Worldwide events; zarb e jamhoor newspaper; 187 issue; 03 09 aug, 2014

Armed Forces Day - Aug 03 Equatorial Guinea

Armed force day is one those days, which is celebrated in many countries in order to respect their military organizations together. On this day, all the divisions of the defense together are respected for their huge devotion and dedication towards the country. Though different military organization have their own day, such as Army Day, Air Force Day, Navy Day etc, but the Armed forces Day together celebrates the achievement of all these branches of defense.

The armed Forces Day is celebrated on August 3rd every year in Equatorial Guinea.

History The military history of Equatorial Guinea is not very great.

The military has been reorganized several times for the betterment and more effectiveness and no doubt, the results were successful and fruitful. The total number of people serving in the Armed forces amounts to 2500 only. Out of these 2500, 1400 are in Army, 200 in the navy, 400 are deployed as Paramilitary police and the air force comprises of only 120 service people. Basically, the army is not trained up to the requirements of the present day, and neither are they equipped with the latest versions of arms and ammunitions.

The present armed forces of Equatorial Guinea are equipped with the arms, which are light and small. The arms include small arms, RPGs, and Mortars. The forces are not equipped with latest heavy arms. The light armored vehicles and trucks are all soviet style and do not run or work properly. The armed forces also contain another division called Gendarmerie. The numbers of this division is not known and are trained by the help of French Military cooperation.

Thus the armed force of Equatorial Guinea are not very well trained and are not self sufficient to operate, and thus rely on foreigners to operate. The number of paved aerodromes, number of working aircrafts etc are all very less.

They acquire various ammunitions and warfare vehicles from foreign countries.

Celebrations In spite of having a bad military record the armed forces day is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Equatorial Guinea.

There is no lack of celebration for the armed forces. Though small in number, they are felicitated well on that auspicious day. The armed forces are said to be the most devotional and dedicated work men. This is the reason they are so much respected. The lifestyle they live comprises of discipline and honor, and the hardship they undergo, is because of the countrymen. Thus, on this one day, they are respected thoroughly for their kind devotion in front of all those for whom they take up all those pains. The celebration includes a felicitation ceremony where these men are honored and respected, followed by a huge and grand dinner in the name of the Armed Forces. The whole country gets a public holiday on this day, and the armed forces men enjoy together. They meet, they eat, they drink, for one day they lay the burden of responsibility away from their shoulders and enjoy to their utmost level and why should not they. They have also the right to live for themselves, but they live for others more than they live for themselves.

Independence Day Niger - Aug 03

Niger, officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.

Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.

Nigerien (/niːˈʒɛəriən/ or pronunciation: /naɪdʒɪrɪˈɛn/) society reflects a diversity drawn from the long independent histories of its several ethnic groups and regions and their relatively short period living in a single state. Historically, what is now Niger has been on the fringes of several large states. Since independence, Nigeriens have lived under five constitutions and three periods of military rule. Following a military coup in 2010, Niger has now become a democratic, multi-party state. A majority live in rural areas, and have little access to advanced education.

History

While most of what is now Niger has been subsumed into the inhospitable Sahara desert in the last two thousand years, five thousand years ago the north of the country was fertile grasslands. Populations of pastoralists have left paintings of abundant wildlife, domesticated animals, chariots, and a complex culture that dates back to at least 10,000 BCE. Several former northern villages and archaeological sites date from the Green Sahara period of 7,500– 7,000 to 3,500–3,000 BCE.

Early historical period:

The Songhai Empire expanded into what is modern Niger from the 15th century, reaching as far as Agadez before its collapse in 1591, from which the modern Zarma and Songhai peoples trace their history. At its fall, portions of the empire and refugees from modern Mali formed a series of Songhai states, with the Dendi Kingdom becoming the most powerful.

From the 13th century, the nomadic Tuareg formed large confederations, pushed southward, into the Aïr Mountains, displacing some previous residents to the south. At their peak, the Tuareg confederations ruled most of what is now northern The Kaouar escarpment, forming an Niger, and extended their influence into modern Nigeria.

In the 18th century, Fula pastoralists moved into the Liptako oasis in the Ténéré desert. area of the west, while smaller Zarma kingdoms, siding with various Hausa states, clashed with the expanding Fulani Empire of Sokoto from the south. The colonial border with British Nigeria was in part based on the rupture between the Sokoto Caliphate to the south, and Hausa ruling dynasties which had fled to the north. In the far east around the Lake Chad basin, the successive expansion of the Kanem Empire and Bornu Empire spread ethnically Kanuri and Toubou rulers and their subject states as far west as Zinder and the Kaouar Oases from the 10th to the 17th centuries.

In the 19th century, contact with the West began when the first European explorers — notably Mungo Park (British) and Heinrich Barth (German) — explored the area, searching for the source of the Niger River. Although French efforts at "pacification" began before 1900, dissident ethnic groups, especially the desert Tuareg, were not fully subdued until 1922, when Niger became a French colony.

Niger's colonial history and development parallel that of other French West African territories. France administered its West African colonies through a governor general in Dakar, Senegal, and governors in the individual territories, including Niger. In addition to conferring French citizenship on the inhabitants of the territories, the 1946 French constitution provided for decentralization of power and limited participation in political life for local advisory assemblies.

Early independence:

A further revision in the organization of overseas territories occurred with the passage of the Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre) of 23 July 1956, followed by reorganizing measures enacted by the French Parliament early in 1957. In addition to removing voting inequalities, these laws provided for creation of governmental organs, assuring individual territories a large measure of self-government. After the establishment of the Fifth French Republic on 4 December 1958, Niger became an autonomous state within the French Community. Following full independence on 3 August 1960, however, membership was allowed to lapse.

Single party and military rule (1961–1991):

For its first fourteen years as an independent state, Niger was run by a single-party civilian regime under the presidency of Hamani Diori. In 1974, a combination of devastating droughtand accusations of rampant corruption resulted in a coup d'état that overthrew the Diori regime. Col. Seyni Kountché and a small military group ruled the country until Kountché's death in 1987.

He was succeeded by his Chief of Staff, Col. Ali Saibou, who released political prisoners, liberalized some of Niger's laws and policies, and promulgated a new constitution, with the creation of a single party constitutional Second Republic. However, President Saibou's efforts to control political reforms failed in the face of union and student demands to institute a multi-party democratic system. The Saibou regime acquiesced to these demands by the end of 1990.

New political parties and civic associations sprang up, and a national peace conference was convened in July 1991 to prepare the way for the adoption of a new constitution and the holding of free and fair elections. The debate was often contentious and accusatory, but under the leadership of Prof. André Salifou, the conference developed a plan for a transition government.

Third Republic:

This caretaker government was installed in November 1991 to manage the affairs of state until the institutions of the Third Republic were put into place in April 1993. While the economy deteriorated over the course of the transition, certain accomplishments stand out, including the successful conduct of a constitutional referendum; the adoption of key legislation such as the electoral and rural codes; and the holding of several free, fair, and non-violent nationwide elections. Freedom of the press flourished with the appearance of several new independent newspapers.

The results of the January 1995 parliamentary election meant cohabitation between a rival president and prime minister; this led to governmental paralysis, which provided Col. Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara a rationale to overthrow the Third Republic in January 1996.

Military rule and the Fourth Republic:

While leading a military authority that ran the government (Conseil de Salut Mamadou Tandja, Deposed National) during a 6-month transition period, Baré enlisted specialists to draft President of the Republic of a new constitution for a Fourth Republic announced in May 1996. Baré organ- Niger ized a presidential election in July 1996. While voting was still going on, he replaced the electoral commission. The new commission declared him the winner after the polls closed. His party won 57% of parliament seats in a flawed legislative election in November 1996.

When his efforts to justify his coup and subsequent questionable elections failed to convince donors to restore multilateral and bilateral economic assistance, a desperate Baré ignored an international embargo against Libya and sought Libyan funds to aid Niger's economy. In repeated violations of basic civil liberties by the regime, opposition leaders were imprisoned; journalists often arrested, and deported by an unofficial militia composed of police and military; and independent media offices were looted and burned.

As part of an initiative started under the 1991 national conference, however, the government signed peace accords in April 1995 with all, meaning Tuareg and Toubou groups that had been in rebellion since 1990. The Tuareg claimed they lacked attention and resources from the central government. The government agreed to absorb some former rebels into the military and, with French assistance, help others return to a productive civilian life.

Fifth Republic since 1999:

On 9 April 1999, Baré was killed in a coup led by Maj. Daouda Malam Wanké, who established a transitional National Reconciliation Council to oversee the drafting of a constitution for a Fifth Republic with a French style semi-presidential system.

In votes that international observers found to be generally free and fair, the Nigerien electorate approved the new constitution in July 1999 and held legislative and presidential elections in October and November 1999.

Heading a coalition of the National Movement for a Developing Society (MNSD) and the Democratic and Social Convention (CDS), Mamadou Tandja won the election.

The new second term government of the Fifth Republic took office on 30 December 2002. In August 2002, serious unrest within the military occurred in Niamey, Diffa, and Nguigmi, but the government was able to restore order within several days.

The legislature elected in December 2004 contained seven political parties. President Mamadou Tandja was re-elected in December 2004 and reappointed Hama Amadou as Prime Minister.Mahamane Ousmane, the head of the CDS, was re-elected President of the National Assembly (par- A Nigerien rebel fighter. Februliament) by his peers. ary 2008 In June 2007, Seyni Oumarou was nominated as the new Prime Minister after Hama Amadou was democratically forced out of office by the National Assembly through a motion of no confidence. From 2007 to 2008, the Second Tuareg Rebellion took place in northern Niger, worsening economic prospects and shutting down political progress.

In a February 2010 coup d'état, a military junta was established in response to Tandja's attempted extension of his political term through constitutional manipulation. The coup established a junta led by the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, which then held elections in 2011 that were judged internationally to be free and fair.

National Flag Day Venezuela - 03 Aug

During a ceremony on Wednesday in La Vela de Coro, Falcón state, Venezuela’s Minister of Peoples’ Power for Interior and Justice, Tareck El Aissami, and Governor of Falcón state, Estela Lugo, celebrated the 205th anniversary of the national flag, which was flown on Venezuelan soil for the first time by independence hero Francisco de Miranda on August 3, 1806.

