Friday
National Cabinet meets

Independence Day in the Central African Republic

Red Nose Day

International Left Hander’s Day

Anniversary of:
• the fall of the Aztec Empire after Spanish conquistadors capture Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc in Tenochtitlan (1521)
• Berlin being divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees (1961)
• the premiere of South Park (1997)
• the birthdays of Alfred Hitchcock (1899) and Fidel Castro (1926)
• the deaths of Florence Nightingale (1910) and Julia Child (2005)

Saturday
1.00pm (AEST) – Super Netball Semi-Finals – Giants v NSW Swifts – Brisbane

3.00pm (AEST) – Super Netball Semi-Finals – West Coast Fever v Sunshine Coast Lightning – Brisbane

Independence Day in Pakistan

Start of National Science Week (until 22 August)

Birthdays for musician David Crosby (1941), comedian Steve Martin (1945), author Danielle Steel (1947), cartoonist Gary Larson (1950), basketball star Magic Johnson (1959), swimmer Kieren Perkins (1973), and actors Kate Richie (1978) and Mila Kunis (1983)

Anniversary of:
• Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh movement launching a coordinated uprising against French rule across Vietnam (1945)
• the British Army deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland, marking the beginning of Operation Banner which would become the British military’s longest-ever continuous deployment (1969)
• Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt winning the 100m Olympic gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, becoming the first man to win the event 3 times (2016)

Sunday
National days for India, Liechtenstein and the Republic of the Congo

International Homeless Animals Day

Birthdays for Princess Anne (1950), Melinda Gates (1964), Ben Affleck (1972) and Jennifer Lawrence (1990)

Anniversary of:
• the first Rugby Test Match between New Zealand’s All Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies (1903)
• the end of WWII, after Japan’s surrender to the Allies (1945)
• 70 years since Sukarno proclaimed the Republic of Indonesia and became its first President (1950)
• the opening of Woodstock Music Festival (1969)
• the release of musical atrocity the Macarena by Los del Rio (1995)