(i) The East European communist states, under the Soviet umbrella, were also in a deep economic and social crisis.
(ii) Gorbachev's decision to loosen the Soviet control on the countries of Eastern Europe created an independent, democratic momentum.
(iii) A series of workers' strikes undermined the communist regimes first in Poland and then in Hungary.
(iv)  A wave of demonstrations that swept East Germany led to demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

In order to maintain a parity with the US, in the context of President Reagan's Star Wars programme, it became necessary for the Soviet Union to allocate more funds to the military. The increase in military budget further strained the Soviet economy.

(i) In 1969, Yasser Arafat became chairman of the PLO's executive committee a position he held until his death in 2004.
(ii) Yasser Arafat was appointed commander in -chief of the all Palestinian Arab guerilla forces in September 1970.
(iii) Wearing a Harley disguised pistol and carrying an olive branch and dressed in a military uniform, his appearance raised world awareness of the Palestinian cause.
(iv) Arafat was elected by the central council of the PLO as the first president of the state of Palestine on April 2, 1989.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO):
(i) It is an umbrella political organization representing the world's Palestinians - all Arabs and their descendants who lived in Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
(ii) It was formed in 1964 to federate various Palestinian groups that previously had operated as clandestine resistance movements. It came into prominence after June 1967.
(iii) The PLO was engaged in a protracted guerrilla war against Israel during the 1960s, '70s, and '80s before entering into peace negotiations in the 1990s. Yasser Arafat was its most prominent leader.

In Palestine, the ancient home of Jews, only a few thousand Jews were living in 1900. Some 15 million were scattered around Europe and North America. This is referred to as the Diaspora.

The United States had its satellite states in Central America (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Guatemala), the Caribbean (Cuba, the Dominion Republic, and Haiti) and East Asia (the Philippines, South Korea, South Vietnam, and Thailand).

US, France, England, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan.

The rivalry that developed after World War II between the US and the USSR and their respective allies created tension which is referred to as Cold War.

Its founder members were Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Yemen.

(i) Mao was born in Hunan in south-east China. His father was a wealthy peasant, and a firm supporter of the Manchus.
(ii) Mao entered the Junior College at Changsha. In (1911) when the Revolution had broken out in China.
(iii) Mao joined the revolutionary army but soon left and enrolled in the Teachers' Training College in Changsha.
(iv) He then moved to Peking and served as an assistant librarian in Peking University.
(v) In the following year, Mao began his full-fledged political activities of Hunan and emerged as a staunch Communist.

(i) In the two opium wars of 1832 and 1848, China was defeated and was compelled to open its ports to western powers.
(ii) The opening of China to western imperialism led to economic exploitation and the impoverishment of the Chinese people.

a) The capitalist countries led by the U.S. were politically designated as the First World.
b) The Communist States led by the Soviet Union came to be known as the Second world.
c) States outside these two were called Third World.

i) The US Conceived the Marshall Plan to bring the countries in the Western Europe under its influence.
ii) The plan sought to help the countries of Europe with American dollars to facilitate their early recovery from the destruction caused by the Second World War.

a) As Chiang Kai-sheik had built a circle of fortified ports around the communist positions, Mao wanted to move out of Hunan for safer territory.
b) By 1933 Mao had gained full control of the Chinese Communist party.
c) In 1934, the Communist army of about 100,000 set out on the Long March.
d) This march has become legendary.
e) Out of 1,00,000, only 20,000 finally reached Sheni after crossing 6,000 miles.

a) The disintegration of the Manchu dynasty began with the death of the Dowager-Empress in 1908. The new emperor was two-years old and the provincial governors began to assert their independence.
b) In October 1911 the local army mutinied and the revolt spread.
c) Provincial governors removed the Manchu garrisons and proclaimed their independence.