Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of some 600 islands grouped into four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk (Truk) and Yap.

Occupying a very small total land mass, it is scattered over an ocean expanse five times the size of France.

Though formally independent, in 1986 Micronesia signed a "Compact of Free Association" with the US. Under this, Washington took on responsibility for defence and gained the right to set up military bases and deny other nations access to Micronesia. In return, Micronesia received financial assistance averaging $100m per year, and the right of Micronesians to live and work in the US. Micronesia also takes its cue from Washington on foreign policy.

A renegotiated 20-year compact, worth $3.5 billion to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, was signed by US President George W Bush in December 2003. Some of the money is being diverted into trust funds, intended to provide a financial resource for Micronesia after the compact expires.

Despite its small population and the large amount of incoming aid from the US, Japan and elsewhere, Micronesia has relatively high unemployment, a matter compounded by increasing numbers of Filipino migrant workers.

Many Micronesians live without electricity or running water, which is in short supply and is sometimes rationed. The gap between rich and poor is increasing as business and officials benefit disproportionately from US aid donations.

Micronesia's biggest challenge is to find a way of lessening its dependence on foreign aid. Given the islands' splendid beaches and scuba diving opportunities, tourism offers one possibility, but this is constrained by the lack of adequate infrastructure and the islands' remoteness.

Once hailed as a model of stability, during the first decade of the twenty-first century Ivory Coast slipped into the kind of internal strife that has plagued so many African countries.

When Mr Gbagbo replaced Robert Guei after he was deposed in a popular uprising in 2000, violence replaced xenophobia. Scores of Mr Ouattara's supporters were killed after their leader called for new elections.

In September 2002 a troop mutiny escalated into a full-scale rebellion, voicing the ongoing discontent of northern Muslims who felt they were being discriminated against in Ivorian politics. Thousands were killed in the conflict.

Although most of the fighting ended in 2004, Ivory Coast remained tense and divided. French and UN peacekeepers patrolled the buffer zone which separated the north, held by rebels known as the New Forces, and the government-controlled south.

After repeated delays, elections aimed at ending the conflict were finally held in October 2010. But the vote ushered in more unrest when the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to concede victory to the internationally recognised winner, Alassane Ouattara.

The ensuing four-month stand-off was only ended when Mr Ouattara's forces overran the south of the country, finally capturing Mr Gbagbo and declaring him deposed. In November 2011, Mr Gbagbo was transferred to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity.

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at age 14 from her Utah home and held for what she described as “nine months of hell,” exchanged vows on Saturday with her boyfriend of the past year at a private wedding in Hawaii, her uncle told Reuters.

Smart, 24, and Matthew Gilmour, whom she met while she was serving a religious mission in Europe for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tied the knot at a Mormon temple overlooking the Pacific on the North Shore of Oahu, her uncle, Tom Smart, said.

A spokesman for Elizabeth Smart, Chris Thomas, added in a statement that the couple were accompanied by a small group of immediate family, and he described them as “beaming” as they left the temple on their way to a reception and luau.

The couple was to depart on an “extended honeymoon” after the day’s festivities, Thomas said. According to People magazine, Gilmour is 22.

Smart, now an advocate for missing children and occasional television news commentator, announced last month that she was engaged to be married with a wedding anticipated for early summer.

But facing media attention that was growing “increasingly invasive,” Smart decided about a week ago that “the best way to avoid significant distraction was to change her wedding plans and to get married in an unscheduled ceremony outside of Utah,” Thomas said.

Smart was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in June 2002 by a homeless street preacher, Brian David Mitchell, and was repeatedly raped and forced to wander with her captor from town to town for nine months.

She was freed after being spotted by passers-by in a Salt Lake City suburb in 2003. Her kidnapping shocked Americans, and the extensive search for the missing teen was covered exhaustively in the U.S. media.

Mitchell was convicted in 2010 of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced in May to life in prison.

Smart testified during Mitchell’s trial, describing her time as his captive as “nine months of hell.”

Mitchell’s wife, Wanda Barzee, was sentenced to a 15-year prison term in 2010 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and cooperating with prosecutors in the case against Mitchell.

