1.
Conveyor belt
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A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system. A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems, a belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys, with an endless loop of carrying medium—the conveyor belt—that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward, the powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the idler pulley. Today there are different types of belts that have been created for conveying different kinds of material available in PVC. The belt consists of one or more layers of material, many belts in general material handling have two layers. An under layer of material to provide strength and shape called a carcass. The carcass is often a woven fabric having a warp & weft, the most common carcass materials are polyester, nylon and cotton. The cover is often various rubber or plastic compounds specified by use of the belt, covers can be made from more exotic materials for unusual applications such as silicone for heat or gum rubber when traction is essential. A conveyor belt can be a slide and be controlled by the force of gravity, material flowing over the belt may be weighed in transit using a beltweigher. Belts with regularly spaced partitions, known as elevator belts, are used for transporting loose materials up steep inclines, Belt Conveyors are used in self-unloading bulk freighters and in live bottom trucks. Belt conveyor technology is used in conveyor transport such as moving sidewalks or escalators. Stores often have conveyor belts at the counter to move shopping items. Ski areas also use conveyor belts to transport skiers up the hill, some of the major global conveyor belt manufacturers and service providers are Fenner plc, Kale Conveyor, Terra Nova Technologies, ThyssenKrupp, HESE Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Tenova Takraf. Conveyors are durable and reliable components used in automated distribution and warehousing, in combination with computer controlled pallet handling equipment this allows for more efficient retail, wholesale, and manufacturing distribution. Rubber conveyor belts are used to convey items with irregular bottom surfaces. Belt conveyors are generally similar in construction consisting of a metal frame with rollers at either end of a flat metal bed. The belt is looped around each of the rollers and when one of the rollers is powered the belting slides across the metal frame bed. In heavy use applications the beds which the belting is pulled over are replaced with rollers, the rollers allow weight to be conveyed as they reduce the amount of friction generated from the heavier loading on the belting
2.
Mining
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Mining is extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually from an orebody, lode, vein, seam, reef or placer deposits. These deposits form a mineralized package that is of economic interest to the miner, ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. Mining is required to obtain any material that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water. Mining of stones and metal has been a human activity since pre-historic times, Mining operations usually create a negative environmental impact, both during the mining activity and after the mine has closed. Hence, most of the nations have passed regulations to decrease the impact. Work safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have significantly improved safety in mines, levels of metals recycling are generally low. Unless future end-of-life recycling rates are stepped up, some rare metals may become unavailable for use in a variety of consumer products, due to the low recycling rates, some landfills now contain higher concentrations of metal than mines themselves. Since the beginning of civilization, people have used stone, ceramics and, later and these were used to make early tools and weapons, for example, high quality flint found in northern France, southern England and Poland was used to create flint tools. Flint mines have been found in areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by shafts. The mines at Grimes Graves and Krzemionki are especially famous, other hard rocks mined or collected for axes included the greenstone of the Langdale axe industry based in the English Lake District. The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the Lion Cave in Swaziland, at this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre. Mines of an age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons. Ancient Egyptians mined malachite at Maadi, at first, Egyptians used the bright green malachite stones for ornamentations and pottery. Later, between 2613 and 2494 BC, large building projects required expeditions abroad to the area of Wadi Maghareh in order to secure minerals and other resources not available in Egypt itself. Quarries for turquoise and copper were found at Wadi Hammamat, Tura, Aswan and various other Nubian sites on the Sinai Peninsula. Mining in Egypt occurred in the earliest dynasties, the gold mines of Nubia were among the largest and most extensive of any in Ancient Egypt. These mines are described by the Greek author Diodorus Siculus, who mentions fire-setting as one used to break down the hard rock holding the gold. One of the complexes is shown in one of the earliest known maps, the miners crushed the ore and ground it to a fine powder before washing the powder for the gold dust
3.
Bu Craa
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Bou Craa is a town in the Saguia el-Hamra region of northern Western Sahara, south and slightly east of the city of El Aaiún. It is inhabited almost entirely by employees of the Moroccan-controlled Bou Craa phosphate industry, Bou Craa is the site of a deposit of 1.7 billion tons of phosphates. During the Spanish colonization time of the area, many early recruits of the nationalist movements Harakat Tahrir, the town became part of the Moroccan zone in the April 1976 partition resulting from the Madrid Accords. It has remained in Moroccan hands, though mining was halted in 1976 as a result of Polisario Front guerilla attacks and these attacks gradually ceased after the town was enclosed in the early 1980s by the Moroccan Wall, keeping the town under Moroccan control. Mining resumed on a scale in July 1982. Today the mine produces around 3 million tonnes, contributing 10% of Moroccan production, castro Urdiales, Spain Llodio, Spain Low resolution view of the conveyor belt to the port at Laayoune-Plage. Its location can be seen from the line of windswept sand accumulating on its south-western side, the mines and tailings the start of the conveyor belt at the mine
4.
Western Sahara
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Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres. It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, the population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara. Occupied by Spain until the late 20th century, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand and it is the most populous territory on that list, and by far the largest in area. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, one year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco. A war erupted between those countries and a Sahrawi nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic with a government in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco eventually secured de facto control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the representative of the Sahrawi people. As of 2017, no member state of the United Nations has ever recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. However, a number of countries have expressed their support for a recognition of the Moroccan annexation of the territory as an autonomous part of the Kingdom. Overall, the annexation has not garnered as much attention in the community as many other disputed annexations. Internationally, countries such as Russia have taken a generally ambiguous and neutral position on each sides claims, both Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, essentially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in the developing world. The Polisario Front has won recognition for SADR from 37 states. Morocco has won recognition or support for its position from several African governments and from most of the Muslim world, in both instances, recognitions have, over the past two decades, been extended and withdrawn according to changing international trends. Western Sahara is located in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and it also borders Algeria to the northeast. The land is some of the most arid and inhospitable on the planet, the land along the coast is low, flat desert and rises, especially in the north, to small mountains reaching up to 600 metres on the eastern side. While the area can experience flash flooding in the spring, there are no permanent streams, at times a cool off-shore current can produce fog and heavy dew. The earliest known inhabitants of Western Sahara were the Gaetuli, depending on the century, Roman-era sources describe the area as inhabited by Gaetulian Autololes or the Gaetulian Daradae tribes
5.
Sahrawi people
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As with most Saharan peoples living in the Sahara, the Sahrawi culture is mixed. Sahrawis are composed of tribes and are largely speakers of the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic. The Arabic word Ṣaḥrāwī صحراوي literally means Inhabitant of the Desert, the word Sahrawi is derived from the Arabic word Ṣaḥrā, meaning desert. The men are called a Sahrawi, and the women are called a Sahrawiya, the new faith was spread by Berbers themselves, and Arab immigration in the first centuries of Islamic expansion was minimal. It is not known when the camel was introduced to the region and this was the case with the Berber Almoravid dynasty of Morocco and Andalusia, and several emirates in Mauritania. In the 11th century, the Arab bedouin tribes of the Beni Hilal, in the early 13th century, the Yemeni Maqil tribes migrated westwards across the entirety of Arabia and northern Africa, to finally settle around present-day Morocco. They were badly received by the Zenata Berber descendants of the Merinid dynasty and this tribe entered the domains of the Sanhaja, and over the following centuries imposed itself upon them, intermixing with the population in the process. The modern ethnic group is thus mainly Berber with Arabs as an ethnicity whose cultural volume is bigger than its genetic one. The people inhabits the westernmost Sahara desert, in the area of modern Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, as with most Saharan peoples, the tribes reflect a highly mixed heritage, combining Berber, Arab, and other influences, including black African ethnic and cultural characteristics. The latter were primarily acquired through mixing with Wolouf, Soninke and other populations of the southern Sahel, an important divider is whether the tribal confederations fell under French or Spanish colonial rule. France conquered most of North and West Africa largely during the late 19th century and this included Algeria and Mauritania, and, from 1912, Morocco. But Western Sahara and scattered parts of Morocco fell to Spain. The Sahrawi-Moorish areas, then still undefined as to exact territorial boundaries, proved troublesome for the colonizers, the political loyalty of these populations were first and foremost to their respective tribes, and supratribal allegiances and alliances would shift rapidly and unexpectedly. Centuries of intratribal warfare and raids for loot guaranteed that the populations were well armed and versed in guerrilla-style warfare and it was not until the 1930s that Spain was able to finally subdue the interior of present-day Western Sahara, and then only with strong French military assistance. Mauritanias raiding Moors had been brought under control in the decades, partly through skilful exploitation by the French of traditional rivalries. The last major Reguibat raid took place in 1934, after which the Spanish authorities occupied Smara, the Sahrawi-Moorish tribes remained largely nomadic until the early to mid-20th century, when Franco-Spanish rivalries managed to impose rigid, if arbitrary, borders on the previously fluid Sahara. Little attention was paid to existing tribal confederations and zones of influence, the populations in Algeria were subjected to direct French rule, which was organized to enable the massive settlement of French and European immigrants. In southern Morocco, France upheld indirect rule through the sultanate in some areas, Spanish Sahara was treated first as a colony, and later as an overseas province, with gradually tightening political conditions, and, in later years, a rapid influx of Spanish settlers
6.
