1.
Song Sang-hyun
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Song Sang-Hyun is a South Korean lawyer, and the former President of the International Criminal Court. Song attended Seoul National University Law School, graduating with an LL. B. in 1963. He attended Tulane University Law School as a Fulbright Fellow, then obtained a Diploma in Comparative Legal Studies from the University of Cambridge and he has lectured Melbourne Law School, Harvard Law School, New York University and Seoul National University Law School. In February 2003 he was elected to the first ever bench of ICC judges and he took office on 11 March 2003 and was assigned to the Appeals Division. He was re-elected to the court in 2006, for a term of nine years, on 11 March 2009, he was elected President of the court. He has been awarded Cornell Universitys Distinguished Alumni Medal, the Korean Federal Bar Associations Legal Culture Award, and the National Decoration of Moran Order from the Korean Government
2.
International Criminal Court
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The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity. The ICC began functioning on 1 July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered into force, the Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty which serves as the ICCs foundational and governing document. States which become party to the Rome Statute, for example by ratifying it, currently, there are 124 states which are party to the Rome Statute and therefore members of the ICC. However, Burundi has given notice that it will withdraw from the Rome Statute. The ICC has four organs, the Presidency, the Judicial Divisions, the Office of the Prosecutor. The President is the most senior judge chosen by his or her peers in the Judicial Division, the Office of the Prosecutor is headed by the Prosecutor who investigates crimes and initiates proceedings before the Judicial Division. The Registry is headed by the Registrar and is charged with managing all the functions of the ICC, including the headquarters, detention unit. The Office of the Prosecutor has opened ten official investigations and is conducting an additional nine preliminary examinations. The convention was signed by 13 states, but none ratified it, following the Second World War, the allied powers established two ad hoc tribunals to prosecute axis power leaders accused of war crimes. The International Military Tribunal, which sat in Nuremberg, prosecuted German leaders while the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo prosecuted Japanese leaders. In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly first recognised the need for a permanent international court to deal with atrocities of the kind prosecuted after the Second World War. In his first book published in 1975, entitled Defining International Aggression, The Search for World Peace, following Trinidad and Tobagos proposal, the General Assembly tasked the ILC with once again drafting a statute for a permanent court. While work began on the draft, the United Nations Security Council established two ad hoc tribunals in the early 1990s, the creation of these tribunals further highlighted the need for a permanent international criminal court. To consider major substantive issues in the statute, the General Assembly established the Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. After considering the Committees report, the General Assembly created the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of the ICC to prepare a draft text. Finally the General Assembly convened a conference in Rome in June 1998, on 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining. The seven countries that voted against the treaty were China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the United States, following 60 ratifications, the Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002 and the International Criminal Court was formally established
3.
Nationality
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Nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a state. Nationality affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the state, what these rights and duties are vary from state to state. By custom and international conventions, it is the right of state to determine who its nationals are. Such determinations are part of nationality law, in some cases, determinations of nationality are also governed by public international law—for example, by treaties on statelessness and the European Convention on Nationality. Nationality differs technically and legally from citizenship, which is a different legal relationship between a person and a country, the noun national can include both citizens and non-citizens. The most common distinguishing feature of citizenship is that citizens have the right to participate in the life of the state. However, in most modern countries all nationals are citizens of the state, in English and some other languages, the word nationality is sometimes used to refer to an ethnic group. This meaning of nationality is not defined by political borders or passport ownership, individuals may also be considered nationals of groups with autonomous status which have ceded some power to a larger government. In international law, nationality is the status or relationship that gives a nation the right to protect a person from other nations, diplomatic and consular protection are dependent upon this relationship between the person and the state. A persons status as being the national of a country is used to resolve the conflict of laws, Nationality is also the status that allows a nation to grant rights to the subject and to impose obligations upon the subject. In most cases, no rights or obligations are automatically attached to this status, although the status is a precondition for any rights. Within the broad limits imposed by few treaties and international law, however, since the Nottebohm case, other states are only required to respect their claim to protect an alleged national if the nationality is based on a true social bond. In the case of dual nationality, states may determine the most effective nationality for a person, there are also limits on removing a persons status as a national. Nationals normally have the right to enter or return to the country belong to. Passports are issued to nationals of a state, rather only to citizens. However, nationals may not have the right of abode in the countries that grant them passports, Nationality is legally a distinct concept from citizenship. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on the political life of the state. In the modern era, the concept of full citizenship encompasses not only political rights
4.
