Introduction to Nepal

Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia, bordered by the People's Republic of China to the north and by India to the south, east and west.

More than 80% of Nepalese follow Hinduism.For a small territory, the Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse, ranging from the humid Terai in the south to the lofty Himalayas in the north. It is notable that within a very small width the elevation of Nepal increases from the plain terrain to the tallest Himalayas leading to great vegetation. Nepal boasts eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest on the border with Tibet in the People's Republic of China. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. The other main cities include Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Birgunj, Janakpur, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Mahendranagar, etc. The origin of the name Nepal is uncertain, but the most popular understanding is that it derived from Ne (holy) and pal (cave).

After a long and rich history, during which the region splintered and coalesced under a variety of absolute rulers, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy in 1990. However, the monarchy retained many important and ill-defined powers. This arrangement was marked by increasing instability, both in the parliament and, since 1996, in large swathes of the country that have been fought over by Maoist insurgents. The Maoists, alienated from mainstream political parties, went underground and started a guerilla war against both monarchy and mainstream political parties. They have sought to overthrow feudal institutions, including the monarchy, and establish a republic. This has led to the ongoing Nepalese Civil War in which more than 13,000 people have died. On the pretext of quashing the insurgents, who now control about 60% of the country, the king closed down the parliament and sacked the elected prime minister in 2002 and started ruling through prime ministers appointed by him. He then unilaterally declared a "state of emergency" early in 2005, and assumed all executive powers. Following the Loktantra Andolan, the king agreed to relinquish the sovereign power back to the people and reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives on April 24, 2006. Using its newly acquired sovereign authority, in May 19, 2006, the newly resumed House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion to curtail the power of the king and declared Nepal a Secular state. A complete rewrite of the realm's constitution is expected to happen in the near future.

Introduction to Myanmar

Myanmar, officially the Union of Myanmar is the largest country in geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Also known as Burma or the Union of Burma by bodies and states which do not recognize the ruling military junta, it is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, and India on the northwest, with the Andaman Sea to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest. One-third of Myanmar's total perimeter, 1,930 km (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.

Myanmar's diverse population has played a major role in defining its politics, its history, and its demographics in modern times. Its political system remains under the tight control of the State Peace and Development Council, the military government led by Senior General Than Shwe since 1992. Colonised as part of the British Empire until 1948, Myanmar continues to struggle to mend its ethnic tensions, and overcome coups d'état. The country's culture, heavily influenced by neighbours, is based on a unique form of Buddhism intertwined with local elements.

Introduction to the Maldives

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south of Lakshadweep group of islands of India, about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The twenty-six atolls encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, roughly two hundred of which are inhabited by people. The country's name may stand for "Mountain Islands" (malai in Tamil, meaning "mountain" and teevu in Tamil meaning "island") or it might mean "a thousand islands". Some scholars believe that the name "Maldives" derives from the Sanskrit maladvipa, meaning "garland of islands", or from "mahila dvipa", meaning "island of women". Others believe the name means "palace" (from Mahal in Arabic). Following the introduction of Islam in 1153, the islands later became a Portuguese (1558), Dutch (1654), and British (1887) colonial possession. In 1965, Maldives declared its independence from Britain, and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic. However, in 38 years, the Maldives have had only two Presidents, though political restrictions have loosened somewhat recently.

Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population, and the smallest Asian country that is a member of the United Nations. It is also the smallest predominantly-Muslim nation in the world, and the smallest predominantly-Muslim member of the United Nations.

Introduction to Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states in Southeast Asia, formed in 1963. The country consists of two geographical regions divided by the South China Sea:

* Peninsular Malaysia (or West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula shares a land border on the north with Thailand and is connected by the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link to the south with Singapore. It consists of the 9 sultanate states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu, two states with a governor namely Malacca and Penang, and the two federal territories of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.
* Malaysian Borneo (or East Malaysia) occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia and surrounding the Sultanate of Brunei. It consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan island.

As states of Malaysia were formerly British colonies, many Malaysian institutions are based on those of the British. For instance, the Malaysian system of government draws heavily on the British Westminster system. The head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (colloquially referred to as the King), who is elected from among the state sultans to a five-year term, making Malaysia one of two elective monarchies in the world (the other is Vatican City).

As a constitutional monarchy, executive power is vested in the Prime Minister, with the King serving as more of a figurehead. The legislative branch consists of Parliament, which is mostly based on the British Parliament. A judiciary has also been established under the Constitution. The Barisan Nasional (National Front), a coalition of several political parties, has ruled Malaysia since Malaya's independence in 1957.

Initially heavily dependent on agricultural and mining activities, the Malaysian economy has since shifted its focus to manufacturing and tourism as its major sources of income. Despite the shift, Malaysia remains one of the top producers of rubber and palm oil. In the 1970s, the government implemented the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP) to address an income disparity between the Malays and Chinese.