Polisario Front
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It is an observer member of the Socialist International. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the representative of the Sahrawi people. The Polisario Front is outlawed in the parts of Western Sahara under Moroccan control and they called themselves the Constituent Congress of the Polisario Front. Its first Secretary General was El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, on 20 May, the new organization attacked El-Khanga, where there was a Spanish post manned by a team of Tropas Nomadas was overrun and rifles seized. At this point, Polisarios manpower included perhaps 800 men and women, with Algerias help, Polisario set up headquarters in Tindouf. Upon Spains withdrawal, and in application of the Madrid Accords in 1976, the Polisario Front proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic on 27 February 1976, and waged a guerrilla war against both Morocco and Mauritania. The World Court at The Hague had issued its verdict on the former Spanish colony just weeks before, for the next two years the movement grew tremendously as Sahrawi refugees continued flocking to the camps and Algeria and Libya supplied arms and funding. Within months, its army had expanded to several thousand armed fighters, camels were replaced by modern jeeps, the reorganized army was able to inflict severe damage through guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks against opposing forces in Western Sahara and in Morocco and Mauritania proper. A comprehensive peace treaty was signed on 5 August 1979, in which the new government recognized Sahrawi rights to Western Sahara, Mauritania withdrew all its forces and would later proceed to formally recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, causing a massive rupture in relations with Morocco. King Hassan II of Morocco immediately claimed the area of Western Sahara evacuated by Mauritania, a cease-fire between the Polisario Front and Morocco, monitored by MINURSO, has been in effect since 6 September 1991, on the promise of a referendum on independence the following year. However, the referendum stalled over disagreements on voter rights, numerous attempts to restart the process seem to have failed. The Polisario has repeatedly threatened to resume if a referendum cannot be held. Pressures on the leadership from the population to resume fighting are apparent. The project was presented to the United Nations Security Council in mid-April 2007 and this led to the negotiations process known as the Manhasset negotiations. Four rounds were held in 2007 and 2008, no progress was made, however, Polisario agreed to add autonomy as per the Moroccan proposal to a referendum ballot, but refused to relinquish the concept of an independence referendum itself, as agreed in 1991 and 1997. Morocco, in its turn, insisted on negotiating the terms of autonomy offered. The Polisario is first and foremost a nationalist organization, whose goal is the independence of Western Sahara. It has stated that ideological disputes should be left for a future democratic Western Sahara to deal with and it views itself as a front encompassing all political trends in Sahrawi society, and not as a political party
7.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
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SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27,1976, in Bir Lehlou, Western Sahara, a former communist liberation force which has since reformed its ideological and political views. The SADR government controls about 20–25% of the territory it claims and it calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, the claimed capital of the SADR is El-Aaiún, while the temporary capital has been moved from Bir Lehlou to Tifariti. The Sahrawi Republic maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states, and is a member of the African Union. On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the United Nations that as of date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking Polisario Front, on February 27,2008, the provisional capital was formally moved to Tifariti. Day-to-day business, however, is conducted in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, the broad guidelines laid down for an eventual Western Saharan state in the constitution include eventual multi-party democracy with a market economy. The constitution also defines Sahrawis as a Muslim, African and Arab people, the Constitution also declares a commitment to the principles of human rights and to the concept of a Greater Maghreb, as a regional variant of Pan-Arabism. The SADRs government structure consists of a Council of Ministers, a judicial branch, since its inception in 1976, the various constitutional revisions have transformed the republic from an ad hoc managerial structure into something approaching an actual governing apparatus. Its various ministries are responsible for a variety of services and functions, the judiciary, complete with trial courts, appeals courts and a supreme court, operates in the same areas. As a government-in-exile, many branches of government do not fully function, among other things, it has added a ban on the death penalty to the constitution, and brought down the government in 1999 through a vote of no-confidence. The composition of the Sahrawi National Council is as follows, The SADR acted as a government administration in the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the Tindouf Province of western Algeria. The government of the SADR claims sovereignty over all of the Western Sahara territory, several foreign aid agencies, including the UN High Commission for Refugees, and nongovernmental organizations are continually active in the camps. As of 2016, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by 85 states, of these,37 have since frozen or withdrawn recognition for a number of reasons. A total of 40 UN states maintain diplomatic relations with the SADR, Sahrawi embassies exist in 18 states. Although it is not recognised by the United Nations, the SADR has held membership of the African Union since 1982. The SADR participates as guest on meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement or the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership, on the other hand, Moroccos claim to Western Sahara is supported by the Arab League
8.
Tindouf
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Tindouf is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. 3%. The region is considered of strategic significance and it houses Algerian military bases and an airport with regular flights to Algiers as well as to other domestic destinations. It remained deserted until French troops arrived in the area in 1934, since Algerian independence in 1962, the town has been deliberately built up, partly because of its importance as a last outpost before the Moroccan, Sahrawi and Mauritanian borders. In 1963, the area was the scene of fighting between Algerian and Moroccan forces laying claim to western Algeria, in the Sand War, the region has since been heavily militarized, increasing its relevance. Since the mid-70s, the Tindouf region served as base for the Polisario Front, the Polisario Front is headquartered in self-administered refugee camps south of the city, which filled up as Moroccan and Mauritanian forces conquered Western Sahara in 1975. During the war years of 1975–1990, Polisario forces struck in Western Sahara, Mauritania and southern Morocco, using the Tindouf region as their base area, with Algerian protection. Since 1990 the area has been quiet, although the community remains in Algeria, pending a UN-sponsored peace process. Tindouf has a population of 47,965, though this figure is of questionable authenticity, Tindouf has a hot desert climate, with extremely hot summers and very warm winters. There is very little rain for most of the year, generally concentrated in February, the region can be hit by rare events of heavy rain, such as in February 2006 or October 2015. Summer daytime temperatures commonly approach 45 °C with blazing sunshine, while nighttime temperatures can sometimes drop to 5 °C or less. 6. 1% of the population has an education. The overall literacy rate is 75. 0%, and is 79. 7% among males and 70. 1% among females, the commune is composed of five localities, Tindouf-ville Garet Djebilet Aouinet Bélagraa Chenachène Oum El Achar
9.
Algeria
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Algeria, officially the Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a sovereign state in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres, Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been President since 1999, Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. Algeria is a regional and middle power, the North African country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world, Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent, most of Algerias weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the countrys name derives from the city of Algiers. The citys name in turn derives from the Arabic al-Jazāir, a form of the older Jazāir Banī Mazghanna. In the region of Ain Hanech, early remnants of hominid occupation in North Africa were found, neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles similar to those in the Levant. Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques, tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian. The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian and this industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC and this life, richly depicted in the Tassili nAjjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The amalgam of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a native population that came to be called Berbers. These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages, as Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, by the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War. They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthages North African territory, the Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars
10.
