The Kingdom of Lesotho, referred to as Lesotho for short, is located in southern Africa and is the largest country in the world. The whole territory is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, and the border is 909 kilometers long. Lesotho is also known as the "sky kingdom" because it is located on the plateau. The name Lesotho means "Sesoto speaker".
It used to be a British colony, so Europe used to call Lesotho Basutoland. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth, and became independent from Britain on10.4/0.966. Its territory covers an area of 30,355 square kilometers and its population is about 2 18 20 18. Lesotho is economically backward and is one of the least developed countries. About 49% of its population lives below the international poverty line ($65,438+$0.25 a day), and the AIDS situation is seriously out of control.
The first case of AIDS was in Africa. South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Namibia, the infection rate in these countries has already exceeded 20%.
Although scientists have many arguments about the origin of AIDS, it is internationally recognized that AIDS was first discovered in Africa.
According to the current speculation, as early as around 1920, Cameroonian hunters were hunting, and HIV was transmitted from chimpanzees to humans.
Then the infected hunter went to Kinshasa, the capital of Congo. After that, the virus began to spread quietly in Congo, and then spread to other parts of the world with black slaves and sex slaves.
The first clear AIDS record was in 1959, when HIV was found in the plasma of an adult male in Congo. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, with the sexual liberation movement in the United States, AIDS began to break out in Europe and America. The main transmission routes of AIDS are sexual transmission, blood transmission and mother-to-child transmission. At present, about two-thirds of AIDS patients in the world are concentrated in Africa, such as Botswana, and the infection rate is as high as 39%. In many African countries, the average life expectancy has been reduced to 35 years.
Lesotho suffers from AIDS. In 2009, there were more than 260,000 AIDS patients and virus carriers, and the prevalence rate of adult population was about 23.6%, which was one of the highest in the world. In urban areas, half of women under the age of 40 are infected with HIV.
Since the 1960s, the average life expectancy in Lesotho has been reduced from 60 to 35, and the mortality rate between 65,438 and 05-60 is 78.65%. Because of the high mortality rate, agricultural output has also been greatly reduced.
The medical conditions in Lesotho are relatively backward. 20 1 1 From September, China's medical aid team began to provide medical assistance in Leribe District Hospital near Maseru.
While AIDS is rampant in Africa, on the other side of the world, the incidence rate in Asia and Japan is only 0.0 1%, which is one of the lowest in the world. There are many reasons for this huge gap.
Today, with the spread of AIDS, in addition to sexual contact, blood transmission and drug users sharing syringes to inject drugs, it is also a major incentive for the large-scale spread of AIDS.
In addition, improper collection and management of blood products, such as blood drawing and blood transfusion, will also lead to the spread of AIDS. In Japan, the government first strengthened the management of blood, using nucleic acid detection technology for blood testing and strictly managing blood products.
Secondly, due to the influence of traditional cultural concepts and the strictness of laws and regulations, the number of intravenous drug users in Japan is very small, so fewer people are infected with AIDS through drug abuse. Sex education is very popular in Japan, and the use rate of condoms is relatively high. Although the sex industry in Japan is huge, the incidence of AIDS is not severe due to strict prevention. These factors together make the incidence of AIDS in Japan relatively low.
In contrast, Africa is not so lucky. First of all, the economic development of many African countries is generally low, the medical and health level and the medical knowledge of the general public are in a state of lack and absence, and people don't know how to prevent it, which naturally provides an excellent soil for the spread of the virus.
The low level of economic development, lack of medical care and medicine, lead to many AIDS patients can not get effective treatment. In addition, people's understanding of AIDS is limited, and there is a huge prejudice against infected people in society. These unfavorable factors combine to make HIV spread on a large scale in Africa.
The infection rate of AIDS varies from country to country. There are more than one million people infected with AIDS in China, and the prevalence rate is 0.09%. Sexual transmission accounted for 69.6% and homosexual transmission accounted for 25.5%. The infection rate in the United States is 0.6%, and there are about 50,000 new infections every year. Among them, 80% of male infected groups are homosexual patients (overuse of Chrysanthemum Gate).