Although historically dominated by the Malays, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese and Indian minorities. Malaysian politics have been noted for their allegedly communal nature; the three major component parties of the Barisan Nasional each restrict membership to those of one ethnic group, and the only major violence the country has seen since independence was the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in the wake of an election campaign based on racial issues.

Introduction to Lebanon

Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية), is a small, largely mountainous country in the Middle East, located at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south, with a narrow coastline along its western edge. The flag of Lebanon features the Lebanon Cedar in green against a white backdrop, with two quarter-height horizontal red stripes on the top and bottom. The Lebanese coat of arms is similar, but it has a normal drawing of the Lebanon Cedar on a middle white stripe with maroon exterior stripes. When viewed left to right, the stripes go up diagonally.

The name Lebanon (also "Loubnan" or "Lebnan") is derived from the Semitic root "LBN", meaning "white", a reference to snow-capped Mount Lebanon. In British English, the country is sometimes referred to with the definite article as "the Lebanon," like the Sudan, the Ukraine, or the Gambia. In regards to The Lebanon this derives from a literal translation from the Hebrew "HaLevanon". Lebanon is also home to many different religious and ethnic groups.

Until the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed remarkable regional prosperity; for example it was the banking capital of the Arab world. Immediately following the end of that conflict, there were widespread efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure, with the first positive results becoming evident in recent years. By early 2006, a considerable degree of stability had been achieved throughout much of the country, Beirut's reconstruction was almost complete, and an increasing number of foreign tourists were pouring into Lebanon's resorts. However, the commencement of the Israeli–Lebanese conflict on July 12, 2006 brought mounting military and civilian casualties, great damage to civilian infrastructure, and massive population displacement.

Introduction to Laos

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked socialist republic communist state in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century. After a period as a French colony, it gained independence in 1945. A long civil war ended when the communist Pathet Lao came to power in 1975.

Private enterprise has increased since the mid-1980s, but development has been hampered by poor communications in the heavily forested and mountainous landscape. Most of the population of around 6 million practice subsistence agriculture. The country's ethnic make-up is extremely diverse, with only around 60% belonging to the largest ethnic group, the Lao.

The country's name in the Lao language is 'Meuang Lao'. The French, who made the country part of French Indochina in 1893, spelled it with the s which is usually retained in the spelling and pronunciation of the English name (pronounced as one syllable). The usual adjectival form is "Lao" (as in 'the Lao economy'), not 'Laotian', although the latter is commonly used to describe the people of Laos (to avoid confusion with the Lao ethnic group).

Introduction to Kuwait

The State of Kuwait (Arabic: الكويت‎) is a small oil-rich constitutional monarchy on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia in the south and Iraq in the north. The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water."

History

Kuwait was established in the 16th century when several clans (bedouins) from the "Al Aniza" tribe migrated to the northern shore of the Persian Gulf from the Najd, their famine-stricken homeland in central Arabia. They settled in what now is known as Qatar for more than 60 years before migrating over sea to settle in the Isle De Chader, where they built a small fort, or “kut”. The current rulers of the country are descended from Sabah I, who was chosen by the community, which was composed mainly of traders. They were tasked with administering the affairs of the State, including foreign affairs and taxation/duties. This is unlike most other Arab emirates of the Persian Gulf, where the rulers seized and maintained authority by force.

The 17th century saw the Arabian Peninsula experience some tumultuous times. The area that is now Kuwait was occupied by tribes and used for spice trading from India. By the 18th century, most of the local people made a living selling pearls. But as pearl farming developed in Japan during the 1930s, Kuwait became impoverished. In 1899, growing British influence led to Kuwait becoming a British protectorate. Oil transformed Kuwait into one of the richest countries in the Arab peninsula; in 1953 the country became the largest exporter of oil in the Persian Gulf. This massive growth attracted many immigrant laborers who were rarely granted citizenship. Kuwait, having amassed great wealth, was the first of the Persian Gulf-Arab states to declare independence, on June 19, 1961. Iraq challenged this declaration, claiming Kuwait was part of its territory. It threatened to invade Kuwait but was deterred by the British, who flew in troops.

An important period in Kuwait's political, social and economic development was the Souk Al-Manakh stock market crash of 1982. This was a major crash that had widespread consequences and has endured in the public memory even decades later.

After being allied with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War until its end in 1988 (Kuwait paid Iraq to protect it from what it perceived as a threat posed by Iran), Kuwait was invaded and annexed by Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) on August 2, 1990. Hussein's primary justifications included a charge that Kuwaiti territory was in fact an Iraqi province, and that annexation was retaliation for "economic warfare" Kuwait allegedly had waged through slant drilling into oil supplies on Iraqi territories. Hussein deposed the monarchy after the annexation and installed a new Kuwaiti governor.

