Parihaka

Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela has been freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years.
His release follows the relaxation of apartheid laws - including lifting the ban on leading black rights party the African National Congress (ANC) - by South African President FW de Klerk.

Mr Mandela appeared at the gates of Victor-Verster Prison in Paarl at 1614 local time - an hour late - with his wife Winnie.

Holding her hand and dressed in a light brown suit and tie he smiled at the ecstatic crowds and punched the air in a victory salute before taking a silver BMW sedan to Cape Town, 40 miles away.

People danced in the streets across the country and thousands clamoured to see him at a rally in Cape Town.


Our march to freedom is irreversible

Nelson Mandela

Doctors treated over a hundred people as police clashed with youths looting shops in various cities and townships and several people were reported shot dead.

Mr Mandela, the deputy-president of the ANC, appeared on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall to speak to the 50,000 people assembled outside at 2000 local time.

He acknowledged Mr de Klerk was a man of integrity, but said: "Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. Our march to freedom is irreversible."

"Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax now would be a mistake which future generations would not forgive," he continued.

As he addressed the crowd South African state television broadcast a profile of Mr Mandela - including a BBC interview from 1961 - which was the first time he had been shown speaking on TV.

Now 71, the lawyer from the Transkei homeland was convicted of treason and sabotage in June 1964 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He spent most of his sentence on Robben Island, off Cape Town, doing hard labour.

Since the 1980s he has refused numerous offers for early release from the government in Pretoria because of the conditions attached.

Parihaka

The British Conservative Party has chosen Margaret Thatcher as its new leader.
She will be the first woman to head a British political party after a landslide victory over the other four - male - candidates.

Mrs Thatcher - who served as Secretary of State for Science and Education in Ted Heath's Government - exclaimed "It's like a dream."

The MP for Finchley, north London, since 1959 rejected suggestions of great celebrations.


It's like a dream

Margaret Thatcher

She said: "Good heavens, no. There's far too much work to be done."

Mrs Thatcher, 50, forced Ted Heath to resign as leader last week when she trounced him in the first round of the leadership race with 130 votes to his 119.

Conservative Party confidence in Mr Heath - prime minister from 1970 to 1974 - was rattled by his failure to win general elections in both February and October last year.

Chairman of the influential 1922 Backbench Committee - whose 276 members are largely responsible for deciding party leaders - Edward du Cann, told BBC Television: "We have a new and rather exciting leader. Mrs Thatcher will make the Tory Party distinctive."

At a press conference at the House of Commons the new leader thanked her campaign team and looked forward to retaining Ted Heath and other members of the current Shadow Cabinet, though probably not in the same jobs.

Mrs Thatcher - a mother of twins married to Denis, an oil executive - put in a brief appearance at a party in Pimlico before having a working dinner with Conservative Chief Whip Humphrey Atkins in Westminster.

Former Northern Ireland Minister Willie Whitelaw was her closest challenger, but still only gained 79 votes in comparison to the 146 she polled in the second ballot of the contest.

The other candidates were Sir Geoffrey Howe, QC, and Mr Prior who each received 19 votes and John Peyton trailed in last with just 11 votes.

Parihaka

Supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini appear to be in control of the Iranian capital, Tehran, tonight.
Only 10 days since Khomeini's triumphant return to Iran from exile in Paris, the army has returned to barracks and given up the fight to defend the old regime.

Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar, brought in by the Shah only last month in an effort to win back popular support, has resigned and disappeared.

Iran radio is reporting rumours he has committed suicide after his home in North Tehran was attacked and burned down.

Abandoned tanks

Civilian demonstators have again been on the streets today, seizing control of police and fire stations, forcing the officers to flee and arming themselves with the weapons they found inside.

Khomeini set the country on a collision course five days ago when he established a provisional government under Mehdi Bazargan and called on people to demonstrate their support for an Islamic regime.

Ten people died in a battle for one police station today. In total the death toll is now put at 200 with 700 injured.

Demonstrators have taken control of the airport and radio and television station, where staff who had been on strike in support of the Ayatollah returned immediately and began broadcasting news about the takeover of the country.

Elsewhere protesters have set fire to barricades across the streets, even in the heart of the main shopping and business districts of the city.

Abandoned tanks have been left behind after soldiers previously loyal to the Shah have switched allegiances.

Foreign embassies have been raided for their weapons.

