Kigali vs Sharjah

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Kigali (Kinyarwanda: [ci.ɡɑ́.ɾi]) is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It's near the country's geographical centre in a region of rolling hills, with a succession of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. The town has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transportation hub because it became the capital following independence from Belgian rule in 1962. In a place controlled by the Kingdom of Rwanda from the 17th century and then by the German Empire, the city was founded in 1908 when Richard Kandt, the colonial resident, chose the site for his headquarters, citing its central location, views and safety. Foreign merchants started to trade in the city during the German era, and Kandt opened some government-run schools for Tutsi Rwandan students. Belgium took control of Rwanda and Burundi during World War I, forming the mandate of Ruanda-Urundi. Kigali remained the seat of colonial administration for Rwanda but Ruanda-Urundi's capital was at Usumbura (currently Bujumbura) in Burundi and Kigali remained a small city with a population of just 6,000 at the time of independence. Kigali grew slowly during the next decades. It wasn't initially directly affected by the Rwandan Civil War between government forces and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which started in 1990.

However, in April 1994 Rwanda's president was killed when his aircraft was shot down near Kigali. Social tensions erupted from the genocide that followed, with Hutu extremists loyal to the interim government killing an estimated 500,000--1,000,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu nationwide. The RPF resumed fighting, finishing a cease-fire of over a year. They slowly took control of most of the country and captured Kigali on 4 July 1994. Post-genocide Kigali has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the town rebuilt. The city of Kigali is one of the five provinces of Rwanda, with boundaries set in 2006. It's divided into three districts--Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge--which historically had management of significant areas of local governance. Reforms in January 2020 moved a lot of the districts' power into the city-wide council. The town also hosts the main residence and offices of the President of Rwanda and many government ministries. The largest contributor to Kigali's gross domestic product is the service industry, but a significant proportion of the population works in agriculture such as small subsistence farming. Attracting international visitors is a priority for city authorities, including leisure tourism, conventions and exhibitions.

Source: Wikipedia

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Sharjah (Arabic: ٱلشَّارقَة‎ aš-Šāriqah; Gulf Arabic: aš-šārja) is the third largest and third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. The emirate of Sharjah borders with Dubai to the south, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain to the north and Ras Al Khaimah to the east. It is the only emirate that overlooks the coastline on the Persian Gulf to the west and the Gulf of Oman (Indian Ocean) to the East, with the eastern Sharjah coastal towns of Kalba and Khor Fakkan. Sharjah is the capital of the emirate of the same name. Sharjah shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates of the UAE within a federal framework, although each emirate has jurisdiction over some functions such as civil law enforcement and provision and upkeep of local facilities. Sharjah has been ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century.

The city is a centre for culture and industry, and alone contributes 7.4% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates. The city covers an approximate area of 235 km² and has a population of over 800,000 (2008). The sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the emirate of Sharjah without possession of an alcohol licence and alcohol is not served in Sharjah hotels, restaurants or other outlets due to the Muslim majority in the area. This has helped Sharjah increase the number of Islamic tourists who visit the country. Sharjah has been officially named as a WHO healthy city. The 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Sharjah as the 68th best city in the world to be a university student. Sharjah is regarded as the cultural capital of the UAE, and was the Islamic culture capital in 2014. Sharjah was named World Book Capital for 2019 by UNESCO.

Source: Wikipedia