Burundi
Burundi the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country amid the African Great Lakes region where East and Central Africa converge. The capital is Gitega, having moved from Bujumbura in February 2019; the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The Twa and Tutsi peoples have lived in Burundi for at least 500 years. For more than 200 of those years, Burundi was an independent kingdom, until the beginning of the 20th century, when Germany colonised the region. After the First World War and Germany's defeat, it ceded the territory to Belgium. Both Germans and Belgians ruled Rwanda as a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi. Despite common misconceptions and Rwanda had never been under common rule until the time of European colonisation. Burundi gained independence in 1962 and had a monarchy, but a series of assassinations, coups and a general climate of regional instability culminated in the establishment of a republic and one-party state in 1966. Bouts of ethnic cleansing and two civil wars and genocides during the 1970s and again in the 1990s left the country undeveloped and its population as one of the world's poorest.
The presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, both Hutus, died together when their aeroplane was shot down in April 1994. 2015 witnessed large-scale political strife as President Pierre Nkurunziza opted to run for a third term in office, a coup attempt failed and the country's parliamentary and presidential elections were broadly criticised by members of the international community. The sovereign state of Burundi political system is that of a presidential representative democratic republic based upon a multi-party state; the President of Burundi is the head of head of government. There are 21 registered parties in Burundi. On 13 March 1992, Tutsi coup leader Pierre Buyoya established a constitution, which provided for a multi-party political process and reflected multi-party competition. Six years on 6 June 1998, the constitution was changed, broadening National Assembly's seats and making provisions for two vice-presidents; because of the Arusha Accord, Burundi enacted a transitional government in 2000.
In October 2016, Burundi informed the UN of its intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Burundi remains an overwhelmingly rural society, with just 13% of the population living in urban areas in 2013; the population density of around 315 people per square kilometre is the second highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. 85% of the population are of Hutu ethnic origin, 15% are Tutsi, fewer than 1% are indigenous Twa. The official languages of Burundi are Kirundi and English, Kirundi being recognised as the sole national language. One of the smallest countries in Africa, Burundi has an equatorial climate. Burundi is a part of the western extension of the East African Rift; the country lies on a rolling plateau in the centre of Africa. The highest peak, Mount Heha at 2,685 m, lies to the southeast of Bujumbura; the most distant source of the River Nile is the Ruvyironza River in the Bururi Province of Burundi, the Nile is linked from Lake Victoria to its headwaters via the Kagera River to the Ruvyironza River.
Another major lake is Lake Tanganyika, located in much of Burundi's southwestern corner. There are two national parks, Kibira National Park to the northwest, Ruvubu National Park to the northeast. Both were established in 1982 to conserve wildlife populations. Burundi's lands are agricultural or pasture. Settlement by rural populations has led to soil erosion and habitat loss. Deforestation of the entire country is completely due to overpopulation, with a mere 600 km2 remaining and an ongoing loss of about 9% per annum. In addition to poverty, Burundians have to deal with corruption, weak infrastructure, poor access to health and education services, hunger. Burundi is densely populated and has had substantial emigration as young people seek opportunities elsewhere; the World Happiness Report 2018 ranked Burundi as the world's least happy nation with a rank of 156. Burundi is one of the few countries in Africa, along with its neighbour Rwanda among others, to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state.
The early history of Burundi, the role and nature of the country's three dominant ethnic groups. However, it is important to note that the nature of culture and ethnic groups is always fluid and changing. While the groups might have migrated to the area at different times and as distinctly different ethnic groups, the current distinctions are contemporary socio-cultural constructs; the different ethnic groups lived together in relative peace. The first conflicts between ethnic groups can be dated back to the 17th century, when land was becoming more scarce because of the continuous growth in population; the first evidence of the Burundian state dates back to the late 16th century where it emerged on the eastern foothills. Over the following centuries it expanded; the Kingdom of Burundi, or Urundi, in the Great Lakes region was a polity ruled by a traditional monarch with several princes beneath him. The king, known as the mwami headed a princely aristocracy which owned most of the land and required a tribute, or tax, from
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, to improve road safety. A bypass designated for trucks may be called a truck route. If there are no strong land use controls, buildings are built in town along a bypass, converting it into an ordinary town road, the bypass may become as congested as the local streets it was intended to avoid. Petrol stations, shopping centres and some other businesses are built there for ease of access, while homes are avoided for noise and pollution reasons. Bypass routes are controversial, as they require the building of a road carrying heavy traffic where no road existed; this creates a conflict between those who support a bypass to reduce congestion in a built up area, those who oppose the development of undeveloped land. However, some of those in the bypassed city may oppose the project, because of the potential reduction in city-centre business.
