Geography Of Austria

Between 55.40 and 58.05 latitude and 20.58 and 28.14 longitude, Latvia lies on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea on the level northwestern part of the rising East European platform. About 98% of the country lies under 200m elevation (640 ft.). The damp climate resembles New England's. With the exception of the coastal plains, the Ice Age divided Latvia into three main regions: the morainic Western and Eastern uplands and the Middle lowlands. Latvia holds over 12,000 rivers, only 17 of which are longer than 60 miles, and over 3,000 small lakes, most of which are eutrophic. Woodland, more than half of which is pine, covers 41% of the country. Other than peat, dolomite, and limestone, natural resources are scarce. Latvia holds 531km (329 mi.) of sandy coastline, and the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils provide important warm-water harbors for the Baltic littoral, although the Bay of Riga itself is rather polluted. ... [Read More]

Hungary (06/05)

As with any country, Hungarian security attitudes are shaped largely by history and geography. For Hungary, this is a history of more than 400 years of domination by great powers--the Ottomans, the Habsburgs, the Germans during World War II, and the Soviets during the Cold War--and a geography of regional instability and separation from Hungarian minorities living in neighboring countries. Hungary's foreign policy priorities, largely consistent since 1990, represent a direct response to these factors. Since 1990, Hungary's top foreign policy goal has been achieving integration into Western economic and security organizations. To this end, Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in May of 2004. Hungary also has improved its often-chilled neighborly relations by signing basic treaties with Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. These renounce all outstanding territorial claims and lay the foundation for constructive relations. However, the issue of ethnic Hungarian minority rights in ... [Read More]

2004–2005 Fulbright Awards – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

1 This site is maintained by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Links to other sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.1111  1111 111 ... [Read More]

Slovenia (12/04)

In 1918, Slovenia joined with other southern Slav states in forming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes as part of the peace plan at the end of World War I. Renamed in 1929 under a Serbian monarch, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia fell to the Axis powers during World War II. Following communist partisan resistance to German, Hungarian, and Italian occupation and elimination of rival resistance groups, socialist Yugoslavia was born under the helm of Josip Broz Tito. During the communist era, Slovenia became Yugoslavia's most prosperous republic, at the forefront of Yugoslavia's unique version of communism. Within a few years of Tito's death in 1980, Belgrade initiated plans to further concentrate political and economic power in its hands. Defying the politicians in Belgrade, Slovenia underwent a flowering of democracy and an opening of its society in cultural, civic, and economic realms to a degree almost unprecedented in the communist world. In September 1989, the General Assembly of t ... [Read More]

Slovakia (01/05)

The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group is Protestants (9%). About 2,300 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern region. ... [Read More]

U.S. Department of State FOIA Electronic Reading Room--Post Reports

1    Quick Jump    AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbados [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

UNVIE provides permanent U.S. representation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Office on Drugs & Crime, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and a number of other UN organs with headquarters in Vienna. UNVIE also represents the U.S. before the Preparatory Commission and Provisional Secretariat of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The United States only supports activities related to building the International Monitoring System of the CTBTO, not the Treaty itself.  UNVIE promotes U.S. global interests on a number of fronts including: prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation; combating international terrorism; fighting the production and abuse of illicit narcotics, curbing international organized crime, corruption, and human trafficking; and controlling transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use technologies. In support of these policies, UNVIE supports over 1000 official visitors each year — from Cabinet officers and large ... [Read More]

An Outline of American Geography - Chapter3

Most of America possesses urban areas that have grown inpopulation and extent. In a few instances, the growth has beenso great and the size of the core cities has become so large thatmajor urban areas have merged and formed clusters of cities. Thegroup of large cities extending from Boston (Massachusetts) toWashington, D.C., along the northeastern U.S. coast, is theclearest example. Another group of urban areas--more widelydispersed and containing smaller central cities--is found alongthe southern margin of the Great Lakes. Milwaukee (Wisconsin)and Chicago (Illinois) anchor this region in the west, andBuffalo (New York) and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) do the same inthe east. Southern California, from San Diego to San Francisco,is offered by some observers as yet another set of urban areasthat will be merged by the end of the 20th century, as is much ofeast coastal and central Florida. ... [Read More]

Austria (02/05)

The People's Party advocates conservative financial policies and privatization of much of Austria's nationalized industry. It finds support from farmers, large and small business owners, and some lay Catholic groups, mostly in the rural regions of Austria. In 2002, it received 42.3% of the vote. The rightist Freedom Party traditionally had a base in classic European liberalism. However, a mixture of populism and anti-establishment themes steadily gained support in recent years. It attracted about 27% of the vote in the 1999 elections, but only 10% of the vote in 2002. The Liberal Forum, founded on libertarian ideals, split from the Freedom Movement in February 1993. It received 3.7% of the vote in the 1999 election and thus failed to enter the national legislature. The Greens, a left-of-center party focusing on environmental issues, received 9.5% of the national vote in 2002. ... [Read More]