Yearbook 2008 New Zealand. In April, New Zealand, as the first industrialized country, entered into a free trade agreement with China that would give the country increased access to one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. Under the agreement, New Zealand will gradually abolish its import duties on goods from China until 2016. During the same…
Author: payhelpcenter
Netherlands 2008
Yearbook 2008 Netherlands. Immigrant anti-immigrant right-wing politician Geert Wilders at the beginning of the year attracted attention with plans to produce an Islam-critical short film, according to his own task to inform about Islam as a totalitarian ideology. The movie “Fitna”, released on the Internet in March, featured quotes from the Qur’an mixed with images…
Nepal 2008
Yearbook 2008 Nepal. In April, general elections were held for a provisional parliament. The result was a great victory for the Maoist Communist Party, the former guerrilla that waged war against the state for ten years. The Maoists received 220 of the 601 seats, enough to dominate the country’s politics but not enough to govern,…
Nauru 2008
Yearbook 2008 Nauru. The December 2007 election had resulted in a balance in Parliament. Nine members supported the newly elected President Marcus Stephen and just as many belonged to the fierce opposition that sought to oust the government. This led to a political stalemate of about four months, with constant disputes in Parliament, which made…
Namibia 2008
Yearbook 2008 Namibia. In June, Namibia issued a license to the French nuclear energy company AREVA to extract uranium at Trekkopje, about 30 km west of the capital Windhoek. AREVA plans to invest US $ 750 million in the mine, which is expected to become the world’s largest when it comes into operation at the…
Myanmar 2008
Yearbook 2008 Burma. The isolated and internationally defended military junta was preparing a controversial referendum on a new constitution when the southern parts of the country suffered a severe cyclone in early May. According to the UN’s latest estimates, around 130,000 people were killed and around 2.4 million lost their homes or suffered severe distress…
Mozambique 2008
Yearbook 2008 Mozambique. Like many poor developing countries, Mozambique was severely affected by sharply increased world market prices for food and fuel. In February, price increases led to, among other things, diesel for extensive protests. At least four people were killed and about a hundred were seriously injured in clashes between protesters and police. The…
Morocco 2008
Yearbook 2008 Morocco. The government’s hunt for militant Islamists continued. In February, security forces were reported to have split a terrorist group and arrested its leaders and 31 other members. According to the government, the group had links to both the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and the Shiite Hizbullah guerrilla in Lebanon. In…
Montenegro 2008
Yearbook 2008 Montenegro. Prime Minister Željko Šturanović resigned at the end of January, for health reasons. President Filip Vujanović, as the new head of government, nominated the influential socialist leader Milo Đukanović, who was president or prime minister in 1991-2006. Parliament approved the appointment last February. The government in general remained largely intact. In April,…
Mongolia 2008
Yearbook 2008 Mongolia. The parliamentary elections at the end of June led to severe unrest in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, when supporters of the bourgeois opposition claimed that there had been cheating. Five people were killed and over 300 injured, including hundreds of police officers, in clashes between protesters and riot police. The ex-communist victorious party…