Wandering through the world alphabetically, one country at a time, one (or maybe more than one) story at a time:
Countries #1 — Afghanistan to Azerbaijan — can be found here
Originally published in the Foreign Policy and International Events group Open Thread diaries.
It should be noted (before you ask) that these were not done from any particular knowledge on my part, but more out of curiosity. They’re not deeply relevant, but it’s been fun.
#16 — The Bahamas
The Commonwealth of the Bahamas; tourism, off-shore finance, and James Bond novels may not be the sum-total of my knowledge, but it’s pretty close.
Strange fact: Polystyrene accounts for the largest portion of Bahamas’ exports. I’m not sure whether that’s by weight, volume, or dollar amount, but — polystyrene? Ah, well.
Back to story hunting.
Well, if twenty of the top thirty stories are about the same thing, all I can do is figure that the world loves to talk about millionaires, and offer a link to the CNN article, which at least isn’t quite a real-estate brochure. The pictures are, well, tempting. If I only had a few extra millions to throw away...
Beautiful private island in Bahamas goes up for sale
(CNN) — What's better than having your own luxury resort in the Bahamas? Owning your own private island in the Bahamas.
Little Ragged Island, also known as St Andrew's, is the largest private island currently for sale in the Caribbean paradise.
We're talking 730 acres of rolling forested hills and pristine white beaches, surrounded by warm blue ocean. It is, to be frank, a deep-pocketed developer's dream.
...
#17 — Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain; made up of 51 natural and 33 man-made islands centered around the main island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Around 90% of the news is on the upcoming Formula 1 and 2 racing in Bahrain, perhaps to most easily avoid the stories coming out on spotty enforcement of Human Rights in a variety of categories. Looking harder… right. Human Rights it is. One story, 2 articles:
From Europa.eu
Human rights breaches in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bahrain and Cambodia
MEPs are deeply concerned that ten years after the Bahraini ‘Arab Spring’ uprising, in 2011, the human rights situation in the country continues to worsen. Arbitrary arrests continue, the death penalty is still being applied, human rights defenders are prosecuted and harassed, and civil and political rights and freedoms of association, assembly, and expression continue to be denied.
,,, more
And
From the Arab News:
Bahrain rejects European Parliament resolution on human rights situation in Kingdom
,,,
“The EU Parliament’s resolution is unilateral and ignored Bahrain’s human rights strides in light of the reform project led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa,” he said.
Al-Dosari called on the European Union to reconsider its reports and transparency, adding that multiple institutions follow legal activities to promote human rights in the country.
Bahrain’s relations with the EU are based on friendship and mutual respect, chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee at the Council of Representatives, MP Mohammed Al-Sisi Al-Buainain said.
...
or, more simply, please STFU, guys.
#18 — Bangladesh
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries on earth, and 80% of it is flood plain. In a good year, around 18% of the country floods during the monsoon season; in a bad year, upwards of 75% (remember the flood plain?), and the bad years are occurring more and more often as climate change impacts the country.
March marks the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh as an independent country, so today’s story is an OpEd from The Daily Star (Bangladeshi English language newspaper), which may be slightly dull, but seems to be a reasonably neutral history.
Bangladesh’s achievements in 50 years and making it meaningful
Snipping from the middle of the article…
Economic progress has impacted the social lives of the population positively on many counts. By 2016, the share of population below the poverty line had declined from more than 80 percent in the early 1970s to 24.2 percent. Life expectancy has also increased by more than one and a half times since 1973. In a similar vein, maternal mortality has declined by almost four times and child mortality by about five times from what they were in the eighties. And there are many more visible progresses of which we are proud of.
The recognition of such progress has come from several organisations. In February 2021, Bangladesh fulfilled all three criteria to graduate from a least developed country (LDC) to a developing country, for the second time since 2018. The United Nations has recommended Bangladesh's graduation by 2026. Besides, in 2015, Bangladesh became a lower-middle income country from being a low-income country, according to the World Bank's classification of countries.
It should be noted, though, that the fruits of all this progress are yet to be distributed equally to each and every member of Bangladeshi society. So, while we rejoice at the achievements we have made since our independence, it is important to remember that we have also let many opportunities pass us by. Despite steady progress in several areas, the promise of an equitable and just society has remained unfulfilled. Income inequality persists as resources and wealth are concentrated amongst a few people in society, many of whom are politically connected. The nexus between politics and business is also strong. As the number of the ultra-rich people is increasing fast, the Gini coefficient that measures the country's income inequality is also increasing. With the pandemic hitting the economy hard, inequality may have widened in Bangladesh, as is apprehended in many other countries too.
