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Labour Party Deputy Leader and Director of Elections, Joan Burton today launched “Vote YES for Stability”, the party’s animated video on the Stability Treaty.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Burton said: “This animated video is a short and simple guide to the main issues that arise from the Stability Treaty and it outlines some of the reasons why we believe that a YES vote is crucial for Ireland.
“We hope that the use of simple visualisations and key messages in the video will make the YES arguments accessible to an online audience who may be more accustomed to using online platforms to inform themselves on various issues.
“This Treaty is about ensuring a stable currency which will increase investor confidence in Ireland which will in turn bring about economic recovery. This is why it is vital that we vote YES on May 31st.”
International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian (2nd R), Advisor Paul Hiebert (L), Deputy Director Peter Dattels (2nd L) and Assistant Director Matthew Jones (2nd R) hold a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
200922-N-NJ919-1230 (Sept. 22, 2020) PHILIPPINE SEA Machinery Repairman Fireman Alexis Gonzales, assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), fires an M240B machine gun from an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. America, flagship of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Walter Estrada)
At the end of World War II, the victorious Allies captured both German scientists and research papers in aerodynamics which had given the Germans a slight edge in technology during the war. Among this was research into swept wings, which promised better handling at high speeds, a feature used successfully in the Messerschmitt Me 262. All the combatant nations had been developing jet fighters at the end of the war, and the Soviet Union was no different: like the Western Allies, it found the swept wing concept to be a perfect solution to add speed without sacrificing stability; unlike the West, the Soviets could not take advantage of it due to a lack of adequate jet engines. Soviet metallurgy was simply not up to the task, and experimental jet fighters were severely underpowered.
Engine designer Vladimir Klimov, however, came up with a novel idea: he asked the British in 1946 if they could provide a few examples of their latest engine. To the stunned surprise of Klimov, the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau, and Josef Stalin, the British complied, providing Klimov with the plans for the Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet, one of the most successful jet engines in history. Klimov quickly reverse engineered it as the VK-1, and just like that, the Soviets had the perfect engine for their planned jet interceptors.
MiG OKB already had a jet fighter in service, the MiG-9, but it was a poor performer. By modifying a MiG-9 into the I-310 prototype, with VK-1 propulsion and swept wings and tail surfaces, the resultant aircraft was superb: it was very manueverable and fast. It was placed into production as the MiG-15. This in turn was superseded by the more advanced and reliable MiG-15bis, which added airbrakes and a few minor avionics changes. Though pilots hated the cramped cockpit, which forced them to fly without heated or pressurized flight suits—a real concern in frigid Russian winters—they loved its responsiveness and speed. Though the MiG-15 was designed to intercept the B-29 Superfortress, hence its heavy cannon armament, it could hold its own in a dogfight. It rapidly replaced most propeller-driven fighters in the Soviet inventory, and was quickly supplied to Soviet client states.
The MiG-15 would get its first taste of action during the Chinese Civil War, when Russian-flown MiG-15s flew on behalf of the Communist Chinese against the Nationalists; a P-38L was shot down on 28 April 1950 for the type’s first victory. By far, however, it would be Korea where the MiG-15 would see the most action.
After starting out well, the North Korean armies were, by fall 1950, in full rout from South Korea, pursued by United Nations forces. The World War II-era North Korean People’s Air Force had been annihilated by UN aircraft, and though China intended to intervene on behalf of North Korea, it lacked trained pilots. Stalin agreed to secretly provide both MiG-15s and the pilots to fly them, operating from bases in China across the Yalu River from North Korea. This area rapidly became known as “MiG Alley.” By November 1950, Russian-flown MiG-15s were in combat against American and British aircraft, and both sides fielded pilots who had already flown combat in World War II. Both sides were to find they were close to evenly matched as well: the Russians claimed the first jet-to-jet victory on 1 November, when a MiG-15 shot down a USAF F-80C; four days later, they suffered their first loss, to a US Navy F9F Panther. Most engagements were to occur between the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15.
Once more, the two were closely matched. The MiG-15 had a better rate of climb, was superior above 33,000 feet, and had harder hitting cannon armament. The F-86’s six machine guns were often ineffective against the rugged MiG, but it was more manueverable, especially at low level, and if the machine guns did not cause as much damage, they fired at three times the rate of the MiG-15’s cannons, and usually hit what they aimed at, due to a superior radar-ranging gunsight. Both sides had to deal with instability at high speeds: if the MiG pilot got into trouble, he would climb out of danger, whereas the Sabre pilot would dive. The pilots were evenly matched, though the Russians would later admit that the Americans were better trained. Both sides overclaimed during the war, with both Soviet and American pilots claiming 12 to 1 kill ratios: the truth may never be known, though 40 Russians were awarded the title of ace during the war.
