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 Brunei - very interesting but one of the unrecognizeable countries in the world. In the absence of any other evidence, scholars have created an early history of Brunei that is mainly based on flexible interpretations of Chinese texts. This early part reads: Chinese records from the sixth century mention a state called P’o-li on the northwest coast of Borneo. In the seventh century, Chinese and Arab accounts state a place called Vijayapura, which was thought to be founded by members of the royal family of Funan.They were believed to have landed on the northwest coast of Borneo with some of their followers. They then captured P’o-li and renamed the territory 'Vijayapura'. Country hasn't very old history. But there're many cultural elements which are very interesting. The culture of Brunei is predominantly Malay (reflecting its ethnicity), with heavy influences from Islam, but is seen as more conservative than Malaysia. Influences to Bruneian culture come from the Malay cultures of the Malay Archipelago. Four periods of cultural influence have occured, animist, Hindu, Islamic, and Western. Islam had a very strong influence, and was adopted as Brunei's ideolog
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 In 1933, France occupied Andorra as a result of social unrest before elections. On 12 July 1934, adventurer Boris Skossyreff issued a proclamation in Urgell, declaring himself "Boris I, King of Andorra", simultaneously declaring war on the Bishop of Urgell. He was arrested by Spanish authorities on 20 July and ultimately expelled from Spain. From 1936 to 1940, a French detachment was garrisoned in Andorra to prevent influences of the Spanish Civil War and Francoist Spain. Francoist troops reached the Andorran border in the later stages of the war. During World War II, Andorra remained neutral and was an important smuggling route between Vichy France and Spain. Given its relative isolation, Andorra has existed outside the mainstream of European his
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 Sri Lanka - is a republic and a unitary state governed by a presidential system. The capital, Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, is a suburb of the largest city, Colombo. An important producer of tea, coffee, gemstones, coconuts, rubber and the native cinnamon,[17] Sri Lanka has been called The tear drop of India because of its shape and location and is known as "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean" because of its natural beauty. It is also known as "The nation of smiling people".The island contains tropical forests, and diverse landscapes with high biodiversity. The country has had a long history of international engagement, being a founding member of SAARC and a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. It is also the only country in South Asia that is currently rated 'high' on the Human Development Index. Sri Lanka was the first Asian country to have a female ruler; Queen Anula who reigned during 47–42 BC. Sri Lankan monarchs completed some remarkable constructions like Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky". It was built during the reign of Kashyapa I. Sigiriya is a rock fortress surrounde
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 Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean (in its eastern basin), some 80 km (50 mi) south of the Italian island of Sicily across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands – Malta (Malta), Gozo (Għawdex) and Comino (Kemmuna) – are inhabited. The smaller islands (see below) are uninhabited. The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa. Numerous bays along the indented coastline of the islands provide good harbours. The landscape consists of low hills with terraced fields. The highest point in Malta is Ta' Dmejrek, at 253 m (830 ft), near Dingli. Although there are some small rivers at times of high rainfall, there are no permanent rivers or lakes on Malta. However, some watercourses have fresh water running all year round at Baħrija
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 Other neighbouring territories include Syria and Lebanon to the east (105 kilometres (65 mi) and 108 kilometres (67 mi), respectively), Israel 200 kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast, Egypt 380 kilometres (236 mi) to the south, and Greece to the northwest: 280 kilometres (174 mi) to the small Dodecanesian island of Kastelorizo (Megisti), 400 kilometres (249 mi) to Rhodes, and 800 kilometres (497 mi) to the Greek mainland. |