Mauritania
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Mauritania /mɔːrɪˈteɪniə/, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of western Africa. The country derives its name from the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, approximately 90% of Mauritanias land is within the Sahara and consequently the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, the government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup détat led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, about 20% of Mauritanians live on less than US$1.25 per day. Mauritania suffers from several human rights issues, including slavery, as at least 4% of the population are enslaved against their will, the Bafours were primarily agriculturalist, and among the first Saharan people to abandon their historically nomadic lifestyle. With the gradual desiccation of the Sahara, they headed south, many of the Berber tribes claimed Yemeni origins. There is little evidence to such claims, but a 2000 DNA study of Yemeni people suggested there might be some ancient connection between the peoples. Other peoples also migrated south past the Sahara to West Africa, in 1076, Moorish Islamic warrior monks attacked and conquered the large area of the ancient Ghana Empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce resistance from the population to dominate Mauritania. The Char Bouba war was the final effort of the peoples to repel the Yemeni Maqil Arab invaders. The invaders were led by the Beni Hassan tribe, the descendants of the Beni Hassan warriors became the upper stratum of Moorish society. Hassaniya, a Berber-influenced Arabic dialect that derives its name from the Beni Hassan, berbers retained a niche influence by producing the majority of the regions marabouts, those who preserve and teach Islamic tradition. Imperial France gradually absorbed the territories of present-day Mauritania from the Senegal River area and upwards, in 1901, Xavier Coppolani took charge of the imperial mission. Through a combination of strategic alliances with Zawiya tribes, and military pressure on the Hassane warrior nomads, he managed to extend French rule over the Mauritanian emirates. Trarza, Brakna and Tagant quickly submitted to treaties with the colonial power, Adrar was finally defeated militarily in 1912, and incorporated into the territory of Mauritania, which had been drawn up and planned in 1904. Mauritania was part of French West Africa from 1920, French rule brought legal prohibitions against slavery and an end to inter-clan warfare. During the colonial period, 90% of the population remained nomadic, many sedentary peoples, whose ancestors had been expelled centuries earlier, began to trickle back into Mauritania. After gaining independence, larger numbers of indigenous Sub-Saharan African peoples entered Mauritania, educated in French language and customs, many of these recent arrivals became clerks, soldiers, and administrators in the new state
11.
Laayoune
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Laayoune is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The modern city is thought to have founded by the Spanish colonizer Antonio de Oro in 1938. In 1940, Spain designated it as the capital of the Spanish Sahara, laâyoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco under the supervision of the UN peace-keeping mission in Western Sahara. The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el Hamra, on the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists. A cathedral from that era is still active, its priests serve this city, laâyoune orEl Aaiún are respectively the French and Spanish transliterations of the Maghrebi Arabic name Layoun which means the water springs. Laâyoune has a desert climate, moderated by the Canary Current with an average annual temperature of 20 °C. The city has a population of 196,331 and is the largest city in Western Sahara and it is a growing economic hub. The city is a hub for fishing and for mining in the region. In 2010 that country was negotiating a new fishing agreement with Europe over offshore fishing, the football club of the city is Jeunesse Massira. The club plays in the Moroccan Premier League, the highest football league in the country, Jeunesse Massira uses Stade Sheikh Mohamed Laghdaf in training and games. Laâyoune is served by Hassan I Airport, there is a Spanish international school, Colegio Español La Paz, owned by the Spanish government
12.
Morocco
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Morocco, officially known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a mountainous interior, large tracts of desert. Morocco has a population of over 33.8 million and an area of 446,550 km2 and its capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca. Other major cities include Marrakesh, Tangier, Tetouan, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, a historically prominent regional power, Morocco has a history of independence not shared by its neighbours. Marinid and Saadi dynasties continued the struggle against foreign domination, the Alaouite dynasty, the current ruling dynasty, seized power in 1666. In 1912 Morocco was divided into French and Spanish protectorates, with a zone in Tangier. Moroccan culture is a blend of Arab, indigenous Berber, Sub-Saharan African, Morocco claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975, leading to a war with indigenous forces until a cease-fire in 1991. Peace processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers, especially over the military, foreign policy, the king can issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. He can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister, Moroccos predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Tamazight. The Moroccan dialect, referred to as Darija, and French are also widely spoken, Morocco is a member of the Arab League, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the African Union. It has the fifth largest economy of Africa, the full Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah translates to Kingdom of the West, although the West in Arabic is الغرب Al-Gharb. The basis of Moroccos English name is Marrakesh, its capital under the Almoravid dynasty, the origin of the name Marrakesh is disputed, but is most likely from the Berber words amur akush or Land of God. The modern Berber name for Marrakesh is Mṛṛakc, in Turkish, Morocco is known as Fas, a name derived from its ancient capital of Fes. The English name Morocco is an anglicisation of the Spanish Marruecos, the area of present-day Morocco has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, sometime between 190,000 and 90,000 BC. During the Upper Paleolithic, the Maghreb was more fertile than it is today, twenty-two thousand years ago, the Aterian was succeeded by the Iberomaurusian culture, which shared similarities with Iberian cultures. Skeletal similarities have been suggested between the Iberomaurusian Mechta-Afalou burials and European Cro-Magnon remains, the Iberomaurusian was succeeded by the Beaker culture in Morocco
13.
Mauritania Railway
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The Mauritania Railway is the national railway of Mauritania. Opened in 1963, it consists of a single, 704-kilometre railway line linking the iron mining centre of Zouerate with the port of Nouadhibou, via Fderik, the state agency Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière controls the railway line. Since the closure of the Choum Tunnel, a 5 km section of the cuts through the Polisario Front-controlled part of the Western Sahara. Trains on the railway are up to 2.5 kilometres in length and they consist of 3 or 4 diesel-electric EMD locomotives,200 to 210 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and a variable number of service cars. The total traffic averages 16.6 million tons per year, passengers are also occasionally transported by train, these services are managed by an SNIM subsidiary, the ATTM Society. Passenger cars are attached, but more often passengers simply ride atop the ore hopper cars. In October 2010, SNIM ordered a batch of six EMD SD-70ACS locomotives, in 2014, Glencore Xstrata paid $1 billion to SNIM for access to that companys rail and port infrastructure. There will be branch lines to new mines at Askaf and Guelb El Aouj and it is cheaper for Glencore to share existing infrastructure than to build its own. Economy of Mauritania History of rail transport in Mauritania Transport in Mauritania Railway stations in Mauritania Enclave and exclave - crossborder shortcut to avoid tunnel Robinson, World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary. Volume 7, North, East and Central Africa, barnsley, UK, World Rail Atlas Ltd. SNIM train site Train images at Adventures in Mauritania Map of railway route
14.
Railroad car
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A railroad car or railcar, railway wagon or railway carriage, also called a train car or train wagon, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport system. Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units. The term car is used by itself in American English when a rail context is implicit. Indian English sometimes uses bogie in the manner, though the term has other meanings in other variants of English. In American English, railcar is a term for a railway vehicle, in other countries railcar refers specifically to a self-propelled, powered. Tables may be provided between seats facing one another, alternatively, seats facing in the same direction may have access to a fold-down ledge on the back of the seat in front. If the aisle is located between seats, seat rows may face the direction, or be grouped, with twin rows facing each other. In some vehicles intended for services, seats are positioned with their backs to the side walls. This gives a wide accessway and allows room for standing passengers at peak times, if the aisle is at the side, the car is usually divided into small compartments. These usually contain six seats, although sometimes in second class they contain eight, modern cars usually have either air-conditioning or windows that can be opened, or sometimes both. Various types of onboard train toilet facilities may also be provided, other types of passenger car exist, especially for long journeys, such as the dining car, parlor car, disco car, and in rare cases theater and movie theater car. In some cases another type of car is converted to one of these for an event. Observation cars were built for the rear of many trains to allow the passengers to view the scenery. Sleeping cars outfitted with small bedrooms allow passengers to sleep through their night-time trips, long-distance trains often require baggage cars for the passengers luggage. In European practice it used to be common for day coaches to be formed of compartments seating 6 or 8 passengers, in the UK, Corridor coaches fell into disfavor in the 1960s and 1970s partially because open coaches are considered more secure by women traveling alone. Another distinction is between single- and double deck train cars, an example of a double decker is the Amtrak superliner. A trainset is a semi-permanently arranged formation of cars, rather than one created ad hoc out of cars are available. These are only broken up and reshuffled on shed, trains are then built of one or more of these sets coupled together as needed for the capacity of that train
15.
