1.
Guinea
–
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
Guinea
–
Samori Ture was the founder of the
Wassoulou Empire, an
Islamic state in present-day Guinea that resisted
French colonial rule in
West Africa from 1882 until Ture's capture in 1898.
Guinea
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Flag
Guinea
–
President
Ahmed Sékou Touré was supported by the Communist bloc states and in 1961 visited
Yugoslavia.
Guinea
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Monument to commemorate the 1970 military victory over the Portuguese raid. The only objective not accomplished by the Portuguese raid was the capture of Ahmed Sékou Touré.
2.
Conakry Region
–
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
Conakry Region
–
Conakry, Guinea
Conakry Region
–
Central Conakry, 2013.
Conakry Region
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A street scene in Conakry.
3.
Universal Time Coordinated
–
Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
Universal Time Coordinated
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Key concepts
Universal Time Coordinated
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World map of current time zones
4.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
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Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
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Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
5.
UTC
–
Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
UTC
UTC
6.
Tombo Island
–
Tombo Island is an island in the Atlantic Ocean at the tip of the Guinean Kaloum Peninsula, approximately 4 km east of the Loos Islands. The island is the site where the capital Conakry was built on and it is the site of the old city of Conakry while the new colonial city is located at Kaloum. It is linked to the peninsula by a causeway, the island was placed under a French protectorate by the king of Dubréka on 20 January 1880. This step was aimed to counter the English influence growing in the region, on 24 December 1885, the Germans renounced to be established on the Island of Tombo and obtain a territory at the border between Togo and Dahomey. The island became a French territory after its acquisition on 8 June 1889, Islands of Africa History of Guinea. Archived from the original on April 14,2007
Tombo Island
–
Tombo Island is at the end of the Kaloum Peninsula
7.
French Guinea
–
French Guinea was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the independent nation of Guinea, French Guinea was established in 1891, taking the same borders as the previous colony of Rivières du Sud. Prior to 1882, the portions of French Guinea were part of the French colony of Senegal. In 1891, Rivières du Sud was placed under the lieutenant governor at Dakar. In 1894 Rivières du Sud, Cote dIvoire and Dahomey were separated into independent colonies, in 1895, French Guinea was made a dependent colony, and its Governor then became a Lieutenant Governor to a Governor-General in Dakar. In 1904, this was formalised into French West Africa, French Guinea, along with Senegal, Dahomey, Cote dIvoire and Upper Senegal and Niger each were ruled by a lieutenant governor, under the Governor General in Dakar. Guinea was ruled by France until 1958 and it became independent from France in 1958 following the rejection of Charles de Gaulles Constitution of 1958. At the time French Guinea was the colony to refuse the new constitution. French Guinea became the modern day country of Guinea keeping French as its official language, Guinea History of Guinea French West Africa List of French possessions and colonies Timeline of Conakry Jean Suret-Canale. French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900–1945, Guinea in the Colonial System, in Essays on African History
French Guinea
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Flag
8.
Kankan
–
Kankan is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 193,830 people as of 2014. The city is located on the Milo River in eastern Guinea, the population of the city is largely from the Mande ethnic group. Kankan serves as the capital and largest city of Kankan Prefecture, Kankan was founded by the Mandingo people in the 17th century after which it became an important trading centre, particularly for kola nuts, and the capital of the Baté Empire. The population of the city is predominantly from the Mandinka ethnic group, the French explorer René Caillié spent a month in Kankan in 1827 on his journey from Boké, in present-day Guinea, to Djenné and Timbuktu in Mali. He arrived with a caravan transporting kola nuts and he described the visit in his book Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo. The town had a population of 6,000 inhabitants and was an important commercial centre with a market three times a week. Instead of having a surrounding mud wall, the town was defended by a quickset hedge, instead Caillié left the town heading east in the direction of Minignan in the Ivory Coast. The town was conquered by Samory Touré in 1881 and occupied by the French in 1891, the town is known for its university, for its religious scholars and its mango trees. It is home to the Kankan Airport and it is between a fourteen- and eighteen-hour drive from Conakry, due to the poor condition of the road. It also has one of the oldest mosques in West Africa, the Mandingo cultural site Gberedou/Hamana is located about 40 km to the northeast. Kankan is the terminus of the lightduty narrow gauge railway from Conakry, the N1 highway connects the city with Nzerekore in the south. In addition, the town is served by Kankan Airport
Kankan
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Kankan Kabada health center
9.