The only remaining resistance came from soldiers of the elite Imperial Guard, who were defending their headquarters in the north of the city at Lavizan and at two royal palaces.

An announcement on television said the three bases had been surrounded by revolutionary forces and negotiations were under way for their surrender.

Although there was no official announcement from Dr Bakhtiar of his resignation, the news has been repeatedly broadcast by the media.

There had been rumours of a possible military coup. But a meeting of senior generals this afternoon acknowledged this would split the army and cause serious bloodshed.

They put out a statement at 1400 local time ordering troops to return to their garrisons in order to prevent further bloodshed and anarchy.

Parihaka

1996: Massacre in Dunblane school gym
A lone gunman has gone on a shooting spree at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and their teacher.

The killer sprayed shots at random around the school gym in an attack that lasted just three minutes, but caused carnage in a class of five and six year olds. He then turned the gun on himself.

Twelve other children were taken to hospital in Stirling, where one is reported to have later died of his injuries.

The killer has been named as Thomas Hamilton, 43, a local man, who had once - briefly - been a scout master before being sacked by the Scout Association.

'Sick and evil act'

The Queen has sent a message of sympathy to the people of Dunblane.

The Prime Minister, John Major, on a visit to Cairo, has spoken of his disbelief at what he called "this sick and evil act".

The attack happened just after 0930 GMT, as the Year One pupils were beginning an exercise class in the gym with their teacher, Gwen Mayor.

One pupil said: "We heard these gunshots from the gym and looked round and thought he must be firing at a target or something then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts and we were all petrified."

William Wilson, chief constable of central Scotland, told a news conference his officers had been called to the school at 0938 GMT: "They found a scene of carnage, with 15 children dead, one teacher dead and one other dead."

Parents and carers began arriving at the school as news of the tragedy quickly spread around the town.

The Scottish Secretary, Michael Forsyth, who represents Dunblane said: "I find it difficult to express the feelings I know will be felt throughout Dunblane.

"This is a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else and the impact of this horrible tragedy will be felt in every household."

The motive for the attack is still unclear.

Parihaka

2003: US launches missiles against Saddam
American missiles have hit the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, signalling the start of the US-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein.
President George Bush delivered a live television address shortly after the bombings began, vowing to "disarm Iraq and to free its people".

The attack was ordered two hours after a final 48-hour deadline expired for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq.

US sources say five key members of the Iraqi regime, including the Iraqi leader himself, were targeted in the first attacks.


We will bring freedom to others

President Bush

The Iraqis say some non-military targets have been hit and a number of civilians wounded in Doura, a southern suburb of the capital.

The air strikes began at 0534 local time (0234 GMT). A short time later, Iraqi TV broadcast what it said was a live speech by Saddam Hussein.

In it he said: "I don't need to remind you what you should do to defend our country.

"Let the unbelievers go to hell, you will be victorious, Iraqi people."

President Bush played down hopes of an early victory.

In his broadcast to the American people he warned the campaign "could be longer and more difficult than some predict".

He continued: "This will not be a campaign of half measures and we will accept no outcome but victory."

"The dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others."

At 2200 GMT British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a live televised address to the nation.

He confirmed British troops were in action in Iraq. He said their purpose was to remove Saddam Hussein and disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

The attack has drawn international condemnation and brought demonstrators onto the streets in several countries.

Attempts to get a United Nations Security Council resolution backing a military campaign in Iraq were abandoned earlier in the week when it became clear the US still faced an uphill battle to get the majority it needed.

The French had been pushing for more time to allow Iraq to disarm and today President Jacques Chirac of France expressed regret at the launch of hostilities without UN backing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the military action was entirely unjustified, while China said the strike violated the United Nations charter.

Anti-war demonstrations have taken place in cities in Greece, Egypt, Australia and Indonesia.

Parihaka

The Soviet Union has beaten the USA in the race to get the first man into space.

At just after 0700BST, Major Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin was fired from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan, Soviet central Asia, in the space craft Vostok (East).

Major Gagarin orbited the Earth for 108 minutes travelling at more than 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kilometres per hour) before landing at an undisclosed location.

The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev has congratulated Major Gagarin on his achievement.

He sent the cosmonaut a message from his holiday home on the Black Sea.

"The flight made by you opens up a new page in the history of mankind in its conquest of space," Mr Khrushchev said.

The Soviet news agency, Tass, made the first official announcement of Major Gagarin's flight at just before 0800BST.

National hero

Radio Moscow then interrupted its schedule to give details to a jubilant nation.

Major Gagarin's safe return has laid to rest worries that space flight would be fatal for humans.

It is also a blow to the Americans who had hoped to be the first to launch a man beyond Earth's atmosphere.

However, President Kennedy has congratulated the Soviets on their achievement.

It would be some time before the United States caught up with the Soviets in the fields of rocket boosters, the president added.

Rumours that a Soviet launch attempt was imminent began some days ago.

It was the culmination of two years of highly secretive training for Yuri Gagarin, 27, who beat off thousands of other hopefuls.

The previously obscure army major has returned to earth a national hero.

He has already been awarded the title of "Master of Radio Sport of the Soviet Union" and a big reception for him at the Kremlin in Red Square is being planned.

__________________
In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Parihaka

On this day also the first space shuttle was launched

Parihaka

An explosion on board Apollo 13 has caused one of the most critical situations in American space history and put the lives of the three astronauts on board in severe jeopardy.

The explosion happened in the fuel cells of the spacecraft's service module approximately 56 hours after lift-off.

This resulted in the loss of Apollo 13's main power supply which means oxygen and water reserves are now critically low.

The safety of the three astronauts, Captain James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, is uncertain although Nasa is hoping emergency contingency plans will ensure their safe return.

Certain death

The cause of the explosion is not yet clear although it is understood it could have been the result of a meteorite crashing into the service module.

It is unlikely the exact cause will ever be ascertained as the service module will burn up before the spacecraft's re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.

The crew are currently surviving on the emergency battery power supply of the lunar module, Aquarius.

If the accident had occurred after the lunar module had been detached for the moon landing, the astronauts would have faced certain death.

The spacecraft's main computer has now been switched off to conserve what little power remains in the command module, Odyssey, as this part of the spacecraft will be required for re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.

Plans have been made to "slingshot" Apollo 13 around the moon and fire the spacecraft's last remaining booster engine to take it away from the moon's orbit and bring it back on course to earth.

This is a highly risky operation and there is no back-up should anything go wrong.

If all goes to plan Apollo 13 is due to splash down at approximately 1900 BST on Friday 17 April.

Geological experiments

The Apollo 13 mission was to have been man's third moon landing. The spacecraft was due to land in the Fra Mauro area of the moon on Thursday 16 April.

Captain Lovell and Mr Haise were due to carry out geological experiments on the moon's surface as part of an ongoing project to establish the true age of the moon.

Rock samples taken from previous missions have been dated as being 4,500 million years old.

During the 33-hour moon landing Mr Swigert would have been responsible for piloting the command module in lunar orbit.

Mr Swigert replaced Thomas Mattingly as command module pilot just hours before the mission began after it was found that Mr Mattingly had no immunity after exposure to German Measles.

Parihaka

British troops have entered the German concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.

Inside the camp the horrified soldiers found piles of dead and rotting corpses and thousands of sick and starving prisoners kept in severely overcrowded and dirty compounds.

Belsen, near Hanover in Germany, is the first concentration camp to be liberated by the British. Details of the conditions inside are likely to horrify a public which until now has only heard limited descriptions from the camps in Poland freed by the Red Army.

The first British soldiers who entered Bergen-Belsen have described seeing a huge pile of dead, naked women's bodies within full view of several hundred children held at the camp.


From where we were, we could see the desperate plight of the inmates

People's War memories »
The gutters, too, were filled with dead bodies.

One of the reasons the Germans agreed to surrender Belsen was because so many of the inmates were diseased. There was no running water in the camp and there were epidemics of typhus, typhoid and tuberculosis.

There were thousands of sick women, who should have been in hospital, lying on hard, bare bug-ridden boards. Of the 1,704 acute typhus, typhoid and tuberculosis cases, only 474 women had bunks to sleep on.

There were fewer male prisoners, but they were also kept in severely overcrowded and dirty conditions.

One of the British senior medical officers, Brigadier Llewellyn Glyn- Hughes, told the Reuters news agency he saw evidence of cannibalism in the camp. There were bodies with no flesh on them and the liver, kidneys and heart removed.

He said their first priority was to remove the dead bodies from the camp. He was told some 30,000 people had died in the past few months.

He said typhus had caused far fewer deaths than starvation. Men and women had tried to keep themselves clean with dregs from coffee cups. Medical supplies were severely limited - there were no vaccines, or drugs and no treatments for lice.

