Syria's Christian Community Faces Another Northern Cyprus, Iraq and Kosovo.

Syria's Christian Community Faces Another Northern Cyprus, Iraq and Kosovo Northern Cyprus, Iraq, Kosovo and now Syria all have one binding feature and that is the collapse of Christianity always follows in the wake of Western meddling. It appears that the policy of Saudi Arabia, which does not tolerate one non-Muslim place of worship, is being enacted by elites in London and Washington when it comes to their respective foreign policy. Despite this, the vast majority of churches in the West either remain silent, or they have accepted that the Christian faith is in decline and not worth defending. Throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, nations like Saudi Arabia are intent on spreading a conservative version of Islam which seeks no compromise. Yet political elites in these nations are not demanding that Saudi Arabia and other draconian nations, open up to other non-Muslim faiths and other sects within Islam. It is a clear win-win policy for Saudi Arabia. Therefore, religious and political elites in Riyadh must be laughing at such a spineless international community, which is working in collusion with the most draconian nation on this planet. It must be pointed out that moderate Islam and non-Muslims are bearing the hatred of radical Sunni Islam, which seeks a monoculture and to destroy moderate forces. In Turkey the Alevi suffer persecution, in Pakistan and Indonesia the Ahmadiyya Muslim community suffers greatly and many Shia Muslims are killed in Pakistan. When moderate Sunni Muslim voices challenge the Sunni Islamist inquisition, then they are also put in the firing line. Likewise, in Libya and northern Mali the Sufi faith is under threat from Islamists, which have been destroying Sufi shrines and other areas related to this branch of Islam. Even moderate versions of Islam in Pakistan within various Sunni branches are being influenced by the harbingers of hatred. Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus referred to the fact that the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria stands by all minorities and the various Christian communities. The thought of the FSA emerging victorious along with various different Islamist terrorist groups is certainly creating fear and panic to the Archbishop of Cyprus. He commented about the plight of Christians within the Middle East and stated that "certainly Christianity is in danger, especially in Syria." This comment would have been laughed at in early 2011 because under the government of Bashar al-Assad the Christian community and all faith groups had hope. Likewise, women never had to worry about what the future held for them under an Islamist state like Saudi Arabia, where women are forbidden to drive and to dress how they like. However, once nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey saw an opening in Syria and had the support of America, France and the United Kingdom; then political elites in Ankara, Doha and Riyadh decided to embark on supporting sectarianism, terrorism and spreading Salafi ideology. They did this with the full backing of elites in Washington, London and Paris but while America and the United Kingdom appear to be cooling -- the same destabilization policies are continuing. In Kosovo it was stated by Modern Tokyo Times that "The Turks could never destroy the 'spirit and soul' of the Orthodox Christian community in Kosovo despite the enslavement of young Christian boys being converted to Islam, dhimmitude, wars, heavy taxation and other factors. Fascism also couldn't destroy this community during World War Two. However, the American political leadership and British political leadership laid down the foundations for the destruction of this embattled community." Therefore, whenever London and Washington weave their geopolitical games in the Balkans and the Middle East, the end result is always the same. This applies to the weakening of all minority faiths and clearly the Christians, Alawites, the Shia and other communities like the Druze, have much to fear in Syria if the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and outside meddling overthrows the government of Syria. Indeed, mainstream Sunni Muslim religious leaders like the Grand Mufti of Syria also have much to fear. After all, just like Sufi shrines are now being destroyed in Libya, the same Islamists will also try to destroy liberal Sunni Islamic values in Syria. The Russian Federation understands the reality of Islamism and terrorism because many parts of the Caucasus face serious problems. In other parts of this nation like in Tatarstan, the Sufi leadership also faces death and hatred by Islamists just like in Dagestan in the Caucasus region. The heart and soul of Islam is being challenged by Islamists in many parts of the world. Therefore, even when Muslims are small minorities, it is clear that Islamists seek to fill any vacuum open to them in order to spread divisions and sow the seeds of hatred. In Iraq vast numbers of people fled the carnage which followed the American led invasion. The percentage of Christians which left Iraq was enormous and now the same fate awaits them in Syria. Therefore, within parts of the Balkans and the Middle East the same geopolitical policies of Washington and London keep on helping to cleanse the various Christian communities. It also matters not if during war or during so-called peacetime because the ongoing destruction of Orthodox Christianity continues in northern Cyprus and Kosovo. Indeed, many Orthodox Christians have been killed by the mainly Muslim Albanians in Kosovo since the ending of the conflict. Yet, and this is important, how many Kosovo Albanians are in prison for killing Orthodox Christians during peacetime in Kosovo? Syria under the current leader, Bashar al-Assad, not only protects all faith groups but this nation under his leadership took in millions of refugees from several nations within the Middle East. Many of these refugees came from Iraq because of terrorism and sectarianism which was unleashed after the US led invasion of this nation. During this crisis the elites in Damascus welcomed refugees irrespective of faith. Therefore, vast numbers of Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Christians and other faith communities were given sanctuary in Syria. However, this nation is now being destabilized by many outside nations which desire to alter the religious and political map of the Middle East. Christians, and all Syrians who support the mosaic of this nation, have much to fear given the reality of what happened in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Kosovo. Bishop Antoine Audo stated about his beloved Syria that "In the city of Homs, home to what was the country's second-largest Christian community, all but a few of the faithful were forced to leave after a wave of persecution -- all the churches desecrated." Bishop Antoine Audo also states that "If Christians in my country were reduced to a token few; it would be disastrous because, until now, ours has been one of the last remaining strong Christian centers in the whole of the Middle East." The Christian community was forced to flee the barbarity of the FSA and various different Islamist terrorist groups which have been supported by America, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Qatar and France. Likewise, Christian churches, just like in Kosovo and northern Cyprus, have been destroyed by the friends of Washington. Therefore, the Christian community relies on the power of the armed forces of Syria to repulse the various terrorist, mercenary and seditious movements. Recently a leading cleric from Saudi Arabia called for the destruction of churches throughout Arabia. Given the political elites in Washington, London and Paris, and remembering past history; then this cleric may soon get his wish in Syria if the FSA and Islamists win the day? The forces which support the mosaic of Syria are based throughout the government of this nation. Likewise, all leading religious figures in Syria irrespective of faith are adamant that outside meddling must stop. It is time to listen to people on the ground and whose voices have been marginalized by the mass media. Syria needs breathing space in order to solve their own situation through the institutions which exist and to expand on areas which favor the majority of Syrians. Therefore, it is essential that outside nations stop supporting religious cleansing, terrorism, sectarianism and sedition.     Advertise Here

