Libya

Libya


Type of government: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state

Current head of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI

Total population: 6,461,454

% of population living in poverty:  NA%

GDP: $77.91 billion 

Capital: Tripoli

Largest city: Tripoli

Coastline: 1,770 km

Major bodies of water: Mediterranean Sea

Major rivers: none

Bordering countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Chad, Niger, and Sudan

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

Geographical features: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, and depressions some mountains in central

Libya, an oil-rich nation in North Africa, has been under the firm control of Col. Muammar El-Qaddafi since he seized power in 1969. But in February 2011, the unrest sweeping through much of the Arab world started in many Libyan cities. The trajectory of the Libyan revolt has been radically different from those that toppled Arab autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt. Though it began with a relatively organized core of antigovernment opponents in Benghazi, its spread to the capital of Tripoli was swift and spontaneous, outracing any efforts to coordinate the protests, and Colonel Qaddafi has lashed out with a level of violence unseen in either of the other uprisings.

Bahrain

Bahrain

Type of government: Kingdom

Current head of state: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah

Total population: 791,473

% of population living in poverty: NA%

GDP: $21.73 billion

Capital: Manama

Largest city: Manama

Major bodies of water: The Gulf of Bahrain

Coasts: 161 km

Major rivers: None

Bordering countries: None

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers

Geographical features: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central escarpment

 Thousands of anti-government protesters are on the streets in Bahrain, where some have cheered the government's release of more than 300 prisoners.

Some demonstrators joined those who have camped out for several days in Manama's Pearl Square, the symbolic center of opposition protests. Meanwhile, Bahraini authorities have released 308 prisoners, including 25 Shi'ite activists who had been on trial since October accused of plotting against the Gulf state's minority Sunni rulers. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa had pardoned the prisoners on Tuesday, in a gesture toward opposition activists.

Iran

Iran

Type of government: Islamic republic

Current head of state: Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Total population: 72,903,921

% of population living in poverty:18%

GDP: $331.01

Capital: Tehran

Largest city: Tehran

Major bodies of water: The Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and The Gulf of Oman

Coasts: Anzali lagoon, and the Amol beach

Major rivers: The Karun River

Bordering countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, and Turkmenistan

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Iran has a variable climate. In the northwest, winters are cold with heavy snowfall and subfreezing temperatures during December and January. Spring and fall are relatively mild, while summers are dry and hot. In the south, winters are mild and the summers are very hot, having average daily temperatures in July exceeding 38° C.

Geographical features: Iran is located in southwest Asia and borders the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Caspian Sea. Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries.

Iran's news had announced that seven protesters were killed when a massive rally against the re-election of Mahmoud Amhadinejad turned violent. A spokesman for the European Commission urged Iranian authorities to allow peaceful protests in the country where civil unrest appears to have reached levels unseen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Egypt

Egypt

Type of government: Republic

Current head of state: The military of Egypt’s leaders

total population: 80,471,869

% of population living in poverty: 20%

GDP: $216.8 billion

Capital: Cairo

Largest city: Cairo

Major rivers: The Nile River

Bodies of water: The Mediterranean sea, Red sea, and Suez Canal

Bordering countries: Israel, Libya, and Sudan

Largest religion: Islam

Climate: Throughout Egypt, days are commonly warm or hot, and nights are cool. Egypt has only two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to October. The climate of Egypt is dry and arid because the Sahara Desert crosses it.

geographical features: The country of Egypt is located in the north eastern region of Africa. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea. In the south there is a mountain range which receives snow. One of the major geographical features of this area is the Nile River, which runs northward toward the Mediterranean Sea. Also the white and Sahara desert run through it.

There were huge protests to get President Hosni Mubarak out of office. Egyptian were tired of class separation, and many things you can get cheap like fava beans and pita got very expensive. Protesters protested in the streets of Egypt and President Mubarak said he would not run for re-election. That wasn’t good enough for the civilians, and on Feb. 11, President Mubarak resigned.

Afghanistan

will be blogging facts about several countries in the middle east

Afghanistan

Type of government: Islamic republic

Current head of state: President Hamid Karzai

Total population: 29,121,286

% of population under 18: 144,450.00 times 291,212.86 = 42%

% of population in poverty: 42%

Capital: Kabul

Largest city: Kabul

Coasts: none

Rivers: The Kundar River, Zhob River, Karam River, Kabul River, Bara River, Kunar River , Peche River, Bashgal River, Surkhab River, Alingar River, Panjshir River, Ghorband River, Salang River, and The Logar River, and the Oxus River.

Bordering countries: Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China

Largest Religion: Islam

Climate: Most of Afghanistan has a subarctic mountain climate with dry and cold winters, except for the lowlands, which have arid and semiarid climates.

Geographical features: Afghanistan is a landlocked nation that is mostly rugged mountains called the Hindu Kush; plains in north and southwest.

Two years ago King Mohamet Zahir of Afghanistan noticed some carved stones of a kind he had not seen before in such a northeast part of Afghanistan. He showed two examples to M. Daniel Schlumberger, the head of the French archaeological mission to Afghanistan. They had been found in an area close to the Soviet frontier closed to all visitors on the banks of the river Oxus. Encouraged by the King's interest in what he had found, M. Schlumberger got a permit to go to this site with a small group of scholars and they found themselves on what was the site of a Greek city--a large settlement in Bactria. Now at last at Al-Khanoun, right on the Soviet frontier, the French mission has discovered buildings of the Greeks.