Timeline: The Philippines

Full name: Republic of the Philippines
Population: 82.8 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Manila
Area: 300,000 sq km (115,831 sq miles)
Major languages: Filipino, English (both official)
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 68 years (men), 72 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Philippine peso = 100 centavos
Main exports: Electrical machinery, clothing, food and live animals, chemicals, timber products
GNI per capita: US $1,300 (World Bank, 2006)

A chronology of key events:

1542 - Spanish expedition claims the islands and names them the Philippines after the heir to the Spanish throne.
1890s - Beginnings of insurrection against Spanish rule.
1898 - During the Spanish-American War, the US navy destroys the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. Spain cedes the Philippines to the US under the Treaty of Paris in December. The US proclaims military rule.
1899 - Insurgent activity against US forces begins.
1901 - Leader of insurgents, Emilio Aguinaldo, is captured.
1902 - US civil government replaces military rule.
1907 - A Philippine assembly is inaugurated.
1935 - A plebiscite approves the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Manuel Quezon is the first president. The Philippines is promised full independence within 10 years.
Invasion and occupation
1941 - Japan attacks the Philippines by air and invades two weeks later.
1944 - US forces retake the islands.
1946 - The islands are granted full independence and renamed the Republic of the Philippines.
1947 - The US is awarded military bases on the islands.
1951 - Peace treaty signed with Japan. The Philippines eventually receive $800m in reparations payments.
1965 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes president.
1969 - Marcos is re-elected amidst allegations of electoral fraud. Marcos supports the US policy in Vietnam. There are protests against this. Muslim separatists in the south of the country also begin their campaign of guerrilla war.
Martial law
1972 - Marcos declares martial law. The parliament is suspended, opposition politicians are arrested, censorship is imposed.
1973 - A new constitution gives Marcos absolute powers.
1977 - Opposition leader Benigno Aquino is sentenced to death. Marcos delays the execution.
1980 - Aquino allowed to travel to the US for medical treatment.
1981 - Martial law is lifted. Marcos wins presidential elections.
1983 - Aquino returns to the Philippines, but is shot dead as he leaves his plane. The military is blamed for the murder.
"People power"
1986 - Presidential elections see Marcos opposed by Aquino's widow, Corazon. Marcos declares himself the winner, but Aquino disputes the result. There are mass protests, dubbed "people power", in Manila. The military withdraws its support for Marcos. Marcos flees the country for Hawaii. The new government claims Marcos had looted billions of dollars from the country during his time in power. Marcos dies on Hawaii in 1989.
1989 December - US jets assist Philippine government forces in suppressing an attempted coup.
1990 - Military officials are convicted of the murder of Benigno Aquino.
1991 - The US abandons Clark Air Base after a volcanic eruption smothers it with ash.
1992 - Aquino's defence minister, Fidel Ramos, wins presidency. The US closes Subic Bay Naval Station.
1996 - Peace agreement reached with Muslim separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front. Another group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), carries on its campaign.
1998 - Joseph Estrada elected president.
2000 November - Impeachment proceedings start against Estrada on allegations of corruption, betrayal of public trust, and violation of the constitution.
2001 January - Impeachment trial is suspended on the 16th. There are mass street protests. The military withdraws its support. Estrada stands down on the 20th, proclaiming his innocence. His vice-president, Gloria Arroyo, is sworn in as president.
2001 March - The MILF declares a ceasefire and says it is ready to hold talks with the government. Estrada arrested
2001 April - Philippines prosecutors charge Estrada with plundering more than 80 million dollars from state funds while he was in office. Estrada is arrested and placed in custody.
2002 January - US says joint exercises with Filipino military signal new phase in war on international terrorism. Exercises take place near stronghold of Abu Sayyaf group which US says has links to Osama Bin Laden.
2002 October - Series of deadly bomb blasts - on a Manila bus and at three locations in Zamboanga city - blamed on Islamic militants.
2003 February - Ceasefire between MILF and government breaks down. Planned talks are called off in May after a rebel attack on Mindanao kills 30.
2003 July - Government signs ceasefire with MILF ahead of planned talks in Malaysia.
2003 July - Army mutiny in Manila; some 300 soldiers seize a shopping centre but surrender peacefully following negotiations. President Arroyo declares a state of rebellion.
2004 February - Peace talks between government and communist rebel New People's Army start in Norway, but are called off by the rebels in August.
2004 June - With counting completed, Gloria Arroyo wins May's presidential elections.
2004 July - Philippines withdraws its peacekeepers from Iraq, bowing to the demands of the kidnappers of a Filipino lorry driver. The driver is freed.
2004 November-December - Hundreds of people are killed in floods and mudslides caused by powerful storms and a typhoon.
2005 January - Heavy fighting between troops and MILF rebels breaks the July 2003 ceasefire.
2005 April - Breakthrough on contentious issue of ancestral land achieved at peace talks in Malaysia between government and MILF rebels.
2005 June - Influential Cardinal Jaime Sin, who led two peaceful revolts, dies aged 76.
2005 July-September - President Arroyo is pressured to resign over allegations of vote-rigging. In September she survives an opposition attempt to impeach her.
2005 November-December - Scores are killed during clashes between troops and Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels on the southern island of Jolo.
2006 February - 74 people are killed and hundreds are injured in a stampede for tickets for a TV game show at a stadium in Manila.
More than 1,000 people are killed by a mudslide which engulfs a village on the central island of Leyte.
President Arroyo declares a week-long state of emergency after the army says it has foiled a planned coup.
2006 June - The death penalty is abolished. It was scrapped in 1987 but had been re-introduced.
2006 August - President Arroyo survives an attempt to impeach her over allegations of corruption, human rights abuses and election fraud.