The capital of Lesotho is Maseru. Member of the Commonwealth. The famous scenic spot is Selhabathebe National Park in Lesotho. This country has unique customs. For example, after a baby is born, neighbors congratulate it, but in different ways: if the newborn baby is a boy, neighbors beat his parents with sticks; If the newborn baby is a girl, neighbors will throw water at her parents.
75% of the land in eastern Lesotho is mountainous, with the highest elevation of 3482 meters. 25% of the narrow strip in the west is a relatively flat lowland with the lowest elevation of1388m. The main mountains are Marotti Mountain and Drakens Mountain, and the main rivers are Orange River and Caledon River. Surrounded by South Africa.
Lesotho is an isolated small country, located in the central plateau of South Africa! Perhaps many people have never heard of South Africa, a small country. Although Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa, it is very different from neighboring South Africa!
At present, historians generally believe that Basuto people are descendants of San people, Koho people and a Bantu people who migrated from central and eastern Africa.
/kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, a protracted "tribal war" broke out between Bantu tribes in southern Africa for land and water, which was called "Zulu Civil War" in history. 18 18, Zulu in the north gradually dominated, and some small tribes scattered in the south of Lesotho (then called Basutoland) were conquered and unified by Chief Moshoeshoe I.
1822, Sheikh Moshoeshoe I established the kingdom of basuto. However, a year later, in 1823, a series of wars broke out with the Dutch colonists Boer who settled here, and then a contract was signed. 1853 A small shock broke out with Britain again, and then a truce was reached to reach a peace agreement.
1858 The battle for land with Boers broke out again, and it intensified after 1865. 1868, in order to resist the threat of Boer invasion, Moshoeshoe I requested to become a British protectorate called Basutoland.
1870, Moshoeshoe I died. 187 1 year, the British incorporated the Basotholan reserve into the Cape Colony, which was strongly resisted by the people, and then the armed forces broke out. 1884, in view of the uncontrollable local situation, Britain declared Basutoland "the territory of the High Commissioner" and divided it into seven districts, each of which was stationed by the British Commissioner.
1945, after World War II, British and French colonial rule in Africa was destroyed. 1955, Basutolan asked the British side to return the executive legislative power.
1959, Britain approved the white paper on constitutional reform in Basutoland, stipulating the establishment of a "Constituent Assembly" and an "autonomous government" (in essence, it is only a formal decentralization, and important issues are still decided by the British Commissioner). This year, a new constitution was promulgated and preparations for the "Constitutional Convention" of the legislature began.
1960, among the pitchers of the "Constitutional Convention", the Basutolan Congress Group (BCP) won a decisive victory. 1On April 29th, 965, the first national election of parliamentary pitchers in Basutoland was held. Thanks to the financial and material support of the South African government, BNP won a majority of seats. The next day, the autonomous government was established, and the king status of Grand Chief moshoeshoe ii was confirmed.
1966 10 10 On 4th October, moshoeshoe ii declared its independence. Its founding name was the Kingdom of Lesotho, and it was a constitutional monarchy, with Jonathan of the British National Party (BNP) as its general manager. From 1970 to 65438+ 10, Jonathan lost his majority position among pitchers after independence. 1970 In February, Jonathan refused to hand over power, but declared a state of emergency and declared himself the head of state. King moshoeshoe ii was placed under house arrest and exiled abroad.
1June, 970, moshoeshoe ii expressed his willingness to accept the request not to participate in the competition, and returned to China in February, 1970, while Jonathan practiced paternalism. 1973 In March, under the pressure of public opinion at home and abroad, Jonathan began to form a "provisional national assembly" to draft a new constitution.
1in July, 973, Jonathan announced the cancellation of the state of emergency. 1 986 65438+1October1,Lesotho soldier, General Laikanya overthrew Jonathan's house. Subsequently, the "Provisional National Assembly" was replaced by a military group.
1in April 1988, five major opposition groups in Lesotho demanded the restoration of civilian government. Soon, Enzu Mokhehle of the Basotho Congress (BCP) returned home from exile. 1February, 990, the military government and the king fought for power and profit, and moshoeshoe ii was deprived of legislative and administrative power. In June 65438 +065438+ 10, the military government deposed moshoeshoe ii and made his eldest son Letsie III king.