Peanut
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The peanut, also known as the groundnut and the goober and taxonomically classified as Arachis hypogaea, is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, because of its oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 42 million tonnes in 2014, atypically among crop plants, peanut pods develop underground rather than aboveground. It is this characteristic that the botanist Linnaeus used to assign the specific name hypogaea, as a legume, the peanut belongs to the botanical family Fabaceae, this is also known as Leguminosae, and commonly known as the bean, or pea, family. Like most other legumes, peanuts harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules and this capacity to fix nitrogen means peanuts require less nitrogen-containing fertilizer and improve soil fertility, making them valuable in crop rotations. Peanuts are similar in taste and nutritional profile to tree nuts such as walnuts and almonds, the botanical definition of a nut is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a true nut, however, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts. Cultivated peanut arose from a hybrid between two species of peanut, thought to be A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. The initial hybrid would have been sterile, but spontaneous chromosome doubling restored its fertility, the process of domestication through artificial selection made A. hypogaea dramatically different from its wild relatives. The domesticated plants are bushier and more compact, and have a different pod structure, the initial domestication may have taken place in northwestern Argentina, or in southeastern Bolivia, where the peanut landraces with the most wild-like features are grown today. From this primary center of origin, cultivation spread and formed secondary and tertiary centers of diversity in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, over time, thousands of peanut landraces evolved, these are classified into six botanical varieties and two subspecies. Subspecies A. h. fastigiata types are more upright in their habit and have shorter crop cycles. Subspecies A. h. hypogaea types spread more on the ground and have longer crop cycles, the oldest known archeological remains of pods have been dated at about 7,600 years old. These may be pods from a species that was in cultivation. They were found in Peru, where dry conditions are favorable to the preservation of organic material. Almost certainly, peanut cultivation antedated this at the center of origin where the climate is moister, many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Moche, depicted peanuts in their art. Cultivation was well established in Mesoamerica before the Spanish arrived, there, the conquistadors found the tlalcacahuatl being offered for sale in the marketplace of Tenochtitlan
Peanut
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Peanut
Peanut
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Opened peanut
Peanut
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Peanut pegs growing into the soil. The tip of the peg, once buried, swells and develops into a peanut fruit.
Peanut
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Cultivation of peanut crop at
Directorate of Groundnut Research,
Junagadh region of Western
India
10.
Portuguese Guinea
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The Portuguese Crown commissioned its navigators to explore the Atlantic coast of West Africa to find the sources of gold. The gold trade was controlled by Morocco, and Muslim caravan routes across the Sahara also carried salt, kola, textiles, fish, grain, and slaves. The navigators first passed the obstruction of Cape Bojador in 1437 and were able to explore the West African coast as far as Sierra Leone by 1460 and colonize the Cape Verde islands from 1456. The gold ultimately came from the reaches of the Niger River and Volta River. To control this trade, the king ordered the building of a castle, called São Jorge da Mina, on the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1482, the Portuguese government instituted the Company of Guinea to deal with the trading and to fix the prices of the goods. Besides gold, ivory, Melegueta pepper and slaves were traded and it is estimated that the Atlantic slave trade transported around 11 million people from Africa between 1440 and 1870, including 2 million from Senegambia or Upper Guinea. The Portuguese used slaves to grow cotton and indigo in the previously uninhabited Cape Verde islands, Portuguese traders and exiled criminals penetrated the rivers and creeks of Upper Guinea forming a mulatto population using Portuguese-based Creole language as their lingua franca. After 1500 the main area of Portuguese interest for gold and slaves was further south in the Gold Coast. At the start of the 17th century, the main Portuguese bases for the export of slaves were Santiago, Cape Verde for the Upper Guinea traffic, and São Tomé Island for the Gulf of Guinea. In the 17th century, the French at Saint-Louis, Senegal, Bissau, founded in 1765, became the centre of Portuguese control. Further British interest in the led to a brief attempt in the 1790s to establish a base on the island of Bolama. Between the retreat of the British settlers in 1793 and the official Portuguese occupation of the island in 1837 there were attempts to establish a European presence on the island. The abolition of the trade by Britain in 1807 presented the slave traders of Guinea with a virtual monopoly of the West Africa slave trade with Brazil. The last significant consignment of West African slaves reached Brazil in 1852, britains interest in the Upper Guinea region declined with the end of the British slave trade in 1807 and became focused on Sierra Leone after the Boloma Island settlement was abandoned. At the start of the 19th century the Portuguese felt reasonably secure in Bissau and their control was tenuous, for much of the 19th century the Portuguese presence in Guinea was mainly limited to the rivers of Guinea, the settlements of Bissau, Cacheu and Ziguinchor. Elsewhere it was preserved, with official assistance, by local Creole people and Cape Verde islanders. The existence of French- and Senegalese-run plantations brought a risk of French claims south of the Casamance River, at this time, Portugal occupied half a dozen coastal or river bases, controlling some maritime trade but few of Guineas people. However, in 1892, Portugal made Guinea a separate district to promote its occupation
Portuguese Guinea
–
Portuguese-held (green), disputed (yellow) and rebel-held areas (red) in Portuguese-Guinea 1970.