Timeline: Thailand

Bangkok, known as "Krung Thep" - City of Angels
Population: 7.2 million
Original settlement established by Chinese traders
Became capital of Kingdom of Siam in 1782

A chronology of key events:
1782 - Beginning of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I, which rules to this present day. The country is known as Siam. New capital of Bangkok founded.

1868-1910 - Reign of King Chulalongkorn. Employment of Western advisers to modernise Siam's administration and commerce. Railway network developed.
1917 - Siam becomes ally of Great Britain in World War I.
1932 - Bloodless coup against absolute monarch King Prajadhipok. Constitutional monarchy introduced with parliamentary government.
1939 - Siam changes its name to Thailand ("Land of the Free").
1941 - Japanese forces land. After negotiations Thailand allows Japanese to advance towards British-controlled Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Burma.
1942 - Thailand declares war on Britain and US, but Thai ambassador in Washington refuses to deliver declaration to US government.
Post-war uncertainty
1945 - End of World War II. Thailand compelled to return territory it had seized from Laos, Cambodia and Malaya. Exiled King Ananda returns.
1946 - King Ananda assassinated.
1947 - Military coup by the wartime, pro-Japanese leader Phibun Songkhram. The military retain power until 1973.
1965 onwards - Thailand permits US to use bases there during the Vietnam War. Thai troops fight in South Vietnam.
Short-lived civilian rule
1973 - Student riots in Bangkok bring about the fall of the military government. Free elections are held but the resulting governments lack stability.
1976 - Military takes over again.
1978 - New constitution promulgated.
1980 - General Prem Tinsulanonda assumes power.
1983 - Prem gives up his military position and heads a civilian government. He is re-elected in 1986.
1988 - General Chatichai Choonhaven replaces Prem after elections.
1991 - Military coup, the 17th since 1932. A civilian, Anand Panyarachun, is installed as prime minister.
1992 - New elections in March replace Anand with General Suchinda Kraprayoon. There are demonstrations against him, forcing him to resign. Anand is re-instated temporarily. Elections in September see Chuan Leekpai, leader of the Democratic Party, chosen as prime minister.
1995 - Government collapses. Banharn Silpa-archa, of the Thai Nation party, elected prime minister.
1996 - Banharn's government resigns, accused of corruption. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh of the New Aspiration party wins elections.
Financial turmoil
1997 - Asian financial crisis: The baht falls sharply against the dollar, leading to bankruptcies and unemployment. The IMF steps in. Chuan Leekpai becomes prime minister.
1998 - Tens of thousands of migrant workers are sent back to their countries of origin. Chuan involves the opposition in his government in order to push through economic reforms.
1999 - Economy begins to pick up again. Thai media highlight high cost of drug treatments for Aids and HIV. Thailand begins to pressurise drugs companies to find ways to make the drugs cheaper.
2001 January - Elections won by Thaksin Shinawatra of new Thai Love Thai party. Allegations of vote-buying force partial re-run of poll. Thaksin forms coalition government.
2001 March - A plane Thaksin is due to board explodes. Police say a bomb is to blame.
2001 June - Prime Minister Thaksin visits Burma to discuss drugs and border tensions. He says relations are now back on track. Within days the Mae Sai-Tachilek border crossing is opened again after clashes between Thai and Burmese troops in February.
2001 August - Thaksin is cleared of assets concealment. A conviction by the Thai Constitutional Court could have meant a five-year ban from politics.
2002 May - Burma closes border with Thailand after Thai army fires shells into Burma during battle between Burmese army and ethnic Shan rebels. Border reopens in October.
Temple row
2003 January - Serious diplomatic upset with Cambodia over comments attributed to a Thai actress that Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex was stolen from Thailand. Angry crowds attack the Thai embassy in the Cambodian capital. More than 500 Thai nationals are evacuated.
2003 February - Controversial crackdown on drugs starts; more than 2,000 suspects are killed by late April. The government blames many killings on criminal gangs; rights groups say extra-judicial killings were encouraged by the authorities.
2004 January-March - More than 100 are killed in a wave of attacks in the largely-Muslim south. The government blames Islamic militants. Martial law is imposed.
2004 April - More than 100 suspected Islamic insurgents are killed after launching coordinated dawn attacks on police bases in the south.
2004 October - 85 Muslim protesters die, many from suffocation, while in army custody following violence at a rally in the south. An enquiry concludes that they were not killed deliberately.
Tsunami
2004 December - Thousands of people are killed when massive waves, caused by a powerful undersea earthquake off the Indonesian coast, devastate communities on the south-west coast, including the resort of Phuket.
2005 March - Thaksin Shinawatra begins a second term as PM after his party wins February's elections by a landslide.
2005 July - As violent unrest continues in the south, Prime Minister Thaksin is given new powers to counter suspected Muslim militants in the region. In November the death toll in violence since January 2004 tops 1,000.
2005 October - Thailand redoubles efforts to fight bird flu as fresh outbreaks of the disease are reported.
2006 April-May - Snap election, called by the PM amid mass rallies against him, is boycotted by the opposition and is subsequently annulled, leaving a political vacuum. The PM takes a seven-week break from politics.
2006 August - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra accuses several army officers of plotting to kill him after police find a car containing bomb-making materials near his house.
2006 September - Six simultaneous motorcycle bombs kill three people and wound more than 60 on a busy street in the southern town of Hat Yai.
2006 19 September - Military leaders stage a bloodless coup while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is at the UN General Assembly. Retired General Surayud Chulanont is appointed as interim prime minister in October.

