Liechtenstein has grown
Recent measurements have shown that the borders of the state of Liechtenstein are 1.9 km longer than previously thought. According to BBC information, the border changed in some of the most remote corners of the state, which is predominantly located in the mountains.
As modern measurement methods have shown, the area of the state increased by 0.5 sq km. Now Liechtenstein, with a population of 35,000 people, has a border length of 77.9 km and covers an area of 160 sq km.
The government of the state stated that some parts of Liechtenstein had not been properly measured before. Despite the increased area, Liechtenstein remains the sixth largest of the smallest independent states in the world. Only the Vatican, Monaco, San Marino, and the Pacific states of Tuvalu and Nauru are smaller.
The European Union has grown by 30 million people this year
The European Union entered the new year in an expanded composition. With the accession of Romania and Bulgaria on January 1, this regional organization now has 27 member states. The previous, fourth stage of EU enlargement occurred in May 2004 - 10 states of Eastern and Central Europe became new members of the "European club".
With the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, the EU population increased by 30 million people (from 446 million), while the area increased from 3.94 million to 4.23 million sq km. At the same time, the number of members of the European Commission automatically increases to 27 (one from each country), and the number of European Parliament deputies increases from 732 to 785. The number of official EU languages will now increase to 23, including Romanian, Bulgarian, and Irish.
According to the results of a recent survey conducted by the European sociological bureau Eurobarometer, 46% of Europeans currently support further EU enlargement with new member states, while 42% are against it.
According to European Commission data, contributions from the 15 "veteran" EU states to the organization's single budget to cover costs associated with its enlargement averaged €26 per inhabitant in 2004-2006. The enlargement process was accompanied by rapid economic growth for new members, which was twice as high as in the previous EU countries, which also derived significant benefits for their national economies. In Romania, economic growth was 7.2%, in Bulgaria - 6.0%. At the same time, 7 of the 15 poorest EU regions are now in Romania. Today, the "veteran" states still fear an influx of cheap labor from the new EU countries.
For the eight Eastern European states that joined the EU in 2004, only the UK, Ireland, and Sweden have fully opened their national labor markets; the others have extended temporary restrictions. As for opening free access to workers from Romania and Bulgaria, so far only Finland and Sweden, and among the new members, Poland and Slovenia, have agreed.
According to observers, the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU is a kind of political advance for them, since both states have not yet fully completed reform of the judicial system, combating corruption and organized crime. In this regard, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has already stated that within the next three months, the new members will have to prove that there are improvements, otherwise they face sanctions. As for financial assistance to Romania and Bulgaria from the EU, €35 billion is planned to be allocated from the common European treasury for these purposes until 2013.
The geographical "heart" of the EU has changed coordinates
With the expansion of the European Union on January 1 to include Romania and Bulgaria, the geographical center of this regional organization, which previously united 25 member states, has changed coordinates, but remains on German territory.
According to the National Institute of Geography of France, whose experts made the corresponding calculations, the "heart" of the EU has shifted from the small German town of Kleinmaischeid, whose population does not exceed one and a half thousand people, to the southwest of Germany. Now the geographical center of the expanded EU is at an altitude of 250 m on the top of the Niedermittlauer Heiligenkopf hill, located near Frankfurt. The center of geographical Europe, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Urals, is located near Vilnius.
US authorities check air passengers' credit cards
According to established practice, US law enforcement agencies check the credit cards and email accounts of European Union citizens planning to visit the United States, writes the British newspaper Telegraph.
At the request of the US Department of Homeland Security, data on all transactions made using the passenger's credit card, which will be used to pay for the airline ticket online, may be checked. The email address provided by the client in the airline's questionnaire may also be used for a more thorough investigation of his identity.
Recently published information about the scale of the checks being carried out by the American side has caused discontent among European human rights activists, who believe that disclosing such personal information violates the rights of Europeans.
Recall that new security requirements were introduced in the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Tightening the rules is intended to help identify individuals involved in terrorist activities.
In 2006, the number of plane crashes fell to a record low
In 2006, 156 plane crashes were recorded worldwide, reports The Washington Times. According to data from the Geneva-based Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, this is a record low in the last 43 years. The bureau registers and stores records of all crashes of aircraft capable of carrying at least six passengers.
Compared to 2005, the number of air accident victims decreased by 11% in the past year, amounting to just under 1,300 people. In the US, 45 aircraft crashed over the past year, resulting in a total of 142 deaths.
The largest air disaster of 2006 was the crash on August 22 near Donetsk of a Tu-154 passenger airliner of Pulkovo Airlines, resulting in 170 deaths. This is the largest disaster since 2002.
According to the statistics of the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, in 2006, 16 Antonov aircraft, five Boeing aircraft, and two Airbus airliners crashed.
It should be noted that the new year 2007 has already been marked by a major air disaster. On January 1, a Boeing 737-400 of the private Indonesian company Adam Air crashed near Sulawesi Island, with 96 passengers and six crew members on board.
Past year in Japan marked by rise in birth rate
In Japan, a rise in the birth rate was recorded for the first time in six years in 2006. According to a pre-New Year report published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the number of births for the year reached 1.086 million people, an increase of 23,000 compared to the previous year.
After the number of children born to the average Japanese woman fell to a record low of 1.26 in 2005, this figure also increased slightly in the past year.
The number of people wanting to live in marriage also increased. The number of weddings increased for the first time in five years by 18,000, totaling 732,000. Particularly noted is the first increase in five years in the number of marriages among women aged 25 to 30. The number of divorces also declined.
The number of deaths increased by 8,000, totaling 1.092 million cases for the year. Ministry analysts attribute such positive changes to an overall improvement in working conditions, which in turn is due to the beginning of economic growth.