Road surface
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Road surface or pavement is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, cobblestone and granite setts were extensively used, Road surfaces are frequently marked to guide traffic. Today, permeable paving methods are beginning to be used for low-impact roadways and walkways, asphalt, sometimes called flexible pavement due to the nature in which it distributes loads, has been widely used since the 1920s. The viscous nature of the bitumen binder allows asphalt concrete to sustain significant plastic deformation, most asphalt surfaces are laid on a gravel base, which is generally at least as thick as the asphalt layer, although some full depth asphalt surfaces are laid directly on the native subgrade. In areas with soft or expansive subgrades such as clay or peat. Depending on the temperature at which it is applied, asphalt is categorized as hot mix, warm mix, hot mix asphalt is applied at temperatures over 300 °F with a free floating screed. Warm mix asphalt is applied at temperatures of 200–250 °F, resulting in reduced energy usage, cold mix asphalt is often used on lower volume rural roads, where hot mix asphalt would cool too much on the long trip from the asphalt plant to the construction site. An asphalt concrete surface will generally be constructed for primary highways having an average annual daily traffic load greater than 1200 vehicles per day. Advantages of asphalt roadways include relatively low noise, relatively low cost compared with other paving methods, in the mid-1960s, rubberized asphalt was used for the first time, mixing crumb rubber from used tires with asphalt. Also, application of rubberized asphalt is more temperature-sensitive, and in many locations can only be applied at times of the year. Study results of the long-term acoustic benefits of rubberized asphalt are inconclusive, compared to traditional passive attenuating measures, rubberized asphalt provides shorter-lasting and lesser acoustic benefits at typically much greater expense. Concrete surfaces are created using a mix of Portland cement, coarse aggregate, sand. In many cases there will also be Portland cement substitutes added and this can reduce the cost of the concrete and improve its physical properties. The water allows the mix to combine molecularly in a reaction called hydration. Concrete surfaces have been refined into three types, jointed plain, jointed reinforced and continuously reinforced. The one item that each type is the jointing system used to control crack development. Jointed plain concrete pavements contain enough joints to control the location of all the expected shrinkage cracks, the concrete cracks at the joints and not elsewhere in the slabs. Jointed plain pavements do not contain any steel reinforcement, however, there may be smooth steel bars at transverse joints and deformed steel bars at longitudinal joints
16.
Land mine
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A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, a land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. The name originates from the ancient practice of mining, where tunnels were dug under enemy fortifications or troop formations. These killing tunnels were at first collapsed to destroy targets located above, nowadays, in common parlance, land mine generally refers to devices specifically manufactured as anti-personnel or anti-vehicle weapons. The use of mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming the economy, to date,162 nations have signed the treaty. To act as passive area-denial weapons, land mines are currently used in large quantities mostly for this first purpose, thus their widespread use in the demilitarized zones of likely flashpoints such as Cyprus, Afghanistan and Korea. As of 2013, the governments that still laid land mines were Myanmar in its internal conflict. Land mines continue to kill or injure at least 4,300 people every year, even decades after the ends of the conflicts for which they were placed. This claim is dubious, as gunpowder warfare did not develop in China until the advent of the flamethrower in the 10th century, while the land mine was not seen in China until the late 13th century. Explosive land mines were being used in 1277 by the Chinese during the Song dynasty against an assault of the Mongols, the invention of this detonated enormous bomb was credited to one Lou Qianxia of the 13th century. The wad of the mine was made of wood, carrying three different fuses in case of defective connection to the touch hole. Pieces of bamboo are sawn into sections nine feet in length, all septa in the bamboo being removed, save only the last, boiling oil is next poured into and left there for some time before being removed. The fuse starts from the bottom, and is compressed into it to form an explosive mine, the gunpowder fills up eight-tenths of the tube, while lead or iron pellets take up the rest of the space, then the open end is sealed with wax. A trench five feet in depth is dug, the fuse is connected to a firing device which ignites them when disturbed. Further description of how this flint device operated was not made until a Chinese text of 1606 AD revealed that a drive had been used to work the steel wheel. Besides the use of steel wheels providing sparks for the fuses, there were other methods used as well, when the weapons were removed from the mound, this movement disturbed the bowl beneath them where the butt ends of the staffs were, which in turn ignited the fuses. According to the Wubei Huolongjing volume of the 17th century, the formula for this slow-burning incandescent material allowed it to burn continuously for 20 to 30 days without going out
17.
Free Zone (region)
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For Morocco, it is a buffer territory. The area is separated from the rest of the Western Sahara territory by a 2,200 kilometer -long wall. flanked by one of the worlds largest minefields, the border is often referred to as the Berm. The zone was established as a Polisario-held zone in a 1991 cease-fire between the Polisario Front and Morocco, which had agreed upon together as part of the Settlement Plan. Morocco controls the areas west of the Berm, including most of the territorys population, the cease-fire is overseen by the United Nations MINURSO forces, charged with peacekeeping in the area and the organization of a referendum on independence. The status of Western Sahara is hotly disputed between Polisario and Morocco, and this includes the names used to refer to areas under the control of the different sides and this zone serves as a division-of-forces no-mans land. Areas outside this zone are open to activity by the side that controls them, similarly, Polisario call the areas a liberated territory or the free zone, but this is not an official designation. The UN calls it simply east of the Berm, and refers to territories under Moroccan control as west of the Berm, according to the Settlement Plan, the movement of Polisario fighters is restricted similarly to how Moroccan forces face restrictions on their side of the Berm. Each of the five parts has specific restrictions as for the two parties military activities, Buffer Strip, No entry of RMA and FPOL personnel and equipment, No firing of weapons in or over the area. Restricted Areas, No firing of weapons and/or military training exercises, some exceptions apply and some activities are allowed after prior information to or approval by MINURSO. MINURSO need to be informed if the parties intend to conduct military exercises, the population of the territory east of the Wall is estimated to be between 30,000 -40,000 inhabitants. By comparison, it is estimated that 500,000 inhabitants live west of the Wall, following the 1975 Green March, the Moroccan state has sponsored settlement schemes enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into the Moroccan-occupied part. The major settlements on the zone are Tifariti, Bir Lehlou, Agounit, Meharrize, Mijek, Dougaj, access is difficult even for Sahrawis due to the harsh climate of the Sahara, the military conflict and the abundance of land mines. The area is inhabited primarily by Sahrawi nomads, that maintain the traditional camel herding of their ancestors, there is also a small merchant population, who sell goods to travellers. The total size of the Polisarios guerrilla army present in area is unknown. Some sources claim between 3, 000–6,000 men, while others rise the number up to 12,000 and these forces are dug into permanent positions, such as gun emplacements, defensive trenches and underground military bases, as well as conducting mobile patrols of the territory. Minurso reports that there are on average 2–4 such violations in the whole Western Sahara territory each month, in addition to this, there are several more violations related to local commanders on both sides refusing the inspection of their forces by Minurso personnel. As an example, the mission homepage quotes the month of June 2006, despite these minor breaches, there has to date been no serious hostile action from either side since 1991, and both sides of the Berm are considered calm by peacekeeping standards. Annual demonstrations against the Moroccan Wall are staged in the region by Sahrawis and international activists from Spain, Italy and these actions are closely monitored by the UN
18.
Dakhla Airport
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Dakhla Airport is an airport serving Dakhla, a city in Western Sahara, disputed south province of Morocco. The airport is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA and it connected to Dakar Airport in the South and Agadir Airport to the north. The Dakhla airport is used as public airport and by the Royal Moroccan Air Force, the 3 km long runway can receive a Boeing 737 or smaller planes. Parking space of 18,900 square metres or one Boeing 737, the passenger terminal covers 670 square metres and is capable to handle up to 55,000 passengers per year. Public facilities available include a medical post and a prayer room, the airport offers the following radio-navigation aids, VOR and DME. Current weather for GMMH at NOAA/NWS Accident history for VIL at Aviation Safety Network
19.
