1.
Guinea
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Guinea /ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a country on the West coast of Africa. Guinea has a population of 10.5 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres, the president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the body of the country. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest, the country is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population, Guineas people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media. Guineas economy is dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, the land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from France on 2 October 1958, from independence until the presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by a number of autocratic rulers. What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires, the Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids. It was in period that Islam first arrived in the region. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa, the most famous being Kankou Moussa, shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century. The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about 1460 and it continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi just three years later, the Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms
2.
Politics of Guinea
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Politics of Guinea takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Guinea is both head of state and head of government of Guinea. Executive power is exercised by the government, legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. A military dictatorship, led by then-Lt, col. Lansana Conté and styling itself the Military Committee of National Recovery, took control of Guinea in April 1984, shortly after the death of independent Guineas first president, Sékou Touré. The new government released all prisoners and committed itself to the protection of human rights. The CTRN drafted laws to create republican institutions and to provide for independent political parties, national elections, political party activity was legalized in 1992, when more than 40 political parties were officially recognized for the first time. In 1995, Contés ruling PUP party won 76 of 114 seats in elections for the National Assembly amid opposition claims of irregularities, according to Somparé, Conté hid his physical suffering for years in order to give happiness to Guinea. Conté had left the country for treatment on numerous occasions in the years preceding his death. At around the time, a newspaper published a photograph suggesting that Conté was in poor physical condition. The editor of newspaper was arrested and the newspaper was required to print a photograph in which Conté looked healthy. Somparé requested that the President of the Supreme Court, Lamine Sidimé, declare a vacancy in the Presidency, Prime Minister Souaré and Diarra Camara, the head of the army, stood alongside Somparé during his announcement. The government declared 40 days of mourning and Camara called on soldiers to remain calm. Six hours after Somparé announced Contés death, a statement was read on television announcing a military coup détat. This statement, read by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara on behalf of a group called National Council for Democracy, said that the government, the statement also announced the suspension of the constitution as well as political and union activity. In its place, the military said it had established a council composed of civilian. On 27 September 2009, the day before planned demonstrations in the capital city Conakry, thousands of protestors defied the ban, assembling in a soccer stadium. 157 were left dead after the level of violence used by security forces escalated, Captain Moussa Camara told Radio France International on 28 September the shootings by members of his presidential guard were beyond his control. Those people who committed those atrocities were uncontrollable elements in the military, even I, as head of state in this very tense situation, cannot claim to be able to control those elements in the military. On 3 December 2009 Captain Moussa Dadis Camara suffered a wound in an attempted assassination in Conakry led by his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité
3.
Human rights in Guinea
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Human rights in Guinea, a nation of approximately 10,069,000 people in West Africa, are a contentious issue. In its 2012 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House named the country free for the second year in a row. Guinea gained its independence from France in 1958, alpha Condé won the 2010 presidential election and in December 2010 become the countrys first democratically elected president. The following chart shows Guineas ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, a rating of 1 is free,7, not free.1 Amnesty International was claiming Guinea contained prisoners of conscience as early as their 1969 report. In 1968 over one hundred people were arrested, and 13 sentenced to the death penalty, included in those arrested were cabinet ministers and high-level military officers. Thousands had been arrested, including 22 Europeans, Germans, French and he and at least a thousand other political prisoners remained detained in 1977. The most notorious prison was Camp Boiro, which included amongst its prisoners Diallo Telli, in August and October 1977, however, the government fired upon a series of economic protests and killed an unknown number of women. They then began to round up those thought responsible, by 1978 reports were estimating the number of political prisoners had grown to 4000. In late 1978 President Sékou Touré proclaimed to journalists that all prisoners who had sentenced to execution at Boiro were now dead. He went on to explain that Amnesty International was trash, by 1979 reports were claiming fewer than 20 of the original arrestees were still being held at Boiro. Hundreds who had been arrested never reappeared, however, and some put the number dead at over 4000. People continued to be killed at Boiro through what was known as the black diet – a complete lack of food, the Guinean government also reached agreements with the governments of Liberia and Côte dIvoire to forcibly repatriate expatriates involved in opposition activity. Reports of detainment and beatings upon their arrival leaked to the outside world, in September 1982, Touré held a news conference proudly proclaiming that there were no more political prisoners being held in the country. He could not explain the fate of approximately 2900 people arrested since 1969 who remained unaccounted for, reports of the number of prisoners at Boiro continued to range from several hundred to thousands. Torture methods reportedly used at the prison included bondage, forced burning with cigarettes, after Tourés death in March 1984, major political changes were afoot. Camp Boiro was closed and all political prisoners immediately released, following the death of a criminal suspect in police custody in September 1984, protests erupted in Kamsar and 200 people were arrested. A coup détat was announced six hours following Contés death on 22 December 2008, on 27 September 2009, the day before planned demonstrations Conakry, the government declared demonstrations illegal. Thousands of protestors defied the ban, assembling in a soccer stadium,157 were left dead after the level of violence used by security forces escalated
4.