Authorized by the UN Security Council, an American-led coalition of 34 nations fought the Persian Gulf War to liberate Kuwait. After six weeks of fierce fighting in early 1991, the coalition forced Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait on February 26, 1991; during retreat, the Iraqi Armed Forces exacted a scorched earth policy by setting fire to Kuwaiti oil wells. The fires took more than nine months to fully extinguish, and the cost of repairs to oil infrastructure exceeded $5 billion. Certain buildings and infrastructural facilities (including Kuwait International Airport) also were severely damaged during the war. Kuwait remains under the governance of the Emir, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006) as an independent state and is of strategic importance to the United States.

Politics

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy and has the oldest directly elected parliament of the Persian Gulf Arab countries. Chief of state is the Emir, a hereditary title. The Emir appoints the prime minister, who until recently was also the crown prince. A council of ministers aids the prime minister in his task as head of government which must contain at least one of elected members of the parliament. The number of minister must not exceed ⅓ of the elected members of the parliament.

The parliament has the power to dismiss the prime minister or anyone of his cabinet through a series of constitutional procedures. According to the constitution, nomination of a new crown prince by the ruling family has to be confirmed by the National Assembly. If he does not win the votes of an absolute majority of the assembly, the Emir must submit the names of three candidates to the National Assembly, and the Assembly must select one of these to be the new crown prince. The parliament known as the Majlis Al-Umma (National Assembly), consists of elected 50 members, who are chosen in elections held every four years. Government ministers, according to the Constitution of the State, are given automatic membership in the parliament, and can number up to 15.

Prior to 2005, only 15% of the Kuwaiti citizen population was allowed to vote, with all women, "recently naturalised" citizens (less than 30 years of citizenship), and members of the armed forces excluded. On May 16, 2005, Parliament permitted women's suffrage by a 35-23 vote, subject to Islamic law and effective for the 2006 Parliamentary Election. The decision could raise Kuwait's voter rolls from 139,000 to as many as 339,000 if all eligible women register; the total number of Kuwaitis is estimated at more than 960,000. Recently, the former Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced the appointment of Dr Massouma Mubarak as planning minister and minister of state for administrative development affairs. The appointment of a woman as a cabinet minister was a major breakthrough in Kuwaiti political system and it makes Kuwait the third country in the conservative Persian Gulf Arab monarchies to have a woman cabinet minister.

Geography and Climate

Kuwait consists mostly of desert, with little altitude difference. Kuwait is the only country in the world with no natural lake or water reservoir. It has nine islands, the largest one being Bubiyan, which is linked to the mainland by a concrete bridge (after the liberation in 1991 the island was converted into a military base and currently no civilians are allowed in). The islands are:


Majority of Kuwait's population lives in the coastal areas. Shown here is the South-eastern Kuwait from spaceAuhah Island
Bubiyan Island
Failaka Island
Kubbar Island
Miskan Island
Qaruh Island
Umm al Maradim Island
Umm an Namil Island
Warbah Island
Kuwait enjoys a variable continental climate. Summers (April to October) are extremely hot and dry with temperatures reaching above 51 °C (124 °F) in Kuwait City. Winters (November to February) are cool with limited precipitation and temperature level dropping below 21 °C (70 °F). The spring season is cool and pleasant.

Economy

Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with proven crude oil reserves of 96 billion barrels (15 km³) - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a €1.7 billion ($2 billion) surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02 envisioned higher expenditures for salaries, construction, and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. By 1990 the country earned more from foreign investment than from oil exports. The expenses of the Iraqi invasion and postwar reconstruction placed a heavy economic burden on the country, but by the mid-1990s Kuwait had resumed its preinvasion prosperity. Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005 was $53.31 billion, giving Kuwait a per capita GDP of $22,800. The labor force totals 1,670,000 people,only about one fifth of whom are Kuwaiti citizens.

The Central Bank of Kuwait in the capital city issues Kuwait’s currency, the Kuwaiti dinar. The dinar is currently valued at 0.351676 KWD per 1EUR and at 0.292010 KWD per 1USD, making it the highest-valued currency in the world.

Introduction to Jordan

Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ, transliterated Al-ʼUrdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية), is an Arab country in the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and the Palestinian Territories to the west. It shares with Israel and the Palestinian Territories the coastlines of the Dead Sea, and the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

The land that became Jordan forms part of the history-rich Fertile Crescent region. Its known history began around 2000 B.C., when Semitic Amorites settled around the Jordan River in the area called Canaan. Subsequent invaders and settlers included Hittites, Egyptians, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arab Muslims, Christian Crusaders, Mameluks, Ottoman Turks, and, finally, the British. At the end of World War I, the territory now comprising Israel, Jordan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem was awarded to the United Kingdom by the League of Nations as the mandate for Palestine.

In 1922, in an attempt to assuage Arab anger resulting from the Balfour Declaration, which "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine [region included Jordan] of a national home for the Jewish people", with the approval of the League of Nations, the British created the semi-autonomous Arab Emirate of Transjordan in all Palestinian territory east of the Jordan river. The British installed the Hashemite Prince Abdullah I of Jordan, while continuing the administration of Palestine and Transjordan under a single British High Commissioner. The mandate over Transjordan ended on 22 May 1946; on 25 May, the country became the independent Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. It ended its special defense treaty relationship with the United Kingdom in 1957.