After the national flag was hoisted, celebrations to remember General Francisco de Miranda and other heroes that arrived to La Vela de Coro that year took place.

The ministers of Peoples’ Power for Defense, Carlos Mata Figueroa, and Culture, Pedro Calzadilla, also attended the ceremony.

On August 3 Miranda Flew the First Tricolor Flag On August 3, 1806, Francisco de Miranda disembarked in La Vela de Coro and flew what is now recognized as the Venezuelan flag for the first time. The flag was hoisted as part of his mission to free the country from Spanish rule.

Independence hero Francisco de Miranda departed from New York to Venezuela on February 2, 1806 to establish a republic of free men and women in the Americas. His expedition set sail on a ship named after his son Lander, and was accompanied by two small vessels that encompassed 200 men, cannons, rifles, pistols, swords, and powder kegs to fight against the Spanish army.

After visiting Haiti to ask for support from the new independent government of the island, he arrived on the night April 26, 1806 to the coast of Ocumare, where colonial forces thwarted his landing and captured both small vessels.

Miranda was able to flee on the Lander.

On June 24, 1806 Miranda reorganized his forces on the island of Trinidad, where British Governor Thomas Hislop provided assistance. After a month in the Lander, he departed again to the Venezuelan coasts.

Miranda carried with him a proclamation titled “Proclamation of the Inhabitants of the American-Colombian Continent,” which he had prepared to outline the measures to be taken within the colonially-controlled political institutions.

The Spanish knew in advance of the arrival of pro-independence supporters to the coasts of Coro, and decided to evacuate the area to leave Miranda’s army in a deserted city, which frustrated plans of the first emancipation movement of Venezuela’s 19th century.

Martyr's Day - Aug 03 Guinea Bissau

Colonization Martyr’s Day is observed as an anniversary of the killings of Pidjiguiti — a day of remembrance of the brave martyrs of the nation.

History

Guinea-Bissau is a country of the western African continent on Atlantic Ocean. Populated by the Malinke, Fulani and other people from West Africa, Portuguese were the first ones to visit the country during the 15th century. Later on, it became one of the Portuguese colonies (1879).

The history of Guinea-Bissau was dominated by Portugal from the 1450s to 1970s. Since independence, the country has been primarily controlled by a single-party system.

Portuguese conquest and the consolidation of country’s interior did not start till the last half of 19th century. This was the time, when Portuguese lost a portion of the island to the French from West Africa. The struggle for independence was started in 1956 by PAIGC (African Party for Independence of Guinea & Cape Verde).

In 1961, it started the armed rebellion against Portuguese. After repeated pressure from the PAIGC, the Portuguese finally met their downfall in 1974. Following Carnation Revolution in April 1974 at Portugal, the country granted independence for the Guinea-Bissau on the September 10th of 1974. Half-brother of Amílcar Cabral, Luís Cabral, was the Guinea-Bissau’s first president.

Colonization Martyr’s Day is observed as an anniversary of the killings of Pidjiguiti. It is celebrated on August 3. It is marked as a day of remembrance of the brave martyrs of the nation. It originates from the Pidjiguiti massacre of 1959. The PAIGC launched their first major movement by instigating the dock-workers strike for better salaries. They did it at Pijiguiti Docks in the Guinea’s Port of Bissau on August 3, 1959.

The P.I.D.E. (political police) suppressed this strike, open wild fire on striking workers and killed more than 50 people.

The political authorities put the entire blame on the PAIGC for framing discontentment among the poor, absentminded workers. However, the loss had already occurred; more than 50 families lost their working heads. It urged a national trauma, which would never be fully cured. That traumatic day of August 3, 1959 is observed nationwide as the Colonization Martyr’s Day.

Celebrations

The Colonization Martyr’s Day is marked as a public holiday in Guinea-Bissau. There are no real celebrations on this day in the country. It is a day of national grief for the citizens of the nation. People on this day, mourn the Pidjiguiti massacre. They light candles and torch processions are a common feature of this day.

In remembrance of the departed souls, they also observe 5 minutes of nationwide silence. On this date, the President of the state delivers a speech, which is telecasted live on a nationwide scale. Here, he passionately remembers the sacrifices of the martyrs of the country and also talks about the economic and military upgrade of Guinea-Bissau.

Gradually over the years the people have come to terms to the loss….which still pains.

Coast Guard Day U.S. - Aug 04

Coast Guard Day is held every August 4 to commemorate the founding of the United States Coast Guard as the Revenue Marine on 4 August, 1790, by then Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. On that date, Congress, guided by Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of the first ten Revenue Service cutters, whose responsibility would be enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by Congress under the Constitution.

The Coast Guard received its present name through an act of Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on 28 January 1915 that merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, and provided the nation with a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing the nation's maritime laws.

The Coast Guard began to maintain the country's maritime aids to navigation, including operating the nation's lighthouses, when President Franklin Roosevelt announced plans to transfer of the U.S. Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard in May 1939. Congress approved the plan effective 1 July, 1939. On 16 July 1946, Congress permanently transferred the Department of Commerce Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation to the Coast Guard, thereby placing merchant marine licensing and merchant vessel safety under Coast Guard regulation.

After 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation effective 1 April 1967. As a result of the events of 11 September 2001, the Coast Guard was transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security effective 1 March 2002.

Coast Guard Day is primarily an internal activity for active duty and reserve Coast Guardsmen, civilian employees, retirees, auxiliarists, and dependents, but it does have a significant share of interest outside the service. Coast Guard units throughout the United States usually plan picnics and informal sport competitions together with family and friends on Coast Guard Day. In addition to celebrating their own day every year, Coast Guard members also participate as equal partners in Armed Forces Day activities. Grand Haven, Michigan, also known by act of Congress as Coast Guard City, USA, annually sponsors the Coast Guard Festival the week of August 4.

Constitution Day Cook Islands - Aug 04

The Constitution of the Cook Islands took effect on August 4, 1965, when the Cook Islands became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The anniversary of these events in 1965 is commemorated annually on Constitution Day, with week long activities known as Te Maevea Nui Celebrations locally.

Revolution Day Burkina Faso - Aug 04

Anniversary of the Revolution is a national holiday to commemorate the revolution that took place on August 5, 1960. Former Upper Volta is now known as Burkina Faso. It was named Burkina Faso after the 1983 revolution that saw the rise of Thomas Sankara to power. Burkina Faso means “the land of upright people”.

History

Full independence was attained in 1960. The country saw its first military coup in 1966, and civilian rule returned in 1978. Another revolt took place in 1980, led by Saye Zerbo but he was later overthrown in 1982. In 1983, a counter coup was launched under the leadership of the charismatic Captain Thomas Sankara to power. On this day, the country was renamed as Burkina Faso. As mentioned before it means “the land of upright people”, in More and Dioula which are the major native languages of the country. Literally, “Burkina” mean the “men of integrity” in More language, and the meaning of “Faso” is “father’s house” in Dioula.

The Republic of Upper Volta gained freedom in 1960. The first president was Maurice Yameogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union. After he came to power, every political party was banned by Yameogo. The government survived until 1966. After that when the mass unrest grew out of control military intervened.

The military revolt deposed Yameogo. The constitution was suspended and the National Assembly was dissolved.

Lt. Col. Sangoule Lamizana was placed at the head of the government. The army was there in power until 1970.

After that, the constitution was ratified and Lamizana remained the head of the mixed civil military government throughout the 70s.

On November 25, 1980, the Col. Saye Zerbo overthrew the President Lamizana and left him in the bloodless coup.

The 1977 constitution was eradicated and the Military Committee of Recovery for National Progress was established as the main governmental body.

CSP (Council of Popular Salvation) overthrew Zerbo in 1982. Unrest continued to grow amongst the moderates and the radicals in the CSP. Capt. Thomas Sankara, the then prime minister was arrested. The efforts to release him resulted in another military coup.

Following the coup, Sankara formed the CNR (National Council for the Revolution) and made himself the president.

He was strongly anti-corruption. Sankara did a lot to “mobilize the masses”. For this purpose, he established CDR (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution). They had another function of implementing the revolutionary programs of the CNR. The exact membership of the CNR could never be known. It remained a secret till the end. The CNR contained the two small Marxist-Leninist groups. Sankara himself, Compaore, Maj. Jean-Baptiste Lingani and Capt. Henri Zongo – all the leftist military officers, who dominated the regime.

Celebrations

On August 4, 1984, the “land of honorable people”, Burkina Faso, emerged out of Upper Volta. Sankara, on this very day launched a movement to mobilize the masses. The enigmatic leader sought by word, and by deed to initiate this massive boot strap development revolution. The fellow citizens of Sankara still commemorate the endeavors of their strong ideological leader on Revolution Day.

Homeland Thanksgiving Day Croatia - Aug 05

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian Defenders(Croatian: Dan pobjede i domovinske zahvalnosti i dan hrvatskih branitelja) is a public holiday in Croatia which is held as a memorial to its War of Independence, celebrated on August 5. On that date in 1995 the Croatian Army took the city of Knin during Operation Storm, which brought an end to the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a self-proclaimed Serb entity in Croatia.

The main celebration is centered in Knin where there are festivities commemorating the event, beginning with a Mass and laying of wreaths in honor of those who died in the war, and continuing with parades and concerts. The event is attended by thousands of people and the highest powers in Croatia. The Croatian flag on the Knin fortress is ceremonially lifted as part of the celebrations.

In 2008, the Parliament also assigned the name Day of the Croatian Defenders (Croatian:Dan hrvatskih branitelja) to the holiday.

Independence Day Burkina Faso - Aug 05

Burkina Faso celebrates its independence day every year on August 5th.

This country got independent from French rule in 1960. Before that, the territory was merged with and separated from other French territories in West Africa.

Until the end of 19th century, the empire-building Mossi dominated the history of Burkina Faso. In 1896, the French claimed the area but Mossi resistance was there till 1901, when the French captured the capital, Ouagadougou. In 1919, the colony of upper Volta was established. It was dismantled and reconstituted several times. The present borders were recognized in 1947.

