The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western
Africa. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the
Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa
in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural
features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and
savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and
the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home
to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is
well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and
bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. English and
French are the official languages. In 1960, French Cameroun became
independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou
Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in 1961
to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the
United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in
1984. Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys political
and social stability. This has permitted the development of
agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber
industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in
poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the
president, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
party, and corruption is widespread.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon
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Today's selected anniversaries:
64:
The Great Fire of Rome started among the shops around the Circus
Maximus selling flammable goods, eventually destroying four of
fourteen Roman districts and severely damaging seven others.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome)
1863:
American Civil War: Led by Union Army Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first formal African
American military unit, spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner near
Charleston, South Carolina.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Volunteer_Infantry)
1982:
Guatemalan military forces and their paramilitary allies slaughtered
over 250 Mayan campesinos in the village of Plan de Sánchez, Baja
Verapaz department.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_de_S%C3%A1nchez_massacre)
1995:
During the fifteenth stage of the 1995 Tour de France, Italian
cyclist Fabio Casartelli suffered a fatal crash on the descent of the
Col de Portet d'Aspet.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Casartelli)
1996:
Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 exploded at 00:31 UTC (20:31, July 17
EDT) off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
eradicate: To pull up by the roots; to uproot.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eradicate)
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Wikiquote of the day:
The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the
reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look
sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind
companion; and so let all young persons take their choice. -- William
Makepeace Thackeray
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Makepeace_Thackeray)