Dakhla, Western Sahara
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Dakhla is a city in Western Sahara, a disputed territory currently administered by Morocco. It is the capital of the Moroccan administrative region Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab and it has a population of 106,277 and is built on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast about 550 km south of Laayoune. The area has been inhabited by Berbers since ancient times, oulad Dlim is an Arab tribe of Himyari from Yemen that settled in the Sahara in the twelfth century. Dakhla was expanded by Spanish settlers during the expansion of their empire and these fishing activities had a negative impact on wildlife, causing the disappearance or endangering of many species, particularly marine mammals and birds. The Spaniards established whaling stations with some cod fishing and trading, in 1881, a dock was anchored off the coast of the Río de Oro Peninsula to support the work of the Canarian fishing fleet. However, it was not until 1884 that Spain formally founded the place as Villa Cisneros. It was included in the enclaves conceded to the Spanish to the east of the Azores islands, in 1884, the settlement was promoted by the Spanish Society of Africanists and funded by the government of Canovas del Castillo. Bonelli got the native inhabitants of the peninsula de Río de Oro signed an agreement which placing them under the protection of Spain. During the colonial period, Spanish authorities made Dakhla the capital of the province of Río de Oro and they built a military fortress and a modern Catholic church. A prison camp existed at the fort during the Spanish Civil War. During the 1960s the Franco dictatorship also built Dakhla Airport, one of the three paved airports in Western Sahara, between 1975 and 1979, Dakhla was the provincial capital of the Mauritanian province of Tiris al-Gharbiyya, as Mauritania annexed the southern portion of Western Sahara. Dakhla Airport is used as an airport and by Royal Air Maroc. The 3 km. long runway can accommodate a Boeing 737 or smaller aircraft, the passenger terminal covers 670 m2 and is capable of handling up to 55,000 passenger/year. Dakhla was occupied by Spain from the late 19th century until 1975, there was a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire in 1991, but as recently as 2006, the majority of UN member states have refused to recognise Moroccan sovereignty in the area. The main economic activity of the city is fishing and tourism, in recent years the town has become a centre for aquatic sports, such as kitesurfing, windsurfing and surf casting and is known as a centre for watersports. Golfo de Cintra and the World Heritage of the Banc dArguin National Park are located in the south and it is believed that oil reserves lie off the coastline of Dakhla, which has been a key reason for the territorial disputes. US firm Kosmos Energy and its UK counterpart Cairn Energy began searching for oil in Western Sahara in early 2015 without the permission of the native population, oyster farming by hand is a traditional practice in Dakhla. Oysters are first sold to people and businesses in Dakhla, then to restaurants in cities like Marrakech or Casablanca, in April 2015, VICE reported that oysters had recently begun to be exported to high-end European restaurants
20.
Cape Bojador
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Cape Bojador is a headland on the northern coast of Western Sahara, at 26°07 37N, 14°29 57W. as well as the name of the large nearby town with a population of 41,178. The name of the province also derives its name from the cape. It is shown on charts with the original Portuguese name Cabo Bojador. It is said that it is known as the Bulging Cape. The Capes name in Arabic is Abu Khatar, meaning the father of danger, the cape is not prominent on maps but may be located by looking 220 km due south of the south-western point of the hook of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Eanes had made an attempt in 1433 which resulted in failure, but tried again under orders of Prince Henry the Navigator. He was successful after the second expedition, the disappearance of numerous European vessels that had made prior attempts to round the Cape despite its violent seas, led some to suggest the presence of sea monsters. The regions coastal areas became a very important area for Portuguese traders. The mythic importance of the cape for Portugal was captured in Fernando Pessoas early 20th century work Mensagem, in famous stanzas from this longer poem Pessoa wrote of the enormous costs of the Portuguese explorations to the nation. Capturing the symbolic importance to the nation of rounding Cape Bojador, Pessoa wrote, Who wants to pass beyond Bojador and they thought the ocean was burning past cape Bojador but Henrys men went past Bojador. A rocky patch, with a least depth of 8m, lies about 2 miles W of the cape, the coast between Cabo Falso Bojador and Cabo Bojador,10 miles SW, consists of a sandy beach fringed by rocks. Clumps of scrub top the sand dunes which stand about 0.5 mile inland of this beach, heavy breakers have been observed along this coast at all times. Cabo Bojador, a low point, is located 9.5 miles SW of Cabo Falso Bojador and is bordered on the S side by black rocks. From the N, the cape appears as a mass of red sand with a slope towards the sea. From the W, the cape is difficult to identify, and it is here that the winds start to blow strongly from the northeast at all seasons. In the end it was discovered that by sailing well out to out of sight of land—a more favorable wind could be picked up. This tragedy is recounted in the Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King, Dean reports that any coastal map of Western Sahara is inaccurate because of the ever-changing physical features, due to the harsh conditions of the Sahara. It also mentions that the depth of the water surrounding Cape Bojador is deceptively shallow, the cape had a fearsome reputation among mariners even prior to the wreck of the Commerce, as there had been at least thirty known shipwrecks between 1790 and 1806
21.
Canary Islands
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The Canary Islands, also known as the Canaries, are an archipelago and autonomous community of Spain located on the Atlantic Ocean,100 kilometres west of Morocco. The Canaries are among the outermost regions of the European Union proper and it is also one of the eight regions with special consideration of historical nationality recognized as such by the Spanish Government. The main islands are Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, the archipelago also includes a number of islands and islets, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste and Roque del Este. In ancient times, the chain was often referred to as the Fortunate Isles. The Canary Islands is the most southerly region of Spain and the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region, the islands have a subtropical climate, with long hot summers and moderately warm winters. The precipitation levels and the level of maritime moderation varies depending on location and elevation, green areas as well as desert exist on the archipelago. Due to their location above the inversion layer, the high mountains of these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have built on the islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927 Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands. In 1927 a decree ordered that the capital of the Canary Islands be shared, the third largest city of the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Tenerife. This city is home to the Consejo Consultivo de Canarias. During the time of the Spanish Empire, the Canaries were the main stopover for Spanish galleons on their way to the Americas, who came south to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds. The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning Islands of the Dogs, according to the historian Pliny the Elder, the Mauretanian king Juba II named the island Canaria because it contained vast multitudes of dogs of very large size. Another speculation is that the dogs were actually a species of monk seal, critically endangered. The dense population of seals may have been the characteristic that most struck the few ancient Romans who established contact with these islands by sea. Alternatively, it is said that the inhabitants of the island, Guanches, used to worship dogs, mummified them. The ancient Greeks also knew about a people, living far to the west, who are the dog-headed ones, who worshipped dogs on an island. Some hypothesize that the Canary Islands dog-worship and the ancient Egyptian cult of the god, Anubis are closely connected
22.
Smara
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Smara is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 57,035. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station, the largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, the Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-Aynayn, the location of the city was intended to ensure its becoming a caravan trade hub in the sparsely populated Sahara desert. The enlargement of Smara was carried out by local Sahrawis as well as sent by the sultan Hassan I. In 1902, shaykh Ma al-Aynayn moved to Smara and declared it his holy capital, among other things, he created an important Islamic library, and the town became a center of religious learning. In 1904 the shaykh declared himself an imam and called for war against French colonialism. During the campaign against Ma al-Aynayn, Smara was sacked almost completely in 1913 by the French Army, the town was then handed over to the Spanish. In 1934 the town was again destroyed after Sahrawi rebellions against the Spanish occupation. Reaching Ma el Ainains mysterious Smara was the goal of the brothers Vieuchange, early 20th-century French writers, comprising seven notebooks and more than 200 photographs, the account was published posthumously in 1932 as Smara, The Forbidden City by his brother Jean and became a bestseller. In 1975, Morocco took control of Saguia Elhamra as Spain withdrew, the Moroccan army took the city from the Polisario Front in 1976. Near Tindouf, Algeria, there exists a Sahrawi refugee camp named after Smara. It is one of the four camps of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic administration in Algeria, the town is controlled by the Moroccan authorities, as part of what the government terms its Southern Provinces, and enclosed by a section of the Moroccan Wall. CTM, Supratours and Satas companies have daily travels from Smara to Agadir, Supratours have daily travel from Smara to Laayoune. Notes Sources Entry in Lexicorient ad for Smara, The Forbidden City by Jean and Michel Vieuchange Satellite view in Google Maps
23.