History France colonized Upper Volta in 1897. They did so as a carve-up of West Africa between Britain and herself. The

French captured the country, not for any riches, but as a bridge to link their other territories. The population seemed to the French as a huge labor pool. They never invested in the country.

After the world war two, the movement for independence was growing stronger day by day in the West African countries. France recreated Upper Volta in 1947 because she feared the growth of support for the movement in Cote d’lvoire. Eventually the issue of independence was forced in the French parliament in Paris by representation of the French colonies. Thus, each colony was provided its own Government Council. So, in 1958 Maurice Yameogo of the Voltaic Democratic Union was elected as the first president of Upper Volta.

After independence, Yameogo tried to reduce the power of the Mossi rulers, but his power was reduced by the poor economy and internal conflicts. In 1965, he was reelected as president. It was quite unsurprising because all the other parties were banned. In 1966, a group of army officers headed by Lt. Col. Sangoulé Lamizana overthrew his government in a bloodless rebellion. He then became the head of the state. In 1983, another movement erupted which carved out the country’s modern identity. Thomas Sankara led it. Sankara was a staunch supporter of women’s equality. He was strongly anti-corruption and ideological. During his rule, female circumcision and prostitution were banned. He was also against polygamy. He introduced a campaign that vaccinated 3 million children against diseases like yellow fever, measles, and meningitis, in only 15 days.

Celebrations In this way, Burkina Faso has come a long way in 47 years. It has established its own identity. Every citizen of the

country celebrates the Independence Day with unmatched enthusiasm. It is a fact that the country is still poor economically but it is showing a continuous growth of 5%. There are nearly 60 ethnic groups in the country and many religions, which live side by side peacefully. They all take the pledge on the Independence Day to make their country prosperous and peaceful.

International Infinity Day Worldwide - Aug 08

Infinity Day is also known as Universal & International Infinity Day, and is a day held on the 8th of August of each year in order to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing, not just for professional academics and published philosophers, but for everyone. The reason why it is called Infinity Day is because it is generally agreed among certain philosophers and other intellectuals that the concept, idea and potential reality of infinity is the ultimate one that the human mind can conceive, in terms of relevance and importance to true philosophical enquiry.

History Infinity Day was first conceived and created by Jean-Pierre Ady Fenyo, a Philosopher and Science-Fiction author, who is also known as The Original New York City Free Advice Man (see The New Yorker magazine's August 17, 1987 issue) in 1987. It has been celebrated in the form of peaceful, non-violent and lawful (by official permit) demonstrations for philosophical inquiry, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and ethics in society, throughout the world. The first Infinity Day was held in New York City in 1987. Thereafter the founder took it to Washington (DC, USA), Budapest and London.

Women's Day South Africa - Aug 09

National Women's Day is an annual public holiday in South Africa on 9 August. This commemorates the national march of women on this day in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass", special identification documents which curtailed an African's freedom of movement during the apartheid era.

The event

On 9 August 1956, 20,000 women staged a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act (commonly known as the pass laws) of 1950. They left bundles of petitions containing more than 100 000 signatures at prime ministerJ.G. Strijdom's office doors. Outside they stood silently for 30 minutes, many with their children on their backs. Those who were working for Whites as nannies were carrying their white charges with them. The women sang a protest song that was composed in honour of the occasion: Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo!(Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.). In the 54 years since, the phrase (or its latest incarnation: "you strike a woman, you strike a rock") has come to represent women's courage and strength in South Africa.

The march was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn.

Other participants included Frances Baard, a statue of whom was unveiled by Northern Cape Premier Hazel Jenkins in Kimberley(Frances Baard District Municipality) on National Women's Day 2009.

Since 9 August 1994, the day has been commemorated annually and is known as "Women's Day" in South Africa.

In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans. national women's day celebrates why women are important.

Accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed U.A.E. - Aug 06

Accession day or the day on which H. H Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan became the president of United Arab Emirates is celebrated in UAE on August 6 of every year. The accession of Sheikh Zayed to the throne happened in the year 1966. This accession marked the start of a new epoch in the history of United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Zayed was a futurist and farsighted thinker who wanted to unite the country and its people. In more than 3 decades of his rule, he made sure that with every step he is moving an inch closer towards his goal.

History H. H Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan is the brain behind what UAE is today. He implemented many new infra-

structure projects, which lead to the development of United Arab Emirates. He took many steps in the direction of uniting his country and as well as maintaining healthy relations with the neighboring countries. He exploited the oil reserves of UAE in well planned and technical ways which lead to prosperity and filling up the treasure of the states.

This was the reason why Forbes considered him as one of the wealthiest person in the world.

Celebrations

Accession day is celebrated in UAE with great enthusiasm. For almost a week, the whole country is gripped in the festive atmosphere. Many government and non-government organizations prepare for more than a month so that Accession Day celebrations are colorful and flamboyant than ever. Shining and sparkling fireworks lit up the night sky of Abu Dhabi. Many traditional concerts and dances take place, which attracts many tourists to the country. People flock the roads in their traditional attire and cars and other vehicles are decorated with the national flag. The television channels show many documentaries about the Accession Day throughout the day.

Atomic Bomb Day U.S. - Aug 06

On August 06, 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman, discouraged by the Japanese response to the Potsdam Conference's demand for unconditional surrender, made the decision to use the atom bomb to end the war in order to prevent what he predicted would be a much greater loss of life were the United States to invade the Japanese mainland. And so on August 5, while a "conventional" bombing of Japan was underway, "Little Boy," (the nickname for one of two atom bombs available for use against Japan), was loaded onto Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets' plane on Tinian Island in the Marianas. Tibbets' B-29, named the Enola Gay after his mother, left the island at 2:45 a.m. on August 6. Five and a half hours later, "Little Boy" was dropped, exploding 1,900 feet over a hospital and unleashing the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT. The bomb had several inscriptions scribbled on its shell, one of which read "Greetings to the Emperor from the men of the Indianapolis" (the ship that transported the bomb to the Marianas).

There were 90,000 buildings in Hiroshima before the bomb was dropped; only 28,000 remained after the bombing.

Of the city's 200 doctors before the explosion; only 20 were left alive or capable of working. There were 1,780 nurses before-only 150 remained who were able to tend to the sick and dying.

According to John Hersey's classic work Hiroshima, the Hiroshima city government had put hundreds of schoolgirls to work clearing fire lanes in the event of incendiary bomb attacks. They were out in the open when the Enola Gay dropped its load.

There were so many spontaneous fires set as a result of the bomb that a crewman of the Enola Gay stopped trying to count them. Another crewman remarked, "It's pretty terrific. What a relief it worked."

Independence Day Bolivia - Aug 06

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.

Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in PreColumbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.

Bolivia is a democratic republic that is divided into nine departments. Its geography is varied from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands, situated within the Amazon Basin. It is a developing country, with a Medium Human Development Index score, and a poverty level of 53%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin.

The Bolivian population, estimated at 10 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. The main language spoken is Spanish, although the Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages are also common and all three, as well as 34 other indigenous languages, are official. The large number of different cultures within Bolivia has contributed greatly to a wide diversity in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.

History

The region that is now known as Bolivia has been occupied for over 2,000 years, when the Aymara arrived in the region. Present-day Aymara associate themselves with an advanced civilization situated at Tiwanaku, in Western Bolivia. The capital city of Tiwanaku dates from as early as 1500 BC when it was a small agriculturally based village.

The community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and AD 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes. According to early estimates, at its maximum extent, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers, and had between 15,000 – 30,000 inhabitants. However, satellite imaging was used recently to map the extent of fossilized suka kollus across the three primary valleys of Tiwanaku, arriving at population-carrying capacity estimates of anywhere between 285,000 and 1,482,000 people.

Around AD 400, Tiwanaku went from being a locally dominant force to a predatory state. Tiwanaku expanded its reaches into the Yungas and brought its culture and way of life to many other cultures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. However, Tiwanaku was not a violent culture in many respects. In order to expand its reach, Tiwanaku exercised great political astuteness, creating colonies, fostering trade agreements (which made the other cultures rather dependent), and instituting state cults.

The empire continued to grow with no end in sight. William H. Isbell states that "Tiahuanaco underwent a dramatic transformation between AD 600 and 700 that established new monumental standards for civic architecture and greatly increased the resident population." Tiwanaku continued to absorb cultures rather than eradicate them. Archaeologists note a dramatic adoption of Tiwanaku ceramics into the cultures which became part of the Tiwanaku empire. Tiwanaku's power was further solidified through the trade it implemented among the cities within its empire.

Tiwanaku's elites gained their status through the surplus food they con- The first coat of arms of Bolivia, trolled, collected from outlying regions and then redistributed to the formerly named as the Republic general populace. Further, this elite's control of llama herds became a powerful control mechanism as llamas were essential for carrying of Bolívar in honor of Simón Bolígoods between the civic centre and the periphery. These herds also var. came to symbolize class distinctions between the commoners and the elites. Through this control and manipulation of surplus resources, the elite's power continued to grow until about AD 950. At this time a dramatic shift in climate occurred.

There occurred a significant drop in precipitation in the Titicaca Basin. Some archaeologists venture to label this a major drought. As the rainfall decreased, many of the cities further away from Lake Titicaca began to tender less foodstuffs to the elites. As the surplus of food decreased, and thus the amount available to underpin their power, the control of the elites began to falter. The capital city became the last place viable place for food production due to the resiliency of the raised field method of agriculture. But, in the end, even this more productive design for food production was no match for the vagaries of the weather. Tiwanaku disappeared around AD 1000 because food production, the main source of the power elite's control, dried up. The area remained uninhabited for centuries thereafter.

Between 1438 and 1527, the Inca empire, during its last great expansion, gained control over much of what is now western Bolivia. The Incas would not maintain control of the region for long however, as the rapidly expanding Inca Empire was internally weak. As such, the impending Spanish conquest would be remarkably easy.

Colonial period:

The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire began in 1524, and was mostly completed by 1533. The territory now called Bolivia was known as "Upper Peru", and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Lima. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcaslocated in Chuquisaca (La Plata—modern Sucre). Founded in 1545 as a mining town, Potosísoon produced fabulous wealth, becoming the largest city in the New World with a population exceeding 150,000 people.