National Assembly (Guinea)
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The unicameral Assemblée nationale or National Assembly is Guineas legislative body. The number of seats has also fluctuated and it is currently at 114, with members selected by two different methods. Members must be over 25 years old and serve five-year terms, the President of the National Assembly of Guinea is the presiding officer of the legislature. Claude Kory Kondiano has been President of the National Assembly since January 2014 and it ordinarily meets in two annual sessions, beginning 5 April and 5 October and lasting no more than 90 days. Special sessions can be called by either the President of Guinea or a majority of the Assembly members, the National Assembly has its headquarters in the Palais du Peuple, which was built with Chinese assistance. Guinea was a one-party state, so the legal party. The Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally once again secured all of the then-75 seats, with no other parties legally allowed, the Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally took all now-150 seats, and Touré was reelected president unopposed. Members were elected for seven-year terms, the Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally secured all now-210 seats as the only party, with Touré retaining the presidency. The election was scheduled for April 2000, as the five-year terms of office expired. The 30 June 2002 election was won by President Contés Unity and Progress Party, elections were held on 28 September 2013. Alpha Condés party, the Rally of the Guinean People, won the most seats,53, list of political parties in Guinea Politics of Guinea
5.
Subdivisions of Guinea
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The national capital, Conakry, ranks as a special zone. The capital Conakry with a population of 1,660,973 ranks as a special zone Guineas regions are subdivided into thirty-three prefectures, the Communes of Guinea or sub prefectures, known in French as sous-prefectures, are the third-level administrative divisions in Guinea. As of 2009 there were 303 rural communes of Guinea and 38 urban communes,5 of which compose the Conakry greater urban area
6.
Elections in Guinea
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Guinea elects on national level a head of state—the president—and a legislature. The president is elected for a term by the people through a two-round system. The National Assembly has 114 members, elected for terms,38 members in single-seat constituencies and 76 members by proportional representation. Voters must be at least 18 years old and Guinean citizens in full possession of civil, candidates must be at 18, either Guinean by citizenship or naturalized and resident in the country for at least 10 years. After Tourés death in 1984, Colonels Lansana Conté and Diarra Traoré seized power in a bloodless coup détat, in December 1990, a new constitution created a unicameral Parliament. In April 1992, legislation was passed making Guinea a multi-party state, the following year, Conté announced a return to civilian rule, with Guineas first multi-party presidential election taking place in 1993, followed by a legislative election in 1995. Conté remained president, with 51. 7% of the vote, while his Party of Unity and Progress won 71 of the 114 seats in the Assembly. He was re-elected president in 1998, with 56. 1% of the vote and his party also won 85 seats in the Assembly in 2002, with some opposition parties choosing to boycott. Shortly after Contés death in December 2008, Moussa Dadis Camara seized power, in December 2009, Camara was shot in the head in an assassination attempt and left the country to obtain medical care. The following month, Camara agreed to a return to civilian rule, condé finally emerged victorious, with 52. 54% of the ballots. His Guinean Peoples Assembly party took 53 of the 114 Assembly seats in the repeatedly delayed 2013 election and he himself was re-elected in 2015. The Independent National Electoral Commission is the commission in Guinea. The body was established in November 2007, list of political parties in Guinea Adam Carrs Election Archive African Elections Database
7.
