Naadam National Day of Mongolia

Mongolia, historically Outer Mongolia, country located in north-central Asia. It is roughly oval in shape, measuring 1,486 miles (2,392 km) from west to east and, at its maximum, 782 miles (1,259 km) from north to south. Mongolia’s land area is roughly equivalent to that of the countries of western and central Europe, and it lies in a similar latitude range. The national capital, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Ulan Bator) is in the north-central part of the country. Landlocked Mongolia is located between Russia to the north and China to the south, deep within the interior of eastern Asia far from any ocean. The country has a marked continental climate, with long cold winters and short cool-to-hot summers. Its remarkable variety of scenery consists largely of upland steppes, semideserts, and deserts, although in the west and north forested high mountain ranges alternate with lake-dotted basins. Mongolia is largely a plateau, with an average elevation of about 5,180 feet (1,580 metres) above sea level. The highest peaks are in the Mongolian Altai Mountains (Mongol Altain Nuruu) in the southwest, a branch of the Altai Mountains system.Some three-fourths of Mongolia’s area consists of pasturelands, which support the immense herds of grazing livestock for which the country is known. The remaining area is about equally divided between forests and barren deserts, with only a tiny fraction of the land under crops. With a total population of fewer than three million, Mongolia has one of the lowest average population densities of any country in the world.The Mongols have a long prehistory and a most remarkable history. The Huns, a people who lived in Central Asia from the 3rd to the 1st century bce, may have been their ancestors. A united Mongolian state of nomadic tribes was formed in the early 13th century ce by Genghis Khan, and his successors controlled a vast empire that included much of China, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The Mongol empire eventually collapsed and split up, and from 1691 northern Mongolia was colonized by Qing (Manchu) China. With the collapse of Qing rule in Mongolia in 1911/12, the Bogd Gegeen (or Javzandamba), Mongolia’s religious leader, was proclaimed Bogd Khan, or head of state. He declared Mongolia’s independence, but only autonomy under China’s suzerainty was achieved. From 1919, nationalist revolutionaries, with Soviet assistance, drove out Chinese troops attempting to reoccupy Mongolia, and in 1921 they expelled the invading White Russian cavalry. July 11, 1921, then became celebrated as the anniversary of the revolution. The Mongolian People’s Republic was proclaimed in November 1924, and the Mongolian capital, centred on the main monastery of the Bogd Gegeen, was renamed Ulaanbaatar (“Red Hero”). From 1921 until the end of the 1980s, Mongolia was a one-party state closely tied to the Soviet Union. It received technical, economic, and military assistance from the Soviet Union and generally followed Soviet guidance in political and economic matters and in the building of a socialist society. However, beginning in 1990, forces for change in Mongolia ended the monopoly of political power by the communists in favour of free multiparty elections, coalition government, a new constitution, greater cultural and religious freedom with more emphasis on Mongol national traditions, a neutral position in international relations, and a transition to a market economy. Land - Relief Mongolia can be divided into three major topographic zones: the mountain chains that dominate the northern and western areas, the basin areas situated between and around them, and the enormous upland plateau belt that lies across the southern and eastern sectors. The entire country is prone to seismic movements, and some earthquakes are extremely severe. Their effects, however, are limited by the low population density. The mountains There are three major mountain chains in Mongolia: the Mongolian Altai Mountains, the Khangai Mountains (Khangain [or Hangayn] Nuruu), and the Khentii Mountains (Khentiin [or Hentiyn] Nuruu). The Mongolian Altai in the west and southwest constitute the highest and the longest of these chains. Branching southeastward from the main Altai range at the northwestern border with Russia, the Mongolian Altai stretch southeastward for some 250 miles (400 km) along the Chinese border before turning slightly more eastward for another 450 miles (725 km) in southwestern Mongolia. The range—the only one in the country where contemporary glaciation has developed—reaches an elevation of 14,350 feet (4,374 metres) at Khüiten Peak (Nayramadlyn Orgil) at the western tip of the country, Mongolia’s highest point. Extending eastward from the Mongolian Altai are the Gobi Altai Mountains (Govi Altain Nuruu), a lesser range of denuded hills that lose themselves in the expanses of the Gobi. The Khangai Mountains, also lying from northwest to southeast, form a solid mountain mass near the centre of the country. The range’s peaks reach some 12,000 feet (3,700 metres), with Otgontenger, the highest, rising to some 13,200 feet (4,025 metres) in the northwest. Characteristic of the Khangai are gentle slopes covered with fine pastureland. To the north the Eastern Sayan Mountains of Siberia lie along the border with Russia. The alignment of the third mountain chain, the Khentii range of northeastern Mongolia, is southwest to northeast, extending into Siberia. The highest peak is Asraltkhairkhan, which reaches about 9,200 feet (2,800 metres), but, in general, maximum elevations are about 7,000 feet (2,130 metres). Ulaanbaatar lies at the southwestern edge of the range. The Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range rises along and beyond the eastern frontier with China. The northern intermontane basins Around and between the main ranges lie an important series of basins. The Great Lakes region, with more than 300 lakes, is tucked between the Mongolian Altai, the Khangai, and the mountains along the border with Siberia. Another basin lies between the eastern slopes of the Khangai Mountains and the western foothills of the Khentii range. The southern part of it—the basins of the Tuul and Orkhon (Orhon) rivers—is a fertile region important in Mongolian history as the cradle of settled ways of life. The remarkable Khorgo region, on the northern flanks of the Khangai Mountains, has a dozen extinct volcanoes and numerous volcanic lakes. Swift and turbulent rivers have cut jagged gorges. The source stream of the Orkhon River is in another volcanic region, with deep volcanic vents and hot springs. Near the northern border, Lake Khövsgöl (Hövsgöl) is the focus of another rugged region that is noted for its marshlands.More … Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongolia

2022/07/11

Independence Day of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

The Bahamas, archipelago and country on the northwestern edge of the West Indies. Formerly a British colony, The Bahamas became an independent country within the Commonwealth in 1973. The name Bahamas is of Lucayan Taino (Arawakan) derivation, although some historians believe it is from the Spanish bajamar, meaning “shallow water.” The islands occupy a position commanding the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the entire Central American region. Their strategic location has given the history of The Bahamas a unique and often striking character. It was there that Christopher Columbus made his original landfall in the Americas. The subsequent fate of the peaceful original inhabitants remains one of the more tragic episodes in the development of the entire region, while the early attempts at European-dominated settlement were marked by intense national rivalries, interspersed with long periods of lawlessness and piracy. As a result, the society and culture that has evolved in The Bahamas is a distinctive blend of European and African heritages, the latter a legacy of the slave trade and the introduction of the plantation system using African slaves. The islands, lacking natural resources other than their agreeable climate and picturesque beaches, have become heavily dependent on the income generated by the extensive tourist facilities and the financial sector that have been developed, often as a result of the injection of foreign capital. The continued popularity of the islands with tourists, largely from North America, has helped to maintain a relatively high standard of living among the population, most of whom are of African descent. The capital, Nassau, is located on small but important New Providence Island. Land Lying to the north of Cuba and Hispaniola, the archipelago comprises nearly 700 islands and cays, only about 30 of which are inhabited, and more than 2,000 low, barren rock formations. It stretches more than 500 miles (800 km) southeast-northwest between Grand Bahama Island, which has an area of 530 square miles (1,373 square km) and lies about 60 miles (100 km) off the southeastern coast of the U.S. state of Florida, and Great Inagua Island, some 50 miles (80 km) from the eastern tip of Cuba. The islands other than New Providence are known collectively as the Out (Family) Islands. They include Grand Bahama, which contains the major settlements of Freeport and West End; Andros (2,300 square miles [6,000 square km]), the largest island of The Bahamas; Abaco, or Great Abaco, (372 square miles [963 square km]); and Eleuthera (187 square miles [484 square km]), the site of one of the early attempts at colonization. Relief and soils The Bahamas occupies an irregular submarine tableland that rises out of the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and is separated from nearby lands to the south and west by deepwater channels. Extensive areas of flatland, generally a few feet in elevation, are the dominant topographic features of the major islands; the Bimini group (9 square miles [23 square km]), for example, has a maximum elevation of only 20 feet (6 metres). A number of islands fronting the Atlantic have a range or series of ranges of hills on the northeastern side that parallel the longer axes of the islands. These ranges are formed of sand washed ashore and blown inland by the trade winds. The newer hills adjacent to the seashore are normally sand dunes. Solidity increases toward the interior, where the particles become cemented to form Bahama limestone. Eleuthera and Long Island (230 square miles [596 square km]) have the greatest number of hills exceeding 100 feet (30 metres). The highest point in The Bahamas, Mount Alvernia, at 206 feet (63 metres), is on Cat Island (150 square miles [388 square km]). Beneath the soil, the islands are composed of limestone rock and skeletal remains of coral fossils and other marine organisms. There are no rivers, but several islands—particularly New Providence, San Salvador (63 square miles [163 square km]), and Great Inagua—have large lakes. There is abundant fresh water on Andros Island. Climate of the The Bahamas The Bahamian climate, mild throughout the year, is one of the great attractions of the area. The average temperature varies from the low 70s F (about 21 °C) during the winter to the low 80s F (about 27 °C) during the summer, and extremes seldom fall below the low 60s F (about 16 °C) or rise above the low 90s F (about 32 °C). The average annual rainfall is about 44 inches (1,120 mm), occurring mostly during the summer months. Prevailing winds, coming from the northeast in winter and from the southeast in summer, lend a cooling influence to a generally humid atmosphere. Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) pose a threat during the period from June to November and have occasionally caused great destruction. Plant and animal life Extensive and beautiful forests of Caribbean pine are found on Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, and New Providence islands. Hardwood forests also occur on some of the islands. Elsewhere the woody vegetation consists mostly of shrubs and low trees. Animal life is dominated by frogs, lizards, and snakes, all of them nonpoisonous, and several species of bats are found in caves along the more rocky coasts. Larger animals include the agouti, a rodent; the raccoon; the iguana; and the elegant flamingo, the national bird. All of these have been much reduced in numbers and in distribution. In addition, several animals—notably sheep, horses, and other livestock—have been introduced from Europe. The surrounding waters abound with fish and other edible marine animals, such as conch and spiny lobster (crayfish). More … Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/The-Bahamas  

