Flight Manchester Zagreb

Zagreb

About Zagreb

Zagreb (pronounced /'zgr?b/) is the capital and the largest city of Croatia. Zagreb is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental center of the Republic of Croatia in the Prigorje region. The city's population in 2006 was 784,900 (approx. 1.1 million in the metropolitan area). It is situated between the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain and both northern and southern bank of the Sava river at an elevation of approximately 122 m above sea level.

Its favorable geographic position in the southwestern part of the Pannonian Basin, which extends to the Alpine, Dinaric, Adriatic and Pannonic regions, provides an excellent connection for traffic between Central Europe and the Adriatic Sea.

The transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position in Croatia. Zagreb is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and almost all government ministries.

Demographics

Zagreb is the largest city in Croatia, and is the only Croatian city whose metropolitan population exceeds one million people. Most people live in the city proper. There are 1,088,841 people in the Zagreb metropolitan area, which includes the smaller cities of Samobor, Velika Gorica and Zapresi?. While the official 2001 census states that the population of Zagreb itself is 779,145, the official estimation for 2006 is 784,900. The majority of its citizens are Croats making up 91.94% of the city's population (2001 census). The same census records 40,066 residents belonging to ethnic minorities. Such ethnic minorities comprise: 18,811 Serbs (2.41%), 6,204 Bosniaks (0.80%), 4,030 Muslims by nationality (0.52%), 3,389 Albanians (0.43%), 3,225 Slovenes (0.41%), 1,946 Roma (0.25%), 1,131 Montenegrins (0.17%), 1,315 Macedonians (0.17%), together with other smaller minor ethnic communities.

Climate

The climate of Zagreb is continental, with four separate seasons. Summers are hot and dry, and winters are cold. The average temperature in winter is 1°C (34°F) and the average temperature in summer is 20°C (68°F). The end of May, particularly, gets very warm, with temperatures rising above 30°C (86°F). Snowfall is common in the winter months, from December to March, and rain and fog are common in autumn (October to December).

Origin of name

The modern name Zagreb likely comes from the Croatian word "zagrabiti", which cannot exactly be translated into English directly; its meaning could best be expressed by saying, "to scoop up" or "scoop out". There are several legends about the origins of the name of Zagreb. According to one legend, a lady was thirsty and she took water from a lake (now the fountain) Mandusevac in Zagreb. While she was taking the water, other people shouted, "Zagrebi Mando, zagrebi!" which means, "Scoop it, Manda, scoop it! (the water)"[citation needed]. Another legend says that a Croatian ban (viceroy) was moving with his army through a deserted region and the soldiers were struck by thirst. In his anger, the ban thrust his sabre into the ground, at which point water began to pour out, and he ordered the soldiers to scrape the soil, or zagreb in Croatian, in order to get to the water[citation needed].

The verb zagreb in the sense of digging is also believed to have something to do with the name of the city as the city lay behind a water-filled hole (graba). This theory is supported by some scientists[citation needed].

There is also an interesting theory that Zagreb may mean a place behind a hill ("za breg"), i.e. behind the Sava river's bank, and then the name just changed into Zagreb. This theory is supported by the fact that Sava had once flowed nearer to the centre of the city. At today's Ban Jela?i? square in the very centre of Zagreb, pieces of what was once a wooden boat have been unearthed[citation needed].

Some scientists believe that the name Zagreb is not of Slavic origin, just as the name Croat (Croatian: Hrvat) is believed not to be of that origin[citation needed]. However, if the name does derive from Slavic origins, then possibly the most acceptable explanation is the city za grebom, i.e. "behind the tomb". The tomb could be the one in Dr?i?eva Avenue or one of many other still undiscovered tombs near Gri? or Kaptol[citation needed].

The name used in Austria for a long time was Agram, while Germany sticks to the Croatian name.

History

The history of Zagreb dates as far back as 1094 when the Hungarian King Ladislaus founded a diocese. Alongside the bishop's see the canonical settlement Kaptol developed north of the Cathedral, as did the fortified settlement Gradec on the neighbouring hill. Today the latter is Zagreb's Upper Town (Gornji Grad) and is one of the best preserved urban nuclei in Croatia. Both settlements came under Tatar attack in 1242. As a sign of gratitude for offering him a safe haven from the Tatar the Croatian and Hungarian King Bela IV bestowed Gradec with a Golden Bull, which offered its citizens exemption from county rule and autonomy, as well as its own judicial system. According to legend, Bela left Gradec a cannon, under the condition that it be fired every day so that it did not rust. Since 1 January 1877 the cannon is fired from the Lotrs?ak Tower on Gri? to mark midday.