In Ontario, examples include the Donald Cousens Parkway and the Box Grove Bypass in the city of Markham. In Nova Scotia, the section of Highway 104 between Thomson Station and Masstown is colloquially named the Cobequid Pass; the idea of bypasses predates the use of motor vehicles. The first London bypass, the present Marylebone Road between Paddington and Islington, was started in 1756. Bypasses can take many years to gain planning funding. Many towns and villages have been campaigning for bypasses for over 30 years e.g. Banwell in North Somerset. There was large-scale protest during construction of the Newbury bypass—officially known as the Winchester–Preston Trunk Road —a 9-mile stretch of dual carriageway which bypasses the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England; the protest was popularly known as the Third Battle of Newbury, a name, adopted by one of the main protest groups. The name was chosen in reference to the First Battle of Newbury of 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury of 1644, both of which took place close to the town during the English Civil War.
In the United States, bypass routes are a type of special route used on an alternative routing of a highway around a town when the main route of the highway goes through the town. The original designation of these routes were "truck routes" to divert through truck traffic away from the town, but the designation was changed to "bypass" in 1959 by AASHTO. However, many "Truck" routes remain. In a few cases, both a bypass and a business route exist, each with auxiliary signs. Bypass routes are less common than business routes. Many of those that existed before the era of Interstate highways have lost their old designations. For example, in Missouri, the old bypass route of U. S. Route 71 to the east of Kansas City, Missouri was decommissioned. Around St. Louis, what had been U. S. Route 50 Bypass was absorbed into a diversion of U. S. Route 50 from Interstate 44 and Interstate 64. In the Interstate Highway System in the United States, primary routes are designated with a one- or two-digit number, while bypasses and loops are designated with a three-digit number beginning with an digit.
However, there are many exceptions to this convention, where routes with three-digit numbers serve the main route through town while the routes with one- or two-digit numbers serve as the bypass. A few such examples can be found in the metropolitan areas of Des Moines, Omaha and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another meaning of the term bypass route is a highway, constructed to bypass an area, congested with traffic; this includes Interstate Highway beltways and U. S. Highways constructed to circumvent downtown areas. Examples of these are U. S. Route 60 bypassing Williamsburg, Interstate 285 bypassing Downtown Atlanta, U. S. Route 20/U. S. Route 31 bypassing metro South Bend and Interstate 75 bypassing Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida; these bypasses carry mainline routes rather than auxiliary "bypass" routes. The first bypass route in the United States was completed in 1958, as Alabama State Route 210 in Dothan, Alabama. In the United States, the term shoofly – a borrowing from railroad jargon – is sometimes used to refer to a short temporary roadway built to bypass a construction site or other temporary obstruction.
The U. S. Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices uses the term "diversion". In Brazil the widest and busiest bypasses are located in the state of São Paulo, many of them intersect and merge around large cities to form ring-like systems. Most notably the Rodoanel Mário Covas, which encircles the city of São Paulo and passes through other cities in the metropolitan area
Controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway, designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow ingress- and egress-regulated. Common English terms are freeway and expressway. Other similar terms include parkway; some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can refer to a class of highway with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following the Vienna convention, the motorway qualification implies that walking and parking are forbidden, they are reserved for the use of motorized vehicles only. A controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access, they are free of any at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpasses and underpasses. Entrances and exits to the highway are provided at interchanges by slip roads, which allow for speed changes between the highway and arterials and collector roads. On the controlled-access highway, opposing directions of travel are separated by a median strip or central reservation containing a traffic barrier or grass.
Elimination of conflicts with other directions of traffic improves safety and capacity. Controlled-access highways evolved during the first half of the 20th century. Italy opened its first autostrada in A8, connecting Milan to Varese. Germany began to build its first controlled-access autobahn without speed limits in 1932 between Cologne and Bonn, it rapidly constructed a nationwide system of such roads. The first North American freeways opened in the New York City area in the 1920s. Britain influenced by the railways, did not build its first motorway, the Preston By-pass, until 1958. Most technologically advanced nations feature an extensive network of freeways or motorways to provide high-capacity urban travel, or high-speed rural travel, or both. Many have a national-level or international-level system of route numbering. There are several international standards which give some definitions of words such as motorways, but there is no formal definition of the English language words such as "motorway", "freeway" and "expressway", or of the equivalent words in other languages such as "autoroute", "Autobahn", "autostrada", "autocesta", that are accepted worldwide—in most cases these words are defined by local statute or design standards or regional international treaties.