2022/07/10

Opening of our TBS Warsaw Model United Nations

Friday morning started with the opening of our TBS Warsaw Model United Nations. Our Year 12 students, Sandra (Year 13) and Sonia (Year 11), have been busy organizing this event for many weeks and have managed to attract over 120 delegates, from schools here in Poland and beyond.

2022/07/07

Ambassador of Kingdom of Bahrain to Czech Republic participates in Czech Gulf Investment Forum

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Czech Republic residing in Berlin, His Excellency Abdullah Abdullatif Abdullah, participated in the Investment Forum between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the friendly Czech Republic, at the headquarters of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague, in the presence of the Managing Director of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), Raed Fakhri.

2022/07/07

Przesłanie ambasad i przedstawicielstw w Polsce z okazji Pride Month – Miesiąca Dumy

Z okazji Miesiąca Dumy, 13 czerwca 2022 r. ambasador Stanów Zjednoczonych w Polsce Mark Brzezinski przedstawił Otwarty List Poparcia dla społeczności LGBTQI+ w imieniu 46 ambasad i przedstawicielstw z siedzibą w Warszawie. List niesie pozytywne przesłanie, odwołując się do podstawowych praw zapisanych w Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka i innych międzynarodowych zapisach prawnych.

2022/07/06

Sastanak Kluba veleposlanika koji se služe poljskim jezikom s ministrom obrazovanja i znanosti Przemysławom Czarnekom

Veleposlanica Velike Britanije Anna Clunes, koja je preuzela predsjedanje Klubom veleposlanika koji se služe poljskim jezikom „KAMP“ od veleposlanice Republike Mađarske Orsolye Zsuzsanne Kovacs upriličila je u utorak 14. lipnja u Veleposlanstvu Velike Britanije prvi sastanak veleposlanika koji se služe poljskim jezikom s ministrom obrazovanja i znanosti Vlade Republike Poljske Przemysławom Czarnekom. Na sastanku je sudjelovao i veleposlanik Tomislav Vidošević.

