The Allies of World War I or Entente Powers were the coalition that opposed the Central Powers of Germany, Austria–Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria during the First World War. By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the major European powers were divided between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance; the Entente was made up of the United Kingdom and Russia. The Triple Alliance was composed of Germany, Austria–Hungary and Italy, which remained neutral in 1914; as the war progressed, each coalition added new members. Japan joined the Entente in 1914. After proclaiming its neutrality at the beginning of the war, Italy joined the Entente in 1915; the United States joined as an "associated power" rather than an official ally. "Associated members" included Serbia, Greece and Romania. The Allies sponsored several revolts in the Ottoman Empire, including the Arab Revolt in June 1916 and several Kurdish uprisings in August 1917; when the war began in 1914, the Central Powers were opposed by the Triple Entente, formed in 1907 by the British Empire, the Russian Empire and the French Third Republic.

Fighting commenced when Austria invaded Serbia on 28 July 1914, purportedly in response to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Emperor Franz Joseph. At the same time, German troops entered neutral Belgium and Luxembourg as dictated by the Schlieffen Plan; this allowed Belgium to be treated as an Ally, in contrast to Luxembourg which retained control over domestic affairs but was occupied by the German military. In the East, between 7–9 August the Russians entered German East Prussia on 7 August, Austrian Eastern Galicia. Japan joined the Entente by declaring war on Germany on 23 August Austria on 25 August. On 2 September, Japanese forces surrounded the German Treaty Port of Tsingtao in China and occupied German colonies in the Pacific, including the Mariana and Marshall Islands. Despite its membership of the Triple Alliance, Italy remained neutral until 23 May 1915 when it joined the Entente, declaring war on Austria but not Germany. On 17 January 1916, Montenegro left the Entente.

On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war as a co-belligerent, along with the associated allies of Liberia and Greece. After the 1917 October Revolution, Russia left the Entente and agreed to a separate peace with the Central Powers with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918. Romania was forced to do the same in the May 1918 Treaty of Bucharest but on 10 November, it repudiated the Treaty and once more declared war on the Central Powers; these changes meant the Allies who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 included France, Italy and the US. This came into being on 16 January 1920 with Britain, France and Japan as permanent members of the Executive Council. For much of the 19th century, Britain sought to maintain the European balance of power without formal alliances, a policy known as splendid isolation; this left it dangerously exposed as Europe divided into opposing power blocs and the 1895–1905 Conservative government negotiated first the 1902 Anglo-Japanese Alliance the 1904 Entente Cordiale with France.

The first tangible result of this shift was British support for France against Germany in the 1905 Moroccan Crisis. The 1905–1915 Liberal government continued this re-alignment with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention. Like the Anglo-Japanese and Entente agreements, it focused on settling colonial disputes but by doing so paved the way for wider co-operation and allowed Britain to refocus resources in response to German naval expansion. Since control of Belgium allowed an opponent to threaten invasion or blockade British trade, preventing it was a long-standing British strategic interest. Under Article VII of the 1839 Treaty of London, Britain guaranteed Belgian neutrality against aggression by any other state, by force if required. Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg dismissed this as a'scrap of paper,' but British law officers confirmed it as a binding legal obligation and its importance was well understood by Germany; the 1911 Agadir Crisis led to secret discussions between France and Britain in case of war with Germany.

These agreed that within two weeks of its outbreak, a British Expeditionary Force of 100,000 men would be landed in France. Britain was committed to support France in a war against Germany but this was not understood outside government or the upper ranks of the military; as late as 1 August, a clear majority of the Liberal government and its supporters wanted to stay out of the war. While Liberal leaders H. H. Asquith and Edward Grey considered Britain and morally committed to support France regardless, waiting until Germany triggered the 1839 Treaty provided the best chance of preserving Liberal party unity; the German high command was aware entering Belgium would lead to British intervention but decided the risk was acceptable.

Constantine II, born Guy de Lusignan, was elected the first Latin King of Armenian Cilicia of the Poitiers-Lusignan dynasty, ruling from 1342 until his death in 1344. He was a son of Isabella, daughter of Leo II of Armenia, Amalric, a son of Hugh III of Cyprus, was made Governor of Serres in 1328 and until 1341; when his cousin Leo IV, the last Hethumid monarch of Cilicia, was murdered by the barons, the crown was offered to his younger brother John, who urged Guy to accept it. Guy was reluctant — his mother and two of his brothers had been murdered by the Armenian regent Oshin of Corycos — but he accepted and took the name Constantine. Guy was killed or murdered in an uprising in Armenia on April 17, 1344 and was succeeded by a distant cousin, Constantine III, he had married twice, firstly in Constantinople c. 1318 or 1318 to a Kantakouzene, without issue, secondly in 1330–1332, Theodora Syrgiannaina, sister of the pinkernes Syrgiannes Palaiologos Philanthropenos, with whom he fathered two children.

One of them Isabella de Lusignan, Lady of Aradippou, married after February 26, 1349 Manuel Kantakouzenos, Despot of Morea

BC Cherkaski Mavpy is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that plays its home games in Cherkasy. In the 2007 NBA Draft, Cherkaski Mavpy center Kyrylo Fesenko was selected 38th by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded his rights to the Utah Jazz. In 2017, Cherkasi played at the Houssam el Din Hariri Tournament, finished as finalist after losing to Riyadi Beirut. In 2018, Cherkasi won its first SuperLeague championship. Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague Champions: 2017–18 Notes Fadi El Khatib Kyrylo Fesenko 1 season: 2006–07 Tomas Delininkaitis 1 season: 2012–13 Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 2012–14 FC Cherkashchyna Official website Eurobasket.com Cherkaski Mavpy Page