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Brazzaville Arms Dump Blasts
On 4 March 2012, a series of blasts occurred at an army arms dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. At least 300 people were killed by the explosions. Additional bodies were said to be "unfindable." Among the dead were six Chinese workers from a Beijing Construction Engineering Group work site close to the armoury. Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou said that nearby hospitals were overflowing with injuries, with many wounded lying in hallways due to lack of space. Total injuries exceeded 2,500. More than 121,000 people were left homeless and 672 million dollars in damages were done. One survivor described the event as feeling like "the apocalypse;" others described it as "like a tsunami" or "earthquake". Explosions Brazzaville Explosions at the arms dump started around 8:00 a.m. local time (07:00 UTC) in the densely populated arrondissement of Ouenzé, in the north of Brazzaville. The arms dump is situated in Mpila, a neighborhood astride the arrondiss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Africa Time
West Africa Time, or WAT, is a time zone used in west-central Africa. West Africa Time is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC+01:00), which aligns it with Central European Time (CET) during winter, and Western European Summer Time (WEST) / British Summer Time (BST) during summer. As most of this time zone is in the tropical region, there is little change in day length throughout the year and therefore daylight saving time is not observed. West Africa Time is the time zone for the following countries: * (as Central European Time) * * * * * * (western side only) * * * (as Central European Time) * * * * (as Central European Time) * Countries west of Benin (except Morocco and Western Sahara) are in the UTC±0 time zone. Civil time in most of those countries is defined with reference to Greenwich Mean Time (now an alias for UTC±0, rather than an independent reference). References See also * Central European Time, an equivalent time zone covering m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Republic Of The Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered to the northwest by the Republic of the Congo, to the north by the Central African Republic, to the northeast by South Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, and by Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by Zambia, to the southwest by Angola, and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda exclave of Angola. By area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 108 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. Centered on the Cong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2021 Bata Explosions
During the afternoon of 7 March 2021, a series of four explosions occurred at a military barracks in the neighborhood of Nkoantoma, a district of Bata, the largest city and commercial capital of the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea. At least 107 people died, and more than 600 others were injured, while significant infrastructural damage also occurred throughout the city. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo attributed the disaster to negligently stored explosives on the base that detonated after nearby farmers cleared their fields by setting them on fire. However, human rights groups and the Associated Press have cast doubt on Obiang's theory, as there was no evidence of farming nearby. Explosions Four explosions occurred at Cuartel Militar de Nkoantoma, a military base in the neighborhood of Nkoantoma, on the southeastern periphery of Bata. The first three blasts occurred in succession around 14:00 WAT (13:00 UTC), with the first being the str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagos Armoury Explosion
The Lagos armoury explosion was the accidental detonation of a large stock of high explosives at a military storage facility in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, on 27 January 2002. The fires created by the debris from this explosion burnt down a large section of Northern Lagos, and created a panic that spread to other areas. As people fled the flames, many stumbled into a concealed canal and drowned. The explosion and its aftermath are believed to have killed at least 1,100 people and displaced over 20,000, with many thousands injured or homeless. The government of Nigeria launched an enquiry, which blamed the Nigerian Army for failing to properly maintain the base, or to decommission it when instructed to do so in 2001. Explosion Ikeja Cantonment was a large Nigerian Army living and storage area in the city of Lagos, situated north of the city centre near the districts of Isolo and Onigbongo. In January 2002, the base was being used to store a large quantity of "high calibre bombs", a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Maputo Arms Depot Explosion