After the end of the Korean War, the MiG-15 remained in service, though it slowly began to be replaced by the MiG-17 and MiG-19. Nonetheless, MiG-15s were involved in eleven separate incidents during the Cold War, shooting down several US and British reconnaissance aircraft and an Israeli airliner. By the mid-1950s, however, the MiG-15 was beginning to show its age, and in combat with Sidewinder-equipped F-86s of Taiwan and Israeli Super Mysteres, it came off second best. Gradually, single-seat MiG-15s were retired from active service, though hundreds of two-seat MiG-15UTI “Midget” trainers remained in service; the MiG-15UTI is still flown by several air forces to this day. About 16,000 MiG-15s were produced in the Soviet Union, Poland, and Czechslovakia, and a good number remain in existence today in museums and numerous flyable examples, including 43 in the United States.
This MiG-15 on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, is either a Russian-built MiG-15bis or a Chinese licensed-built Shenyang J-2. Other than where they were built, there was no difference between the two. When China began to retire their J-2/MiG-15s in the late 1980s, this aircraft was placed in storage, then sold (like many MiG-15 survivors) on the open market to an American warbird collector affiliated with the Champlin Fighter Collection. Like the rest of the collection, it was donated to the Museum of Flight in 2003. It is displayed in bare metal (few MiG-15s were painted) with Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force insignia. It carries nine kill stars, which may represent the number of claims made by China's top ace in the Korean War, Weng Hai.
Nassira Abbas provides the Global Financial Stability Report during the 2021 Annual Meetings at the International Monetary Fund.
IMF Photo/Joshua Roberts
12 October 2021
Washington, DC, United States
Photo ref: _JR16209.ARW
CHUUK, Federated States of Micronesia (April 15, 2019) Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Steven Maciel dances with students of Mechitiw Elementary School and Community Hall, strengthening community relationships during Pacific Partnership 2019. Pacific Partnership, now in its 14th iteration, is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Each year, the mission team works collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase stability and security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Stacy D. Laseter)
One of the most successful medium bombers ever produced, the B-25 Mitchell began as the bomber nobody wanted. North American Aviation had begun the NA-40, designed by North American’s chief designer, James “Dutch” Kindleberger, as a private venture to compete with the Douglas A-20 Havoc. The NA-40 had a very narrow fuselage in which the pilot and copilot sat in tandem, with two Wright Cyclone engines on a shoulder-mounted wing, tricycle landing gear, and high speed that made defensive armament, it was thought, unnecessary. To increase stability, Kindleberger used endplate tailfins rather than the single tail of other contemporary aircraft.
The first NA-40 flew in April 1939, but promptly crashed during a competition with the A-20, which won the US Army Air Corps’ contract. Kindleberger refused to give up, however, and redesigned the NA-40 by expanding the fuselage to carry more bombs and allow the flight crew to sit next to each other. This revised NA-40 showed even more promise, but once more it lost, this time to the Martin B-26 Marauder. Because the Martin company could only produce a few Marauders a month and only at high expense, the USAAF went ahead and placed an order for the NA-40 as well in August 1940, as the B-25 Mitchell—named for William “Billy” Mitchell, who had lobbied so hard for an independent, bomber-heavy air force in the 1930s it had resulted in his court martial. To cure instability noticed in the first flights, the NA-62 prototype was given a slight gull wing which would be retained on all B-25s afterwards.
The B-25B was the first variant to enter combat service, with the 17th Bombardment Squadron based at McChord Field, Washington; a Mitchell from this unit scored the USAAF’s first submarine kill in late December 1941, when it sank a Japanese I-Boat off the Washington coast. Its viceless performance led the USAAF to expand production of Mitchells, and these were soon pressed into urgently needed antisubmarine patrols on both coasts. B-25s taking off and landing for these missions inspired a US Navy officer, Francis Low, to consider if they could be flown off of aircraft carriers in a strike against Japan. Both the USAAF and Navy agreed to collaborate on the project as a morale boost for the home front, in desperate need for good news after a steady diet of disaster following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. James Doolittle was chosen to lead a group of 16 B-25Bs taking off from USS Hornet on a strike against Japan itself on 18 April 1942: the Doolittle Raid, as it was known, was marred by a forced early launch that caused the attack to happen in broad daylight and recovery in China to happen at night, with the loss of 15 out of 16 aircraft, though all but six men survived. However, the psychological damage to Japan was so great that it changed the course of the war.