The main square of the Gornji Grad is dominated by the Gothic church of St. Mark's. It was built at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century and a late Baroque bell tower was added later.

Fighting ensued between the Zagreb diocese and the free sovereign town of Gradec for land and mills. Sometimes also for political reasons. The term Zagreb was used for these two separate boroughs in the 16th century. Zagreb was then seen as the political centre and the capital of Croatia and Slavonia. In 1850 the town was united under its first mayor - Josip Kaufman.

It was not until the 17th century and Nikola Frankopan that Zagreb was chosen as the seat of the Croatian viceroys in 1621. At the invitation of the Croatian Parliament the Jesuits came to Zagreb and built the first grammar school, the St. Catherine's Church and monastery. In 1669 they founded an academy where philosophy, theology and law were taught.

During the 17th and 18th centuries Zagreb was badly devastated by fire and the plague. In 1776 the royal council (government) moved from Vara?din to Zagreb and during the reign of Joseph II Zagreb became the headquarters of the Vara?din and Karlovac general command.

In the 19th century Zagreb was the center of the Croatian National Revival and saw the erection of important cultural and historic institutions.

The first railway line to connect Zagreb with Zidani Most and Sisak was opened in 1862 and in 1863 Zagreb received a gasworks. The Zagreb waterworks was opened in 1878 and the first horse-drawn tramcar was used in 1891. The construction of the railway lines enabled the old suburbs to merge gradually into Donji Grad, characterized by a regular block pattern that prevails in Central European cities. This bustling core hosts many imposing buildings, monuments, and parks as well as a multitude of museums, theaters and cinemas. An electric power plant was erected in 1907 and development flourished 1880-1914 after the earthquake in Zagreb when the town received the characteristic layout it has today.

Working class quarters emerged between the railway and the Sava, whereas the construction of residential quarters on the hills of the southern slopes of Medvednica was completed between the two World Wars.

From 1921 - 1931 the population of Zagreb went up by 70 percent  »” the largest demographic boom in the history of Zagreb. In 1926 the first radio station in the region began broadcasting out of Zagreb, and in 1947 the Zagreb Fair was opened.

The area between the railway and the Sava river witnessed a new construction boom after World War II. After the mid-1950s, construction of new residential areas south of the Sava river began, resulting in Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb). The city also expanded westward and eastward, incorporating Dubrava, Podsused, Jarun, Blato, and other settlements.

The cargo railway hub and the international airport Pleso were built south of the Sava river. The largest industrial zone (?itnjak) in the southeast represents an extension of the industrial zones on the eastern outskirts of the city, between the river Sava and Prigorje region.

In 1991, it became the capital of the country following secession from Second Yugoslavia. During the 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, it was a scene of some sporadic fighting surrounding its JNA army barracks, but escaped major damage. In May 1995, it was targeted by Serb rocket artillery in the Zagreb rocket attack that killed seven civilians.

Urbanized lines of settlements connect Zagreb with the centres in its surroundings: Sesvete, Zapresi?, Samobor, Dugo Selo and Velika Gorica. Sesvete is the closest one to become a part of the conurbation and is in fact already included in the City of Zagreb.

The data in column 3 refers to the administrative arrangement valid at time of census. The data in column 4 is broken down to the territory now defined as 'The City of Zagreb' (as from regulative published in NN No.10, from 10th of January 1997)

If not stated else the data is from population cesuses, carried out according to regulations valid at that time.

Croatia

About Croatia

Croatia (IPA: /kro?'e/) (Croatian: Hrvatska /xrvatska/), officially the Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a country at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, and Montenegro to the far southeast. Its southern and western flanks border the Adriatic Sea.

Croatia is a member of United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of Europe, is a candidate for membership of the European Union and received a NATO membership invitation on 3 April 2008. On October 17, 2007 Croatia became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.

History

The Croats settled in the Balkans and formed two Principalities: Dalmatia and Pannonia. The establishment of the Trpimirovic dynasty ca 850 brought strengthening to the Dalmatian Croat Duchy, which became a Kingdom in 925.

