Argentina

In 1816, the United Provinces of the Rio Plata declared their independence from Spain. After Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay went their separate ways, the area that remained became Argentina. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, but most particularly Italy and Spain, which provided the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. Up until about the mid-20th century, much of Argentina's history was dominated by periods of internal political conflict between Federalists and Unitarians and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, an era of Peronist populism and direct and indirect military interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands by force, and has persisted despite numerous challenges, the most formidable of which was a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the resignation of several interim presidents.

Second in South America only to Brazil in size and population, Argentina is a plain, rising from the Atlantic to the Chilean border and the towering Andes peaks. Aconcagua (22,834 ft, 6,960 m) is the highest peak in the world outside Asia. Argentina is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay on the north, and by Uruguay and Brazil on the east. The northern area is the swampy and partly wooded Gran Chaco, bordering Bolivia and Paraguay. South of that are the rolling, fertile Pampas, which are rich in agriculture and sheep- and cattle-grazing and support most of the population. Further south is Patagonia, a region of cool, arid steppes with some wooded and fertile sections.

First explored in 1516 by Juan Diaz de Solis, Argentina developed slowly under Spanish colonial rule. Buenos Aires was settled in 1580; the cattle industry was thriving as early as 1600. Invading British forces were expelled in 1806—1807, and after Napoleon conquered Spain (1808), the Argentinians set up their own government in 1810. On July 9, 1816, independence was formally declared.

As it had in World War I, Argentina proclaimed neutrality at the outbreak of World War II, but in the closing phase declared war on the Axis powers on March 27, 1945. Juan D. Peron, an army colonel, emerged as the strongman of the postwar era, winning the presidential elections of 1946 and 1951. Peron's political strength was reinforced by his second wife—Eva Duarte de Peron (Evita)—and her popularity with the working classes. Although she never held a government post, Evita acted as de facto minister of health and labor, establishing a national charitable organization, and awarding generous wage increases to the unions, who responded with political support for Perpn. Opposition to Peron's increasing authoritarianism led to a coup by the armed forces, which sent Peron into exile in 1955, three years after Evita's death. Argentina entered a long period of military dictatorships with brief intervals of constitutional government.

The former dictator returned to power in 1973 and his third wife, Isabel Martinez de Peron, was elected vice president. After her husband's death in 1974, Peron became the hemisphere's first woman chief of state, assuming control of a nation teetering on economic and political collapse. In 1975, terrorist acts by left- and right-wing groups killed some 700 people. The cost of living rose 355%, and strikes and demonstrations were constant. On March 24, 1976, a military junta led by army commander Lt. Gen. Jorge Rafael Videla seized power and imposed martial law.

Most Argentines are of European origin, especially Spanish and Italian. Substantial numbers also came from France, Poland, Russia and Germany. The Jewish community is the seventh largest in the world outside Israel. There are also more than 1 million people of Arab descent. Around 1% of the population are indigenous people living mainly in the north and west.Language: The official language is Spanish.Religion(s): Roman Catholic (90%); Protestant (2%); others include Judaism and Islam.





Profile
Full country name: Argentine Republic
Area: 1.08 million sq miles (second largest country in South America after Brazil)
Population: 36.2 million (2001 official figures), 1.5 million currently overseas
Life expectancy: 70 years (male); 77.5 years (female)
Capital city: Buenos Aires (population 3.04 million; approx. 12 million live in the greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area)
Currency: Peso

Mongolia

Nomadic tribes that periodically plundered agriculturally based China from the west are recorded in Chinese history dating back more than 2,000 years. It was to protect China from these marauding peoples that the Great Wall was constructed around 200 B.C. The name Mongol comes from a small tribe whose leader, Ghengis Khan, began a conquest that would eventually encompass an enormous empire stretching from Asia to Europe, as far west as the Black Sea and as far south as India and the Himalayas. But by the 14th century, the kingdom was in serious decline, with invasions from a resurgent China and internecine warfare.

The State of Mongolia was formerly known as Outer Mongolia. It contains the original homeland of the historic Mongols, whose power reached its zenith during the 13th century under Kublai Khan. The area accepted Manchu rule in 1689, but after the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and the fall of the Manchus in 1912, the northern Mongol princes expelled the Chinese officials and declared independence under the Khutukhtu, or “Living Buddha.”

Mongolia lies in central Asia between Siberia on the north and China on the south. It is slightly larger than Alaska.

The productive regions of Mongolia—a tableland ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 ft (914 to 1,524 m) in elevation—are in the north, which is well drained by numerous rivers, including the Hovd, Onon, Selenga, and Tula. Much of the Gobi Desert falls within Mongolia.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate, with very little rainfall and wide seasonal temperature variations.