It also proved the B-25 to be a superb aircraft. Its ease of handling and bomb carrying capability put it in high demand; though the British Royal Air Force would use Lend-Lease Mitchells extensively in Europe, USAAF units preferred faster aircraft such as the A-20 and B-26, though B-25s would see quite a bit of service in North Africa and Italy. The Mitchell was also found to be very resilient: the B-25D introduced crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, and even earlier less-armored variants were found to be able to take a great deal of punishment. B-25s were still fully capable of flying missions with one engine out, with the only problem being slightly heavy on the controls and the loss of speed. One B-25D in North Africa was hit no less than 400 times and had taken so much damage that it required special flap and rudder settings—but it was still operational. Indeed, the only real complaint aircrew had about the B-25 was the extremely loud noise its engines produced, which could cause hearing loss.
The success of the gunship role with A-20s in the Southwest Pacific led to successive versions of the B-25: the B-25G/H, which were given solid noses equipped either with as many as 12 machine guns, or a lesser number of machine guns supplemented by a 75mm antitank gun. These aircraft, operated by the famous "New Guinea Strafers," proved deadly to Japanese shipping during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in 1943. So successful was the B-25G/H series that North American switched production to the most common variant, the B-25J, with interchangeable solid noses for gunships, or glass noses for bomber roles. The dorsal turret was also moved forward. B-25s would be used in every theater in World War II. After the war, most were retired, though a few persisted in USAF service as executive transports until the late 1950s; B-25s were used operationally by Indonesia until 1979. Because the Mitchell remained in service for so long, quite a few survive as warbirds and in museums; of 9800 built, about 100 are still around.
Since the Doolittle Raid was arguably the most influential bomber attack of the war, and one of the most daring, the National Museum of the USAF went to great lengths to commemorate this amazing mission. By the time the USAF got around to working on a museum, there were no B-25Bs left, and the majority of surviving Mitchells were the significantly different B-25J version.
In 1956, the USAF located a former B-25D that had been used as a reconnaissance trainer, in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. As it would be much easier to modify a B-25D back to a B model, the aircraft (43-3374) was removed from the scrapyard and handed over to North American Aviation. 43-3374 was backdated to a B-25B and went on display at the NMUSAF in 1957 as 40-2344, the aircraft flown by Jimmy Doolittle during the raid named for him.
Today, the NMUSAF has created an entire life-sized diorama commemorating the Raid. Placed on a carrier deck simulating that of the USS Hornet, mannequins representing ground crew and Doolittle's crew are shown loading the bombs, while two more are placed near the nose, as Doolittle and then-Captain Marc Mitscher, the CO of the Hornet. The engines and dorsal turret are covered in canvas, which they were aboard the carrier to protect from saltwater corrosion.
This display is impressive enough, but surrounding the rear of the aircraft is memorabilia related to the Doolittle Raid. The most bittersweet piece of the collection is the Raiders' cup collection: each Raider that survived the raid were presented with a sterling silver cup with their name inscribed on it. When the Raider died, the cup would be turned over; when there were only two Raiders left, they would open a 19th Century-vintage bottle of champagne and drink a toast. When I saw the cups in 1977, about half were still upright, but in 2017, only one was--that of Colonel Richard Cole, Doolittle's copilot, who is (as of this writing) 102 years old. The champagne bottle is still on display, but the toast has been drunk.
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International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian answers a question after a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
200922-N-NJ919-1262 (Sept. 22, 2020) PHILIPPINE SEA Lieutenant Vanica Smith, assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), fires an M240B machine gun from an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. America, flagship of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Walter Estrada)
Jeong Joon Yu (SK Group), Olga Algayerova (UNECE), Mark Harper (Secretary of State for Transport, UK), Volker Wissing (Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Germany), Hee-ryong Won (Minster of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea), Kris Peeters (European Investment Bank, EIB) and Carlos Monje (Under Secretary for Transportation Policy, US explore the role of transport in promoting economic co-operation, peace and stability in the Open Plenary "Transport as an enabler of sustainable economies, peace and stability in time of crisis". The event takes place during the International Transport Forum's 2023 Summit on "Transport Enabling Sustainable Economies" in Leipzig, Germany on 24 May 2023.