The 2007 Maputo arms depot explosion were a series of explosions, which occurred in the afternoon of March 22, 2007, from around 16:45 to at least 18:00, in the Malhazine suburb of Maputo, capital city of Mozambique. At least 93 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured in the blasts. Background The arms depot was constructed by the Soviet Union in 1984. The building housed Soviet-manufactured weapons used during the Mozambican Civil War. In addition, a heat wave and drought had been affecting the area for much of the summer, with temperatures around 35 °C (93 °F) being reported. The same heat wave was blamed for a much smaller explosion at the depot on January 28, 2007. Casualties and damage Health Minister Ivo Garrido said on March 23 that 83 fatalities (later updated to 93) were reported and that more than 300 people were injured. Most of the casualties were either military personnel working at the depot or civilians, many of them children, who live ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annette Kouamba Matondo
Annette Kouamba Matondo is a film director, journalist and blogger from the Republic of the Congo. She is editor of ''La Nouvelle République,'' a newspaper based in Brazzaville. Her first film, ''On n'oublie pas, on pardonne,'' commemorates the disappearance of 353 refugees in 1999 from the port in Brazzaville. In it the actress Sylvie Dyclos-Pomos writes a play based on the event. The title uses a phrase associated with Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the .... The film was described by film-maker Beti Ellerson as "cathartic". Her second film, ''De quoi avons-nous peur?'' raises awareness of censorship and self-censorship in journalism. In a third film, ''Au-delà de la souffrance,'' she draws attention to the explosion on 4 March 2012 at an ammunition d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. Diarrhea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This may result in sunken eyes, cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. Dehydration can cause the skin to turn bluish. Symptoms start two hours to five days after exposure. Cholera is caused by a number of types of ''Vibrio cholerae'', with some types producing more severe disease than others. It is spread mostly by unsafe water and unsafe food that has been contaminated with human feces containing the bacteria. Undercooked shellfish is a common source. Humans are the only known host for the bacteria. Risk factors for the disease include poor sanitation, not enoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Security Council (Republic Of The Congo)
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a national security advisor and staffed with senior-level officials from military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement and other governmental bodies. The functions and responsibilities of an NSC at the strategic state level are different from those of the United Nations Security Council, which is more of a diplomatic forum. Occasionally a nation will be ruled by a similarly named body, such as "the National Security Committee" or "Council for National Security". These bodies are often a result of the establishment or preservation of a military dictatorship (or some other national crisis), do not always have statutory approval, and are usually intended to have transitory or provisional powers. See also: coup d'état. Some nations may h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CFA Francs
The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. On 22 December 2019, it was announced that the West African currency would be reformed and replaced by an independent currency to be called Eco. Both CFA francs have a fixed exchange rate to the euro: 100 CFA francs = 1 French franc = €0.152449; or €1 = F 6.55957 = F.CFA 655.957 exactly. Usage CFA francs are used in fourteen countries: twelve nations formerly ruled by France in West and Central Africa (excludin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in tabloid format. It reached its peak circulation in 1947, at 2.4 million copies a day. As of 2019 it was the eleventh-highest circulated newspaper in the United States. Today's ''Daily News'' is not connected to the earlier '' New York Daily News'', which shut down in 1906. The ''Daily News'' is owned by parent company Tribune Publishing. This company was acquired by Alden Global Capital, which operates its media properties through Digital First Media, in May 2021. After the Alden acquisition, alone among the newspapers acquired from Tribune Publishing, the ''Daily News'' property was spun off into a separate subsidiary called Daily News Enterprises. History ''Illustrated Daily News'' The ''Illustrated Daily News'' was founded by Patt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Within it there are three distinct organisations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. History Foundation Until the middle of the nineteenth century, there were no organized or well-established army nursing systems for casualties, nor safe or protected institutions, to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. A devout Calvinist, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet then-French emperor Napoleon III in June 1859 with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in Algeria, which at that time w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Ton
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States customary units), and the long ton ( British imperial units). It is equivalent to approximately 2204.6 pounds, 1.102 short tons, and 0.984 long tons. The official SI unit is the megagram (symbol: Mg), a less common way to express the same mass. Symbol and abbreviations The BIPM symbol for the tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit in 1879.Table 6 . BIPM. Retrieved on 2011-07-10. Its use is also official for the metric ton in the United States, having been adopted by the United States |