Guinean presidential election, 2010
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A presidential election was held in Guinea in 2010. It was held under the system, the first round took place on 27 June 2010. Alpha Condé was declared the winner, with 52. 52% of the votes in the second round and he assumed office on 21 December 2010. The election came after a coup in 2008 and the assassination of the junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara in December 2009. There were months of tension and unrest during the electoral process, the election was the first free national election held in Guinea since it gained independence in 1958. The election was scheduled to be held on 13 December 2009 following the 2008 Guinean coup détat. Civilian and political groups proposed to them in December after legislative elections in October 2009. The government agreed in late March 2009 to set the date for 13 and 27 December. While junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara had initially stated he would not run in the election, he declared on 16 April 2009 that he, on 10 May 2009, however, he stated again that neither he nor any of the other officers involved would stand in the election. Despite this vow, supporters of Camara held a rally in August 2009 to call for him to take off his uniform, the United States felt that he had to abstain from running to ensure a free and fair election. The election was seen as a chance to change decades of authoritarian rule following independence, as well as to bring stability and this was also the first democratic election since independence in 1958. Twenty-four candidates were approved to run in the election, among four former prime ministers. However, Diallo gained the support of Touré, who came third, Condé then also gained the support of fourth-placed Lansana Kouyaté. As had been expected by observers, the run-off was delayed from 18 July to a later date, the second round was then set for 14 August 2010. On 9 August, less than a week before the runoff was to take place, on 10 September, the president of the National Independent Electoral Commission, Ben Sekou Sylla, and another official were convicted of vote-tampering during the first round of voting. The two were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of two million Guinea francs each for electoral fraud. Sylla died in a Paris hospital on 14 September following an illness. Boubacar Diallo, the director of planning, said It is highly improbable that the election will be held this Sunday
8.
Guinean presidential election, 2015
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Presidential elections were held in Guinea on 11 October 2015. The result was a victory for incumbent President Alpha Condé. At the time of the elections the worst of the epidemic was over, the seven opposition parties called for a postponement, citing alleged irregularities in the electoral roll, but their pleas were rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Cellou Dalein Diallo of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea also petitioned the Supreme Court of Guinea to have the election postponed, but it was rejected. The elections were using the two-round system, with a second round taking place if no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round. Presidents are limited to two terms in office, allowing incumbent president Alpha Condé to run for a second term, during the campaign Condé told voters that he aimed to promote development and consolidate stability. Diallo promised to give priority to youth employment, as well as access to care, decent housing, water, electricity, safety. His campaign slogan promised to deliver a KO blow to his opponents and he cited his record on overhauling the army and judiciary, the completion of a hydroelectric dam and reforms in making the mineral-rich countrys mining contracts more transparent. He said in an interview, Ask the people of Guinea if what we have done in five years and his campaign was said to benefit from improving supply of electricity in Conakry and the relative stability the country endured despite the Ebola epidemic. Diallo called on voters to make their voices heard following the rejection of his plea for a delay of the imperfect process and we will vote, defend our suffrage, defend our victory because there is no way we will let our victory be stolen. Prior to the vote, all seven opponents of the incumbent said they would challenge the outcome, a joint statement read, The seven candidates will not recognise the results which will be made following an election with anomalies and irregularities. Violence during the campaign, including clashes between supporters of Condé and Diallo in Koundara, led to the deaths of at least three people. A curfew was put in place in Nzérékoré after one person was killed, united Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon then called for the vote to be conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner. Around 19,000 police and members of the security services were on duty, Condé also declared that over 90% of voter cards had been distributed. Monitors included an African Union observer mission and a 72-member European Union delegation, the EU delegation cited “massive deficiencies” ahead of polling, however, in its post-election report it concluded that the process overall was “valid”. After CENI head Bakary Fofana announced there would be no run-off, Diallo and Touré alleged fraud and he urged supporters of Condé to stay calm, avoid gloating and get ready to face the numerous challenges that await us. Final results were announced by the Constitutional Court on 31 October 2015, Condé was credited with 57. 84% of the vote and Diallo with 31. 45%. Condé was accordingly declared to be re-elected, with his term to begin on 21 December
9.