In 1102 Croatia entered into a personal union with the Hungarian Kingdom. After the 1526 Battle of Mohacs the "reliquiae reliquiarum" of Croatia became a part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1527. In 1918 Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbia into a Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Kingdom of Yugoslavia).

In 1941-1945 an Axis puppet-state known as the Independent State of Croatia existed. After it suffered a defeat at the hand of the Allies, Croatia became a constitutive federal republic of the SFRY.

In 1991 Croatia proclaimed independence by holding the first democratic elections in the country but had to fight a long and bloody war until 1995.

Croatia was recognized on January 15, 1992 by the European Union and the UN. The first country to recognize Croatia was Iceland on December 19, 1991.

Manchester

About Manchester

Manchester (pronunciation (help·info); pronounced /'mæntst?/) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted city status in 1853. It has a population of 452,000, and lies at the centre of the wider Greater Manchester Urban Area, which has a population of 2,240,230, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. Manchester has the second largest urban zone in the UK and the fourteenth most populated in Europe.

Forming part of the English Core Cities Group, and often described as the "Capital of the North", Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. In a poll of British business leaders published in 2006, Manchester was regarded as the best place in the UK to locate a business. A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically. It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors and is now often considered to be the second city of the UK. Manchester was the host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and among its other sporting connections are its two Premier League football teams, Manchester United and Manchester City.

Historically, most of the city was a part of Lancashire, with areas south of the River Mersey being in Cheshire. Manchester was the world's first industrialised city and played a central role during the Industrial Revolution. It was the dominant international centre of textile manufacture and cotton spinning. During the 19th century it acquired the nickname Cottonopolis, suggesting it was a metropolis of cotton mills. Manchester City Centre is now on a tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, mainly due to the network of canals and mills constructed during its 19th-century development.

History

The name Manchester originates from the Ancient Roman name Mamucium, thought to be a Latinisation of an original Celtic name (possibly meaning "breast-like hill" from mamm- = "breast"), plus Anglo-Saxon ceaster = "town", which is derived from Latin castra = "camp". Manchester is the also the 10th most common place name in the United States.

There are few signs of prehistoric occupation of the city. The only major Bronze Age finds have been to the south, where the remains of an extensive farming community were discovered during the construction of Manchester Airport's second runway.

The Brigantes were the major Celtic tribe of what is now Northern England whom had a stronghold in the locality at a sandstone outcrop on which Manchester Cathedral now stands, opposite the banks of the River Irwell. Their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, General Agricola ordered the construction of a Roman fort in the year 79 named Mamucium to ensure Roman interests with Deva Victrix (Chester) and Eboracum (York) were protected from the Brigantes. Central Manchester has been permanently settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the final version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield. The Romans withdrew in the early 5th century, and by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 the focus of settlement had shifted to the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Irk. Much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North.

Thomas de la Warre, lord of the manor, founded and constructed a collegiate church for the parish in 1421. The church is now Manchester Cathedral; the domestic premises of the college now house Chetham's School of Music and Chetham's Library.

Around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the region's textile industry. Manchester became an important centre for the manufacture and trade of woollens and linen, and by about 1540, had expanded to become, in John Leland's words, "The fairest, best builded, quickest, and most populous town of all Lancashire." The cathedral and Chetham's buildings are the only significant survivors of Leland's Manchester.

During the English Civil War, Manchester strongly favoured the Parliamentary interest. Although not long lasting, Cromwell granted it the right to elect its own MP. Charles Worsley, who sat for the city for only a year, was later appointed Major General for Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire during the Rule of the Major Generals. He was a diligent puritan, turning out ale houses and banning the celebration of Christmas; he died in 1656.

Significant quantities of cotton began to be used after about 1600, firstly in linen/cotton fustians, but by around 1750 pure cotton fabrics were being produced and cotton had overtaken wool in importance. The Irwell and Mersey were made navigable by 1736, opening a route from Manchester to the sea docks on the Mersey. The Bridgewater Canal, Britain's first wholly artificial waterway, was opened in 1761, bringing coal from mines at Worsley to central Manchester. The canal was extended to the Mersey at Runcorn by 1776. The combination of competition and improved efficiency halved the cost of coal and halved the transport cost of raw cotton. Manchester became the dominant marketplace for textiles produced in the surrounding towns. A commodities exchange, opened in 1729, and numerous large warehouses, aided commerce.