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Palomares bombs: Spain waits for US to finish nuclear clean-up

On a sunny morning in 1966 two US Air Force planes collided and dropped four nuclear bombs near the village of Palomares in southern Spain. There was no nuclear blast, but plutonium was scattered over a wide area - and Spain is now asking the US to finish the clean-up.

The US government calls nukes that go astray "Broken Arrows" and on 17 January 1966, Palomares got four of them.
Overhead, at 31,000ft, an American B-52G bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker plane during routine air-to-air refuelling and broke apart. Three of the bomber's H-bombs landed in or around Palomares, the fourth landed about five miles offshore in the Mediterranean.
Manolo Gonzalez says he was standing outside when he heard a tremendous explosion.
"I looked up and saw this huge ball of fire, falling through the sky," he says. "The two planes were breaking into pieces.

Find out more

Watch video of Palomares at the website of PRI's The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, Public Radio International and WGBH in Boston

Gonzalez saw one half of the flaming bomber crash to the ground near the local elementary school - where his wife was teaching.

"I went flying across town on my scooter," he says. "The plane had just barely missed the school itself."
In fact, no-one on the ground was killed that morning. Local people call it the only positive part of this story.
The American airmen weren't so lucky. All four men on the refuelling plane died and three of the seven men on the B-52 were killed (the four others managed to eject safely).

Navy personnel examine weapon number four, recovered from the sea-bed, 1966

There was only one telephone in Palomares in 1966, and no running water. But the skies over that poor region of southern Spain were being criss-crossed daily by the world's most modern war machines.
It was the height of the Cold War. In an operation code-named Chrome Dome, the US had between 12 and 24 nuclear-armed B-52 bombers in the air 24 hours a day, in an attempt to deter a Soviet first-strike.
There were different flight paths for the B-52s in different parts of the world. The B-52 involved in the Palomares accident was flying the southern route, in a loop from its base in North Carolina around the Mediterranean. The tanker aircraft had taken off from a nearby base in southern Spain to refuel it before the return journey to the US. It was then that disaster struck.