Transjordan opposed the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948, and took part in the attack by the Arab states on the newly founded nation, and the subsequent warfare. The armistice agreements of 3 April 1949 left Jordan in control of the West Bank and provided that the armistice demarcation lines were without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines.

In 1950, Transjordan annexed the West Bank, and the country was renamed "the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan" to reflect this. The annexation was recognised only by the United Kingdom.

Following the formation of the United Arab Republic by Egypt and Syria, and the Iraqi Revolution in 1958, the Hashemite kingdom was threatened, its trade routes and Iraqi oil supply cut. In consequence, Jordan had to request aid from the USA and United Kingdom, which prevented escalations between Jordan and the UAR. (See the Conflict between the United Arab Republic and Jordan.)

In the year 1965 there was an exchange of territories between Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Jordan gave up a relatively large area of inland desert in return for a small piece of sea-shore near Aqaba.

Jordan signed a mutual defense pact in May 1967 with Egypt, and it participated in the June 1967 war against Israel along with Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. During the war, Jordan lost its control of the West Bank and all of Jerusalem. In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the West Bank but retained an administrative role pending a final settlement, and its 1994 treaty with Israel allowed for a continuing Jordanian role in Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. The international community as represented in the United Nations considers the West Bank to be territory occupied by Israel and believes that its final status should be determined through direct negotiations among the parties concerned on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 242 and UN Security Council Resolution 338.

The 1967 war led to a dramatic increase in the number of Palestinians, especially from the West Bank, living in Jordan. Its Palestinian refugee population – 700,000 in 1966 – grew by another 300,000 from the West Bank. The period following the 1967 war saw an upsurge in the power and importance of Palestinian resistance elements (fedayeen) in Jordan. The heavily armed fedayeen constituted a growing threat to the sovereignty and security of the Hashemite state, and open fighting erupted in June 1970. The battle in which Palestinian fighters from various Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) groups were expelled from Jordan is commonly known as Black September.

Other Arab governments attempted to work out a peaceful solution, but by September, continuing fedayeen actions in Jordan – including the destruction of three international airliners hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and held in the desert east of Amman – prompted the government to take action to regain control over its territory and population. In the ensuing heavy fighting, a Syrian tank force took up positions in northern Jordan to support the fedayeen but subsequently retreated. By 22 September, Arab foreign ministers meeting at Cairo had arranged a cease-fire beginning the following day. Sporadic violence continued, however, until Jordanian forces led by Habis Al-Majali won a decisive victory over the fedayeen in July 1971, expelling them from the country.

At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, Jordan agreed, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people", thereby relinquishing to that organization its role as representative of the West Bank Palestinians.

No fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war, but Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to fight Israeli units on Syrian territory. Jordan did not participate in the Gulf War of 1990-91. In 1991, Jordan agreed, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Palestinian representatives, to participate in direct peace negotiations with Israel at the Madrid Conference, sponsored by the U.S. and Russia. It negotiated an end to hostilities with Israel and signed a declaration to that effect on July 25, 1994 (see Washington Declaration). As a result, an Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty was concluded on October 26, 1994. Following the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000, the Jordanian government offered its good offices to both parties. Jordan has since sought to remain at peace with all of its neighbors.

On November 9, 2005, Jordan experienced three simultaneous bombings at hotels in Amman. At least 57 people died and 115 were wounded. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, a group led by native Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility.

Tourism

In Jordan, Tourism makes a very important sector of the economy of Jordan. It is the geography of the land of Jordan, in addition to the political stability - compared to the surrounding Middle Eastern countries - that has made it the touristic attraction that it is now. Jordan has a variety of touristic attractions, ranging from Ancient places, nice natural areas for sight-seeing, sports, seas, as well as religion.

Ancient Sight-seeing
Petra in Ma'an, the home of Nabateans, is a complete city carved in a mountain. The rocks are colorful, mostly pink, and the entrance to the ancient city is a long, narrow, crack in the mountain - called the Siq. In the city are various structures, all (except 2) are carved in rock, including the treasury, which is now nominated by the New Seven Wonders organisation to be on of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Umm Qais, a town located on the site of the ruined Hellenistic-Roman city of Gadara
Ajlun, famous for the Islamic al-Rabadh Castle
Jerash, famous for its its ancient Roman architecture, like columns and arches.
Amman contains the Roman theater, in addition to several museums.
Al Karak, which contains an important castle at the times of Salah al-Din, known as Al-Karak Castle.

Religion-related
Madaba is probably the center for religion-related tourism in Jordan, containing important religious objects
The Madaba Map
River Jordan
Mount Nebo
Seas
The Dead Sea, for the unusual floating and natural salts that occur excessively.
Aqaba is a very fine touristic city, famous for its sea, shopping centers, hotels, and water sports.
Others
Wadi Rum is a desert full of mountains and hills located south of Jordan. It is popular for its wonderful sights in addition to a variety of sports that could be practiced there, such as rock-climbing.
Amman is a very modern city with lots of malls, shopping centers, hotels, etc.