Erkki Kourula
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Erkki Kourula is a Finnish judge who currently serves as a judge of the International Criminal Court, which was established by treaty and began in July 2002. The first election of judges to the court was held in 2003 and he was re-elected in 2006 for a further nine-year term. He was elected from List B, the list of judges with specific experience, List A consists of judges who have experience in criminal law. At the ICC, Judge Kourula is a member of the appeals division and he is the first Finn to be elected as an International Criminal Court judge. Judge Kourula holds a degree in law from the University of Helsinki, in 1979, he was appointed as a judge of first instance in Finland. He was also the head of the Finnish delegation to the Rome Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and he is married to Dr. Pirkko Kourula and they have two children. He speaks Finnish, English, French, Russian, Swedish and German
5.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2003
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The judges elected at this election were to take on 11 March 2003. Six judges were to remain in office until 2006, six until 2009, the election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Each candidate must belong to one list. Following the rules, the period of judges for the 2003 election lasted from 9 September to 30 November 2002. The following persons were nominated, The candidature of Kocou A. Capo-Chichi of Benin was withdrawn, minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that article 36 cited above is fulfilled, the following minimum voting requirements existed, Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was a minimum voting requirement of nine judges from List A and five judges from List B. Regarding the gender criteria, there was a voting requirement for six female. The voting requirements were as follows, The ballots took place in February 2003
6.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2006
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The judges elected at this election were to take office on 11 March 2006. All six judges elected for a term in 2003 were eligible for re-election. The election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, each candidate must belong to exactly one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004, following these rules, the nomination period of judges for the 2006 election lasted from 18 July to 20 November 2005. The following persons were nominated, The candidature of Effie Owuor of Kenya was withdrawn, minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that article 36 cited above is fulfilled, for this election, the following minimum voting requirements existed, they were to be adjusted once the election was underway. Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was a voting requirement of one judge from List A. Regarding the regional criteria, there were minimum voting requirements for one African, one Asian, regarding the gender criteria, there was a minimum voting requirement for one female judge. The regional and gender criteria could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. Furthermore, if the number of candidates of one gender is less than ten, then the minimum voting requirement shall not exceed a certain number depending on the number of candidates. The regional and gender criteria could have been dropped if they were not possible any more. The voting requirements were as follows, The only ballot took place on 26 January 2006, with the exception of Judge Slade all re-eligible judges were in fact re-elected
7.
Tuiloma Neroni Slade
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Tuiloma Neroni Slade held the post of secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat from 2008 to 4 December 2014. He was elected to the position for three years on 20 August 2008, Slade was reappointed to a second term by the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum on 8 September 2011. Tuiloma Neroni Slade was born in Samoa on 8 April 1941 and he graduated with a LL. B. from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Slade began his career as a Samoan lawyer, serving as the prosecutor for the attorney general. He became the Attorney General of Samoa in 1976 and remained in office until 1982, Slade became the Samoan ambassador to the United States and permanent representative to the United Nations and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was elected to the International Criminal Court in 2003 for a three-year term, before beginning a diplomatic career in 1993, Slade became the assistant director of the legal office for the Commonwealth Secretariat, based in London. Slade served as a Samoan diplomat from 1993 until his appointment to the International Criminal Court in 2003 and he was appointed as Samoas permanent representative to the United Nations in New York City. Slade concurrently served as both the Samoan Ambassador to the United States and the High Commissioner to Canada and he has also served as chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States from 1997 to 2003. In 2003, Slade was elected to a term as a justice of the International Criminal Court. During his tenure, Slade served as a Presiding Judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and he practised law as an international legal consultant from 2007 to 2008 after leaving the court. Tuiloma Neroni Slade was appointed general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat on 20 August 2008 for a three-year term. He was elected following the death of Secretary General Greg Urwin on 9 August 2008 and he succeeded acting Secretary General Feleti Teo, who also sought appointment to a full term. He announced his intention to seek reappointment to a term in 2011. Slades reappointment was opposed by the government Frank Bainimarama of Fiji. Bainimarama put forth another candidate for nomination, former Fijian foreign minister Kaliopate Tavola, Fiji released statements touting the opposition of the Pacific Islands Forums Melanesian members to Slades reappointment. He received full support from all members, including the Melanesian Spearhead Group and it is unknown if any Melanesian members put forth Tavolas nomination during the retreat. Slade thanked leaders for his renomination in a statement, I sincerely thank the Forum Leaders for having confidence in me to lead their Secretariat for a second term, Slade received the Elizabeth Haub Award for Environmental Diplomacy in 2001. He was the recipient of the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Medal and the Global Oceans Leadership Award, in 2005, he was awarded the Order of Samoa ù Poloaiga Sili a Samoa
8.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2007