2022/07/06

Republic of Malawi Day

Malawi, landlocked country in southeastern Africa. Endowed with spectacular highlands and extensive lakes, it occupies a narrow, curving strip of land along the East African Rift Valley. Lake Nyasa, known in Malawi as Lake Malawi, accounts for more than one-fifth of the country’s total area. Most of Malawi’s population engages in cash-crop and subsistence agriculture. The country’s exports consist of the produce of both small landholdings and large tea and tobacco estates. Malawi has received a significant amount of foreign capital in the form of development aid, which has contributed greatly toward the exploitation of its natural resources and has allowed Malawi to at times produce a food surplus. Nevertheless, its population has suffered from chronic malnutrition, high rates of infant mortality, and grinding poverty—a paradox often attributed to an agricultural system that has favoured large estate owners. Most Malawians reside in rural locations. The country’s few large urban centres include Lilongwe, the capital, and Blantyre, the seat of the country’s judiciary. Land Malawi stretches about 520 miles (840 km) from north to south and varies in width from 5 to 100 miles (10 to 160 km). It is bordered by Tanzania to the north, Lake Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the east and south, and Zambia to the west. Relief While Malawi’s landscape is highly varied, four basic regions can be identified: the East African (or Great) Rift Valley, the central plateaus, the highlands, and the isolated mountains. The East African Rift Valley—by far the dominant feature of the country—is a massive troughlike depression running through the country from north to south and containing Lake Malawi (north and central) and the Shire River valley (south). The lake’s littoral, situated along the western and southern shores and ranging from 5 to 15 miles (8 to 24 km) in width, covers almost one-tenth of the total land area and is dotted with swamps and lagoons. The Shire valley stretches some 250 miles (400 km) from the southern end of Lake Malawi at Mangochi to Nsanje at the Mozambique border and contains Lake Malombe at its northern end. The plateaus of central Malawi rise to elevations of 2,500 to 4,500 feet (760 to 1,370 metres) and lie just west of the Lake Malawi littoral; the plateaus cover about three-fourths of the total land area. The highland areas are mainly isolated tracts that rise as much as 8,000 feet (2,400 metres) above sea level. They comprise the Nyika, Viphya, and Dowa highlands and Dedza-Kirk mountain range in the north and west and the Shire Highlands in the south. The isolated massifs of Mulanje (which reach 9,849 feet [3,002 metres], the highest point in the country) and Zomba (which reach 6,846 feet [2,087 metres]) represent the fourth physical region. Surmounting the Shire Highlands, they descend rapidly in the east to the Lake Chilwa–Phalombe plain. Drainage and soils The major drainage system is that of Lake Malawi, which covers some 11,430 square miles (29,600 square km) and extends beyond the Malawi border. It is fed by the North and South Rukuru, Dwangwa, Lilongwe, and Bua rivers. The Shire River, the lake’s only outlet, flows through adjacent Lake Malombe and receives several tributaries before joining the Zambezi River in Mozambique. A second drainage system is that of Lake Chilwa, the rivers of which flow from the Lake Chilwa–Phalombe plain and the adjacent highlands. Soils, distributed in a complex pattern, are composed primarily of red earths, with brown soils and yellow gritty clays on the plateaus. Alluvial soils occur on the lakeshores and in the Shire valley, while other soil types include hydromorphic (excessively moist) soils, black clays, and sandy dunes on the lakeshore. Climate There are two main seasons—the dry season, which lasts from May to October, and the wet season, which lasts from November to April. Temperatures vary seasonally, and they tend to decrease on average with increasing elevation. Nsanje, in the Shire River valley, has a mean July temperature in the high 60s F (low 20s C) and an October mean in the mid-80s F (high 20s C), while Dedza, which lies at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet (1,500 metres), has a July mean in the high 50s F (mid-10s C) and an October mean in the high 60s F (low 20s C). On the Nyika Plateau and on the upper levels of the Mulanje massif, frosts are not uncommon in July. Annual precipitation levels are highest over parts of the northern highlands and on the Sapitwa peak of the Mulanje massif, where they are about 90 inches (2,300 mm); they are lowest in the lower Shire valley, where they range from 25 to 35 inches (650 to 900 mm). Plant and animal life The natural vegetation pattern reflects the country’s diversity in relief, soils, and climate. Savanna (grassy parkland) occurs in the dry lowland areas. Miombo woodlands—sparse, open deciduous woodland characteristic of dry parts of eastern Africa—are an important habitat, particularly for the country’s large mammal populations. Woodlands with species of acacia trees cover isolated, more fertile plateau sites and river margins. Grass-covered broad depressions, called madambo (singular: dambo), dot the plateaus. Grasslands and evergreen forests are found in conjunction on the highlands and on the Mulanje and Zomba massifs. However, Malawi’s natural vegetation has been altered significantly by human activities. Swamp vegetation has given way to agricultural species as swamps have been drained and cultivated. Much of the original woodland has been cleared, and, at the same time, forests of softwoods have been planted in the highland areas. High population density and intensive cultivation of the Shire Highlands have also hindered natural succession there, while wells have been sunk and rivers dammed to irrigate the dry grasslands for agriculture. Game animals abound only in the game reserves, where antelope, buffalo, elephants, leopards, lions, rhinoceroses, and zebras occur; hippopotamuses live in Lake Malawi. The lakes and rivers of Malawi contain hundreds of species and numerous families of fish. Lake Malawi is particularly renowned for its remarkable biodiversity—an enormous range of fish species inhabit the lake, most of them endemic—and its southern region, as part of Lake Malawi National Park, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. The most common and commercially significant fish found in Malawi include the endemic tilapia, or chambo (nest-building freshwater fish); catfish, or mlamba; and minnows, or matemba. The Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the protection of Malawi’s environment, mainly through the implementation of the Environmental Management Act of 1996. Among the major concerns are efficient resource utilization, land degradation, deforestation, conservation of marine life, biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer protection, sewage, the pollution of water from agriculture runoff such as fertilizers, endangered species, and industrial pollution. The majority of pollution comes from greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from the usage of coal and charcoal, natural gas, and petroleum. People of Malawi - Ethnic groups and languages Ten major ethnic groups are historically associated with modern Malawi—the Chewa, Nyanja, Lomwe, Yao, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, and the Lambya/Nyiha. All the African languages spoken are Bantu languages. From 1968 to 1994, Chewa was the only national language; it is now one of the numerous languages used in print and broadcast media and is spoken by a majority of the population. In 1996 government policy indicated that education in grades 1–4 would be provided in the students’ mother tongue or vernacular language; from grade 5, the medium of instruction would be English, which, though understood by less than one-fifth of the population at independence in 1964, continues to be used widely in business, administrative and judicial matters, higher education, and elsewhere. Other major languages include Lomwe, Yao, and Tumbuka. More … Score: https://www.britannica.com/place/Malawi

