Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
strategic location 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba; mostly exposed rock but with enough grassland to support
goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus

People Navassa Island

Population:
uninhabited
note: transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on the island
(July 2005 est.)

Government Navassa Island

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Navassa Island

Dependency status:
unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Fish and
Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean
Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; in
September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of
Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern
side of the island; there has also been a private claim advanced
against the island

Legal system:
the laws of the US, where applicable, apply

Flag description:
the flag of the US is used

Economy Navassa Island

Economy - overview:
subsistence fishing and commercial trawling activities within
refuge waters

Transportation Navassa Island

Ports and harbors:
none; offshore anchorage only

Military Navassa Island

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of the US

Transnational Issues Navassa Island

Disputes - international:
claimed by Haiti, source of subsistence fishing

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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@Nepal

Introduction Nepal

Background:
In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule
by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of
government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy
within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist
insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening
to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire
between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003.
In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family,
including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October
2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for
"incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were
subsequently unab