What’s Happening Today?

Independence Day (Niger). Independence Day in the Republic of Niger is commemorated on August 3, marking the nation's independence from France in 1960. 

Watermelon Day (USA). Watermelon is celebrated today with National Watermelon Day. There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelon. Watermelon is usually considered to be a fruit and eaten as one, but it can also be considered to be a vegetable and eaten as such. Its scientific name is citrullus lanatus, and it is a member of the cucurbitaceae gourd family along with cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, and some melons.

What Happened Today?

1.    In 1949, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League finalized the merger that would create the National Basketball Association (NBA).

2.    In 2014, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 617 people and injured more than 2,400 people in Yunnan, China.

3.    In 2014, the genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Northern Iraq began. The genocide led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis from their ancestral lands in Upper Mesopotamia. Thousands of Yazidi women and girls were forced into sexual slavery by the Islamic State, and thousands of Yazidi men were killed. The genocide began after the withdrawal of the Kurdistan Regional Government's Peshmerga, which left the Yazidis defenseless.

Birthdays

1.    1968 – Simon Ejua, former state minister of Transport in the Uganda cabinet from 2006 to 2011.

2.    1976 – Richard Gafabusa, Member of Parliament for Bwamba County in Bundibugyo district.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday & bornglorious.com

Image: Foodimentary