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KIU Trivia: April 12 in the Present and the Past

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What’s Happening Today?

International Day for Street Children. Children, especially street children, are often denied the rights they are entitled to. International Day for Street Children, which was created by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC) and first held in 2011, aims to remedy this. According to the CSC, four steps must be carried out. First, there must be a commitment to equality. Street children must be recognized to have the same rights as everyone else and this must be reflected in the law.

National Redemption Day (Liberia). This holiday marks the anniversary of the coup d’état that was led by Samuel Doe on this day in 1980. On the morning of April 12, 1980, 17 non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia led by Master Sergeant Samuel Doe launched a coup d'état. The group entered the Presidential palace and killed President William Tolbert, whose body was dumped into a mass grave together with 26 other victims of the coup.

What Happened Today?

1. In 1961, The Soviet Union successfully launched the first man into space today taking the prize for "The First Man In Space". Yuri Gagarin , a 27-year-old air force major. He orbited the Earth in 1 hr 40 minutes. The next target was to put a man on the moon which the US achieved before the end of the decade.

2. In 1945, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. After serving as U.S. president for 12 years, Franklin D. Roosevelt the 32nd president of the United States died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. Vice President Harry S. Truman became the President of the United States.

3. In 1999, President Bill Clinton was found in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright for giving "intentionally false" testimony in a lawsuit filed by Paula Jones about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. President Clinton later survived impeachment by the House of Senate and Congress as a result of the affair.

 Birthdays

1. 1942 – Jacob Zuma, former South African President.

2. 1994 – Sehun, South Korean rapper.

Sources: Wikipedia, checkiday, nationalholidays.com & thepeoplehistory.com