By the late 16th century Bolivian silver was an important source of revenue for the Spanish Empire. A steady stream of natives served as labor force (the Spanish employed the pre-Columbian draft system called the mita). Upper Peru was bounded to Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Túpac Katari led the indigenous rebellion that laid siege to La Paz in March 1781, during which 20,000 people died. As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic wars, sentiment against colonial rule grew.

Independence and subsequent wars:

The struggle for independence started in the city of Sucre the May 25th of 1809, with the first cry of Freedom in Latin America. Chuquisaca Revolution (Chuquisaca was then the name of the city). That revolution, which created a local government Junta, was followed by the La Paz revolution, during which Bolivia actually declared independence. Both revolutions were short-lived, and defeated by the Spanish authorities, but the following year the Spanish American wars of independence raged across the continent. Bolivia was captured and recaptured many times during the war by the royalists and patriots. Buenos Aires sent three military campaigns, all of which were defeated, and eventually limited itself to protecting the national borders at Salta. Bolivia was finally freed of Royalist dominion byAntonio José de Sucre, with a military campaign coming from the North in support of the campaign of Simón Bolívar.

After 16 years of war the Republic was proclaimed on 6 August 1825.

In 1836, Bolivia, under the rule of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, invaded Peru to reinstall the deposed president, General Luis José de Orbegoso. Peru and Bolivia formed the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, with de Santa Cruz as the Supreme Protector. Following tension between the Confederation and Chile, Chile declared war on 28 December 1836. Argentina, Chile's ally, declared war on the Confederation on 9 May 1837. The Peruvian-Bolivian forces achieved several major victories during the War of the Confederation: the defeat of the Argentine expedition and the defeat of the first Chilean expedition on the fields of Paucarpata near the city of Arequipa.

On the same field, the Chilean and Peruvian rebel army surrendered unconditionally and signed the Paucarpata Treaty. The treaty stipulated that Chile would withdraw from Peru-Bolivia, Chile would return captured Confederate ships, economic relations would be normalized, and the Confederation would pay Peruvian debt to Chile. In Chile, public outrage over the treaty forced the government to reject it. Chile organized a second attack on the Confederation and defeated it in the Battle of Yungay. After this defeat, Santa Cruz resigned and went to exile in Ecuador and then Paris, and the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation was dissolved.

Following the independence of Peru, Peruvian president General Agustín Gamarra invaded Bolivia. The Peruvian army was decisively defeated at theBattle of Ingavi on 20 November 1841 where Gamarra was killed. The Bolivian army under General José Ballivián then mounted a counter-offensive, capturing the Peruvian port of Arica. Later, both sides signed a peace treaty in 1842, putting a final end to the war.

Economic instability and continued wars:

A period of political and economic instability in the early-to-mid-19th century weakened Bolivia. Then in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) against Chile, it lost its access to the sea and the adjoining rich salitre(saltpeter) fields, together with the port of Antofagasta.

Since independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries in wars and as a consequence of internal strife.It also lost the state of Acre, in the Acre War; important because this region was known for its production of rubber. Peasants and the Bolivian army fought briefly but after a few victories, and facing the prospect of a total war against Brazil, it was forced to sign the Treaty of Petrópolis in 1903, in which Bolivia lost this rich territory.

Popular myth has it that Bolivian president Mariano Melgarejo (1864–71) traded the land for what he called "a magnificent white horse" and Acre was subsequently flooded by Brazilians which ultimately led to confrontation and fear of war with Brazil.

In the late 19th century, an increase in the world price of gold brought Bolivia relative prosperity and political stability.

During the early 20th century, tin replaced gold as the country's most important source of wealth. A succession of governments controlled by the economic and social elite followed laissez-faire capitalist policies through the first thirty years of the 20th century.

Living conditions of the native people, who constitute most of the population, remained deplorable. With work opportunities limited to primitive conditions in the mines and in large estates having nearly feudal status, they had no access to education, economic opportunity, and political participation. Bolivia's defeat by Paraguay in the Chaco War (1932–35), where Bolivia lost a great part of the Gran Chaco region in dispute, marked a turning-point.

Nationalist Revolutionary Movement:

The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) The most historic political party, emerged as a broadly based party.

Denied its victory in the 1951 presidential elections, the MNR led a successful revolution in 1952. Under President Víctor Paz Estenssoro, the MNR, having strong popular pressure, introduced universal suffrage into his political platform and carried out a sweeping land-reform promoting rural education and nationalization of the country's largest tin mines.

12 years of tumultuous rule left the MNR divided. In 1964, a military junta overthrew President Estenssoro at the outset of his third term. The 1969 death of President René Barrientos Ortuño, a former member of the junta who was elected president in 1966, led to a succession of weak governments. Alarmed by the rising Popular Assembly and the increase in the popularity of President Juan José Torres, the military, the MNR, and others installed Colonel (later General) Hugo Banzer Suárez as president in 1971.

CIA activities and leftist insurgency:

The CIA had been active in providing finances and training to the Bolivian military in 1960s. The revolutionary leader Che Guevara was killed by a team of CIA officers and members of the Bolivian Army on 9 October 1967, in Bolivia.

The CIA reported that Guevara was captured on 8 October as a result of the clash with the Cuban-led guerrillas. He had a wound in his leg, but was otherwise in fair condition. At 1150 hours on 9 October the Second Ranger Battalion received direct orders from Bolivian Army Headquarters in La Paz to kill Guevara. These orders were carried out at 1315 hours the same day with a burst of fire from an M-2 automatic rifle. Félix Rodríguez was a CIA officer on the team with the Bolivian Army that captured and shot Guevara. Rodriguez said that after he received a Bolivian presidential execution order, he told "the soldier who pulled the trigger to aim carefully, to remain consistent with the Bolivian government's story that Che had been killed in action during a clash with the Bolivian army." Rodriguez said the US government had wanted Che in Panama, and "I could have tried to falsify the command to the troops, and got Che to Panama as the US government said they had wanted", said Mr Rodriguez, but he chose to "let history run its course" as desired by Bolivia."

Military governments: García Meza and Siles Zuazo:

Elections in 1979 and 1981 were inconclusive and marked by fraud. There were coups d'état, counter-coups, and caretaker governments. In 1980, General Luis García Meza Tejada carried out a ruthless and violent coup d'état that did not have popular support. He pacified the people by promising to remain in power only for one year. (At the end of the year, he staged a televised rally to claim popular support and announced, "Bueno, me quedo", or, "All right; I'll stay [in office]." He was deposed shortly thereafter.) His government was notorious for human-rights-abuses, drug-trafficking, and economic mismanagement; during his presidency, the inflation that later crippled the Bolivian economy could already be felt. Later convicted in absentia for various crimes by attorney Juan del Granado, including murder, García Meza was extradited from Brazil and began serving a 30-year prison sentence in 1995.

After a military rebellion forced out Meza in 1981, three other military governments in 14 months struggled with Bolivia's growing problems. Unrest forced the military to convoke the Congress elected in 1980 and allow it to choose a new chief executive. In October 1982, Hernán Siles Zuazo again became president, 22 years after the end of his first term of office (1956–60).

Sánchez de Lozada and Banzer: Liberalizing the economy:

Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada pursued an aggressive economic and social reform agenda. The most dramatic reform was the "capitalization" program, under which investors, typically foreign, acquired 50% ownership and management control of public enterprises, such as the state petroleum corporation, telecommunications system, airlines, railroads, and electric utilities, in return for agreed upon capital investments.

The reforms and economic restructuring were strongly opposed by certain segments of society, which instigated frequent and sometimes violent protests, particularly in La Paz and the Chapare coca-growing region, from 1994 through 1996. The de Lozada government pursued a policy of offering monetary compensation for voluntary eradication of illegal coca by its growers in the Chapare region. The policy produced little net reduction in coca, and in the mid-1990s Bolivia accounted for about one-third of the world's coca that was being processed into cocaine. The coca leaf has long been part of the Bolivian culture, as indigenous workers have traditionally used the leaf for its properties as a mild stimulant and appetite suppressant.

During this time, the umbrella labor-organization of Bolivia, the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), became increasingly unable to effectively challenge government policy. A teachers' strike in 1995 was defeated because the COB could not marshal the support of many of its members, including construction and factory workers. The state also used selective martial law to keep the disruptions caused by the teachers to a minimum. The teachers were led by Trotskyites, and were considered to be the most militant union in the COB. Their downfall was a major blow to the COB, which also became mired in internal corruption and infighting in 1996.

In the 1997 elections, General Hugo Banzer, leader of the Nationalist Democratic Actionparty (ADN) and former dictator (1971–78), won 22% of the vote, while the MNR candidate won 18%. General Banzer formed a coalition of the ADN, MIR, UCS, and CONDEPA parties, which held a majority of seats in the Bolivian Congress. The Congress elected him as president, and he was inaugurated on 6 August 1997. During the election campaign, Banzer had promised to suspend the privatization of the state-owned oil-company, YPFB. But this seemed unlikely to happen, considering Bolivia's weak position globally. The Banzer government basically continued the free-market and privatization-policies of its predecessor.

The relatively robust economic growth of the mid-1990s continued until about the third year of its term in office. After that, regional, global and domestic factors contributed to a decline in economic growth. Financial crises in Argentina and Brazil, lower world prices for export commodities, and reduced employment in the coca sector depressed the Bolivian economy. The public also perceived a significant amount of public sector corruption. These factors contributed to increasing social protests during the second half of Banzer's term.

At the outset of his government, President Banzer launched a policy of using special police-units to physically eradicate the illegal coca of the Chapare region. The policy produced a sudden and dramatic four-year decline in Bolivia's illegal coca crop, to the point that Bolivia became a relatively small supplier of coca for cocaine. Those left unemployed by coca eradication streamed into the cities, especially El Alto, the slum-neighborhood of La Paz. The MIR of Jaime Paz Zamora remained a coalition-partner throughout the Banzer government, supporting this policy (called the Dignity Plan).

Between January 1999 and April 2000, large-scale protests erupted in Cochabamba, Bolivia's third largest city, in response to the privatization of water resources by foreign companies and a subsequent doubling of water prices.