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The election was to replace three judges who had resigned during 2006 and 2007. The judges elected at this election took office on the date of their elections, two were to remain in office until 10 March 2012, one judge until 10 March 2009. The election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, each candidate must belong to exactly one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004, following these rules, the nomination period of judges for the 2007 election lasted from 1 June to 24 August 2007. The following persons were nominated, The candidature of Sunday Akinola Akintan of Nigeria was withdrawn, minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that article 36 cited above is fulfilled, for this election, the following minimum voting requirements existed, they were to be adjusted once the election was underway. Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was a voting requirement of two judges from List A. Regarding the regional criteria, there was no minimum voting requirement, regarding the gender criteria, there was no minimum voting requirement. The regional and gender criteria could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. Furthermore, if the number of candidates of one gender is less than ten, then the minimum voting requirement shall not exceed a certain number depending on the number of candidates. The regional and gender criteria could have been dropped if they were not possible any more. The voting requirements were as follows, The first two took place on 30 November 2007. The other two took place on 3 December 2007. The drawing of lots had Saiga serve until 2009 and Cotte and Nsereko until 2012
9.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2011
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The election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Each candidate had to belong to one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004, the nomination of Ajmi Bel Haj Hamouda was withdrawn before the session. Minimum voting requirements governed part of the election and this was to ensure that article 36 cited above was fulfilled. For this election, the minimum voting requirements existed, they were to be adjusted once the election was underway. Regarding the List A or B requirement, States Parties had to vote for three candidates from list A in the rounds of voting. The minimum requirement of judges from list B was fulfilled and this requirement was not to be waived under any circumstance. Regarding the regional criteria, initially there were three seats reserved for groups, one for the Eastern European States and two for the Latin American and Caribbean States. On 13 October 2011, the Bureau of the ASP notified States Parties of the application of Paragraph 20 of ICC-ASP/3/Res. Thus, there were four seats to be reserved for which to be voted in the early rounds of voting - one Asian seat, one Eastern European seat. The minimum requirement for judges from African and Western European and other states was fulfilled, regarding the gender criteria, the minimum requirement for female judges was fulfilled. States Parties had to vote for two candidates in the early rounds of voting. The regional and gender criteria could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. Furthermore, if the number of candidates of one gender had been less than ten, then the minimum voting requirement would not have exceeded a certain number depending on the number of candidates. The regional and gender criteria were to be dropped if they were not possible any more. Given the nominations, the requirements were as follows, Because of the importance of qualified and impartial judges. The Campaign on International Criminal Court Elections was launched to promote the nomination and election of the most highly qualified officials through fair, merit-based and this Campaign is sponsored by the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, a group of NGOs. Among other things, the Coalition is strongly opposed to vote-trading among States Parties, in December 2010, the Coalition established an Independent Panel on International Criminal Court Judicial Elections
10.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2013
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Geoffrey A. Henderson, also from Trinidad and Tobago, was elected in the first ballot after his only opponent had withdrawn. The judge elected at this election was chosen to complete the term, until 10 March 2021, the election is governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Each candidate must belong to one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004, as of 13 October, the following persons were nominated, Minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that article 36 cited above is fulfilled, for this election, the following minimum voting requirements existed, they could have been adjusted once the election was underway. Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was no minimum voting requirement, regarding the regional criteria, there was a voting requirement for one judge from the Latin American and Caribbean States. Regarding the gender criteria, there was no minimum voting requirement, the regional criterion could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. The regional criterion could have been dropped if after four ballots the seat had not been filled, the voting requirements were as follows, Before the ballot, Leslie van Rompaey was withdrawn. The ballot took place on 23 November 2013, the voting totals were as follows
11.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2014
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The judges will be elected for terms of nine years and take office on 11 March 2015. The election will be governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, each candidate has to belong to exactly one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004 and it was extended once due to the lack of candidates from Asia until 3 August 2014. The following persons were nominated as of 4 August 2014, Minimum voting requirements govern part of the election and this is to ensure that article 36 cited above was fulfilled. For this election, the minimum voting requirements will exist. Assuming that there is no change in the bench, the requirements will be as follows, Regarding the List A or B requirement. This requirement must be fulfilled under any circumstances, Regarding the regional criteria, there are three seats reserved for regional groups, two for the Eastern European States and one for the Asian States. Regarding the gender criteria, there is one seat reserved for male candidates, the regional and gender criteria can be adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. The regional and gender criteria will be dropped if they are not possible any more. All results are from the ASP homepage if not otherwise noted
12.