199 1 On April 30th, 2000, another military rebellion broke out, and Rehanya stepped down, and Elias Rama immediately became the leader. 1In June 1992, the Military Association announced that it would hold a general election in June 1 1. And sent people to London to invite King moshoeshoe ii to return home.
1in March 1993, the military government returned to the people and held the second general election. Chairman of Basoto Congressional Group Enzu (BCP)? Mokhehle takes the lead. At the beginning of 1994, soldiers were dissatisfied with their salary and treatment, and an argument broke out within the army. In August of that year, Letsie III took advantage of the chaos to launch a rebellion, regained the right to fight, announced the re-election of parliament, and proposed to restore moshoeshoe ii's throne. 199565438+1October 25th, Moshoeshoe ii was reset.
1996 1, moshoeshoe ii was killed in a car accident. In February, Letsie III ascended the throne again. 1The third general election was held in May 1998, with PaKalita Mosisili of the Lesotho Democratic Congress as the leader. Opposition groups boycotted the new government and a military revolution broke out.
In May 2002, the general election was successfully held according to the mixed pitcher model, and the Lesotho Democratic Congress Party still won, with its leader PaKalita Mosisili as its leader.
On February 7, 2007, a new session of the National Assembly was held. The Lesotho Democratic Congress Party won 6 120 seats in Parliament, and the All Basuto Congress Party won 17 seats. . .
Lesotho's economy is dominated by agriculture, animal husbandry and garment processing and export, and food cannot be self-sufficient. Remittance is also one of the main sources of national income. Frye actively implemented the forward-looking plan for national economic development in 2020, improved the investment environment, worked hard to expand employment, developed agriculture and infrastructure, and developed the economy. The diamond mining industry has become a new economic growth point. However, since the second half of 2008, affected by the international financial crisis, the garment processing industry has faced difficulties, the income of remittances has fallen sharply, and the economic situation is grim. Since 20 12, Lesotho's economy has gradually stepped out of the predicament caused by the international financial crisis. With the increase of the tax share of the Southern African Customs Union, Lai's income has increased, and the overall revenue and expenditure situation has also improved.
Lesotho's mining industry is dominated by diamond mining, with a small amount of coal, galena, timely, agate and uranium, but it has no commercial mining value. In 2007, the mining output value reached 764 million malotti. The diamond industry has developed rapidly and become a new economic growth point. In 2007, two major diamond companies in Lai announced a substantial increase in diamond production. 20 10 stimulated by the price increase in the international market, the diamond production has increased in the future. 20 1 1 year, Lessing mined diamonds weighing 550 carats, and the price was16.5 million USD. February 20 12, Lailai began to build a diamond cutting and polishing facility, which can cut and polish 2,000 carats of diamonds every month. In 20 14, a 198 carat white diamond was found in the flagship mine of Lesotho.
Lesotho is located in southern Africa. Covering an area of 30,355 square kilometers, it is a highland landlocked country, and its border is completely surrounded by South Africa. Lesotho is rugged, with mountains accounting for 58%, plains accounting for 65,438+07%, hills accounting for 65,438+05% and river valleys accounting for 65,438+00%. The cultivated land area is 240,000 hectares, accounting for about 13% of the national area.
The northeast is a mountain and plateau with an altitude of1800-3000m, which is the birthplace of the Orange River and the Tugra River. There is a long and narrow hilly area with a width of about 40 kilometers along the border in the southwest, which concentrates 70% of the country's population.
Lesotho has a subtropical monsoon humid climate. May-September is the dry season, and10-April is the rainy season. The highest temperature is 33℃ and the lowest temperature is -7℃. Due to geographical restrictions, Lesotho's governance and economic development are very dependent on South Africa, and the relations between the two countries are friendly. Most western countries maintain diplomatic relations with Lesotho, but only a few countries, such as China, have established embassies in that country.
Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Development Community and the Southern African Customs Union. In addition, Lesotho is a member of the United Nations, the African Union and the Commonwealth. National income mainly comes from remittances from miners working in South Africa, agricultural income, tariff sharing of the Southern African Customs Union and foreign aid. More than 80% of the residents in China live in rural areas and are engaged in agriculture. However, due to soil erosion and successive natural disasters, food is still not self-sufficient, and more than 70% of it is imported from South Africa, which is too expensive to meet people's needs. So, famine all the year round.
