microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands
Antilles)
#
3
1
0
2000
1
?
?
#
#
#
#
105
65 km
#
40 km (1992 est.)
#
?
?
?
?
Blowing Point, Road Bay
#
?
?
?
?
#
3
1
?
?
?
1
2
2
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
#
?
#
?
?
?
?
?
none
#
?
#
@Antarctica
0
?
#
Antarctic Treaty Summary: The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961, establishes the legal framework for the management of Antarctica. Administration is carried out through consultative member meetings - the 18th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting was in Japan in April 1993. Currently, there are 42 treaty member nations: 26 consultative and 16 acceding. Consultative (voting) members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory (some claims overlap) and 19 nonclaimant nations. The US and some other nations that have made no claims have reserved the right to do so. The US does not recognize the claims of others. The year in parentheses indicates when an acceding nation was voted to full consultative (voting) status, while no date indicates the country was an original 1959 treaty signatory. Claimant nations are - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK. Nonclaimant consultative nations are - Belgium, Brazil (1983), China (1985), Ecuador (1990), Finland (1989), Germany (1981), India (1983), Italy (1987), Japan, South Korea (1989), Netherlands (1990), Peru (1989), Poland (1977), South Africa, Spain (1988), Sweden (1988), Uruguay (1985), the US, and Russia. Acceding (nonvoting) members, with year of accession in parentheses, are - Austria (1987), Bulgaria (1978), Canada (1988), Colombia (1988), Cuba (1984), Czech Republic (1993), Denmark (1965), Greece (1987), Guatemala (1991), Hungary (1984), North Korea (1987), Papua New Guinea (1981), Romania (1971), Slovakia (1993), Switzerland (1990), and Ukraine (1992).
Article 1: area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose
Article 2: freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue
Article 3: free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the UN and other international agencies
Article 4: does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force
Article 5: prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes
Article 6: includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south
Article 7: treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given
Article 8: allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states
Article 9: frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations
Article 10: treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty
Article 11: disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the ICJ
Articles 12, 13, 14: deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations
#
continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle
#
14000000
14000000
?
?
?
#
17968
?
?
#
?
?
?
severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance
from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of
its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher
temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing
#
about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average
elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to about 5,000
meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes
Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound;
glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating
ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent
#
Indian Ocean 0 m
Vinson Massif 5,140 m
none presently exploited; iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel,
platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in
small, uncommercial quantities
#
0
0
0
0
100
0
katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior;
frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form
over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception
Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare
and weak
#
in 1995 it was reported that the ozone shield, which protects the Earth's
surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level
recorded over Antarctica since 1975 when measurements were first taken
#
none of the selected agreements
#
none of the selected agreements
#
the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent; during summer,
more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received
at the Equator in an equivalent period; mostly uninhabitable
#
0
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
?
?
none
Antarctica
?
#
?
.aq
Antarctic Treaty Summary - The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December
?
?
#
?
#
?
?
#
US law, including certain criminal offenses by or against US nationals,
such as murder, may apply to areas not under jurisdiction of other countries.
Some US laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation
Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
#
No economic activity at present except for fishing off the coast and
small-scale tourism, both based abroad.
#
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
18
?
#
?
?
?
?
#
?
?
?
?
?
#
?
?
#
?
#
?
?
#
?
#
?
?
#
?
#
?
#
?
?
?
NA
#
NA
#
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
#
#
#
#
?
?
#
?
#
?
?
?
?
none; offshore anchorage
#
?
?
?
?
#
18
?
4
3
2
4
5
?
?
?
?
?
?
1
?
#
?
#
?
?
?
?
?
Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary above);
sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France
(Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and
UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims
of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the right
to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees
west and 150 degrees west
#
?
#
@Antigua and Barbuda
0
Fair Antigua, we salute thee!
Proudly we this anthem raise
To thy glory and thy beauty,
Joyfully we sing the praise
Of the virtues, all bestowed
On thy sons and daughters free;
Ever striving, ever seeking,
Dwell in love and unity.
Raise the standard! Raise it boldly!
Answer now to duty's call
To the service of thy country,
Sparing nothing, giving all;
Gird your loins and join the battle
'Gainst fear, hate and poverty,
Each endeavouring, all achieving,
Live in peace where man is free.
God of nations, let Thy blessings
Fall upon this land of ours;
Rain and sunshine ever sending,
Fill her fields with crops and flowers;
We her children do implore Thee,
Give us strength, faith, loyalty,
Never failing, all enduring
To defend her liberty.
#
Antigua was first inhabited by the Siboney ("stone people"),
whose settlements date at least to 2400 BC. The Siboney were succeeded
by the Arawaks, who originated in Venezuela and gradually migrated
up the chain of islands now called the Lesser Antilles. The warlike
Carib people drove the Arawaks from neighboring islands but apparently
did not settle on either Antigua or Barbuda.
Christopher Columbus landed on the islands in 1493, naming the
larger one "Santa Maria de la Antigua." The English
colonized the islands in 1632. Sir Christopher Codrington established
the first large sugar estate in Antigua in 1674, and leased Barbuda
to raise provisions for his plantations. Barbuda's only town is
named after him. Codrington and others brought slaves from Africa's
west coast to work the plantations.
Antiguan slaves were emancipated in 1834 but remained economically
dependent on the plantation owners. Economic opportunities for
the new freedmen were limited by a lack of surplus farming land,
no access to credit, and an economy built on agriculture rather
than manufacturing. Poor labor conditions persisted until 1939,
when a member of a royal commission urged the formation of a trade
union movement.
The Antigua Trades and Labor Union, formed shortly afterward,
became the political vehicle for Vere Cornwall Bird, who became
the union's president in 1943. The Antigua Labor Party (ALP),
formed by Bird and other trade unionists, first ran candidates
in the 1946 elections and became the majority party in 1951, beginning
a long history of electoral victories.