Portuguese Guinea
–
Flag
Portuguese Guinea
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PAIGC soldiers during the war of liberation.
Portuguese Guinea
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A Portuguese landing craft in Portuguese Guinea, 1973.
11.
Guinea-Bissau
–
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa. It covers 36,125 square kilometres with a population of 1,704,000. Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire, parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea, upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the countrys name to prevent confusion with Guinea. Guinea-Bissau has a history of instability since independence, and no elected president has successfully served a full five-year term. Only 14% of the population speaks Portuguese, established as the language in the colonial period. Almost half the population speaks Crioulo, a Portuguese-based creole language, the main religions are African traditional religions and Islam, there is a Christian minority. The countrys per-capita gross domestic product is one of the lowest in the world, Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, part of the Mali Empire, parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century. Other parts of the territory in the current country were considered by the Portuguese as part of their empire, Portuguese Guinea was known as the Slave Coast, as it was a major area for the exportation of African slaves by Europeans to the western hemisphere. Early reports of Europeans reaching this area include those of the Venetian Alvise Cadamostos voyage of 1455, the 1479–1480 voyage by Flemish-French trader Eustache de la Fosse, and Diogo Cão. In the 1480s this Portuguese explorer reached the Congo River and the lands of Bakongo, setting up the foundations of modern Angola, some 4200 km down the African coast from Guinea-Bissau. The local African rulers in Guinea, some of whom prospered greatly from the trade, controlled the inland trade. They kept them in the coastal settlements where the trading took place. African communities that fought back against slave traders also distrusted European adventurers, the Portuguese in Guinea were largely restricted to the port of Bissau and Cacheu. A small number of European settlers established isolated farms along Bissaus inland rivers, for a brief period in the 1790s, the British tried to establish a rival foothold on an offshore island, at Bolama. But by the 19th century the Portuguese were sufficiently secure in Bissau to regard the neighbouring coastline as their own special territory, cuba also agreed to supply artillery experts, doctors, and technicians. The PAIGC even managed to acquire a significant anti-aircraft capability in order to defend itself against aerial attack, by 1973, the PAIGC was in control of many parts of Guinea, although the movement suffered a setback in January 1973 when Cabral was assassinated. Independence was unilaterally declared on 24 September 1973, recognition became universal following 25 April 1974 socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal, which overthrew Lisbons Estado Novo regime
Guinea-Bissau
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PAIGC forces raise the
flag of Guinea-Bissau in 1974.
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
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An abandoned tank from the
1998–1999 civil war in the capital Bissau, 2003.
Guinea-Bissau
–
The
National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau.
12.
Portuguese invasion of Guinea, 1970
–
The Operation Green Sea was an amphibious attack on Conakry, the capital of Guinea, by between 350 and 420 Portuguese soldiers and Portuguese-led Guinean fighters in November 1970. In 1952, Ahmed Sékou Touré became the leader of the Guinean Democratic Party, in 1957, Guinea had an election in which the PDG won 56 of 60 seats. The PDG conducted a plebiscite in September 1958 by which Guineans overwhelmingly opted for independence rather than for continued association with France. The French withdrew and, on 2 October 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign, in 1960, Touré welcomed to Guinea and supported Amílcar Cabral and his organization, the PAIGC, which was seeking the independence of Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde from Portugal. In 1963, the PAIGC began the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence, the soldiers landed from four unmarked ships, including an LST and a cargo vessel, and destroyed 4 or 5 supply vessels of the PAIGC. Others landed near President Tourés summer house, which they burnt, Touré was in the Presidential Palace at the time. Guinean militia forces fought the raiders with little success, since both Cabral and Touré couldnt be found, the raiders retreated after suffering minor casualties. Within a week of the invasion, Touré set up a ten-person committee, staffed with loyal members of the Political Bureau, the High Command ran Guinea by decree. The High Command oversaw arrests, detentions without trial, and executions, the High Commands actions decimated the ranks of government and police officials. Notable among the victims were the President of the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, the Portuguese-African troops who had defected to Guinea received life sentences at hard labor. Eighty-nine of those charged were released, but dissidents say some people disappeared into prison or were executed extrajudicially. Those sentenced to execution included members of the party, Conakrys Chief of Police, a secretary to the President, an assistant minister of finance. Those who had their property confiscated were either French or Lebanese, the fate of other Europeans who were arrested is unknown. Among those who received life sentences were former government Ministers, heads of state industries, a regional governor. In July 1971, Touré purged the army of some of its officers, in April 1973, he purged his regime of some of its ministers. On 11 December 1970, the Organization of African Unity passed a resolution condemning the invasion. Guiné 63/74 - DCCXXXII, Onde é que vocês estavam em 22 de Novembro de 1970, Luís Graça & Camaradas da Guiné,4 May 2006. DA HORA DOS AVENTUREIROS,2 May 2006, operação Mar Verde -22 November 1970, Crónica de Carlos Fortunato, ex-furriel da CCaç
Portuguese invasion of Guinea, 1970
–
Portuguese Navy landing craft during the
Portuguese Colonial War.