On 6 August 2001, Banzer resigned from office after being diagnosed with cancer. He died less than a year later.

Vice President Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez completed the final year of his term.

In the June 2002 national elections, former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (MNR) placed first with 22.5% of the vote, followed by coca-advocate and native peasant-leader Evo Morales (Movement Toward Socialism, MAS) with 20.9%. Morales edged out populist candidate Manfred Reyes Villa of the New Republican Force (NFR) by just 700 votes nationwide, earning a spot in the congressional run-off against Sánchez de Lozada on 4 August 2002.

A July agreement between the MNR and the fourth-place MIR, which had again been led in the election by former President Jaime Paz Zamora, virtually ensured the election of Sánchez de Lozada in the congressional run-off, and on 6 August he was sworn in for the second time. The MNR platform featured three overarching objectives: economic reactivation (and job creation), anti-corruption, and social inclusion.In 2003 the Bolivian gas conflict broke out. On 12 October 2003 the government imposed martial law in El Alto after 16 people were shot by the police and several dozen wounded in violent clashes which erupted when a caravan of oil trucks escorted by police and soldiers deploying tanks and heavy-caliber machine guns tried to breach a barricade. On 17 October 2003 Evo Morales' supporters from Cochabamba tried to march into Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the largest city of the eastern lowlands where support was strong for the president. They were turned back. Faced with the option of resigning or more bloodshed, Sanchez de Lozada offered his resignation in a letter to an emergency session of Congress. After his resignation was accepted and his vice president, Carlos Mesa, invested, he left on a commercially scheduled flight for the United States.

In March 2004, the new president Carlos Mesa announced that his government would hold a series of rallies around the country, and at its embassies abroad, demanding that Chile return to Bolivia a stretch of seacoast that the country lost in 1884 after the end of the War of the Pacific. Chile has traditionally refused to negotiate on the issue, but Mesa nonetheless made this policy a central point of his administration.

However, the country's internal situation became unfavorable for such political action on the international stage.

After a resurgence of gas protests in 2005, Carlos Mesa attempted to resign in January 2005, but his offer was refused by Congress. On 22 March 2005, after weeks of new street protests from organizations accusing Mesa of bowing to U.S. corporate interests, Mesa again offered his resignation to Congress, which was accepted on 10 June.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodríguez, was sworn as interim president to succeed the outgoing Carlos Mesa.

Plan de Todos:

Mobilizing against neoliberalism as a common enemy of the people, the indigenous population of the Andean region was able to achieve widespread government reform. Bolivia, in particular, was quite successful due to the prominence of an indigenous population and the persistence of reformist policies. In 1993, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada ran for president in alliance with the Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement, which inspired indigenous-sensitive and multicultural-aware policies. Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (colloquially known as Goni) was able to shift Bolivian society by selling state firms and constitutionally acknowledging the existence of a multicultural and multiethnic population. Current development has led to a neoliberal citizenship regime in which civil rights are expressed through private property ownership, formal democracy and representation, and an investment in the maintaining of infrastructure.

In the 1990s, Bolivia introduced, the Plan de Todos, which led to the decentralization of government, introduction of intercultural bilingual education, implementation of agrarian legislation, and privatization of state owned businesses.

The Plan de Todos main incentive was to encourage popular participation among the Bolivian people. The law recognizes the existence of barrios and rural communities asTerritorially Based Organizations (TBOs) and has oversight boards known as rómiles de agilancia, or vigilance committees, that are responsible for overseeing municipal governments and planning projects. The Plan formally acknowledged the existence of 311municipalities, which benefited directly based on the size of their populations. The Plan de Todos inspired the development of a market democracy with minimally regulated capitalist economy. The Plan explicitly stated that Bolivian citizens would own a minimum of 51% of enterprises; under the Plan, most state owned enterprises (SOEs), besides mines, were sold. This privatization of SOEs led to innovative neoliberal structuring that acknowledged a diverse population within Bolivia.

The Law of Popular Participation gave municipalities the responsibility of maintaining various infrastructures (and offering services): health, education, systems of irrigation, which stripped the responsibility away from the state. The state provides municipalities with twenty percent of federal tax revenue so that each municipality can adequately maintain these infrastructures. The Law also redistributes political power to the local level.

The Plurinational State of Bolivia:

The main candidates for the 2005 Bolivian presidential election held on 18 December 2005 were Juan Evo Morales Ayma of the MAS Party and Jorge Quiroga, leader of the Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS) Party and former head of the Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) Party. Morales won the election with 53.7% of the votes, an absolute majority, unusual in Bolivian elections. He was sworn in on 22 January 2006, for a five-year term. Prior to his official inauguration in La Paz, he was inaugurated in an Aymara ritual at the archeological site of Tiwanaku before a crowd of thousands of Aymara people and representatives of leftist movements from across Latin America.

Though highly symbolic, this ritual was not historically based and primarily represented native Aymaras — not the main Quechua-speaking population. Since the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century, this region of South America, with a majority native population, has been ruled mostly by descendants of European immigrants.

In August 2007, more conflicts arose in Sucre, as the city demanded the discussion of the seat of government inside the assembly, hoping the executive and legislative branches could return to the city, but the assembly and the government said this demand was overwhelmingly impractical and politically undesirable. The conflict turned into violence, and the assembly was moved to a military area in Oruro. Although the main opposition party boycotted the session, a constitutional draft was approved on 24 November.

In May 2008, Evo Morales was a signatory to the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations. Bolivia has ratified the treaty.

In the 2009 national general elections, Evo Morales was re-elected with 64.22% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism, also won a two-thirds majority in both houses of the National Congress.

Independence Day Jamaica - Aug 06

Jamaica officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".

Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica. The head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica is currently Portia SimpsonMiller, who holds full legislative power of the country. Kingston is the country's largest city, with a population of 937,700, and its capital. Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world consisting of Jamaican citizens migrating from the country.

History

Battle of Boyaca Colombia - Aug 07

The Battle of Boyacá in Colombia, then known as New Granada, was the battle in which Colombia acquired its definitive independence from Spanish Monarchy, although fighting with royalist forces would continue for years.

Brigadier Generals Francisco de Paula Santander and José Antonio Anzoátegui led a combined republican army of Colombians and Venezuelans, complemented by the British Legion, to defeat in two hours a Royalist Colombian-Venezuelan forces led by Spanish Colonels José María Barreiro and Francisco Jiménez.

Simón Bolívar credited the victory to the British Legion declaring that "those soldier liberators are the men who deserve these laurels" when offered laurels after the victory.

The battle occurred 150 km from Bogotá in the Andes Mountains, in a place known as Casa de Teja, close to a bridge over the Teatinos River and 3 roads heading to Samaca, Motavita and Tunja, an area which is now part of the Boyacá Department.

The battle

towards Bogotá, which was lightly defended. The capture of the capital in the hands of the Patriot Army would effectively cut off the advance of the republican army and give the strategic initiative to its opponents. At 6:00 a.m., the Spanish forces departed from Motavita towards Casa de Teja, a distance of only 25 km which the Spaniards completed in 7 hours 30 minutes, at an average speed of 18 minutes per kilometer. At 10:00 a.m. General Santander's forces departed from Tunja toward Casa de Piedra and the road to Bogota. The Patriot forces completed the 16 km in 4 hours (at an average rate of 15 minutes per kilometer).

The Republican forces split in two: the vanguard reached Casa de Teja at 1:30 p.m., while the rearguard stopped a kilometer and a half behind to get some rest. Shortly before 2:00 p.m., Capitan Andres Ibarra and his forces spotted Casa de Teja and the vanguard of the Republican Army. The Spaniards spotted him too, and Coronel Sebastian Dias, chief of the vanguard of the Spanish army ordered to follow and engage what he believed was only a small observation force. They returned and General Santander ordered Lieutenant Coronel Paris to attack the Republican forces.

The Spanish vanguard crossed a strategic bridge over the Teatinos River and took attack positions there. Meanwhile, the full force of the Patriot army under Santander had reached Casa de Piedra. The Spanish rearguard was still several meters behind, so General Anzoátegui ordered to block the way between the vanguard and the rearguard of the Spanish forces. The rearguard, outnumbered, retreated to a small hill close to Casa de Piedra.

Simón Bolívar's forces arrived from Paipa, after the Vargas Swamp battle. He ordered a flank attack on the Spanish rearguard: battalions Barcelona and Bravos de Paez were to attack on the right side while the Britanica and Rifles legion attacked on the left. The enemy assumed battle positions: in the center were three artillery pieces surrounded by royal battalions 12 and 22, and on the wings, cavalry units. Outnumbered, the Spanish rear guard began to retreat without any clear direction. Therefore, Bolívar ordered lancers units to attack the center of the Republican infantry, while a full cavalry squadron ran away from the battle via the road towards Samaca. Bareiro attempted to break the blockage of the Patriot forces and rendezvous with the Spanish vanguard but heavy enemy fire forced him and his forces to surrender.

Meanwhile, one kilometer and a half behind Casa de Piedra, the Patriot vanguard managed to ford the river and was approaching the rear of the Republican vanguard force. Once it reached them, the vanguard forces engaged in battle, while the rearguard attempted to cross the river by force, using bayonets. The Spanish forces fled, leaving on the bridge their leader, Coronel Juan Taira. As the assembly of enemy prisoners began, the battle was over shortly after 4:00 p.m.

At least 1,600 troops and several of the Spanish commanders, including Barreiro himself, were captured at the end of the battle. New Granada's liberation was assured by this victory, which left the road to Bogotá and the city itself practically undefended, as the survivors headed towards other locations. After the battle, Santander and Anzoátegui were promoted to Divisional General. On the orders of Santander, Colonel Barreiro and 38 more were executed in Bogotá on October 11, 1819.

The bridge in question, el Puente de Boyacá, is no longer in use but it has been maintained as a symbol of the Independence of South America.

Independence Day Ivory Coast - Aug 07

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire is a country in West Africa. It has an area of 322,462 square kilometres (124,503 sq mi), and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be 20,617,068 in 2009. Côte d'Ivoire's first national census in 1975 counted 6.7 million inhabitants.