Guinean legislative election, 2013
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Legislative elections were held in Guinea on 28 September 2013 after numerous delays and postponements. President Alpha Condés party, the Rally of the Guinean People, won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly of Guinea, the opposition parties won a total of 53 seats, and opposition leaders denounced the official results as fraudulent. A date for the election in November or December 2008 has been proposed, on 11 October 2007, Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté expressed regret regarding slowness in the organization of the election and said that it would be difficult to hold the election by December. Political parties had difficulty reaching an agreement on how members should be on CENI. CENI was established in November 2007, on 12 February 2008, an ad hoc commission responsible for determining a timetable for the election proposed that it be held between 23 November and 14 December 2008. This report expressed concern that a delay might compromise economic revival, CENI President Chiekh Fantamady Condé said that he was convinced that the election would be held in 2008, however. Ben Sékou Sylla, the President of CENI, announced on 20 October 2008 and he cited difficulties with biometric voter registration, as well as a delay in setting up structures to register voters and supervise the elections and a delay in funding. Touré warned against any further delay, saying that it would lead to further despair, sekou Konate, the Secretary-General of the governing Party of Unity and Progress, reacted positively to the delay, People prefer a delay much more than having war straight away. If we do not have an electoral roll, we risk having things go wrong. According to Konate, holding the election together with the 2009 local elections or the 2010 presidential election was out of the question. On 19 December 2008, it was announced that the election would be held on 31 May 2009, after the military coup détat in December 2008, civilian and political groups proposed to hold them in November 2009, before presidential elections in December 2009. The government set them for 11 October 2009 in late March 2009, the election was then again delayed until 16 March 2010. Following a political agreement and the 2010 presidential election, the election was delayed again. In September 2011, the date was announced as 29 December 2011. But in early December it was postponed again for security reasons, in April 2012, the election was postponed indefinitely by Guinea President Alpha Condé. After a reshuffle in the Electoral Commission, the election was announced to be planned for 12 May 2013 and they were later delayed to 30 June and then to 28 July. The date was moved again in early July, to 24 September, on 21 September, the UN mediator for Guinea announced a further delay to 28 September following talks between the parties, and the opposition cancelled their scheduled protests. In preparation for registration that is needed for the revision of the voter rolls
10.
Foreign relations of Guinea
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The foreign relations of Guinea, including those with its West African neighbors, have improved steadily since 1985. Guinea re-established relations with France and West Germany in 1975, and with neighboring Ivory Coast, Guinea has been active in efforts toward regional integration and cooperation, especially regarding the Organisation of African Unity and the Economic Community of West African States. Guinea participates actively in the deliberations and decisions of a variety of international organizations, Guinea has offered asylum to over 700,000 Liberian, Sierra Leonean, and Bissauan refugees since 1990, despite the economic and environmental costs involved. Guinea is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the United States military, the order was made by a presidential decree on state television and was the first major diplomatic move made by the new leader. The Guinean representatives to the European Union, the United Nations, no reason was stated for the recall. In late March 2009, the Guinean ambassador to Serbia faced expulsion for personal involvement in cigarette smuggling, the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of Guinea established diplomatic relations on October 14,1959. Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and Guinea were established on 28 August 2006, the number of South Koreans living in Guinea in 2011 was 70. Diplomatic relations between Guinea and Israel were discontinued in 1967, Guinea became the first French African colony to gain independence, on 2 October 1958, at the cost of the immediate cessation of all French assistance. After a temporary due to nationwide political unrest in early 2007. Prior to the suspension, Peace Corps had more than 100 volunteers throughout the country, volunteers work in four project areas, secondary education, environment/agro-forestry, public health and HIV/AIDS prevention, and small enterprise development. Guinea has also had a strong Crisis Corps program through the last few years and this article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State website http, //www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index. htm. List of diplomatic missions in Guinea List of diplomatic missions of Guinea
11.
Military of Guinea
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The Republic of Guinea Armed Forces are the armed forces of Guinea. They are responsible for the security of Guineas border and the defence of the country against external attack. In addition, regime security forces include the National Police Force, the Gendarmerie, responsible for internal security, has a strength of several thousand, and is armed with military equipment. It is aided by the Republican Guard, which provides protection for government officials, upon independence in 1958, France cut all ties and immediately began to repatriate Guinean soldiers serving in the French Army. Of the about 22,000 Guinean soldiers in French service, the other 12,000 were demobilised and returned to Guinea. By the end of January 1959 the new army had reached a strength of around 2,000 officers and soldiers and this followed military dissatisfaction over the creation of a PDG control element in each army unit. Later the alleged Fula connection was dropped, the accusations widened to other groups, after the plot, the army was regarded by the government as a centre of potential subversion, and the militia was developed as a counterforce to any military threat to the government. The army resisted the Portuguese invasion of Guinea in November 1970, purges that followed the 1970 invasion decimated the upper ranks of the army, with eight officers sentenced to death and 900 officers and men who had reached a certain age retired from active duty. General Noumandian Keita, chief of the Combined Arms General Staff, was convicted and replaced by the chief of staff, Namory Kieta. In March 1971 elements of the military were deployed to Freetown in Sierra Leone after the Sierra Leonean President, Stevens, Stevens visited Conakry on 19 March 1971, and soon afterwards, around 200 Guinean soldiers were despatched to Freetown. Two Guinean MiGs made a low flyover of Freetown and Touré placed the Guinean military on alert because of the serious troubles affecting the peoples of Sierra Leone. The force, also reported as numbering 300, protected Stevens, though it was reduced to 100 and then to fifty. The last Guinean troops were withdrawn in 1974, in early 1975 the Guinean military consisted of an army of around 5,000, an air force of 300, and a naval component of around 200. The army comprised four battalions, one armoured battalion. In the early 1970s the armed forces were organised into four military zones, one of the four infantry battalions was assigned to each of the military zones. The engineer battalion had companies in Conakry, Kankan, and Boké, increasing mistrust of the regular armed forces after the Labé plot led to the militia assuming greater importance. Units of volunteers, formed in response to call, assumed limited policing functions. Following government praise for these efforts, the militias role expanded, especially as black-market activity
12.