Agricultural products mainly include: corn, wheat, beans, sorghum, barley and livestock. The proportion of agricultural output value to GDP is 7.4%. The domestic unemployment rate is as high as 25%. The HIV infection rate among young adults ranks third in the world, resulting in the disappearance of a large number of laborers, and the national working population is only 874,200. Animal husbandry plays an important role. 66% of the country's land is available for grazing, mainly for raising sheep. It is a famous mohair producing area in Africa.
In recent years, Taiwan-funded garment industry has developed rapidly, with textile exports to the United States ranking first in southern Africa and becoming a pillar industry of the national economy, earning 500 million US dollars annually. However, due to the appreciation of the South African rand, the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act by the United States, the extension of the preferential period for African least developed countries to produce and export American textile products with raw materials from third countries, and the integration of world textiles, the clothing industry has been in trouble since 20 10.
In 20 13, the total export value was USD 9,465,438+0,200,000, mainly exporting manufactured goods (clothing and shoes), wool and mohair, food and live animals, electricity, water conservancy and diamonds. The government encourages the development of tourism. In recent years, it has built some hotels, mountain resorts and a national park. Most tourists come from South Africa. In 20 12 years, the tourism income of Lai reached 600 million malotti (about 73 million US dollars).
In 2006, about 52,000 workers went to South Africa to work in mining to earn foreign exchange. Some women are also forced to provide poor bed service nationwide. The government has also been strictly controlling sexual oppression crimes.
Bilateral assistance is mainly provided by Britain, the United States, Ireland, Germany, Japan and other countries; Multilateral assistance mainly comes from the European Union, the African Development Fund, the World Food Programme and the International Development Association.
20 1 1 year, the world bank has always provided about 50 million dollars in aid for education, health, agriculture, border security facilities and the construction of Maitron dam project.
From 2065438 to June 2003, the World Bank provided 65438+800 million malotti free aid to help implement the first development policy implementation plan. In the same month, Saudi Arabia provided food aid worth $654.38 million+$96 million to Lai through the World Food Programme. On July 20 13, an agreement was signed with the European Union, which will provide 6.8 million euros to help it build water supply and drainage systems.
China Plateau Water Conservancy Project started 199 1, which is one of the largest water conservancy projects in Africa and is jointly funded by Lesotho and South Africa. The construction of the Maiterong Dam and Water Supply Project (MDWSP), which is about 35km away from the capital Maseru, started at the end of 20 10, and most of the funds were aided by foreign countries. It is planned to put into production on 20 14. China Hydropower Group has contracted the dam main body and raw water pumping station project with US$ 80 million.
The total length of the highway is 5940 kilometers, of which 1069 kilometers has been paved with asphalt, and the rest are gravel roads and dirt roads. Lai has no independent railway system, only 2.6 kilometers of railway from South Africa to Maseru, the capital, transports import and export materials.
Traditional clothes are straw hats and blankets. Locals like to wear a straw hat called Basotho hat, which is regarded as the national symbol of Lesotho and even has its image placed in the center of the national flag. The hat is conical, with five grass rings at the top, and the brim of the hat is covered with decorative patterns made of local unique grass. This kind of blanket is very suitable for the local climate with large temperature difference between day and night. Put on a blanket when it is cold; Sleep as a quilt; Used as a raincoat when it rains.
In Lesotho, polygamy is practiced. But now most people only have one wife. When the current king married the queen, he made it clear that he would only marry one queen, indicating that he began to implement monogamy. When teenagers grow up, they have to leave their parents and start their own businesses. When he wants to get married, he doesn't have to be embarrassed to say it. Just choose an early morning and drive the lactating calves to the hillside to eat grass by themselves. When parents see it, they will understand his mind. Once the girl is selected, please ask the matchmaker to take a cow to match. When the matchmaker comes back, if her hair is cut off and her face is covered with shiny butter, it means it is ready.