Introduction to Japan

Japan (日本 Nihon or Nippon, officially 日本国 Nihon or Nippon-koku?) is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. Its capital is Tokyo, one of the 47 prefectures.

At over 377,873 square kilometres, Japan is the 62nd largest country by area. It encompasses over 3,000 islands, the largest of which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. Most of Japan's islands are mountainous, and many are volcanic, including the highest peak, Mount Fuji. It has the world's 10th largest population, with nearly 128 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, with over 30 million residents, is the largest metropolitan area in the world.

Archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period. The written history of Japan begins with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Japanese history has been marked by alternating periods of long isolation and radical influence from the outside world. Its culture today is a mixture of outside and internal influences.

Since it adopted its constitution on May 3, 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament, the Diet, which is one of the oldest legislative bodies in Asia. Japan is an economic world power with the world's second largest economy, and is the sixth largest exporter and importer and is a member of the United Nations, G8, G4, and APEC.

History

The first signs of civilization appeared around 10,000 BC with the Jōmon culture, characterized by a mesolithic to neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer lifestyle of pit dwelling and a rudimentary form of agriculture. The Jomon people made decorated clay vessels, often with plaited patterns. Some of the oldest surviving examples of pottery in the world may be found in Japan, although the specific dating is disputed.

The Yayoi period, starting around 300 BC, marked the influx of new practices such as rice farming and iron and bronze-making brought by migrants from Korea and China. Japan first appears in written history in 57 AD, in China's Book of Later Han, as "the people of Wa, formed from more than one hundred tribes." In the 3rd century, according to China's Book of Wei, the most powerful kingdom in Japan was called Yamataikoku.

The Yamato period, from the 3rd century to the 7th century, saw the establishment of a dominant polity centered in the Yamato area and thus arose the Japanese imperial lineage.

Buddhism was introduced to Japan by Baekje, to which Japan provided military support,[4] and it was promoted by the ruling class. Prince Shotoku devoted his efforts to the spread of Buddhism and Chinese culture in Japan. He is credited with bringing relative peace to Japan through the proclamation of the Seventeen-article constitution.

Starting with the Taika Reform Edicts of 645, the Yamato court intensified the adoption of Chinese cultural practices and reorganized the government and the penal code based on the Chinese administrative structure (the Ritsuryo state) of the time. This paved the way for the dominance of Confucian philosophy in Japan through the 19th century. This period also saw the first use of the word Nihon (日本, Nihon?) as a name for the emerging state.

The Nara period of the 8th century marked the first emergence of a strong Japanese state, centered around an imperial court in the city of Heijo-kyo. The imperial court then moved briefly to Nagaoka, and then to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto).

Historical writing in Japan culminated in the early 8th century with the massive chronicles, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. These two chronicles give a legendary account of Japan's beginnings. According to them Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu, a descendant of the Shinto deity Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess). Emperor Jimmu is said to be the ancestor of the line of emperors that remains unbroken to this day. Historians, however, believe the first emperor who actually existed was Emperor Ōjin, though the date of his reign is uncertain.

In the Heian period, from 794 to 1185, a distinctly indigenous culture emerged, noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. In the early 11th century, Lady Murasaki wrote the world's oldest surviving novel called The Tale of Genji. The Fujiwara clan's regency dominated politics during this period.

Japan's medieval era was characterized by the emergence of a ruling class of warriors, the samurai. In 1185, following the defeat of the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Seii Tai-Shogun and established a base of power in Kamakura. After Yoritomo's death, another warrior clan, the Hojo, came to rule as regents for the shoguns. The Kamakura shogunate managed to repel Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281, with assistance from a storm that the Japanese interpreted as a kamikaze, or Divine Wind. The Kamakura shogunate lasted another fifty years and was eventually overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji in 1333. The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed in the management of daimyo, and a civil war erupted. The Onin War(1467 to 1477) is generally regarded as the onset of the "Warring States" or Sengoku period.

During the 16th century, traders and missionaries from Portugal reached Japan for the first time, initiating the Nanban ("southern barbarian") period of active commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga conquered numerous other daimyo by using European technology and firearms, and had almost unified the nation when he was assassinated in the Incident at Honnoji in 1582. Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and united the nation in 1590. Hideyoshi twice invaded Korea, but was thwarted by Ming China. After several defeats and Hideyoshi's death, Japanese troops were withdrawn in 1598.

After Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu utilized his position as a regent of Toyotomi Hideyori (Hideyoshi's son), along with the conflicts among loyalists of the Toyotomi clan, to gain the support of daimyo from across Japan. When open war broke out, he defeated his rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Ieyasu was appointed to be shogun in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (Tokyo).