The outcome would have been immeasurably worse if the bombs had been armed. Fortunately they weren't, so there was no nuclear explosion.
In theory, parachutes attached to the bombs should have borne them gently down to earth, preventing any contamination - but two of the parachutes failed to open.
Within days of the crash, the beach in Palomares became a base for a big military operation involving some 700 American airmen and scientists.

The clean-up operation

• 700 US airmen and scientists employed to search for bombs and clean up
• Three inches of topsoil removed, sealed in 4,810 barrels and shipped to storage facility in US
• 20 ships, including mine-sweepers and submersibles, deployed by US Navy to find missing bomb in sea
• Cost of sea search over $10m
• Yearly health checks thereafter on residents, monitoring of soil, water, air and local crops

Their goal - to find the nukes, and secure them.

The two that fell to earth unsupported by parachutes blew apart on impact, scattering highly toxic, radioactive plutonium dust - a major hazard to anyone who might inhale it.
"What they decided to do was remove the contaminated dirt from the most contaminated areas," says science writer Barbara Moran, author of The Day We Lost the H-Bomb.
They literally scraped up the first three inches of topsoil, sealed it in barrels, and shipped it to a storage facility back in the US.
"They did have a plan in place," Moran says. "But it was supposed to happen on a nice flat piece of ground in the US, not on foreign soil where nobody spoke English and there were all these farmers and goats walking around."
As the clean-up got under way, the US and Spanish governments set out to convince the world there was no danger. US Ambassador Biddle Duke even came down from Madrid for a swim, in front of TV cameras.

When asked by a reporter on the scene if he'd detected any radioactivity in the water, Duke replied with a laugh: "If this is radioactivity, I love it!"
While two of the bombs ruptured on impact, another landed safely. These three were located within 24 hours.
But there was huge consternation about the fourth, which drifted out to sea as it descended, and became known as the "lost" H-bomb.
The US Navy deployed more than 20 ships, including mine-sweepers and submersibles, in an attempt to find it.

“Start Quote

Every time the story hits the media it hurts tourism”

Andres Portillo, local barman

"The design of these bombs was top secret," says Barbara Moran. "When they were searching, there were Soviet spy ships circling around - and the Soviets had submersible technology."

Four months later, as the land clean-up was winding down, the missing bomb was finally hoisted on board a US warship from a depth of 2,850ft (869m). Barbara Moran says the US Navy calculated the total cost of its sea search at over $10m - the most expensive salvage operation in US Navy history to that date.
In Palomares itself, the US and Spain agreed to fund yearly health-checks on residents, and to monitor the soil, the water, the air, and local crops.
Over the years since there's been no evidence that anyone has fallen ill as a result of the accident. The food and water remain clean.

Tomatoes were an important agricultural product in Palomares in the 1960s

So almost everyone has forgotten about Palomares. Except the people of Palomares. That's because the US clean-up operation missed some areas of contamination. Jose Maria Herrera is a local journalist who's been investigating the accident since the 1980s. He stood recently on a ridge overlooking one of three fenced-off areas which is still contaminated, totalling some 100 acres (40 hectares).
"That crater there is where one of the bombs fell," he says. "You could extract at least half a pound of plutonium from the soil there today."
Actually, just how much plutonium is still out there is hard to determine, because the US has never said how much the bombs were carrying to begin with. But Spanish investigator Carlos Sancho estimates that between 15 and 25 pounds (7 and 11kg) of the material ended up in the soil. Sancho, who runs the Palomares section of the Spanish Department of Energy, insists it does not pose health risks.

The 007 connection

In December 1965, a month before the accident, James Bond film Thunderball was released.
"The film's plot had strong similarities to what subsequently happened in real life", says author Barbara Moran.
"Bond's mission was to find atomic bombs that had been lost at sea. All the news stories at the time were making the connection.
"Much of the movie was shot underwater with Sean Connery battling baddies in weird submersibles trying to get the bombs...
"In the movie, they had all this really awesome underwater technology that got the bomb. But in real life, it was much harder to first locate, and then recover the bomb from the sea bed."

"The earth there can't be moved because the plutonium is latent in the soil," he says. "If we disturb the soil the plutonium could be dispersed."