International Criminal Court judges election, 2015
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The election became necessary after one judge elected in the 2011 election was unavailable, Miriam Defensor-Santiago had resigned from the bench on 3 June 2014. The judge elected at this election was chosen to complete the term, until 10 March 2021, the election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Each candidate must belong to one list. Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004, the following persons were nominated, The nomination dated March 31,2015 of A. B. M. Khairul Haque of Bangladesh was withdrawn on April 13,2015, minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This is to ensure that article 36 cited above is fulfilled, for this election, the following minimum voting requirements existed, they could have been adjusted once the election is underway. Regarding the List A or B requirement, there was no minimum voting requirement, regarding the regional criteria, there was a voting requirement for one judge from the Asia-Pacific States. Regarding the gender criteria, there was no minimum voting requirement, the regional criterion could have been adjusted even before the election depending on the number of candidates. The regional criterion can be dropped if after four ballots the seat is not filled, the voting requirements were as follows, On June 24,2015, Raul Cano Pangalangan of the Philippines was elected. The ballot took place on 24 June 2015, the voting totals were as follows
13.
Philippe Kirsch
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Philippe Kirsch, OC, QC is a Canadian lawyer who served as a judge of the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2009 and was the Courts first president. Kirsch was born in Belgium in 1947 and arrived in Canada in 1961, Kirsch holds a Bachelor of Civil Law and an LL. M. degree from the Université de Montréal. Kirsch is member of the Bar of the Province of Quebec and he has extensive experience in the process of the establishment of the International Criminal Court, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. In 1998 Kirsch served as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole of the Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and he was also Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court. He was Chairman of the Canadian National Committee on Humanitarian Law and he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, Deputy Representative to the Security Council and Canada’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden. In 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to criminal law
14.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
15.
Robert Fremr
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Robert Fremr is a Czech jurist. From 1976 to 1980, Fremr studied at the Charles University Law School in Prague and he became a district judge in 1983 and judge of the Court of Appeal in 1986. Eisenhower Fellowships selected Robert Fremr in 1999 to represent the Czech Republic, from 1989 to 2003, he was a judge of the High Court in Prague. On 13 December 2011, he was elected a judge of the International Criminal Court in the second ballot
16.
Marc Perrin de Brichambaut
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Marc Perrin de Brichambaut is a French career judge and diplomat. On 10 December 2014 he was elected a judge to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, until 30 June 2011 he was the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Marc Perrin de Brichambaut was born in Rabat, Morocco and he graduated from Frances École nationale dadministration in Paris in 1974. He was also adviser to French Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson, in 1983 and 1984, he was Chief-of-Staff to Roland Dumas, then Minister of European Affairs, and after Dumas became Foreign Minister, de Brichambaut continued to serve as his Chief-of-Staff. In 1986, he moved to New York, where he worked as cultural Counsellor for the French Embassy, before being appointed as OSCE Secretary General he was Director for Strategic Affairs at the French Defence Ministry. International Criminal Court Secretary General Official site OSCE Official site
17.