Descriptions that are used include: Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals"Motorway" means a road specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, which:Is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic or, exceptionally, by other means. Exit is marked with another symbol:; the definitions of "motorway" from the OECD and PIARC are identical. British StandardsMotorway: Limited-access dual carriageway road, not crossed on the same level by other traffic lanes, for the exclusive use of certain classes of motor vehicle. ITE Freeway: A divided major roadway with full control of access and with no crossings at grade; this definition applies to toll as well as toll-free roads. Freeway A: This designates roadways with greater visual complexity and high traffic volumes; this type of freeway will be found in metropolitan areas in or near the central core and will operate through much of the early evening hours of darkness at or near design capacity.
Freeway B: This designates all other divided roadways with full control of access where lighting is needed. In the European Union, for statistic and safety purposes, some distinction might be made between motorway and expressway, for instance a principal arterial might be considered as: Roads serving long distance and interurban movements. Includes expressways. Principal arterials may cross through urban areas; the traffic is characterized by full or partial access control. Other roads leading to a principal arterial are connected to it through side collector roads. In this view, CARE's definition stands that a motorway is understood as a public road with dual carriageways and at least two lanes each way. All entrances and exits are signposted and all interchanges are grade separated. Central barrier or median present throughout the road. No crossing is permitted. Restricted access to motor vehicles, prohibited to pedestrians, pedal cycles, agricultural vehicles; the minimum speed is not lower than the maximum speed is not higher than 130 km/h.
Motorways are designed to carry heavy traffic at high speed with the lowest possible number of accidents. They are designed to collect long-distance traffic from other roads, so that conflicts between long-di
Gisenyi
Gisenyi is a city in Rubavu district in Rwanda's Western Province. Gisenyi is contiguous with Goma, the city across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the city features a resort on the shores of Lake Kivu, with three sandy beaches. The area is known for water sports; the northern shore of the lake on which Goma and Gisenyi lie is a flat plain featuring lava formations from the eruptions of nearby Mount Nyiragongo. In contrast to Goma, Gisenyi escaped the lava flows of both the 1977 and the 2002 eruptions, which destroyed between 15 and 40% of the former; the centre of Gisenyi lies by foothills at the northeast corner of the lake, low-density expansion is taking place in the hills, which are expected to be safe from future eruptions. Gisenyi is home to Bralirwa, the only brewery in Rwanda, which manufactures various local beers — Primus, Mützig and Guinness — as well as a range of Coca-Cola–branded soft drinks. Gisenyi is a small town compared to neighbouring Goma in the DRC. In 2011, a new multistorey shopping mall began construction over an old bus station.
As of 2011, the main roads of the town are paved, sidewalks are nearing completion for most of them as well. Gisenyi has two borders with Goma, the "Petite Barrière" and the "Grand Barrière"; these names are a little misleading because the Petite Barrière is physically larger and features much higher traffic volumes. About 6,000 people crossed the Petite Barrière daily during 2011. On the Gisenyi side, a large customs and immigration office was built with a large capacity, not yet matched by the Congolese facilities; the road to the Petite Barrière is paved on the Rwandan side but not on the Congolese side. The Grande Barrière receives more of the heavy truck traffic, it is a diplomatic border. During the Rwandan Genocide, the provisional government was based in the city. Gisenyi is the city where Laurent Nkunda — accused by the United Nations of having led an army that illegally recruited Congolese child soldiers — is being held, pending a determination on the DRC's extradition request. Gisenyi's campus of Kigali Independent University had an enrolment of 3413 students in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The students were pursuing programs in the faculties of Economics and Business Studies, Social Sciences, Law. Rwanda Tourism University College has a Gisenyi campus; the town has about 30 public and private schools, including nursery and secondary schools
Virunga Mountains
The Virunga Mountains are a chain of volcanoes in East Africa, along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda. The mountain range is a branch of the Albertine Rift Mountains, which border the western branch of the East African Rift, they are located between Lake Kivu. The name "Virunga" is an English version of the Kinyarwanda word ibirunga, which means "volcanoes"; the mountain range consists of eight major volcanoes. Most of them are dormant, except Mount Nyiragongo 3,462 metres and Mount Nyamuragira 3,063 metres, both in the DRC. Recent eruptions occurred in 2006 and in January 2010. Mount Karisimbi is the highest volcano at 4,507 metres; the oldest mountain is Mount Sabyinyo. The Virunga Mountains are home of the critically endangered mountain gorilla, listed on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species due to habitat loss, poaching and war; the Karisoke Research Center, founded by Dian Fossey to observe gorillas in their native habitat, is located between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke.
Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda Michael Crichton's novel Congo is set in the Virunga region. Gorillas in the Mist, the novel of the same name, document the work and death of primatologist Dian Fossey; the camp from which she operated, Karisoke Research Center, still exists in the Virunga Mountains. George Schaller Earl Denman Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Mfumbiro". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press. Official Virunga National Park website - Virunga Mountains Profile Kwita Izina - Conservation is life Map of Virunga Mountains - Virunga Volcanoes Travel Portal
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive called 4×4 or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, is linked via a transfer case providing an additional output drive-shaft and, in many instances, additional gear ranges. A four-wheeled vehicle with torque supplied to both axles is described as "all-wheel drive". However, "four-wheel drive" refers to a set of specific components and functions, intended off-road application, which complies with modern use of the terminology. 4WD systems were used in many different vehicle platforms. There is no universally accepted set of terminology to describe the various architectures and functions; the terms used by various manufacturers reflect marketing rather than engineering considerations or significant technical differences between systems. SAE International's standard J1952 recommends only the term All-Wheel-Drive with additional sub classifications which cover all types of AWD/4WD/4x4 systems found on production vehicles.
Four-by-four or 4x4 is used to refer to a class of vehicles in general. Syntactically, the first figure indicates the total number of wheels, the second indicates the number that are powered. So 4x2 means a four-wheel vehicle that transmits engine torque to only two axle-ends: the front two in front-wheel drive or the rear two in rear-wheel drive. A 6×4 vehicle has three axles, two of which provide torque to two axle ends each. If this vehicle were a truck with dual rear wheels on two rear axles, so having ten wheels, its configuration would still be formulated as 6x4. During World War II, the U. S. military would use spaces and a capital'X' – like "4 X 2" or "6 X 4". Four-wheel drive refers to vehicles with two axles providing torque to four axle ends. In the North American market the term refers to a system, optimized for off-road driving conditions; the term "4WD" is designated for vehicles equipped with a transfer case which switches between 2WD and 4WD operating modes, either manually or automatically.
All-wheel drive was synonymous with "four-wheel drive" on four-wheeled vehicles, six-wheel drive on 6×6s, so on, being used in that fashion at least as early as the 1920s. Today in North America the term is applied to both heavy vehicles as well as light passenger vehicles; when referring to heavy vehicles the term is applied to mean "permanent multiple-wheel drive" on 2×2, 4×4, 6×6 or 8×8 drive train systems that include a differential between the front and rear drive shafts. This is coupled with some sort of anti-slip technology hydraulic-based, that allows differentials to spin at different speeds but still be capable of transferring torque from a wheel with poor traction to one with better. Typical AWD systems are not intended for more extreme off-road use; when used to describe AWD systems in light passenger vehicles, it refers to a system that applies torque to all four wheels and/or is targeted at improving on-road traction and performance, rather than for off-road applications. Some all-wheel drive electric vehicles solve this challenge using one motor for each axle, thereby eliminating a mechanical differential between the front and rear axles.
An example of this is the dual motor variant of the Tesla Model S, which on a millisecond scale can control the torque distribution electronically between its two motors. Individual-wheel drive is used to describe electric vehicles with each wheel being driven by its own electric motor; this system has inherent characteristics that would be attributed to four-wheel drive systems like the distribution of the available torque to the wheels. However, because of the inherent characteristics of electric motors, torque can be negative, as seen in the Rimac Concept One and SLS AMG Electric; this can have drastic effects, as in better handling in tight corners. The term IWD can refer to a vehicle with any number of wheels. For example, the Mars rovers are 6-wheel IWD. Per the SAE International standard J1952, AWD is the preferred term for all the systems described above; the standard subdivides AWD systems into three categories. Part-Time AWD systems require driver intervention to couple and decouple the secondary axle from the driven axle and these systems do not have a center differential.
The definition notes. Full-Time AWD systems drive both rear axles at all times via a center differential; the torque split of that differential may be fixed or variable depending on the type of center differential. This system can be used on any surface at any speed; the definition does not address exclusion of a low range gear. On-Demand AWD systems drive the secondary axle via an active or passive coupling device or "by an independently powered drive system"; the standard notes that in some cases the secondary drive system may provide the primary vehicle propulsion. An example is a hybrid AWD vehicle where the primary axle is driven by an internal combustion engine and secondary axle is driven by an electric motor; when the internal combustion engine is shut off the secondary, electrically driven axle is the only driven axle. On-demand systems function with only one powered axle until torque is required by the second axle. At that point either a passive or active coupling sends torque to the secondary axle.