#19 — Barbados
Barbados is a Commonwealth realm under Elizabeth II, which is planning to become a republic and fully independent by the end of November, 2021, with all the resulting added costs and government departments that will accrue.
One plan is in this story from The Barbados Advocate
Barbados can be ‘Financial Services Centre of excellence’
Yesterday, Hon Ronald Toppin, Minister of International Business and Industry, declared that his ministry has the goal of pushing Barbados to become a Financial Services Centre of excellence.
Ministry Toppin made these comments during his overview of how the Ministry of International Business and Industry planned to spend the estimated budget allowance of just shy of $18 million ($17,846,845) for the year. Toppin contended that in order for Barbados to remain competitive on the international side of things, people need to want to do business with the island.
To that end, the minister stated that the Ministry would be moving to employ cutting-edge technology, which would not only allow entities to apply to do business in Barbados, but the relevant regulatory policing is made easier through the use of an E-commerce platform. He explained that whether it be applications for licenses or renewals, the digitalization of the process was part of the plan for the year.
…
It should be noted that the story is a bit skimpy on details. Whether that is from a standpoint of banking security, or simply having an underdeveloped plan at this stage, is probably a good question. ;)
#20 — Belarus
The Republic of Belarus, a pseudo-democracy, led by the same President, Alexander Lukashenko, for 26 years now. The most recent election (2020) is widely felt to have been fraudulent.
I find it fascinating how much politics is playing out in the Eurovision song contest, so Belarus’ story is, once again, a story about singers. In this case, the group known as Galasy ZMesta, which is accused of a song choice of propaganda supporting Lukashenko. From Deutsche Welle
Hidden propaganda? Eurovision rejects Belarus song for political mockery
Belarus became the latest Eurovision competitor to spark furor with a song. Critics say the entry is propaganda for President Lukashenko. Organizers have said the song must be reworked or Belarus will be disqualified.
…
This is quite a substantial article, and goes into detail about previous years and countries who’ve tried to use the competition as a propaganda vehicle. From my standpoint, it is beginning to look as though, propaganda or not, it is a competitive forum which serves as a political tool, though not always a blatant one, for quite a bit of maneuvering between countries. Well worth reading.
#21 — Belgium
Officially, the Kingdom of Belgium, most famous in the US for being the birthplace of Hercule Poirot, a well known detective with distinctive moustaches (see Agatha Christie).
As for the story — I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist. From Bakery and Snacks online newspaper: (The publication’s headquarters are in the UK, the editor is French — that’s international enough for today)
17-Mar-2021 By Gill Hyslop
Kellogg is ploughing €30m ($39.7m) into revamping its Pringles plant in Belgium to keep up with EMEA demand, as well as to make production more sustainable.
Note: this source is well copyrighted — 3 paragraphs Fair Use? Sorry, here’s a headline and blurb you can copy if you want to. (I kinda like their attitude.)
#22 — Belize
Belize is a Commonwealth realm, under HRM Queen Elizabeth II, with both a Governor General and a Prime Minister and Parliamentary government.
Today’s story is from Breaking Belize News, for all you people worrying about the price of gas in the US:
Gas price goes up again, regular fuel just under $11 a gallon
Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2021. 4:14 pm CST.
By Benjamin Flowers: The Government of Belize has announced that the price of Regular fuel will be going up again this week, to just under $11 a gallon.
… more
It’s a short article, but they seem serious about enforcing copyright, so one paragraph is all I’m showing.
#23 — Benin
The Republic of Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, on the south coast of West Africa. Benin is currently in the run-up to its Presidential election, and a crazy-quilt of stories pictures a country somewhere between stable and chaotic. Thus, I’m leaving all those stories to sort themselves out 20 years from now.
In the meantime… what’s left seems to be: Pirates. From Hellenic Shipping News:
Pirates kidnap 15 sailors in Gulf of Guinea off Benin: company
Pirates have kidnapped 15 crew members from a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Guinea after boarding the vessel off the coast of Benin, the ship’s Dutch owners said on Friday.
The latest incident of high-seas piracy happened on Thursday afternoon around 210 nautical miles (389 kilometres) south of Cotonou when pirates attacked the chemical tanker Davide B, the De Poli tanker company said.
...
The Gulf of Guinea accounted for more 95 percent of all maritime kidnappings last year — 130 out of 135 cases, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which monitors security at sea.
...
Most reports refer to Nigerian pirates, but the headline calls out the coast of Benin, so that will do for today’s short hop to West Africa.
