliament of the republic declared the sovereignty of Belarus on
27 July 1990, and following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus
declared independence on 25 August 1991. Alexander Lukashenko has been
the country's president since 1994. Under his lead and despite
objections from Western governments, Soviet-era policies, such as state
ownership of the economy, have been implemented. Most of Belarus's
population of 9.85 million reside in the urban areas surrounding Minsk
and other oblast (regional) capitals. More than 80% of the population
are native Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians, Poles and
Ukrainians. Since a referendum in 1995, the country has had two
official languages: Belarusian and Russian.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
A group of Welsh settlers arrived at Chubut Valley in Argentina's
Patagonia region.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Argentine>
1880:
Second Anglo-Afghan War: In a pyrrhic victory, Afghan forces led by
Ayub Khan defeated the British Army near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maiwand>
1919:
Red Summer: Race riots erupted in Chicago after a racial incident
occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537
injuries over a five-day period.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Race_Riot_of_1919>
1953:
An armistice was signed to end hostilities in the Korean War,
officially making the Division of Korea indefinite by creating an
approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) wide demilitarized zone running across the
Korean Peninsula .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone>
2002:
A Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft crashed during an
aerobatics presentation at an airshow near Lviv, Ukraine, killing 84
people and injuring over 100 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sknyliv_airshow_disaster>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
yellow-bellied (adj):
1. Pertaining to an animal or reptile that has a yellow underside or
belly.
2. (figuratively) Uncourageous, cowardly
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yellow-bellied>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however
improbable, must be the truth.
--Sherlock Holmes
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes>