Zimbabwe

About Zimbabwe    » Capital City : Harare » Continent : Africa » Region : Eastern Africa » Surface Area : 390580.00 » ISO Code : ZW » ISD Code : 263 » Currancy : Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWD) » Local Time : UTC +2h

Independence Year : 1980 Population : 11669000 Life Expectancy : 37.8 Capital : 4068 GNP : 5951.00 GNP Old : 8670.00 Local Name : Zimbabwe Government Form : Republic Location : Landlocked country in Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia. Terrain : Desert and savanna, mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east. Climate : Subtropical and tropical, moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March). Ethnic Group : Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%. Religions : Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim Official Website :www.gta.gov.zw

Genral Information - Zimbabwe Background The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for theblack African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which began in 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In April 2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition. President MUGABE in June 2007 instituted price controls on all basic commodities causing panic buying and leaving store shelves empty for months. General elections held in March 2008 contained irregularities but still amounted to a censure of the ZANU-PF-led government with significant gains in opposition seats in parliament. MDC opposition leader Morgan TSVANGIRAI won the presidential polls, and may have won an out right majority, but official results posted by the Zimbabwe Electoral Committee did not reflect this. In the lead up to a run-off election in late June 2008, considerable violence enacted against opposition party members led to the withdrawal of TSVANGIRAI from the ballot. Extensive evidence of vote tampering and ballot-box stuffing resulted in international condemnation of the process. Difficult negotiations over a power sharing agreement, allowing MUGABE to remain as president and creating the new position of prime minister for TSVANGIRAI, were finally settled in February 2009. Morgan Richard TSVANGIRAI sustained non-life threatening injuries in a car crash on 6 March 2009 when heading towards his rural home in Buhera. His wife, Susan Tsvangirai, was killed in the collision. (Source: CIA - The World Factbook and other)

City District Population Harare Harare 1410000 Bulawayo Bulawayo 621742 Chitungwiza Harare 274912 Mount Darwin Harare 164362 Mutare Manicaland 131367 Gweru Midlands 128037

Language Percentage English 2.2 Ndebele 16.2 Nyanja 2.2 Shona 72.1

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Zambia

About Zambia   » Capital City : Lusaka » Continent : Africa » Region : Eastern Africa » ISO Code : ZM » ISD Code : 260 » Currancy : Zambian Kwacha (ZMK)

Independence Year : 1964 Population : 9169000 Life Expectancy : 37.2 Capital : 3162 GNP : 3377.00 GNP Old : 3922.00 Local Name : Zambia Government Form : Republic Location : Southern Africa, landlocked country east of Angola. Terrain : Varies; mostly high plateau savanna with some hills and mountains Climate : Generally dry and temperate, tropical; modified by altitude; rainy season (Oct. to April). Ethnic Group : More than 70 ethnic groups. Main tribes are the Lozi, the Bemba, the Ngoni, the Tonga, the Luda, the Luvale and the Kaonde Religions : Christian, indigenous beliefs, Muslim, Hindu. Official Website :www.parliament.gov.zm

Genral Information - Zambia Background The territory of Northern Rhodesia was administered by the South Africa Company from 1891 until takeover by the UK in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, advances in mining spurred development and immigration. The name was changed to Zambia upon independence in 1964. In the 1980s and 1990s, declining copper prices and a prolonged drought hurt the economy. Elections in 1991 brought an end to one-party rule, but the subsequent vote in 1996 saw blatant harassment of opposition parties. (Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

City District Population Lusaka Lusaka 1317000 Ndola Copperbelt 329200 Kitwe Copperbelt 288600 Kabwe Central 154300 Chingola Copperbelt 142400 Mufulira Copperbelt 123900 Luanshya Copperbelt 118100

Language Percentage Bemba 29.7 Chewa 5.7 Lozi 6.4 Nsenga 4.3 Nyanja 7.8 Tongan 11.0

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Yugoslavia

About Yugoslavia    » Capital City : Belgrade » Continent : Europe » Region : Southern Europe » Surface Area : 102173.00 » ISO Code : YU » ISD Code : 381 » Currancy : Dinar (YUM) » Local Time :

Independence Year : 1918 Population : 10640000 Life Expectancy : 72.4 Capital : 1792 GNP : 17000.00 GNP Old : 0.00 Local Name : Jugoslavija Government Form : Federal Republic Location : Terrain : Climate : Ethnic Group : Religions : Official Website : www-gewi.uni-graz.at/tourism

Genral Information - Yugoslavia Background Yugoslavia was the idea for a single state for all South Slavic intelligentsia and emerged in the late 17th and gained prominence in the 19th century Illyrian Movement, that culminated in the realization of the ideal with the 1918 collapse of Habsburg Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I and the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes . However, the kingdom was better known, colloquially as well as even on maps, as Yugoslavia (or Jugo-Slavia in the rest of Europe); in 1929 it was formally renamed the "Kingdom of Yugoslavia".

City District Population Beograd Central Serbia 1204000 Novi Sad Vojvodina 179626 Niš Central Serbia 175391 Priština Kosovo and Metohija 155496 Kragujevac Central Serbia 147305 Podgorica Montenegro 135000 Subotica Vojvodina 100386 Prizren Kosovo and Metohija 92303

Language Percentage Albaniana 16.5 Hungarian 3.4 Macedonian 0.5 Romani 1.4 Serbo-Croatian 75.2 Slovak 0.7

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Yemen

About Yemen    » Capital City : Sana'a » Continent : Asia » Region : Middle East » Surface Area : 527968.00 » ISO Code : YE » ISD Code : 967 » Currancy : Yemeni Rial (YER) » Local Time : UTC + 3h

Independence Year : 1918 Population : 18112000 Life Expectancy : 59.8 Capital : 1780 GNP : 6041.00 GNP Old : 5729.00 Local Name : Al-Yaman Government Form : Republic Location : Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia. Terrain : Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain Climate : Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast. Ethnic Group : Predominantly Arabs, minor Afro-Arabs, South Asians, and Europeans Religions : Islam including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus. Official Website :www.presidentsaleh.gov.ye

Genral Information - Yemen Background North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. (Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

City District Population Sanaa Sanaa 503600 Aden Aden 398300 Taizz Taizz 317600 Hodeida Hodeida 298500 al-Mukalla Hadramawt 122400 Ibb Ibb 103300

Language Percentage Arabic 99.6 Soqutri 0.0

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Western Sahara

About Western Sahara    » Capital City : Al-'Ayun » Continent : Africa » Region : Northern Africa » Surface Area : 266000.00 » ISO Code : EH » ISD Code : 212 » Currancy : Morocco Dirhams (MAD) » Local Time : UTC -0h

Independence Year : Population : 382617 Life Expectancy : 49.8 Capital : 2453 GNP : 60.00 GNP Old : 0.00 Local Name : As-Sahrawiya Government Form : Occupied by Marocco Location : Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco Terrain : mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast Climate : hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew Ethnic Group : Arab, Berber Religions : Muslim Official Website : www.arso.org

Genral Information - Western Sahara Geography Located in northern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara is surrounded by Algeria to the east, Morocco to the north, and Mauritania to the south. About the size of Colorado, it is mostly low, flat desert with some small mountains in the south and northeast. Government Legal status of the territory is disputed and sovereignty unresolved; a UN referendum on the issue is planned. The territory is contested by Morocco and the Polisario Front, which in Feb. 1976, formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, now officially recognized by about 55 countries. History Little is known about Western Sahara before the 4th century B.C. , when trade with Europe began. During the Middle Ages it was occupied first by Berbers and then by the Arabic-speaking Muslim Bedouins. In the 19th century the Spanish laid claim to the southern coastal region, called Rio de Oro, and later occupied the northern interior region, Saguia el Hamra, in 1934. The Spanish formally united the two regions, and it became known as Spanish Sahara in 1958. Both Morocco and Mauritania sought to control the territory, and when the Spanish departed in 1976, they divided the territory between them. In the meantime, the indigenous Saharawis began fighting for independence. In 1976, the insurgents, called the Polisario Front, declared a government-in-exile (the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic) from their base in Algeria. Mauritania reached a peace agreement with the Polisario in 1979, but Morocco then seized the land given up by Mauritania and now exerts administrative control over the entire region. The Polisario Front fought Morocco to a stalemate and agreed in Sept. 1991 to a cease-fire, which was contingent on a referendum regarding independence. For more than a decade, however, the UN has failed to hold the referendum; disputes over voter eligibility have been the major stumbling block, as well as Morocco's opposition to the referendum. In Aug. 2001, former secretary of state James A. Baker, special UN envoy to the Western Sahara, proposed that instead of a referendum on independence, Western Sahara consider becoming an autonomous region of Morocco. The Polisario rejected the new proposal, which it saw as a reversal of the UN's decadelong promise to hold a referendum on self-determination. In 2002, King Mohammed VI of Morocco reasserted that he will not “renounce an inch of” the Western Sahara. In Aug. 2003, a UN Security Council resolution adopted a new peace plan that would turn Western Sahara into a semiautonomous region of Morocco for five years, after which a referendum would be held to determine independence, autonomy, or integration into Morocco. The Polisario agreed to the plan; Morocco refused to consider it. In June 2004, a frustrated James Baker resigned after seven years as UN envoy. His successor has vowed to achieve a resolution. The UN has spent more than $600 million on peacekeeping efforts in Western Sahara over the last 13 years. In Aug. 2005, the Polisario freed the last Moroccan prisoners it had been holding. The 404 men had been imprisoned for almost 20 years and were the world's longest-held prisoners of war.

City District Population El-Aaiún El-Aaiún 169000

Language Percentage Arabic 100.0

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Virgin Islands, U.S.

About Virgin Islands, U.S.    » Capital City : Charlotte Amalie » Continent : North America » Region : Caribbean » Surface Area : 350.00 » ISO Code : VI » ISD Code : 1 » Currancy : US Dollar (USD) » Local Time : UTC -4h

Independence Year : Population : 93000 Life Expectancy : 78.1 Capital : 4067 GNP : 0.00 GNP Old : 0.00 Local Name : Virgin Islands of the United States Government Form : US Territory Location : Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico. Terrain : Mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land Climate : subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season September to November. Ethnic Group : black 75%, white 13%, Asian 2%, other 6%, mixed 4% Religions : Baptist, Roman Catholic, Episcopalian Official Website :www.usvitourism.vi

Genral Information - Virgin Islands, U.S. Background The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the eastern Caribbean, just 1100 miles southeast of Miami. During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. Today tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for 80% of GDP and employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year, many of whom visit on cruise ships.

City District Population Charlotte Amalie St Thomas 13000

Language Percentage English 81.7 French 2.5 Spanish 13.3

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Virgin Islands, British

About Virgin Islands, British    » Capital City : Road Town » Continent : North America » Region : Caribbean » Surface Area : 153.00 » ISO Code : VG » ISD Code : 1 » Currancy : US Dollar (USD) » Local Time : UTC -4h

Independence Year : Population : 21000 Life Expectancy : 75.4 Capital : 537 GNP : 612.00 GNP Old : 573.00 Local Name : British Virgin Islands Government Form : Dependent Territory of the UK Location : Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico Terrain : Coral islands are relatively flat; the volcanic islands steep and hilly Climate : Subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds Ethnic Group : Black 83%, White, Indian, Asian and mixed. Religions : Christianity Official Website :www.bvi.gov.vg

Genral Information - Virgin Islands, British Background The British Virgin Islands comprise more than 40 Caribbean islands and islets, 16 of them are inhabited. First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. The economy of BVI is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.

City District Population Road Town Tortola 8000

Language Percentage English 0.0

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