200922-N-NJ919-1264 (Sept. 22, 2020) PHILIPPINE SEA Lieutenant Vanica Smith, assigned to the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), fires an M240B machine gun from an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. America, flagship of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Walter Estrada)
PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 13, 2017) - Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) participate in a small-arms qualification shoot. Sterett is deployed in support of maritime security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific and is operating under the command and control of U.S. 3rd Fleet. U.S. 3rd Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Byron C. Linder/Released) 170813-N-ZW825-010
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International Monetary Fund Advisor Paul Hiebert answers a question at a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian (2nd R) answers a question after a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
BUSAN, Republic of Korea (March 15, 2015) Sailors, from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35, perform routine maintenance on an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter aboard the littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) during a port visit for exercise Foal Eagle 2015. Foal Eagle is a series of annual training events that are defense-oriented and designed to increase readiness and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula while strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance and promoting regional peace and stability. Fort Worth is on a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the U.S. Navy's strategic rebalance and is operating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
(U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Abraham Essenmacher)
Does this speak to the obesity issue in North America or to 21st century family stability issues? On the other hand, how about the spelling - U.S. spelling of 'center' but sign is for a Canadian Community Centre.
Some of the most productive forests in the world are managed by the BLM in western Oregon. The objectives of the O&C forestry program are to manage for a sustained yield of forest products and qualities needed to contribute to the economic stability of local communities, and continuing forest values and health. This vintage photo depicts forest management that took place in the BLM’s Eugene District in the 1980s.
The Eugene District of the Bureau of Land Management, now part of the Northwest Oregon District, extended from the Pacific Coast into the western slopes of the Cascade Range, and encompassed 316,000 acres. The Eugene District managed several ecosystems ranging from coastal inlands to dense Douglas-fir, hemlock, and cedar forests.
The Eugene District and the Salem Districts were officially consolidated into the Northwest Oregon District in 2016 and now collectively make up approximately 720,000 acres. The Northwest Oregon District stretches from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean, where the historic Yaquina Lighthouse greets thousands each year.
To learn more about forestry in western Oregon head on over to: www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/forests-and-woodla...
To learn more about the Northwest Oregon District head on over to: www.blm.gov/office/northwest-oregon-district-office
Photo: Don Smurthwaite, BLM
The Labour Party in Ireland is a social-democratic political party. The Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish political parties, Labour does not trace its origins to the original Sinn Féin. In the 2011 general election it gained 37 of the 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, almost double its total of 20 in the 2007 election, making it the second largest political party in the 31st Dáil. The Labour Party has served in government for a total of nineteen years, six times in coalition either with Fine Gael alone or with Fine Gael and other smaller parties, and once with Fianna Fáil, giving it the second-longest time in government of Irish parties, next to Fianna Fáil. As of 9 March 2011 it is the junior partner in a coalition with Fine Gael for the period of the 31st Dáil.
The current party leader is Eamon Gilmore, elected in October 2007 alongside Joan Burton as deputy leader. Gilmore is the current Tánaiste (deputy prime minister).
The Labour Party is a member of the Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists, whilst the party's MEPs sit in the European Parliament group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Through these bodies Labour is linked with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.
Jose Vinals, financial counsellor, IMF, speaks at the IMF Global Financial Stability Report news conference Wednesday April 17, 2013, at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C..
Some of the most productive forests in the world are managed by the BLM in western Oregon. The objectives of the O&C forestry program are to manage for a sustained yield of forest products and qualities needed to contribute to the economic stability of local communities, and continuing forest values and health. This vintage photo depicts forest management that took place in the BLM’s Eugene District in the 1980s.
The Eugene District of the Bureau of Land Management, now part of the Northwest Oregon District, extended from the Pacific Coast into the western slopes of the Cascade Range, and encompassed 316,000 acres. The Eugene District managed several ecosystems ranging from coastal inlands to dense Douglas-fir, hemlock, and cedar forests.
The Eugene District and the Salem Districts were officially consolidated into the Northwest Oregon District in 2016 and now collectively make up approximately 720,000 acres. The Northwest Oregon District stretches from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean, where the historic Yaquina Lighthouse greets thousands each year.
To learn more about forestry in western Oregon head on over to: www.blm.gov/programs/natural-resources/forests-and-woodla...
To learn more about the Northwest Oregon District head on over to: www.blm.gov/office/northwest-oregon-district-office
Photo: Don Smurthwaite, BLM
03 April 2019 – The Philippines and China convened the Fourth Meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on 02-03 April 2019 in Manila. The Philippine delegation was led by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Meynardo LB. Montealegre of the Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs and the Chinese delegation was led by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou. As in the Third Meeting of the BCM in October 2018, the Fourth BCM comprised equivalent officials from the respective foreign ministries and relevant agencies.