So Palomares is like a sleeping dragon. You can't walk in the fenced-off area, and you can't farm it or build on it. The message from the Department of Energy is: "Let the plutonium lie and there's no problem." Yet local people say that in itself is a problem.
Local barman Andres Portillo says the damage is to the town's image. "Every time the story hits the media, it hurts tourism," he says. "A lot of people don't want to come here because they think the quality of life must be low, that cancer rates are higher, when that's not the case at all."
Some here say that without the negative publicity, Palomares could be every bit as popular as its more famous neighbour, Marbella.
So the community finds itself trapped. When residents complain, the accident makes headlines again and there's a drop in the number of visitors, and a drop in the prices farmers get at market for their produce.
But now, 46 years after the accident, there are indications that Spain and the US may be closing in on a permanent solution. Earlier this year, Spain's foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then with reporters.
"Secretary Clinton has said this will be resolved before her mandate is up," Margallo said. "'I am personally committed,' she said."
Though the US State Department quickly released a statement saying that no such commitment had been made, serious talks are under way, says a spokesman for the US embassy in Madrid. As to when an agreement might be reached - over who pays for the second clean-up, how it will be done, and where the contaminated soil will be stored - that's still up in the air.
So the residents of Palomares wait. As they have for nearly half a century. And, from time to time, they allow themselves to dream.
Palomares Deputy Mayor Juan Jose Perez says he hopes he can turn the tragedy into something positive. He'd like to build a museum explaining how it all happened.
"Maybe even in the shape of a B-52 bomber," he says. "We could offer guided walking tours through the affected areas."
But he says for any of that to happen, this story first needs an ending.
For him, a fitting end would be for the US to come back and finish the job.
Additional reporting by Rob Hugh-Jones.

US urges Lebanon stability amid escalating tensions

 

 The US warned that a power vacuum would pose a great risk to Lebanon's political stability

The US has said it is backing Lebanese efforts to form a new coalition amid rising tension sparked by the killing of security chief Wissam al-Hassan.

US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland warned a power vacuum would pose a great risk to stability.
"The export of instability from Syria threatens the security of Lebanon now more than ever," she said.
Deadly clashes erupted in Beirut and Tripoli after opposition figures blamed Syria for the attack on Gen Hassan.
On Saturday, President Michel Suleiman rejected an offer of resignation from Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose coalition government is dominated by the pro-Syrian Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah and its allies.
Mr Mikati said the president had asked him "to stay for a while longer" to "avoid a political vacuum".

“Start Quote

Such acts of terrorism are designed to provoke reaction and to create tensions”

Catherine Ashton EU foreign policy chief

However, the decision prompted Fouad Siniora, a prominent member of the Western-backed 14 March opposition alliance, to warn on Sunday: "The Lebanese people won't accept, after today, the continuation of the government of assassination."

Speaking in Washington on Tuesday evening, Ms Nuland told reporters: "This is obviously a Lebanese affair."
"And while we don't want a vacuum of a legitimate political authority, we do support this process that is now under way to produce a new government that's responsive to the needs of the Lebanese people."
She added that the US ambassador, Maura Connelly, was due to meet Lebanese politicians to discuss the possible shape of the new coalition.
'Designed to provoke' Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held talks in Beirut with President Suleiman and Prime Minister Mikati on Tuesday.
She also warned against the dangers of a political vacuum and welcomed efforts to "maintain stability through national dialogue".
"Such acts of terrorism are designed to provoke reaction and to create tensions," Ms Ashton said.

The Lebanese army has been deployed to calm deadly tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions

"The importance of robust state institutions that continue to ensure security and provide services cannot be understated."
Gen Hassan, who headed the intelligence branch of the Internal Security Forces, was killed in a car bomb blast on Friday, along with one of his bodyguards and a woman nearby.
The senior official was a Sunni and an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He also maintained close links to the 14 March alliance and the family of its leader, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri

Wissam al-Hassan

• Head of the intelligence branch of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces
• Sunni Muslim born in the northern city of Tripoli in 1965
• Responsible for the security of former PM Rafik Hariri
• Viewed as being close to the Hariris and the opposition 14 March coalition
• Responsible for the August arrest of pro-Syrian politician and ex-information minister Michel Sama

Gen Hassan's murder has led to deadly clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian factions. As a result, the Lebanese army has been deployed on the streets of Beirut and Tripoli to try to stem the violence.