National Council for Democracy and Development
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The National Council for Democracy and Development were the ruling junta of Guinea from 2008 to 2010. The CNDD seized power in the 2008 Guinean coup détat on 23 December 2008 and this followed the death of the previous long-serving President, Lansana Conté. On 5 May 2009 the government recalled thirty of the countrys overseas ambassadors - about three quarters of the nations total, no reason was given for the decision
13.
Moussa Dadis Camara
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He has been out of office since the assassination attempt on him on 3 December 2009. Moussa Dadis Camara was born in 1964 in the town of Koulé, Nzérékoré Prefecture, in the Guinée Forestière region of southeastern Guinea, near the border with Côte dIvoire. He is a member of the Kpelle ethnic group, Dadis attended primary and secondary school in Nzérékoré, about 24 miles away from his birth-town of Koulé. He studied law and economics at Abdel Nasser University in the capital and he is a Roman Catholic Christian convert from Islam. Dadis speaks five languages, French, Kpelle, Susu, Maninka and he joined the Army of Guinea in 1990 as a corporal and was later appointed as the Chief of Fuels at the Guinean army base in Kindia, about 60 miles northeast of Conakry. From 2001 to 2002, Dadis was sent to Sierra Leone as a member of the United Nations peacekeeping troops, in 2004, President Conté sent Dadis, along with several other Guinean soldiers, to Bremen, Germany, for 18 months’ military training. In November 2008, he was named head of the Guinean armys fuel supplies unit and he was one of the leading mutineers in the 2008 Guinean military unrest. Prior to the December 2008 coup, he was not well known by the general population, in the early hours of 23 December 2008, Aboubacar Somparé, the President of the National Assembly, announced on television that Conté had died because of illness on 22 December. Six hours after Somparé announced Contés death, a statement was read on television announcing a military coup détat and this statement, read by Captain Camara on behalf of the CNDD, said that the government and the institutions of the Republic have been dissolved. The statement also announced the suspension of the constitution as well as political, Guinean national radio began playing the song Armée Guinéenne repeatedly. The National Council for Democracy and Development would, according to Camara, a statement was read over the radio on 24 December 2008, announcing that Captain Camara was the President of the CNDD. Later in the day, Camara and thousands of soldiers loyal to him paraded through the city, according to Camara, he came to see if the terrain is favorable to us, declaring that the large crowds indicated that the people were indeed supportive of the coup. This contradicted a statement which promised an election within the constitutionally mandated period of 60 days. Speaking on the radio on 25 December, Camara said that he did not plan to run for president at the end of the transitional period. He also declared that the CNDD was not susceptible to bribes, according to Camara, people had start to show up with bags of money to try to corrupt us. They’ve tried to give money to our wives and cars to our children and he warned that he would personally go after anyone that tries to corrupt us. The Associated Press reported that Camaras tenureship was quickly challenged by soldiers of Sekouba Konate, Camara, Konate, and a third unknown officer then drew lots, twice, to determine who would lead, with Camara winning both times. On 25 December 2008, the Prime Minister under the previous régime, Ahmed Tidiane Souaré, pledged loyalty to Camara, on 22 March 2009, Souaré was arrested and held in a military prison, along with two Mines Ministers
14.
