Yearbook 2008 North Korea. The hope of a solution to the international conflict over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program that emerged in 2007 was changed into new doubts during the year. Already at the turn of the year, the countries in the six-party group accused North Koreaof failing to fulfill the pledge to completely close…
Category: Asia
GROWTH FORECASTS AND DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS
Since South and Southeast Asia are among the growth centers of the world economy, the trend towards urbanization will continue. China, still an underdeveloped country in the 1980s and now the second largest economy in the world (after the USA), slowed its explosive population growth through the one-child policy from 1979 onwards. In a few years, according to UN estimates, the country will lose its status as the most populous country in the world to India. China’s age structure is currently changing dramatically. The country is facing major demographic and social challenges: despite the abandonment of the one-child policy, the number of young people is falling, while the number of old people is increasing; China’s population could even decline from 2040 onwards. There is a serious disproportion between the sexes. For example, in 2011 there were 118 births of a boy for every 100 births of a girl, since the birth of a boy is considered more socially desirable and targeted abortions are not uncommon. It is economically significant that the expenditure for pensions will rise sharply in the future, but the number of workers will decrease. For more information about the continent of Asia, please check physicscat.com.
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,…
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…
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…
Maldives 2008
Yearbook 2008 Maldives. The transition to a democratic system that has been incremental since 2004 was completed in August, when President Maumun Abdul Gayum signed a new constitution. The new Constitution is inspired by the US, with a strong executive presidential power and with a clear distinction between legislative, executive and judicial bodies. ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Click…
Malaysia 2008
Yearbook 2008 Malaysia. It was a politically turbulent year, when former Deputy Prime Minister – now chief opposition leader – Anwar Ibrahim returned to the political hot air. At the same time, UMNO, which has ruled the country since independence in 1957, was in crisis since the party made its worst choice ever. Prime Minister…
Lebanon 2008
Yearbook 2008 Lebanon. Violence between rival groups escalated at the beginning of the year. Wissam Eid, a senior police officer who investigated the political murders of recent years, was killed on January 25 by a car bomb east of Beirut. Seven youths were killed in the same month when stone-throwers protesting recurrent power outages collapsed…
Laos 2008
Yearbook 2008 Laos. Save the Children published a report in May that said that more than two-thirds (69 percent) of Laotian children did not have access to basic health care. See 3rjewelry.com for Laos travel guide. In particular, in rural areas and among minority people, poverty was more widespread in Laos than in other Southeast Asian…
Kyrgyzstan 2008
Yearbook 2008 Kyrgyzstan. After the big victory in the parliamentary elections before the New Year, the power party Ak Zjol in January decided to limit the right of expression in parliament. Only group leaders, committee chairs, presidents and proposers would debate, which was condemned by the opposition. In February, an investigation report found that the…
Kuwait 2008
Yearbook 2008 Kuwait. All members of the government demanded resignation on March 17, citing difficulties in cooperating with Parliament on the country’s economic policy. The emergency crisis was triggered by the government approving a salary increase of 120 dinars per month (equivalent to $ 466) for all Kuwaiti, both public and private, while Parliament wanted…