members of the CLUNIE-ROSS family controlled the islands and the
copra produced from local coconuts. Annexed by the UK in 1857, the
Cocos Islands were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955.
The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split
between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on
Home Island.

Colombia
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from
the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and
Venezuela). A 40-year conflict between government forces and
anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups -
both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s.
The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to
overthrow the government, and violence has been decreasing since
about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and
large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence. More
than 32,000 former paramilitaries had demobilized by the end of 2006
and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) as a formal
organization had ceased to function. Still, some renegades continued
to engage in criminal activities. The Colombian Government has
stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the
country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative
departments. However, neighboring countries worry about the violence
spilling over their borders.

Comoros
Comoros has endured more than 20 coups or attempted coups
since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands
of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from Comoros. In 1999,
military chief Col. AZALI seized power in a bloodless coup, and
helped negotiate the 2000 Fomboni Accords power-sharing agreement in
which the federal presidency rotates among the three islands, and
each island maintains its own local government. AZALI won the 2002
Presidential election, and each island in the archipelago elected
its own president. AZALI stepped down in 2006 and President SAMBI
took office. Since 2006, Anjouan's President Mohamed BACAR has
refused to work effectively with the Union presidency. In 2007,
BACAR effected Anjouan's de-facto secession from the Union, refusing
to step down in favor of fresh Anjouanais elections when Comoros'
other islands held legitimate elections in July. The African Union
(AU) initially