ABC News in July announced that it had hired Smart, who has shown composure since her release from captivity, as a contributor on stories about missing persons.

(Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Greg McCune)

Forty children held in adult detention centres while seeking asylum are understood to have received a share of £1m compensation from the Home Office.

This policy was eventually accepted to be unlawful by the Home Office in January 2007, which conceded that it "did not strike the right balance between, on the one hand, the interests of firm and fair immigration control and, on the other hand, the importance of avoiding the detention of unaccompanied children".

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We take the welfare of young people exceptionally seriously.

"Where there is any doubt over an individual's age, they will not be detained unless an independent local authority age assessment concludes that they are over 18. These checks are carried out by social workers with expert knowledge.

"All of our front-line staff receive specialist training to ensure that the welfare of young people is considered at every stage."

The Refugee Council said children without families were still being detained, which was "unacceptable".

Chief executive Donna Covey said the government has made steps towards ending child detention since pledging to do so nearly two years ago..

But she added: "Children who are here on their own, many having fled horrifying experiences in their own countries, are still being detained due to flaws in the system.

"We know from our work with detained young people that detention can severely damage their physical and mental wellbeing."

Seventy years ago, in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attacks, the US West Coast was cleared of Japanese-Americans. More than 110,000 people were put into internment camps, in what was the largest official forced relocation in US history. For many who lived through it, the story remains a painful one.

Her parents ran a strawberry farm, and were regarded as upstanding members of the community – good, hard-working and church-going.

The public was right behind the measures.

Mary's family stayed in a bare room approximately 20ft x 24ft (6m x 7m) with one small window and a bare light-bulb. They were each given a woollen blanket and an army cot for a bed.

Though they did not know it at the time, those who answered yes to both questions – as Mary's family did – would be classified as "loyals" and would be allowed to leave.

The young men, such as Mary's brother, were drafted into the US Army.

"As my brother got on the bus, drove through the gate and left, my mother and I wept, and wondered when it would be our turn to leave."

Her turn came soon afterwards, in August 1944, when she was sent to Chicago as part of the US Cadet Nurse Corps. She relished her new-found freedom and embraced it wholeheartedly.

"It was incredible – the sense that I could walk anywhere I wanted to, and enjoy the flowers, the grass, the trees and hear the birds – it was like being in heaven."

Two older nurses took her under their wing, treated her as an equal.

"I learnt a lot about what it means to feel despised, to be hated, to feel ashamed of who I was [during the internment].

"So to be treated as a responsible, respectful person, I can't tell you the relief and the awe that I felt."

Just over a year later, in September 1945, her parents left the internment camp too.

But, for many, the life they returned to was very different to the one they left behind.

"The best estimate that I have heard is that 75% of people [who] moved, ended up losing their land," says Prof Robinson.

"Everybody lost something and many people lost everything."

For years, many Japanese-Americans stayed silent about what had happened.

"The shame that came from this whole period permeated our people, and nobody talked about it," says Mary.

In the 1980s, the US government issued a report stating that the internment had been "unjust and motivated by racism rather than real military necessity".

President Ronald Reagan took steps to try to redress what had happened, which culminated in 1992 with an apology from President George HW Bush and $20,000 (£12,600) paid out to each surviving member of the camps.

Mary treasures the letter of apology she received from President Bush and only regrets that her parents and her brother died before it came.

"I took that as evidence that – in spite of the things the government did – this is a country that was big enough to say, 'We were wrong, we're sorry.'"

Tune Group, the globally-renowned Malaysian-based lifestyle business conglomerate, announced its expansion into the Middle East through the formation of ‘Tune Middle East’.

Tune Middle East is a joint venture between Tune Group – led by its co-founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun – and their Qatari partner Mr Mohammed Al Saad.

According to Fernandes, Tune Middle East, headquartered in Qatar will be a platform to roll out Tune brands in GCC and The Middle East and to bring skills, investment and marketing opportunities to the region.