Prior to its colonization by Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to several states, includingGyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. There were two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié andSanwi, which attempted to retain their separate identity through the French colonial period and after Côte d'Ivoire's independence. An 1843–1844 treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, it became a French colony as part of the Europeanscramble for Africa.

Côte d'Ivoire became independent on 7 August 1960. From 1960 to 1993, the country was led by Félix HouphouëtBoigny. It maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbours, while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially to France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boigny's rule, Côte d'Ivoire has experienced one coup d’état, in 1999, and a civil war, which broke out in 2002. A political agreement between the government and the rebels brought a return to peace. Côte d'Ivoire is a republic with a strong executive power invested in the President. Its de jure capital is Yamoussoukro and the biggest city is the port city of Abidjan. The country is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. It is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, La Francophonie, Latin Union, Economic Community of West African States and South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.

The official language is French, although many of the local languages are widely used, including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin and Cebaara Senufo. The main religions are Islam, Christianity (primarily Roman Catholic) and various indigenous religions.

Through production of coffee and cocoa, the country was an economic powerhouse during the 1960s and 1970s in West Africa. However, Côte d'Ivoire went through an economic crisis in the 1980s, leading to the country's period of political and social turmoil. The 21st century Ivoirian economy is largely market-based and relies heavily on agriculture, with smallholder cash crop production being dominant.

History

Land migration:

The first human presence in Côte d'Ivoire has been difficult to determine because human remains have not been wellpreserved in the country's humid climate. However, the presence of newly found weapon and tool fragments (specifically, polished axes cut through shale and remnants of cooking and fishing) has been interpreted as a possible indication of a large human presence during the Upper Paleolithic period (15,000 to 10,000 BC), or at the minimum, the Neolithic period.

The earliest known inhabitants of Côte d'Ivoire have left traces scattered throughout the territory. Historians believe that they were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present indigenous inhabitants, who migrated south into the area before the 16th century. Such groups included the Ehotilé (Aboisso), Kotrowou (Fresco), Zéhiri (Grand Lahou), Ega and Diès (Divo).

Pre-Islamic and Islamic periods:

The first recorded history is found in the chronicles of North African (Berber) traders, who, from early Roman times, conducted a caravantrade across the Sahara in salt, slaves, gold, and other goods. Prehistoric polished stone celt from The southern terminals of the trans-Saharan trade routes were lo- Boundiali in northern Ivory Coast. cated on the edge of the desert, and from there supplemental trade Photo taken at the IFAN Museum of extended as far south as the edge of the rain forest. The more im- African Arts in Dakar, Senegal. portant terminals—Djenné, Gao, and Timbuctu—grew into major commercial centres around which the great Sudanic empires developed.

By controlling the trade routes with their powerful military forces, these empires were able to dominate neighbouring states. The Sudanic empires also became centres of Islamic education. Islam had been introduced in the western Sudan (today's Mali) by Muslim Berber traders from North Africa; it spread rapidly after the conversion of many important rulers. From the eleventh century, by which time the rulers of the Sudanic empires had embraced Islam, it spread south into the northern areas of contemporary Côte d'Ivoire.

The Ghana empire, the earliest of the Sudanic empires, flourished in present-day eastern Mauritania from the fourth to the thirteenth century. At the peak of its power in the eleventh century, its realms extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuctu. After the decline of Ghana, the Mali Empire grew into a powerful Muslim state, which reached its apogee in the early part of the fourteenth century. The territory of the Mali Empire in Côte d'Ivoire was limited to the north-west corner around Odienné.

Its slow decline starting at the end of the fourteenth century followed internal discord and revolts by vassal states, one of which,Songhai, flourished as an empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Songhai was also weakened by internal discord, which led to factional warfare. This discord spurred most of the migrations of peoples southward toward the forest belt. The dense rain forest, covering the southern half of the country, created barriers to the large-scale political organizations that had arisen in the north. Inhabitants lived in villages or clusters of villages; their contacts with the outside world were filtered through long-distance traders. Villagers subsisted on agriculture and hunting.

Pre-European era:

Five important states flourished in Côte d'Ivoire in the pre-European era. The Muslim Kong Empire was established by the Juula in the early eighteenth century in the north-central region inhabited by the Sénoufo, who had fled Islamization under the Mali Empire. Although Kong became a prosperous center of agriculture, trade, and crafts, ethnic diversity and religious discord gradually weakened the kingdom. The city of Kong was destroyed in 1895 by Samori Ture.

The Abron kingdom of Gyaaman was established in the seventeenth century by an Akangroup, the Abron, who had fled the developing Ashanti confederation of Asanteman in what is present-day Ghana. From their settlement south of Bondoukou, the Abron gradually extended their hegemony over the Dyula people in Bondoukou, who were recent émigrés from the market city of Begho. Bondoukou developed into a major centre of commerce and Islam. The kingdom's Quranic scholars attracted students from all parts of West Africa. In the mid-seventeenth century in east-central Côte d'Ivoire, other Akan groups' fleeing the Asante established a Baoulé kingdom at Sakasso and two Agni kingdoms, Indénié andSanwi.

The Baoulé, like the Ashanti, developed a highly centralized political and administrative structure under three successive rulers. It finally split into smaller chiefdoms. Despite the breakup of their kingdom, the Baoulé strongly resisted French subjugation. The descendants of the rulers of the Agni kingdoms tried to retain their separate identity long after Côte d'Ivoire's independence; as late as 1969, the Sanwi attempted to break away from Côte d'Ivoire and form an independent kingdom. Michael Jackson visited Krinjabo, the capital of Sanwi, in 1992 and met with the king. The current king of Sanwi is Nana Amon Ndoufou V (since 2002).

Establishment of French rule:

Compared to neighbouring Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire suffered little from the slave trade, as European slaving and merchant ships preferred other areas along the coast with better harbours. The earliest recorded European voyage to West Africa was made by the Portuguese and took place in 1482. The first West African French settlement, Saint Louis, was founded in the mid-seventeenth century in Senegal while, at about the same time, the Dutch ceded to the French a settlement at Goree Island off Dakar. A French mission was established in 1637 Assinie near the border with the Gold Coast (now Ghana).

Assinie's survival was precarious, however. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the French were firmly established in Côte d'Ivoire. In 1843–1844, French admiral Bouët-Willaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand Bassam and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region.

Pacification was not accomplished until 1915.

Activity along the coast stimulated European interest in the interior, especially along the two great rivers, the Senegal and the Niger. Concerted French exploration of West Africa began in the mid-nineteenth century but moved slowly, based more on individual initiative than on government policy. In the 1840s, the French concluded a series of treaties with local West African rulers that enabled the French to build fortified posts along the Gulf of Guinea to serve as permanent trading centres.

The first posts in Côte d'Ivoire included one at Assinie and another at Grand Bassam, which became the colony's first capital. The treaties provided for French sovereignty within the posts, and for trading privileges in exchange for fees or coutumes paid annually to the local rulers for the use of the land. The arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to the French, because trade was limited and misunderstandings over treaty obligations often arose. Nevertheless, the French government maintained the treaties, hoping to expand trade.

France also wanted to maintain a presence in the region to stem the increasing influence of the British along the Gulf of Guinea coast. The French built naval bases to keep out non-French traders and began a systematic conquest of the interior. (They accomplished this only after a long war in the 1890s against Mandinka forces, mostly from Gambia.

Guerrilla warfare by the Baoulé and other eastern groups continued until 1917).

The defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the subsequent annexation by Germany of the French province of Alsace Lorraine caused the French government to abandon its colonial ambitions and withdraw its military garrisons from its French West African trading posts, leaving them in the care of resident merchants. The trading post at Grand Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire was left in the care of a shipper from Marseille, Arthur Verdier, who in 1878 was named Resident of the Establishment of Côte d'Ivoire.

In 1886, to support its claims of effective occupation, France again assumed direct control of its West African coastal trading posts and embarked on an accelerated program of exploration in the interior. In 1887 Lieutenant Louis Gustave Binger began a two-year journey that traversed parts of Côte d'Ivoire's interior. By the end of the journey, he had concluded four treaties establishing French protectorates in Côte d'Ivoire. Also in 1887, Verdier's agent, Marcel TreichLaplène, negotiated five additional agreements that extended French influence from the headwaters of the Niger River Basin through Côte d'Ivoire.

French colonial era:

By the end of the 1880s, France had established what passed for control over the coastal regions of Côte d'Ivoire, and in 1889 Britain recognized French sovereignty in the area. That same year, France named Treich-Laplène titular governor of the territory. In 1893 Côte d'Ivoire was made a French colony, and then Captain Binger was appointed governor. Agreements with Liberia in 1892 and with Britain in 1893 determined the eastern and western boundaries of the colony, but the northern boundary was not fixed until 1947 because of efforts by the French government to attach parts of Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso) and French Sudan (present-day Mali) to Côte d'Ivoire for economic and administrative reasons.

France's main goal was to stimulate the production of exports. Coffee, cocoa and palm oil crops were soon planted along the coast. Côte d'Ivoire stood out as the only West African country with a sizeable population of settlers; elsewhere in West and Central Africa, the French and British were largely bureaucrats. As a result, French citizens owned one third of the cocoa, coffee and banana plantations and adopted a forced-labour system.

Throughout the early years of French rule, French military contingents were sent inland to establish new posts. The African population resisted French penetration Pre-Colonial kingdoms. and settlement. Among those offering greatest resistance was Samori Ture, who in the 1880s and 1890s was establishing the Wassoulou Empire, which extended over large parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. Samori Ture's large, well-equipped army, which could manufacture and repair its own firearms, attracted strong support throughout the region. The French responded to Samori Ture's expansion of regional control with military pressure. French campaigns against Samori Ture, which were met with fierce resistance, intensified in the mid-1890s until he was captured in 1898.

France's imposition of a head tax in 1900 to support the colony in a public works program, provoked a number of revolts. Ivoirians viewed the tax as a violation of the terms of the protectorate treaties, because they thought that France was demanding the equivalent of a coutume from the local kings, rather than the reverse. Much of the population, especially in the interior, considered the tax a humiliating symbol of submission. In 1905, the French abolished slavery in most of French West Africa.

