Government

A government is the system by which a state or community is controlled. In the Commonwealth of Nations, the word government is also used more narrowly to refer to the collective group of people that exercises executive authority in a state. This usage is analogous to what is called an "administration" in American English. Furthermore, especially in American English, the concepts of the state and the government may be used synonymously to refer to the person or group of people exercising authority over a politically organized territory. Finally, government is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for governance.

In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislators, administrators, and arbitrators. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political systems and institutions that make up the organisation of a specific government.

Government Street (Mobile, Alabama)

Government Street is the name given to portions of U.S. Route 90 and U.S. Route 98 within the city limits of Mobile, Alabama. It is known as Government Street east of Pinehill Drive and as Government Boulevard west of Pinehill Drive. It is the most important road on Mobile's far south side and is the only nominally east–west road on Mobile's south side to come into the city from outside the western city limits and reach the downtown business district. The only other two east–west thoroughfares in the city to do so are Moffett Road/Springhill Avenue and Old Shell Road. Government is a four-lane highway throughout the city limits, from Water Street to the western city limits. It is the only thoroughfare in Mobile to have intersections with both Interstate 10 and Interstate 65 within the city limits.

Route description

Government Street begins at the intersection with the Old Spanish Trail on Blakeley Island, east of where it emerges from the Bankhead Tunnel. It expands after crossing Royal Street. U.S. Route 98 leaves the route at Broad Street, with the remainder of Government continuing as U.S. Highway 90. It continues onward for approximately 3.6 miles (5.8 km) to Pinehill Drive, where it becomes Government Boulevard. It then continues for approximately 10 miles (16 km) until it ends at the southwestern-most limits of the city, in Theodore. This area, along with the Tillmans Corner business district, was annexed into the city in September 2008.

Executive (government)

The executive is the organ that exercises authority in and holds responsibility for the governance of a state. The executive executes and enforces law.

In political systems based on the principle of separation of powers, authority is distributed among several branches (executive, legislative, judicial) — an attempt to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a small group of people. In such a system, the executive does not pass laws (the role of the legislature) or interpret them (the role of the judiciary). Instead, the executive enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary. The executive can be the source of certain types of law, such as a decree or executive order. Executive bureaucracies are commonly the source of regulations.

In the Westminster political system, the principle of separation of powers in not as entrenched. Members of the executive, called ministers, are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law.

Agkistrodon piscivorus

Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the southeastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When antagonized, they will stand their ground by coiling their bodies and displaying their fangs. Although their aggression has been exaggerated, individuals may bite when feeling threatened or being handled. This is the world's only semiaquatic viper, usually found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes. The snake is a strong swimmer and will even enter the sea. It has successfully colonized islands off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The generic name is derived from the Greek words ancistro (hooked) and odon (tooth), and the specific name comes from the Latin piscis (fish) and voro (to eat); thus, the scientific name translates into “hooked-tooth fish-eater”. Common names include variants on water moccasin, swamp moccasin, black moccasin, cottonmouth, gapper, or simply viper. Many of the common names refer to the threat display, where this species will often stand its ground and gape at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Its diet consists mainly of fish and frogs but is otherwise highly varied and, uniquely, has even been reported to include carrion.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Coordinates: 2°52′48″S 23°39′22″E / 2.88°S 23.656°E / -2.88; 23.656

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (/ˈkɒŋɡoʊ/; French pronunciation: ​[kɔ̃ɡo]; French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, RDC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named Zaïre. The DRC borders the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the second largest country in Africa by area, the largest in Subsaharan Africa, and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most populated nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populated country in the world.

The Congolese Civil Wars, which began in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Seko's 31-year reign and devastated the country. The wars ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN peacekeepers and twenty armed groups, and resulted in the deaths of 5.4 million people.

Regions of the African Union

The member states of the African Union are divided into five geographic regions of the African Union.

List

North

Southern

East

West

Central

Sixth Region

The AU considers the African diaspora as its sixth region.

References