Arrest warrant
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An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individuals property. Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code, czech courts may issue an arrest warrant when it is not achievable to summon or bring in for questioning a charged person and at the same time there is a reason for detention. Following the arrest, the police must within 24 hours either hand the arrested person over to the nearest court or release the person, the court must immediately interview the arrested person, who has the right to have an attorney present, unless the attorney is not within reach. The court has 24 hours from the moment of receiving the person from the police to either order remand or to release him, reaching the maximum time is always reason for immediate release. Interventions into the freedom of a person are only allowed through the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany under certain conditions, in article 104 the fundamental law determines that a freedom confinement which exceeds a maximum of 48 hours can only be ordered by a Haftrichter. The former is called vorläufige Festnahme, the latter is named Haftbefehl, the procedure for issuing arrest warrants differs in each of the three legal jurisdictions. In England & Wales, arrest warrants can be issued for both suspects and witnesses, in Scotland, a Warrant to Apprehend may be issued if a defendant has failed to appear in court. In Northern Ireland arrest warrants are issued by a magistrate. For the police to make a lawful arrest, the officer must have either probable cause to arrest. Federal statute and most jurisdictions mandate the issuance of an arrest warrant for the arrest of individuals for misdemeanors that were not committed within the view of a police officer. However, as long as police have the probable cause, a warrant is usually not needed to arrest someone suspected of a felony in a public place. In a non-emergency situation, an arrest of an individual in their home requires an arrest warrant. Probable cause will be founded on direct observations by the police officer, or on hearsay information provided by others to the police. ”The individual issuing the arrest warrant need not be a judge or an attorney. While arrest warrants are issued by courts, they may also be issued by one of the chambers of the United States Congress or other legislatures. The arrest warrant must, to comply with the Fourth Amendment, if the arrest warrant does not contain such a description, it is invalid—even if the affidavit submitted by the police or the warrant application contained this requisite information. An example of the usage of word is as follows. Minutes of the Commissioners for detecting and defeating Conspiracies in the State of New York, Albany County Sessions, vol.1, Page 90 In police jargon, these writs are sometimes referred to as a writ of capias, defined as orders to take a person or assets. Capias writs are issued when a suspect fails to appear for a scheduled adjudication, hearing
18.
Kenya
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Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community. Its capital and largest city is Nairobi and it is bordered by Tanzania to the south and southwest, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km2, and had a population of approximately 48 million people in January 2017, Kenya has a warm and humid tropical climate on its Indian Ocean coastline. The climate is cooler in the grasslands around the capital city, Nairobi, and especially closer to Mount Kenya. Further inland are highlands in Central and Rift Valley regions where tea, in the West are Nyanza and Western regions, there is an equatorial, hot and dry climate which becomes humid around Lake Victoria, the largest tropical fresh-water lake in the world. This gives way to temperate and forested areas in the neighbouring western region. The north-eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes, Kenya is known for its world class athletes in track and field and rugby. The African Great Lakes region, which Kenya is a part of, has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period, by the first millennium AD, the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West-Central Africa. Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97% of the nations residents, European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period, European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony, Kenya obtained independence in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties, the capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in East, agriculture is a major employer, the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also an economic driver. Additionally, Kenya is a member of the East African Community trading bloc, the Republic of Kenya is named after Mount Kenya. The origin of the name Kenya is not clear, but perhaps linked to the Kikuyu, Embu and Kamba words Kirinyaga, Kirenyaa, if so, then the British may not so much have mispronounced it, as misspelled it. In the 19th century, the German explorer Johann Ludwig Krapf was staying with the Bantu Kamba people when he first spotted the mountain. On asking for the name of the mountain, he was told Kĩ-Nyaa or Kĩĩma- Kĩĩnyaa probably because the pattern of black rock, the Agikuyu, who inhabit the slopes of Mt. Kenya, call it Kĩrĩma Kĩrĩnyaga in Kikuyu, which is quite similar to the Kamba name. Ludwig Krapf recorded the name as both Kenia and Kegnia believed by most to be a corruption of the Kamba version, others say that this was—on the contrary—a very precise notation of a correct African pronunciation /ˈkɛnjə/
19.
South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
20.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
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Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
22.
Trinidad and Tobago
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During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers, more times than any other island in the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens, the country Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Trinidad and Tobago is the third richest country by GDP per capita in the Americas after the United States, furthermore, it is recognised as a high-income economy by the World Bank. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, the economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum. The countrys wealth is attributed to its reserves and exploitation of oil. Historian E. L. Joseph claimed that Trinidads Amerindian name was Iere or Land of the Humming Bird, derived from the Arawak name for hummingbird, however, Boomert claims that neither cairi nor caeri means hummingbird and tukusi or tucuchi does. Others have reported that kairi and iere simply mean island, christopher Columbus renamed it La Isla de la Trinidad, fulfilling a vow made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration. Trinidad and Tobago are islands situated between 10°2 and 11°12 N latitude and 60°30 and 61°56 W longitude, at the closest point, Trinidad is just 11 kilometres from Venezuelan territory. Trinidad is 4,768 km2 in area with a length of 80 km. Tobago has an area of about 300 km2, or 5. 8% of the area, is 41 km long and 12 km at its greatest width. Trinidad and Tobago lie on the shelf of South America. The terrain of the islands is a mixture of mountains and plains, the highest point in the country is found on the Northern Range at El Cerro del Aripo, which is 940 metres above sea level. As the majority of the live in the island of Trinidad. There are four municipalities in Trinidad, Port of Spain. The main town in Tobago is Scarborough, Trinidad is made up of a variety of soil types, the majority being fine sands and heavy clays. The alluvial valleys of the Northern Range and the soils of the East-West Corridor are the most fertile, the Northern Range consists mainly of Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous metamorphic rocks. The Northern Lowlands consist of shallow marine clastic sediments. South of this, the Central Range fold and thrust belt consists of Cretaceous and Eocene sedimentary rocks, the Naparima Plains and the Nariva Swamp form the southern shoulder of this uplift
23.
