(Freebase) Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² (11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the World's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent has 54 states, including Madagascar, various island groups, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a member state of the African Union whose statehood is disputed by Morocco. Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded within the scientific community to be the origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and...

(Freebase) African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African Diasporas, such as the art of African Americans. Despite this diversity, there are some unifying artistic themes when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa. African art has a long and surprisingly controversial history. Up until recently, the designation "African" was usually only bestowed on the arts of "Black Africa", the peoples living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The non-black peoples of North Africa, the people of the Horn of Africa, as well as the art of ancient Egypt, generally were not included under the rubric of African art. Recently, however, there has been a movement among African art historians and other scholars to include the visual culture of...

(Freebase) The term African people refers to citizens of countries in Africa, or to the members of the African diaspora. The African continent is home to many different ethnic groups and people of wide-ranging phenotypical traits, both indigenous and foreign to the continent. Many of these populations have diverse origins, with differing cultural, linguistic and social traits and mores. Distinctions within Africa's geography, such as the varying climates across the continent, have also served to nurture diverse lifestyles among its various populations. The continent's inhabitants live amidst deserts and jungles, as well as in modern cities across the continent. Perhaps it is a function of the number of excavations actually performed in given areas, but it is at least suggestive that the five very earliest out of the twelve of earliest archaeological discoveries of Homo sapiens sapiens have been in Africa and the adjacent Arabian peninsula. As early as 1964, A. W. F. Edwards and others had...

(Freebase) The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other official languages) is a union consisting of 53 African states. The only African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among the objectives of the AU's leading institutions are: to accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent; to promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; to achieve peace and security in Africa; and to promote democratic institutions, good governance and human rights. The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ...

(Freebase) African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement. The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilise financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision. AWDF funds women's groups across Africa working in the areas of Women’s Human Rights, Political Participation, Peace Building, Health and Reproductive Rights, HIV/AIDS and Economic Empowerment. AWDF has funded over 600 women's organisations in 41 African countries. AWDF’s grants range from U$1,000- U$50,000, and multi-year grants of up to $120...

(Freebase) In Brazil, the term "Negro" (black, lowercase) is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" (White), "pardo" (Multiracial, brown), "amarelo" (yellow, East Asian) and "indígena" (Amerindian). In 2009, 13.252.000, 6,9% of the Brazilian population, self-identified themselves as Negro. In recent years, Brazilian government agencies such as the SEPPIR and the IPEA, in their analysis of socioeconomic indicators, have been considering the categories "preto" and "pardo" together, as a single category called "negro" (Black, capital initial), since the indicators of living conditions of "pardos" and "pretos" are similar and the word "negro" can be used in other contexts, and not only when addressing pretos. However, this decision has caused much controversy, because there isn't consensus about it in Brazilian society. Black Brazilians rarely use the American-style phrase "African Brazilian" to categorise themselves, and never in informal discourse: the IBGE's...

(Freebase) Afro Peruvians are citizens of Peru mostly descended from African slaves who were brought to the Western hemisphere with the arrival of the conquistadors towards the end of the slave trade. The first African Peruvians arrived with the conquistadors in 1521, to return permanently in 1525. They fought alongside the conquistadors as soldiers and worked wherever needed. Because of their previous acculturation in Spanish language and culture, they performed a variety of skilled and unskilled functions that contributed to Hispanic colonization. Gradually, Afro-Peruvians concentrated in specialized fields that drew upon their extensive knowledge and training in skilled artisan work and in agriculture. As the mestizo population grew, the role of Afro-Peruvians as intermediaries between the indigenous residents and the Spaniards lessened. The mestizo population increased through liaisons between Spanish and indigenous Peruvians. From this reality, a pigmentocracy became increasingly important...

(Freebase) Aglona is a village in Aglona municipality, Latvia. It is located 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Daugavpils. Aglona is famous in Latvia and beyond for its basilica — the most important Catholic church in the country — which was once visited by Pope John Paul II, and which attracts thousands of pilgrims every year on the day of the Assumption of Mary (15 August). Located on the narrow strip of land between the lakes Cirišs and Egles, the present-day village is the result of merger of three settlements: Aglona, Somerseta and Jaunciems. The scenic beauty of the surrounding area attracts many visitors every summer. The nearby Sacrifice Island (Latvian: Upursala), Devil's Lake (Latvian: Velnezers), and the Madelanu Castle Mound are among the most beautiful places in Latvia. The surrounding pine forests have suffered from excessive logging in recent years, significantly damaging their once pristine quality. Traditionally, many families from Russia spend their summers in countryside...

(Freebase) Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. (Veterinary science, but not animal science, is often excluded from the definition.) The two terms are often confused. However, they cover different concepts: Agricultural sciences include research and development on: With the exception of theoretical agronomy, research in agronomy, more than in any other field, is strongly related to local areas. It can be considered a science of ecoregions, because it is closely linked to soil properties and climate, which are never exactly the same from one place to another. Many people think an agricultural production system relying on local weather, soil characteristics, and specific crops has to be studied locally. Others feel a need to know and understand production systems in as many areas as possible, and the human dimension of interaction with nature...

(Freebase) An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities. Examples of such commodities include wheat, feed grains (grain used as fodder, such as maize or corn, sorghum, barley, and oats), cotton, milk, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, and oilseeds such as soybeans. In 2010, the EU spent €57 billion on agricultural development, of which €39 billion was spent on direct subsidies. Agricultural and fisheries subsidies form over 40% of the EU budget. Since 1992 (and especially since 2005), the EU's Common Agricultural Policy has undergone significant change as subsidies have mostly been decoupled from production. The largest subsidy is the Single Farm Payment. Increases in food and fertilizer prices have underlined the vulnerability of poor urban and rural households in many developing countries, especially in Africa, renewing...

(Freebase) Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants (i.e. crops) creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. Agriculture is also observed in certain species of ant and termite. Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties and techniques, including ways to expand the lands suitable for plant raising, by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century there has been increasing concern to identify and quantify various forms of agriculture. In the developed world the range usually extends between sustainable agriculture (e.g. permaculture or organic agriculture) and...

Issues surrounding agriculture and food affect every corner of the world, from obesity and genetically modified crops in the industrialized nations, to malnutrition and famine in many developing countries.

(Freebase) Ahmedabad (Gujarati: અમદાવાદ Amdāvād) is the seventh largest metropolitan city in India, with a population of approximately 5.2 million. Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Ahmedabad district and was the capital of Gujarat from 1960 to 1970; the capital was shifted to Gandhinagar thereafter. In colloquial Gujarati, the city is commonly called Amdavad. Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah to serve as the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate, and was named after him. Under the British rule, a military cantonment was established and the city infrastructure was modernized and expanded. Though incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during British rule, Ahmedabad remained the most important city in the Gujarat region. The city established itself as the home of a booming textile industry, which earned it the nickname the "Manchester of the East." The city was at the forefront of the Indian independence movement in the first half of...

(Freebase) Aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, or foreign aid, especially in the United States) is a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another, given at least partly with the objective of benefiting the recipient country. It may have other functions as well: it may be given as a signal of diplomatic approval, or to strengthen a military ally, to reward a government for behaviour desired by the donor, to extend the donor's cultural influence, to provide infrastructure needed by the donor for resource extraction from the recipient country, or to gain other kinds of commercial access. Humanitarianism and altruism are, nevertheless, significant motivations for the giving of aid. Aid may be given by individuals, private organisations, or governments. Standards delimiting exactly the kinds of transfers that count as aid vary. For example, aid figures may or may not include transfers for military use: to cite one instance, the United States included military assistance...