Speaker (politics)
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The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer. The title was first used in 1399 in England, the speakers official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to members who break the procedures of the chamber or house. The speaker often also represents the body in person, as the voice of the body in ceremonial, the title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerford in the Parliament of England. By convention, speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, if a man, or Madam Speaker, in other cultures other styles are used, mainly being equivalents of English chairman or president. Many bodies also have a pro tempore, designated to fill in when the speaker is not available. The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the officer of the Australian House of Representatives. The President of the Australian Senate is the officer of the Australian Senate. Now constitutional community highlights changes also in this role, in Canada, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the individual elected to preside over the House of Commons, the elected lower house. The speaker is a Member of Parliament and is elected at the beginning of new parliament by fellow MPs. The Speakers role in presiding over Canadas House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the Westminster system. The Speaker does not vote except in the case of a tie, by convention, if required to vote, the Speaker will vote in favour of continuing debate on a matter, but will not ultimately vote for a measure to be approved. The Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the officer of the Senate of Canada. The Speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of procedure and parliamentary privilege. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor General of Canada from amongst sitting senators upon the advice of the Prime Minister, the Speaker has a vote on all matters. In the event of a tie, the matter fails, at the provincial level, the presiding officer of the provincial legislatures is called the Speaker in all provinces except Quebec, where the term President is used. The presiding officer fulfills the role as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the elected to preside over the elected House of Commons
15.
Radio France Internationale
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Radio France Internationale generally referred to by its acronym RFI, is a French public radio service that broadcasts in Paris and all over the world. With 35.6 million listeners in 2008, it is one of the most listened to radio stations in the world, along with BBC World Service, Voice of America. RFI broadcasts 24 hours per day across the world in French and in 12 other languages in FM, shortwave, medium wave, cable, on Worldspace and it is a channel of the state company, France Médias Monde. In 1986 the French Parliament changed the law to allow RFI to operate independently of Radio France, RFI operates under the auspices and primary budget of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. It broadcasts primarily in French, but also in English, Swahili, Hausa, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Persian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and as of 2015, Manding. It also owns Monte Carlo Doualiya, which produces Arabic programmes in Paris, one of the largest foreign language services is the English Service, aimed mainly at Africa, but can also be heard in Jamaica. RFI broadcasts for four hours every morning, all of RFIs English broadcasts are available online and for download on the English service website. On September 17,2002, Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma tried to stop the broadcasting of an interview one of his opponents, Agbéyomé Kodjo. The interview was not censored by Jean-Paul Cluzel, RFIs CEO at the time, on 21 October 2003, Jean Hélène was reporting for RFI during the civil war in Ivory Coast when he was killed in Abidjan by police Sergeant Théodore Séry Dago. On 2 November 2013, RFI reporting team Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered while covering the Mali elections, the United Nations set their death date to commemorate the International Day of Impunity each year. RFI offers a daily podcast in simple French, accessible via iTunes, there are also several other podcasts including the weekly Afrique Presse which is hosted by Assane Diop and discusses the most important news in Africa that week. RFI uses 2 domestic shortwave relay stations in France, and one shortwave station in French Guyana. All the stations are owned and operated by the French telecom entity TDF, all RFI transmitters are fairly universally 500 kW, but some 250 kW are used in French Guyana. The technology used by Frances domestic SW relay stations is ALLISS at Issoudun, the TDF relay station in French Guyana uses standard HRS type antennas. ALLISS is an antenna system for high power shortwave radio broadcasting
16.
Conakry
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Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973 Originally situated on Tombo Island, one of the Îles de Los, it has since spread up the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula. The current population of Conakry is difficult to ascertain, although the U. S. Bureau of African Affairs has estimated it at 2 million, Conakry is thought to contain almost a quarter of the population of Guinea. Conakry was originally settled on the small Tombo Island and later spread to the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula, the city was essentially founded after Britain ceded the island to France in 1887. In 1885 the two villages of Conakry and Boubinet had fewer than 500 inhabitants. In the decades after independence, the population of Conakry boomed, from 50,000 inhabitants in 1958 to 600,000 in 1980, to over two million today. Its small land area and relative isolation from the mainland, while an advantage to its founders, has created an infrastructural burden since independence. Camp Boiro, a concentration camp during the rule of Sekou Toure, was located in Conakry. According to human groups,157 people died during the 2009 Guinea protest when the military junta opened fire against tens of thousands of protesters in the city on 28 September 2009. Conakry is a city with a single region and prefecture government. The local government of the city was decentralized in 1991 between five municipal communes headed by a mayor, the five urban communes make up the Conakry Region, one of the eight Regions of Guinea, which is headed by a governor. At the second-tier prefecture level, the city is designated as the Conakry Special Zone, though the prefecture and regional government are one, Conakry is Guineas largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic centre. The citys economy revolves largely around the port, which has facilities for handling and storing cargo, through which alumina. Manufactures include food products and housing materials, periodic power and water cuts have been a daily burden for Conakrys residents since early 2002. Critics of the government cite mis-management, corruption and the withdrawal of the power agencys French partner at the beginning of 2002, as of 2007, much of the city has no traffic lighting in the overnight hours. Violence reached a peak in January–February 2007 in a general strike, Conakry is serviced by Conakry International Airport which has flights to several cities in West Africa and Europe. According to Köppen climate classification, Conakry features a tropical monsoon climate, Conakry features a wet season and a dry season
17.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
18.