The World Factbook
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The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the National Technical Information Service, Other companies—such as Skyhorse Publishing—also print a paper edition. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line, the World Factbook is prepared by the CIA for the use of U. S. Government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements. However, it is used as a resource for academic research papers. As a work of the U. S. Government, it is in the domain in the United States. In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below, Other public and private sources are also consulted. However, the CIA requests that it be cited when the Factbook is used, copying the official seal of the CIA without permission is prohibited by U. S. federal law—specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949. Before November 2001 The World Factbook website was updated yearly, from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks, since 2010 it has been updated weekly, generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year is used in preparing the Factbook. The first, classified, edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, the World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975. In 2008 the CIA discontinued printing the Factbook themselves, instead turning printing responsibilities over to the Government Printing Office and this happened due to a CIA decision to focus Factbook resources on the online edition. The Factbook has been on the World Wide Web since October 1994, the web version gets an average of 6 million visits per month, it can also be downloaded. The official printed version is sold by the Government Printing Office, in past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM, microfiche, magnetic tape, and floppy disk. Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook, several publishers, including Grand River Books, Potomac Books, and Skyhorse Publishing have re-published the Factbook in recent years. As of July 2011, The World Factbook consists of 267 entities and these entities can be divided into categories. They are, Independent countries This category has independent countries, which the CIA defines as people politically organized into a state with a definite territory. In this category, there are 195 entities, others The Other category is a list of other places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two, Taiwan and the European Union, dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty This category is a list of places affiliated with another country
24.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
25.
Portable Document Format
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The Portable Document Format is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, PDF was developed in the early 1990s as a way to share computer documents, including text formatting and inline images. It was among a number of competing formats such as DjVu, Envoy, Common Ground Digital Paper, Farallon Replica, in those early years before the rise of the World Wide Web and HTML documents, PDF was popular mainly in desktop publishing workflows. Adobe Systems made the PDF specification available free of charge in 1993 and these proprietary technologies are not standardized and their specification is published only on Adobe’s website. Many of them are not supported by popular third-party implementations of PDF. So when organizations publish PDFs which use proprietary technologies, they present accessibility issues for some users. In 2014, ISO TC171 voted to deprecate XFA for ISO 32000-2, on January 9,2017, the final draft for ISO 32000-2 was published, thus reaching the approval stage. The PDF combines three technologies, A subset of the PostScript page description programming language, for generating the layout, a font-embedding/replacement system to allow fonts to travel with the documents. A structured storage system to bundle these elements and any associated content into a single file, PostScript is a page description language run in an interpreter to generate an image, a process requiring many resources. It can handle graphics and standard features of programming such as if. PDF is largely based on PostScript but simplified to remove flow control features like these, often, the PostScript-like PDF code is generated from a source PostScript file. The graphics commands that are output by the PostScript code are collected and tokenized, any files, graphics, or fonts to which the document refers also are collected. Then, everything is compressed to a single file, therefore, the entire PostScript world remains intact. PDF supports graphic transparency, PostScript does not, PostScript is an interpreted programming language with an implicit global state, so instructions accompanying the description of one page can affect the appearance of any following page. Therefore, all preceding pages in a PostScript document must be processed to determine the appearance of a given page. A PDF file is a 7-bit ASCII file, except for elements that may have binary content. A PDF file starts with a header containing the magic number, the format is a subset of a COS format. A COS tree file consists primarily of objects, of which there are eight types, Boolean values, representing true or false Numbers Strings, enclosed within parentheses, objects may be either direct or indirect
26.
International Civil Aviation Organization
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The International Civil Aviation Organization, is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of air transport to ensure safe. Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Air Navigation Commission is the body within ICAO. The Commission is composed of 19 Commissioners, nominated by the ICAOs contracting states, Commissioners serve as independent experts, who although nominated by their states, do not serve as state or political representatives. The development of Aviation Standards and Recommended Practices is done under the direction of the ANC through the process of ICAO Panels. Once approved by the Commission, standards are sent to the Council, the forerunner to ICAO was the International Commission for Air Navigation. It held its first convention in 1903 in Berlin, Germany, at the second convention in 1906, also held in Berlin,27 countries attended. The third convention, held in London in 1912 allocated the first radio callsigns for use by aircraft, ICAN continued to operate until 1945. Fifty-two countries signed the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, in Chicago, Illinois, on 7 December 1944. Under its terms, a Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization was to be established, accordingly, PICAO began operating on 6 June 1945, replacing ICAN. The 26th country ratified the Convention on 5 March 1947 and, consequently PICAO was disestablished on 4 April 1947 and replaced by ICAO, in October 1947, ICAO became an agency of the United Nations linked to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In April 2013 Qatar offered to serve as the new permanent seat of the Organization, according to the Globe and Mail, Qatars move was at least partly motivated by the pro-Israel foreign policy of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Approximately one month later, Qatar withdrew its bid after a proposal to the ICAOs governing council to move the ICAO triennial conference to Doha was defeated by a vote of 22–14. The 9th edition of the Convention on International Civil Aviation includes modifications from 1948 up to year 2006, ICAO refers to its current edition of the Convention as the Statute, and designates it as ICAO Document 7300/9. The Convention has 19 Annexes that are listed by title in the article Convention on International Civil Aviation, as of March 2016, there are 191 ICAO members, consisting of 190 of the 193 UN members, plus the Cook Islands. Liechtenstein has delegated Switzerland to implement the treaty to make it applicable in the territory of Liechtenstein, Taiwan attended the 38th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2013, but in 2016 was denied such an invitation, despite expressions of support from the United States for Taiwan to participate. However, the Republic of China under the name of Chinese Taipei is a member of International Air Transport Association, the Council of ICAO is elected by the Assembly every 3 years and consists of 36 members elected in 3 categories
27.
Economy of Western Sahara
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The majority of the territory of Western Sahara - the Southern Provinces - is currently administered by the Kingdom of Morocco. As such, the majority of the activity of Western Sahara happens in the framework of the economy of Morocco. In the Moroccan-administered territory, fishing and phosphate mining are the sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for agricultural production, hence most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other activities are controlled by the Moroccan government. Morocco has signed a treaty with the EU including Western Sahara as part of Morocco. Moroccan Energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, the Free Zone is mainly uninhabited. There is practically no economical infrastructure and the activity is camel herding nomadism. In March 2009, four Norwegian shipping companies desisted from Western Sahara trade, also, the Norwegian grocery store chain Coop Marked stopped their import of tomatoes from Dakhla, labelled as Moroccans. When looking for project sites, Desertec Industrial Initiative will also take political, ecological or cultural issues into consideration and this procedure is in line with the funding policies of international development banks. Also that month, the Norwegian state-owned company EWOS stopped the purchases of oil from Western Sahara and Morocco
28.
