Planning the Capital: Australia set a precedent when it created a new city, Canberra, to be its capital. A lot of countries have followed suit, with mixed results. Brasilia, deep in the jungle, was a Brazilian disaster. Nigeria's move from Lagos to Abuja cost a fortune, while it seems that Burma's abandonment of Rangoon may have been done at the suggestion of a fortuneteller. Ivory Coast moved its capital to the hometown of its dictator, who also built the world's largest Catholic church ther ...

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