'Nation at stake' Thousands attended Gen Hassan's funeral on Sunday, which became a political rally against both Mr Mikati and Syria.
Police scuffled with a group of protesters who attempted to storm the prime minister's office, and overnight into Monday protesters set up road blocks in Beirut, prompting exchanges of gunfire.
On Monday, dozens of people set up camp outside Mr Mikati's office, calling for his resignation.
Opposition MPs boycotted Tuesday's parliamentary sessions.
The army has urged "all political leaders to be cautious when expressing their stances and opinions" and in attempting to mobilise public action "because the fate of the nation is at stake".
The military is a widely respected institution in Lebanon that has often been required to stand between the country's diverse political and religious factions.

Curiosity may one day return to Earth, says Nasa boss

Curiosity could have enough power to keep on running for 20 years

The director of Nasa's Mars exploration programme has spoken of hopes that one day the rover Curiosity might be brought back to Earth by astronauts.

Doug McCuistion said it was his personal hope that humans would visit the Red Planet in the 2030s or 2040s.
He said he could imagine astronauts walking up to Curiosity.
McCuistion said the roving laboratory's mission was scheduled to last two years, but it could have enough power for 20 years.
The Nasa chief set out his vision during a satellite link up with Glenelg in the Scottish Highlands at the weekend.
The community of about 280 people has twinned itself with a site on Mars that Nasa has labelled Glenelg.
McCuistion said: "It is my hope that humans will be sent to Mars in the 2030s, or 2040s, and they will be able to walk up to Curiosity and bring it back, as I am sure there is a museum out there that would love to have it."

“Start Quote

In those shows who can see the wires holding up the spaceships”

Bonnie Dunbar Former astronaut

Plutonium generators that deliver heat and electricity to Curiosity could continue working long after the rover completes its mission.

But McCuistion said wear and tear of working parts were likely to bring an end to Curiosity's life before the generators.
A meteorite strike - the Red Planet is scarred with thousands of such impacts - is another possible threat to the rover.
McCuistion said: "If we put humans on Mars they are going to have to watch for those meteorites."
Retired astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, a veteran of five space shuttle flights, also told the event in Glenelg of her desire to see humans on Mars.
She said: "It is not a question of if, but when and who."
Attending the twinning ceremony in person, Dunbar said it was important future generations took an interest in science and maths. Algebra was key to her career as an engineer working on space shuttles, and later as an astronaut flying in them.
Looking around the marquee where she delivered her talk, she said: "I am counting on some of these young people in here to get us to Mars before I am gone."
Dunbar was also keen to debunk suggestions the 1969 Moon Landing was faked.
She said: "At Nasa I worked with John Young, an astronaut who walked on the Moon."
Dunbar added: "I grew up watching Flash Gordon, which were popular at the time of the landing. In those shows who can see the wires holding up the spaceships."
The former astronaut said wires cannot be seen in the Moon Landing and the special effects were not available 43 years ago to fake the footage.

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Catalog Sources World Development Indicators

 

