Haïti in the news: High food prices have led to demonstrations in Port-au-Prince resulting in a vote on Saturday ousting Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis. The World bank has agreed to send $10M in emergency aid, which is sorely needed.

While the economy is not very good in most western countries, during this period Haïti has seen some extremely difficult times, even for Haïti. With escalating food prices the situation has now become unbearable with violence a likely possibility.

In an effort to aleviate some of the pressure on food prices President René Préval has pledged to promote egg, chicken and rice production with subsidized fertilizer costs.

Haïti is a country with a rich history being the only country in the world where slaves rose up and threw out their masters, defeating the Spanish, British and the French. The French were particularly bitter at their loss as Haïti was their richest colony at the time.

Our Haïti banknote section is the most comprehensive on the site with 686 different notes displayed. On a day when Americans are sending in their tax returns, many Haïtians are wondering where their next meal will come from. An excellent organization I'd recommend if you care to help is Food For The Poor, Inc.. They distribute 96% of the donations they receive, one of the most efficient charities. They are also committed to Haiti and have many projects there since their inception in 1982.                                                                                                                                                            15 April 2008

Tibet (བོད་) in the News: The entire world seems to be reacting to the events in Tibet. Demonstrations against China have occurred in each country starting their 2008 Olympic Torch relay ceremonies. So why should Tibet matter to us? Should governments boycott the Olympics? I found an interesting perspective on these questions on a website called Desicritics.org.

numismondo.net is not a political website but we obviously have a strong interest in world events and Tibet is in the forefront of epochal changes. Tibet has used the Chinese Renminbi as its currency since the 1951 annexation by China but Tibet did issue its own currency from 1912 until 1943. Examples of Tibet banknotes can be viewed in our Tibet section.                                        9 April 2008

CURRENT NEWS - North Korea 조선민주주의인민공화국 invited the New York Philharmonic orchestra to perform and they played the Star Spangled Banner, among other pieces, in Pyongyang today. As usual the reaction to this gesture has had a mixed reaction with some saying it is just a move to prop up the Pyongyang regime. Let's hope that it is a sign, as was ping pong diplomacy with China, of better future relations between North Korea and the west.

We recently added an initial North Korea section and would appreciate receiving additional information and images from collectors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       22 February 2008

Jordan - we have added a new section for Jordan with a total of 27 images. Included is a wonderful autographed image of Queen Rania (right) sent in by Dr. Márián Zoltán of Hungary. Queen Rania is very popular in Jordan not only because of her great beauty but for the excellent work she is doing in the country.

Dr.Zoltán has collected autographed pictures of world leaders and personalities for many years and is currently looking for the whereabouts of the former Sultan of Zanzibar, Jamshid bin Abdullah. Readers with knowledge of the Sultan are encouraged to write us and we will pass the information on.

Our sincere thanks go to specialist Mahdi Bseiso for his help with this section.   

Norway has just been added with more than 195 notes displayed. Collectors who can provide images of 17th and 19th century as well as World War II Emergency issues are encourages to send them in so we can enhance this nice reference section.

Pictured is Kirsten Flagstad who has been called the "world’s most dramatic soprano." She is featured on Norway's 100 Kroner banknotes starting in 1995 through the current 2003 issues. Norges Bank began first picturing their revered personalities in 1877 with King Oscar II. In 1977 the first woman to appear on a Norway banknote was writer Camilla Collett, who has been referred to as Norway's first feminist. Novelist and Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset is pictured on the 500 Kroner notes starting in 1999.

Our sincere thanks go to the late Walter Jellum  for his help with this section.

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 * Some issues are from colonies, pan-governments, micro-states, micronations or non-government entities.