In addition to the above primary classifications the J1952 standard notes seconda
Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River. Lake Kivu is 90 km long and 50 km at its widest, its irregular shape makes measuring its precise surface area difficult. The surface of the lake sits at a height of 1,460 metres above sea level; this lake has a chance of suffering a limnic eruption every 1000 years. The lake has a maximum depth of 475 m and a mean depth of 220 m, making it the world's eighteenth deepest lake by maximum depth, the ninth deepest by mean depth; some 1,370 km2 or 58 percent of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley, being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area; the world's tenth-largest island on a lake, lies in Lake Kivu, within the boundaries of Virunga National Park. Settlements on the lake's shore include Bukavu, Kalehe and Goma in Congo, Gisenyi and Cyangugu in Rwanda.
Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that are known to undergo limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists found evidence of massive local extinctions about every thousand years caused by outgassing events; the trigger for lake overturns is unknown in Lake Kivu's case. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake. In Lake Kivu's case, it includes methane and carbon dioxide, as a result of lake water interaction with a volcano; the amount of methane is estimated to be 65 cubic kilometres. If burnt over one year, it would give an average power of about 100 gigawatts for the whole period. There is an estimated 256 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide; the water temperature is 24 °C, the pH level is about 8.6. The methane is reported to be produced by microbial reduction of the volcanic CO2. A future overturn and gas release from the deep waters of Lake Kivu would result in catastrophe, dwarfing the documented lake overturns at Lakes Nyos and Monoun.
The lives of the two million people who live in the lake basin area would be in jeopardy. Cores from the Bukavu Bay area of the lake reveal that the bottom has layered deposits of the rare mineral monohydrocalcite interlain with diatoms, on top of sapropelic sediments with high pyrite content; these are found at three different intervals. The sapropelic layers are believed to be related to hydrothermal discharge and the diatoms to a bloom which reduced the carbon dioxide levels low enough to precipitiate monohydrocalcite. Scientists hypothesise that sufficient volcanic interaction with the lake's bottom water that has high gas concentrations would heat water, force the methane out of the water, spark a methane explosion, trigger a nearly simultaneous release of carbon dioxide; the carbon dioxide would suffocate large numbers of people in the lake basin as the gases roll off the lake surface. It is possible that the lake could spawn lake tsunamis as gas explodes out of it; the risk posed by Lake Kivu began to be understood during the analysis of more recent events at Lake Nyos.
Lake Kivu's methane was thought to be a cheap natural resource for export, for the generation of cheap power. Once the mechanisms that caused lake overturns began to be understood, so did awareness of the risk the lake posed to the local population. An experimental vent pipe was installed at Lake Nyos in 2001 to remove gas from the deep water, but such a solution for the much larger Lake Kivu would be more expensive. No plan has been initiated to reduce the risk posed by Lake Kivu; the 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the lake is a little under 2 percent of the amount released annually by human fossil fuel burning. Therefore, the process of releasing it could have costs beyond building and operating the system; this problem associated with the prevalence of methane is that of mazuku, the Swahili term "evil wind" for the outgassing of methane and carbon dioxide that kills people and animals, can kill vegetation when in high enough concentration. Lake Kivu has been found to contain 55 billion cubic metres of dissolved biogas at a depth of 300 metres.
Until 2004, extraction of the gas was done on a small scale, with the extracted gas being used to run boilers at the Bralirwa brewery in Gisenyi. As far as large-scale exploitation of this resource is concerned, the Rwandan government has negotiated with a number of parties to produce methane from the lake. In 2011 ContourGlobal, a UK-based energy company focused on emerging markets, secured project financing to initiate a large-scale methane extraction project; the project is run through a local Rwandan entity called KivuWatt, using an offshore barge platform to extract and clean the gasses obtained from the lake bed before pumping purified methane via an underwater pipeline to on-shore gas engines. Stage one of the project, powering three "gensets" along the lake shore and supplying 26 MW of electricity to the local grid, has since been completed; the next phase aims to deploy nine additional "gensets" at 75 MW to create a total capacity of over 100 MW. In addition, Symbion Power Lake Kivu Limited was awarded a Concession and Power Producing Agreement in 2015, to produce 50 MW of power using the Lake Kivu methane resource.
The project is expected to commence construction in