Country name	2007	2008	2009	2010
Afghanistan	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.6
Albania	8.5	8.2	8.4	8.4
Algeria	8.2	7.8	8.6	8.1
American Samoa
Andorra	21.3	21.3	21.3	21.3
Angola	5.7	6.4	10.1	7.2
Antigua and Barbuda	9.7	10.1	8.0	16.7
Argentina	13.9	13.8	14.7	14.7
Armenia	6.8	7.2	6.6	6.4
Aruba
Australia	17.2	16.8	16.8	16.8
Austria	16.0	16.2	16.2	16.2
Azerbaijan	4.6	3.1	4.5	4.2
Bahamas, The	15.7	15.2	15.2	14.2
Bahrain	9.8	10.9	11.4	11.4
Bangladesh	8.4	6.2	7.4	7.4
Barbados	9.5	9.7	7.8	9.3
Belarus	9.1	7.0	8.4	9.9
Belgium	14.7	15.1	15.1	15.1
Belize	10.6	10.5	11.8	11.4
Benin	9.9	9.4	9.2	9.6
Bermuda
Bhutan	13.3	13.8	12.1	10.5
Bolivia	7.6	7.1	7.3	7.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina	13.3	14.0	15.1	16.6
Botswana	18.4	16.6	17.0	17.0
Brazil	5.4	5.7	5.9	7.1
Brunei Darussalam	6.7	7.3	7.5	8.5
Bulgaria	10.0	10.7	9.8	9.8
Burkina Faso	14.8	16.3	13.6	13.5
Burundi	11.8	8.2	8.1	8.1
Cambodia	11.1	10.6	9.8	10.5
Cameroon	6.8	5.6	7.3	8.5
Canada	18.0	18.2	18.3
Cape Verde	10.8	10.1	9.7	10.1
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic	10.4	8.5	8.5	8.5
Chad	4.6	3.3	3.3	3.3
Chile	15.9	15.6	16.2	16.3
China	10.9	11.6	12.1	12.1
Colombia	18.8	18.8	19.3	20.1
Comoros	12.5	11.7	7.3	13.1
Congo, Dem. Rep.	8.5	12.7	12.5	9.1
Congo, Rep.	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3
Costa Rica	24.6	26.1	30.6	29.0
Cote d'Ivoire	6.6	6.5	5.1	5.1
Croatia	17.6	17.7	17.7	17.7
Cuba	14.5	13.2	14.9	13.9
Curacao
Cyprus	6.2	5.9	5.5	5.3
Czech Republic	13.5	13.7	14.9	14.9
Denmark	16.6	16.7	16.8	16.8
Djibouti	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1
Dominica	8.2	8.7	8.3	10.5
Dominican Republic	9.6	9.4	12.4	14.0
Ecuador	5.4	4.6	7.7	7.3
Egypt, Arab Rep.	6.2	5.9	5.6	5.7
El Salvador	15.5	11.8	12.3	13.3
Equatorial Guinea	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
Eritrea	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6
Estonia	11.5	11.9	11.7	11.7
Ethiopia	12.7	11.5	13.3	13.5
Faeroe Islands
Fiji	10.1	10.9	10.3	9.4
Finland	12.6	12.5	12.1	12.1
France	16.5	16.3	16.3	16.3
French Polynesia
Gabon	5.6	5.1	6.6	6.6
Gambia, The	11.3	11.3	11.3	11.3
Georgia	4.3	4.8	6.1	6.9
Germany	18.4	18.6	18.7	18.7
Ghana	15.4	12.2	12.4	12.1
Greece	12.5	12.0	12.1	12.1
Greenland
Grenada	10.2	8.8	9.5	8.2
Guam
Guatemala	15.9	16.6	17.0	16.2
Guinea	2.9	4.4	1.8	1.8
Guinea-Bissau	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.1
Guyana	10.0	18.2	16.4	16.5
Haiti	9.2	9.5	6.0	4.5
Honduras	16.9	15.5	17.7	17.4
Hong Kong SAR, China
Hungary	10.5	10.5	10.3	10.3
Iceland	18.3	13.4	15.7	14.7
India	3.4	3.6	3.7	3.6
Indonesia	6.5	5.7	6.8	7.8
Iran, Islamic Rep.	10.5	10.5	10.5	10.5
Iraq	4.5	5.0	7.0	9.0
Ireland	16.1	15.8	14.5	9.5
Isle of Man
Israel	9.8	10.2	10.4	10.4
Italy	13.9	14.4	14.2	14.7
Jamaica	5.5	6.4	5.4	6.3
Japan	18.1	18.4	18.4	18.4
Jordan	13.3	15.6	18.6	18.6
Kazakhstan	7.4	8.3	11.3	11.4
Kenya	7.7	6.3	7.3	7.3
Kiribati	11.0	12.6	13.0	12.1
Korea, Dem. Rep.
Korea, Rep.	12.3	11.9	12.2	12.4
Kosovo
Kuwait	5.3	6.2	5.6	6.9
Kyrgyz Republic	12.8	11.5	11.7	10.7
Lao PDR	2.5	5.9	5.9	5.9
Latvia	11.8	10.6	9.2	9.2
Lebanon	10.5	10.1	9.5	9.5
Lesotho	11.0	11.1	10.3	13.4
Liberia	17.3	17.2	13.8	11.1
Libya	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5
Liechtenstein