Portuguese invasion of Guinea, 1970
–
Monument du 22 Novembre 1970, a memorial to the 22 November 1970 attack in
Conakry.
13.
Prisoners of war
–
A prisoner of war is a person, whether combatant or non-combatant, who is held in custody by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the prisoner of war dates to 1660. The first Roman gladiators were prisoners of war and were named according to their ethnic roots such as Samnite, Thracian, typically, little distinction was made between enemy combatants and enemy civilians, although women and children were more likely to be spared. Sometimes, the purpose of a battle, if not a war, was to capture women, a known as raptio. Typically women had no rights, and were legally as chattel. For this he was eventually canonized, during Childerics siege and blockade of Paris in 464, the nun Geneviève pleaded with the Frankish king for the welfare of prisoners of war and met with a favourable response. Later, Clovis I liberated captives after Genevieve urged him to do so, many French prisoners of war were killed during the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the later Middle Ages, a number of religious wars aimed to not only defeat, in Christian Europe, the extermination of heretics was considered desirable. Examples include the 13th century Albigensian Crusade and the Northern Crusades, likewise, the inhabitants of conquered cities were frequently massacred during the Crusades against the Muslims in the 11th and 12th centuries. Noblemen could hope to be ransomed, their families would have to send to their captors large sums of wealth commensurate with the status of the captive. In feudal Japan there was no custom of ransoming prisoners of war, in Termez, on the Oxus, all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain. The Aztecs were constantly at war with neighbouring tribes and groups, for the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed. During the early Muslim conquests, Muslims routinely captured large number of prisoners, aside from those who converted, most were ransomed or enslaved. Christians who were captured during the Crusades, were either killed or sold into slavery if they could not pay a ransom. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act, there also evolved the right of parole, French for discourse, in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain better accommodations, if he swore to cease hostilities against the nation who held him captive, he could be repatriated or exchanged but could not serve against his former captors in a military capacity. Early historical narratives of captured colonial Europeans, including perspectives of literate women captured by the peoples of North America. The writings of Mary Rowlandson, captured in the fighting of King Philips War, are an example
Prisoners of war
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Austro-Hungarian POWs in Russia, 1915
Prisoners of war
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An Iranian soldier watching Iraqi prisoners of war sitting in a pickup truck during
Iran-Iraq war.
Prisoners of war
–
American prisoners captured in
Ardennes in December 1944
Prisoners of war
–
Engraving of
Nubian prisoners,
Abu Simbel, Egypt, 13th century BC
14.
