Kiribati
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Kiribati (officially the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese: Ribaberiki Kiribati), is an independent island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. The permanent population is over 119,000 (2020), more than half of whom live on Tarawa Atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba. They have a total land area of 811 square kilometers (313 square miles) [Note 1]and is dispersed over 3.5 million km2 (1.4 million sq mi).
Their country spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching the 150° W meridian. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14. Kiribati is the only country in the world to be situated in all four cardinal hemispheres.
History
Kiribati gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and became a sovereign state. The capital, Tarawa, now the most populated area, consists of several islets connected by a series of causeways. These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll. Before its independence, the country exported phosphate; however, those mines are no longer viable, and fisheries and the export of copra drive much of the economy. Kiribati is one of the least developed countries in the world and is highly dependent on international aid for its economy.
Kiribati is a Pacific Community (SPC) member, the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, and the OACPS. It became a full member of the United Nations in 1999 and also a member of the Pacific Islands Forum. As an island nation, Kiribati is very vulnerable to climate change, and addressing climate change has been a central part of its international policy as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States.
WWII: The Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa was fought between the United States and Japan on 20–23 November 1943 at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. It was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fight, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. At the time, Betio was only 118 hectares (290 acres).
The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical Central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings had met little to no initial resistance, but the 4,500 Japanese defenders on Tarawa were well-supplied and well-prepared. They fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The losses on Tarawa were incurred within 76 hours.
Spanking in Kiribati
In the 20th century, school corporal punishment fell out of fashion and was gradually banned in many countries, a trend that continues until the present day.
As of May 2008, Kiribati prohibits corporal punishment in schools. No other valid information about spanking in general was found when doing an internet/Google search.
Prostitution in Kiribati
- Prostitution in Kiribati ↗ on Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ for reference, Rhode Island is 1,544 sqmi
External links
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Kiribati ]
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