Recalling the Joint Statement between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China on 21 November 2018, wherein both sides agreed to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities in the South China Sea that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, and noted the importance of confidence-building measures to increase mutual trust and confidence, both sides affirmed the importance of the BCM as a venue for enhanced and regular dialogue. Both sides also noted the significance of the BCM as a platform for pursuing measures to increase mutual trust and confidence. In this regard, both sides acknowledged that the BCM, as a forum for raising differences with a view to address them, preventing and properly managing incidents at sea, and enhancing maritime dialogue and cooperation, can play a significant role in the stable and steady development of bilateral relations.
In a frank yet cordial and constructive manner, both sides raised specific issues and recent developments and actions in the South China Sea which have raised concerns to either side, and proposed ways to address them in a cooperative manner. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate and to continue to find ways forward to strengthen mutual trust and confidence.
Both sides reiterated that while the contentious issues in the South China Sea should not be ignored, they are not the sum total of the Philippines-China relations and should not exclude mutually beneficial cooperation in other fields. Both sides also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting regional peace and stability, freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea. Both sides reiterated their commitment to address disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Both sides likewise agreed that their bilateral relations should serve the interests of the Filipino and Chinese peoples and contribute to peace, stability, and development in the region.
Both sides had a productive exchange of views on ways to enhance maritime cooperation in areas such as on recent developments in the South China Sea carrying political and security implications, maritime search and rescue, maritime safety, marine environmental protection/marine scientific research, and fisheries in relevant Working Group meetings under the framework of the BCM. Without prejudice to their respective positions on sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, both sides exchanged views on oil and gas development.
The two sides also recognized the importance of other complementary multilateral platforms, including ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, ASEAN Regional Forum, and East Asia Summit, in promoting peace and stability in the region. Both sides reiterated their commitments to full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and agreed to maintain the positive momentum of the negotiations towards the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, based on consensus.
Both sides considered the meeting fruitful and productive. The Fifth Meeting of the BCM will be held in China in the second half of 2019, with the exact date and place to be determined and mutually agreed upon through diplomatic channels. END
Photo by Clark Galang
Almost two years after the presentation of the EU Global Strategy and more than a year after Jean Claude Juncker’s white book on the future of Europe, the European Union still struggles with major challenges and threats that seem to undermine the stability of the security environment within its borders and in its neighbourhood. In the aftermath of Brexit and with the proximity of to the European Parliament elections in 2019, the third International Conference Europe as a Global Actor (Lisbon, May 24 & 25, 2018) will discuss the role the EU can play in the current global transformations, as well as the domestic and external obstacles it faces as a global actor.
The Center for International Studies of ISCTE-IUL organized the third edition of the International Conference “Europe as a global actor”, on 24 and 25 May.
The opening lecture was given by the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, on May 24, at 09:30 am.
The Conference Program also included a debate on the state of the Union with the presence of Portuguese MEPs, panels and round-tables on the challenges of the Common Security and Defense Policy, the future of European security and defense, the EU’s relationship with other global players and the future of the European Union as a global player. In addition to the presence of several invited scholars, in plenary sessions moderated by Portuguese journalists, the program also included the presentation of communications by around 40 international researchers in this area of knowledge.
May 24th
9h00 | Registration – Floor 2, Building II
09h30 | Opening Remarks (Aud. B203) – session in Portuguese
Keynote Speaker: Augusto Santos Silva, Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs
Helena Carreiras (Director, School of Sociology and Public Policies, ISCTE-IUL)
Luís Nuno Rodrigues (Director, Center for International Studies, CEI-IUL)
10h45 – 11h00 – Coffee Break
11h00 | Round Table I: CSDP: challenges and opportunities (Aud. B203)
Moderator: António Mateus (RTP)
Laura Ferreira-Pereira (Universidade do Minho)
Jochen Rehrl (EEAS – ESDC)
Ana Isabel Xavier (CEI-IUL)
12h30 – 14h00 – Lunch
14h00 – 15h45 | Parallel Sessions I
Panel 1 –The future of European Security and Defence (Room C201)
Moderator: Ana Isabel Xavier (CEI-IUL)
Stefano Loi (CEI-IUL): “The PESCO agreement and the future of the European common defence”
Lorinc Redei & Michael Mosser (University of Texas at Austin): “The European Union as a Catalyst in European Security”
Patricia Daehnhardt (IPRI-NOVA): “The EU and transatlantic relations: the end of the Euro-Atlantic security community?”