Much of Manchester's history is concerned with textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. The great majority of cotton spinning took place in the towns of south Lancashire and north Cheshire, and Manchester was for a time the most productive centre of cotton processing, and later the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods. Manchester was dubbed "Cottonopolis" and "Warehouse City" during the Victorian era.

Manchester began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as part of a process of unplanned urbanisation brought on by the Industrial Revolution. It developed a wide range of industries, so that by 1835 "Manchester was without challenge the first and greatest industrial city in the world." Engineering firms initially made machines for the cotton trade, but diversified into general manufacture. Similarly, the chemical industry started by producing bleaches and dyes, but expanded into other areas. Commerce was supported by financial service industries such as banking and insurance. Trade, and feeding the growing population, required a large transport and distribution infrastructure: the canal system was extended, and Manchester became one end of the world's first intercity passenger railway »”the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Competition between the various forms of transport kept costs down. In 1878 the GPO (the forerunner of British Telecom) provided its first telephones to a firm in Manchester.

The Manchester Ship Canal was created by canalisation of the Rivers Irwell and Mersey for 36 miles (58 km) from Salford to the Mersey estuary. This enabled ocean going ships to sail right into the Port of Manchester. On the canal's banks, just outside the borough, the world's first industrial estate was created at Trafford Park. Large quantities of machinery, including cotton processing plant, were exported around the world.

A centre of capitalism, Manchester was frequented by bread and labour riots, as well as calls for greater political recognition by the city's working and non-titled classes, most famously on St Peter's Field on 16 August 1819, known as Peterloo. Manchester was the subject of Friedrich Engels' The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844; Engels himself spent much of his life in and around Manchester. The first Trades Union Congress was held in Manchester (at the Mechanics' Institute, David Street), from 2 to 6 June 1868. Manchester was also an important cradle of the Labour Party and the Suffragette Movement.

At that time, it seemed a place in which anything could happen »”new industrial processes, new ways of thinking (the Manchester School, promoting free trade and laissez-faire), new classes or groups in society, new religious sects, and new forms of labour organisation. It attracted educated visitors from all parts of Britain and Europe. A saying capturing this sense of innovation survives today: "What Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow." Manchester's golden age was perhaps the last quarter of the 19th century. Many of the great public buildings (including the Town Hall) date from then. The city's cosmopolitan atmosphere contributed to a vibrant culture, which included the Hallé Orchestra. In 1889, when county councils were created in England, the municipal borough became a county borough with even greater autonomy.

Although the Industrial Revolution brought wealth to the city, it also brought poverty and squalor to a large part of the population. Historian Simon Schama noted that "Manchester was the very best and the very worst taken to terrifying extremes, a new kind of city in the world; the chimneys of industrial suburbs greeting you with columns of smoke". An American visitor taken to Manchester's blackspots saw « wretched, defrauded, oppressed, crushed human nature, lying and bleeding fragments ».

United Kingdom

About United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain, is a sovereign island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom is a political union comprising of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (sometimes referred to as the four "constituent countries" of the United Kingdom) and includes the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital. It is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it. The UK has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, making it the largest empire in history. As a direct result of the empire, British influence can be observed in the language and culture of states such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the United States of America, and other less globally influential independent states. HM Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms. The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world.

The UK was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless retains strong economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the second or third (depending on method of calculation) highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

History

England and Scotland had existed as separate sovereign and independent states with their own monarchs and political structures since the 9th century. The once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, but was only formally annexed or "united" with England under the two Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542. Though the Scottish King, James VI, became King of England as well in 1603, thereby creating a personal union between the kingdoms, England (including Wales) and Scotland remained separate countries until the Treaty of Union was agreed a century later and put into effect by the Acts of Union 1707. The Acts of Union, passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland respectively, created a political union in the form of a united Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

Over the next century the United Kingdom played an important role in developing Western ideas of parliamentary democracy as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts and science. The UK-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the British Empire. During this time, like other Great Powers, the UK was involved in colonial exploitation, including the slave trade, though the passing of the 1807 Slave Trade Act made the UK the first country to prohibit trade in slaves.

After the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain became the principal naval power of the 19th century. At its peak the British Empire controlled large amounts of territory in Asia, Africa, Oceania and America.

At the end of the Victorian era the United Kingdom lost its industrial leadership, particularly to the German Empire, which surpassed the UK in industrial production and trade in the 1890s, and to the United States. Britain remained an eminent power and its empire expanded to its maximum size by 1921, gaining the League of Nations mandate over former German and Ottoman colonies after World War I.

Long simmering tensions in Ireland led to the partition of the island in 1920, followed by independence for the Irish Free State in 1922. Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remained within the UK, which then changed to the current name in 1927 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

After World War I, the world's first large-scale international broadcasting network, the BBC, was created. In 1924 the country's Labour movement, which had been gaining strength since the late 1890s, formed the first Labour government. Britain fought Nazi Germany in World War II, with its Commonwealth allies including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India, later to be joined by further allies such as the United States. Wartime leader Winston Churchill and his peacetime successor Clement Atlee helped plan the post-war world as part of the "Big Three". World War II left the United Kingdom financially damaged. Loans taken out during and after World War II from both Canada and the United States were economically costly but, along with post-war Marshall aid, the UK began the road to recovery.

The immediate post-war years saw the establishment of the British Welfare State and one of the world's first and most comprehensive public health services, while the demands of a recovering economy brought people from all over the Commonwealth to create a multiethnic Britain. Although the new post-war limits of Britain's political role were confirmed by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the international spread of the language meant the continuing impact of its literature and culture, while at the same time from the 1960s its popular culture found influence abroad. Following a period of economic stagnation and industrial strife in the 1970s after a global economic downturn, the 1980s saw the inflow of substantial oil revenues, and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, under whom there was a marked break with the post-war political and economic consensus. Her supporters credit her with economic success, but her critics blame her for greater social division. From 1997 onward, these trends of growth largely continued under the leadership of Tony Blair.

The United Kingdom was one of the 12 founding members of the European Union at its launch in 1992 with the signing of the Treaty on European Union. Prior to that, it had been a member of the EU's forerunner, the European Economic Community (EEC), from 1973. The attitude of the present Labour government towards further integration with this organisation is mixed, with the Conservative Party favouring a return of some powers and competencies to the state, and the Liberal Democrats supportive of current engagement.

The end of the 20th century witnessed a major change to the government of the United Kingdom with devolution to Scotland and Wales taking effect in 1999. The creation of the devolved Scottish parliament in particular, with powers to legislate over a wide range of issues, is beginning to add to differences between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It has brought to the fore the so-called West Lothian question which is a complaint that devolution for Scotland and Wales but not England has created a situation where MPs in the UK parliament can vote on matters affecting England alone but on those same matters Scotland and Wales can make their own decisions. In 2007, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the Scottish parliament elections and formed a minority government. New First Minister, Alex Salmond, hopes to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence before 2011, though the SNP may be unable to get a Bill to hold such a referendum approved by the Scottish parliament due to the minority position of the SNP government. If a referendum is held, an opinion poll in April 2008 suggested the result could be close as support for independence had reached 41% with just 40% supporting retention of the Union. The response of the unionist parties has been to call for the establishment of a Commission to examine further devolution of powers,a position that has the support of the Prime Minister.

Government and politics

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as head of state; the monarch of the UK serves as head of state of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The Crown has sovereignty over the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Collectively, these three territories are known as the Crown dependencies, lands owned by the British monarch but not part of the United Kingdom. They are not part of the European Union. However, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the British government manages their foreign affairs and defence.

The UK has fourteen overseas territories around the world, the last remaining territories of the British Empire. The overseas territories are not considered part of the UK, but in most cases, the local populations have British citizenship and the right of abode in the UK. This has been the case since 2002.

The UK has a parliamentary government based on strong democratic traditions: the Westminster system has been emulated around the world  »” a legacy of the British Empire.

The UK's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists mostly of written sources, including statutes, judge made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered to be "constitutional law," the British Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. The United Kingdom is one of the three countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution (the other two being New Zealand and Israel).

The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and their Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. However, the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, and by convention, HM The Queen respects the Prime Minister's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom are sworn into Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, and become Ministers of the Crown. The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labour Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 27 June 2007.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster, is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom. A devolved parliament in Scotland and devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland, and Wales were established following public approval as expressed in referenda, but according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, these could be abolished by the UK parliament. The UK parliament is made up of two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires the assent of HM The Queen to become law. For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 18 in Northern Ireland, 59 in Scotland and 40 in Wales. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by simple plurality. General Elections are called by the Monarch when the Prime Minister so advises. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.

