ed to petroleum processing and refining,
and has transformed itself into an international banking center. The
new amir is pushing economic and political reforms, and has worked
to improve relations with the Shi'a community. In 2001, the
International Court of Justice awarded the Hawar Islands, long
disputed with Qatar, to Bahrain.

Baker Island:
The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its
guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the
second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at
colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland
Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned.
Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US
Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle
of the west coast.

Bangladesh:
Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East
Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of
this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy
season, hampering economic development.

Barbados:
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the
British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar,
rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In
the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in
economic importance.

Bassas da India:
This atoll is a volcanic rock surrounded by reefs
and is awash at high tide. A French possession since 1897, it was
placed under the administration of a commissioner residing in
Reunion in 1968.

Belarus:
After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR,
Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer
political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former
Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state
union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic
integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to
implement the accord.

Belgium:
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and
was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. It has prospered
in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced
European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the
Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking
Walloons of the south have led in recent years