The only food available for the prisoners was turnip soup and British guards had to fire over the heads of prisoners to restore order among those desperate to get at the food stores.

Those prisoners who were too weak to get up and collect their food went without and died.

The camp commandant, who was described as "unashamed" at the camp conditions, has been placed under arrest.

The Chap

That schoolgirl music video wot Britny dun. And the Pope getting/being shot. Lybia playing nice. And most unfortunately the Labour Party comming to power in the UK in ~ '97.

Only one of the above is a "good thing".

Hint: It is not anything to do with the Vatican. For more help try some sort or Soduku site. Probably.

__________________
Where's the bloody gin? An army marches on its liver, not its ruddy stomach.

Moroz

Happy Victory Day!
61 years ago Germany has lost the bloodiest war ever been.

kNikS

Thanks, Happy Victory Day to you, too! I expect to see a nice parade!

__________________
For King and Fatherland ~ Freedom or Death

Parihaka

German troops marched into Paris in the early hours of this morning as French and allied forces retreated.

The enemy met no resistance as it entered the capital, which was declared an open town yesterday by the city's French military governor, General Hering.

French troops withdrew to avoid a violent battle and total destruction of Paris. They are believed to have taken a new line of defence south of the city.

The Germans advanced from the north-east and north-west and shortly afterwards tanks rumbled past the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.

Government retreats

All shops and businesses in Paris have been closed and shuttered and there are unconfirmed reports the French government has now left Tours, in central France, and gone further south to Bordeaux.

The enemy has been advancing toward Paris since they took Dunkirk ten days ago, forcing a huge evacuation of the port, resulting in thousands of allied deaths and casualties.

As the Germans approached, the French premier Paul Reynaud broadcast an appeal for all free men to come to the aid of France.

British troops arrived south of Paris and began fighting, with their French counterparts, day and night to stem the advance of the Germans.

The RAF has spent the past few days bombing German convoys, supply columns, mechanised units and lines of communications.

All the bridges behind enemy lines from Rouen to Mantes have been destroyed by the RAF to stop the enemy bringing up material and reserves.

German aircraft responded with air raids east of Paris and at Evreux and Mantes, west of the capital.

AlpErTunga

2nd July

311 St Militiades begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0195 "Plan 9 From Outer Space," one of the worse films ever, premieres
1644 Battle of Marston Moor; Parliamentary forces defeat royalists
1776 Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are & of right
ought to be Free & Independent States"
1777 Vermont becomes 1st American colony to abolish slavery
1787 de Sade shouts from Bastille that prisoners are being slaughtered
1808 Simon Fraser completes his trip down Fraser R, BC, lands at Musqueam
1843 An alligator falls from the sky during a Charleston SC thunderstorm
1847 Envelope bearing the 1st US 10 stamps, still exists today
1858 Partial emancipation of Russian serfs
1862 Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges
1863 Battle of Gettysburg (2nd day)
1864 Gen Early & Confederate forces reach Winchester
1864 Statuary Hall in US Capitol established
1867 1st US elevated railroad begins service, NYC
1881 Pres Garfield shot by Charles J Guiteau a disappointed office-seeker
1885 Canada's North-west Insurrection ends with surrender of Big Bear
1890 Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits industrial monopolies
1894 Government obtains injunction against striking Pullman Workers
1900 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin 1st airship LZ-1, flies
1902 John J McGraw becomes manager of NY Giants (stays for 30 years)
1906 Yanks win by forfeit, for their 1st time
1921 1st million dollar gate ($1.7m) boxing match (Dempsey KOs Carpentier)
1926 US Army Air Corps created; Distinguish Flying Cross authorized
1927 1st American to win Wimbeldon in 20 years (Helen Wills Moody)
1932 FDR makes 1st presidential nominating conventional acceptance speech
1933 Carl Hubbell shuts-out Cards 1-0 in 18 innings without a walk
1935 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1357 Khama
1935 Great Britain boxers beat US team in 1st intl Golden Gloves
1937 Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean
1937 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1429 Pemba & #1456 Saldanha
1938 Helen Wills Moody (US) wins her 8th & final Wimbeldon singles
1940 Lake Washington (Seattle) Floating bridge dedicated
1941 DiMaggio breaks Willie Keeler's 44 game hitting streak (45th of 56)
1943 Indians score 12 runs in 4th inning & beat Yankees 12-0
1943 Lt Charles Hall, becomes 1st black pilot to shoot down Nazi plane
1949 "Red Barber's Clubhouse" sports show premiers on CBS (later NBC) TV
1955 "Lawrence Welk Show" premiers on ABC
1956 Elvis Presley records "Hound Dog" & "Don't Be Cruel"
1957 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor completed-The Seawolf
1957 1st submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched, Grayback
1961 Maris hits 29th & 30th en route to 61 homers
1964 Celia Black records Beatle's "Its For You," McCartney plays piano
1964 Pres Johnson signs Civil Rights Act
1966 Billie Jean King wins her 1st of 6 Wimbeldon single titles
1967 Catherine Lacoste becomes youngest (22), 1st foreigner (France) &
1st amateur to US Women's open golf tournament
1969 Leslie West & Felix Pappalardi form the rock group Mountain
1974 Fernando Mameda of Portugal sets record for 10,000 m (27:13.81)
1976 Formal reunification of North & South Vietnam
1976 Supreme Court ruled death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual
1977 Sweden's **”orn B”rg won Wimbeldon men's singles over Jimmy Connors
1978 Pitcher Ron Guidry sets Yankee record of 13-0 start
1980 Grateful Dead's Bob Weir & Mickey Hart are arrested for incitement

