Whatcâ¬â?cs Happening Today?

Republic Day (Ivory Coast). This is the National Day of Ivory Coast and it commemorates full independence from France on this day in 1960. 

In 1946 with the establishment of the Fourth French Republic, Ivory Coast became an overseas territory of France with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. In 1958, Ivory Coast became a self-governing autonomous republic within the French Community. On July 11th 1960 France agreed to Ivory Coast becoming fully independent. Ivory Coast gained its full independence on August 7th 1960, with F?©lix Houphou?«t-Boigny becoming Ivory Coast's first president.

National Purple Heart Day (USA). The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after April 5, 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members 

What Happened Today?

1. On 7 August 1973, President Idi Amin decreed that Swahili was to be Uganda's official language. 12 out of the 20 districts had chosen this, the other 8 wanted Luganda. 

2. In 1998, coordinated bomb attacks were carried out in American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya killing over 200 people. Responsibility for the twin attacks in the capital cities was taken by an Al-Qaeda affiliate Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

3. In 2008, war broke out between Russia and Georgia. The conflict began over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia. When the two provinces broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s and most of the international community did not recognize their independence. Russia, on the other hand, backed them and placed peacekeeping forces in the two regions. 

Birthdays

1. 1975 câ¬â?? Charlize Theron, American-South African actor famous for starring in the psychological thriller Monster and winning an Oscar for her performance in the movie.

2. 1985 câ¬â?? Rick Genest, Canadian, artist, actor, fashion model and musician famously known as Zombie Boy who held the Guinness World Record for his full-body tattoos.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday & bornglorious.com