Camp Boiro
–
Camp Boiro or Camp Mamadou Boiro is a defunct Guinean concentration camp within Conakry city. During the regime of President Ahmed Sékou Touré, thousands of political opponents were imprisoned at the camp and it has been estimated that almost 5,000 people were executed or died from torture or starvation at the camp. According to other estimates, the number of victims was ten times higher,50,000, Sékou Touré became president of Guinea when the country gained independence from France in 1958. Over the years followed, his regime became increasingly repressive, persecuting opposition leaders. The camp, situated in the center of Conakry, was originally called Camp Camyenne and it housed the Republican Guard under French colonial rule. The political prison block in the camp was constructed with assistance from the Czechoslovak government, in 1961 the commandant had the windows reduced in size, since they were too large for condemned men. The camp was renamed Camp Mamadou Boiro in 1969 in honor of a commissioner who had been thrown from a helicopter in which he was transporting prisoners from Labé to Conakry. The camp was used to dispose of Tourés opponents, achkar Marof, actor and former Guinean ambassador to the United Nations, was recalled to Guinea in 1968, arrested and jailed at Camp Boiro. He briefly gained his freedom in the 1970 coup attempt and his family learned in 1985 that he had been shot on 26 January 1971. The so-called Labé plot, linked to French imperialism, was uncovered in February 1969, Touré used this plot to purge the army and execute at least 13 people. A total of 87 people were arrested and detained in the camp, two, Mouctar Diallo and Namory Keïta, died of starvation and dehydration only days after their arrest. Fodéba Keïta, former Minister of Defense, was arrested for alleged complicity in the Labé plot and he was shot after forced starvation on 27 May 1969. They captured Camp Boiro and liberated the prisoners, the camp commandant Siaka Touré managed to hide, but General Lansana Diané, minister of Defense, was captured. He later escaped and took refuge with the ambassador of Algeria, the coup attempt failed, and in the aftermath many opponents of the regime were rounded up and imprisoned in Camp Boiro. On 23 December 1970, the Bishop of Conakry, Raymond-Marie Tchidimbo, was arrested, Tchidimbo later wrote a book about his 8-year, 8-month stay at the camp. Alassane Diop, who was Senegalese in origin, a former Minister of Information in Guinea was arrested and held in Camp Boiro for ten years, returning to Senegal after his release. The prisoners were given little food other than a scrap of bread the size of a box of matches in the morning, there was never any meat except on days when Touré was performing some sacrifice. Starting in January 1971 the prisoners were interrogated by a Revolutionary Committee headed by Ismaël Touré, half-brother of Sékou Touré, some prisoners were placed on the black diet, meaning no food or water until they died
Camp Boiro
–
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Camp Boiro
–
Loffo Camara, one of the victims, in
West Germany, 1962
15.
2009 Guinea protest
–
The protest march was fueled by the indication of junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara breaking his pledge to not run in the next presidential vote due in January 2010. The government had already banned any form of protests until 2 October, and when the demonstrators gathered in a large stadium, sidya Touré, former Prime Minister and now an opposition leader, was also injured in the shootings and spoke to the BBC secretly from a hospitals restroom. Opponents have accused the junta of limiting freedom of speech and violating human rights, Camara said that the troops responsible for the shooting spree were out of his control. The statement also announced the suspension of the constitution as well as political, initially when Camara took over power there was some support, the public being tired of Lansana Contés 24-year-long authoritarian rule. Camara promised a transition of the country to democracy and a presidential election in which he would not stand. He gained much popularity by cracking down on drug dealers, including Ousmane Conté, son of the former President, later, Camara lost support because of his dictatorship-like rule and abusive behavior by him and his forces that indulged in violence, robberies and rapes. He himself humiliated several foreign ambassadors, politicians and leaders by telling them to shut up or leave from meetings and this had a negative impact on his image in public, and garnered him criticism for the erratic behavior. A crowd of around 50,000 people gathered at the Stade du 28 Septembre on the day, carrying signs that read Down with the army in power and calling for an end of the Dadis show. According to eyewitness accounts, the elite Presidential Guard, commonly known as the Red Berets, came in trucks and threw tear gas on the crowd at first, in the atmosphere of terror and panic, people started running, falling and getting hit. Youssouf Koumbassa, an eyewitness, claimed that the stripped down some female protesters. The equipment of a French journalist was seized and smashed, protesters fled the stadium and poured into the streets, where they were pursued and fired on by troops. After the shooting incident, soldiers were seen publicly raping women, killing people, the wounded were taken to hospital, where they were visited by human rights activists. Although many had gunshot wounds, some were found to have severely beaten. The dead were taken to a mortuary, and soldiers stood guard outside, relatives were called in to collect the dead. According to many families, the military secretly disposed of over 100 bodies. Many witnesses reported seeing presidential guards loading some of the bodies into trucks, images showing dozens of bodies lined up on the street were uncovered, and human rights groups used them as evidence to show that the death toll was much higher than government figures. In the aftermath of the protests, hundreds of protesters who had taken part were arrested and imprisoned without charge and he also denied any responsibility for the killings, claiming that he did not issue any shooting orders, and was in his office. Camara has also denied knowledge of sexual assaults by soldiers and he later called for a UN investigation into the incident, an African mediator between the various Guinean political parties and a national unity government
2009 Guinea protest
–
Capt.
Moussa Dadis Camara, leader of the
junta.
16.
