Data from New Zealand is not included in some statistics either because the data was not available, or because it was not of interest to the source. Lack of data for a particular statistic does not imply that this factor does not exist within New Zealand or that it has not been measured.

Determining the number of people who have died from tobacco related illnesses is difficult as some non-smokers also die from these diseases.

Lung cancer, for example is generally considered a smoker's disease as 84% of cases are believed to have been caused by Tobacco smoking. Other factors which medical professionals believe to cause lung cancer include passive smoking, Asbestos, Radon exposure, Workplace carcinogens (such as arsenic, vinyl chloride and Chlorine gas, Talcum powder), Marijuana smoking, Recurrent infection, Genetic factors, Vitamin A deficiency or excess and Air pollution.

According to ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), Smoking is responsible for deaths from the following diseases:

• Cancers lung(84% of deaths), Upper respiratory (66%), Oesophagus (68%),Bladder (37%), Kidney (27%), Stomach (26%), Pancreas (23%), Myeloid Leukaemia (15%)
• Respiratory diseases Chronic obstructive lung disease (84%), Pneumonia (17%)
• Circulatory diseases Ischaemic heart disease (17%), Cerebrovascular disease (10%), Aortic aneurysm (57%), Myocardial degeneration (15%), Atherosclerosis (10%)
• Digestive diseases Ulcers of the stomach or duodenum (45%)

In addition to this, tobacco smoking also:

• Worsens symptoms of some diseases including Asthma, Graves’ disease (over-active thyroid gland) and Chronic rhinitis (chronic inflammation of the nose)
• Reduces function of the immune and reproductive system
• Increses the risk of other medical conditions including those affecting the eyes, teeth and gums, muscles, ligaments and tendons, reproductive system and skin.

The effect of smoking depends on the amount a person smokes and the length of time that they have been smoking. After the person stops smoking, their body begins to repair the damage, however even after ten years, the ex-smoker's risk still does not equal the lower risk of a person who never smoked.

The average annual precipitation for Argentina is 1147mm. However the Argentine Republic is a large country with an area of 2.766 million sq km and large regional variations in rainfall.

The Eastern region receives between 500 and 1000mm per year, with most of the rain in this region falling over only a few days. In general rainfall decreases both further west and further south. In the almost desert-like Argentine Patagonia (to the East of the southern Andes) less than 250 mm of rain falls per year.

Different names for the same place arise for many reasons. These include obsolete names which are still in use and names given by minority people groups.

Names for Greece which are variations of "Hellas" originate with the Hellenic Greek civilisation which began in Greece around 800BC and continued until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

• In Greece:Ellas approximate pronounciation: Hellas, also more formally the Hellenic Republic;
• In Norwegian: Hellas;
• In Vietnamese:Nuóc Hy-lap;
• In Turkey: Yunanistan
• In Hebrew (Ivrit): Yawan

Different names for the same place arise for many reasons. These include obsolete names which are still in use and names given by minority people groups.

Names for Greece which are variations of "Hellas" originate with the Hellenic Greek civilisation which began in Greece around 800BC and continued until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

132 million barrels of crude oil were discovered in two new wells at the Tacata field in Anzoategui state. Another 60 million barrels of oil reserves were discovered by digging an exploration well at the Chaguaramal field in Monagas state.

The oil company says it will invest $5 billion this year in oil exploration and production. It claims to currently be pumping 3 million barrels of oil per day, but oil industry analysts estimate the actual figure to be closer to 2.6 million barrels.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves - approximately 78 billion barrels – in the western hemisphere and is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter.

Rubella infection can be extremely harmful to fetuses. Women who contract the virus in the first trimester of pregnancy will likely have a miscarriage or deliver a stillborn or permanently disabled baby. Forty years ago in the U.S., before there was a vaccine, a rubella epidemic resulted in about 12,000 babies being born deaf or blind and deaf.

Rubella’s decline in the U.S. began when a vaccine was introduced in 1969 and accelerated when Latin America and Caribbean countries began mass rubella immunization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say over 93 percent of children under three have been vaccinated.

The first case of cholera in the camp was registered on March 26 and by April 1 the charity group Medecins sans frontiers/Doctors Without Borders said there had been 110 cases and 3 deaths. Only one of the fatalities was not at the camp, which houses 25,000 people. Health authorities reported 77 new cases of cholera on April 3.

Doctors Without Borders said the epidemic was expected to peak within two weeks and that the incubation period was between five and seven days.

Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by bacteria and often linked to contaminated drinking water.

In the first half of 2004, 966 people were kidnapped in Colombia, less than half of the 1,906 people kidnapped in the same period of 2003. An average of 3,000 people were kidnapped in the country each year from 1996 to 2003.

Ransom payments over the eight-year period were estimated at $57 million, with an average ransom of $20,000. The estimated cost to the economy was $150 million, including loss of income, and the government also spent $110 million to crack down on abductions.

Most kidnappings were carried out by the FARC and the ELN, left-wing rebel groups that have waged a 40-year conflict against the state.

Ninety-seven percent of the executions in 2004 took place in China, Iran, Vietnam and the United States. At least 3,400 people were executed in China, more than in all the other countries combined. Iran was second, with 159 known executions, and Vietnam was third, with at least 64. Fifty-nine people were executed in the U.S. last year.

Death sentences were handed out to 7,395 people in 64 countries in 2004. The New York Times said 144 death sentences were handed down in the U.S. last year, the lowest number since 1997.

Today (4 April, 2005) 1 Czech Koruna = $US0.0428
This value is the mid-market rate and will typically be the average value of the buying and selling rates. Buying rates are lower than selling rates in order for financial institutions to stay in business. You can access the current mid-market rate at the xe.com Universal Currency Converter.

Over the past five years, the Czech Koruna has increased in value against the U.S dollar by around 60%.

Currency conversion rates are not static but will vary according to the flow of imports and exports, the flow of capital, relative inflation rates etc. In addition, limits are often placed on exchange rate fluctuations according to government policies.

Currently, the average global life expectancy for all people is 63 years. There is a gender discrepancy with males living an average of 61 years and females an average of 65 years. In developing nations, the gender discrepancy is smaller due largely to the risks of childbirth. In developed nations, the gender discrepancy is larger.

In the United Arab Emirates, the average life expectancy is 74.75 years (72.28 years for males and 77.35 years for females.) This information is available if you select 'view all countries'.

Thermal electricity generation involves heating water to produce steam which in turn causes turbines to rotate and generate electricity. If the water is heated by coal or oil, the electricity is both thermal and generated from fossil fuels. If the water is heated by nuclear energy or geothermal heat sources, the electricity is not generated from fossil fuels.

The term "fossil fuel" refers to fuels containing hydrocarbons (molecules made of hydrogen and carbon) such as oil, coal and natural gas as well as refined products produced from these including petrol, diesel, kerosine and methane. The name fossil fuels is given to these fuels as the are believed to have formed from the ancient remains of plant and animal material.

Thermal electricity generation involves heating water to produce steam which in turn causes turbines to rotate and generate electricity. If the water is heated by coal or oil, the electricity is both thermal and generated from fossil fuels. If the water is heated by nuclear energy or geothermal heat sources, the electricity is not generated from fossil fuels.