Qatar

Qatar is a country situated in the Persian Gulf, attached to Saudi Arabia. The population of Qatar is 907,229. The capital city is Doha. The economy was formerly dependant on pearl fishing, and was devastated by the production of synthetic pearls in Japan. Then, in the 1940's, a huge reserve of oil and natural gas, almost the size of the country, was discovered off the coast, and onshore in Qatar. The economy has since boomed, and Qatar is the 11th richest country in the world, and the richest country in the Muslim world. The highest point in Qatar is a range of low limestone outcrops, 90ms high. They run through Umm Bab, to the Southern border.

The Qatari Peninsula is 100km long. The country is a barren plain covered in sand. Only 1.64% of the land is arable. To the south east of Qatar is the 'Inland Sea', or Khor al Adaid. This is an area of sand dunes that look like waves.
In winter, the weather is mild, and in summer it is very, very hot and humid.

Qatar is separated into ten provinces;
Ad Dawhah,
Al Ghuwariyah,
Al Jumaliyah,
Al Khawr,
Al Wakrah,
Ar Rayyan,
Jariyan al Batnah,
Ash Shamal,
Umm Salal,
and Mesaieed.
Qatar achieved independence from British rule on september 3, 1971. Qatar is ruled by Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Emir Hamad seized control from his father while he was on holiday in Switzerland in 1995. Qatar is a monarchy, but is a lot more liberal than other Muslim countries. In Qatar, women can drive cars, vote and mostly dress how they please in public. Men also received a certain amount of freedom since Amir Hamad took over, for example, men can now wear shorts in public.
Alcohol is allowed to a certain extent as well, however, public bars and nightclubs only operate in private clubs or expensive hotels.
The government of Qatar is careful about being too liberal, as even though it looks forward to the same freedoms as the West, it is surrounded by Muslim neighbours that may see it as a weekend away from all their rules.

Qatar's natural gas fields are off the north-east coast of the country. It is believed to be the largest single gas reserve in the world.
Most of Qatar's oil lies onshore at the Dukhan field. There are reserves on the East coast and the West coast is currently being explored.
Qatar exports mainly to Japan, Thailand, Singapore and other countries in the Persian gulf and Europe. The imports come mainly from Japan, Britain, United States, Italy and Germany.
Qatar is a member of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the UN and the League of Arab States.
Qatar joined the Kyoto Protocol on 11th January 2005. Most industries in Qatar are setting targets for reducing emissions themselves.


This video shows the long way Qatar has come from a third world country to an aspiring first world country. It shows the extravagance put on to be like the western world.

Qatar has free education from kindergarten up to university. There is an Education City in Doha and the government is campaigning to educate the youth about the environment and the world around them.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is in the South Pacific ocean, north of Australia.








This is the flag of Papua New Guinea
The red and black are colours used by many tribes in Papua New Guinea, and red, white and black were the colours of the German Empire, who colonized
Papua New Guinea before 1918. The bird of paradise is also found on the coat of arms. The flag was designed by a 15 year old school girl who won a nationwide competition for a new flag.


It is the fifty-fourth largest country in the world.
Papua New Guinea is one tenth larger than California. It has a mountainous interior covered in rainforest and wetlands surrounding the two main rivers, the Sepik and the Fly. Papua New Guinea is on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The population of Papua New Guinea is just under 6million.Its capital is Port Moresby. Only 18% of the population live in the urban centres.
Papua New Guinea has some active volcanoes which erupt frequently, causing severe earthquakes, mud slides and tsunamis.

Papua New Guinea is bordered by Indonesia. The coastline is 5,125 km long.
The highest point is Mount Wilhelm, at 4,509 m high.
Papua New Guinea's natural resources are gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil and fisheries.

Flamingoes are in the same family as storks, herons, and ibises.

They are found in Chile, France, Peru, Argentina, Uraguay, Paraguay, Southern Brazil, Bolivia, Africa, Yucatan, West Indies, Bahamas and the Galapagos Islands.

They live mainly in salt or alkaline lakes.

Flamingos generally don't migrate, but if they do, they migrate at night.

Male flamingos are bigger than female, although it is hard to tell which is which.

New-born chicks are grey or white. Baby flamingos have grey eyes and adults have yellow eyes.

Flamingos can live for up to 44 years. They are hunted by lions, leopards, cheetahs, and jackals.

Flamingos eat blue-green and red algae, diatoms, small insects, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish. They get the pink colouring from the algae and the various insects. They drink fresh water.

This is a map of a part of the Dingle Peninsula.
The area is renowned for watersports, especially surfing and windsurfing.
The Dingle Peninsula is situated on the south west coast of Ireland, beside the atlantic sea.
The swell is caused by storms out in the atlantic which then make their way in and hit the west-facing beach between Castlegregory and Fahamore. The local winds cause the waves to take a certain height and timing.
The beach on the other side of the peninsula is sheltered from the atlantic waves, and is perfect for sailing, flat-water windsurfing, pedalos etc.
This ideal area for watersports has developed in recent years to a holiday haven.
it is in close proximity to golf course, scenic walks, mountains and towns.
There is a beach at Cloghane that produces rock crystals in the sand. Locals often go there as a family outing to collect crystals. The crystals are clear and colourless, but can be cloudy. They are also known as Quartz.