Questions over sovereignty have been brought forward due to the UK's membership of the European Union.

The UK's three major political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, winning between them 616 out of the 646 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 General Election. Most of the remaining seats were won by parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK such as the Scottish National Party (Scotland only), Plaid Cymru (Wales only), and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland only, though Sinn Féin also contests elections in Ireland). In accordance with party policy, no elected Sinn Féin Member of Parliament has ever attended the House of Commons to speak in the House on behalf of their constituents as Members of Parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Monarch. However, the current five Sinn Féin MPs have since 2002 made use of the offices and other facilities available at Westminster.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has a devolved, unicameral legislature and its own government or Executive, led by a First Minister. England, despite being the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved executive or legislature and is ruled and legislated for directly by the UK government and parliament. This situation has given rise to the so-called West Lothian question which concerns the fact that MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales help decide the laws that apply to England alone.

The Scottish Parliament has wide ranging legislative powers over any matter that has not been specifically 'reserved' to the UK parliament, including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government. Following the 2007 elections, Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, became First Minister of Scotland as head of a minority SNP government. The pro-union parties have responded to the electoral success of the SNP by creating a commission to examine the case for devolving additional powers while excluding Scottish independence as an option.

The National Assembly for Wales has more limited devolved powers than those devolved to Scotland though it may move towards additional powers in the near future. The Northern Ireland Assembly has powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland.

Each country of the United Kingdom is subdivided for the purposes of local government. In addition, for more ceremonial purposes, HM The Queen appoints a Lord-Lieutenant as her personal representative in lieutenancy areas across the UK. City status, which is governed by Royal Charter, can also be conferred separate from local government arrangements. Though there are sixty-six cities in the UK - fifty in England; six in Scotland; five in Wales; and five in Northern Ireland - a number of these do not form separate local government units.

The upper-tier subdivisions of England, are the nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authority areas, apart from London, which consists of 32 London boroughs. London voted in favour of having a directly elected assembly in 1998 and it was intended that other regions would also be given their own elected regional assemblies, but a rejection by a referendum in 2004 of a proposed assembly in the North East region stopped this idea in its tracks. Below the region level and excluding London, England either has county councils and district councils or unitary authorities.

Northern Ireland is presently divided into 26 districts for local government purposes though these councils do not carry out the same range of functions as would be the case in the rest of the United Kingdom. However, on 13 March 2008, the Executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils to replace the present system.

Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas as also is Highland Council which includes a third of Scotland's area but just over 200,000 people. The power invested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors, of which there are currently 1,222 who are each paid a part-time salary. Elections are conducted by Single Transferable Vote in multi-member wards that elect either three or four councillors. Each council elects a Provost or Convenor to chair meetings of the council and to act as a figurehead for the area.

Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, including the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport which are separate unitary authorities in their own right.

Foreign relations and armed forces

The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8 and NATO, and a member state of the European Union. The UK has a "Special Relationship" with the United States. Apart from the US and Europe, Britain's close allies include Commonwealth nations, Ireland and other English speaking countries. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe.

The Army, Navy and Air Force are collectively known as the British Armed Forces (or Her Majesty's Armed Forces) and officially the Armed Forces of the Crown. The commander-in-chief is the monarch, HM Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces are controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff.

The United Kingdom fields one of the most technologically advanced and best trained armed forces in the world. According to various sources, including the Ministry of Defence, the UK has the second highest military expenditure in the world, despite only having the 27th largest military in terms of manpower. Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.2% of total national GDP, compared to 4.4% at the end of the Cold War. It is the second largest spender on military science, engineering and technology. The Royal Navy is considered to be the only other blue-water navy along with those of France and the United States. The British Armed Forces are equipped with advanced weapons systems, including the Challenger 2 tank and the Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighter. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the acquisition of two new super carrier sized aircraft carriers on 25 July 2007.

The United Kingdom is one of the five recognised countries possessing nuclear weapons, utilising the Vanguard class submarine-based Trident II ballistic missile system.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's global security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained at Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, and Cyprus.

The British Army had a reported strength of 102,440 in 2005, the Royal Air Force a strength of 49,210 and the 36,320-strong Royal Navy, which includes the Royal Marines, who provide commando units specialising in amphibious warfare.

The United Kingdom Special Forces, provide troops trained for quick, mobile, military responses in counter-terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations, often where secrecy or covert tactics are required.