Religion of Afghanistan

Islam is the main religion of Afghanistan, with over 99% being Muslim. Of the Muslim population, 84% are Sunnites and 15% are Shiites. There are small groups of Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jews that are scattered in the towns.

Struggle Against Drug Trafficking

The executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday that the United Nations is planning to launch a program aimed at stopping drug trafficking in Afghanistan by the end of 2011. Central Asia states have been a hub for drug trafficking, and new programs are being developed to put an end to it. The United Nations is planning on spending $3 million. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin that is consumed in Russia is smuggled from Afghanistan; 30,000 Russians die from heroin abuse each year.

Armenia and Christanity

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church that still exists independently of both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity. From around 1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had close ties to European Crusader states, flourished in southeastern Asia Minor until conquered by Muslim states.

oldest shoe

A perfectly preserved shoe, 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the UK, has been found in a cave in Armenia. The 5,500 year old shoe, the oldest leather shoe in the world, was discovered by a team of international archaeologists and their findings.

Azerbaijan's Youth

I found an interesting article about how the government of Azerbaijan is taking steps to try and improve social and economic problems for their youth. I have listed the link to the article here.

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/35081

Food of Southern Azerbaijan

Southern Azerbaijan has traditional foods that have been around for quite a while. One of the most traditional foods is Dolma which basically means "stuffed". This includes stuffed peppers, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage leaves, apple, tomato, pepper, quince, onion, eggplant, and a type of vegetable called a evelik.

Another traditional food is kebabs. The different types of kebabs include berg kebab, soltani kebab, Juje (or dwarf chick) kebab, liver kebab, tomato kebab, Bonab kebab (named after a city in Azerbaijan), tail kebab, kebab in pan and Kubide kebab.

Another dish that is eaten primarily in the winter is soup. These are made mostly in the winter because the soups are thought to have healing powers. Some of the soups include yoghurt, ayran (derived from yoghurt), noodle, sour soup, semolina soup, scarlet soup, boiled sheep's head soup, fruit soup, and tomato soup.

Lastly, another traditional food is meatballs. The Tabriz and the Rize meatballs are the most common ones. Meatballs are often stuffed with fried onions, dried apricots, cooked eggs, walnuts and other flavors. Some of the staple spices that are used in traditional dishes include saffron, cumin, turmeric, thyme, red and black pepper, ginger, mint and dried roses.

Retrieved from http://www.oursouthazerbaijan.com/English_cuisine.htm

Afghanistan landscape

Afghanistan is a country that is landlocked on all sides with no coastline. It is on the Iranian Plateau surrounded by the Hindu Kush mountains. It is the 41st largest country in the world and covers 250,001 sq miles. Afghanistan is about the size of Texas, and most of the land is rugged, inhospitable mountainous landscape.

Kabul Bank to be split

The Afghan Central Bank has only recouped $47 million of the over $900 million in loans that were issued by Kabul Bank. The Afghan Central Bank said yesterday, that the Kabul Bank will be broken into two parts, to isolate bad loans, and create a new bank that will be able to guarantee customer's deposits. Last year, there was a near collapse of Kabul Bank, which is the nation's largest financial institution; and there was a government takeover. The bank will be privatized and renamed New Kabul Bank. The Afghan government is going to try and recoup the rest of the loans, and if someone doesn't cooperate, their property will be seized by court order.

Russia Used to Occupy Armenia

Between 1915 and 1917, Russia occupied virtually the entire Armenian part of the Ottoman Empire. Then in October 1917, the Bolshevik victory in Russia ended that country's involvement in World War I, and Russian troops left the Caucasus

Armenian Genocide Victims Honored

Turkish Zaman newspaper reports that “Armenians who lost their lives in the Armenian displacement that took place in 1915, during the final days of the Ottoman Empire, will be commemorated through a variety of events for a second time this year. Armenians all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24 because it was on that day in 1915 when many Armenians who were deported by the Ottoman Empire perished.

Azerbaijan and the Arts

I found this article about how Azerbaijan is becoming more widely recognized for their culture and arts. I found this interesting, especially since the first art museum in Azerbaijan opened in Baku in 2009.

Here is the link for the article

http://hmcurrentevents.com/articles/issues_in_world_geography/russia_and_the_republics_azerb.php

Government in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, there is a president, and the government is divided into three branches. The president is in charge of the legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch includes the president and his administration as well as a prime minister and the cabinet of ministers. The legislative branch of the government consists of 125 parliament members who are also known as Milli Majlis. These members, once elected serve 5 year terms for the government.

Some government officials are as follows:

President- Llham Aliyev
Prime Minister- Artur Rasizade
Foreign Minister- Elmar Mammadyarov
Ambassador to the U.S.- Yashar Aliyev
Ambassador to the UN- Agshin Mehdiyev

Retrieved from
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm#gov

Uzbekistan... who knew

       Uzbekistan is one of the world's biggest producers of cotton and is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas and gold. Uzbekistans economic reform has been slow; poverty and unemployment are widespread. Uzbekistan has the largest armed forces in Central Asia. Uzbekistan allowed the United states to set up base there after Sept. 11 happened.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1238242.stm

Current news in Armenia has the Armenian Minister of Defence Seyran Ohanyan meeting with the newly-appointed Georgian Ambassador to Armenia Tengiz Sharmanashvili. Congratulating the Ambassador on his appointment, the Minister expressed hope for the official to contribute to the development of Armenia-Georgia military cooperation.

Afghanistan's Independence from Britain

In May 1919, Amir Amanullah Khan led a surprise attack against British forces in India, which sparked the Third Anglo-Afghan War.The British signed the Treaty of Rawalpindi on August 8th of that year, which gave Afghanistan full control over its foreign affairs. Afghanistan was never officially a part of the British Empire, but Afghanistan fought three wars against Britain. The First Anglo-Afghan War 1839–1842, the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878–80, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919.

Natural arch found in Afghanistan

One of the world's largest natural stone arches was discovered in a remote corner of Afghanistan. It measures more than 210 feet in width and is more than 10,000 feet above sea level. This is the 12th largest natural bridge in the world. The arch includes rock from the Jurassic period, and the Eocene Epoch. The stone was discovered in late 2010, but wasn't until recently that the stone was measured, and it was determined to be the 12th largest.

Azerbaijan Supplying Oil to Belarus for Venezuela

I thought that this was an interesting current event for Azerbaijan, even though Venezuela and Belarus are included. It was posted in December of last year.

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/93650/#ixzz19KlItRAx

A Little Bit of History About Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan was the first democratic republic in the Muslim world after it gained independence in 1918. Women were actually given the right to vote in 1919. I thought this was an interesting fact. Azerbaijan became a member of the Soviet Union in 1936, and in the 1980's there were violent confrontations. An example was when Soviet troops killed 190 nationalist demonstrators in Baku. Following that incident, Azerbaijan declared independence from the soviet union in August of 1991.

Retrieved from The U.S. Department of State www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2909.htm#history

Some historical information about the country of Armenia is that the ethnic groups in Armenia include Armenians (98%), Kurds, Russians, Greeks, and others. More than 90% of the population is nominally affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is considered to be the national church of Armenia. Languages are Armenian (96%), Russian, and others.