Conakry International Airport
–
Conakry International Airport, also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport located in Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. It is divided into domestic and international terminals, a number of West African, North African and European airlines serve Conakry. In the 1970s Soviet Naval Aviation was granted facilities at the airport to serve as a base for Atlantic maritime reconnaissance patrols by Tu-95RTs aircraft. It was reported in 1975 that most of the Guinean air forces aircraft were based at Conakry-Gbessia airport, current air force operations are conducted out of the Conakry-Gbessia airport. All non-ECOWAS foreigners are required to have a valid Guinean visa, yellow fever vaccination cards are verified upon entry into the country at Gbessia. As of 2010, the airport possesses no radar and guides all planes in by sight, with a goal to increase annual passenger capacity to 1 million passengers, in 2009 renovations began on the main terminal. The airport currently has 300,000 passengers per year, renovation costs amounted to 60 billion GNF. The government debated in 2007 whether to relocate the Conakry Airport to Forecariah, traditionally passengers embarked on all flights directly on the tarmac with transfers to the airport either by foot or by buses for all European flights. The new renovations included gateways and an improved passenger departure lounge, as of January 2011, no changes have been made to the arrivals. On 1 July 1983, a CAAK Ilyushin 62M on an international passenger flight from Pyongyang, North Korea to Conakry. All 23 persons on board were killed, and the aircraft was written off, on 19 November 2000, a now-defunct Ghana Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-9 landed without landing gear in Conakry. On 28 June 2003, a missing Boeing 727-223 N844AA was believed to have been repainted at the Conakry Airport by Canadian AirServ pilot. In 2003 or 2004, an AirServ Beechcraft King Air 400 landed without front landing gear, in 2007, a Guinean Air Force Mig 21 departing from GUCY crashed into the Radio Television Guineenne headquarters. The Russian pilot ejected and was unharmed, Airport information for GUCY at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006
Conakry International Airport
–
Departure Lounge – January 2012
17.
Cellou Dalein Diallo
–
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
Cellou Dalein Diallo
–
Cellou Dalein Diallo
18.
2007 Guinean general strike
–
The 2007 Guinean general strike began on January 10,2007. Guineas trade unions and opposition parties called on President Lansana Conté to resign, accusing him of mismanaging the economy, the strikers also accused Conté of personally securing the release of Mamadou Sylla and Fode Soumah, both accused of corruption, from prison. Martial law was imposed on the same day, nearly two weeks later, Conté agreed to choose a prime minister acceptable to the unions, and on February 26 he named Lansana Kouyaté as prime minister. The strike ended on February 27, and Kouyaté was sworn in on March 1, two general strikes had been held in 2006, but these were limited to Conakry. The 2007 protests were first visible in Conakry, where stayed at home. The government responded by threatening to sack striking civil servants, youths took to the streets, despite a ban on rallies. Action soon spread to the bauxite mines, where labourers stopped work. On 16 January, Conté offered to cut fuel duty, raise teachers salaries and this was rejected by union leaders, who were then arrested but soon released. A general strike was called by the United Trade Union of Guinean Workers in an attempt to force the president to resign, strike leaders said that Conté, who had ruled Guinea since seizing power in a 1984 coup, had become increasingly erratic. They cite repeated scares about his health, sudden and chaotic cabinet reshuffles, police were ordered to disperse crowds of protesters, numbering as many as 5,000, with tear gas. On 17 January, two deaths from wounds were reported in Conakry, and one in Labé. At least ten protesters had died by January 21, the biggest protest was called on January 22, with demonstrations in cities across the nation. In the ensuing battles between police and strikers, at least seventeen workers were killed, in Conakry, a crowd estimated at 30,000 marched on the National Assembly of Guinea, but were blocked at the 8 November Bridge, where the police allegedly opened fire. They claimed to have received threats from various sources, including Conté himself. Troops then ransacked the Labour Exchange, headquarters of many of the unions, Fofana and Diallo were both injured, but all arrested unionist were released by the following day. On January 24, Conté met with leaders, members of Guineas Supreme Court. Conté is said to have agreed to appoint a new minister to end the strike, but strike leaders vowed to continue until all their demands would be met. He later conceded to reform the political system into a semi-presidential one
2007 Guinean general strike
–
Guinea
19.