Cellou Dalein Diallo
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Cellou Dalein Diallo is a Guinean economist and politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea from 2004 to 2006. Previously he held a succession of posts in the government from 1996 to 2004. Currently he is President of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, Diallo, a member of the Fula ethnic group, was born in Labé. He studied at the University of Conakry and the Center for Financial, Economic and Banking Studies in Paris and he began working at the Bank of Foreign Trade of Guinea in 1982, and from 1985 to 1995 he worked at the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea. After briefly working at the Administration and Control of Great Projects, Diallo joined the government in July 1996 as Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Tourism. He was subsequently moved to the position of Minister of Infrastructure in October 1997, Diallo served for five years as Minister of Public Works and Transport before being moved to the position of Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture on 23 February 2004. On 9 December 2004, Diallo was appointed as Prime Minister by President Lansana Conté, the position of Prime Minister had previously been vacant since April 2004 due to the resignation of François Lonseny Fall. Diallo took office as Prime Minister on 13 December, diallo—who speaks English in addition to French—played a role in the Conté regime. On 4 April 2006, changes to the government which would have greatly increased Diallos power were announced. The decree approving the changes was said to be signed by President Conté, a radio broadcast announcing the changes was interrupted by soldiers, which was said to be because Fodé Bangoura had not been notified in advance. On the next day, it was announced that Diallos changes were reversed, on 8 November 2007, an opposition political party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, announced that it had appointed Diallo as its president, succeeding Mamadou Ba. Following the appointment of Ahmed Tidiane Souaré as prime minister, Diallo was present, along with other former ministers, on 28 May, he was one of the party leaders who met with Souaré to discuss the formation of a national unity government. Conté died in December 2008 and soldiers immediately seized power in a military coup détat, about 20 soldiers searched Diallos home on 1 January 2009, while holding Diallo and his family at gunpoint. According to Diallo, the search was based on suspicions that Diallo might have weapons and mercenaries as part of a coup plot, but he said that the soldiers did not take anything from his home. A junta delegation met with Diallo on 2 January and condemned the search, saying that uncontrollable elements out to hurt the junta were to blame and that the junta had nothing to do with it. Diallo tried to hold a meeting in Kerouane in June 2009, require the administrations neutrality and impartiality. After spending time in France and Senegal, he returned to Conakry on 13 September 2009 and was greeted at the airport by about 60,000 supporters. On 28 September 2009, Diallo participated in an opposition protest in Conakry
19.
Agence France-Presse
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Agence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1944, AFP is the third largest news agency in the world, after the Associated Press, journalists of the French Resistance established the AFP in the headquarters of the former Office Français dInformation, a Vichy news agency, following the liberation of Paris. Currently, the CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and the News Director is Michèle Léridon, AFP has regional offices in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong, and Washington, D. C. and bureaux in 150 countries. AFP transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, the Agence Havas was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas. Two of his employees, Paul Reuter and Bernhard Wolff, later set up rival news agencies in London and Berlin respectively and this arrangement lasted until the 1930s, when the invention of short-wave wireless improved and cut communications costs. To help Havas extend the scope of its reporting at a time of international tension. Established as an enterprise, AFP devoted the post-war years to developing its network of international correspondents. One of them was the first Western journalist to report the death of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin on March 6,1953, AFP was keen to shake off its semi-official status, and on January 10,1957 the French Parliament passed a law establishing its independence. Since that date, the proportion of the revenues generated by subscriptions from government departments has steadily declined. Such subscriptions represented 115 million Euros in 2011, in 1982, the agency began to decentralize its editorial decision-making by setting up the first of its five autonomous regional centres, in Hong Kong, then a British Crown colony. Each region has its own budget, administrative director and chief editor, in September 2007, the AFP Foundation was launched to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide. The Mitrokhin archive identified six agents and two confidential KGB contacts inside Agence France-Presse who were used in Soviet operations in France, in 1991, AFP set up a joint venture with Extel to create a financial news service, AFX News. It was sold in 2006 to Thomson Financial, in October 2008, the Government of France announced moves to change AFPs status, including the involvement of outside investors. On February 24,2010, Pierre Louette unexpectedly announced his intention to resign as CEO by the end of March, AFP is a government-chartered public corporation operating under a 1957 law, but is officially a commercial business independent of the French government. One is named by the minister, another by the minister of finance. The board elects the CEO for a term of three years. The AFP also has a council charged with ensuring that the agency operates according to its statutes, editorially, AFP is governed by a network of senior journalists. The primary client of AFP is the French government, which purchases subscriptions for its various services, in practice, those subscriptions are an indirect subsidy to AFP
20.
