Welcome to the U.N.
2002:
This European country traditionally wary of international involvement
Switzerland
The Cook Islands use this island country's dollar, but they do have their own $3 note & some coins
New Zealand
In the Austro-Prussian war, "Austro" won a few battles, but this prime minister won the war
Bismarck
On Sept. 1, 1969 this young military captain deposed Libya's King Idris I
Gadhafi
You can't get much farther from ocean water than the west end of this desert on the Mongolia/China border
The Gobi
1991:
These 2 Asian rivals, still not reunited
North and South Korea
This "Bounty" island is part of a British overseas territory that also includes Henderson, Ducie & Oeno Islands
Pitcairn
Russia 1, Turkey 0 at Sinope;
Allies 1, Russia 0 in this 1853 to 1856 war
The Crimean War
From April to July 1994, around 800,000 people, mostly Tutsi, were killed by Hutu militias in this country
Rwanda
It's on McCulloch Blvd. in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, a long way from its old home on the Thames
1974:
This Asian nation, a few years after a famous "concert for" it
Bangladesh
This literary character was based on Alexander Selkirk, a sailor marooned on a South Pacific island for 4 years
Robinson Crusoe
Around 428 B.C. Athens kept control of Lesbos but by 404 things had swung Sparta's way in this war
Peloponnesian War
Known as "Boipuso," this country celebrates their Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on September 30, 1966.
Botswana
This American territory whose capital is Pago Pago is closer to New Zealand than to Hawaii
American Samoa
1949:
This country, the year after its founding
Israel
Mysteries of this Chilean island include the Rongorongo tablets containing a writing system using pictographs
Easter Island
The south took the battle of this "ville" in 1863 but lost Stonewall Jackson
Chancellorville
In June 2013 this Islamic group governed Egypt; in September it was banned
The Muslim Brotherhood
In January 2019 New Horizons probe reached Ultima Thule in this belt, the farthest object we've ever visited
The Kuiper Belt
1991:
From Europe's upper right-hand corner, Latvia, Lithuania & this republic
Estonia
3,389 feet above sea level, the highest point in this 5-letter kingdom is on Kao island
Tonga
In 1937 it was the Republicans over the Nationalists at the Jarama River near this European capital, but the Nats won the war
Madrid
In 1931, a year after taking the throne, he gave Ethiopia its first written constitution
Selassie
Because of the bulge from the Equator, the highest point above the Earth's center is the top of this mountain in Ecuador
Mount Chimborazo