Fernandes said: “Tune Group is extremely pleased to be partnering with Mohammed Al Saad; we have the same vision, enthusiasm and motivation, together with a shared belief in the intrinsic value of building businesses. Tune Middle East will be the nucleus for our expansion in Qatar and the Middle East. With a total population of over 40 million among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries alone, the Middle East is a vibrant market for Tune to tap into and we look forward to building our businesses here.”

“There are some really strong synergies that have brought us to this exciting mutual commitment. Both Malaysia and the UK, where the Tune Group has a strong presence, enjoy superb relations with Qatar. Our philosophy of building business and brands aligns well with His Highness The Emir of Qatar’s vision for 2030, while, to use an aviation metaphor, our multifaceted capabilities mean we can deliver a blend of First Class, Business Class and Economy Class solutions in the Middle East, in Europe and in Asia,” he added.

Mr Mohammed Al Saad said: “I am delighted to formally welcome Tune Group to the Middle East and most especially here in Qatar. Tony, Kamarudin and I have been looking at ways to collaborate for some time, not only in the GCC, but further afield in the UK and in Asia. We will ensure that Tune Middle East will be a dynamic entity with a strong, credible reputation in Qatar, the Middle East and on the international stage.”

Fernandes and Meranun are the team behind Asia’s leading and largest low-cost carrier AirAsia. As Group CEO and Deputy Group CEO respectively, they built the once ailing carrier from just 2 aircraft when they acquired it in 2001, to a fleet of over 100 Airbus planes today.

Tune Group was established in 2007 with the aim of breaking down affordability barriers in various aspects of daily life – via Tune Hotels, Tune Talk and Tune Money. Tune Group’s portfolio today also includes the automotive technology company Caterham Group and the English Premier League team Queens Park Rangers (QPR).

Britain is under threat from a rising tide of "militant secularisation", a Cabinet minister has warned.

Conservative Party co-chairman Baroness Warsi will argue during an official visit to the Vatican that religion must be given a greater role in public life.

She warns in the Daily Telegraph that religion is being sidelined and will highlight the issue in a speech later.

Her visit marks the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of full diplomatic ties between Britain and the Vatican.

The Tory peer will use her speech – the first to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy by an outside minister – to call for Europe to become more "confident in its Christianity".

"In order to encourage social harmony, people need to feel stronger in their religious identities, more confident in their beliefs," she is due to say.

"In practice this means individuals not diluting their faiths and nations not denying their religious heritages.

"If you take this thought to its conclusion then the idea you're left with is this: Europe needs to become more confident in its Christianity."

Baroness Warsi said examples of a "militant secularisation" taking hold of society included when signs of religion cannot be displayed or worn in government buildings, and when states will not fund faith schools.

Her comments come days after the High Court ruled that a Devon town council acted unlawfully by allowing prayers to be said at meetings.

And – as the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggot reports – the Church of England could soon lose its traditional role as the provider of the chief chaplain to the Prison Service.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed it is "considering arrangements" for appointing a new Chaplain-General – but the job might not go to an Anglican.

Our correspondent says the move may be seen by some Anglicans as the latest sign of the reduced influence of the "established" Church of England in public affairs.

The speech by Lady Warsi, Britain's first female Muslim Cabinet minister, will also compare the intolerance of religion with totalitarian regimes.

BBC political correspondent Louise Stewart said it was not the first time a senior Conservative had called for a revival of traditional Christian values.

"Last December, Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK was a Christian country and 'should not be afraid to say so'," she said.

Lady Warsi's two-day delegation of seven British ministers to the Holy See will include an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the UK in 2010.

Meanwhile, new research suggests Britons who declare themselves Christian display low levels of belief and practice.

Almost three quarters of the 1,136 people polled by Ipsos Mori agreed that religion should not influence public policy, and 92% agreed the law should apply to everyone equally, regardless of their personal beliefs.

It also found that 61% of Christians agreed homosexuals should have the same legal rights in all aspects of their lives as heterosexuals.

And a further 62% were in favour of a woman's right to have an abortion within the legal time limit.

The survey was conducted for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, which publicises and supports secular charitable organisations.