#24 — Bermuda
The Islands of Bermuda (all 181 of them more or less blended together) is a parliamentary government under the aegis of the government of the United Kingdom. Bermuda’s main source of income (I find it hard to call it an industry) is being a corporate tax haven, with tourism being a moderately shaky second.
Most of the stories are about Covid-19 and how it’s impacting island life, and tourism, and banking and insurance. And they’re losing the fight to save the reefs. So there is no story today, but here are a couple of coral reef videos from four and more years ago. Enjoy.
#25 — Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan was bordered by Tibet on the north, until China annexed Tibet. Now, evidently, it is being nibbled at from the north on a regular basis. It is just to the east of Nepal, though the two countries are divided by a thin strip of India.
The photo to the right, of Taktsang Palphug Monastery aka Paro Taktsang aka Tiger's Nest is not relevant to the story today, it simply was a beautiful image, so I included it.
The story is a small one today, from The Bhutanese newspaper.
Evidently, the Government in Bhutan pays strict attention to the complaints of the people of Bhutan.
MoAF to make small green chillies cultivation mandatory in all dzongkhags
Shortage of small green chillies has been an issue in the country for a while. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests has now made it mandatory to grow the chillies in all 20 districts.
Agriculture Minister Yeshey Penjor says that as a part of winter vegetable production the ministry is planning to produce mass quantity of chillies next year.
“We will make chilli cultivation mandatory in all the twenty dzongkhags, and we are going to focus on small green chillies. And we will not have the chilli issue next year. The government will support the farmers with the resources,” the Agriculture Minister said.
...
#26 — Bolivia
the Plurinational State of Bolivia, as of 2009, acknowledges a communality of peoples across the andes region.
Bolivia has 37 official languages: Spanish, and 36 indigenous languages, including the Guarani, Aymara, and Quechua languages.
The story: It’s been 142 years since Bolivia lost it’s only seaport to Chile, and recently (in 2018) lost an attempt at the Hague to regain access, but there may be another legal route open. (Google Translate link.)
Bolivia has the full possibility of re-routing maritime demand
The error of the Bolivian legal team in the demand for a negotiation was to try to make the rapprochement between the two countries become obligations, moving away from agreements and treaties, says lawyer Víctor Hugo Chávez
- more
#27 — Bosnia and Herzegovina
I am skipping Bosnia/Herzegovina. The only simple fact about the country seems to be that its capitol, Sarajevo, is where World War I began, with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Almost any story out of the region depends on its readers being familiar with the current governmental dysfunction of trying to manage two countries within a single border, and three separate and contentious ethnic groups, without stepping on anyone’s toes. It makes for fascinating reading but not much useful analysis. Maybe next year.
#28 — Botswana
The Republic of Botswana, currently Africa's oldest continuous democracy.
Covid-19 cases are up, and vaccines don’t seem to be available; the tourist business is down because of the pandemic, and 287 elephants have been authorized for hunting to try to tempt tourist/hunters back in the next year. The current President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, seems to be targeted with blame generally.
The story, not quite in that vein, comes from Zenger News, based out of Austin, TX. From their About Us page,
“Zenger is the world’s first digitally native wire service. It is owned and operated by journalists.”
I like the site, and would appreciate any additional information — it seems to be solid, from what I’ve seen.
Ex-President Blasts Botswana’s Leaders For Failing To Protect Rhinos
A recent surge in rhinoceros poaching in Botswana has provoked a war of words between the country’s former President Ian Khama, acclaimed internationally as a conservationist, and the present government.
In a recent Facebook post, Khama castigated the government of President Mokgweetsi Masisi for its failure to protect rhinos from poachers in the Okavango Delta and criticized its suspension of conservation measures he had implemented during his time in office.
“The resources and coordination for anti-poaching are no longer operational. The ability of poachers to be able to continuously poach in the same areas over and over again is an indication of lack of will to stop rhino poaching,“ said Khama.
...
More current Zenger News stories from Botswana can be found here.
#29 — Brazil
The Federative Republic of Brazil, currently headed by President Jair Bolsonaro, is the fifth largest country in the world. Its most critical story at the moment may be the 100,000 cases of Covid-19 per day, 300,000 total deaths, and the lack of available vaccines (Reuters) as of 3/25.
Additionally, new cases are trending toward a younger base, possibly because of a Brazilian coronavirus variant (CNN/Sao Paulo)
No single story will cover the current crisis adequately, so I present the Folha International News online site front page for, at least, one overview.