Panel 2 – The European policy on migration and asylum (Room C301)
Moderator: Giulia Daniele (CEI-IUL)
João Barroso (CEI-IUL): “The EU and the refugee crisis: a literature review”
Tommaso Emiliani (College of Europe): “EU Migration Agencies: More “Guarding”, Less “Support for Asylum”? An Assessment of How the European Board and Coast Guard and the European Asylum Support Office Pursue Their Relations with Third Countries in Light of the So-Called ‘Refugee Crisis’.”
Emellin de Oliveira (NOVA): “The Securitization of Migration through Technology: an analysis of the PNR Directive”
Panel 3 – The state of the Union and the future of Europe: reflections and scenarios (Room C302)
Moderator: Ana Lúcia Sá (CEI-IUL)
Luís Machado Barroso (CEI-IUL; IUM) & Marco António Ferreira da Cruz (IUM): “It is not enough to be… It needs to be seen”: the analysis of EUGS implementation 1st Year report”
Ricardo Alexandre (CEI-IUL): “The Western Balkans Euro-fatigue and the impact on EU of potential alternatives to integration”
Dina Sebastião (University of Coimbra): “The persistence of Portuguese Atlanticism as a block for a supranationalization of European defence policy”
15h45 – 16h00 – Coffee Break
16h00-18h00 | Round Table II – The EU & other global players (Aud. B204)
Moderator: Helena Tecedeiro (Diário de Notícias)
Thomas Diez (University of Tübingen)
Maria Raquel Freire (CES-UC, Coimbra)
Luís Tomé (Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa)
Bruno Cardoso Reis (CEI-IUL, Lisbon)
18h00 – 20h00 | Parallel Sessions II
Panel 4 – Brexit (Room C401)
Moderator: Bruno Cardoso Reis (CEI-IUL)
Sanja Ivic (Institute for European Studies, Serbia): “The Question of European Identity in Light of Brexit”
Allan F. Tatham (Universidad San Pablo-CEU): “‘Breaking up is Hard to Do’: The evolution of the EU’s withdrawal criteria”
Christopher Pitcher (ISCTE-IUL): “‘I voted remain’ a look at the social and political divides within Brexit Britain through qualitative analysis of the narratives and attitudes of British citizens who voted remain”
Luana Lo Piccolo (ISPI – Milan): “Brexit: an increasing fragmentation of the international architecture”
Panel 5 – The EU and its Neighbourhood (Room C402)
Moderator: Cátia Miriam Costa (CEI-IUL)
Petar Georgiev (Council of the EU): “Pursuit of greener pastures in the Eastern neighbourhood: reconciliation of EU’s security interests and normative ambitions”
César García Andrés (Universidad de Valladolid): “The role of Ukraine within the European neighborhood policy and its effects on relations with Russia”
Mónica Canário (CEI-IUL): “Why do we need a real gender policy in the EU?”
Filipe Lima (CEI-IUL): “The EU and Israel and Palestinian Conflict”
Panel 6 – Transnational threats (Room C502)
Moderator: Ana Margarida Esteves (CEI-IUL)
Sofia Geraldes (ISCTE-IUL): “Digital Battlefields: Assessing the EU soft security actorness countering social media information warfare activities”
Marc de Carrière (Amarante International): “Going beyond NATO’s Article 5: A EU-NATO Blockchain to deter cyber warfare”
Davoud Gharayagh-Zandi (IRS; Shahid Beheshti University) & João Almeida Silveira (FCSH-NOVA): “The European Union security actorness within EU-Iran relations in the Post JCPOA Era”
Henrique Miguel Alves Garcia: “Radicalization in Belgium and EU security environment”
Susana Pedro
International Monetary Fund's Financial Counsellor and Director Jose Vinals answers a questions in the lobby of IMF HQ2 after the Global Financial Stability Report press conference October 9, 2013 at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC. IMF Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian answers a question at a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
Edwards AFB 04/03/14
Douglas TB-26H "Invader" ("Variable Stability simulator") (27444)(USAF 44-34165) (N9146H)(Calspan Flight Research)(Variable Stability System (VSS)the basic flight characteristics of such an aircraft could be altered by a stability-augmentation system, so that a wide range of static and dynamic characteristics, representing the flying qualities of a different aircraft, could be safely simulated and evaluated in flight. Initially, only the pitch axis was converted into the variable stability mode. In 1963 variable stability roll and yaw to the VSS and finally A closed-loop throttle servo was added to the B-26 in the mid 1960s for a Supersonic Transport simulation. This was the first application of a four degree-of- freedom simulation system.