Tropical monsoon climate
–
Tropical monsoon climates have monthly mean temperatures above 18 °C in every month of the year and feature wet and dry seasons, as Tropical savanna climates do. Tropical monsoon climates however features its driest month seeing on average less than 60 mm and this latter fact is in direct contrast to a tropical savanna climate, whose driest month sees less than 60 mm of precipitation and also less than 100 – of precipitation. In essence, a monsoon climate tends to either see more rainfall than a tropical savanna climate or have less pronounced dry seasons. Additionally, a monsoon climate tends to see less variance in temperatures during the course of the year than a tropical savanna climate. This climate has a driest month which nearly always occurs at or soon after the winter solstice for that side of the equator, there are generally two versions of a tropical monsoon climate, Less pronounced dry seasons. Regions with this variation of the monsoon climate typically see copious amounts of rain during the wet season. However, unlike most tropical climates, a sizeable amount of precipitation also falls during the dry season. In essence, this version of the monsoon climate generally has less pronounced dry seasons than tropical savanna climates. Extraordinarily rainy wet seasons and pronounced dry seasons and this variation features pronounced dry seasons similar in length and character to dry seasons observed in tropical savanna climates. However, this is followed by a period of extraordinary rainfall. In some instances, up to 1,000 mm of precipitation is observed per month for two or more consecutive months, Tropical savanna climates generally do not see this level of sustained rainfall. Tropical monsoon climates are most commonly found in South and Central America, however, there are sections of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and North America that also feature this climate. The major controlling factor over a tropical climate is its relationship to the monsoon circulation. The monsoon is a change in wind direction. In Asia, during the summer there is a flow of air. In the “winter” an offshore air flow is prevalent, the change in direction is due to the difference in the way water and land heat. October is the hottest month no matter whether is it in the southern or northern hemisphere and this is because October is the shoulder season of the year as if it is the end of the wet season and no winter winds blowing. Changing pressure patterns that affect the seasonality of precipitation occur in Africa though it generally differs from the way it operates in Asia
Tropical monsoon climate
–
Worldwide zones of tropical monsoon climate (Am).
20.
Wet season
–
The rainy season, or monsoon season, is the time of year when most of a regions average annual rainfall occurs. It usually lasts one or more months, the term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the tropics and subtropics, under the Köppen climate classification, for tropical climates, a wet season month is defined as a month where average precipitation is 60 millimetres or more. In contrast to areas with savanna climates and monsoon regimes, Mediterranean climates have wet winters, some areas with pronounced rainy seasons will see a break in rainfall mid-season, when the intertropical convergence zone or monsoon trough moves to higher latitudes in the middle of the warm season. When the wet season occurs during a season, or summer, precipitation falls mainly during the late afternoon. In the wet season, air quality improves, fresh water quality improves, rivers overflow their banks, and some animals retreat to higher ground. Soil nutrients diminish and erosion increases, the incidence of malaria increases in areas where the rainy season coincides with high temperatures, particularly in tropical areas. Some animals have adaptation and survival strategies for the wet season, often, the previous dry season leads to food shortages in the wet season, as the crops have yet to mature. In areas where the rainfall is associated with a wind shift. Further, much of the total each day occurs in the first minutes of the downpour. However, since rain forests have rainfall spread evenly through the year and it is different for places with a Mediterranean climate. This shift in the jet stream brings much of the precipitation to the region. The peninsula of Italy has weather very similar to the western United States in this regard, areas with a savanna climate in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Ghana, Burkina Faso, Darfur, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Botswana have a distinct rainy season. Also within the climate regime, Florida and South Texas have a rainy season. Northern Guyana has two wet seasons, one in spring and the other in early winter. In western Africa, there are two rainy seasons across southern sections, but only one across the north. Within the Mediterranean climate regime, the west coast of the United States and the Mediterranean coastline of Italy, Greece, similarly, the wet season in the Negev desert of Israel extends from October through May. At the boundary between the Mediterranean and monsoon climates lies the Sonoran desert, which receives the two rainy seasons associated with each climate regime, the wet season is known by many different local names throughout the world
Wet season
–
Wet season storm at night in
Darwin, Australia.
Wet season
–
Rainfall distribution by month in
Cairns,
Australia.
Wet season
–
Monsoon in the
Vindhya mountain range, central
India.
Wet season
–
Equatorial
savanna in the
East Province of
Cameroon.
21.
Harmattan
–
The Harmattan is a season in the West African subcontinent, which occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by dry and dusty trade wind, of the same name. The name comes from or is related to Ga haramata and it is cold in most places, but can be hot in some places, according to the circumstances. On its passage over the Sahara, it picks up fine dust, the Harmattan season differs from winter, because it is characterized by cold, dry, dust-laden wind, and also wide fluctuations in the ambient temperatures of the day and night. Temperatures can easily be as low as 9 °C all day, the air is particularly dry and desiccating when the Harmattan blows over the region. The wind can increase fire risk and cause severe crop damage, the interaction of the Harmattan with monsoon winds can cause tornadoes. In some countries in West Africa, the amount of dust in the air can severely limit visibility and block the sun for several days. This effect is known as the Harmattan haze and it costs airlines millions of dollars in cancelled and diverted flights each year. When the haze is weak, the skies are clear, the dry air can break the trunks of trees growing in the region. Humidity drops to as low as 15%, which can result in spontaneous nosebleeds for some people, other health effects on humans may include conditions of the skin, eyes, and respiratory system, including aggravation of asthma
Harmattan
–
Harmattan haze surrounding
Abuja National Mosque in
Abuja
Harmattan
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Harmattan haze over
Ho, Ghana
22.