Lithuania	13.1	12.9	12.6	12.6
Luxembourg	16.5	15.4	15.4	15.4
Macao SAR, China
Macedonia, FYR	13.7	13.6	12.5	12.9
Madagascar	14.7	14.6	14.7	14.7
Malawi	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.2
Malaysia	8.3	7.9	8.4	9.2
Maldives	10.5	12.2	7.9	8.6
Mali	11.4	12.2	10.0	10.6
Malta	13.6	12.3	12.7	13.2
Marshall Islands	15.4	15.7	19.5	17.0
Mauritania	8.6	7.3	7.3	7.3
Mauritius	8.9	7.9	8.3	9.8
Mexico	15.5	15.0	11.9	12.1
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	18.8	19.8	18.9	20.0
Moldova	11.7	13.0	13.4	13.1
Monaco	15.0	15.8	18.5	18.8
Mongolia	8.5	8.6	8.8	8.0
Montenegro	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6
Morocco	6.9	6.5	7.2	6.6
Mozambique	12.8	10.5	12.2	12.2
Myanmar	0.9	0.9	1.0	1.0
Namibia	13.1	12.1	12.1	12.1
Nepal	7.5	9.1	7.7	7.9
Netherlands	16.1	16.1	18.4	18.5
New Caledonia
New Zealand	17.9	18.4	19.8	20.1
Nicaragua	18.8	18.1	18.1	16.9
Niger	11.5	11.9	11.1	11.1
Nigeria	9.2	7.7	5.9	4.4
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway	18.2	17.9	17.4	17.4
Oman	5.4	4.9	5.8	6.2
Pakistan	3.1	3.1	3.3	3.6
Palau	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.3
Panama	11.6	13.5	14.7	15.1
Papua New Guinea	6.7	7.0	8.5	8.1
Paraguay	11.2	12.6	10.4	11.5
Peru	18.5	20.8	15.9	14.3
Philippines	7.1	6.6	7.1	7.6
Poland	10.8	11.7	11.9	11.9
Portugal	14.8	14.6	14.6	14.6
Puerto Rico
Qatar	6.7	6.7	6.4	5.5
Romania	11.3	11.4	10.8	10.8
Russian Federation	10.2	9.2	8.5	8.0
Rwanda	22.0	21.9	20.1	20.1
Samoa	20.3	18.6	18.3	23.4
San Marino	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.6
Sao Tome and Principe	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.2
Saudi Arabia	8.4	7.1	6.4	7.0
Senegal	11.8	11.9	11.6	11.6
Serbia	13.8	14.1	13.9	14.1
Seychelles	7.7	7.7	9.0	9.1
Sierra Leone	5.3	6.4	6.4	6.4
Singapore	6.9	6.9	8.3	8.0
Sint Maarten (Dutch part)
Slovak Republic	15.2	15.6	14.5	14.5
Slovenia	13.2	13.9	13.8	13.8
Solomon Islands	20.1	15.5	23.7	23.1
Somalia
South Africa	11.1	11.5	11.4	11.9
South Sudan
Spain	15.5	15.7	15.2	15.2
Sri Lanka	7.8	7.1	5.9	5.8
St. Kitts and Nevis	6.5	5.7	5.4	8.2
St. Lucia	11.1	11.5	14.8	12.8
St. Martin (French part)
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	9.3	11.5	11.5	7.8
Sudan	7.7	9.8	9.9	9.8
Suriname	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9
Swaziland	10.5	10.2	10.1	10.1
Sweden	14.2	14.6	14.8	14.8
Switzerland	19.5	19.7	19.9	19.9
Syrian Arab Republic	6.4	6.4	6.0	5.6
Tajikistan	4.3	5.0	5.4	6.1
Tanzania	13.7	13.7	12.9	13.8
Thailand	13.1	14.3	13.3	12.7
Timor-Leste	19.3	9.9	7.8	4.7
Togo	10.6	13.5	15.4	15.4
Tonga	22.9	23.5	11.7	12.9
Trinidad and Tobago	8.3	8.8	9.6	9.3
Tunisia	9.8	10.5	10.7	10.7
Turkey	12.1	12.8	12.8	12.8
Turkmenistan	10.4	9.9	9.9	9.9
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu	15.8	15.8	10.0	11.7
Uganda	9.8	10.6	13.6	12.1
Ukraine	9.1	8.4	8.9	9.4
United Arab Emirates	8.9	8.9	8.8	8.8
United Kingdom	15.6	15.2	16.0	16.0
United States	19.7	19.4	19.6	22.4
Uruguay	11.7	13.9	20.2	20.4
Uzbekistan	7.6	7.6	8.0	8.5
Vanuatu	14.8	14.8	16.4	18.2
Venezuela, RB	7.1	8.4	8.6
Vietnam	8.7	7.8	7.8	7.8
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
West Bank and Gaza
Yemen, Rep.	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Zambia	13.4	15.3	15.7	15.6
Zimbabwe