IMF Financial Counselor Tobias Adrian and Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department Fabio Natalucci provide the Global Financial Stability Report update during the COVID-19 Pandemic at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. on June 25, 2020. IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
WATERS SURROUNDING THE KOREAN PENINSULA (Oct. 13, 2016) The forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), left, steams in formation with the Republic of Korea Ship (ROKS) Sejong the Great (DDG 991) during exercise Invincible Spirit 2016. Invincible Spirit is a bilateral exercise conducted with the Republic of Korea Navy in the waters near the Korean Peninsula consisting of routine carrier strike group operations in support of maritime counter-special operating forces and integrated maritime operations. Stethem is on patrol with Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG 5) supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Tyrone Pham/Released)
International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian (C), Advisor Paul Hiebert (L), Deputy Director Peter Dattels (2nd L), Assistant Director Matthew Jones (2nd R) and Communications Officer Andreas Adriano (R) hold a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 25, 2020) Hospital Corpsmen stabilize a patient's feet to treat a simulated pelvic fracture aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) during medical training. New Orleans, part of Expeditionary Strike Group Seven 7, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelby Sanders)
International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian (2nd R) answers a question after a joint press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank are through April 23rd. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
(FLTR) Robin Niblett, Director, Chatham House, United Kingdom; Global Agenda Council on Europe, Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of Finland; Young Global Leader, Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of Ireland, Laimdota Straujuma, Prime Minister of Latvia and Sigmar Gabriel, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany are captured during the session 'Europe's Twin Challenges: Growth and Stability' in the congress centre at the Annual Meeting 2015 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 22, 2015.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM/swiss-image.ch/Photo Remy Steinegger
Tripoli talks advance U.S. Army relationship with Libya land forces
By Rick Scavetta, U.S. Army Africa
VICENZA, Italy - The U.S. Army Africa commanding general recently made a historic trip to Libya to discuss the emerging relationship between the U.S. Army and Libya's land forces.
In early May, Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III visited Tripoli, where he held talks with key Libyan military leaders. The visit indicates the U.S. Army’s commitment toward building a cooperative relationship with Libya’s land forces and increasing regional security.
Garrett’s visit was coordinated through the U.S. Embassy Tripoli and U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz greeted Garrett at Mitiga International Airport.
“We are gradually opening a dialog that has not existed between our land forces in a long time,” Garrett said. “Times have changed and relationships must change too.”
The general’s first stop was the headquarters of the North African Regional Capability (NARC) to meet Maj. Gen. Ahmid Auwn, Libya's chief of staff for Army Mechanized Units and Executive Director of the NARC. The NARC is part of the African Standby Force, which consists of five regional brigade-size commands that can support the African Union during times of crisis. Libyan willingness to open a dialogue with the U.S. Army is in an important part of increasing regional cooperation.
“We will look to the NARC leadership to work together on future events that are mutually beneficial,” Garrett said.
The general also toured the Libyan Bureau of Technical Cooperation and National Committees, and the Libyan Military Staff College, where he met with the director, Maj. Gen. Ahmid Mahmud Azwai. These visits emphasized the importance of material standardization, training and education in developing future leaders.
Garrett's visit follows a military cooperation committee meeting held in Tripoli in late-February, where delegations of Libyan and U.S. military officers discussed areas of common interest and planned future partnership events, said Maj. Philip Archer, U.S. Army Africa’s North African Regional Desk Officer. “Proposed events include inviting Libyan officers to visit Army schools in the United States, holding discussion on border security, conducting medical exchanges and sharing helicopter procedures,” Archer said. One of U.S. Army Africa’s goals is to help Libya and other members of the NARC build the brigade into a capable force that is interoperable with other regional standby forces and can be used for peace support operations.
“U.S. Army Africa’s discussions in Tripoli are a positive step toward working together with Libya’s military,” Garrett said. “We now have a better understanding of each other’s goals and can work together to achieve increased security, stability and peace in North Africa.”
Garrett concluded his trip to Libya with a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of fallen American sailors, who perished when their ship exploded in Tripoli harbor in 1804.
CAPTION: Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett, commanding general, U.S. Army Africa, meets with key Libyan military leaders during a recent trip to Libya to discuss the emerging relationship between U.S. Army and Libyan land forces. – U.S. Army photo.
