Rizal Monument joins list of world's endangered heritage sites. The shrine is now just as endangered as Machu Picchu of Peru, El Camino

de Santiago Compostela of Spain, and the Dampier Archipelago of Australia. What country is Rizal Monument located in?

Philipines

Rizal Monument• Originally called the Motto Stella

(Guiding star) is a memorial monument in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines built to commemorate the Filipino nationalist, José Rizal

• An exact replica of the Rizal Monument can be found in Madrid, Spain at the junction of Avenida de Las Islas Filipinas and Calle Santander.

• The original monument was designed by a Swiss sculptor, Richard Kissling, and was one of the major winners in a contest during the American regime in the Philippines.

Manila• Capital and the second largest city of

Philippines.• The city of Manila is located on the eastern

shore of Manila Bay and is bordered by the cities of Navotas and Caloocan to the north; Quezon City and San Juan to the northeast; Mandaluyong to the east; Makati to the southeast, and Pasay to the south.

• Quezon City is one of the cities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines, on the island of Luzon. It is the most populous city in the country, and the largest city by area in Metro Manila

Philippines• Rizal is also a province located in

the Calabarzon region, just 16 kilometers east of Manila. The province was named after José Rizal.

• The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These are divided into 17 regions, 81 provinces, 144 cities, 1,491 municipalities, and 42,028 barangays (barrio).

On November 19th, the Myanmar Army attacked a Kachin Independence Army

headquarters near Laiza. Laiza is a city in what northern most state of Myanmar whose

capital is Myitkyina.

Kachin State

Kachin State

• It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Region and India to the west.

• Kachin State has Myanmar’s highest mountain, Hkakabo Razi (5,889 m (19,321 ft)), forming the southern tip of the Himalayas, and a large inland lake, Indawgyi Lake.

• The majority of the state's inhabitants are ethnic Kachin, also known as Jinghpaw. The state is home to other ethnic groups including the Rawang, Lisu, Zaiwa, Lawngwaw, Lachik, Shan and a small number of Tibetans.

Myanmar• Bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and

Thailand.• Its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city is

Yangon.• Burma is a country rich in jade and gems, oil,

natural gas and other mineral resources.• The country is divided into seven states and

seven regions, formerly called divisions. Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities.

• The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

A striking memorial and museum dedicated to the victims of genocide in Cambodia is

being built next year in what capital city? (The renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid is

finalizing the designs for the Sleuk Rith Institute, an enormous wooden building.)

Phnom Penh

Cambodian Genocide

• In Cambodia, a genocide was carried out by the Communist Khmer Rouge (KR) regime led by Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979 in which one and a half to three million people were killed.

• The genocide was ended following the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. Up to 20,000 mass graves, known as the Killing Fields have been uncovered.

• The Khmer Rouge regime targeted various ethnic groups during the genocide, forcibly relocating minority groups, and banned the use of minority languages. Religion was also banned, and the repression of adherents of Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism was extensive.

Ethnic Groups in Cambodia• The Khmers are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the area.• The Vietnamese is the largest (or second largest) ethnic minority in

Cambodia.• The Chinese, approximately 1% of the population.• The Tai ethnic minorities include the Thai, Lao, Shan, and the Kula.• The Cham are descended from the Austronesian people of Champa, a

former kingdom on the coast of central and southern present-day Vietnam.

• The indigenous ethnic groups of the mountains are known collectively as "Montagnards" or Khmer Loeu, a term meaning "Highland Khmer".

• The Miao and Hmong are hill tribes that live in urban and rural areas.

Cambodia• Bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of

Thailand to the southwest.• The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95% of the Cambodian

population.• Cambodia's ancient name is "Kambuja.“• Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from

approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. • Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767.• After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal between

its neighbors.• Cambodia became a protectorate of France in 1863, and gained independence in 1953.• Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission

(1992-1993).• The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian

People's Party who remain in power as of 2014.• Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including the capital. • The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities. • The districts and municipalities in turn are further divided into communes (khum) and quarters

(sangkat).

A cemetery dating back roughly 1,700 years has been discovered along part of the Silk Road, a series of ancient trade routes that

once connected the Roman Empire to what country in east?

ChinaThe cemetery was found in the city of Kucha, in present-day northwest China. Ten

tombs were excavated, seven of which turned out to be large brick structures

Silk Road

Silk Road• A series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to

cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea.

• Extending 4,000 miles (6,437 km), the Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in Chinese silk carried out along its length, beginning during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).

• Though silk was certainly the major trade item from China, many other goods were traded, and religions, syncretic philosophies, and various technologies, as well as diseases, also travelled along the Silk Routes.

• The main traders during antiquity were the Chinese, Persians, Greeks, Syrians, Romans, Armenians, Indians, and Bactrians

• In June 2014, UNESCO designated the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road as a World Heritage Site

Kucha

• Kucha or Kuche was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and south of the Muzat River.

• The area lies in present day Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China.• Kucha was the largest of the 'Thirty-six kingdoms of the

Western Regions’• For a long time Kucha was the most populous oasis in the

Tarim Basin.• The Kizil (Thousand Buddha) Caves lie about 70 km (43) miles

northwest of Kucha and were included within the rich fourth-century kingdom of Kucha.

A volcano has erupted on the Pico do Fogo, the highest peak in what country, causing

hundreds of residents living in the vicinity to be evacuated and a local airport to be closed?

Cape Verde

Fogo, Cape Verde

• The most prominent island of the Sotavento, the southern island group of Cape Verde archipelago.

• Fogo is located between the islands of Santiago and Brava.• Practically the whole island is a stratovolcano that has

been periodically active.• The island's main city is São Filipe, near which is an

airport.• Mosteiros in the northeast is the island's second most

important town.• The island is divided in three municipalities, which are

subdivided into civil parishes.

Cape Verde• Officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country spanning

an horse shoe shaped archipelago of 10 volcanic islands and 8 islets in the central Atlantic Ocean.

• The islands are spatially divided into two groups:– The Barlavento Islands (windward islands)– The Sotavento Islands (leeward)

• The largest island, both in size and population, is Santiago, which hosts the nation's capital, Praia.

• Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the uninhabited islands in the 15th century, the first European settlement in the tropics.

• The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap-Vert, on the Senegalese coast.

On November 23rd, an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter Scale hit the Strait of

Hormuz, northeast of Ras al-Khaimah in what country?

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Ras al-Khaimah

• A Persian Gulf Arab emirate and a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

• The emirate is in the northern part of the UAE, bordering Oman's exclave of Musandam.

• The city has two main sections, Old Ras Al Khaimah and Nakheel, on either side of a creek.

United Arab Emirates• Sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE.• Bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as

sharing sea borders with Qatar and Iran.• The country is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to

principalities). Each emirate is governed by a hereditary Ruler who jointly form the Federal Supreme Council, the highest legislative and executive body in the country.

• The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Abu Dhabi is the capital of UAE. Dubai is the most populated Emirate.

• The UAE's oil reserves are ranked as the seventh-largest in the world, along with the world's seventeenth largest natural gas reserves.

• There is an Omani exclave surrounded by UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha.