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FORGOTTEN WORLD (101) - (140)

All 40 descriptions in order of posting on my blog [click here]

Contents

Introduction

In general, our news is dominated by very short-term events, such as an explosion or a killing or an election, with little reporting of the underlying causes of such events and very little tracking of on-going problems. Therefore a lot of serious issues go unforgotten for long periods of time to so many of us.

I run a weblog called NightHawk [click here] and I have used this blog to run an occasional series of weekly looks at some of the parts of the world that I feel are unreported. I then decided to pull together all these brief reports on to pages of my web site, so that you can check out some of the news stories that you might have overlooked.

The theme of this section then is that we have a moral obligation not to look away, not to ignore, not to forget. Instead we need to read, to remember, and above all to act.

Introduction

In general, our news is dominated by very short-term events, such as an explosion or a killing or an election, with little reporting of the underlying causes of such events and very little tracking of on-going problems. Therefore a lot of serious issues go unforgotten for long periods of time to so many of us.

I run a weblog called NightHawk [click here] and I have used this blog to run an occasional series of weekly looks at some of the parts of the world that I feel are unreported. I then decided to pull together all these brief reports on to pages of my web site, so that you can check out some of the news stories that you might have overlooked.

The theme of this section then is that we have a moral obligation not to look away, not to ignore, not to forget. Instead we need to read, to remember, and above all to act.

(101) Jamaica (24/9/07)

Jamaica [click here] is one of the few places in the world that is really dangerous and yet has a thriving tourist industry. Last year, more than 1,300 people were murdered in an island of just 2.7 million. This is one of the world's highest murder rates alongside South Africa and Colombia. Around a quarter of the killings were the result of police action. But, of course, the tourists do not see this because they largely remain inside special resort areas.

Jamaica is thought of as a paradise island but much of the population lives in poverty. Indeed some 30% of people live in impoverished slum-like garrisons where makeshift barricades mark the boundaries between different gangs. Politics and gangsterism are intertwined with gangs given local works contracts in return for securing votes.

After an 18-year reign by the People's National Party concluding with the short tenure of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the first woman to lead Jamaica's government, in September 2007 Bruce Golding led the Jamaica Labour Party to victory in a closely fought election. He promises that he will combat corruption.

(102) Madagascar (25/9/07)

Madagascar [click here] is the world's fourth biggest island after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo and it is located off the south-east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The 17 million Malagasy are thought to be descendants of Africans and Indonesians who settled on the island more than 2,000 years ago. Madagascar gained independence in 1960.

The World Bank has estimated that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1 per day and many areas suffer food shortages. Madagascar is to benefit from a G8 pledge to write off debts of 18 poor countries.

As a result of its isolation, the main island is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species; most of its mammals, half its birds, and most of its plants exist nowhere else on earth. However, poverty and the competition for agricultural land have put pressure on the island's dwindling forests, home to much of Madagascar's unique wildlife and key to its emerging tourist industry.

(103) Panama (26/9/07)

Panama [click here] - the southern-most country of Central America - has long been of great strategic interest to its huge neighbour the United States. In 1989 the USA invaded Panama to depose a former ally, Manuel Noriega, and until 1999 America controlled the Panama Canal.

In international terms, the canal defines the country. Panama plans to widen the canal, which is more than 90 years old and operating almost at full capacity, to allow it to handle more and larger vessels. Work on the scheme, which was approved in a referendum in 2006, is due to go ahead in 2008.

However, for its 3.2 million citizens, Panama remains a nation scarred by social inequality. Elite families of European descent control most of Panama's wealth and power, while about 40% of the population live below the poverty line.

(104) Turkmenistan (27/9/07)

Turkmenistan [click here] has the smallest population - only 5 million - of the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia. It is made up mainly of desert, but it possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and has substantial deposits of oil. Naturally, therefore, it is of strategic interest to both the Russians and the Americans.

However, since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkmenistan has remained largely closed to the outside world. It is effectively a one-party state, that party being the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan led by the late president Saparmurat Niyazov until his death in December 2006.

In contrast to other former Soviet republics,Turkmenistan has been largely free of inter-ethnic hostilities. This is probably because it is the most ethnically homogeneous of the Central Asian republics, the vast majority of its population consisting of Turkmens. According to a decree of the Peoples' Council, electricity, natural gas, water and iodised salt will be provided free of charge to citizens up to 2030; however, shortages are frequent.

(105) Channel Islands (28/9/07)

The Channel Islands [click here] are a group of islands in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy, but dependent on the British Crown. They comprise two separate Bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, and have a total population of only about 160,000.

The inhabited islands are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm (the main islands); Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. All of these except Jersey are in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but the Minquiers, Écréhous, Les Dirouilles and Les Pierres de Lecq, uninhabited groups of islets, are part of the Bailiwick of Jersey.

The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom or of the European Union and govern themselves on models which are historic and far from wholly democratic. The main business of the two largest islands is financial services, while the other islands depend particularly on tourism.

The islands were the only 'British' territory to be occupied by the Germans in World War Two.

(106) Mozambique (5/11/07)

Mozambique [click here] is a country in South-East Africa with almost 20M people which has been battered by colonial rule, civil war, floods and famine. Between 1977 and 1992 up to a million Mozambicans died from fighting and famine in a war that ruined the economy and much of the countryside. The country has been left with a legacy of land mines and amputees.

However, since a peace deal ended 16 years of civil conflict, the country has made big strides, becoming a magnet for foreign investment. Progress has been slower than hoped because in 2000 and 2001 the country was hit by floods, which affected about a quarter of the population, and then in 2002 a severe drought hit many central and southern parts of the country, including previously flood-stricken areas.

The country's politics are still dominated by political parties that are the successors of the rival armies in the fight for independence: Frelimo (which forms the government) and Renamo (which is a substantial opposition grouping).

(107) Laos (6/11/07)

Laos [click here] was originally known as Lan Xang (which means the Kingdom of a Million Elephants) when it was founded by the legendary Fa Ngum. It gained its independence from France in 1954, but became embroiled in the Vietnam war since the Ho Chi Minh trail ran through it. By the end of the Vietnam war, the American carpet bombing campaigns had given Laos the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country in the history of warfare. Some 3M tons of explosive were dropped on the country - one ton for every person. There are still tons of unexploded ordinance in the fields and jungles.

At the same time as the North Vietnamese took over South Vietnam, in Laos the Vietnamese-supported communist Pathet Lao took control of the country and detained all the members of the previous establishment, including the royal family, in so-called re-education camps where most of them died of malnutrition and ill-treatment. The ruling communist Lao People's Revolutionary Party is still the only legal political party.

Slightly larger than Britain, Laos only has a population of 6M, so it is very sparsely inhabited, and some 80% of people are still involved in agriculture, so it is a very rural society. Outside the capital, many people live without electricity or access to basic facilities. But Laos is banking on the anticipated returns from a billion-dollar dam scheme, intended to generate electricity for export to Thailand, to boost its economy and infrastructure.

(108) Djibouti (7/11/07)

Djibouti [click here] is a small (population 721,000) African country by the Gulf of Aden that is surrounded by Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and Somalia to the south. It was a French colony until 1977 and France still has thousands of troops stationed there.

The country has two main ethnic groups: the Issa of Somali origin and the Afar of Ethiopian origin. A civil war between these two groups in the early 1990s eventually led to a power-sharing settlement.

Djibouti's location is the main economic asset of a country that is mostly barren. The capital, Djibouti city, handles Ethiopian imports and exports and its transport facilities are used by several landlocked African countries to fly in their goods for re-export.

(109) Kaliningrad (8/11/07)

Kaliningrad [click here] by the Baltic Sea is one of the strangest territories in Europe. The region was part of Germany until annexation by the USSR following World War II when it saw bitter fighting and suffered rampant destruction. The German population was expelled or fled after the war ended. Following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, this Russian enclave now has no territorial connection with its mother land, since it is sandwiched between Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east, both of which are now in the European Union.

Some 430,000 people - 80% of them ethnic Russians - live there. Kaliningrad is still of great strategic importance to Russia since it houses the Russian Baltic Fleet at the port of Baltiysk and this is the country's only European ice-free port. Russia keeps a wary eye on developments. Moscow is particularly sensitive about calls from within the region for a referendum on whether to seek greater autonomy within Russia with a view to seeking to strengthen ties with the countries of the European Union.

(110) Saint Martin (9/11/07)

Saint Martin [click here] is a small tropical island in the north-east Caribbean, approximately 300 km south-east of Puerto Rico. The 87 square km island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands and it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations.

The northern French half is a overseas collectivity of France.The southern Dutch half is part of the Netherlands Antilles. The population on the French side is 35,000 and on the Dutch side is 50,000, but there is an average of 1,000,000 tourist visitors a year.

According to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island of Saint Martin on 11 November 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. In his honour, Columbus named the island San Martin. In 1648, the French and the Dutch agreed to divide the island between them - and so it remains today.

(111) Armenia (3/12/07)

Armenia [click here] was one of the earliest Christian civilisations and its first churches were founded in the fourth century. An independent republic was proclaimed at the end of the First World War but it was short-lived, lasting only until the beginning of the 1920s when the Bolsheviks incorporated it into the Soviet Union. When that empire in turn collapsed in 1991, Armenia regained independence but retained a Russian military base at Gyumri.

In the mid-1990s the government embarked on an economic reform programme which brought some stability and growth. The country became a member of the Council of Europe in 2001. However, unemployment and poverty remain widespread. Armenia's economic problems are aggravated by a trade blockade, imposed by neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan, since the dispute over the enclave Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia has a huge diaspora and has always experienced waves of emigration, but the exodus of recent years has caused real alarm. It is estimated that Armenia has lost up to a quarter of its population since independence, reducing the population to 3 million.

(112) Kiribati (4/12/07)

Kiribati [click here] - the former Gilbert Islands - consists of 33 atolls that occupy a vast area in the Pacific. They stretch nearly 4,000 km from east to west, more than 2,000 km from north to south, and straddle the Equator. Many of the atolls are inhabited (the total population is around 100,000) but most of them are very low-lying and at risk from rising sea levels.

The country won independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. The economy is weak and is affected by rises and falls in the world demand for coconut. Fishing licences, foreign aid and money sent home by workers abroad also play their part, as does a trust fund set up with revenues from phosphate mining on the island of Banaba.

(113) Somaliland (5/12/07)

Following the collapse of the military regime of Siad Barre and of the Somali state, the 3 million people of the north-west region of Somaliland [click here] declared independence in 1991, but Somaliland remains unrecognised as a sovereign nation. However, in the eyes of at least some international observers, over the last decade and a half, the predominantly Muslim nation has made the transition from an autocratic clan-based society, notorious for its poor governance, conflict and human rights abuses, to a relatively peaceful and progressive democracy.

Somaliland is not yet a fully-fledged democracy and its unwavering observance of human rights is still a long way off. It has a multi-party system but only three political parties are allowed under the constitution. Islam is the state religion and, while non-Islamic faiths are tolerated, their promotion is prohibited.

(114) Malta (6/12/07)

Malta [click here] is an archipelago of seven islands including Malta itself, Gozo, Comino, Comminotto and Filfla and has a population of 400,000. Located south of the Italian island of Sicily between Europe and North Africa, it has been occupied by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and latterly France and Britain. Independence from Britain was achieved in 1964 and the country joined the European Union in 2004.

Since becoming an EU member, the tiny island has reported an increasing problem with immigration from north Africa and has requested more help to deal with it. The UN refugee agency has criticised the island's policy of keeping asylum seekers in detention for 18 months.

Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited freshwater supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. However, its major resources are limestone, a favourable geographic location, and a productive labour force.

(115) European Union (7/12/07)

In a sense, the European Union [click here] (EU) is always in the British media, but there is very little talk of the institution itself and how it works - instead we have (often misinformed) stories about a row over the budget or the latest proposal from the Commission.

The EU is now an organisation with 27 member states and 495 million citizens. The total area of the territories of the member states is 4,422,773 km² (1,707,642 sq mi). and the EU would be ranked 7th largest nation on earth if it were regarded as a country (3.0% of world's total land area). Considered as a single economy, the EU is the largest in the world with a nominal gross domestic product of 11.8 trillion Euros or 16.6 trillion dollars in 2007 amounting to 31% of the world´s total economic output. The EU is also the largest exporter in the world and the second largest importer

It is a democratic institution with the second largest electorate in the world (Indian is the biggest). The European Parliament has 785 members - Germany has the largest number (99) and Malta has the fewest (5). The UK has 78 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). For the purposes of elections to the European Parliament, the UK is divided into twelve regions and each region has between three and ten MEPs. The institution speaks 23 languages with English and French being the two official languages.

(116) Angola (7/1/08)

Angola [click here] may not figure in many western minds but, according to "The World In 2008" produced by "the Economist", this year it will experience the fastest annual growth rate (21%) of any country in the world, double that of China (10%). This growth will be desperately needed by the country's 16M citizens because Angola is one of the world's poorest countries and is striving to tackle the physical, social and political legacy of the 27-year civil war that ravaged the country after it gained its independence from Portugal in 1975.

Angola is one of Africa's major oil producers but much of the country's oil wealth lies in Cabinda province, where a decades-long separatist conflict simmers. The government has sent thousands of troops to subdue the rebellion in the enclave, which has no border with the rest of Angola. Human rights groups have alleged abuses against civilians.

Angola has been ruled for almost three decades by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and his political party Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA), but the first legislative elections in 16 years may be held this year.

(117) Argentina (8/1/08)

Argentina [click here] stretches 4,000 km from its sub-tropical north to the sub-antarctic south. It is rich in resources, has a well-educated workforce and is one of South America's largest economies. But it has also fallen prey to a boom and bust cycle with a particularly dramatic economic collapse in 2002. There has been a recent economic boom but still poverty is rife and unemployment is high.

At the end of 2007, Argentina had the unusual experience of following one President Nestor Kirchner by another member of the family, his wife Cristina Fernandez. The main challenge she faces is the renewed threat of high inflation. A quarter of the Argentine population of 40M still lives in poverty and any rise in the prices of basic commodities is likely to have a devastating impact.

(118) Malaysia (9/1/08)

Malaysia [click here] consists of two regions separated by some 640 miles of the South China Sea (the eastern section is part of Borneo) and is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories.

It may be geographically close to countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, but it is in a totally different place economically and politically. It has enjoyed decades of rapid economic growth and is making a big effort to move into the information technology arena, with the aim of being the first developed Muslim country in the world by 2020. It has a population of 26M.

Politically Malaysia is a stable country if not wholly democratic. It is divided between three ethnic groups. The Malays remain the dominant group in politics while the Indians are among the poorest. Ethnic Chinese continue to hold economic power and are the wealthiest community.

(119) Quebec (10/1/08)

Quebec [click here] is one of the 10 provinces of Canada. It is the country's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division (only the territory of Nunavut is larger). It is the second most populated province with almost 7M citizens out of the country's total of 33M.

The official language of Quebec is French; it is the sole Canadian province whose population is mainly francophone, and where English is not an official language at the provincial level except in the legislature and the courts, where it is co-equal. Quebec has a strong and active nationalist movement, and has had referendums on independence in 1980 and 1995. Although these failed to secure a majority for a break-away, nationalist sentiment is still strong.

In 2003, the National Assembly of Quebec voted unanimously to affirm "that the Quebecers form a nation". Then, in 2006, the House of Commons in Ottawa passed a motion declaring that "this House recognize[s] that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.", although there is considerable debate and uncertainty over what this means.

(120) Sweden (11/1/08)

Sweden [click here] is a most unusual European country in that it has not been at war since 1814 and is noted for its policy of neutrality.

For most of the last 70 years until 2006, the country was run by the Social Democratic Party through a model involving high taxes and substantial social provision. Now the country is ruled by a four-party Centre-Right coalition that is determined to promote privatisation and market liberalisation.

The 9M Swedes still enjoy an advanced welfare system and their standard of living and life expectancy are almost second to none in the world. The country is a common destination for refugees and asylum seekers - immigrants make up more than 10% of its population.

(121) Sderot (11/2/08)

One of the most dangerous spots on earth is somewhere of which you've probably never heard. Sderot [click here] is a working-class town of mainly North African immigrants in Israel located a mere kilometre from the north-east corner of Gaza. Over the past four years, it has been hit by over 6,000 Qassam rockets of improving range and explosive power - all fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza. In a gesture of solidarity, El Al (Israel's national airline) named one of its first two Boeing 777 passenger planes "Sderot"

Amazingly only eight Sderot civilians have actually been killed. But people living there never know when the next rocket is coming and live in a state of permanent fear with as many buildings as possible having a bomb shelter and reinforced roofing. The Israeli army has installed a system called "Red Dawn" to warn of incoming rockets but the alert gives the town's residents a mere 15-20 seconds to find shelter.

The town used to house 24,000 but that is now down to perhaps 17,000. It is the location of the Sapir College school of film and television where two young people I know are students.

(122) Portugal (12/2/08)

By the 16th century, the seafaring nation of Portugal [click here] had built a huge empire embracing Brazil as well as swathes of Africa and Asia. There are still some 200 million Portuguese speakers around the world today. Now though it is simply a small member of the European Union with less than 11 million citizens. Although having one of the lowest GDP per capita of Western European countries, it has a high Human Development Index and is among the world's 20 highest rated countries in terms of quality of life.

The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force. It was signed in 1373. This alliance, which goes back to the Middle Ages, has served both countries. It was very important throughout history, influencing the participation of the United Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsular War (the UK's major land contribution to the Napoleonic Wars), among other things.

(123) Ecuador (13/2/08)

Ecuador [click here] - a South American country of 14M - is a patchwork of indigenous communities, including people of colonial Spanish origins and the descendants of African slaves. Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador's economy was transformed after the 1960s by the growth of industry and the discovery of oil. There was rapid growth and progress in health, education and housing.

However, not all Ecuadorans have benefited equally from oil revenues. The traditionally dominant Spanish-descended elite gained far more than indigenous peoples and those of mixed descent. Steps to stabilise the economy, such as austerity measures and privatisation, have generated widespread unrest, particularly among the indigenous poor.

Some 1,000 km (600 miles) off the coast, the volcanic Galapagos Islands are home to the animals and birds whose evolutionary adaptations shaped Charles Darwin's theories.

(124) Nauru (14/2/08)

Named Pleasant Island by its first European visitors, the former British colony of Nauru [click here] is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 21 km² (8.1 sq. mi), and the world's smallest independent republic with a a mere 10,000 citizens, as well as being the only republican state in the world without an official capital.

This tiny Pacific island once generated a per capita income out of proportion to its size, but the source of this wealth - phosphates - is nearing exhaustion, leaving the islanders facing an uncertain future. While the mining of 1,000 years' worth of fossilised bird droppings has been lucrative, Nauru relies on imports for almost everything - from food and water to fuel. Moreover, recent financial crises have precipitated a slide into bankruptcy and a dependence on aid. The country had to sell off its assets in Australia to pay off a multi-million dollar debt to a US corporation.

(125) Benin (15/2/08)

Benin [click here], formerly known as Dahomey, is one of Africa's most stable democracies with a proliferation of political parties and a strong civil society. The International Press Institute (IPI) says Benin has one of the region's "most vibrant media landscapes". Press freedom is said to be in "very good shape" by the media rights body Reporters Without Borders.

On the economic side, however, the picture is less appealing for the population of just 9 M. While Benin has seen economic growth over the past few years and is one of Africa's largest cotton producers, it ranks among the world's poorest countries. The economy relies heavily on trade with its eastern neighbour, Nigeria. Benin is severely underdeveloped and corruption is rife.

It is believed that voodoo originated in Benin and was introduced to Brazil, the Caribbean Islands, and parts of North America by slaves taken from this particular area of the Slave Coast. The indigenous religion of Benin is practiced by about 60% of the population and the country has a National Voodoo Holiday.

(126) Liechtenstein (28/4/08)

The Principality of Liechtenstein [click here] is one of the most bizarre and disturbing features of the European landscape. It is a tiny, landlocked country tucked away between Switzerland and Austria with mountain slopes rising above the Rhine valley. The geographical area is only 160 sq km (61.8 sq miles) and the population a mere 35,100. Liechtenstein is Europe's only absolute monarchy with Prince Hans-Adam having the power to hire and fire the government.

Much of the country's wealth is based on its status as a low tax haven. Around 75,000 companies have their nominal "letter box" offices in Liechtenstein where business tax rates are very favourable. This status came under the spotlight in 2000 when two international reports criticised Liechtenstein for lax financial controls. The reports said that the Liechtenstein banking system enabled gangs from Russia, Italy and Colombia to launder money from their criminal activities. Stung by the criticism, Liechtenstein reformed its laws, so that customers opening bank accounts may now no longer remain anonymous.

However, in 2007 Liechtenstein remained on the blacklist of uncooperative tax havens maintained by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Early in 2008, the country attacked the authorities in Berlin for buying information on German businessmen clients that have bank accounts in the principality. Germany has launched a tax evasion investigation using the data which was supplied by an anonymous informant who was reportedly paid 5m Euros (£3.75m; $7.3m).

(127) Venezuela (29/4/08)

Venezuela [click here] is a South American country of 28 million that is very much a nation of contrasts and controversy. It has some of the world's largest proven oil deposits as well as huge quantities of coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold. Yet most Venezuelans live in poverty, many of them in shanty towns, some of which sprawl over the hillsides around the capital, Caracas. Unemployment is high and, according to official figures, around 60% of households are poor.

In 1998 Venezuelans broke the stranglehold of the discredited party system to elect the populist left-winger Hugo Chavez, a former army officer who has proclaimed a "Bolivarian revolution", named after South America's independence hero. Radical reform, political unrest and deep divisions have characterised the president's term in office. His supporters - known as "chavistas" - and his detractors have staged street protests.

Now in in his third term of office and ruling by decree, Chavez suffered his first electoral defeat in December 2007 when voters in a referendum narrowly rejected proposals to extend his powers and accelerate his socialist revolution.

(128) Libya (30/4/08)

The standing of Libya [click here] in the international community has been transformed in recent years. Once shunned by much of the world over the 1988 bombing of a PanAm plane above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, the country formally took responsibility for the incident in 2003. This move, part of a deal to compensate families of the 270 victims, heralded the lifting of UN sanctions. Months later, Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction, paving the way for a further blossoming of relations with the West.

Since the king was overthrown in a coup in 1969, Libya has been led by the idiosyncratic Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He introduced a new political system called jamahiriya, loosely translated as a "state of the masses", in which in theory power is held by various people's committees, while in practice Gaddafi rules over 6.2 million unopposed.

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which constitute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of gross domestic product. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest GDPs per person in Africa and have allowed the Libyan state to provide an extensive and impressive level of social security, particularly in the fields of housing and education.

(129) Burkina Faso (1/5/08)

Formerly called Upper Volta and a French colony until 1960, Burkina Faso [click here] (which translates as "land of honest men") is a country of 15 million which has spent many of its post-independence years under military rule with repeated coups, especially during the 1980s. Coup leader Blaise Compaore won a new five-year term in 2005 after 18 years at the helm.

A poor country even by West African standards, landlocked Burkina Faso has suffered from recurring droughts. The country has significant reserves of gold, but cotton production - an industry vulnerable to changes in world prices - is the economic mainstay for many Burkinabes. The UN rates Burkina Faso as the world's third poorest country.

Burkina Faso has been linked to conflicts within the region, notably Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.

(130) Australia (2/5/08)

Australia [click here] is one of the largest countries in the world - but most of it is desert - and constitutes the overwhelming mass of the smallest continent on the globe (Australasia). The population is just over 21 million with approximately 60% of the population concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Australia has a prosperous, Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP slightly lower than that of the UK, but higher than those of Germany and France in terms of purchasing power parity. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2007 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005.

The country tends not to make the world's media unless there is an election or there is regional crisis.

There are two major political groups that form governments: the Australian Labour Party and the Coalition which is a grouping of two parties: the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the National Party. Currently the Labour Party is in power.Voting is compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over, in each state and territory and at the federal level.

Australia has mediated between warring groups in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and deployed thousands of peacekeepers in newly-independent East Timor.

(131) Burundi (26/5/08)

Since independence in 1961, Burundi [click here] has been plagued by tension between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. In 1993 the country seemed poised to enter a new era when, in their first democratic elections, Burundians chose their first Hutu head of state and a parliament dominated by the Hutu Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu) party. But within months the president had been assassinated, setting the scene for years of Hutu-Tutsi violence in which an estimated 300,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed.

Burundi is now beginning to reap the dividends of a peace process, but it faces the formidable tasks of reviving a shattered economy and of forging national unity. Landlocked and with sparse resources, half the population of 8.5 million lives below the poverty line. Indeed Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world, arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. One scientific study of 178 nations rated Burundi's population as having the lowest satisfaction with life of all.

(132) Yemen (27/5/08)

Yemen [click here] at the southern end of the Arabian peninsula has been at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years thanks to its position on the ancient spice routes. The modern Republic of Yemen was born in 1990 when traditionalist North Yemen and Marxist South Yemen merged after years of border wars and skirmishes. But the peace broke down in 1994 and a short civil war ended in defeat for separatist southerners and the survival of the unified Yemen.

Since unification Yemen has been modernising and opening up to the world, but it still maintains much of its tribal character and old ways, tensions still persist between the north and the south, and its 22 million citizen live in the poorest country in the Middle East. The scene of attacks on a US warship and a French tanker, Yemen has gained a reputation as a haven for Islamic militants.

(133) Italy (28/5/08)

Italy [click here] is the fourth largest European economy and has one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe, but its politics are chaotic and corruption remains endemic. There have been close to 60 governments since the country formed a democratic republic in 1946 following World War II. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, but persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Silvio Berlusconi began his third term as prime minister of Italy in May 2008, heading a centre-right coalition including his own Forza Italia party. He is one of Italy's wealthiest men, and owns three of the country's seven television channels and several leading newspapers. Mr Berlusconi has been put on trial at least six times over financial matters. Although found guilty on three occasions, he was later acquitted or benefited from the expiry of the statute of limitations.

There is concern over Italy's birth rate - the lowest in Europe - and the economic implications of an ageing population with the population forecast to fall by nearly a third over the next 50 years.

(134) Texas (29/5/08)

Texas [click here] is the second largest state in the US (after Alaska) at 268,601 square miles and the second most populous (after California) with 24 million residents.The name Texas comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies. It is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation

Texas's strong economic growth can be attributed to the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing, the lack of a personal state income tax, high quality of education, low taxation and limited regulation of business, a central geographic location, a limited government, favorable weather, and abundant natural resources. As a result, Texas has a gross state product of around $1.1 trillion, making it the 15th largest economy in the world based on GDP figures.

Texas is perhaps best known as an oil state. The known petroleum deposits of Texas are about 8 billion barrels which makes up approximately one-third of the known U. S. supply. Perhaps not surprisingly, Texans consume the most energy in the nation both in per capita and as a whole.

(135) The Gambia (30/5/08)

The Gambia [click here] is the smallest country in mainland Africa with a size of only 4,361 sq miles and a population of a mere 1.7 million. Unlike many of its West African neighbours, it has enjoyed long spells of stability since independence from Britain in 1965. President Yahya Jammeh seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994 as a young army lieutenant and has ruled the country with an iron fist ever since, winning three widely criticised multi-party elections.