Relative humidity
–
Relative humidity is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the system of interest and it requires less water vapor to attain high relative humidity at low temperatures, more water vapour is required to attain high relative humidity in warm or hot air. Humans are sensitive to high humidity because the body uses evaporative cooling, enabled by perspiration. Perspiration evaporates from the more slowly under humid conditions than under arid. For example, if the air temperature is 24 °C and the humidity is zero percent. If the relative humidity is 100 percent at the air temperature. In other words, if the air is 24 °C and contains saturated water vapor, then the human body cools itself at the rate as it would if it were 27 °C. The heat index and the humidex are indices that reflect the effect of temperature. In cold climates, the temperature causes lower capacity for water vapour to flow about. Dry cracked skin can result from dry air, low humidity causes tissue lining nasal passages to dry, crack and become more susceptible to penetration of Rhinovirus cold viruses. Low humidity is a cause of nosebleeds. The use of a humidifier in homes, especially bedrooms, can help with these symptoms, indoor relative humidities should be kept above 30% to reduce the likelihood of the occupants nasal passages drying out. Humans can be comfortable within a range of humidities depending on the temperature—from thirty to seventy percent—but ideally between 50% and 60%. Very low humidity can create discomfort, respiratory problems, and aggravate allergies in some individuals, in the winter, it is advisable to maintain relative humidity at 30 percent or above. Extremely low relative humidities may also cause eye irritation, wooden furniture can shrink, causing the paint that covers these surfaces to fracture. When the temperature is low and the humidity is high. When relative humidity approaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to problems with mold, corrosion, decay, condensation can pose a safety risk as it can promote the growth of mold and wood rot as well as possibly freezing emergency exits shut. The basic principles for buildings, above, also apply to vehicles, in addition, there may be safety considerations
Relative humidity
–
Humidity and hygrometry
23.
Sunshine duration
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It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period. Sunshine duration is usually expressed in hours per year, or in hours per day, the first measure indicates the general sunniness of a location compared with other places, while the latter allows for comparison of sunshine in various seasons in the same location. Another often-used measure is percentage ratio of recorded bright sunshine duration, an important use of sunshine duration data is to characterize the climate of sites, especially of health resorts. This also takes account the psychological effect of strong solar light on human well-being. It is often used to promote tourist destinations, if the Sun were to be above the horizon 50% of the time for a standard year consisting of 8,760 hours, apparent maximal daytime duration would be 4,380 hours for any point on Earth. However, there are physical and astronomical effects that change that picture, namely, atmospheric refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically sets below the horizon. For that reason, average daytime is longest in polar areas, places on the Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime,4,647 hours, while the North Pole receives 4,575. Because of elliptic nature of the Earths orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical, the Equator has a total daytime of 4,422 hours per year. Given the theoretical maximum of daytime duration for a given location, bright sunshine hours represent the total hours when the sunlight is stronger than a specified threshold, as opposed to just visible hours. Visible sunshine, for example, occurs around sunrise and sunset, measurement is performed by instruments called sunshine recorders. For the specific purpose of sunshine duration recording, Campbell–Stokes recorders are used, when the intensity exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the tape burns. The total length of the trace is proportional to the number of bright hours. Another type of recorder is the Jordan sunshine recorder, newer, electronic recorders have more stable sensitivity than that of the paper tape. In 2003, the duration was finally defined as the period during which direct solar irradiance exceeds a threshold value of 120 W/m². The sky is clear in these regions, and fair weather is virtually perpetual, the descending branch of the Hadley cell and the long-term lack of atmospheric disturbances helps to explain the seemingly endless supply of sunny, cloud-free days in the deserts. Low clouding conditions are associated with rainfall shortage, as seen in these dry regions. In the belt encompassing northern Chad and the Tibesti Mountains, northern Sudan, southern Libya, some places in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula receive 3, 600–3,800 hours of bright sunshine annually. The largest sun-baked region in the world is North Africa, the sunniest month in the world is December in Eastern Antarctica, with almost 23 hours of bright sun daily
Sunshine duration
–
Campbell–Stokes recorder measures sunshine
Guinea
Conakry travel guide from Wikivoyage