#29 — Brunei Darussalam
The Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace is located on the North coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. It’s an absolute Islamic monarchy under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
As far as I can tell, Brunei does not officially have any news. It has lots of positive stories about its lawmakers, its ministries, and the Canadian frigate that’s currently docked there, but no news. Then I asked Google to look for op-eds. ;)
From the NYT Editorial Board:
Brunei’s Royal Barbarity and Hypocrisy
The oil-rich sultanate imposes harsh Shariah law on its subjects, while members of the royal family enjoy lives of conspicuous luxury.
An intriguing aspect of Brunei’s barbarous Shariah laws is that if they were to be really enforced, a few of the sultan’s ridiculously wealthy, jet-setting kin would be leading candidates for death by stoning. Adultery is one of the crimes for which the archaic penalty is prescribed under the stern laws that went into effect on April 3 — along with sex between men, abortion and rape — and tabloids around the world have accumulated plenty of evidence against some Bruneian royals.
Such royal hypocrisy may seem to be the norm among autocratic rulers sitting atop oceans of oil who place no limits on their own dissolute lifestyles and yet impose cruel Islamic law on their subjects. And tiny Brunei, a country roughly the size of Delaware that shares the island of Borneo with Malaysia and Indonesia, might not seem worth getting worked up about.
And then it all made sense. Of course, how much of the NYT piece is hyperbole, there is no way to check from the current news pieces out of Brunei, but whitewashing tends to feel the same, no matter where it’s happening.
Note: the Sultan, as of 2019, had a net worth of approximately $28 billion (CEOWorld).
#30 — Bulgaria
The Republic of Bulgaria is a Parliamentary Republic with what is called the highest rate of corruption in the European Union
All things considered, it could be worse.
Elections appear to be highly contentious.
There are a number of opinion articles, but I decided that Reuters had the best chance of giving a neutral writeup.
Aside from elections, and an ongoing crisis with COVID-19, the biggest story is probably Spy vs. Spy. From Novinite in Sofia, Bulgaria:
Bulgaria Is Europe’s New Spy Hub for Russia - CNN
CNN has broadcast a report on the latest spy affair in Bulgaria, which resulted in two Russian diplomats being expelled from the country, BGNES reported.
Until 1989, Bulgaria was one of the most loyal members of the USSR-led Warsaw Pact. According to Western analysts, now as a member of NATO and the European Union, the country is a favorite target for Russian espionage.
If Vienna was the epicenter of post-World War II espionage in Europe, today Sofia can claim this dubious title, the report says.
...
#31 — Burkina Faso
A landlocked country in West Africa, on the southern edge of the Sahara, with a history of multiple coups between 1966 and 2015. Current population estimate of approximately 21 million people. The last coup seems to be making a positive difference to a fragile economy, but the region is still politically unstable, and poverty levels are high. Wikipedia
The story today is from CGTN Africa (China Global Television Network), based in Nairobi
Côte d’Ivoire security post near Burkina Faso border attacked
A security post close to Côte d’Ivoire’s border to the north with Burkina Faso was attacked during the early hours of Monday morning by a group on unknown assailants, according to a security official.
The official, who spoke to AFP, said the motive behind the attack, which happened at around 1am in the town of Kafolo, was yet to be established, in addition to any casualties.
…
Côte d’Ivoire shares a 550-kilometer border with Burkina Faso, where jihadist violence has claimed the lives of hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.
...
My bolding.
#32 — Burundi
The Republic of Burundi. One sentence encapsulates the Wikipedia article: “In addition to poverty, Burundians often have to deal with corruption, weak infrastructure, poor access to health and education services, and hunger.”
When the second story to come up was from Amnesty International, it felt right to give it pride of place here.
Burundi: Authorities must quash Germain Rukuki’s conviction and release him
Burundian authorities must quash human rights activist Germain Rukuki’s conviction on spurious charges and immediately and unconditionally release him from prison, where he is being detained simply for his work defending human rights, said Amnesty International today as a new appeal hearing on his case gets underway.
“Germain Rukuki is serving a 32-year prison term on baseless charges of ‘rebellion’ and ‘threatening state security’, when all he did was stand up for human rights,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
“He must be immediately and unconditionally released, and his conviction overturned.”
...
Also, from reliefweb.int,
WFP Burundi Country Brief, February 2021
Primary country
Other country
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
Source
Disaster
- Southern Africa: Drought - 2018-2021
*******
1,864 mt of food assistance distributed
USD 8.2 m net funding requirements for the next six months (March-August 2021)
451,924 people assisted in February 2021
Much more on page.