From 1904 to 1958, Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the Third Republic. Until the period following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. France's policy in West Africa was reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association", meaning that all Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects", but without rights to representation in Africa or France.

French colonial policy incorporated concepts of assimilation and association. Based on an assumption of the superiority of French culture over all others, in practice the assimilation policy meant extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs in the colonies. The policy of association also affirmed the superiority of the French in the colonies, but it entailed different institutions and systems of laws for the colonizer and the colonized. Under this policy, the Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were allowed to preserve their own customs insofar as they were compatible with French interests.

An indigenous elite trained in French administrative practice formed an intermediary group between the French and the Africans. Assimilation was practiced in Côte d'Ivoire to the extent that after 1930, a small number of Westernized Ivoirians were granted the right to apply for French citizenship. Most Ivoirians, however, were classified as French subjects and were governed under the principle of association. As subjects of France, they had no political rights.

They were drafted for work in mines, on plantations, as porters, and on public projects as part of their tax responsibility.

They were expected to serve in the military and were subject to the indigénat, a separate system of law.

In World War II, the Vichy regime remained in control until 1943, when members of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's provisional government assumed control of all French West Africa. The Brazzaville Conference of 1944, the first Constituent Assembly of the Fourth Republic in 1946, and France's gratitude for African loyalty during World War II led to far-reaching governmental reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labour were abolished.

Until 1958, governors appointed in Paris administered the colony of Côte d'Ivoire, using a system of direct, centralized administration that left little room for Ivoirian participation in policy making. Whereas British colonial administration adopted divide-and-rule policies elsewhere, applying ideas of assimilation only to the educated elite, the French were interested in ensuring that the small but influential elite was sufficiently satisfied with the status quo to refrain from any anti-French sentiment. Although strongly opposed to the practices of association, educated Ivoirians believed that they would achieve equality with their French peers through assimilation rather than through complete independence from France. But, after the assimilation doctrine was implemented entirely through the postwar reforms, Ivoirian leaders realized that even assimilation implied the superiority of the French over the Ivoirians, and that discrimination and political inequality would end only with independence.

Independence:

The son of a Baoulé chief, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was to become Côte d'Ivoire's father of independence. In 1944 he formed the country's first agricultural trade union for African cocoa farmers like himself. Angered that colonial policy favoured French plantation owners, they united to recruit migrant workers for their own farms. Houphouët-Boigny soon rose to prominence and within a year was elected to the French Parliament in Paris. A year later the French abolished forced labour. Houphouët-Boigny established a strong relationship with the French government, expressing a belief that the country would benefit from it, which it did for many years. France appointed him as the first African to become a minister in a European government.

A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956 Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre), which transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments inFrench West Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities. In 1958, Côte d'Ivoirebecame an autonomous member of the French Community (which replaced the French Union).

Binger of At the time of Côte d'Ivoire's independence (1960), the country was easily Louis-Gustave French West Africa's most prosperous, contributing over 40% of the region's French West Africa in 1892 treaty signing with Famienkro total exports. When Houphouët-Boigny became the first president, his government gave farmers good prices for their products to further stimulate pro- leaders, in present day N'ziduction. This was further boosted by a significant immigration of workers Comoé Region, Ivory Coast. from surrounding countries. Coffee production increased significantly, catapulting Côte d'Ivoire into third place in world output (behind Brazil and Colombia). By 1979, the country was the world's leading producer of cocoa.

It also became Africa's leading exporter of pineapples and palm oil. French technicians contributed to the 'Ivoirian miracle'. In other African nations, the people drove out the Europeans following independence; but in Côte d'Ivoire, they poured in. The French community grew from only 30,000 prior to independence to 60,000 in 1980, most of them teachers, managers and advisors. For 20 years, the economy maintained an annual growth rate of nearly 10%—the highest of Africa's non-oil-exporting countries.

Houphouët-Boigny administration:

Houphouët-Boigny's one-party rule was not amenable to political competition. Laurent Gbagbo, who would be the president of Côte d'Ivoire in 2000, had to flee as he incurred the ire of Houphouët-Boigny when Gbagbo founded the Front Populair Ivoirien. Houphouët-Boigny banked on his broad appeal to the population who continually elected him.

He was also criticized for his emphasis on developing large scale projects. Many felt the millions of dollars spent transforming his home village, Yamoussoukro, into the new capital that it became, were wasted; others support his vision to develop a centre for peace, education and religion in the heart of the country. But in the early 1980s, the world recession and a local drought sent shock waves through the Ivoirian economy. Due to the overcutting of timber and collapsing sugar prices, the country's external debt increased threefold. Crime rose dramatically in Abidjan.

In 1990, hundreds of civil servants went on strike, joined by students protesting institutional corruption. The unrest forced the government to support multi-party democracy. Houphouët-Boigny became increasingly feeble and died in 1993. He favoured Henri Konan Bédié as his successor.

Bédié administration:

Unlike Houphouët-Boigny, who was very careful in avoiding any ethnic conflict and left access to administrative positions open to immigrants from neighbouring countries, Bediéemphasized the concept of "Ivority" (French: Ivoirité) to exclude his rival Alassane Ouattara, who had two northern Ivorian parents, from running for future presidential election.

As people originating from foreign countries are a large part of the Ivoirian population, this policy excluded many people from Ivoirian nationality, and the relationship between various ethnic groups became strained which will result in two civil wars in the following decades.

1999 coup:

Similarly, Bédié excluded many potential opponents from the army. In late 1999, a group of dissatisfied officers staged a military coup, putting General Robert Guéï in power. Bédié fled into exile in France. The new leadership reduced crime and corruption, and the generals pressed for austerity and openly campaigned in the streets for a less wasteful society.

Gbagbo administration:

A presidential election was held in October 2000 in which Laurent Gbagbo vied with Guéï, but it was peaceful. The lead-up to the election was marked by military and civil unrest. Following a public uprising that resulted in around 180 deaths, Guéï was swiftly replaced by Gbagbo. Alassane Ouattara was disqualified by the country's Supreme Court, due to his alleged Burkinabé nationality. The existing and later reformed constitution [under Guéï] did not allow noncitizens to run for presidency. This sparked violent protests in which his supporters, mainly from the country's north, battled riot police in the capital, Yamoussoukro.

Ivorian Civil War:

In the early hours of 19 September 2002, while the President was in Italy, there was an armed uprising. Troops who were to be demobilised mutinied, launching attacks in several cities.

The battle for the main gendarmerie barracks in Abidjan lasted until mid-morning, but by lunchtime the government forces had secured the main city, Abidjan. They had lost control of the north of the country, and the rebel forces made their strong-hold in the northern city of Bouake. The rebels threatened to move on Abidjan again and France deployed troops from its base in the country to stop any rebel advance. The French said they were protecting their own citizens from danger, but their deployment also aided the government forces. It was not established as a fact that the French were helping either side but each side accused them of being on the opposite side. It is disputed as to whether the French actions improved or worsened the situation in the long term.

What exactly happened that night is disputed. The government claimed that former president Robert Guéï had led a coup attempt, and state TV showed pictures of his dead body in the street; counter-claims stated that he and fifteen others had been murdered at his home and Samori Touré his body had been moved to the streets to incriminate him. Alassane Ouattara took refuge in the French embassy; his home had burned down.

President Gbagbo cut short his trip to Italy and on his return stated, in a television address, that some of the rebels were hiding in the shanty towns where foreign migrant workers lived. Gendarmes and vigilantes bulldozed and burned homes by the thousands, attacking the residents.

An early ceasefire with the rebels, which had the backing of much of the northern populace, proved short-lived, and fighting over the prime cocoa-growing areas resumed. France sent in troops to maintain the cease-fire boundaries, and militias, including warlords and fighters from Liberia and Sierra Leone, took advantage of the crisis to seize parts of the west.

Labor Day Samoa - Aug 07

Samoa Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of August every year in the American Samoa. Labor Day is celebrated, in most of the countries, on the 1st of May. This is a very historic day in history of the world. In some parts of Samoa, it is also celebrated on the 1st Monday in September.

History

The Labors Day came into existence due to the Labor Movement in America. In the 1880’s when there was unemployment all over the labors came together and formed what is known as the Knights of Labor, which ultimately brought the Labor Day into existence. This Day marked the importance of the labors in the end of the country. It marked a beginning of the well-being and for the first time saw the power of the labors.

The day is a tribute, that we pay to the workers and the labors, without whose existence the existence of the country and its people would have been a great question. It is a form of a national tribute paid to honor them for their contribution towards the prosperity and the success of the country and its people. Labors Day was officially given recognition in 1885 by the government of the US. By the passing of many years, countries joined in to celebrate Labors Day and today almost everywhere in the world Labors Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm and support from all spheres of the work place.

Labour Day is a national holiday in most of the countries. This day marked a milestone in the history of the Labor Movement. This Labor Day was also accepted by Samoa. This day is different from other days and national holidays, as it is not connected with victories won on the battlefield or a day to mark the dominance of one over the other. The main essence of this day is the fact that this day is dedicated to the people themselves whether living or dead. It crosses the boundaries of all countries and has no caste or creed.

Celebrations The Labor Day is celebrated in Samoa with much fun and celebration among the general population. As it is a national

Prehistory:

The Arawak and Taino indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. WhenChristopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were over 200 villages ruled by caciques (chiefs of villages). The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour.

The Tainos were still inhabiting Jamaica when the English took control of the island. The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawaks.

Spanish rule:

Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now calledDiscovery Bay. There is some debate as to whether he landed in St. Ann's Bay or in Discovery Bay. St. Ann's Bay was the "Saint Gloria" of Columbus who first sighted Jamaica at this point. One mile west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, Sevilla, which was established in 1509 and abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy. The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called "St. Jago de la Vega", around 1534 and is located in present day St. Catherine.

British rule:

Out of all the British colonies in the Caribbean, Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral. The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655 the English, led by William Penn and General Robert Venables, took over the last Spanish fort in Jamaica. The name of Montego Bay, the capital of the parish of St. James, was derived from the Spanish name manteca bahía (or Bay of Lard) for the large quantity of boar used for the lardmaking industry.

In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 whites and 1,500 blacks, but as early as the 1670s, blacks would form a majority of the population.