After defeating Toyotomi clan, at the Siege of Osaka in 1614 and 1615, the Tokugawa clan became the ruler of Japan both in name and reality, setting up the centralized feudal system with the Tokugawa shogunate at the head of the feudal domains. After Ieyasu, the Tokugawa shogunate enacted a variety of measures to control the daimyo, among them the sankin-kotai of alternating between home and attendance in Edo. In 1639, the shogunate began the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the Edo period. This has often considered to be the height of Japan's medieval culture. The study of Western sciences, known as rangaku, continued during this period through contacts with the Dutch enclave at Dejima in Nagasaki. The period saw the development of the ethnocentric kokugaku philosophy .

On March 31, 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry and the "Black Ships" of the United States Navy forced the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa. The Boshin War of 1867-1868 led to the resignation of the shogunate, and the Meiji Restoration established a government centered around the emperor. One of the main figures that helped bring change was Fukuzawa Yukichi who wrote the article "Leaving Asia", encouraging Japan to be open to change and modernize through Westernization.

Japan adopted numerous Western institutions, including a modern government, legal system and military. Japan introduced a parliamentary system modeled after the British parliament, with Ito Hirobumi as first Prime Minister in 1885.

The Meiji era reforms helped transform the Empire of Japan into a world power, expanding its sphere of influence through victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The latter was highly significant because it was the first time that an Asian country had defeated a European imperial power. By 1910, Japan controlled Korea, Taiwan and the southern half of Sakhalin. Next year, the unequal treaties Japan had signed with western powers were cancelled.

The early 20th century saw a brief period of "Taisho democracy" overshadowed by the rise of Japanese expansionism and militarization. World War I enabled Japan, which fought on the side of the victorious Allies, to expand its influence in Asia and its territorial holdings in the Pacific. In 1920 Japan joined the League of Nations and became a member of its security council. Japan continued its expansionist policy by occupying Manchuria in 1931. The ensuing criticism from the League prompted its withdrawal in 1933. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, later joining the Axis Powers alliance in 1940.

Japan subsequently attacked the rest of China, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). In 1941, after suffering from oil embargoes and under diplomatic pressure from the United States, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, Japan attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor and declared war on those three powers. Germany subsequently declared war on the United States a week later, bringing the U.S. into World War II.

After a long campaign in the Pacific Ocean, Japan gradually lost its initial territorial gains. American forces moved close enough to begin the strategic bombing of cities like Tokyo and Osaka, culminating in the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing about 214,000 people (mostly civilians)[verification needed]. After the atomic bombings, Imperial Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender. The formal surrender documents were signed September 2, 1945 (V-J Day). The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal was convened on May 3, 1946 to prosecute Japanese war crimes, including atrocities like the Nanking Massacre. Emperor Hirohito was given immunity from any prosecution and retained his position.

The war cost millions of lives in Japan and other countries, especially in East Asia, and left much of the country's industry and infrastructure destroyed. In 1947, Japan adopted a new pacifist constitution, seeking international cooperation and emphasizing human rights and democratic practices. Official American occupation lasted until 1952 and Japan was granted membership of the United Nations in 1956. After the American occupation, under a program of aggressive industrial development and U.S. assistance, Japan achieved spectacular growth to become the second largest economy in the world, with a growth rate averaging 10% for four decades. This ended in the 1990s, when Japan suffered a major recession from which it has since been slowly recovering.

Introduction to Israel

Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ; Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةْ إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia on the southeastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem is Israel's official capital, although this is not widely recognised by the international community.

Israel is a parliamentary democracy and the world's only Jewish state, though its population includes citizens from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The name "Israel" is rooted in the Hebrew Bible, where Jacob is renamed Israel after wrestling with a mysterious adversary. The biblical nation fathered by Jacob was then called "The Children of Israel" or the "Israelites." Citizens of the modern State of Israel are referred to as "Israelis" in English.

In an interlinear, literal translation of Genesis 32:28, the first mention of the word "Israel" in the Bible reads as follows: "And-he-is-saying not Jacob he-shall-be-said further name-of-you but rather Israel that you-are-upright with Elohim and with mortals and-you-are-prevailing." Thus one literal translation of ישראל, Israel, is "Upright (with) God" (ישר-אל; Ishr-al).

Others would say that a literal translation of ישראל, Israel, would refer to Jacob's success when he fought with that adversary.

History

The first historical record of the word "Israel" comes from an Egyptian stele documenting military campaigns in Canaan. Although this stele which referred to a people (the determinative for 'country' was absent) is dated to approximately 1211 BCE, Jewish tradition holds that the Land of Israel has been a Jewish Holy Land and Promised land for 3,000 years. The land of Israel holds a special place in Jewish religious obligations, encompassing Judaism's most important sites — including the remains of the First and Second Temples of the Jewish King, Solomon. Connected with these two versions of the temple are religiously significant rites which stand as the origin for many aspects of modern Judaism. Starting around the 11th century BCE the first of a series of Jewish kingdoms and states established intermittent rule over the region that lasted more than a millennium.