2022/07/06

Happy Birthday, Erasmus!

Seit dem Start des Programms vor 35 Jahren haben rund eine Million Deutsche mit Erasmus eine Zeit in einer anderen Stadt in Europa gelebt, gelernt und gefeiert! Dabei haben sie nicht nur Freundschaften geschlossen und andere Kulturen kennengelernt, sondern manchmal auch die Liebe fürs Leben gefunden. Viele unserer Kolleg*innen sind bei ihrem Erasmus-Jahr auf den Geschmack vom Leben und Arbeiten im Ausland gekommen.

2022/07/05

Wizyta Ambasadora Wietnamu na Uniwersytecie Szczecińskim

Rektor US prof. dr hab. Waldemar Tarczyński gościł w ostatni czwartek Ambasadora Socjalistycznej Republiki Wietnamu w RP Pana Nguyena Hunga. Ambasador Socjalistycznej Republiki Wietnamu złożył wizytę na naszej Uczelni. W spotkaniu udział wzięli Rektor US, przedstawiciele Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego oraz przewodniczący Polsko-Wietnamskiej Grupy Parlamentarnej senator Grzegorz Napieralski. Była to pierwsza wizyta Ambasadora w naszych uczelnianych murach, ale na pewno nie ostatnia, obie strony zadeklarowały bowiem chęć dalszej współpracy i wymiany studenckiej.

2022/07/05