When the English captured Jamaica in 1655 the Spanish colonists fled after freeing their slaves.The slaves fled into the mountains, joining those who had previously escaped from the Spanish to live with the Taínos. These runaway slaves, who became known as the Jamaican Maroons, fought the British during the 18th century. The name is still used today for their modern descendants. During the long years of slavery Maroons established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, maintaining their freedom and independence for generations.

During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became one of the world's leading sugar-exporting, slave-dependent nations, producing more than 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 and 1824. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the British imported Indian and Chinese workers asindentured servants to supplement the labour pool. Descendants of indentured servants of Indian and Chinese origin continue to reside in Jamaica today.

By the beginning of the 19th century, Jamaica's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to 1. Even though England had outlawed the importation of slaves, some were still smuggled into the colonies. The British government drew up laws regimenting the abolition of slavery, but they also included instructions for the improvement of the slaves' way of life. These instructions included a ban of the use of whips in the field, a ban on the flogging of women, notification that slaves were to be allowed religious instruction, a requirement that slaves be given an extra free day during the week when they could sell their produce as well as a ban on Sunday markets.

In Jamaica these measures were resisted by the House of Assembly. The Assembly claimed that the slaves were content and objected to Parliament's interference in island affairs, although many slave owners feared possible revolts. Following a series of rebellions and changing attitudes in Great Britain, the nation formally abolished slavery in 1834, with fullemancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The population in 1834 was 371,070 of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black, 40,000 ‘coloured’ or mixed race, and 311,070 slaves.

In the 19th century, the British established a number of botanical gardens. These included the Castleton Garden, set up in 1862 to replace the Bath Garden (created in 1779) which was subject to flooding. Bath Garden was the site for planting breadfruit brought to Jamaica from the Pacific by Captain William Bligh. Other gardens were the Cinchona Plantation founded in 1868 and the Hope Garden founded in 1874. In 1872, Kingston became the island's capital.

In 1945, Sir Horace Hector Hearne became Chief Justice and Keeper of the Records in Jamaica. He headed the Supreme Court,Kingston between 1945 and 1950/1951. He then moved to Kenya where he was appointed Chief Justice.

Independence:

leaving the federation in 1962.

Strong economic growth, averaging approximately 6% per annum, marked the first ten years of independence under conservative governments which were led successively by Prime Ministers Alexander Bustamante, Donald Sangster and Hugh Shearer. The growth was fuelled by strong investments in bauxite/alumina, tourism, manufacturing industry and, to a lesser extent, the agricultural sector.

The optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality, and a sense that the benefits of growth were not being experienced by the urban poor. This, combined with the effects of a slowdown in the global economy in 1970, prompted the electorate to change government, electing the PNP (People's National Party) in 1972. Despite efforts to create more socially equitable policies in education and health, Jamaica continued to lag economically, with its gross national product having fallen in 1980 to some 25% below the 1972 level. Rising foreign and local debt, accompanied by large fiscal deficits, resulted in the invitation of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) financing from the United States and others, and the imposition of IMF austerity measures (with a greater than 25% interest rate per year).

Economic deterioration continued into the mid-1980s, exacerbated by a number of factors; the first and third largest alumina producers, Alpart and Alcoa closed, and there was a significant reduction in production by the second largest producer, Alcan. In addition, tourism decreased and Reynolds Jamaica Mines, Ltd. left the Jamaican industry.

National Day Singapore - Aug 09

The National Day of Singapore is celebrated every year on 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. This holiday features a National Day Parade, an address by the Prime Minister of Singapore, and fireworks celebrations.

National Day Rally Also on National Day, the Prime Min-

ister of Singapore makes an annual address to the nation, called the National Day Rally. A yearly event since 1966, the Prime Minister uses this rally to address the nation on its key challenges and its future directions, and can be compared to the State of the Union Address delivered by the President of the United States. Prior to 2005, the rally was a continuous speech from 8 pm (SST). From 2005, the Malay and Chinese versions were delivered at 6.45 pm with a break at 7.30 pm while the English version was delivered at 8 pm. Opposition MPs have been invited to the rally since 2007.

Singapore Fireworks Celebrations

National Day celebrations also include fireworks celebrations. They feature several local and foreign teams which launch fireworks displays on different nights. First held in 2004 at Marina Bay, the event was initially known as the Singapore Fireworks Festival and organised by Unusual Productions. The amount of fireworks used has grown in magnitude over the past three years, from 4,000 rounds used in 2004 to over 9,000 in 2006.

holiday, people today take a break from their usual work and come together for the cause of the Labor Day. The celebration includes singing, dancing, longboat races, contests like basket weaving, spear throwing, and many others. A street parade is taken out to mark the importance of the Labors in our everyday life. There is a lot of recreation and amusement is in store for the whole day.

Father's Day Taiwan - Aug 08

In Taiwan, Father's Day is not an official holiday, but is widely observed on August 8, the eighth day of the eighth month of the year. In Mandarin Chinese, the pronunciation of both the number 8 and the month of August is bā. This pronunciation is very similar to the character "爸" "bà", which means "Pa" or "father".

The Taiwanese, therefore, sometimes refer to August 8 as "Bābā Holiday" (爸爸 節)or" (父親節).

Peasants' Day Tanzania - Aug 08

Tanzania Peasants Day, also known as Saba Saba is the national holiday in Tanzania. It is also known as Workers Day, Industry’s Day or Peasants Day. It is celebrated on August 8 every year. Actually, it is the celebration of the founding of the Tanganyika African National Union before the constitution was changed and after was celebrated as the Peasants Day.

History

Saba Saba or the Peasants Day was celebrated on July 7 every year until 1992. In 1993, 7 July was declared useless as the Saba Saba meaning seven-seven and Nane-Nane or Eight-Eight or August 8 was established as the new Farmers day. This created a lot of confusion as to which day would be celebrated as the national holiday.

Some people took off on 7 July while some on 8th August while some refused to work on both days. Ultimately, a solution was reached that Saba-Saba would be celebrated in Dar-es-Salaam and the rest of the country would celebrate the Peasants Day or the Nane-Nane on 8 August.

Both the Farmers and the Peasants Day is celebrated on 8 August. This day was actually chosen to give respect and honor to the Peasants and the Farmers. It was a symbol to pay tribute to the Farmers and the Peasants for feeding the country and its people. It marked a special significance and a great role that they play in the country’s existence and well-being. It is celebrated to give them their due respect, without which the country would not have existed and its agriculture would not be alive.

After the dispute over whether Saba-Saba or Nane-Nane, the day has lost its importance. Initially in the 1980’s in Mwanza, a city in Tanzania, there used to be farmers trade exhibition and a huge celebration used to take place to mark the light of the Farmer’s day. There used to be huge gathering of farmers from all over the country who used to bring their products together. This day was celebrated to exchange agricultural ideas among farmers.

Celebrations

The celebration of the day goes on very well with drinking, dancing and get-togethers. Lovely dishes are cooked all over. Thousands of people from all over the country used to come. There were traditional dances and celebration all over creating an ambience of joy and happiness.

The story today is very different from before. People no longer feel the need to celebrate this auspicious day as they feel the government, from the last decade, has ignored them. They are paid less for their food. Today there are more industrial products in the show than agricultural ones. The celebrations today are very different from the previous ones.

The number of people attending the event in last decade has gone down to considerable mark. The economy of the country is no longer for the person i.e. the Peasants and the Farmers. The whole event organization, publishing and the real fun has changed totally and has lost its essence and importance among the general population.

Day of Indigenous People Worldwide - Aug 09

In 1994 the United Nations declared a International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, but concerned about upsetting some member nations chose August 9 instead of the traditional Columbus Day. There has been some annual international celebration on August 9 ever since.

History

The idea of replacing Columbus Day with a day celebrating the indigenous people of North America first arose in 1977 from the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, sponsored by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1990, at the First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito, Ecuador in July 1990, representatives of Indian groups throughout the Americas agreed that they would mark 1992, the 500th anniversary of the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus, as a day to promote "continental unity" and "liberation".

After the conference, attendees from Northern California organized to plan protests against the "Quincentennial Jubilee" that had been organized by the United States Congress for the San Francisco Bay Area on Columbus Day, 1992 to include, among other things, sailing replicas of Columbus' ships under the Golden Gate Bridge and reenacting their "discovery" of America. The delegates formed the Bay Area Indian Alliance, and in turn, the "Resistance 500" task force, which advocated the notion that Columbus was responsible for genocide of Indian people.

In 1992 the group convinced the city council of Berkeley, California to declare October 12, a "Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People", and 1992 the "Year of Indigenous People", and to implement related programs in schools, libraries, and museums. The city symbolically renamed Columbus Day to "Indigenous People's Day" beginning in 1992 to protest the historical conquest of North America by Europeans, and to call attention to the demise of Native American people and culture through disease, warfare, massacre, and forced assimilation. Performances were scheduled that day for Get Lost (Again) Columbus, an opera by a Native-American composer. Berkeley has celebrated Indigenous People's Day ever since. Beginning in 1993, Berkeley has held an annual pow wow and festival on the day.

In the years after Berkeley's move, other local governments and institutions have either renamed or canceled Columbus Day, either to celebrate Native Americans, to avoid celebrating actions of Columbus that lead to the colonization of America by Spanish conquistadors, or due to controversy over the legacy of Columbus. Two other California cities, Sebastopol and Santa Cruz, now celebrate Indigenous People's Day. South Dakota renamed the holiday "Native American Day". Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day "Native American Day", or name the day after their own tribe. Virginia celebrates both Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, commemorating a battle in the Revolutionary War. The United States Virgin Islands celebrates "Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Friendship Day." Hawaii celebrates Discoverer's Day, commemorating the Polynesian discoverers of Hawaii. San Francisco, California and a number of other American cities have either canceled their observances or renamed them "Italian Heritage Day" in honor of Italian Americans, for whom Columbus, believed by many historians to be a native of Italy, was a source of pride. Columbus, Ohio has not sponsored an official Columbus Day parade since the 1990s, in part over controversy over the legacy of Columbus. Other cities and states have canceled celebrations due to lack of interest in the holiday or budget cuts.