Voted out of office in the 1971 general elections that swept the
progressive labor movement into power, Bird and the ALP returned
to office in 1976; the party won renewed mandates in the general
elections in 1984 and 1989. In the 1989 elections, the ruling
ALP won all but two of the 17 seats.
During elections in March 1994, power passed from Vere Bird to
his son, Lester Bird, but remained within the Antigua Labor Party.
The ALP won 11 of the 17 parliamentary seats. The official opposition
in parliament is led by Baldwin Spencer of the United Progressive
Party.
#
AG
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
#
440
440
0
?
?
#
153
24
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
#
200
?
12
tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation
#
mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some higher volcanic
areas
#
Caribbean Sea 0 m
Boggy Peak 402 m
negligible; pleasant climate fosters tourism
#
18
0
9
11
62
?
hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts
#
water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh
water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase
crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly
Sarajevo (9), Tuzla Podrinje (3), Una Sana (1), West Herzegovina (8), Zenica
Doboj (4)
#
?
#
Republika Srpska - "Republic Day," 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March;
the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution
now in force
#
based on civil law system
#
16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
#
Chairman of the Presidency Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 September 1996); other members of the three-member rotating presidency: Ante JELAVIC ( Croat) and Zivko RADISIC (Serb)
#
Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January
1997); Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Boro BOSIC (since NA January
1997) NA
#
Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen
note: president of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Ejup GANIC (since 1 January 1998); president of the Republika Srpska: Biljana
PLAVSIC (since September 1996)
#
the three presidency members (one each Muslim, Croat, Serb) are elected
by direct election (first election for a two-year term, thereafter for a four-year
term); the president with the most votes becomes the chairman; election last
held 14 September 1996 (next to be held September 1998); the cochairmen are
nominated by the presidency
#
Alija IZETBEGOVIC elected chairman of the collective presidency with
the highest number of votes; percent of vote - Alija IZETBEGOVIC received
80% of the Muslim vote to Haris SILAJDZIC's 14%; Kresimir ZUBAK received 88%
of the Croat vote to Ivo KOMSIC's 11%; Momcilo KRAJISNIK received 68% of the
Serb vote to Mladen IVANIC's 30%
#
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National
House of Representatives or Vijece Opcina (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and
14 Muslim; members serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece
cattle, sheep, goats; forest and fishing resources not fully exploited
#
160
peanuts and peanut products 70%, fish, cotton lint, palm kernels
#
Japan, Senegal, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, UK, Indonesia
#
140
foodstuffs, manufactures, raw materials, fuel, machinery and transport
equipment
#
China, Cote d'Ivoire, Hong Kong, UK, Germany
#
426
bilateral $36.1 million; multilateral $34.7 million (1994)
#
?
#
1 dalasi (D) = 100 butut
#
10.51
1 July - 30 June
11000
adequate network of microwave radio relay and open wire
#
microwave radio relay links to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
#
2
5
0
180000
1
?
?
#
#
#
#
2700
956 km
#
1,744 km (1996 est.)
#
400
?
?
?
Banjul
#
?
?
?
?
#
1
1
1
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Army, Navy, National Police, National Guard
#
?
#
286847
144547
?
1200000
3.80
short section of boundary with Senegal is indefinite
#
?
#
@Georgia
0
?
#
Georgian history dates back more than 2,500 years, and Georgian is one of the oldest living
languages in the world. Tbilisi, located in a picturesque valley divided by the Mtkvari River,
is more than 1,500 years old. Much of Georgia's territory was besieged by its Persian and Turkish
neighbors along with Arabs and Mongols over the course of the 7th to the 18th centuries. After
11 centuries of mixed fortunes of various Georgian kingdoms, including a golden age from the 11th
to 12th centuries, Georgia turned to Russia for protection. Russia essentially annexed Georgia
and exiled the royalty in 1801. Pockets of Georgian resistance to foreign rule continued, and the
first Republic of Georgia was established on May 26, 1918 after the collapse of Tsarist Russia.
By March 1921, the Red army had reoccupied the country and Georgia became part of the Soviet Union. On April 9, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia declared independence from the U.S.S.R.
<P>
Beset by ethnic and civil strife from independence in 1991, Georgia began to stabilize in 1995.
However, more than 230,000 internally displaced persons present an enormous strain on local
politics. Peace in the separatist areas of Abkhazia and south Ossetia, overseen by Russian
peacekeepers and international organizations, will continue to be fragile, requiring years of
economic development and negotiation to overcome local enmities. Considerable progress has been
made in negotiations on the Ossetian-Georgian conflict, and negotiations are continuing in the
Georgia-Abkhazia conflict.
<P>
The Georgian Government is committed to economic reform in cooperation with the IMF and World
Bank, and stakes much of its future on the revival of the ancient Silk Road as the Eurasian
corridor, using Georgia's geography as a bridge for transit of goods between Europe and Asia.
#
SAK
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia
#
69700
69700
0
1461
Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km
#
310
?
?
#
?
?
?
warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
#
largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser
Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhida Lowland opens to the Black Sea in
the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood
plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland
#
Black Sea 0 m
Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m
forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal
and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus
growth
#
9
4
25
34
28
4000
NA
#
air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari
River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution
from toxic chemicals
#
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution
#
Desertification
#
?
#
5108527
22
562623
540378
66
1631296
1756087
12
235042
383101
-0.92
11.72
14.10
-6.79
1.05
1.04
0.92
0.61
?
51.07
64.79
61.36
68.40
1.54
Georgian(s)
Georgian
Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%,
Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%
#
Christian Orthodox 75% (Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian Orthodox 10%),
Muslim 11%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%
#
Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, other 7%
