Bolivia to World Court: Fix Our Landlock

Unlike most other landlocked countries, Bolivia was once a maritime nation and the loss of its access to the Pacific after a war with Chile more than a century ago still stings, NPR finds. The country—which still has a navy and holds a "Day of the Sea" celebration every year—has sent its foreign minister to the Hague's International Court of Justice to make the case for ordering Chile to return the coastal territory it gained in a 1904 peace treaty. Analysts suspect the Bolivian government's decision to raise the issue with the world court now may be an attempt to boost Bolivian leader Evo Morales' popularity. (More Bolivia stories.)