AlpErTunga

July 3

1608 - The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain.

1775 - U.S. Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, MA.

1790 - In Paris, the marquis of Condorcet proposed granting civil rights to women.

1844 - Ambassador Caleb Cushing successfully negotiated a commercial treaty with China that opened five Chinese ports to U.S. merchants and protected the rights of American citizens in China.

1863 - The U.S. Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, PA, ended after three days. It was a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

1871 - The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduced the first narrow-gauge locomotive. It was called the "Montezuma."

1878 - John Wise flew the first dirigible in Lancaster, PA.

1880 - "Science" began publication. Thomas Edison had provided the principle funding.

1890 - Idaho became the 43rd united state.

1898 - During the Spanish American War, a fleet of Spanish ships in Cuba's Santiago Harbor attempted to run a blockade of U.S. naval forces. Nearly all of the Spanish ships were destroyed in the battle that followed.

1901 - The Wild Bunch, led by Butch Cassidy, committed its last American robbery near Wagner, MT. They took $65,000 from a Great Northern train.

1903 - The first cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila.

1912 - Rube Marquand of the New York Giants set a baseball pitching record when earned his 19th consecutive win.

1922 - "Fruit Garden and Home" magazine was introduced. It was later renamed "Better Homes and Gardens."

1924 - Clarence Birdseye founded the General Seafood Corp.

1930 - The U.S. Congress created the U.S. Veterans Administration.

1934 - U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) made its first payment to Lydia Losiger.

1937 - Del Mar race track opened in Del Mar, CA.

1939 - Chic Young’s comic strip character, "Blondie" was first heard on CBS radio.

1940 - Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted on NBC radio.

1944 - The U.S. First Army opened a general offensive to break out of the hedgerow area of Normandy, France.

1944 - During World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk.

1945 - U.S. troops landed at Balikpapan and take Sepinggan airfield on Borneo in the Pacific.

1945 - The first civilian passenger car built since February 1942 was driven off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, MI. Production had been diverted due to World War II.

1950 - U.S. carrier-based planes attacked airfields in the Pyongyang-Chinnampo area of North Korea in the first air-strike of the Korean War.

1954 - Food rationing ended in Great Britain almost nine years after the end of World War II.

1962 - Jackie Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

1974 - The Threshold Test Ban Treaty was signed, prohibiting underground nuclear weapons tests with yields greater than 150 kilotons.

1976 - 103 hostages were rescued by an Israeli commando unit at the raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda. The hostages had been taken from an Air France jetliner.

1981 - The Associated Press ran its first story about two rare illnesses afflicting homosexual men. One of the diseases was later named AIDS.

1986 - U.S. President Reagan presided over a ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty.

1986 - Mikhail Baryshnikov became a U.S. citizen at Ellis Island, New York Harbor.

1988 - The USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. The jetliner was misidentified as an Iranian F-14 fighter.

1991 - U.S. President George Bush formally inaugurated the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

1997 - U.S. President Clinton made his first formal response to the charges of sexual harassment from Paula Jones. He denied all the charges and asked that the judge dismiss the case.