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| In August 1945, nuclear weapons were deployed by US forces on two major cities in this country, to date the only use of nuclear weapons during an armed conflict | |
| In 1991, the military conflict known as the Gulf War was sparked by the invasion of Kuwait by this country | |
| In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces took refuge on this island subsequently creating a sovereign country | |
| In 2007, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated weeks before this country's general elections, in which she was a chief opposition candidate | |
| Islam Karimov has been the ruler of this central Asian country since 1989, heading a regime that been criticized by international human rights groups | |
| This country's 20th century political landscape was dominated by the consecutive presidencies of Sukarno and Suharto, who ruled for 22 and 32 years, respectively | |
| The Ottoman Empire, which prevailed for centuries until it's fail in 1923, was centered in this modern day country | |
| This country has one of the world's most unique systems of government, being ruled, since 1971, by seven autocratic regional emirs and one national president | |
| This country, known as Siam until the mid-20th century, was the only country in Southeast Asia able to retain independence during colonial times | |
| In 1990, this country was formed after the unification of its hitherto divided northern and southern regions | |
| This country, a sultanate since the 15th century, once controlled nearly all of the island of Borneo | |
| British Raj was the period of British rule in this country, which persisted until the rise of the Nationalist movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi and others | |
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| Previously a poor Arab state noted mainly for pearl hunting, the discovery of huge oil and gas reserves has made this country one of the world's wealthiest | |
| In the early 4th century, this modern day country became the first to adopt Christianity as a state religion | |
| The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement that succeeded in gaining power in this country after a civil war that ran concurrently with the Vietnam War | |
| Until his death in 2006, this country was ruled by Saparmurat Niyazov, who had established a cult-like regime, even renaming the months of the year | |
| This modern day country once had an empire that stretched from Pakistan to Zanzibar, even competing with Portuguese and British colonial powers for territory | |
| Until 1971, this densely populated country was known as East Pakistan, a provincial state of Pakistan | |
| Originally formed to combat an Israeli occupation, the Hezbollah militant and political group has been a rising force in this country in recent decades | |
| In 2012, this prosperous democracy elected its first female president, Park Geun-hye | |
| In the 1990s, this country descended into a civil war, between the forces of President Imomali Rakhmonov and muslim insurgents, leading to 60,000 deaths | |
| From 1958 to 1961, this country was part of a sovereign union, with Egypt, known as the United Arab Republic | |
| This country, proclaimed a kingdom in 2002, has been ruled by the Al Khalifa family since the 18th century | |
| In 2005, the Tulip Revolution ended president Askar Akayev's 15 year rule of this country after widespread allegations of corruption and authoritarianism | |
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Countries of the Spanish Empire
Countries of the British Empire
Borders of Germany (1871-)