Under Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and (briefly) Sassanian rule, Jewish presence in the region dwindled because of mass expulsions. In particular, the failure of the Bar Kochba Revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE resulted in a large-scale expulsion of Jews. It was during this time that the Romans gave the name Syria Palaestina to the geographic area, in an attempt to erase Jewish ties to the land. The Mishnah and Jerusalem Talmud, two of Judaism's most important religious texts, were composed in the region during this period. The Muslims conquered the land from the Byzantine Empire in 638 CE. The area was ruled by various Muslim states (interrupted by the rule of the Crusaders) before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517.

Zionism and Immigration

The first wave of modern immigration to Israel, or Aliyah (עלייה) started in 1881 as Jews fled growing persecution, or followed the Socialist Zionist ideas of Moses Hess and others of "redemption of the soil." Jews bought land from Ottoman and individual Arab landholders. After Jews established agricultural settlements, tensions erupted between the Jews and Arabs.

Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), an Austrian Jew, founded the Zionist movement. In 1896, he published Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State), in which he called for the establishment of a national Jewish state. The following year he helped convene the first World Zionist Congress.

The establishment of Zionism led to the Second Aliyah (1904–1914) with the influx of around 40,000 Jews. In 1917, the British Foreign Secretary Arthur J. Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration that "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." In 1920, Palestine became a League of Nations mandate administered by Britain.

Jewish immigration resumed in third (1919–1923) and fourth (1924–1929) waves after World War I. A massacre of Jews by Arabs in 1929 killed 133 Jews, including 67 in Hebron.

The rise of Nazism in 1933 led to a fifth wave of Aliyah. The Jews in the region increased from 11% of the population in 1922 to 30% by 1940. 28% of the land was already bought and owned by Zionist organizations plus additional private land owned by Jews. The southern half of the country is the barren and mostly empty Negev desert. The subsequent Holocaust in Europe led to additional immigration from other parts of Europe. By the end of World War II, the number of Jews in Palestine was approximately 600,000.

In 1939, the British introduced a White Paper of 1939, which limited Jewish immigration over the course of the war to 75,000 and restricted purchase of land by Jews, perhaps in response to the Great Arab Uprising (1936-1939). The White Paper was seen as a betrayal by the Jewish community and Zionists, who perceived it as being in conflict with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The Arabs were not entirely satisfied either, as they wanted Jewish immigration halted completely. However, the White Paper guided British policy until the end of the term of their Mandate. As a result, many Jews fleeing to Palestine to avoid Nazi persecution and the Holocaust were intercepted and returned to Europe. Two specific examples of this policy involved the ships Struma and Exodus. These attempts by Jews to circumvent the blockade and flee Europe became known as Aliya Beth.

In 1947, following increasing levels of violence together with unsuccessful efforts to reconcile the Jewish and Arab populations, the British government decided to withdraw from the Palestine Mandate. The UN General Assembly approved the 1947 UN Partition Plan dividing the territory into two states, with the Jewish area consisting of roughly 55% of the land, and the Arab area roughly 45%. Jerusalem was planned to be an international region administered by the UN to avoid conflict over its status.

Immediately following the adoption of the Partition Plan by the UN General Assembly on November 29, 1947, David Ben-Gurion tentatively accepted the partition, while the Arab League rejected it. Scattered attacks on civilians of both sides soon turned into widespread fighting between Arabs and Jews, this civil war being the first "phase" of the 1948 War of Independence.

The State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, one day before the expiry of the Palestine Mandate.

Israel was admitted as a member of the United Nations on May 11, 1949.

War of Independence

Following the State of Israel's establishment, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq joined the fighting and began the second phase of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. From the north, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, were all but stopped relatively close to the borders. Jordanian forces, invading from the east, captured East Jerusalem and laid siege on the city's west. However, forces of the Haganah successfully stopped most invading forces, and Irgun forces halted Egyptian encroachment from the south. At the beginning of June, the UN declared a one-month ceasefire during which the Israel Defense Forces were officially formed. After numerous months of war, a ceasefire was declared in 1949 and temporary borders, known as the Green Line, were instituted. Israel had gained an additional 26% of the Mandate territory west of the Jordan River. Jordan, for its part, held the large mountainous areas of Judea and Samaria, which became known as the West Bank. Egypt took control of a small strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip.

During and after the war, then Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion set about establishing order by dismantling the Palmach and underground organizations like the Irgun and Lehi. Those two groups were classified as terror organizations after the murder of Folke Bernadotte, a Swedish diplomat.

Large numbers of the Arab population fled the newly-created Jewish State during the Palestinian exodus, which is referred to by many Palestinian groups and individuals as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة), meaning "disaster" or "cataclysm". Many historians suggest that the Palestinians fled because of orders from Arab generals. Many Palestinians left under the belief that the Arab armies would prevail and they would return. Moreover, Israel offered — in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel — to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel the full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions, but many refused.

Estimates of the final refugee count range from 600,000 to 900,000 with the official United Nations count at 711,000. The continuing conflict between Israel and the Arab world resulted in a lasting displacement that persists to this day.

