Paul Kagame (born 1957) has been President of Rwanda since 2000. Born to a Tutsi family in southern Rwanda, he grew up in Uganda after the Rwandan Revolution ended centuries of Tutsi political dominance. He joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which invaded Rwanda in 1990, taking control after the death of Fred Rwigyema. By 1993, the RPF controlled significant territory in Rwanda and a ceasefire was negotiated. The assassination of Rwandan President Habyarimana in 1994 was the starting point of the Rwandan Genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Kagame resumed the civil war, and ended the genocide with a military victory. During his vice presidency, Kagame controlled the national army and maintained law and order. Many RPF soldiers carried out retribution killings; it is disputed whether Kagame organised these or was merely powerless to stop them. As president, Kagame has prioritised national development, and the country is developing strongly on key indicators including health care and education. He is popular in Rwanda and with some foreign observers; however, human rights groups accuse him of political repression.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kagame

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1829:

William Austin Burt was awarded a patent for the typographer, the first practical typewriting machine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographer_(typewriter)

1940:

US Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issued a declaration that the US would not recognize the Soviet Union's annexation of the Baltic states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welles_Declaration

1970:

Qaboos overthrew his father Said bin Taimur to become Sultan of Oman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaboos_bin_Said_al_Said

1983:

Air Canada Flight 143 made an emergency landing in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, without loss of life after the crew was forced to glide the aircraft when it completely ran out of fuel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

2001:

Megawati Sukarnoputri became the first female president of Indonesia after the People's Consultative Assembly removed Abdurrahman Wahid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megawati_Sukarnoputri

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

levity: 1. Lightness of manner or speech, frivolity. 2. The state or quality of being light, buoyancy. 3. (countable) A lighthearted or frivolous act. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/levity

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The dilemma of the critic has always been that if he knows enough to speak with authority, he knows too much to speak with detachment.   --Raymond Chandler https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Raymond_Chandler