Moroccan dirham
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The dirham, plural, is the currency of Morocco. The plural form is pronounced darahim, although in French and English dirhams is commonly used and its ISO4217 code is MAD. It is subdivided into 100 santimat, the dirham is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco. Before the introduction of a modern coinage in 1882, Morocco issued copper coins denominated in falus, from 1882, the dirham became a subdivision of the Moroccan rial, with 50 Mazunas =10 dirham =1 rial. When most of Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912 it switched to the Moroccan franc, the dirham was reintroduced on 16 October 1960. It replaced the franc as the unit of currency but, until 1974. In 1974, the replaced the franc. In 1960, silver 1 dirham coins were introduced and these were followed by nickel 1 dirham and silver 5 dirham coins in 1965. In 1974, with the introduction of the santim, a new coinage was introduced in denominations of 1,5,10,20 and 50 santimat and 1 dirham. The 1 santim coins were aluminium, the 5 up to 20 santimat were minted in brass, cupro-nickel 5 dirham coins were added in 1980 and changed to a bi-metal coin in 1987. The bi-metal coins bear two year designations for the issue date—1987 in the Gregorian calendar and the 1407 in the Islamic calendar, the 1 santim was only minted until 1987 when new designs were introduced, with a ½ dirham replacing the 50 santimat without changing the size or composition. The new 5 dirham coin was bimetallic, as was the 10 dirham coin introduced in 1995, cupro-nickel 2 dirham coins were introduced in 2002. In 2011, a new series of coins has been issued, the first notes denominated in dirham were overprints on earlier franc notes, in denominations of 50 dirhams and 100 dirhams. In 1965, new notes were issued for 5,10 and 50 dirhams,100 dirham notes were introduced in 1970, followed by 200 dirham notes in 1991 and 20 dirham notes in 1996. 5 dirham notes were replaced by coins in 1980, with the same happening to 10 dirham notes in 1995, in mid-October 2009, Bank Al-Maghrib issued four million 50-dirham banknotes to commemorate the banks 50th anniversary. The commemorative note measures 147 x 70 mm and features the portraits of Kings Mohammed VI, Hassan II, the back of the notes features the headquarters of Bank Al-Maghrib in Rabat. The speech delivered in 1959 by Mohammed V at the opening of Bank Al-Maghrib is microprinted on the back, in December 2012, Bank-Al Maghrib issued a 25-dirham banknote to commemorate the 25th anniversary of banknote production at the Moroccan State Printing Works, Dar As-Sikkah. It is the first banknote in the world to be printed on Durasafe, the front of the commemorative note features an intaglio vignette and a watermark of King Mohammed VI, and a magenta-green color shift security thread
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Sahrawi peseta
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The Sahrawi peseta is the currency of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is divided in 100 céntimos, although coins with this denomination have never been minted, the official international currency code is EHP. The first Sahrawi pesetas were minted in 1990, but they were not adopted as the coin of Western Sahara until 1997. As it is not a currency and not circulating, the exchange rate is not really realistic. Despite this, the Sahrawi peseta was pegged at par to the Spanish peseta and, when the latter was phased out for the euro, non-commemorative coins are supposedly designated for circulation. The denominations are,1,2,5,50,100,200 and 500 pesetas, there have also been commemorative emissions in copper, silver and gold, as some of those shown here, Spanish peseta Moroccan dirham Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
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Transport in Algeria
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As the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa and in the Mediterranean region. Algeria has a vast transportation system include many transportation infrastructures. There are a total of 3,973 km of railways,2,888 km is 1,435 mm standard gauge, there are also a total of 1,085 km of 1,055 mm gauge track. SNTF operates the railways, whilst a new, separate organisation, the High Plateau line is a major new project to build an east-west line across the country, parallel to the Rocade Nord. A 690-km line from Béchar to Oran is opened on 15 July, planning starts on suburban electrification at 25 kV AC. A new 204-kilometre railway currently under construction from Tébessa to Aïn MLila, the 8 km Algiers bypass line between Djasr Kasentina and Oued Smar is also being upgraded. 18 May 2006 SNTF is to spend $US5 billion in the five years on improvements. SNTF is to electrify 420 km of the route west of Annaba at 25 kV AC, including the branches from Ramdane Djamel to Skikda and Beni Mansour to Bejaia, as well as the line from Khemis Miliana to Oran. 18 May 2006 - By early 2009, it is hoped to open the first 16.3 km section of the new rail line in Algeria’s capital city. Under construction, there are 3 projects to build networks in 3 major cities, Alger, Oran. CAF is to supply 17 non-tilting diesel multiple-units based on the RENFE Series 598 tilting trains, currently Algiers, Oran and Constantine are the only cities in the country with a tram line in operation. Tram projects have been launched in both Setif and Batna in the east, Mostaganem and Sidi Bel-Abbes in the west, the government, wanting to diversify the countrys future in rail transport, has assigned the Algeirs Subway Company to the projects. Algeria has two routes in the Trans-African Highway network, including the Trans-Sahara Highway, soon to be complete as a road running from north to south through the country. The country has also embarked in the construction of a new East-West highway, motorway network in Algeria is expanding increasingly, along with other kinds of infrastructure, though this is only true for the Northern region of the country, where most of its population lives. And this infrastructure is pretty well developed for North African standards and this is the most important road infrastructure in the country, because it expands from Ain El Assel, on the border with Tunisia to Zouj Beghal, on the border with Morocco. Along its way, it links the cities of Constantine, Sétif, Alger, Blida, Chlef, Sidi Bel Abbes. It has a length of 1155 km, Highway of the Hauts Plateaux is a highway of 1020 km under construction in Algeria in parallel to the East–West Highway. It through the wilayas of Tlemcen on the border with Morocco, Saida, Tiaret, Medea, Msila, Batna, Oum El Bouaghi, Khenchela and it is a motorway on its extent from Oran to Zaghloul
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Transport in Angola
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The Benguela Railway already connects to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angola plans to build an oil refinery in Lobito in the coming years, the government plans to build a deep-water port at Barra do Dande, north of Luanda, in Bengo province near Caxito. There is an airport at Luanda. In 2003, domestic and international carriers carried 198,000 passengers, there are airstrips for domestic transport at Benguela, Cabinda, Huambo, Namibe, and Catumbela. This article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2003 and this article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https, //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html
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Transport in Benin
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This article concerns modes of transport in Benin. Benin is a country in Africa, which possesses railway and road infrastructure, Benin currently does not have rail connections to other countries, but new proposals seek to change this. Benin has a total of 578 km of track,1,000 mm metre gauge railway. In 2006, an Indian proposal appeared, which aims to link the railways of Benin with Niger, Benin will be a participant in the AfricaRail project. Benin possesses a total of 6,787 km of highway, of the paved highways in the country, there are 10 expressways. This leaves 5,430 km of unpaved road, the Trans–West African Coastal Highway crosses Benin, connecting it to Nigeria to the east, and Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast to the west. When construction in Liberia and Sierra Leone is finished, the highway will continue west to seven other Economic Community of West African States nations, a paved highway also connects Benin northwards to Niger, and through that country to Burkina Faso and Mali to the north-west. Benins unpaved roads vary widely in quality, deep sand and potholes are common, during the rainy season from mid-June to mid-September, dirt roads often become impassable. Four-wheel drive vehicles with spare tires and emergency equipment are recommended. Most of the streets in Cotonou are paved, but side streets are often dirt with deep potholes. Traffic moves on the right, as in the United States, Cotonou has no public transportation system, many Beninese people rely on bicycles, mopeds, motorbikes, and zemidjans. Buses and bush taxis offer service in the interior, gasoline smuggled from Nigeria is widely available in glass bottles and jugs at informal roadside stands throughout Cotonou and much of the country. This gasoline is of quality, often containing water or other contaminants that can damage or disable vehicles. There are periodic gas shortages, which can be acute in the north of the country where there are few service stations. Poorly maintained and overloaded transport and cargo vehicles frequently break down, drivers often place branches or leaves in the road to indicate a broken down vehicle is in the roadway. Undisciplined drivers move unpredictably through traffic, construction work is often poorly indicated. Speed bumps, commonly used on paved roads in and near villages, are seldom indicated, drivers must be on guard against people and livestock wandering into or across the roads. Nighttime driving is particularly hazardous as vehicles frequently lack headlights and/or taillights, with few exceptions, Cotonou and other cities lack any street lighting, and lighting on roads between population centers is non-existent
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Transport in Botswana
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A sparsely populated, arid country, Botswana has nonetheless managed to incorporate much of its interior into the national economy. An inner circle connecting all major towns and district capitals is completely paved. Botswana possesses 888 km of 1,067 mm gauge railway, by 2019 figures, serving a number of towns, all passenger services were discontinued in 2009, with the only remaining service being an international link to Zimbabwe from Francistown. Passenger service was expected to resume in late 2015, passenger services were later re-introduced in March 2016. Botswana Railways run 2 nightly passenger trains, one from Lobatse to Francistown, and the other from Francistown to Lobatse, with stops in Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye, the passenger train is termed the BR Express. Botswana possesses 10,217 km of highway, of which 5,620 km are paved, traditionally, road signs in Botswana used blue backgrounds rather than the yellow, white, or orange which the rest of the world uses on traffic warning signs. In 2004 there were an estimated 85 airports,10 of which, were paved, the countrys main international airport is Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone. The government-owned Air Botswana operates scheduled flights to Francistown, Gaborone, Maun, there is international service to Johannesburg, South Africa, Mbabane, Swaziland, and Harare, Zimbabwe. A new international airport near Gaborone was opened in 1984, Air passengers arriving to and departing from Botswana during 2003 totalled about 183,000. Sprint Couriers UN Map of Botswana Air Botswana UK - The national airline of Botswana