Thai generals chart likely future

The leaders of Thailand's military coup have done what they promised to do - draft an interim constitution and hand over power to a designated prime minister within weeks of seizing control.
But questions about the military rulers' longer-term intentions still remain.
Perhaps the biggest clue to their plans is the hastily drawn-up interim constitution, which will be valid until democratic elections due to be held in October next year.
This document gives substantial powers to the coup leaders - who now call themselves the Council for National Security (CNS). They are able to dismiss the prime minister if they choose, and are also influential in deciding the committee to draft the next, full, constitution.
"The military is keeping a lot of power for itself, and I would rather this wasn't the case," said Gothom Arya, from Mahidol University.
The CNS does not deny this, but insists such controls are essential in order to keep the peace.

Money starts flowing in teacher bonus program

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the closing weeks of the fall campaign, the Bush administration is handing out money for teachers who raise student test scores, the first federal effort to reward classroom performance with bonuses.
The 16 grants total $42 million and cover many states. The government has announced only the first grants, $5.5 million for Ohio, where Education Secretary Margaret Spellings was making the presentation Monday.
The department will release the remaining grants in the coming weeks, falling right before the Nov. 7 elections in which a reeling Republican Party is eager for good news.
In Ohio in particular, the GOP could trumpet the news of money for the state education department. The $5.5 million will be shared by schools in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.
Sen. Mike DeWine, (R-Ohio), is trailing his Democratic rival. Also, Democrats have led for weeks in two House seats long in Republican hands, and party officials talk of capturing two or three more seats. Such gains could help the Democrats take over the House.
The Education Department says the election had no bearing on the timing. The grant application process began in May, and the review was done in the early fall, officials said. Congress approved the program last year.
"It's always a little suspicious when you have these things come out just before the election, allowing members of Congress in tight races to get some money for their district," said Joel Packer, a lobbyist for the National Education Association.
Using the old-fashioned incentive of cash, President Bush's program encourages schools to set up pay scales that reward some teachers and principals more than others. Those rewards are to be based mainly on test scores, but also on classroom evaluations during the year.
The grants are also aimed at luring teachers into math, science and other core fields.
Teachers normally are paid based on their years in class and their education. Yet more school districts are experimenting with merit pay, and now the federal government is, too.
It is not always popular. Teachers' unions generally oppose pay-for-performance plans, saying they do not fairly measure quality and do nothing to raise base teacher pay.
Spellings, though, says the money will be a good recruiting tool. The most qualified teachers tend to opt for affluent schools, she told The Associated Press.
"These grants will work to fix this by encouraging and rewarding teachers for taking the tough jobs in the schools and classrooms where our children need them the most," she said.
The grants will range from about $1 million to $30 million. That is small time for the federal government, but can be enough to offer a meaningful pay bump at the local level.
Yet done in isolation, performance pay "have very little chance of having impact," said Rob Weil, deputy director of educational issues for the American Federation of Teachers.
"You have to prepare teachers properly," Weil said. "You have to have mentoring and professional development and professional standards. If you don't have those things, it doesn't matter what you do with compensation."
The average teacher salary was paid $47,800 in 2005.
Bush has been promoting the "Teacher Incentive Fund" in his recent speeches.
"It's an interesting concept, isn't it?" he said during a school visit in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 5. "If your measurement system shows that you're providing excellence for your children, it seems to make sense that there ought to be a little extra incentive."
In the Ohio districts, for example, school leaders plan to pay bonuses of between $1,800 to $2,000 to hundreds of teachers and principals who raise achievement.
Bush, seeking $500 million from Congress, got $99 million for the program this year.
More than half of that money will be carried over until next year, though, because most of the applications did not qualify. The department expects to accept applications again soon.
The agency looked for pay plans that outline how schools will get support from teachers and the broader community. That is considered essential to keeping any merit plan afloat.
Schools with higher numbers of poor children get priority consideration.
Packer, the lobbyist for the National Education Association, said no teacher-pay plan should be based just on the test scores of students. A one-time exam does not measure teacher effectiveness, he said, and teachers in subjects such as math may not even have testing.