Sport utility vehicle
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A sport utility vehicle or suburban utility vehicle is a vehicle classified as a light truck, but operated as a family vehicle. They are similar to a station wagon or estate car. Some SUVs include the capacity of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a minivan or large sedan. Popular in the late-1990s and early–mid-2000s, SUVs sales temporarily declined due to oil prices. The traditional truck-based SUV is gradually being supplanted by the crossover SUV, by 2010, SUV sales around the world were growing, in spite of high gas prices. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a utility vehicle is a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a station wagon. The SUV term is defined as a vehicle that is designed to be used on rough surfaces. The SUV acronym is used to describe nearly anything with available all-wheel drive. There is no one definition for an SUV, Most government regulations simply have categories for off-highway vehicles, which in turn are lumped in with pickup trucks and minivans as light trucks. The auto industry has not settled on one definition, starting in 2004, the United States Environmental Protection Agency began to hold sport utility vehicles to the same tailpipe emissions standards as cars. Many people question how can an SUV be called a truck, for industry production statistics, SUVs are counted in the light truck product segment. Not all SUVs have four-wheel drive capabilities, and not all passenger vehicles are SUVs. While automakers tout an SUVs off-road prowess with advertising and naming, in India, all SUVs are classified in the Utility Vehicle category per the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers definitions and carry a 27% excise tax. Those that are 4 metres long, have a 1,500 cc engine or larger, although designs vary, SUVs have historically been mid-size passenger vehicles with a body-on-frame chassis similar to that found on light trucks. Early SUVs were mostly two-door models, and were available with removable tops, however, consumer demand pushed the SUV market towards four doors, by 2002 all full-size two-door SUVs were gone from the market. Two-door SUVs were mostly carry-over models, and their sales were not viable enough to warrant a redesign at the end of their design cycle. The Jeep Wrangler remained as a compact two-door body style, although it was joined by a four-door variant starting with the 2007 model year. The number of two-door SUV models increased in the 2010s with the release of the Range Rover Evoque, Most SUVs are designed with an engine compartment, a combined passenger and cargo compartment, and no dedicated trunk such as in a station wagon body
21.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
Canada issued a statement which read, in part, that it "strongly condemns the attempted coup in Guinea and calls on all parties to fully respect the Constitution and the rule of law for the benefit of the people of Guinea, who have already suffered for too long" and "...appeals for calm and restraint."
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, noting Conté's contribution to peace and the unity of Guinea and the stability of West Africa, commended Guinea's aid to refugees from strife in the surrounding region. He appealed for calm, for an orderly transition under Guinea's Constitution, and exhorted the Guinean armed forces to respect democracy.[48]
The European Union condemned the coup and called on Guinea's military and government to ensure a peaceful leadership transition. The EU called on political and army leaders to "respect constitutional measures to ensure a peaceful transition" of power through elections.[49]
Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade urged the international community to recognise the military junta headed by Moussa Dadis Camara. According to Wade, Camara had asked him to be his spokesman to the world, and Wade said that "I call on all countries, the European Union, and in particular France, not to throw the first stone, but to take this group at their word" and that the "captain asked me to be his interpreter to Guineans, to the opposition, to ECOWAS, to the African Union, the European Union, the United States, the World Bank and international institutions". Wade also supported the promised elections and said that "This is the first time that the military has said, 'We'll organise elections and return to our barracks'".[50]
The United States expressed hope for "a peaceful and democratic transition". A spokesperson said "We are working with our partners in the region and other countries in the region and the African Union to encourage the institutions in Guinea to take all steps to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition".[51]
On January 5, 2009, Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe warned that Nigeria would have no relations with the military regime and that any other African Union member who recognized the coup's leaders as the government would be neglecting the organization's commitment to democracy.[52]