However, stability has not translated into prosperity. Despite the presence of the Gambia river, which runs through the middle of the country, only one-sixth of the land is arable and poor soil quality has led to the predominance of one crop - peanuts. This has made The Gambia heavily dependent on peanut exports and a hostage to fluctuations in the production and world prices of the crop. Consequently, the country relies on foreign aid to fill gaps in its balance of payments.

(136) South Korea (30/6/08)

The Republic of Korea - otherwise known as South Korea [click here] - was proclaimed in August 1948 and received UN-backed support from the US after it was invaded by the North two years later. The Korean War ended in 1953 without a peace agreement leaving South Korea technically at war for more than fifty years. The following four decades were marked by authoritarian rule, while government-sponsored schemes encouraged the growth of family-owned industrial conglomerates, known as "chaebol", which helped to create one of the world's major economies. A multi-party political system was restored in 1987.

Today South Korea is a nation of 49 million with the 13th largest economy in the world and still among the world's fastest growing developed countries. It has a very advanced and modern infrastructure and is a world leader in information technology such as electronics, semiconductors, LCD displays, computers and mobile phones. It is defined as a High Income Nation by the World Bank and an Advanced Economy by the IMF and CIA. A major non-NATO ally, it has the world's sixth largest armed forces and one of the ten largest defence budgets in the world.

(137) Gabon (1/7/08)

Now that Fidel Castro has stepped down as president of Cuba, Gabon [click here] holds the dubious distinction of having the world's longest-serving leader that is not a monarch: Albert-Bernard Bongo has been president for more than 40 years. He has ruled largely unchallenged and mostly without force, despite squandering much of the country's natural wealth (especially oil) and creating a most uncertain economic future.

Although technically Gabon became a multi-party state in 1993, the opposition has literally been bought off and cronyism and corruption are rife with most of Bongo's wealth hidden overseas. On paper, Gabon has one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa, but half the population of 1.3 million remains poor. Nearly 50 years after independence from France, the country has fewer miles of paved road than of oil pipelines.

(138) Fiji (2/7/08)

The 800-plus volcanic and coral islands that make up the Pacific nation of Fiji [click here] enjoy a tropical climate and are a prime destination for tourists. However, since 1987 racial and political tensions have been an intermittent source of instability and international isolation and there have in fact been four coups in the last 20 years.

Fiji's population of almost a million, which resides mostly on the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, is divided almost equally between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, the descendants of indentured labourers brought from India. Mixing between the two groups is minimal, and informal segregation runs deep at almost every level of society.

Although the former British colony relies heavily on the sugar and tourism industries for its foreign exchange, its economy is diverse. Nonetheless, Fiji has been hampered by persistent trade and budget deficits, making it one of the world's largest per capita recipients of aid.

(139) St Helena (3/7/08)

Just ten miles long and six miles wide, St Helena [click here] sits in the middle of the South Atlantic as one of the most isolated, inhabited islands in the world: 700 miles to Ascension Island, 1500 miles to Tristan da Cunha and 1650 miles to Cape Town. Traditionally served by the Britain's last working Royal Mail ship, which visits the island twice a year, the island is about to obtain an airport in 2012.

The 4,000 islanders call themselves Saints and the island only has one town (Jamestown). The local economy is funded almost entirely by he British Government with just a little tourism.

Discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, it later came under the control of the British East India Company before the British Crown took control in 1834. Its main claim to historic fame is that Napoleon was exiled here after the Battle of Waterloo and died on the island.

(140) Belize (4/7/08)

Belize [click here] - located south-east of Mexico - has more in common with the Caribbean island-states than with its Central American neighbours. This is reflected in its major languages, English and Creole, and in its mainly Anglo-Caribbean architecture and its relatively peaceful political culture. However, Belize has a problem with violent crime, much of it drug-related, and the trafficking of narcotics to the USA.

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, was the UK's last colony on the American mainland. Its independence was delayed until 1981 by long-running tension with neighbouring Guatemala, which still claims a large portion of its territory. Guatemala recognised Belize's independence in 1991, but the neighbours have yet to settle their border dispute, which is rooted in colonial times.

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