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Transport in Burkina Faso
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Transport in Burkina Faso consists primarily of road, air and rail transportation. The World Bank classified countrys transportation as underdeveloped but noted that Burkina Faso is a natural transportation hub for West Africa. There are a total of 12,506 kilometres of highway in Burkina Faso and this network includes main inter-city roads and access roads for départments capital cities. Nevertheless, trucking cartels and red tape contribute to high transportation costs, 58% of firms in Burkina Faso identified roads as major business constraint, maintenance and rehabilitation needs of the main road network are said to be underfunded. There are international airports at Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and numerous smaller airfields, in 2004, the number of airports totaled 23, only 2 of which had paved runways as of 2005. Air Burkina, which began in 1967, is government-run and has a monopoly on domestic service, Ouagadougou airport handles about 98% percent of all scheduled commercial air traffic in Burkina Faso. Air Burkina and Air France handle about 60% of all scheduled passenger traffic, in 2007 Ouagadougou airport was the fifteenth busiest airport in West Africa in passenger volume, just ahead of Port Harcourt and behind Banjul. The total air cargo at Ouagadougou airport grew 71% from 4,350 tons in 2005 to about 7,448 tons in 2009, the government plans to close the Ouagadougou airport upon construction of the new Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport, approximately 35 km northeast of Ouagadougou. The new airport is expected to be completed around 2018 and the government received a $85 million loan from the World Bank to help finance the construction, the government of Burkino Faso believed that the project would cost $618 million. There are 622 kilometres of railway in Burkina Faso, of which 517 km run from Ouagadougou to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as of June 2014 Sitarail operates a passenger train three times a week along the route from Ouagadougou to Abidjan via Banfora, Bobo-Dioulasso and Koudougou. All of the railways in the country are of 1,000 mm metre gauge, only Ivory Coast is connected to Burkina Faso by rail. Instability in Ivory Coast in 2003 forced a rerouting of rail freight from the Abidjan corridor to ports in Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Ghana use different rail gauges and this break-of-gauge can be overcome to a greater or lesser extent with a number of methods. In 2006, an Indian proposal surfaced to link the railways in Benin and Togo with landlocked Niger, additionally, a Czech proposal also surfaced to link Ghana railways with Burkina Faso. The manganese deposits near Dori are one source of traffic, Burkina Faso would also be a participant in the AfricaRail project. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html
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Transport in Cameroon
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This article provides a breakdown of the transportation options available in Cameroon. The options available to citizens and tourists include railways, roadways, waterways, pipelines and these avenues of transportation are used by citizens for personal transportation, by businesses for transporting goods, and by tourists for both accessing the country and traveling while there. Railways in Cameroon are operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré, as of May 2014 Camrail operated regular daily services on three routes, Douala - Kumba Douala - Yaoundé Yaoundé - Ngaoundéré There are no rail links with neighbouring countries. Except for the relatively good toll roads which connect major cities roads are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather. It is likely for instance that within a decade, a deal of trade between West Africa and Southern Africa will be moving on the network through Yaoundé. National highways in Cameroon, N1, Yaoundé - Bertoua - Ngaoundéré - Garoua - Maroua - Kouséri, n2, Yaoundé - Mbalmayo - Ebolowa - Woleu Ntem, border with Gabon. N3, Yaoundé - Edéa - Douala - Idenau, n4, Yaoundé - Bafia - Bafoussam. N5, Douala - Nkongsamba - Bafang - Bafoussam, n6, Ejagham, border with Nigeria - Bamenda - Bafoussam - Tibati - Lokoti. N8, Mutengene - Kumba - Mamfé, n9, Mbalmayo - Nki, border with Congo. N10, Yaoundé - Bertoua - Batouri - Kenzou, border with the Central African Republic, prices of petrol rose steadily in 2007 and 2008, leading to a transport union strike in Douala on 25 February 2008. The strike quickly escalated into violent protests and spread to major cities. The uprising finally subsided on 29 February, navigation mainly on the Benue River, limited during rainy season. Of the operating maritime ports in Cameroon, Douala is the busiest and most important, lesser ports include Kribi, used chiefly for the export of wood, and Limbé, used only for palm-oil exports. Garoua, on the Benoué River, is the river port. In 2005, Cameroon’s merchant fleet consisted of one petroleum tanker, Douala - main port, railhead, and second largest city. Bonaberi - railhead to northwest Garoua Kribi - oil pipeline from Chad Kribi South - proposed iron ore export port, tiko 889 km of oil line The main international airport is the Douala International Airport and a secondary international airport at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport. As of May 2014 Cameroon had regular international air connections with every major international airport in West and Southwest Africa as well as several connections to Europe. In 2008 there were 34 airports, only 10 of which had paved runways. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html
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Transport in Chad
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Transport infrastructure within Chad is generally poor, especially in the north and east of the country. River transport is limited to the south-west corner, as of 2011 Chad had no railways though two lines are planned - from the capital to the Sudanese and Cameroonian borders. during the wet season, especially in the southern half of the country. In the north, roads are merely tracks across the desert, draft animals remain important in much of the country. Fuel supplies can be erratic, even in the south-west of the country, as of 2011 Chad had no railways. Two lines are planned to Sudan and Cameroon from the capital, Chad has a total of 33,400 km of roads of which approximately 500 km are paved. Some, but not all of the roads in the capital NDjamena are paved, expansion of the road towards Cameroon through Pala and Léré is reportedly in the preparatory stages. On the Chari, between N’Djamena and Lake Chad, transportation is possible all year round, in September and October, the Logone is navigable between N’Djamena and Moundou, and the Chari between N’Djamena and Sarh. Total waterways cover 4,800 km, of which 2,000 km are navigable all year, Chari and Logone Rivers are navigable only in wet season. Both flow northwards, from the south of Chad, into Lake Chad, since 2003, a 1,070 km pipeline has been used to export crude oil from the oil fields around Doba to offshore oil-loading facilities on Cameroons Atlantic coast at Kribi. This route is now little used, there is also a route across Sudan, to the Red Sea, but very little trade goes this way. Links with Niger, north of Lake Chad, are practically nonexistent, it is easier to reach Niger via Cameroon, as of 2012 Chad had an estimated 58 airports, only 9 of which had paved runways. Air Tchad provides internal service to 12 locations but suffers from lack of fuel, the international airport at N’Djamena was damaged in fighting in 1981, but is now served by several international carriers including Air Afrique, which is partly owned by Chad. Another major airport, developed as a staging area, is located at Sarh. In 2003, scheduled airlines in Chad carried about 46,000 passengers on domestic, ministère des Infrastructures et Equipements, Republique du Tchad. Maps UN Map UNHCR Atlas Map This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https, //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html
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Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Ground transport in the Democratic Republic of Congo has always been difficult. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin present serious barriers to road and rail construction, furthermore, chronic economic mismanagement and internal conflict has led to serious under-investment over many years. On the other hand, the DRC has thousands of kilometres of navigable waterways, many of the routes listed below are in poor condition and may be operating at only a fraction of their original capacity, despite recent attempts to make improvements. The First and Second Congo Wars saw great destruction of infrastructure from which the country has not yet recovered. Many vehicles were destroyed or commandeered by militias, especially in the north and east of the country, consequently, outside of Kinshasa, Matadi and Lubumbashi, private and commercial road transport is almost non-existent and traffic is scarce even where roads are in good condition. The few vehicles in use outside these cities are run by the United Nations, aid agencies, the DRC government, air transport is the only effective means of moving between many places within the country. The Congolese government, the United Nations, aid organisations and large companies use air rather than ground transport to move personnel and freight. The UN operates a fleet of aircraft and helicopters, and compared to other African countries the DRC has a large number of small domestic airlines. For the ordinary citizen though, especially in areas, often the only options are to cycle. Some parts of the DRC are more accessible from neighbouring countries than from Kinshasa, similarly, Lubumbashi and the rest of Katanga Province is linked to Zambia, through which the paved highway and rail networks of Southern Africa can be accessed. Such links through neighbouring countries are more important for the east and south-east of the country. The two projects would also link the parts of the country not served by water transport. Loan repayments will be from concessions for raw materials which China desperately needs, copper, cobalt, gold and nickel, as well as by toll revenues from the road and railway. In the face of reluctance by the business community to invest in DRC. The China Railway Seventh Group Co, ltd will be in charge of the contract, under signed by the China Railway Engineering Corporation, with construction to be started from June 2008. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has fewer all-weather paved highways than any country of its population and size in Africa — a total of 2250 km, to put this in perspective, the road distance across the country in any direction is more than 2500 km. The figure of 2250 km converts to 35 km of paved road per 1,000,000 of population, comparative figures for Zambia and Botswana are 721 km and 3427 km respectively. For example, National Road 9 is not operational and cannot be detected by remote sensing methods and this road was cut during the war and as of July 2007 was not in use south of Walikale