Dominican Republic
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The Dominican Republic is a sovereign state occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western one-third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, christopher Columbus landed on the Western part of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti, on December 6,1492. The island became the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World, the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821 but were forcefully annexed by their more powerful neighbor Haiti in February 1822. After the 1844 victory in the Dominican War of Independence against Haitian rule the country again under Spanish colonial rule until the Dominican War of Restoration of 1865. The Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal strife until 1916, a civil war in 1965, the countrys last, was ended by another U. S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer, 1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republics current president, succeeded Fernandez in 2012, the Dominican Republic has the ninth-largest economy in Latin America and is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known for agriculture and mining, the economy is now dominated by services. Over the last two decades, the Dominican Republic have been standing out as one of the economies in the Americas – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5. 4% between 1992 and 2014. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7. 0%, respectively, in the first half of 2016 the Dominican economy grew 7. 4% continuing its trend of rapid economic growth. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism, private consumption has been strong, as a result of low inflation, job creation, as well as high level of remittances. The Dominican Republic has a market, Bolsa de Valores de la Republica Dominicana. and advanced telecommunication system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government corruption, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems, the country also has marked income inequality. International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives, mass illegal Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large Dominican diaspora exists, mostly in the United States, contributes to development, the Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are major attractions, the island has an average temperature of 26 °C and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in all of the Americas, located in Santo Domingos Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. Music and sport are of importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music
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Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
25.
Hungary
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Hungary is a unitary parliamentary republic in Central Europe. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken language in Europe. Hungarys capital and largest metropolis is Budapest, a significant economic hub, major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000, converting the country to a Christian kingdom, by the 12th century, Hungary became a middle power within the Western world, reaching a golden age by the 15th century. Hungarys current borders were established in 1920 by the Treaty of Trianon after World War I, when the country lost 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, following the interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a four-decade-long communist dictatorship. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became again a democratic parliamentary republic, in the 21st century, Hungary is a middle power and has the worlds 57th largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the 58th largest by PPP, out of 188 countries measured by the IMF. As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds 36th largest exporter and importer of goods, Hungary is a high-income economy with a very high standard of living. It keeps up a security and universal health care system. Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and part of the Schengen Area since 2007, Hungary is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the AIIB, the Council of Europe and Visegrád Group. Well known for its cultural history, Hungary has been contributed significantly to arts, music, literature, sports and science. Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe and it is home to the largest thermal water cave system, the second largest thermal lake in the world, the largest lake in Central Europe, and the largest natural grasslands in Europe. The H in the name of Hungary is most likely due to historical associations with the Huns. The rest of the word comes from the Latinized form of Medieval Greek Oungroi, according to an explanation the Greek name was borrowed from Proto-Slavic Ǫgǔri, in turn borrowed from Oghur-Turkic Onogur. Onogur was the name for the tribes who later joined the Bulgar tribal confederacy that ruled the eastern parts of Hungary after the Avars. The Hungarians likely belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance and it is possible they became its ethnic majority. The Hungarian endonym is Magyarország, composed of magyar and ország, the word magyar is taken from the name of one of the seven major semi-nomadic Hungarian tribes, magyeri
26.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, East Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named, and is still called, Zaire. It is the second-largest country in Africa by area and eleventh largest in the world, the Congolese Civil Wars, which began in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Sekos 32-year reign and devastated the country. These wars ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN peacekeepers and twenty armed groups, besides the capital, Kinshasa, the other major cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are both mining communities. DR Congos largest export is raw minerals, with China accepting over 50% of DRCs exports in 2012, as of 2015, according to the Human Development Index, DR Congo has a low level of human development, ranking 176 out of 187 countries. The country was known officially as the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 27 October 1971, in 1992, the Sovereign National Conference voted to change the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the change was not put into practice. The countrys name was