Immigration of Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees from Arab lands doubled Israel's population within a year of independence. Over the following years approximately 850,000 Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews fled or were expelled from surrounding Arab countries and Iran. Of these, about 600,000 settled in Israel; the remainder went to Europe and the Americas.

Geography and Climate

Israel is bordered by Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, and Egypt in the south-west. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean in the west and the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) in the south.

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, Gaza Strip (which was under Egyptian occupation), and Sinai from Egypt. It withdrew all troops and settlers from Sinai by 1982 and from the Gaza Strip by September 12, 2005. The future status of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights remains to be determined.

The total area of the sovereign territory of Israel — excluding all territories captured by Israel in 1967 — is 20,770 km² or 8,019 mi²; (1% water). The total area under Israeli law — including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — is 22,145 km² or 8,550 mi²; with a little less than one per cent being water. It should be noted however that UN resolution 497 states the application of Israeli law to the Golan Heights is "null and void and without international legal effect". The total area under Israeli control — including the military-controlled and Palestinian-governed territory of the West Bank — is 28,023 km² or 10,820 mi² (~1% water).

The climate of the coastal areas can be very different from that of the mountainous areas, particularly during the winter months. The higher areas like the Golan Heights can get cold, wet and often snowy and even Jerusalem experiences snow spells every couple of years. The coastal regions, where Tel Aviv and Haifa are located, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.

Economy

Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of fossil fuels (crude oil, natural gas, and coal), grains, beef, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel is largely self-sufficient in food production except for grains and beef. Diamonds, high technology, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables and flowers) are leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans (although some economists would say the deficit is a sign of Israel's advancing markets). Israel possesses extensive facilities for oil refining, diamond polishing, and semiconductor fabrication.

Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the United States, which is its major source of economic and military aid. A relatively large fraction of Israel's external debt is held by individual investors, via the Israel Bonds program. The combination of American loan guarantees and direct sales to individual investors, allow the state to borrow at competitive and sometimes below-market rates.

The influx of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR topped 750,000 during the period 1989–1999, bringing the population of Israel from the former Soviet Union to one million, one-sixth of the total population, and adding scientific and professional expertise of substantial value for the economy's future. The influx, coupled with the opening of new markets at the end of the Cold War, energized Israel's economy, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s. But growth began slowing in 1996 when the government imposed tighter fiscal and monetary policies and the immigration bonus petered out. Those policies brought inflation down to record low levels in 1999.

High technology industries have taken a pre-eminent role in the economy, particularly in the last decade. Israel’s limited natural resources and strong emphasis on education have also played key roles in directing industry towards high technology fields. As a result of the country’s success in developing cutting edge technologies in software, communications and the life sciences, Israel is frequently referred to as a second Silicon Valley. Israel (as of 2004) receives more venture capital investment than any country of Europe, and has the largest VC/GDP rate in the world, seven times that of the United States. Outside the U.S. and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.

Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation - 109 per 10,000 people. It also boasts one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed. Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the industrialized world, after the U.S. and Netherlands - and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.

Another leading industry is tourism, which benefits from the plethora of important historical sites for Judaism and Christianity and from Israel’s warm climate and access to water resources. The important diamond industry has been affected by changing industry conditions and shifts of certain industry activities to the Far East.

As Israel has liberalized its economy and reduced taxes and spending, the gap between the rich and poor has grown. As of 2005, 20.5% of Israeli families (and 34% of Israeli children) are living below the poverty line, though around 40% of those are lifted above the poverty line through transfer payments.

Israel's GDP per capita, as of 28 July 2005, was $20,551.20 per person (42nd in the world). Israel's overall productivity was $54,510.40, and the amount of patents granted was 74/1,000,000 people.

As of May 2006 average monthly wages per employee were: 7,333 shekels or 1,655 USD. Percent of unemployed persons - first quarter 2006: 8.7%

Demographics

According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were Jews, 18.5% Arabs, and 4.3% "others". Among Jews, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.

Israel has two official languages; Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew is the major and primary language of the state and is spoken by the majority of the population. Arabic is spoken by the Arab minority and by some members of the Mizrahi Jewish community. English is studied in school and is spoken by the majority of the population as a second language. Other languages spoken in Israel include Russian, Yiddish, Ladino, Romanian, Polish, French, Italian, Dutch, German, Amharic and Persian. American and European popular television shows are commonly presented. Newspapers can be found in all languages listed above as well as others.

As of 2004, 224,200 Israeli citizens lived in the West Bank in numerous Israeli settlements, (including towns such as Ma'ale Adummim and Ariel, and a handful of communities that were present long before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and were re-established after the Six-Day War such as Hebron and Gush Etzion). Around 180,000 Israelis lived in East Jerusalem, which came under Israeli law following its capture from Jordan during the Six-Day War. About 8,500 Israelis lived in settlements built in the Gaza Strip, prior to their forcible removal by the government in the summer of 2005 as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.