Here is a rundown of the events that happened today in history:

1999 – Vladimir Putin becomes prime minister of Russia.

2002 – Islamic insurgents reportedly kill 26 people in Algeria, including women and children, in a rural western hamlet.

2002 – Ahmad Ahman Pategi, the Kwara State chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is killed by unknown men alongside his police bodyguard.

2002 – The Robert Mugabe-led Zimbabwean government cracks down on white farmers who have not left their lands. The government charges seven to court and detains over 27 others.

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2003 – In Warri, Nigeria, a curfew kicks off to calm the battle between rival militias.

2003 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, accused of genocide in the 1970s, is declared dead in a Saudi hospital where he had been critically ill for weeks.

2003 – The African swine fever kills half of the pigs in Uganda.

2005 – Scientists in Australia collect blood from crocodiles hoping to develop powerful antimicrobial drugs for humans. This comes after a series of tests reveal that a crocodile’s immune system can kill HIV.

2008 – Carol Huynh wins Canada’s first gold of the Olympics in women’s wrestling, and Usain Bolt of Jamaica becomes the world’s fastest man.

2010 – A cholera outbreak kills at least 87 people and infects 1,315 others.

2012 – A solar-powered toilet wins the $100,000 first prize in the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The toilet converts urine and faeces into hydrogen and electricity.

2013 – A World Health Organisation official has said Somalia is experiencing an “explosive” outbreak of polio. With over 105 cases, it has become higher than all polio cases around the world.

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