SOUTH CHINA SEA (June 11, 2019) Sailors haul fueling lines on the flight deck of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85). McCampbell is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Isaac Maxwell/Released)
IMF Financial Counselor Tobias Adrian and Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department Fabio Natalucci provide the Global Financial Stability Report update during the COVID-19 Pandemic at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. on June 25, 2020. IMF Photo/Cory Hancock
APRA HARBOR, Guam (Sept. 14, 2018) Chief selectees march in formation while singing "Anchors Aweigh" during a chief pinning ceremony on the flight deck of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69). The ceremony is part of a long-standing tradition that honors and recognizes the years of hard work, service and leadership of dedicated Sailors in the Navy. Milius is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Markus Castaneda/Released)
Participants of Ex UNIFIED RESOLVE (UR) 20 attend planning activities. During Ex UR 20, being run from February 8-13, Allied and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) soldiers will use innovative technology to allow them to train together in a computer-assisted exercise from three locations across two provinces: Petawawa and Kingston, Ontario, and Valcartier, Quebec. The computer-generated scenarios include realistic simulations to test command and control capabilities. These scenarios can range from near-peer combat to peace support and stability operations, mirroring today’s complex security environment and preparing 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG) for war along the Road to High Readiness.
Photo by: MCpl Jennifer Evans
PA01-2020-0008-010
International Monetary Fund's Financial Counsellor and Director Jose Vinals answers a question during the Global Financial Stability Report press conference Ocotber 9, 2013 at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC. IMF Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
The Labour Party in Ireland is a social-democratic political party. The Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish political parties, Labour does not trace its origins to the original Sinn Féin. In the 2011 general election it gained 37 of the 166 seats in Dáil Éireann, almost double its total of 20 in the 2007 election, making it the second largest political party in the 31st Dáil. The Labour Party has served in government for a total of nineteen years, six times in coalition either with Fine Gael alone or with Fine Gael and other smaller parties, and once with Fianna Fáil, giving it the second-longest time in government of Irish parties, next to Fianna Fáil. As of 9 March 2011 it is the junior partner in a coalition with Fine Gael for the period of the 31st Dáil.
The current party leader is Eamon Gilmore, elected in October 2007 alongside Joan Burton as deputy leader. Gilmore is the current Tánaiste (deputy prime minister).
The Labour Party is a member of the Socialist International and the Party of European Socialists, whilst the party's MEPs sit in the European Parliament group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Through these bodies Labour is linked with the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.
Soldiers from 18 different countries stand together during a Rapid Trident 2015 ceremony July 20, 2015, in Yavoriv, Ukraine. Rapid Trident is a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise focused on peacekeeping and stability operations. More than 1,800 personnel from 18 different nations are participating in the exercise. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexander Skripnichuk, 13th Public Affairs Detachment)
International Monetary Fund Assistant Director Matthew Jones answers questions at the Global Financial Stability Report press conference October 11, 2017 at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
Angkor Wat or "Capital Temple" is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was first a Hindu and later a Buddhist temple. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.
Breaking from the Shiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").
HISTORY
Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.
According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect. The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113-C. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.
In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."
In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:
"One of these temples - a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo - might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."
Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.
Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from C. 1880 to the mid-1920s. The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.
ARCHITECTURE
SITE AND PLAN
Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction - prasavya in Hindu terminology - as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.
A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.
STYLE
Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture - the Angkor Wat style - to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested. The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style." Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.
FEATURES
OUTER ENCLOSURE
The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.
CENTRAL STRUCTURE
The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.
Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water.
North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.
Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.
DECORATION
Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".
From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.
On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna. Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place. The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 40 km to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres. However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.
Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 1.2 m, this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.
ANGKOR WAT TODAY
The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013. Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561.000 and 677.000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance - as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples - although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists. The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture. At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.
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International Monetary Fund Financial Counsellor and Director Tobias Adrian (2nd R), Deputy Director Peter Dattels (2ndL) , Assistant Director Matthew Jones (R), and Deputy Division Chief Ali Al-Eyd (L) pose for a final photographer after they participated in the Global Financial Stability Report press conference October 11, 2017 at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, DC. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
(L-R) IDB Vice-President for Sectors and Knowledge Santiago Levy; Former Minister of Finance of Chile Andres Velasco; IMF Financial Counselor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department Jose Vinals; Senior Fellow for Latin American Studies and Director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations Shannon O’Neil; and Director of Harvard’s Center for International Development Ricardo Hausmann attend the High Level Conference on Latin America “Rising Challenges to Growth and Stability in a Shifting Global Environment” on June 1, 2015 at International Monetary Fund Headquarters in Washington, DC. ©IMF Photo
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