Winters are long and bitterly cold, with average temperatures in January hovering around -30 C (-22 F); in fact, Ulaan Bataar is the coldest and windiest nation capital on Earth. Summers are short and hot; most precipitation falls during the summer months.

Rain and snowfall totals are only 20-35 cm (8-14 inches) per year in the north, and 10-20 cm (4-8 inches) in the south. Nevertheless, freak snowstorms sometimes drop more than a meter of snow, burying livestock.



Mongolia takes pride in its nomadic roots; as befits this tradition, there are no other major cities in the country.



Capital - Ulaan Baatar
Population - 1,029,900 (2008)
Area - 1,564,000 square kilometers
Currency - tugrik

Switzerland

The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. A constitution of 1848, subsequently modified in 1874, replaced the confederation with a centralized federal government. Switzerland's sovereignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland's role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland's ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

Switzerland is a small, landlocked country (approximately twice the size of Wales), bordered by France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. It is mainly mountainous (Alps and Jura) with a central plateau of rolling hills, plains and lakes - the largest of which is Lake Geneva. It is the second most densely forested country in Europe. One quarter of the land is unproductive and, with the exception of water (and hydroelectric production), there are few natural resources. Zurich (population 364,000) is the country’s financial and commercial centre. The other major cities are Basel (199,000), Geneva (180,000), Berne (129,000), and Lausanne (124,000).




DID YOU KNOW
Zurich ranks first as the world's top city for quality of life, with Geneva following closely behind, according to Mercer Human Resources Consulting. London is in 39th place.

Nestlé is the largest company in Switzerland, yet more than 98% of its revenue comes from outside the country.

Swiss Guards still protect the Pope at the Vatican.


The Red Cross was started in 1864 by Henri Dunant in Geneva. The symbol of the Red Cross is based on a reversed Swiss flag.

Women were not given the right to vote until 1971.

Switzerland manages 35% of all private and institutional offshore funds and is world number one in Private Funds.


Switzerland is responsible for around half the value of the worlds watch production.

There are five 'designer' public conveniences in the Eastern Swiss town of St Gallen, one of which plays the sound of twittering birds and a stream rushing over pebbles to its users.

Swiss physicist and explorer Auguste Piccard was the model for Professor Calculus in the Tintin comic books. Author Hergé described him as the "archetypal scientist."



Switzerland has the densest rail network in Europe - 121.9 km of rail per 1000 km2, more than 2.5 times the European average.

Zurich Council banned chocolate in 1722, due to it reputation as an aphrodisiac. Today, the Swiss eat more chocolate per head than anyone else in the world – an annual average consumption in 2006 of 12 kg per head.

Switzerland has the steepest funicular railway in the world: the Gelmerbahn at the foot of the Grimsel Pass, which reaches 106% gradient in places.

Switzerland is the second most densely forested country in Europe (30%).



Area: 41,293 sq km (16,000 sq mi)
Population: 7.5 million (2007)
Capital City: Berne
People: German (64%), French (19%), Italian (8%), Romansch (1%)
Languages: Swiss German, French, Italian, Rhaeto-Rumantsch
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (46.1%), Protestant (40%), Muslim (4.3%)
Currency: Swiss franc (SFr)

Egypt

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.

Egypt lies in the north-eastern corner of Africa, a major crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and west and south Asia, with an area of 386,000 square miles (four times the size of the UK). It is bordered by Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and Jordan to the north-east. Its north coast is on the Mediterranean Sea, while the Red Sea bounds the eastern coast. The Suez Canal links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean - a linkage vital to both Egypt and the world. Less than 4% of the country is cultivated and inhabited, mainly in the Nile Delta and along the banks of the Nile.

The Nile runs for over 1,000 miles within Egypt, from Wadi Halfa in the south to the Mediterranean in the north. It divides the country into four broad regions; the Western Desert, which occupies almost two-thirds of the total area, the Eastern Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile Valley and Delta, which is the most densely populated region of the country. Egypt is dependent on the Nile for nearly all its water needs. The vast majority of the remaining land is made up of sparsely inhabited, arid desert.

Egypt is hot and dry in the summer, mild in the winter with rainfall increasing nearer the coastlines. Temperatures increase southwards, and on average, these vary between 22-37 degrees Centigrade in the summer and 9-19 degrees Centigrade in the winter.

Area: 1,001,450 sq. km
Population: : 76.5 million (Census 2006)
Capital City: Cairo (population - 17 million)
People: Eastern Hamitic (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) (99%); Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) (1%)
Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood
Religion(s): Muslim (mostly Sunni) (90%), Coptic Christian (9%) and other (1%)
Currency: : 1 Egyptian Pound (LE) = 100 Piastres (PT)