restored by former president Laurent-Désiré Kabila following the fall of longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, some historians think that Bantu peoples began settling in the extreme northwest of Central Africa at the beginning of the 5th century and then gradually started to expand southward. Their propagation was accelerated by the transition from Stone Age to Iron Age techniques, the people living in the south and southwest were mostly San Bushmen and hunter-gatherer groups, whose technology involved only minimal use of metal technologies. The development of tools during this time period revolutionized agriculture. This led to the displacement of the groups in the east and southeast. The 10th century marked the expansion of the Bantu in West-Central Africa. Rising populations soon made intricate local, regional and foreign commercial networks that traded mostly in salt, iron. Belgian exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s and it was first led by Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who undertook his explorations under the sponsorship of King Leopold II of Belgium. The eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slave raiding, mainly from Arab–Swahili slave traders such as the infamous Tippu Tip, Leopold had designs on what was to become the Congo as a colony. Leopold formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Conference of Berlin in 1885 and he named it the Congo Free State. Leopolds rėgime began various infrastructure projects, such as construction of the railway ran from the coast to the capital of Leopoldville. Nearly all such projects were aimed at making it easier to increase the assets which Leopold. In the Free State, colonists brutalized the local population into producing rubber, for which the spread of automobiles, rubber sales made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels and Ostend to honor himself and his country
27.
Sanji Mmasenono Monageng
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Sanji Mmasenono Monageng has been a judge of the International Criminal Court since 2009. Monageng is a national of Botswana and she became a judge in Botswana in 1989. In 2003, Monageng was elected as a Commissioner in the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, on November 2006, she attended the meeting for The Yogyakarta Principles held in Gadjah Mada University. In 2007 she became the Chairperson of the Commission, in 2009, Monageng was elected a judge of the ICC by the courts Assembly of States Parties. Her nine-year non-renewable term expires in 2018, when Monageng was elected to the ICC in 2009, she was assigned to sit in the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court. Mongaeng remained in the Pre-Trial Chamber until 2012, after serving in the Pre-Trial Chamber, Monageng started working in the Appeals Division in 2012. She was promoted to President of the Appeals Division in 2014, between 2012 and 2015, she served as First Vice-President of the Court for a term of three years. At the time she was elected as a judge of the ICC, Monageng was also acting as a judge of the High Court of The Gambia and she was acting in these positions pursuant to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation Programme. On 30 September 2013, Monageng received the Presidential Order of Honor from President Ian Khama, in 2014, Monageng was given the Human Rights Award by the International Association of Women Judges. Judge Sanji Mmasenono MONAGENG, ICC official site
28.
Botswana
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Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens refer to themselves as Batswana, formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. Since then, it has maintained a tradition of stable representative democracy. Botswana is topographically flat, with up to 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert and it is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula is poorly defined, a mid-sized country of just over 2 million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated nations in the world. Around 10 percent of the lives in the capital and largest city. The economy is dominated by mining, cattle, and tourism, Botswana boasts a GDP per capita of about $18,825 per year as of 2015, which is one of the highest in Africa. Its high gross national income gives the country a modest standard of living, Botswana is a member of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations. The country has been among the hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the death rate due to AIDS or AIDS-related causes has fallen sharply from 2005 to 2013, and the number of new infections in children has also fallen. As of 2014, Botswana has the third-highest prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS, the history of Botswana starts more than 100,000 years ago, when the first humans inhabited the region. The original inhabitants of southern Africa were the Bushmen and Khoi peoples, both speak Khoisan languages and lived as hunter-gatherers. About a thousand years ago, large chiefdoms emerged that were later eclipsed by the Great Zimbabwe empire, around 1300 CE, peoples in present-day Transvaal began to coalesce into three main linguistic and political groups, including the Batswana. The Batswana, a term used also to all citizens of Botswana. Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule, as groups broke off and moved to new land, new tribes were created. Some human development occurred before the colonial period, during the 1700s, the slave and ivory trades were expanding. To resist these pressures, Shaka, the king of the Zulu Empire, conquered tribes began to move northwest into Botswana, destroying everything in their path. In their efforts to re-establish themselves at the end of period, tribes began to exchange ivory and skins for guns with European traders. Christian missionaries sent from Europe also spread to the interior, often at the invitation of tribal chiefs who wanted guns, by 1880 every major village had a resident missionary, and their influence became permanent
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
30.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
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Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
32.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
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Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
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