And if the girl has a string wrapped around her finger, it means that she is not satisfied with the other party, so the matchmaker has to go home disappointed. Generally, the dowry required for marriage is calculated in cattle, and the man can give the woman a cow or cash equivalent to the value of the cow. The value of cattle is not determined by the market price at that time, but by the woman's parents. The value of a cow may be more than one hundred rand, or it may be several thousand rand. That depends on the groom's luck. On the wedding day, the groom can't drive a dozen cows to the woman's house together, because it will be misunderstood as arrogance and rudeness, so he has to work hard and run back and forth many times to finish it. Because we have never met, we often get cold feet. But it is also very convenient to solve this kind of thing. As long as the man voluntarily refuses to butter his wrist, it means that the marriage is over.
Basutolan was a royal colony established by the British Empire in 1884 because the Cape colony could not be effectively controlled. It is divided into seven regions: Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohales Hook, Mafeiten, Kachanek and Kuting.
1868 Britain annexed this area, 187 1 came under the jurisdiction of the colonial government of the Cape of Good Hope, and 1884 Britain resumed direct jurisdiction. Basutolan changed its name to Lesotho after independence from Britain in 1966 10.04.
Orange River (English: Orange River, South African language: Oranjerivier, Nama language: Nu Gariep, Soto language: Senqu) is the largest river in South Africa, with a total length of 2,200 kilometers and a drainage area of 973,000 square kilometers. Originating in the border area between Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa, it flows generally westward and flows into the Atlantic Ocean at the border between South Africa and Namibia. The main tributaries are Val River and so on.
Maseru/Masero is the capital of Lesotho, one of the few capitals on the border in the world, close to the border of South Africa, and the only established city in the country. Population: 180000(2004). Maseru's only industry is carpet and candle manufacturing. Maseru is the only city in Lesotho, from which tourists can visit other places and scenic spots in Lesotho. About 90 kilometers southeast of the city is Leibihan Waterfall.
The town of Rome, 24 kilometers southeast, is the seat of Botswana-Lesotho-Swaziland University. In Maseru, most traditional round huts have been replaced by modern houses and office buildings with traditional colors. Some new buildings, such as Good Time Cafe, Vodafone business hall and office, and the new Ministry of Health building were completed at the end of 2007. There are also some colonial buildings in the city center, such as the Roman Catholic Cathedral and St. John's Church of the Church of England. Other attractions include the Palace, Parliament Building and National Building.
There is only one bustling block in this city, Kingsway Road. Many buildings in this city were aided by other countries, including the conference center and library in People's Republic of China (PRC), and the stadium and some office buildings in North Korea.
Maletsunyane Waterfall is a waterfall in Lesotho, a southern African country, with a height of192m (630ft). This waterfall is also called Semonkong Waterfall because it is located near Semonkang Town. The waterfall is located in Maletsunyane River, where the rocks are basalt from Triassic to Jurassic.
Hraba Taibei National Park is the oldest nature reserve center in Lesotho, with an average elevation of 2,400 meters. The park is located in Maloti Mountain in Gacha snack area and belongs to Maloti-Drakens cross-border nature reserve. Founded on May 8th, 1969. It is an important cultural and natural heritage, and 20 13 is listed as a world heritage. The diverse habitats in the park provide protection for many endangered species, especially birds and plants. The scenery also includes many caves and rock sheds, which preserve the largest number of paintings of Saharans in southern Africa thousands of years ago. These rock paintings reflect the life of Saharans who have now moved out of the area.
Moringa is a small town in Lesotho and an important education center. It is located in the Kale Mountain Valley. Founded in 1833, the town is the earliest educational town in Lesotho. There is a national museum in the town, and its exhibitions cover the history, race, paleontology and future of Lesotho. The museum shows the prototype of Moshoeshoe I's reign, as well as some prehistoric relics and fossils.
Morija town has the oldest house in the country-a church built at 1850, and the oldest printed matter in the country, which is almost one hundred years old. Tourists can also travel here on ponies, and there are unique local ethnic festivals every year. . .
Jumbo Huang noted that Semonkong is a community council located in Maseru District, Lesotho. Semonkong, which means "a place filled with smoke", was built in AD1880s as a refuge for Basotho people displaced by gun battles. It is close to several major natural features, including Maletsunyane Waterfall and Thaba Putsoa Peak of 3096 meters. The population in 2006 was 778 1.